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

My Fall Spending Relapse

Ok, so I have to admit that I’ve had a minor spending relapse over the past couple weeks.  I woke up bored on Labor Day, so I decided to go shopping with my sister.  We ended up making it an all day event with a break for lunch.  I think we hit up about four [...]

September 16, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Credit Cards, My Progress, New Spending Habits, Want vs. Need  No Comments

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

I’m Officially Out of Debt

At last!  I just paid my credit card balance down and paid back the personal loan that I borrowed from a friend.  I started seriously attacking my debt back in June.  I managed to pay down $4,700 in debt within three months.  Needless to say, I’m a little giddy right now.
I thought that getting rid [...]

August 28, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: My Progress, New Spending Habits, Spending Zero Dollars, Want vs. Need  One Comment

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

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

Frugal or Cheap?

I ran across this article yesterday and couldn’t help but think that the author is being cheap.  The article discusses various reasons why the author is not paying for her kids to go to college.  Tricky topic.  On one hand, she’s already sacrificed so much to her kids: time, money, energy, her career, the list [...]

August 6, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Frugal or Cheap?  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