Clothes Make the Woman

The economy doesn’t appear to be getting any better any time soon. We’ve all cut back. Life’s simple luxuries, such as my daily Starbucks fix and weekly hair appointments, have given way to free office coffee and stretching that hair appointment out another week. 
The same applies for clothing.  No matter the circumstance you must continue [...]

Children are Priceless, Raising Them Is Not

Time Magazine reports on a recent birth rate study detailing a 2 percent drop in 2008 of  U.S. birth rates, apparently the biggest drop in four decades.  Why?  Kids aren’t cheap and the economy has proven to be an effective contraceptive.
Nancy Gibbs at Time reports:
…a typical family will spend about $221,000 raising a child [...]

What’s Your (Career) Fallback Position?

Millions of Americans are jobless, and millions more fear they may soon join the ranks of the unemployed as well. Even workers who already have jobs may consider getting evening or weekend training and certification to prepare themselves for these “fallback careers” or “survival jobs”. These certificate programs at trade schools and community colleges may [...]

Homeownership No Longer Building Black Middle Class

Kai Wright, writing in the liberal American Prospect, discusses home ownership as the foundation for black middle class and the imploding mortgage crisis’ effect on it, all told through the lens of his mother’s own foreclosure experience:
For years, scholars have primarily turned to one of three measures to identify the middle class: occupation, income, and [...]

Personal Finance Roundup

Maximize Your Dollar at the Movies: Smart Money outlines 9 ways to save on movie tickets. Remember when tickets were only $5? And it doesn’t even begin to cover popcorn and drinks. And is it me, or are the small drinks humongous already? Now we’re back to clipping coupons (remember the Entertainment Book?) and looking [...]

Applying for a Credit Card? Some Points to Ponder

Credit cards can seem -to some – an answer to their prayers. But the truth is, if you can’t manage your personal finances to begin with, credit cards will get you into greater debt and cause more problems than they solve.
A few points on credit card debt:

Credit card debt has increased significantly in the past [...]

Noteworthy

The Check is in the Mail: Beginning today, it will cost 44 cents to mail a letter.  This begs the question, how much longer until mail service becomes obsolete.  CNN reports:
First-class mail will now cost 44 cents for the first ounce. Large envelopes cost twice that, 88 cents. Mailing a postcard will cost 28 cents.  [...]

Superman Needed

Jamal Simmons writes in today’s Politico on the need for financial superheroes: In sports, as in politics, people like to root for and against a team. That tendency helps college basketball soar in popularity during March Madness because avid fans and casual observers alike cheer for the teams that will help them win that office pool. Americans similarly root for President Barack Obama, as evidenced by his high poll numbers, as he takes on Rush Limbaugh and the Republican naysayers in Congress.

Understanding the Banking Crisis

Kudos to anyone who isn’t in the banking or investment industry that understands it. I have tried to keep up but by the time I think I’ve got it, something new pops. And given I only have a couple of pennies to my name and those are hidden under my mattress, I’ve decided perhaps that ignorance is bliss….at least for a day and then I once again start sorting through the business section (perhaps not so much now at the Washington Post) trying to decipher the health of the world economy.

Getting Schooled

Perhaps my favorite portion of President Obama’s address to Congress was when he cautioned American schoolchildren and challenged all Americans to “get schooled.”

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