Search: jane-bryant-quinn

Help a Reader Who Inherited $10,000

This article was written by Flexo in Personal Finance. 20 comments.

Does anyone have advice for Sibyl? She commented on an article reviewing Jane Bryant Quinn’s latest book with a question pertaining to her own finances. Sibyl was kind enough to include many details about her family’s finances.

I have some suggestions, but this is always a good opportunity to have readers provide theirs as well.

Here is her story:

I just inherited $10,000. What do I do with it so that it earns rather than loses value? I currently have it in a checking account earning 3.25%.

I’m female, age 61, and married. Our income comes from my husband’s retirement ($1,700 a month), two annuities ($1,040 per month and $2,000 per year), and a part-time job ($20,000 per year). I do not work outside the home.

We can collect Social Security in January 2011 as we will both be 62 in October. My husband expects about $1,700 a month from Social Security and I expect about $700 a month. He hopes to retire after we receive Social Security. Is this a good idea or should he keep working?

We have no expenses except the household (our cars and house is house are paid for). Our current credit card debt totals $3,000 at 0% and we have about $8,000 in savings earning 3.48%.

After my mother’s estate is settled in January 2012, I may receive as much as $100,000. Should I ask again at that time?

My opinions: It sounds like Sibyl is in a solid financial situation. Her main question is what to do with the $10,000 inheritance. First, a 3.25% is a great interest rate for a checking account right now. At this time, cash flow doesn’t seem to be a problem, although I’m confused about the $1,700 a month they are drawing from his retirement right now. Debt is not a problem either. Since cash flow is covered, I think Sibyl should consider investing the $10,000 in a mix of tax-advantaged bonds and stocks with a time horizon of twenty years or so.

Sibyl’s next question is whether her husband should retire or keep working. Although she has provided her annuity income, but I’m not sure about the terms of the annuities. Annuities have a tendency to be too expensive for the benefits they provide, but they can offer some stability in income along with growth. The biggest danger with annuities would be the penalties you have to pay in order to access your money if needed.

If Sibyl’s plans for retirement are modest, they should be in a good position for her husband to stop working when he would like to do so.

An additional inheritance of $100,000 will be a nice shot in the arm. Sibyl didn’t mention children, so I’m not sure if she has pans to pass her estate down to another generation, give all her funds away to organizations, or spend all that is left on her “bucket list.” $100,000 will help boost any of these goals.

Keep in mind I’m not a financial adviser. These are only my opinions and I can’t be held liable for the results of any actions made based on information posted on Consumerism Commentary.

What advice would you give Sibyl and her husband?

{ 20 comments }

Podcast 36: Being Financially Secure in Today’s Economy, Jane Bryant Quinn

This article was written by Flexo in Podcast. 8 comments.

Today’s episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast features Jany Bryant Quinn, author of Making the Most of Your Money Now: The Classic Bestseller Completely Revised for the New Economy. The book will be released this Tuesday, December 29, 2009 and here is a review. Tom Dziubek, Flexo, and Jane Bryant Quinn discuss the author’s revisions since the book’s last update in 1997 and what everyone should know about being financially secure in today’s economy.

Production Number: S02E10
Segment Numbers: 53

To listen, use the player above (Adobe Flash required), download the podcast here, subscribe to the podcast RSS feed, or use the iTunes link. Note: open links in a new window (Ctrl-click or Command-click) to avoid interrupting the podcast.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:36] Interview with Jane Bryant Quinn
– [00:56] Updates from the book’s last edition in 1997
– [03:31] Will saving money stay en vogue?
– [05:05] Tips to help those affected by unemployment
– [08:02] What if you can’t pay your mortgage?
– [10:22] Spending plans and budgets
– [11:08] Starting a home business
– [12:30] Tips for first-time homebuyers
– [14:12] Buying foreclosures
– [16:00] Mortgages to avoid
– [18:51] 15-year vs. 30-year mortgages
– [20:11] How people can benefit from today’s economy
– [23:43] 401(k) plans with limited choices
– [29:35] New year’s resolutions
[33:09] End

We always welcome feedback from listeners. If you have any comments for this episode or for any other, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, please leave us comments here or email us at podcast at this domain name.

{ 8 comments }

Review: Making the Most of Your Money Now by Jane Bryant Quinn

This article was written by Flexo in Reviews. 7 comments.

