Philip Brewer's blog

Foreign exchange class action settlement

Did you travel overseas between 1996 and 2006? Or, did you charge anything on a credit or debit card in a foreign currency? If so, be sure to claim your share of a class action s

You can be as happy as a Dane

Studies regularly find that Danish people are the happiest people in the world. At first glance, it looks like the conditions that make them that way aren't really available t

Manage your fixed expenses

When you think of people ruining their lives with foolish spending, it's easy to focus on the little things that add up--the meals out, the hefty bar tab, the daily Starbucks habit

Bankruptcy is a good thing

I don't mean that declaring bankruptcy is a good thing--obviously that sucks for everyone involved. But a system of bankruptcy is a good thing. It's good for creditors an

Doing without is often better than making do

For anything you might buy there are almost limitless choices. For purposes of argument, I'd like to group them into three categories: You can buy the best; you can buy some

Don't rely on credit for your emergency fund

There's a large group of financial advisors who suggest using credit in place of an emergency fund. That way, you can invest your entire portfolio for maximum return (such as

Book review: Supercapitalism

For most of the 20th century, capitalism and democracy seemed to go hand-in-hand. After all, every democratic country was largely capitalist and nearly every capitalist country wa

Let things go

Two of the unhappiest people I ever knew lived in the apartment below mine when I lived for two years in Salt Lake City. They acted as on-site managers--collected rent checks in

Strategies for households with more than one adult

The strategy for households with a single adult can be disposed of in the first paragraph: Earn enough money to buy everything your household consumes, plus provide through direct

A better way to create a budget

The only easy way to create a budget is to start with what you spent last month (and last year) and copy the numbers forward. If you don't do that, you're going to miss so

How to hire employees

I worked one place that was much, much better than anyplace else I ever worked. The guy who ran it told me that the secret was in how to hire people. Most managers do it the wron

Book review: In Defense of Food

The message of this book is simple: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Michael Pollan gives it away right at the start, so I don't feel too bad doing the sam

TurboTax: New features, and a chance to win a copy

The kind folks at Intuit have given us some free copies of TurboTax. I snagged one that I'm going to use to do my taxes, and once I'm done, I'll post a review and tell

Pay yourself last is okay too

Every book on personal finance says that you should pay yourself first--get the money out of your checking account and you won't even know it's missing. There's a lot o

Raise your standard of living by focusing your spending

Are you tired of reading the same frugality suggestions? I'm talking about the repeated exhortations to eat out less, turn off your cable, and stop buying expensive coffee dri

More than just inflation

With prices up, price statistics that look preposterous to anyone who shops, and the Fed trying to thread the needle of preventing a recession without letting inflation run out of

How to live with inflation

Of the various ills the economy can face, inflation is simultaneously the worst for society as a whole, and yet the easiest for individuals to deal with successfully. The strategi

How often do you get your paycheck?

One of the BlogHer featured posts talked about a mis-match between pay dates and credit card due dates. It reminded me of just how much I used to agonize over this issue, back bef

The line between frugal and crazy

You don't have to go very far down the path of being frugal to reach the point where people start questioning your sanity. (You bicycle to work? Even though you have a perfec

How much are memories worth?

I get a particular negative jolt when I review a credit card bill and find a charge for something that's already over and done--a meal already eaten, a vacation already taken,