Last week, I announced a money giveaway offered by BillShrink, where a randomly selected commenter would be awarded $250 in cash. I requested for you to help name BillShrink’s website model and to check out their tools, which aim to help you save money on your gas bills, cell phone plans and credit card payments.

Not an accurate representation of the actual prize, but close enough.

Well, the time has finally come for the winner to be announced! My random pick is comment #16, by “jen”, who supplied four interesting names for the model, funny enough! But out of the four names (Billie, Penny, Dolores N. Cents, Payshence Saves ), I guess I’d like to settle on the conventional name “Penny”. It’s simple and fits the “pretty penny” mold, which is what BillShrink helps you save. So I’ll be getting in touch with jen soon to send her the $250 prize.

And for all those of you who joined our giveaway, I would like to say a heartfelt thanks for taking the time to check out BillShrink and for leaving us a comment. I hope to get the opportunity to hold more giveaways like this in the future!

Let’s now check on this week’s great bunch of reads from some of my favorite financial talking heads. As always, it’s a list I enjoyed putting together:

Personal Finance Articles

• The Wallet: Why We Love — and Love to Hate — Fads
• Free Money Finance: Does a Pleasant Attitude/Personality Help You Succeed?
• Bad Money Advice: A Principal Protected Free Lunch?
• Almost Frugal: 7 Easy Tips to Sleep Better Frugally
• Ask Mr. Credit Card: Which Delta SkyMiles Credit Card To Get?
• Lazy Man and Money: How I Saved Hundreds in a Half Hour
• Frugal Dad: Create a “Dream Budget” for Extra Motivation
• Brip Blap: It’s Not Just You
• Intelligent Speculator: Why Viral Buzz Is Priceless…
• One Mint: Will I be sued for credit card default?
• Budgetpulse: Americans are Starting to Save More…
• Dividend Tree: Building Core Competency for Long Term Survival

Recent Carnivals

• Carnival of Personal Finance: I was extremely honored that Kelly from AlmostFrugal selected my article on savings account rates to make the grade as one of her top picks.
• Money Hacks Carnival: I was once more thrilled to make the Editor’s Pick at Personal Finance By The Book, a new site I’m getting to know. Thanks to Joe for giving my post on how to improve your credit score, his nod.
• Carnival of Money Stories
• Carnival of Debt Reduction
• Festival of Frugality

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BillShrink $250 Cash Giveaway Winner Announced!

Having reviewed many online brokers, I’ve noticed how many of them tend to cater to active traders and more sophisticated investors. Well stock brokerage firms are not all alike: some are really much more suitable for those people who trade frequently (see Zecco, OptionsHouse or OptionsXpress), while others are a better fit for the small (retail) investor who prefers to invest for the long term. Some, of course, try to cover all the bases.

Scottrade Review: Top Brokerage For Small Investors

One of those brokers who finds themselves comfortably in that “middle ground” is Scottrade, which is actually quite a popular and well respected company in the industry. They’re pretty well established: they are a leader in the brokerage industry and have been around longer than many discount brokers (having been founded in 1980), with 422 local branch offices around the nation. One thing I know about them, I’ve gotten many positive comments about them on this site, with many happy customers telling me they’d recommend them as a broker. So what makes them such a great choice for many?

Awards

It’s not just the word of mouth compliments that have helped out Scottrade’s reputation, it’s also the series of top awards they’ve received from the media. Here is a list of achievements they’ve managed to score well on lately:

• Fortune’s “Top 100 Best Companies To Work For”: #60 in 2009 and #58 in 2008. They snagged this award because they prevailed during the Wall Street debacle last year, and have shown strong growth over the last several years.
• J.D. Power and Associates’ Online Investor Satisfaction Survey: #1 from 2001 through 2008 for overall investor satisfaction.
• SmartMoney Broker Survey for 2009: 4 stars for investment products, trading tools and customer service.

Pricing

Stock and Option Trades. The base commission fee at Scottrade is $7 a trade, which applies to stocks and options. However, for options, they do tag on $1.25 per contract to the $7 that is charged. But these great prices are only good for online trades — if you decide to use their phone system you’ll pay $17 while broker assisted calls will set you back $27 (ouch!). So it’s best to keep to online transactions!

Mutual Fund Trades. They also have over 1,150 mutual funds that qualify as “no load and no transaction fee” (or NTF funds); these funds are free for you to buy, sell or exchange online at completely no cost. But be wary that they’ve got no load funds without the NTF designation that will cost you $17 to trade. Load funds can be purchased at no charge, but there’s a fee for selling or exchanging them (subject to some conditions). Once more, if you decide to use a broker to place mutual fund orders, you’ll be hit with an extra $20!

Other things to note: It’s easy to get started with Scottrade since you only need $500 to open an account, plus they have no maintenance fees and no account closing and transfer out fees.

That’s their pricing in a nutshell. If Scottrade sound like your cup of tea, you can open an account here. They’ll reimburse any transfer fees up to $100.

Scottrade Features

We already know that Scottrade is tops for customer service and investor satisfaction. So let’s delve into some more details:

Trade Execution Quality. I’m impressed by their dedication to trade execution quality, which they’ve demonstrated by creating a proprietary algorithm called the SBI (Scottrade Best Execution Index) that measures execution speed, effective spread, and certain quote and pricing components. Scottrade utilizes this index to address those market centers that under-perform.

Stock Market Research. They provide an educational center and screeners for stocks, mutual funds and ETFs. And if you become an account holder, they promise you access to more advanced screening tools that rate stocks, funds and ETFs, and that show you dividend history along with price, industry and short interest information.

