Money Today That Matters Tomorrow
[Update for June 2010 Beige Book] Economic activity continued to improve since the last report across all twelve Federal Reserve Districts, although many Districts described the pace of growth as “modest.” Consumer spending and tourism activity generally increased. Business spending also rose, on net, with employment and capital spending edging …
Having completed six hectic and successful months on this blog, I have been reflecting on some of the aspects around this part time hobby/activity that is becoming more serious for me by the day. My last weekly blogging post looked at the characteristics required for successful blogging, and this week …
The Wall Street Journal brings a quirky story on the “Time Share” dog concept. For those who love pets, but cannot deal with them full time, travel a lot or cannot manage the expenses around owning a pet, this could be the next best thing to owning one. I would …
I have received a lot of good and bad financial advice over the last few years and it is hard to categorize which advice was the best. However, one piece of advice that does come to mind and which I received early in my investing days, is to ensure I …
With the latest Democrat tax proposals, a growing national debt and continued increases in government spending, taxes are going up sooner or later. Despite all the political mutterings, rising taxes seem a certainty. Tax hikes will be rising to finance our high national debt and to pay for long term …
Here is a short story I wrote in my journal a few years ago covering how I successfully made money from my Math tutoring (part-time) job. This got me to thinking on how my approach to tutoring paralleled my current success in personal finance blogging. Following the guest post excerpt, …
Submitting my US Citizenship papers was a big step for me as I adopted this country as my permanent home. Something I feel very proud to do. It had taken about 7 years since I started the immigration process to finally becoming eligible and submitting for citizenship, with the biggest …
Reverse mortgages are becoming an increasingly popular financing offering with our aging baby boomer population, looking for ways to unlock the value from their homes. Simply defined, reverse mortgages are a special type of home loan that lets a homeowner convert a portion of the equity in his or her …
The financial media are again harbingers of more doom and gloom today, citing a Barron’s article and host of so called “experts” predicting that the financial crisis is not only far from over but could actually get much worse, bringing more big shocks to the US economy and stock markets. …
A colleague recently sent me a WSJ article covering a new calculator on the Social Security’s administration’s web site that gives a much-improved picture of what social security benefits could look like in retirement. This calculator is all part of a major upgrade of the Social Security Administration’s systems and …
The online WSJ recently ran a piece on the rising costs of bankruptcy: Individuals who have filed for bankruptcy protection since Congress overhauled U.S. bankruptcy laws in 2005 have faced a more expensive process as attorneys’ fees have risen by roughly half, according to a government report. In a report …
At some point in time most of us have been through periods where we lose interest in our jobs or our career. In fact, in a post-pandemic world this is being felt more keenly as people reassess their work/life priorities and a record number of people look to change their …
Dubai, the shining light of the Middle East, is going gangbusters. It has enjoyed two decades of rapid growth, going from a small desert city to a western society representation of the riches the Arab world has to offer. The economic growth has fueled strong demand for foreign workers and …
As oil prices drop the sense of relief is palpable for most consumers as they see sub $3 gas at he pump. Media headlines have also done an abrupt about turn, with headlines changing from “When will crude hit $200…” to “How fast can oil prices come down..”. The 20% …