At a time when “job security” has become an oxymoron, wouldn’t it be nice to generate some income apart from your 9-to-5 job, especially if it didn’t take a ton of time? And what if that other source of income could be done from home, didn’t require you to hit up your friends and neighbors […]
Archive | Miscellaneous
The Art of Simple Living
Not long ago, a friend went through his closet and gave away literally half of his clothes. Rather than missing the items, he said life felt less complicated. Instead of feeling deprived, he felt freed up. Jane Hammerslough, author of Dematerializing: Taming the Power of Possessions, describes how a roof repair gone wrong forced her […]
Money Lessons for New Grads
Congrats to the graduating college class of 2011. Since most of the money management lessons I’ve learned since college have come about by making mistakes, here’s my attempt at sparing you the pain. Find a Mentor. Once you find a job, notice who’s doing what you’d like to be doing in five or ten years. […]
The Right Way to Recycle
We live in a disposable goods world. There are disposable razors, disposable cell phones, disposable diapers, and more. “Disposable” sounds so convenient, so harmless. However, as we all know, disposable usually means “headed for the landfill.” With Earth Day coming up (April 22), this seems like an appropriate time to conider how to properly dispose […]
A Love Letter Like No Other
With the hype that surrounds each holiday, it’s easy to get jaded and miss all that’s good about the occasion. This year, what helped me focus on the best parts of Valentine’s Day was rereading one of the most powerful love letters I’ve ever come across. Union Army Major Sullivan Ballou wrote the letter to […]
The Best Books I Read in 2010
I love to read. It’s a passion I’m sure I picked up from my parents who always had a stack of books on their nightstands. Since I spend so much of my day focused on financial topics, I prefer to read on other topics in my spare time. However, even in the following list of […]
When Financial Protection May Cause Harm
I had to reread the first couple of paragraphs of the story to make sure I had read them correctly. Sure enough, the Wall Street Journal article said that a surprisingly high 75 percent of people have opted in for overdraft protection coverage from their bank or credit union. In effect, such people have chosen […]
Google Hangs Up On GOOG-411
As of today, Google’s free telephone directory assistance service, GOOG-411, is no more. Launched in 2007, the voice-recognition service allowed for free directory assistance calls for business listings by calling 1-800-GOOG-411. Just say the name of the business you’re looking for, and the city and state where it’s located, and the service would connect you […]
Keeping Your Kids Safe From ID Theft
Many of today’s kids are online even before they’re born, debuting with their sonogram pictures posted on their parents Facebook pages or blogs. Is there a danger to sending too much of your kids’ info into cyberspace? Internet security experts say yes. According to an article on Consumer Reports’ Money Blog, posting your kids’ birth […]
You – in 30 Seconds
If you own your own business or work in sales, you’ve probably been encouraged to come up with an “elevator speech,” a short, compelling description of what you have to offer. It’s also a great tool for anyone looking for a new job. Mashable recently offered solid advice about nailing your elevator speech. Its focus […]