Products and Services. Their offerings run the gamut of investment products including equities, funds, options and ETFs, as well as fixed income products, CDs and bonds. As I’ve mentioned before, they’re one of those brokerages that provides great support for the average small investor, so you can also open a no fee retirement account or a Coverdell education savings account with them.

Trading Tools and Knowledge Center. For the more active traders, they have an advanced trading platform, streaming quotes and a professional options trading platform. They also have mobile support for those people who want the flexibility of checking their investments anywhere. On top of this, they’ve got a great library of investment resources which include content, reading material and webcasts for your perusal. Note that they were given 4 stars by SmartMoney for their tools and products!

From what I’ve seen, I can consider Scottrade as one of my top choices for online brokers. Their pricing may not be as cheap as TradeKing, Zecco or OptionsHouse, but they more than make up for it by being so well attuned to the needs of the average investor. The icing on the cake is their investor community, where you can learn from and connect with other investors.

To sign up with Scottrade, here’s where to go!

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Scottrade Review: Top Brokerage For Small Investors

Awareness of gum disease is at our fingertips. Education is readily available. Sometimes we neglect to realize how it can affect us. Bacteria, that forms in the mouth is a main cause. It can cause damage to the gums.

Once the bacteria settles over time, it begins destroying tissues between gums and teeth, known as periodontal disease. When this happens we know there is a problem, but don’t often think of gum disease as being the cause.

The initial stage of gum disease begins with plaque build up. Plaque is constantly forming on your teeth, and we aren’t always aware of it. If you are wondering how, its bacteria, that forms plaque. This can be controlled with regular dental visits routine cleaning. You can help with daily oral hygiene which includes brushing thoroughly after all meals and snacks. If you don’t floss, this a good practice to incorporate into your daily routine as well. This helps cut down on build up.

Eventually, plaque turns into a solid, firm layer which is identified as tarter. Once tarter sets in, it is extremely difficult to remove it. You’d have to seek a professional for a scraping as it is snuggly attached to the teeth. To avoid this phase of gum disease, good oral hygiene habits help. Going to your dentist, typically twice a year for cleanings, and the brushing and flossing are good prevention measures.

The next phase after tarter, is deterioration of the tissue. When the tissue has been damaged, it causes the teeth to separate. Meaning, they will soon become lose and in the long run, you will begin to lose them.

Education on gum disease, learning about its causes and effects can be alarming. With the advancements in technology and medical enhancements, it can be overcome.

Author: Scott Wells

Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. If you have or think you might have a health problem of any kind, visit your doctor or dentist for advice, diagnosis and treatment.

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Why Fear Gum Disease?

Why earn a college degree abroad? Have you considered sending your kids (or yourself) to study in a different country? Besides some relatively cheaper options for schooling, studying abroad may also offer a lot of rich and new experiences. In this article, we explore Mexico as a potential place to get an education, but the ideas here are simply representative of what to consider when you decide to pursue your studies overseas.

Pretty picture by the NYTimes.com

When I was living in Mexico, teaching English to Mexican university students in Monterrey, a doctor friend of mine launched a bold program to attract dollars to the School of Medicine via American students who either were unable to enter a school due to the high costs, or who were simply rejected because their SAT scores were too low. He was quite successful and I helped him welcome the first batch of 20 students from various states north of the border.

Of course, these medical students were aware that once they had their degree, they would still have to satisfy State Bar medical exams to be able to work as physicians. Some courses were in English, but a wise requirement by the University of Monterrey mandated that they had to learn Spanish during their first year; hence, ad hoc classes were provided as part of the curriculum.

Take Your Studies Abroad

This program lasted only 3 years, as the founder passed away suddenly of a heart attack; however, any American student can study at any Mexican university, as long as she/he understands Spanish. The costs are a little higher than for native Mexicans, but still a long way below the amount paid in the U.S. The Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon is a state university that is renowned the world over for its extraordinary record in kidney transplants. It has its own public hospital which caters mainly to the indigent population.

…And Broaden Your Horizons

You don’t have to get your degree in a foreign country to enjoy studying abroad. Many American universities even require some students (based on their curriculum) to spend a year in a foreign country studying the language and the customs. Some financial aid is even available:

“The Carlos Castañeda Memorial Scholarships are available to students with an above average academic record as well as significant financial need. Awards are $1,000 toward summer tuition or $2,500 for a year of study in Mexico. Applicants must also meet Spanish language proficiencies,” according to this site called College Scholarships: this offer is among many other offers of scholarships for American students in various areas. Isn’t it fascinating to think about archeology or anthropology in Mexico, Costa Rica, or Honduras? Primitive artifacts are awaiting the audacious graduate student!

Note as well that if you have a 529 college savings plan in your name (or your child’s name), then the funds here can be applicable to certain accredited colleges and universities abroad. There are certain “study abroad programs” that are approved as viable recipients of funds from 529 plans.

Scholarships For Americans!

While most of this site is in Spanish (you’d also have to ignore the questionable web design), there are sections here that discuss options and possibilities for financial support for American students (referencing the Fulbright-Garcia Robles scholarship for tuition and living allowance.) The U.S.-Mexico Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (COMEXUS) has government support for growing the understanding between the two neighboring countries by developing programs of this sort that allow graduate students who are US citizens to seek international experience.

Advice For American Students

One of the most important words of advice to young American students who wish to polish their education abroad is: Be Careful! What may be tolerated here may not be acceptable in the host country. I remember a young American tourist in Singapore who was condemned to 20 lashes for smoking pot. You will discover very quickly that we enjoy a much greater freedom and safety here in the United States than in many other countries. Mexican jails are not particularly hospitable to gringos (particularly to the younger ones). But if you adapt quickly and show tolerance for different mores, your stay could be highly memorable!

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Why Study Abroad? Get Educated In A Foreign Country

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