I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year. It’s been quite a year on the economic front. I hope you have weathered the storms! If you haven’t, may 2010 bring you new prosperity and great opportunities! Merry Christmas!!! On a separate but related note. I just checked outside and, unfortunately, Santa did not leave a new BMW or Lexus
Archives for 2009
Credit Card Rate Hits a New High: 79.9%
With the changing regulations on credit cards, banks are giving their card fees and rates a makeover. The latest bank to do that is First Premier Bank, which caters to the subprime market. Previously the bank charged a whopping $256 in first year fees for a credit line of just $250. Incredible. Now, due to changing regulations, they are capping their fees at the maximum
Shame on Me. Why I Definitely Won’t Use a Commercial Bank Again.
It didn’t take long for me to remember why I hate banks and love credit unions. In October, we finally bought my wife a car. She had been driving her Honda Accord for nearly 10 years and we decided now was the time to take advantage of great deals on cars. After doing a lot of research, we purchased a Honda CRV in October. While
Is it Human Nature to Want What We Do Not Have?
I was doing a little browsing and stumbled upon this graphic. There is a lot of truth to this simple comic. It’s rare to find someone who is satisfied with what they have. I’m no exception. I am always thinking of what I want next, where I want to go, what I’d like to do etc etc.. In the graphic, each person takes for granted
Hate The Changes to your Credit Card? Ditch the Bank for a Credit Union!
As I’ve said more than a few times on this blog, have you considered a credit union? CNNMoney has an article on their site today that points out some of the benefits to switching to a credit union if you are unhappy with some of the changes that banks are making to their credit cards. As regulations tighten on banks and financial institutions, they are
ELYM Top Tip: Homemade Snuggie With no Effort
For those of you that would love to have a Snuggie for Christmas but just don’t feel like parting with the $13, I’ve got a hot tip for you: Take any old fleece robe that you have in your closet and put in on backwards. Presto! It’s a homemade Snuggie. Happy Thanksgiving!
Ahhh, The Season of Buying STUFF Has Arrived
As the holiday season begins, I find myself feeling very thankful for a number of things. First off, I’m very, very thankful for my wonderful wife and amazing daughter. I’m also thankful that we have a roof over our heads, food on our table, and jobs to keep us humming along. I think this season feels much more real in terms of truly understanding what
Nicolas Cage Should Read Personal Finance Blogs
I’ve been lightly following Nicolas Cage’s money problems over the last few months. It’s always a little bit surprising to see someone who has clearly made many millions over his lifetime deal with such large financial problems that he’s forced to sell many of his assets. When you look at the assets that he has acquired, it starts to become pretty clear why he’s in
ELYM Update – Swine Flu Edition
I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I’ve been very busy at work making sure that I keep my spot on the competitive “large institution” roster. There has been a ton going on at work and it’s only going to get crazier as we end the year. On the home front things are smelling rather porkish. We knew it was only a matter of
What is the Unemployment Rate for Your Age, Sex, Education Level?
The New York Times has an absolutely top notch interactive feature that lets you look at unemployment rates for various demographics. While I sometimes find myself getting a bit stressed at how high the unemployment rate is, when I punch in my age, sex, race etc, I find that my unemployment rate is 3.9%. While that makes me feel a bit more at ease for