From the monthly archives:
Today’s guest on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast is Gary Belsky, author of the book Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them: Lessons from the Life-Changing Science of Behavioral Economics and Editor-In-Chief of ESPN the Magazine. Gary and Tom Dziubek discuss behavioral economics and how understanding how we make decisions involving ... Continue reading this article…
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Along with tracking my finances on Consumerism Commentary, I also mention when the situation at my day job changes. For example, two years ago I successfully posted for a higher-level vacancy in my department (as expected). Last year I mentioned when I received a lower annual bonus and raise than I would have liked. I’ve ... Continue reading this article…
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It’s been a couple of weeks since I shared details of my push to get rid of the credit card debt. I’ve been diligently taking out exactly $100 from the ATM to spend from Saturday morning through Friday night. That’s just for daily, personal purchases that don’t contribute to the house as a whole, though. ... Continue reading this article…
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Today, Intuit officially launched the first new version of Quicken for Mac in years. I do not own an Apple computer, so I have not seen this software for myself. I do know from reading many reviews that the Mac versions of Quicken in the past have lagged in quality behind the equivalent Windows-based software. ... Continue reading this article…
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This article is presented by Kelly Whalen, Consumerism Commentary staff writer. It’s fairly straightforward to figure out the difference between a need and a want. Needs are basic: food, shelter, clothing, water, warmth. We can also add to that our emotional needs: love, friendship, and care. Wants seem easy to define. Wants are all the ... Continue reading this article…
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I’m growing more concerned about my relationship with credit card issuers. We’ve been getting along mostly well for several years. I charge many of my expenses, pay my bills on time, collect some rewards, and they don’t levy any additional fees. These companies are certainly making money off of me through the interchange fees they ... Continue reading this article…
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Earlier this year, the personal finance blogging community nominated their favorite products, services, and blogs to be considered for a new annual awards ceremony, The Plutus Awards. (The name comes from the relatively unknown ancient Greek god of wealth, Plutus.) These awards are designed to celebrate the best in personal finance. I’ve been working on ... Continue reading this article…
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I don’t have to remind myself that I’m not an expert when it comes to money. While my choices have improved over the past few years, I still make mistakes at about the same rate I always have. Even recently, I thought I could outsmart the public and take advantage of Toyota’s recent bad news. ... Continue reading this article…
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My wife and I went on a mini-vacation this past weekend (our first using only cash), and while we didn’t specifically plan to limit spending on meals, we managed to do better than I had hoped. Of course she knows about my serious push to do what I can to erase my credit card debt, ... Continue reading this article…
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Dennis Kucinich is floating a proposal around the Senate which would create a six-month period in which anyone age 60 can retire voluntarily and receive partial Social Security benefits. This is a $15 billion bill funded by the bailout and stimulus. Kucinich estimates that by offering retirement two years early, a million workers will leave ... Continue reading this article…
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May 22, 2009 seems like ages ago. That is the date that the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act became a law, changing the way credit card issuers interact with their customers. As of today, this law is now fully in effect. The new regulations are designed to help protect consumers from practices ... Continue reading this article…
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Today’s guest on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast is Bob Meighan, CPA and Vice President of Consumer Advocacy at TurboTax. Bob and Tom Dziubek discuss income tax tips related to big life changes such as getting married, buying a home, having or adopting a child and changing jobs. Production Number: S02E18 Segment Number: 61 To listen, ... Continue reading this article…
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I’m currently winging my way down to San Antonio (where The Alamo is), except in a car and not with wings. My wife and I are signed up to join some of the members of The Atlantic Paranormal Society with an investigation of spirit activity in a gorgeous inn. We’ve been talking and daydreaming about ... Continue reading this article…
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A number of E*TRADE Bank customers have written to Consumerism Commentary to inform me of this recent news. E*TRADE is planning to move its banking customers to Discover Bank. I have a savings account at E*TRADE but I have not yet received any communication from the bank. Thanks to E*TRADE’s fast external ACH transfers, the ... Continue reading this article…
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This article is presented by Kelly Whalen, Consumerism Commentary staff writer who attended Toy Fair this week in New York City. Should you be one of the millions of Americans (nearly 75 percent) who receives a tax refund this year, you may be making all sorts of plans for your money. Some people will plan to ... Continue reading this article…
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If you have an adventurous, thrill-seeking personality, your life may never be complete until you’ve solicited an income tax audit from the Internal Revenue Service. The good news is that audits have been more frequent in past years, so the chance of being audited has increased. You may not want to leave this up to ... Continue reading this article…
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Overconfidence leads investors to believe they can make buying and selling decisions that would result in their performance beating the indexes. Most professional fund managers don’t beat the indexes on a consistent basis, so there is little reason to believe that amateur stock-pickers will be able to succeed where professionals have failed. Are you overconfident? ... Continue reading this article…
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Last Thursday, Dallas/Fort Worth got more snow in one day than had ever been recorded before. People who had never seen a snowman before were suddenly able to roll their own, traffic was terrible, and offices were closed. The next morning, when nobody was going anywhere, my employer (who is the second-best employer I’ve ever ... Continue reading this article…
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When I started Consumerism Commentary in 2003, after about eight years of writing on the internet in a smaller, more personal capacity, I only had two goals: to track my finances while working to improve my money situation and to learn more about personal finance by finding articles, sharing links, and adding occasional thoughts of ... Continue reading this article…
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Today’s guest on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast is Sam, the founder of the Financial Samurai website. Sam, Flexo, and Tom Dziubek discuss the Samurai Fund, early retirement, and the Samurai Codes of Honor. Production Number: S02E17 Segment Number: 58 To listen, use the player above (Adobe Flash required), download the podcast here, subscribe to the ... Continue reading this article…
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