Smart Guys Ruined Wall Street

Huh?  That was my reaction when I saw this in the New York Times today.  Check out the article, it’s pretty interesting.
“One of the speakers at my 25th reunion said that, according to a survey he had done of those attending, income was now precisely in inverse proportion to academic standing in the class, and [...]

October 14, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Money News  One Comment

Slight Change of Plans…

In about two weeks, my dad turns 60.  He has been planning to retire on his 60th birthday for about 2 years now.  To celebrate, he was going to tell off his boss, pack his bags, and take the family on a two week vacation to Europe (in that order).  Then during this past winter, [...]

August 24, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Lessons From My Family  No Comments

The Luxury of Laziness

One of my friends spends her entire Saturday morning shopping for groceries.  Each week, she scans the grocery ads that come in the mail, looking for deals.  Then she plans out which stores she will hit for these discounted items.  Grocery shopping takes her and her husband about 4 hours every weekend and they often [...]

August 12, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: DIY, Money News, My Progress, New Spending Habits, Spending Zero Dollars  No Comments

Could You Save $1,000 in 30 Days?

I read this post over at I Will Teach You to Be Rich.  I’m already trying to save about this much money each month, but could you?  If you needed to, could you completely give up luxuries like cable, internet, and an air conditioned house?
It’s an interesting challenge because it pits our love of saving [...]

August 5, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Money News, Spending Zero Dollars, Want vs. Need  2 Comments

Old Checking Accounts, New Overdraft Fees

Before you write your next check or make a debit purchase, you might want to check your account balance online.  Banks are adding new overdraft fees, and they don’t have to warn you.  According to the Smart Spending money blog, “bankers are hiking fees, adding new fees, and shortening time limits to trigger fees” and [...]

July 29, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Money News  No Comments

Trying to Balance My Budget

According to the balanced budget formula that I posted last week, I should be allocating my money in the following way:
50% Needs- $1200.  Subtract $500 a month for groceries, $50 for cell phone bill, $150 for utilities, $15 for recycling bill, $90 for car insurance, $65 for gasoline.  Left over?  $300.
30% Wants- $700
20% Savings- $500
When [...]

July 6, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Money News, My Progress, New Spending Habits, Want vs. Need  No Comments

How to Create a Balanced Budget

I read a really good article yesterday on Get Rich Slowly.  I’ve only been working my way out of debt for about a month now, but I wonder if I am already becoming obsessed with my finances.  I need to find a balance between avoiding my bank and credit card statements completely and analyzing them [...]

June 30, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Money News, My Progress, New Spending Habits  No Comments

Spending, the American Way

Well, this news is frightening.  We as a society are spending more than ever and saving next to nothing.  Check out The Debt Trap feature in the New York Times.  There are videos and stories from people trapped under a mountain of debt.  It is scary to think that I am just a job loss [...]

June 24, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Credit Cards, Money News  No Comments