Friday Grab Bag: The Video Week Edition

It's Friday again, and that means it's time for the weekly SpendOnLife grab bag! To wrap up SPL's Video Week, here are a few more must-see clips and commercials on credit. Enjoy!

Mainstreet Brigade

These guys have been in the news a lot, mainly because of the two entertaining, slightly edgy PSAs they've created. The first features ditzy, plastic-surgery-obsessed reality TV star Heidi Montag, who talks about the dangers of credit card interest. The second is a reunion of popular Saturday Night Live comedians playing Presidents, from Nixon to Obama. The Main Street Brigade's end goal with these viral videos? To rack up support for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency that regulates big banks and protects us everyday folks from tricks and traps.  

Budget happy

There are lots of ways to set up a budget, but as you can see from Kevin's video at No Debt Plan, it takes some effort and continuous maintenance throughout the month. But it's worth it. A well-maintained budget means you always know where your finances stand and how well you're sticking to your monthly budget. A lot of people may just rely on a site like Mint to track their monthly spending, but I find that creating a custom Excel doc tailored to your expenses and goals is the most effective, straightforward way to keep track of your money.

Magnets eat credit cards for breakfast

There's been some debate as to whether magnets can really make credit cards unreadable. Cynthia Drake over at CreditCards.com performed a Mythbusters-type experiment to get to the bottom of this mystery once and for all. Check out what she discovered by watching her rub credit cards against household refrigerator magnets, heavy-duty magnets, and finally a two-ton junkyard magnet. The results will surprise you!