I come back to this theme because it goes so strongly against what I wish to be true. Research continues to dribble in that financial education does not help people make better financial decisions. Lauren Willis in Against Financial Literacy Education puts it this way: “The gulf between the literacy levels of most Americans and that [...]

First the punchline. China and India will achieve economic parity (i.e., average income per person) with the US in 2048 (i.e., around 40 years).  Hans Rosling (someone who knows how to use Powerpoint the right way) delivers a great talk on how he arrives at that number and a insightful look at the historical economic growth [...]

It has been a while since I posted a valuation chart.  Here is one that goes from 1924 to the present.

On Monday, May 11th postage rates are increasing.  This means any mail dropped off after the last pick up this weekend will be charged the new rate.  First class letter postage will be increasing from $0.42 to $0.44.  If you have forever stamps, they will be still be good at the new rate (hence the [...]

Taking the family skiing.  Wont be back until next month.

President Obama has released the Homeowner affordability and stability plan.  Here is a quick guide on who it helps and how. Refinancing If you have a loan that is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and your mortgage is for more than 80% and less than 105% of the current home value, you will [...]

People were supplementing their disposible income to the tune of 5% to 9% during the housing bubble.  This means $400 billion to $800 billion of annual spending that occurred from 2002 – 2007 has now been withdrawn from the economy. Job losses haven’t gotten as bad as the early eighties yet, but it looks like [...]

While “Googling” people’s names has been a common occurrence for some time now, new services are appearing to make the process of digging out information on people even easier. Pipl is an example of how far this technology has come.  Give it a try to see what people can easily discover about you.

Until January 15th you can pick up Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan book for free.  While I certainly don’t agree with everything she advocates, there is a lot of good advice in the book.

The Simple Dollar provides the following 18 tips for reducing wedding costs. Avoid guest list bloat. Ask for wedding help instead of wedding gifts. Have the ceremony at home, or outdoors. Do the catering yourself, or hire a family-owned restaurant. Go minimal with the flowers. Choose very personal books for groomsmen/bridesmaid gifts. Make your own [...]