Posted May 4, 2009 - 12:59 by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance, Frugal Living
Preventing a collapse of the financial system is part of preventing a depression. However, the shorthand term for this--getting the banks able and willing to lend--is misleading. There are plenty of banks that can lend. The problem is the borrowers: Those that could be counted on to repay their debts are mostly uninterested in borrowing, and those who want to borrow probably can't afford to take on more debt. That's the truth about the fix we're in. There are, however, two ways to fix it.
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Posted April 15, 2009 - 04:24 by WC Porter
Personal Finance, Making Extra Cash, Budgeting
Buying a new computer can be a pretty scary expense to shell out for. But by saving beforehand without dipping into your savings or into your weekly paycheck takes all the guilt out of the buying process. The best part? You can use this to buy just about anything...
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Posted February 20, 2009 - 06:36 by Philip Brewer
Frugal Living, Consumer Affairs
We're subjected to constant barrage of unhelpful advice to the effect that what the economy needs is more spending. (The stimulus program is one piece of this.) It's kind of understandable: A recession is all about the downward spiral of people buying less, forcing businesses to shrink, putting people out of work, so that they spend even less. The cure, though, is not just a bunch of extra spending. The cure is to get the economy to the right size.
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Posted January 15, 2009 - 23:00 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Lifestyle, Art and Leisure
During the Christmas break my husband and I went to dinner with some of his friends from high school. One couple we spoke with told us that they are trying to save money for a down payment on a home and one thing they did was that they canceled their subscription to a massively multiplayer online role playing game called World of Warcraft. My husband then responded that he actually saved money when he was playing World of Warcraft, and here are the reasons why.
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Posted November 13, 2008 - 06:54 by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance, Frugal Living
Wise Bread is stuffed almost to bursting with suggestions on how to live large on a small budget. We've got suggestions on how to spend less, how to earn more, and how to take control of your finances and your career. There are certain suggestions, though, that trigger a particular kind of negative reaction: The one where people say, "I'm not the sort of person who" does whatever it is that we've suggested. It turns out that lots of people think that way. Don't do that.
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Posted October 24, 2008 - 13:27 by Xin Lu
Frugal Living, General Tips, Consumer Affairs
In the current economic climate, everyone is trying to save a buck. I know some families that have budgets so tight that there is no room for saving, but I think it is possible for most of us to cut our expenses by negotiating with the vendors we deal with everyday. For example, here are five places anyone could call right now to possibly save hundreds to thousands of dollars.
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Posted October 22, 2008 - 06:37 by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance
How much money is there in the economy to borrow? Well, if you don't have foreigners lending you large amounts of money, and you don't have central banks creating large amounts of money, then the amount of money available to be borrowed each year is roughly equal to the amount of money saved.
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Posted October 16, 2008 - 13:48 by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance
My wife spotted this book at the library and brought it home, suggesting (based on the title) that it might be a sort of anti-Wise Bread that I could read and mock. When I started reading it though, I found it wasn't. In fact, it's an outstanding personal financial book: It offers the best framework for analyzing household finances of any book I've read.
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Posted September 26, 2008 - 09:09 by Paul Michael
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Shopping, Food and Drink, Budgeting, Consumer Affairs, General Tips
I remember saying to my dad, a long, long time ago, that I really needed a whole bunch of He-Man action figures for Christmas. Oh, and Battlecat, too. My dad looked at me, a hopeful 10-year old with big cow eyes, and said “no, you don’t need them…you want them.” It went over my head. How could he not know I needed them? Now, as an adult living in a country that’s in economic turmoil, his words resonate more than ever.
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Posted September 11, 2008 - 20:08 by Andrea Dickson
Personal Finance, Consumer Affairs
WaMu on the way out? Also, learn to control your ego as a means to control your spending. Bulk buying makes sense for people who plan ahead. There's no shame in bargaining - learn to do it right. What Consumer Reports gets wrong. Inner peace the easy way.
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