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

Spending Zero Dollars and Drinking at Bars

Last Thursday, my sister met up with some friends for drinks downtown.  It was supposed to be a low-key evening on a patio, but things quickly got out of hand.  For starters, she opened a tab at the bar and started ordering rounds for her friends.  She quickly lost track of how much she had [...]

September 10, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: A Night Out, Cheap Thrills, Lessons From My Family, New Spending Habits, Spending Zero Dollars  No Comments

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

Think Before You Spend: Using WEALTH as a Guide

Hair woes for one contributor at Get Rich Slowly resulted in a handy acronym that she shared in this post.  Here is how the acronym works.  Before you make a purchase, think about the following factors and decide whether you truly need the item:

Want or Need
Ego
Add-ons
Lifestyle
Time

Happiness

The contributor created this acronym after splurging on a new [...]

August 18, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Money News, Want vs. Need  No Comments

Frugal Summer Reading

It seems that publishing has caught up with our view of the economy and spending habits.  Gone are the days of “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and “Sex and the City”.  Here is a list of new fiction for today’s frugal women:

Hedge Fund Wives by Tatiana Boncompagni
Social Lives by Wendy Walker
The Penny Pinchers Club by Sarah [...]

August 17, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Cheap Thrills, New Spending Habits  No Comments

Ouch, Medical Bills

I knew I shouldn’t have checked the mail today.  I’ve been having some health problems recently.  Nothing horrible, but enough that I’ve seen my physician and a specialist four times in the past month.  I just received some bills in the mail from their offices.  Apparently my health insurance doesn’t completely cover the procedures I [...]

August 15, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, My Progress, bills  One Comment

What If Something Bad Happens? Part Three

So let’s assume the worst, because it’s fun.  If I lose my job tomorrow, I wouldn’t be able to pay down my debt, pay my monthly bills, or even afford food.  And I might not even see any unemployment checks from the state any time soon.  Basically, I would go completely broke pretty quickly.  But [...]

August 10, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Credit Cards, Money News  No 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