If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

This past two weeks, I've participated in two Carnivals of Personal Finance.

This week, plonkee money hosted the 111th carnival, which included 5 Ways to Automate Your Finances.

Last week, Fat Pitch Financials hosted the 110th carnival, which included 5 Ways to Improve Online Savings Accounts.

Here are some of my highlights from this week's carnival:

ING Direct's Electric Orange Send Paper Checks Feature - Consumerism Commentary.

For the first time since opening my "Electric Orange" checking account at ING Direct, I used the account's ability to send a paper check. I've never used similar bill payment options that have always been available with my banks because other, better options, like paying by direct debit or credit card, were also available. This is the first time I instructed a bank to send a check on my behalf.

Why you should avoid the extended warranty - Family Finance Blog

Most items that are going to fail dramatically will fail from a manufacturing defect that will occur within the first 90 days of ownership, when the regular warranty still applies (and the manufacturer pays for the repairs, not Circuit City). It is very infrequently that an item breaks during the extended warranty period, and so Circuit City (or whoever) doesn