Author Jane Bryan Quinn took her massive personal finance book published in 1997 and revised and updated the information to create Making the Most of Your Money Now: The Classic Bestseller Completely Revised for the New Economy, which will be released on December 29, 2009. I got my hands on a copy of this 1,242 page book for a preview.

The strongest aspects of Making the Most of Your Money Now are its scope and its depth, from basic finances to insurance, home ownership, paying for education, and retirement. Quinn emphasizes that individuals form their beliefs about and relationships with money in early years of their lives, and can therefore be generalized based on what the experiences lived through as they matured and grew into a financially aware person. This allows her to contrast the Depression Kids, Inflation Kids (raised in the 1960s and 1970s), Bubble Kids, and Struggle Kids.

Making the Most of Your Money Now is best described as an encyclopedia with annotations. For example, Quinn explains the differences between four ways to own property with another person (joint ownership with the right of survivorship, tenancy in common, tenancy by the entirety, and community property) but goes further by building cases for and against joint ownership of property in any form depending on various situations.

The checklists included in chapter seven will come in handy. For every milestone one might encounter throughout life, Quinn offers a checklist to ensure the important considerations are covered. Each point on each list is described in detail. If you find yourself in the midst of a divorce, there is a (long) checklist for that. If you want to offer your kids allowances, there is a checklist for that. There is even a checklist for those of us starting a home-based business.

In one small section, the author takes on a topic with my admiration. As I, she is not particularly a fan of The Latte Factor — the idea that taking away a pleasurable but expensive daily habit will change your financial life. She agrees with me — the money you save by cutting out $3 or $4 a day can add up, but the real effect is caused by unnecessary spending, particularly on credit cards.

Quinn tackles investing, particularly those concepts that everyone needs to know. As someone who purchased company stock through an automated quarterly investment plan and is still hanging onto stock purchased at its peak waiting for it to return, I had an eye on the author’s thoughts on what it takes to break even, the four illusions I am cherishing:

1. You think that the price will come back soon because you couldn’t have been so wrong. In fact, the price could stay down for years. It might never come back. [ed. note: my company's stock needs a 100% return starting now to get back to its high.]

2. You think that as long as you don’t sell, you don’t have a loss. But a “paper” loss is just aas real as the other king. The stock is worth less than you paid for it. Period.

3. You think that there’s only one way of earning back the money you lost: by holding ion to the stock you lost it in. But you might earn your money back faster by selling the stock and reinvesting in something else.

4. You think that gains come just as easily as losses.

There are many more goodies in this book. But don’t buy it and expect to sit down and read it from cover to cover. If you want a book from which you can get specific ideas for action and read in one night, look for something like I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. Making the Most of Your Money Now is a book that is more valuable on your bookshelf, always available in an emergency when you need to understand a financial concept in detail.

Jane Bryant Quinn, the author of Making the Most of Your Money Now, is scheduled to appear on an upcoming episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. We will be talking about some of the information found in this book. If you have any questions you’d like Quinn to answer, please leave them here and we’ll try to include them in the show.

{ 7 comments }

Consumerism Commentary Podcast

This article was written by Flexo in . Comments Off

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is a weekly personal finance show, hosted by both Tom Dziubek, a former podcaster with the Wall Street Journal, and Bryan J Busch, who started his first podcast in 2005 for fans of novelty rock music. Each week, the show offers commentary about money management, getting out of debt, budgeting, consumer issues, investing, and the economic issues that touch individuals in the United States and all over the world.

Tom and Bryan are occasionally joined by Flexo, the founder of Consumerism Commentary.

You can subscribe to the Consumerism Commentary Podcast by adding the podcast RSS feed to your audio device or RSS reader. You can also subscribe and download the episodes from iTunes.

Interested in advertising on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast? We are accepting a limited number of targeted, relevant advertisers. More information can be found here.

Here are the latest episodes of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, with a list of guests and an overview of the topics covered, starting with the most recent:

Episode 146: February 5, 2012. Guest: MD, founder of the personal finance website Studenomics, talks about buying a house in your early 20s.

More about episode 146.

Episode 145: January 29, 2012. Guest: Jenny Kerr from The Jenny Pincher talks about how married women can better prepare themselves financially for a divorce.

More about episode 145.

Episode 144: January 22, 2012. Guest: Andrea Woroch talks about the smartest things to shop for in Winter.

More about episode 144.

