Owning a blog is amazing and I definitely had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started, but I love every minute of it. So when someone offered to buy my blog this week, I had no problem saying no.

However, the one thing I don’t like is the pressure of coming up with posts! So I’ve decided to take two actions to try and reduce the pressure I feel. The first is to slow down posting in the near term. Instead of 5 posts a week, I’m going to shoot for 4. It’s not a huge deal, but it should help me get ahead of my posting and increase the quality of each piece. I’d much rather produce 5 great posts than 10 mediocre ones.

Also, I’m going to be getting some help. I’ve decided to bring on a staff writer. I’m not ready to announce who yet, but in the coming weeks you’ll see someone new every once in a while. Stay tuned for more details!

Don’t worry, I’ll still be here and writing the majority of the articles. But having a fresh perspective will be really great for everyone and I hope you agree!

On to the best articles from my fellow bloggers this week:

How Long Do I Have to Act Poor Until I’m Rich? from Planting Dollars

This definitely resonates with me as I’m going to be moving from a windowless room with no air conditioning in a crowded apartment to a nice open, bright room with windows and air conditioning this week. I lived like a college student for a year, was able to increase my net worth dramatically, and it’s time to spend a little more for something I most definitely will appreciate.

Can You Count on Social Security? from PT Money

PT does a great job breaking down the information and showing us that if you are 40 or older, you will get your full benefit. His argument is that we shouldn’t count on it and if it get it, great. To me, it sounds like while the full benefit might not be there, there will be something to count on. And for those who are just starting out their careers? I can’t imagine the government making us pay into social security for too long if they know there will be no benefit later on!

Online Credit Card Statements Can Lead To A Bad Credit Score from Own The Dollar.

Hank breaks down the pros and cons, but I don’t think the paper bill is an important factor in remembering to pay a bill. Different things work for different people. For some, paper bills don’t help because they get filed away for later and then never looked at again. I don’t think that paper billing helps more than online billing. If anything, I can set reminders online for when my bill comes out and then another reminder a few days before it’s due.

Saving For Retirement Til It Hurts! from Bible Money Matters

I love the idea of making retirement a priority and then ramping up savings each year. If you start out at 5% and increase by just 1% each year, you’ll have saved a lot by the time you’re ready. The higher you start out, the better off you’ll be!

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Did you know that some banks pull your credit score when you apply for a checking account? And did you know that some banks require a minimum credit score in order to accept you?

Many banks simply use ChexSystems, which is a network comprised of financial institutions that regularly contribute information on mishandled checking and savings accounts to a central location. ChexSystems shares this information among the member institutions to help them asses the risk of opening new accounts.

Many of the nation’s most popular banks use ChexSystems to determine whether or not to accept an application. I contacted many of the largest and most popular banks and asked about their policies. The responses I got were quite interesting

For example, Bank of America, Chase Bank, Citi Bank, and TD Bank all use ChexSystems as their only check before issuing a checking account.

Wells Fargo goes half a step further by using ChexSystems first, and if anything looks suspicious, they do a soft pull.

Everbank does soft credit inquiries and does not use ChexSystems.

Want to know which ones do hard credit inquiries on checking accounts?

ING does a hard credit inquiry on new checking accounts, although long-time customers with a different type of account are likely eligible without an inquiry.

Ally Bank also does a hard credit inquiry on new checking accounts, and went even further to tell me that in order to qualify, a credit score of 600 or better is needed.

Want to know if what your ChexSystems report looks like? Tomorrow I’ll detail what it takes to get a free report and what is included.

Readers, does knowing this make you less likely to open an account with ING or Ally? Is the hard credit inquiry worth it?

Growing up in Boston and being a New York fan was great for most of my life. Then something happened the last 6 or 7 years that flipped everything around. So you know I was a huge Lakers fan this week (and over the past month I have also been a huge Miami fan, a huge Orlando fan, and a huge Cavs fan, too.)

So it was very pleasing to see the Celtics lose on a night when the Lakers were at their worst. Kobe couldn’t shoot for most of the game, and the Celtics still found a way to blow it. Makes me proud.

My links have nothing to do with the NBA, but I wanted to rant about the Celtics lack of skill one last time before the off-season.

This week’s links are pretty amazing, I’m excited to share them with you.

Jim from Bargaineering shares seven money lies from monopoly. It’s a fun read about something I never put even an ounce of thought into, but Jim did a great job coming up with everything. And if you look carefully at the comments, you’ll see where I came up with Thursday’s post.

Remember when employers started making crazy assumptions? G.E. Miller of 20 Something Finance has an article about how some employers won’t even give you a look if you are currently unemployed. Talk about unfair!

Len Penzo shares a funny store (with a great title) about the dangers of being too picky on Priceline. I understand why they do this: otherwise people would start really low and inch their way up until they finally got accepted. So if you’re looking to use Priceline, be careful an go low, but not too low!
*unless you have several weeks to wait before making a decision.

Finally, one sports related article: Frugal Zeitgeist writes about ways to stay frugal during the World Cup. Instead, I say go all out! You only get to do it once a year, so grab all the snacks you can get, buy drinks for everyone when we score, and go USA!