As I was sitting back looking at my financial goals for 2010, I couldn’t help but focus on being ready for the unknown. Both my wife and I are very well employed and aren’t feeling as if there is an imminent danger of losing our incomes but with all the gloom and doom around, it’s easy to find ourselves focusing on “what if”. Rather than
As the holiday season begins, I find myself feeling very thankful for a number of things. First off, I’m very, very thankful for my wonderful wife and amazing daughter. I’m also thankful that we have a roof over our heads, food on our table, and jobs to keep us humming along. I think this season feels much more real in terms of truly understanding what
I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I’ve been very busy at work making sure that I keep my spot on the competitive “large institution” roster. There has been a ton going on at work and it’s only going to get crazier as we end the year. On the home front things are smelling rather porkish. We knew it was only a matter of
The New York Times has an absolutely top notch interactive feature that lets you look at unemployment rates for various demographics. While I sometimes find myself getting a bit stressed at how high the unemployment rate is, when I punch in my age, sex, race etc, I find that my unemployment rate is 3.9%. While that makes me feel a bit more at ease for
CNN Money has a great article, (or set of statements) from key people on Wall street discussing what it was like during those crucial hours and days of the Wall Street collapse. It’s interesting reading. If only I could easily decipher who to despise and who to feel sorry for…… http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/fortune/0909/gallery.witnesses_meltdown.fortune/index.html
I suppose I’ve known it wasn’t getting better yet and this week’s unemployment numbers confirm it. Unemployment is now at a 26 year high. We’re still cutting jobs but some economists are starting to think we’re nearing bottom as the number of cuts shrinks each month. Anecdotally, I’m seeing more people lose their jobs around me and my company anticipates further reductions. Unfortunately, a lot
Sorry for the lack of posts over the last week or so. I just got back from a business trip in Southern California. I spent a week down there working 11 hour days locked up in a conference room. The days were long but rewarding. As it happened, the conference room we were using all week was the executive board room. I’m far from an
Pfizer will be offering approximately 70 of their prescription drugs for free to people who have recently lost their jobs and have been taking Pfizer drugs for at least 3 months. The program will provide the drugs for up to 1 year or until you get new health insurance. For more information about the program you can read this article at ABC News or visit
Interesting article that highlights the risks that many of the credit card companies are facing. Their default rate is skyrocketing and they are having to retrench and stop lending additional money to try to preserve capital. People have been talking about the next wave of defaults being in credit cards. Apparently Advanta is one of the first to start drastic measures. Other companies have been
Most of the time I feel fortunate to live in the Seattle area in the Pacific Northwest. The one time that I don’t appreciate the Seattle area is during the drab months of winter and early Spring. This year seems to have been particularly dark, rainy and gloomy. I was hoping that my quick trip to Las Vegas would feed my body’s need for sun