Author Archive | Matt Bell

The average cell phone user–and there are 200 million of us in the U.S.–gets a new phone about every 18 months, according to a recent article on _MSN_. What becomes of the old ones? Tens of thousands of them, each one containing toxic materials, end up in landfills every day. Fortunately, there are alternatives that […]

Just reading the above headline may have made some readers break out in a nervous sweat. We love our cars. We need our cars. Or do we? The _Washington Post_ recently reviewed a new book, _How to Live Well Without Owning a Car,_ written to challenge our assumptions that we need our cars. Author Chris […]

For those with a desire to volunteer or donate to a good cause, but who are pressed for time, “Charity Guide”:http://www.charityguide.org may be of interest. According to a recent article in the _Chicago Tribune_, the organization’s web site lists 170 “flexible service projects”–everything from helping the homeless to protecting the environment–that can be done in […]

This month, as we remember the 9/11 terrorist attacks of five years ago, many people are reflecting on how life has changed since then and considering some of the lessons learned. While financial lessons are far from the most important takeaways, _Smart Money_ magazine recently summarized a few such lessons. First, don’t wait for a […]

In the last issue of _Matt About Money_ I said that co-signing for a credit card for your teenagers is a good way to give them real-world experience managing credit before heading off to college. A reader rightly pointed out that there are other, possibly better options as well. They include a debit card tied […]

It doesn’t take too many readings of the above headline, a standard phrase used to promote sales, to see its fallacy. However, buying things on sale makes all the sense in the world if an item we were going to buy anyway is on sale. Recent articles from “Smart Money”:http://www.smartmoney.com/consumer/index.cfm?story=20060824&src=fb&nav=RSS20 and the “Motley Fool”:http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2006/commentary06082604.htm listed […]

The timeless search for a connection between money and happiness has spawned several new stories on the topic. A recent article on _Bankrate.com_, for example, said research has found some interesting variations in happiness by income. Most notably, while happiness increases a lot for one who moves from poverty to the middle class, beyond that, […]

Is confusion over asset allocation or investment choices in your 401(k) or 403(b) plan stopping you from participating? Get over it and get started. That’s the conclusion of new research by Putnam Investments (okay, they didn’t quite put it that way), which examined the impact of three factors on retirement savings. As reported in a […]