So gas is getting rather expensive. I just paid $3.70 per gallon. Yeah, I know, it could be worse. People in other parts of the world are probably laughing their asses off at us Americans complaining about gas prices. That doesn’t change the fact that we’ve built our economy and way of life on the assumption that gas prices would be low indefinitely. Well, apparently
A View of Barack Obama’s Personal Finances
I found this article on Slate pretty interesting. It reviews all of the Obama finances and shows that they are doing pretty well by yours or my standards but are much more humble than the other two presidential candidates. Their holdings are pretty conservative but if I had that level of income, I think I’d probably play it pretty safe too. Anyway, it’s pretty interesting
Trying To Use A Little Self Control
I have to confess something. Lately my self control has been out the window. I’ve been spending too much on things I don’t really need. I have been eating more than I should and am 20 pounds overweight. And you know something that’s just crazy? I’ve found myself having some anxiety about money and my weight. You’d think the anxiety would drive better behavior but
Lowered Our Rate With A Phone Call
When we purchased our lake house, we used a little bit of money from our home equity line of credit. We had never used the line of credit but had it sitting there in case we had an emergency, or a good opportunity. When we got the loan, we locked the rate at 7.49% because we didn’t want to have the fluctuating risk. Of course
Don’t Forget To Dance Along The Way To Retirement
For all of those people (not unlike me) that are saving, saving, saving for retirement and always thinking about that magical day that you can retire……. Don’t forget to dance to the music along the way. (see video below)
Making Hard Economic Choices in Tough Times
I don’t know if you saw this article on CNN but it highlights Kent and Mysti Cope. They both worked for New Century Financial, which was the number 2 subprime lender in the country. They have both lost their jobs and have realized they have to make some tough sacrifices. Sacrifice number 1: Trade in the Corvette for a Suburban. Huh? Wow, talk about really
Video: What Might Happen If the Dollar Collapses?
I was perusing the internet and came across this video and found it very interesting, as well as a little scary: http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/19/documentary-examines.html After you watch the video, take a little time and read through some of the comments on the BoingBoing page. I was quite surprised at the intelligence in the comments. (Sure, there are a few moronic ones there too). I can’t see how
Caution: Expensive Wedding Trip Ahead
It’s that time of year when people start planning out their summer vacations and begin booking all their weekends. One of the things we have coming up is a wedding to attend in July. We live in Seattle and the wedding is in central Montana. It’s one of my last cousins to get married and we really want to go to see her get married
Our Honda Is Testing Our Commitment
If you are a long time reader of ELYM, you know that I’ve gone through a bit of a transformation, or enlightenment. For my entire adult life I have drooled at and spent way too much money on cars. If I had a nickel for every new car I’d bought, I’d have….. well, I’d have more than a quarter. As a college student I owned
Why Do I Feel Anxiety About Our Finances?
It must be something in the air, or perhaps it has something to do with all the doom and gloom stories about our economy, the price of oil, the failing housing market, the falling market. I don’t know, maybe I’m just crazy, but I’ve found myself thinking a lot more about doomsday scenarios when it comes to our finances. I’m going to be starting in