One reason people live poverty-stricken lives in developing countries like Nicaragua is that jobs pay meager wages. Also, there aren’t that many places to save your money. Also, workers spend a big chunk of what little money they do make on vices, including alcohol, prostitutes, and Coca Cola.
Careers & Workplace
Got Money?
Some people are lucky enough to be wondering not how to get money, but what to do with a sum that’s landed somewhat surprisingly in their laps.
Great Expectations in 2010: More Personal Savings and Cheaper Food, Heat, Electronics, and Homes
As we leave 2009 behind, there are many signs that life will be way better in the year to come.
COBRA Still Bites: Opting for No Health Insurance, Even When Gov Pays 65% of Tab
For many unemployed Americans, health insurance isn’t remotely affordable—even with the government subsidizing 65% of former workers’ policy premiums.
The Top ‘Recession Porn’ Stories of 2009
With an apparently resurgent economy, the media genre known as recession porn may be gone for good. What, exactly, is recession porn? You know it when you see it. Basically, it’s the fascination with all the weird ways the recession has affected different groups of people—the rich and privileged especially, because everyone knows the …
Higher Incomes, Less Happiness
A recently released study by the CDC reveals that people who live in sunny, warm states—Hawaii, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Arizona are the top 5—report the highest levels of satisfaction in their lives. But what I find most interesting is what’s going on at the bottom of the list: The states with the least happy people tend …
You Need to Save. But Collectively, We Need to Spend
Does anyone see a conflict here?
Consumers Who Keep Health Care Costs Down Should Be Rewarded
Some members of Congress are pushing for health reform amendments that make sense on several levels: Give consumers more freedom to shop around for insurance policies, along with some financial incentive to keep costs low.
Is the New Frugality Here to Stay?
In 2009, cutting back was cool. Whether thriftiness proves to be short-lived fad or an enduring trend remains to be seen.
The Year of Living Cheaply: A Retrospective
In 2009, dorky, inherently un-fun words like “thrifty” and “frugal” were paired early and often with fancy ones such as “chic” and “glamour.” Folks long accustomed to using triple coupons and cutting their own hair enjoyed newfound status among their neighbors: Instead of being viewed as eccentric oddballs—or worse, as killjoys or …
Odd Economic Indicator Round-up: More Jews Moving to Israel, More-Cramped Cubicles, More Smoking and Surfing Porn
Perhaps they’re not quite as odd as the Hot Waitress Index (a theory in which waitresses get increasingly more attractive as the economy gets worse), but these trends are still rather unusual—yet revealing—indicators of how the economy is faring.
How to Outsmart a Debt Collector
Bob Brooks is a 17-year veteran in the financial services and investment industry, the author of a new book about avoiding credit and debt traps, and a radio show host who counsels callers about financial issues “from a Christian perspective.” One of his messages: When a debt collector is harassing you, it’s not the time to turn the other cheek.