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Three Psychological Barriers: Taking the First Step

by Luke Landes
Psychological barriers

Everyone starts their path to financial independence from a different position. The popular belief that everyone born in this country has an equal opportunity for financial success is a Utopian myth. It may be an ideal foremost in early European settlers’ minds as they escaped a society where wealth was determined by little more than ... Continue reading this article…

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JW March 2013 Net Worth

by Luke Landes
JW March 2013 Net Worth - Naked With Cash

Naked With Cash is the year-long series on Consumerism Commentary where seven readers’ households share their financial progress on a monthly basis. I’ve partnered with financial planners who will offer some guidance along the way. The participants and experts are discussing tax issues among their commentaries this month. Read this introduction to learn more about ... Continue reading this article…

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LastDollar March 2013 Net Worth

by Luke Landes
LastDollar Net Worth

This month is Insurance Month in the series Naked With Cash. Each month, seven Consumerism Commentary readers anonymously share their financial reports to gain insight about their progress towards their goals. Read this introduction to learn more about the series. LastDollar is thirty-three years old, an entrepreneur and single mom with two children with learning ... Continue reading this article…

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Financial Role Models vs. Money Classes

by Luke Landes
Financial literacy and role models

Non-profit organizations and for-profit businesses promote financial literacy education as the solution to a society of citizens unskilled with managing their own money. If only we could have mandatory money management classes in high school and earlier, advocates claim, the United States would be a nation of savers, free of most debt other than mortgages, ... Continue reading this article…

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What To Do If You’ve Donated to a Fraudulent Charity

by Luke Landes
Charity scam and fraud

It happened after September 11, Katrina, Sandy, the Boston Marathon, and other disasters, man-made and natural, around the world. After serious tragedies, when a compassionate public is at its most vulnerable, unscrupulous individuals find taking advantage the world’s generosity comes easy. Within hours — even minutes — of the news, new operations spring up, offering ... Continue reading this article…

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5 Responsible Uses for Your Tax Refund

by Luke Landes
5 responsible uses for your tax refund

For most citizens of the United States, tax season is over. There’s no longer a need to run around gathering documents. You’ll stop seeing television commercials for TurboTax and H&R Block in which each insinuates the other is a deficient company. You can stop thinking about government’s wasteful spending and income redistribution — which always ... Continue reading this article…

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Keep Your Old Credit Cards Open

by Luke Landes
Credit Cards

There may come a time when you have no need to keep your credit score as high as possible. Perhaps you have no need for debt now and in the future. It’s not common, but there are a few methods of arriving at that point. You’ve fashioned a life for yourself off the grid. You ... Continue reading this article…

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Prepaid Debit Cards Are Riskier Than Checking Accounts

by Luke Landes

Thanks to heavy marketing campaigns, including endorsements and partnerships with everyone from Russell Simmons to Kim Kardashian to Suze Orman (it’s hip! it’s popular! it’s financially smart!), use of prepaid debit cards has surged. Prepaid debit cards were once a fringe financial product. They were intended to be used by people who have a communal ... Continue reading this article…

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