Here’s an purported end-run on worrying about saving for retirement: spend some of those golden years in prison. The argument goes like this: Are you staring down the loaded barrel of ten or twenty years of old age on two months’ worth of living expenses? No family to take care of you? Well hey: If … Read more
I ran across this post on SavingAdvice.com which argues that it’s almost always a bad idea to talk about money outside of the family. This topic of conversation often leads to jealousy, feelings of superiority, pity, and offense, according to writer Jennifer Derrick. So, she feels the less said about money outside of the family, … Read more
Suze Orman needed to upgrade her leather jacket to a flak jacket tonight in a personal finance scrap match with personal finance bloggers over her new self-branded prepaid debit card. The Approved Card is her own personally-branded prepaid debit card with what appears to be a decent package of tools and features. The downsides, as … Read more
(And no, the answer is not to give $50/week allowance to a six year old!) Last week our minivan’s transmission bit the dust. (Thankfully it bit the dust in our driveway.) Over the next couple of days my wife and I discussed what to do: whether to fix our car, whether to buy a new-to-us … Read more
Most everyone knows that regular brushing and flossing helps to prevent cavities and more expensive restorations. Ounce of prevention and all that. There are so many benefits to having a healthy set of teeth that it’s difficult to argue against brushing. But here’s a different question. Do you know how to brush your teeth correctly? … Read more
Paying bills by mailing out checks was common when I was growing up (1970s and 1980s), but no longer. Now, most companies have the option to accept payment by credit card or ACH debit (and if they don’t, you wonder what’s wrong with them). Not only that, but you can make arrangements with the companies … Read more
This is a lighthearted response to JD Roth’s laundry agreement that he has with his wife. The sound-bite version of this fascinating agreement goes something like this: JD and his wife, Kris, have kept their finances separate throughout their marriage. JD despises doing laundry and would do it only if there were nothing clean left … Read more
J. Money, a.k.a. Budgets Are Sexy, posted a rather saddening story which took the form of a comment from one of his readers, Joe. I invite you to check it out, but here’s the gist of it: Joe is a healthy guy in his twenties, who just dug himself out of debt. Six months later, … Read more