Archive for 'Economy' Category
CD Rates Between Banks and Credit Unions
As I’ve said many times in the past, I’m a HUGE believer in credit unions. Today I was considering tying up some of my cash in a short term CD. I logged on to my credit union and checked their rates, only to be very disappointed. Here’s what I found for a CD less than [...]
Impromptu Garage Sales
In a sign that the economy isn’t exactly rosy, I’m starting to see more and more impromptu garage sales. Actually, I think I should call them impromptu sales instead because I’ve seen a couple variations. Yes, I’ve seen your standard, run of the mill, garage sales but they seem to have a different “feel” to [...]
The Story of Alexandra Jarrin After 99 Weeks of Unemployment
The New York Times has an article about Alexandra Jarrin. Alexandra has spent the last couple years on unemployment. She exhausted her benefits and now is struggling to make it day to day. She has a college degree and was working on her masters but ultimately lost her job as “Director of client services” in [...]
Dateline NBC show on Poverty During the Great Recession
I watched an interesting Dateline show last night that highlighted the suffering of various people in Ohio as they live their way through the Great Recession. Here is a link to the coverage on their website: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38382773/ns/dateline_nbc-america_now It’s definitely worth checking out. I found myself feeling very lucky and a little bit guilty to have [...]
Real Estate Continues to Fall – A Report From the Trenches
Well, not trenches actually. It’s more like a report from my neighborhood. As long time readers know, I keep a close eye on the real estate that’s for sale around my house. It’s really been a fascinating experience to watch houses fall in to foreclosure and then sit for many months unoccupied as the lawns [...]
If You Could Hear the Crying
As the recession continues I’ve often wondered about the personal suffering that is undoubtedly happening in homes across the country. What are the conversations as families sit around the dinner table? For those people in the 10%+ group that are out of work with few prospects for a paycheck any time soon, are they suffering? [...]
Be Grateful for What You Have
I absolutely love this video. Louis CK pretty much nails it. As bad as things might seem, things are actually pretty good. Just a bit of humor to keep things in perspective:
Want to See if Your Bank is in Trouble?
MSNBC has a feature on their website that lets you check the health of your bank or credit union. I took a look at my credit union and found that they have a troubled asset ratio of 18. That’s actually pretty good. There are over 389 banks (as of Dec 31 2009) that had a [...]
Is This the End of the American Way of Life?
It’s been a tough week. There’s really no other way to put it. Layoffs at work have hit closer to home than they ever have before and the overall mood in the office is absolutely horrible. Since last Friday I’ve been slowly hearing about many friends and really good employees that have been given their [...]
Bob’s Red Mill Owner Gives Company to Employees
In a sign that not all people are capitalistic monsters, Bob Moore, the founder of Bob’s Red Mill in Oregon, has decided to give his company to the 209 employees that work there. Bob could have sold the company for a large sum of money but decided that money isn’t everything. WOW! Bob has turned [...]