So my cubicle neighbor Casey Common alerted me to this ironic and sad AP story earlier today about socially responsible investing stalwart Pax breaking its ethics code and investing in industries that clients explicitly want to avoid such as oil and gas exploration, gambling, and alcohol. Geez Louise, Pax, that’s why investors picked you in the first place! What’s next, are you going to give money to the NRA?

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I read Brett Arends’ WSJ column today with interest: A Tip for Overseas Travelers– Leave your Cell Phone at Home.

Anyone traveling abroad this summer must be reeling from shock. Places like Europe were expensive even in the old days. And that was before the Almighty Dollar had become the Yankee Peso.

But your biggest sticker shock may not come until you get home and open your cellphone bill.

How true. When Matt and I went to Mexico in February, we lost our car keys.

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It’s no secret that I’m a gal with a lot of credit cards. I’ve opened them up over the years to take advantage of various credit card offer. I use the trio with the best rewards and the others gather dust.

In the past year, we’ve had a 0 percent offer on purchases on a particular card. We’ve carried a balance of anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousands dollars on that card and always had close to that amount racking up interest in a high-yield online savings account. Then when the balance got too big for my liking, I paid it down with the money in the savings account.

In recent weeks, I’ve been mulling over a particular credit card deal that came to my husband offering him 15 months of 0 percent interest not only on purchases but also on a balance transfer sans fee. That’s rare. We could finally buy that flat-screen TV we’ve been wanting and discussing for much too long (sometimes indulging in a want is probably worth it just to stop the constant discussion of whether or not you should give in). I could also buy last minute tickets to my cousin’s wedding (check out the NWA Last Minute Packages and Lastminute.com). Then we’d pay off the purchases over the next year.

It sounds smart– leveraging someone else’s money and profiting from it until reckoning day. But the problem is it encourages spending that I’m not sure we’d indulge in if it weren’t for the credit card deal.

How about you? Do you take advantage of 0 percent credit offers to buy things you’d otherwise have to wait to buy, to leverage the credit limit to earn interest, or to act as a safety net?

I had lunch with a group of financial advisers today who want to figure out if there’s a way to profitably serve clients with lower incomes or investment account balances. They typically work with clients who have hundreds of thousands to invest.

The conversation kept returning to two questions: How much are advisers willing to earn to work with the less than affluent? and How much are we willing to pay for that relationship?

Some people pay $100+ for cable and internet $40+ to work out each month. You’d think a relationship with a fee-based financial planner who picks your investment mix, helps you with your will, gives you tips on mortgages and balances your budget would be worth at least that, right?

How much would you pay to have a qualified financial planner at the ready? $150 an hour? 1 percent of your salary? “Free” advice thrown in from your stock-picker? $0 because you can do just as well on your own?

And if you have an adviser, how much do you pay and is it worth every penny?

From Laura P. at  FatWallet.com:

Post a Hot Deal, Get a Free T-Shirt.

My desk is buried under bins full of FatWallet T-Shirts. And I need your help.

The first 1000 members to post a Hot Deal receive one free FatWallet T-shirt each. When you post a deal, I get to walk one of these sweet Ts out of my office to shipping and receiving (better known as Debbie) where it will be whisked away via USPS to you, our valued member.

To Get Your Free T
1.Post your Hot Deal
– If after 24 hours, your smokin’ deal is rated positive (above 0) by the FatWallet community –
2.You will receive PM and/or email notification of your deal’s eligibility, linking you to the page where you claim your prize (give us your address)
3.You should receive your kick butt T-shirt within 10 days of submitting your shipping information. One T-shirt per member

Challenge! Members who post a Hot Deal from a FatWallet Cash Back merchant will receive the exclusive, previously unreleased “I am the Revolution” FatWallet T-shirt (while supplies last ‘cuz these shirts rule)!

Eligibility
· Deal must have a positive rating 24 hours after being submitted
· The usual Hot Deal criteria (Hot Deals FAQ : No reposts, no spam, compare your price, forum guidelines…) apply
· Only Deals from a FatWallet Cash Back merchant qualify for the “I am the revolution” FatWallet T-shirt
· Limit one T-shirt per FatWallet.com member per promotion
· Eligible deals posted after 7/22/08 12:00 a.m., CST
· While supplies last