Friday News Roundup

This is the first installment of my weekly news roundup. Let me know if there are any articles you think are important for expats or personal finance!

Suze Orman's Save Yourself Promotion with TD Ameritrade - from Barganeering - an offer which has apparently been going on for a while. The offer is that if you set up direct withdrawals from your account and put in at least $100 every month, at the end of 12 months you can get an extra $100 from them. It says you must be a U.S. resident, but I'm willing to bet it will work for citizens living abroad and banking back home.

* Wisebread's reviews of paid survey websites. As you already know, I think survey websites are an okay way to earn some extra money, especially while abroad - I'll be sure to check out some of the ones I haven't already registered for.

* The US Dollar is getting weaker. Bad for the US, good for us abroad! I know I almost had a heart attack a few weeks ago when I saw the exchange rates, where the US dollar was hitting record highs.

* Slate's commentaries on ways to network, including one man's desperate attempts to get a job. More reasons why jobs abroad could not only solve a present unemployment problem but also help you stand out at jobs later in life (I've added emphasis):


According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an unemployed person in this recession will remain jobless for about five months. Competition for the few available jobs is rough; every position is met with hundreds or thousands of applications. Stearns is just an extreme example of what's become a mantra for employment consultants these days: When you're looking for a job, do whatever you can to make yourself stand out.

* Kiplinger's 10 Financial Commandments for your 20s (or 30s) care of Get Rich Slowly. I love that this includes commandments like "have fun" and "have a marketable skill" - both of which I'm trying to develop myself!