Four great tools for furnishing a summer house on the cheap

At this stage of the summer (well, summer doesn’t REALLY arrive until June 21), many city dwellers are starting to head out to warm-weather weekend retreats — and realizing that the interiors need serious attention. But who wants to spend a bundle redoing a summer house, especially if the place is just a simple cottage?

If you’d rather save your money for more important things — yet refuse to live amid water-stained throw rugs, ratty upholstery, and shorted-out lamps — check ..read more

Just how big is the health care reform law?

True to the cliche, it makes a pretty good doorstop:

Photo by Ryan Mesina

Whenever big legislation that changes the tax code is passed, the nice folks at CCH send MONEY a bound copy of the new law, along with their explanation of how it will work. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is long enough to require two volumes, one for the law itself (plus a committee report) and another for CCH’s explanation.

The length of this bill became an argument ..read more

More Money Thursday roundup: What a bad credit score can cost you & the best (and worst) cities for car repair

Personal finance from around the Web:

Think your credit score doesn't mean much? Think again. Over your lifetime, a poor one could cost you $200,000. [It's Your Money] If you live in Chicago and need your car fixed, good luck. You'll need it. AutoMD.com sent mystery shoppers to car repair shops in 50 markets to rank which ones had the fairest quotes. The cities with the lowest rankings — based affordability, price variation and shop integrity — were Chicago, Honolulu and ..read more

More Money Thursday roundup: What a bad credit score can cost you & the best (and worst) cities for car repair

Personal finance from around the Web:

Think your credit score doesn't mean much? Think again. Over your lifetime, a poor one could cost you $200,000. [It's Your Money] If you live in Chicago and need your car fixed, good luck. You'll need it. AutoMD.com sent mystery shoppers to car repair shops in 50 markets to rank which ones had the fairest quotes. The cities with the lowest rankings — based affordability, price variation and shop integrity — were Chicago, Honolulu and ..read more

More Money: Friday roundup: part-time workers & waiting on estate planning

Personal finance from around the Web:

The official unemployment rate fell in January to 9.7%, but a new study finds 6.4% of workers have taken part-time jobs because they can't find full-time employment. Unemployment is so bad in many places that insolvent state unemployment insurance trust funds have borrowed more in this recession than they did during 1981 and 1982. [Boston Herald, ProPublica] The Federal Reserve policy of buying up mortgage-backed securities is widely believed to have kept mortgage rates close to ..read more

More Money Friday roundup: Cheap iPhone calls & a recession debate

Personal finance from around the Web:

Commerce Department figures for fourth-quarter 2009 GDP may signal the end of the recession. [The Washington Post] Unfortunately, other indicators suggest the recession may not be over… [Calculated Risk] Amid the excitement accompanying the release of the iPad (check out how Apple's new tablet computer stacks up against the Kindle and netbooks), AT&T and Apple enable VoIP calls over the 3G network, a huge savings on domestic and foreign calls. [PCWorld | Gadgetwise] Starting June, the Treasury Department ..read more

iPhone app makes homebuying easier

Shopping for a house? If you’re one of the few people out there actually looking for a new home (okay, I live in South Florida, so I’m bitter), Realtor.com introduced a cool new iPhone app on Wednesday .

I’ve used Realtor.com's main website before, plugging in my zip code and a bunch of characteristics to see what homes are selling for in my neighborhood. This free iPhone app, called Home Search, uses GPS to produce a map of houses for sale ..read more

More Money Monday roundup: Bag taxes & cheap cures for the cold

Personal finance from around the Web:

Economists at the American Economic Association's annual meeting agree that a bleak job market and a disappointing real estate sector will prevent US growth in the coming decade. [Reuters] Bad news for the waiters and taxi drivers expecting big tips at that above-mentioned economists' convention: Economists are some of the world's biggest cheapskates. [It's Your Money via WSJ] Let's be honest here: The District of Columbia's new five-cent "fee" on shoppers' paper and plastic bags isn't ..read more

More Money Wednesday roundup: Cool books & hot REITs

Personal finance from around the Web:

According to First American Fund’s John Wenker, REITs are hot tamales, despite the commercial real estate market being a bust. [InvestmentNews] Stressed out about money? Your kids are stressed about it too, and it may be you that's making them panic. [Devil in the Details] One of the Twitter founders, Jack Dorsey, is offering a new product that lets you accept credit card payments with your iPhone. Cool, eh? [PC World] Start your holiday shopping early: Buy ..read more