There are enough chaos in the financial markets. I’m not going to post anything related to investing this week. There’s plenty to read and digest about Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and AIG. I believe all eyes are on WaMu now. Should a business stand firm on its price matching policy? That’s the question for today. […]
Latest Blog Posts
Nudge: Econs, Humans, and Choice Architecture
At the end of a previous post, Stories from Strapped: Debt, I asked, How do you make people do the right thing for themselves? This new book Nudge, by University of Chicago professors Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, addresses exactly that question. Here’s a 8-minute video of the authors talking about this book. I find […]
Recession and Wii
I want to buy a Wii. I played a Wii at my sister’s place and I liked it. Now I want to buy one but I can’t find one. Except on eBay, where it’s sold above MSRP, the Wii is out of stock everywhere. When they come into stock, the units are sold out immediately. […]
A Non-Deductible IRA Is Worth It For Me
In Alternatives to a High Cost 401k Or 403b Plan , I mentioned non-deductible IRA as one of the options. If you are not eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA, you can still contribute to a Traditional IRA. Even though the contributions are not tax deductible, the money in the IRA still grows tax […]
The Cost of Being Green
I love the Om Money column in the Yoga Journal magazine. It’s the first thing I read in every issue. The column features a question from a reader answered by two money experts. A previous column prompted me to write Unsure About Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) last year. Here’s another good question in the September […]
Stories from Strapped: Conclusion
Are you glad the Stories from Strapped series is finally coming to an end? In the last five weeks, we read some stories in the book Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead by Tamara Draut. Stories from Strapped: College Education Stories from Strapped: Paycheck Stories from Strapped: Debt Stories from Strapped: Housing […]
Stories from Strapped: Child Care
This is part 5 in the Stories from Strapped series. Previous posts in the series are: Stories from Strapped: College Education Stories from Strapped: Paycheck Stories from Strapped: Debt Stories from Strapped: Housing Chapter 5 in Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead by Tamara Draut is And Baby Makes Broke. Basically the […]
Stories from Strapped: Housing
This is part 4 in the Stories from Strapped series. Previous posts in the series are: Stories from Strapped: College Education Stories from Strapped: Paycheck Stories from Strapped: Debt Chapter 4 in Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead by Tamara Draut is The High Cost of Putting a Roof Over Your Head. […]
Sending a Small Amount of Money Overseas
For reasons I won’t go into details, I need to send US$100 to someone in Mexico. I’m not in a big hurry. The money doesn’t have to be there in minutes or hours, but I don’t want it to take weeks or months either. Obviously I’m interested in reliability and cost, both in fees and […]
Stories From Strapped: Debt
How do you like the stories from Strapped series so far? These stories get better and better. Previous posts in the series are: Stories from Strapped: College Education Stories from Strapped: Paycheck Chapter 3 in Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead is Generation Debt. I think we all know what that means. […]