I live in a very prosperous neighborhood of New York City, the Upper West Side, where the main thoroughfare, Broadway, is full of vacant storefronts. Except for a few recent restaurant closings, this isn’t a product of the recession—it was just as true a couple of years ago. I mainly blame the banks, which at the height of their …
Is Ben Bernanke the right man at the Fed?
I just taped an interview for CNN’s Your $$$$$, which airs at 1 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. If you watch you can also see Roland Martin and Richard Quest debating the merits of pocket squares (unless CNN chooses to cut that highly informative segment). My interview was about my book, so I won’t belabor it. But there was a …
It’s a Deal: $10 Off Purchases at Yankee Candle
Using a printable coupon in stores, or the discount code XF908R2 over the phone or online, you can receive $10 Yankee Candle purchases of $25 or more. Offer valid through September 7. More details and the printable coupon here.
Cheapskate Wisdom from … Sir Claus Moser
“Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.”
Shout-Out: Real Simple’s 19 Easy DIY Projects
A good how-to can save you time and money. With that in mind, Real Simple mag recently rounded up detailed instructions for 19 DIY projects—everything from fixing a faucet that spits water, to replacing a dead spot on the lawn, to changing a burned-out headlight bulb, to repairing a broken necklace.
Ten Back-to-School Sales, Deals, and Money-Saving Tips and Strategies
For whatever reason, going back to school is associated with pushing one’s credit card to the limits. Perhaps not so much this year. Back-to-school spending is expected to be down nearly 8 percent compared to last year. Here are ten links that may help you save more than the average pupil.
Cheapskate Wisdom from … Dave Barry
“I care about our young people, and I wish them great success, because they are our Hope for the Future, and some day, when my generation retires, they will have to pay us trillions of dollars in social security.”
The meaningless crisis at the FDIC’s meaningless insurance fund
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which insures $4.8 trillion in bank deposits, reported today that its insurance fund was down to $10.4 billion at the end of June.
This news generated some worried-sounding headlines. Think about it for a moment, though: If the resources available to insure $4.8 trillion in deposits (it’s actually …
Mapping Out Your Retirement: Find Out Where There’s No Income Tax
Where to retire in your golden years? Someplace sunny and temperate year-round? Or a city with great culture, where there’s always something to do? Or perhaps just wherever the government won’t crack your nest egg with a constant barrage of taxes.
The Tobin tax is back in fashion. Would it help?
We staggered back into NYC early this morning, cross-country road-trip completed. I’ll write something soon about the important things I learned sitting in a small-to-mid-sized SUV (we had a Mercury Mariner, then traded it in at the Moline Hertz for a Hyundai Santa Fe) for up to 14 hours a day. But for now, the first headline to catch my …
It’s a Deal: Up to 70% Off at BackCountry.com
Through September 2, some 12,000 tents, windbreakers, hiking boots, sunglasses, sleeping bags, and other outdoorsy items are on sale at discounts of up to 70 percent off at BackCountry.com.
Q&A with David Krueger, Author of “The Secret Language of Money”
People have weird relationships with money. The value we give to currency and wealth goes beyond its mere value to buy and sell goods. Money has meaning. It can make people feel good or bad, envious or inferior, lucky or distraught. People can get emotional about money—and bad decisions are often the result. The concept of money is so …