Episode 143: January 15, 2012. Guest: Kathy Pickering of H&R Block’s Tax Institute dicusses tax law changes for last year and this year.

More about episode 143.

Episode 142: January 8, 2012. Guest: Flexo, founder of Consumerism Commentary, talks about New Year’s resolutions.

More about episode 142.

Episode 141: January 1, 2012. Guest: Carl Richards, author of The Behavior Gap.

More about episode 141.

Episode 140: December 25, 2011. Guest: Rudy DeFelice, founder of Kidworth.

More about episode 140.

Episode 139: December 18, 2011. Guest: Jonathan Zschau, author of Buying and Owning a Mac: Secrets Apple Doesn’t Want You to Know.

More about episode 139.

Episode 138: December 11, 2011. Guest: Scott Gerber, co-founder of Gen Y Capital Partners.

More about episode 138.

Episode 137: December 4, 2011. Guest: Dr. James Roberts, author of Shiny Objects.

More about episode 137.

Episode 136: November 27, 2011. Guest: Paula Pant, founder of the website Afford Anything, talks about being a landlord.

More about episode 136.

Episode 135: November 20, 2011. Guest: Dinah Sanders, creator of Discardia.

More about episode 135.

Episode 134: November 13, 2011. Guest: Ryan Bales, Founder and CEO of Budgetable.

More about episode 134.

Episode 133: November 6, 2011. Guests: Chris Camillo, author of Laughing at Wall Street: How I Beat the Pros at Investing (by Reading Tabloids, Shopping at the Mall, and Connecting on Facebook) and How You Can, Too.

More about episode 133.

Episode 132: October 30, 2011. Guests: Kristen Christian, founder of Bank Transfer Day.

More about episode 132.

Episode 131: October 23, 2011. Guests: Sarah of, The $60K Project.

More about episode 131.

Episode 130: October 16, 2011. Guests: Richard and Linda Eyre talk about their book, The Entitlement Trap.

More about episode 130.

Episode 129: October 9, 2011. Guests: Phillip Taylor (PT Money) and Flexo talk about the Financial Blogger Conference; Jon Stein from Betterment talks about their new goal-based financial planning tool.

More about episode 129.

Episode 128: October 2, 2011. Guest: Robert Steven Kaplan and Bryan discuss the three questions any organization needs to ask itself before it can succeed, and the best ways to coach the people on your team.

More about episode 128.

Episode 127: September 25, 2011. Guest: Mike Egan details several popular myths about social security, saving, and investments, and then explains the truth about each one, giving the reader solid knowledge and formulas about how much to save for retirement.

More about episode 127.

Episode 126: September 18, 2011. Guest: Truett Cathy, the founder of Chik-fil-A, discusses amassing wealth and giving it away.

More about episode 126.

Episode 125: September 11, 2011. Guest: Credit.com’s Gerri Detweiler talks about options for people with underwater mortgages.

More about episode 125.

Episode 124: September 4, 2011. Guest: Deloitte Consulting’s Deron Weston talks about their survey on first-time credit defaulters.

More about episode 124.

Episode 123: August 28, 2011. Guest: Mint.com’s Aaron Forth discusses Mint’s new bill reminder feature.

More about episode 123.

Episode 122: August 21, 2011. Guest: Clark Howard discusses some of the 250+ ways to save from his new book Living Large in Lean Times.

More about episode 122.

Episode 121: August 14, 2011. Guest: Credit.com’s Adam Levin discusses the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

More about episode 121.

Episode 120: August 7, 2011. Guest: Bryan J Busch discusses the impact of canceling cable.

More about episode 120.

Episode 119: July 31, 2011. Guest: CPA Leslie Dawson explains the IRS’s “innocent spouse” relief.

More about episode 119.

Episode 118: July 24, 2011. Guest: Andrea Woroch explains the consequences of extreme couponing.

More about episode 118.

Episode 117: July 17, 2011. Guest: Yaron Samid, founder and CEO of BillGuard, discusses the BillGuard service.

More about episode 117.

Episode 116: July 10th, 2011. Guest: Kevin McKee tells us what it takes to become a thousandaire.

More about episode 116.

Episode 115: July 3rd, 2011. Guest: LaFoy Thomas discusses his book Generational Wealth.

More about episode 115.

Episode 114: June 26, 2011. Guest: Steve Rosenstock, EEI, discusses summer cooling tips.

More about episode 114.

