[Update on Sept. 5, 2009] After evaluating the alternatives, I discovered a way to automatically download the transactions and price quotes and feed them to Money after Microsoft pulls the plug. See follow-up posts Replacing Microsoft Money, Part 5: OFX Scripts and Download Price Quotes to Microsoft Money After Microsoft Pulls the Plug. This is […]
Replacing Microsoft Money, Part 1: Requirements
[Update: After evaluating the alternatives, I discovered a way to automatically download the transactions and price quotes and feed them to Money after Microsoft pulls the plug. See follow-up posts Replacing Microsoft Money, Part 5: OFX Scripts and Download Price Quotes to Microsoft Money After Microsoft Pulls the Plug.] Back in June 2009, Microsoft announced […]
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 […]
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. […]
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. […]
Stories from Strapped: Paycheck
This is part 2 in the Strapped series. See also: Strapped: College Education Chapter 2 in Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead is Paycheck Paralysis. It says the younger generation can’t get ahead because they don’t get good jobs. They have become Bouncers, Jugglers, Tempsters, and the Pajama Class. The stories are […]
What a Recession Feels Like
I rented from Netflix the documentary Roger & Me by Michael Moore. This is the first film by Michael Moore which made his name. Whether or not you agree with Michael Moore’s liberal point of view, the film offered a good reminder of what a recession feels like. In case you haven’t seen it (the […]
The Missing Name on Forbes 400 List
Forbes released its annual list of 400 richest Americans last week. There is one prominent name missing on the list. His name is John Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group. Mr. Bogle started Vanguard in 1975. Vanguard created the first index fund for retail investors a year later. Today, Vanguard manages over $1 trillion assets. [Update in 2015: $3 […]
Settle for Good Enough
I came to know the book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by coincidence when I read an article on New York Times on a plane. I wrote about that article in Opt In or Opt Out: The Power of the Default Option. After a long wait I finally got this book from […]
Maxed Out: Documentary About Debt in America
I watched a documentary Maxed Out on DVD over the weekend. It’s about debt in America, especially credit card debt. It featured people who are in debt, people who lost their loved ones to debt, a Harvard Law School professor, Dave Ramsey, debt collectors, a pawn shop owner, and many other people involved in debt […]