March 2009

Splurge

March 31, 2009

So I’ve made it out of Africa and my wallet can already feel it. With a week off to recover from two months on the road I’ve been spending a bit more liberally than I would otherwise. Additionally it was my mom’s 60th Birthday celebration this past weekend and I ended up treating for a [...]

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Wealth Building After The Basics

March 31, 2009

Every ones personal financial situation is different. Some people are in a position where they are still getting on top of their money, others are in better shape. So, for many people the question is after you’ve got the basics nailed down – where do you go after that? For example, after you’ve paid off [...]

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Where’s Bernie Madoff When You Need Him?

March 31, 2009

Great. It looks like the Social Security fund is out of money. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the social security surplus will be about 3 billion in 2010, and that’s probably too high a figure. Obviously any social security reform would be highly controversial, and most likely working Americans wealth will take a big [...]

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Can’t Stop Spending? – Make it Hard to Access Your Money

March 30, 2009

Hi All, Sometimes personal finance is all about managing psychology. For some reason, Americans tend to have a love affair with spending and the way we organize our money, accounts, etc. often facilities this. So, if you are having a rough time talking yourself out of spending, you might consider changing how you’re holding onto [...]

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Pay Down Debt or Build Up Emergency Fund?

March 29, 2009

Hi All, Being a personal finance aficionado is a bit like being a reformed alcoholic. A lot of people “hit rock bottom” before they really get interested in cleaning up their financial act. So, if you’ve “hit rock bottom” and found the motivation to clean up your act, you might be wondering if you should [...]

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Geithner PPIP Plan Is Just More Cash for Trash

March 28, 2009

Hi All, Sometimes we Americans may expect too much from our public officials. I’ve had a chance to digest the latest Geithner plan a little bit. Its looking more and more like a clever retread of last September’s famous “cash for trash” plan advanced by former secretary Paulson. The plan, euphemistically called the Public-Private Investment [...]

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Give Back the AIG Bonus, Pay 130%

March 28, 2009

Those AIG guys just can’t win. The TaxProf Blog has reviewed two analysis of the recent anti-AIG bonus legislation. According to some commentators, people receiving AIG money will still need to calculate their taxable income assuming the bonus was received. Considering that the Alternative Minimum Tax is implemented and accounting for the impact of state [...]

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Is the U.S. An Oligarchy?

March 28, 2009

Hi All, In light of the long string of bailouts and Federal interventions on behalf of big business and the financial sector last September, some of you may have been wondering why Washington keeps getting involved, despite the mixed results? Well, according to Simon Johnson’s recent piece in The Atlantic Monthly, the financial sector has [...]

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Social Networking for Very Rich

March 27, 2009

Hi All, The Wall Street Journal’s blog has a great interview with Scott Mitchell, CEO of affluence.org, a social networking site for people with over three million dollars in net worth. If you have some spare time, check out the interview. Its interesting for its quick glimpses into the world of the very rich. At [...]

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The Low Interest Debt Debate

March 26, 2009

Hi All, There is a very good posting at a blog I read quite frequently called The Simple Dollar. The blogger there, Trent, discussed his families decision to get a car loan even though they had enough to pay for the car with cash. For some reason, the decision stuck in my head. While I [...]

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