A good practice when investing money in certificate of deposits (CDs) is to “ladder” your investment. You start out by purchasing several CDs with varying maturity dates, i.e., a one year CD, a two-year CD, and a three-year CD. As each CD matures, you would then reinvest the money into another 3-year CD. So every year for the next 6 years, one of your CDs will reach maturity. This practice will not only protect you against interest rate fluctuations, it will also give you the security of knowing that at least a portion of your investment will be available to you within a relatively short period of time.

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What does this have to do with paying high debt first? They jumped high and they’re high-fiving. Yeah it’s a stretch but I got nothing else.

Debt with the higher rate charge the most interest per dollar. The way to get out of debt most efficiently is to pay off the debt with the highest balance first. After that, tackle the next highest debt next and so on.

A lot of people will say to attack the lowest balance first but the numbers side with paying off the highest interest debt first. The reason people pay the lowest balance debt first is because one less bill makes them feel less burdened. You lose less money to interest by paying the highest rate debt first.

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The other day I was driving a familiar route (to the pub), and it dawned on me that I never make it through a certain light. If I’m driving the speed limit, I arrive at this light about 4 or 5 seconds after it turns red, so I’m always stuck there waiting for the majority of the red light. Instead of speeding 20 mph over the limit to make this light (and risking a ticket in the process), I decided to slow down and coast for a while (no, there wasn’t anybody behind me). My plan worked to perfection, and I reached the light just as it was turning green. It might not seem like much, but over a period of time, small actions like this can add up to save you a fair amount of money.

I think I read a study once that said stop-and-go driving can increase gas consumption by up to 33%. That means if gas costs $3.00 per gallon, you’re essentially paying $4.00 per gallon, as compared to an efficient driver. If you avoid quick stops and quick accelerations and try to drive at a steady pace, you can save a good deal of money without even trying.

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This picture would’ve been a lot more fun if it hit that fire hydrant instead.

Taking classes on how to drive a car can drive auto insurance costs down. A lot of auto insurance companies are offering discounts for people who invest in extra care safety education.

Not all companies do this. Ask your insurance agent about it. Inform the auto insurance company after you’re done taking the class or else you won’t get your discount. Keep your certification just in case the insurance company asks for proof.

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If you’ve ever booked a flight online before, you know how seemingly random airline prices can be. Sure, you can track the prices for a few days and buy when you feel like you’re getting a good deal, but wouldn’t it be nice if you could actually know with some degree of certainty that you are, in fact, paying a good price? Enter Farecast.

Farecast monitors a massive amount of airline pricing data, does some fancy statistical calculations, then tells you whether the current rate is a good one, or if it’s likely to drop in the future. Queries can be performed on flights up to 90 days in advance. It’s not a foolproof system by any means, but it sure beats the heck out guessing.

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Reduce your credit card interest rate in one easy step - call your credit card provider and ask nicely. Just make a phone call saying you’ve gotten some better offers from other credit card companies and you’re going to close your account if your rates aren’t lowered. The majority of the time your credit card company will give in to your demands, simply because the credit card industry has a lot of competition and it’s a whole lot easier to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one.

So if you want to lower your credit card interest rate, give it a shot. At worst, they’ll refuse and you’ll only lose a few minutes of your time. At best, you could get a major reduction in your interest rate.

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Bonus points if you can identify the guy behind the word bubble.

Newer cars are more reliable than older cars. Older cars are cheaper to buy. Thomas Stanley’s book “The Millionaire Next Door” says that a car that is 2-3 years old is a good buy to get a reliable car at the cheap purchase price.

Buy a used car that’s 2 years old. Let somebody else eat the steepest part of the depreciation curve. To save even more off the purchase price get a four year old car. This isn’t an exact formula. Different cars yield different depreciations. You need to research each individual purchase. One thing is certain: Buying a brand new car isn’t the best investment.

The Millionaire Next Door [Amazon]

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Avoid setting up a bi-weekly mortgage payment plan through your bank. A bi-weekly mortgage payment plan essentially means you make 13 mortgage payments (a half payment every other week for 52 weeks = 26 half payments = 13 whole payments) instead of the 12 mortgage payments you would be making if you paid once a month. The extra payment will go towards the principal, and will allow you to pay off your loan faster. Great, right? Sure, the savings from a bi-weekly payment plan can cut several years off of your mortgage payments, but it often comes at a price - a several hundred dollar enrollment fee, plus additional transaction fees.

If you are paid bi-weekly, you can achieve the same results of a bi-weekly mortgage payment plan (and avoid the fees) by taking half of your mortgage payment out of each check and placing it in a savings account. If you empty out this account every time a mortgage payment is due, you’ll be including the equivalent of an extra half-payment at least two times a year. Be sure to specify that the extra money should go towards the principal.

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If you’re buying a home, don’t use a home inspector referred by the home seller’s agent. The inspector and the agent are probably business partners. Their interests are aligned with the seller’s interests. Not yours. A seller’s home inspector might not point out the flaws in the house.

It’s probably safe to use a buyer’s broker home inspector recommendation. Be sure to get references from the inspector just to make sure he’s got sufficient training and experience.

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Take all you can get from your employer if they offer matching contributions on your 401(k). Contribute to your 401(k) up to the full company match. It’s not often someone gives you free money. Don’t turn it down.

Matching contributions work like this: You put a dollar into your 401(k) retirement account. Your company puts a dollar into your 401(k) account. That’s it. Keep in mind that there is usually an upper limit to the company match.

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