I’m incredibly angry about what has happened in our country in the past several years. At the height of the housing bubble, we had trained economists telling us that houses would never drop in value, and in 2004, with interest rates at near-historic lows, our Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, told us that we would probably be better off with adjustable-rate mortgages. Those same mortgages were the ones that blew up in many folks’ faces a few years later, when the “adjustable” rates adjusted to 10% or more.

I think you have every right to be mad as well. (more…)

How do you envision your future retirement?

Some shocking statistics recently caught my eye. The median IRA balance is just $55,000, and the median 401(k) balance is just $15,000. Baby boomers are working longer, since most do not have enough saved to retire comfortably. And, given the statistics, it’s likely you are in the same boat.

Why is it that so few of us save enough for retirement? Why are we so woefully underprepared? (more…)

Erica’s note: This is a true story. All names in this post have been changed to protect the parties involved.

During the last recession, in 2002, I picked up some contract PHP programming work to make ends meet. One of the clients I picked up shared an office with another firm. The firm was successful, and I talked to its owner, Sam, fairly often. His business did a few million dollars a year in sales, and Sam himself was wealthy. He was also an excellent business owner.

He considered his employees valuable assets and invested in top-of-the-line computer systems to make sure they could do their jobs well. His business used computers heavily, creating a set of files for each client that were then kept forever should the client ever come back and want more work done. (For this post, it’s not relevant exactly what his business was, although you can replace it with any business that works heavily with computers and keeps a “master record” of client files, such as any accountant or law firm…or perhaps your own business!) (more…)

Since I sold my business in September 2007, I have been on a journey to define who I am. A significant portion of this journey has been trying things that work for other people and seeing if those things work for me. Think of it like trying on new outfits. Some are so crazy that you take them off right away and never look at them again (like washing my own car was for me.) Some of them work so well that you can’t imagine how you lived without them (that was setting up my own budget.)

The problem with trying on new attitudes and new ways of doing things is that you invariably run into those you feel should work, but they don’t for you. And, being human, instead of simply saying “This doesn’t work for me” and doing something else, you think “But everyone else is successful with this!” and continue, for months, to beat your head against the wall and try something that clearly doesn’t work. (more…)

Six easy steps to negotiate your phone bill
and save thousands of dollars.A few days ago, my phone provider, Vonage, announced it was increasing my rate plan to $17.95/month from my current $14.95/month. $14.95/month was the lowest rate plan on Vonage’s website. The other choice was a $24.95/month “unlimited” plan, which I certainly didn’t need.

It was clear that Vonage was encouraging its customers to upgrade to its $24.95 rate plan for “only eight dollars a month!” I had a better idea. (more…)