Episode 113: June 19, 2011. Guests: Scott and Bethany Palmer, also known as The Money Couple.

More about episode 113.

Episode 112: June 12, 2011. Guest: Megan Wurm, Money Matters ambassador.

More about episode 112.

Episode 111: June 5, 2011. Guest: Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, also known as The Money Coach.

More about episode 111.

Episode 110: May 29, 2011. Guest: George Hobica, president and founder of Airfarewatchdog. More about episode 110.

Episode 109: May 22, 2011. Guest: Dr. Maggie Baker, author of Crazy About Money: How Emotions Confuse Our Money Choices and What To Do About It.

More about episode 109.

Episode 108: May 15, 2011. Guest: Donna Freedman, columnist for MSN Money and staff writer for Get Rich Slowly. Donna also writes for her own blog, Surviving and Thriving.

Bryan, Donna, and Flexo discuss extreme couponing. More about episode 108.

Episode 107: May 8, 2011. Guest: J.D. Roth, author of How to Build a Better Budget. More about episode 107.

Episode 106: May 1, 2011. Guest: Kate Levinson, author of Emotional Currency: A Woman’s Guide to Building a Healthy Relationship with Money. More about episode 106.

Episode 105: April 24, 2011. Guest: Paul Puckett, author of Investiphobia. More about episode 105.

Episode 104: April 17, 2011. Guest: Kim McGrigg, Manager of Community and Media Relations for Money Management International (MMI), which is sponsoring Financial Literacy Month. More about episode 104.

Episode 103: April 10, 2011. Guest: Geneen Roth, author of Lost and Found: Unexpected Revelations About Food and Money. More about episode 103.

Episode 102: April 3, 2011. Guest: Tom Dziubek. More about episode 102.

Episode 101: March 27, 2011. Guest: Dr. Guy Winch, author of The Squeaky Wheel. More about episode 101.

Episode 100: March 20, 2011. Guest: Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, President of The Charles Schwab Foundation, which is sponsoring the National Financial Capability Challenge. More about episode 100.

Episode 99: March 13, 2011. Guest: Preeti Vissa, Community Reinvestment Director of the Greenlining Institute. More about episode 99.

Episode 98: March 6, 2011. Guest: Mark Brundage, co-founder of Adaptu. More about episode 9.

Episode 97: February 27, 2011. Guests: Dr. Doug Hirschhorn, author of 8 Ways to Great: Peak Performance on the Job and In Your Life. More about episode 97.

Episode 96: February 20, 2011. Guests: Tod Marks, senior project editor at Consumer Reports, and Nico Willis, author of Death of the American Investor (The Emergence of a New Global eShareholder). More about episode 96.

Episode 95: February 13, 2011. Guest: Tom Dziubek, frequent host of this podcast and a recent customer service representative at one of the U.S.’s ten largest savings banks. More about episode 95.

Episode 94: February 6, 2011. Guest: Liz Weston, author of The 10 Commandments of Money. More about episode 94.

Episode 93: January 30, 2011. Guest: David Bach, author of Debt Free for Life. More about episode 93.

Episode 92: January 23, 2011. Guest: Carmen Wong Ulrich, author of The Real Cost of Living. More about episode 92.

Episode 91: January 16, 2011. Guest: Aaron Patzer, creator of Mint.com and Vice President of Intuit discusses Mint’s partnership with Scholastic. More about episode 91.

Episode 90: January 9, 2011. Guest: Stuart Diamond, author of the book Getting More: How to Negotiate to Achieve Your Goals in the Real World. More about episode 90.

Episode 89: January 2, 2011. Guest: Flexo discusses the concerns and challenges invovled with self-employment. More about episode 89.

Episode 88: December 26, 2010. Guest: Leigh Mutert, CPA and Community Manager at H&R Block, discusses the new tax laws. More about episode 88.

Episode 87: December 19, 2010. Guest: Jane Honeck discusses topics from her book The Problem With Money? It’s Not About the Money! More about episode 87.

Episode 86: December 12, 2010. Guests: Andrew Buckley and Jay Sheehan, members of the Hit and Run History documentary team discuss the costs involved with making a documentary. More about episode 86.

Episode 85: December 5, 2010. Guests: Nate St. Pierre, founder of the community building website ItStartsWith.Us, and Budgets Are Sexy founder J. Money talk about their new micro-giving endeavor, Love Drop. More about episode 85.

Episode 84: November 28, 2010. Guest: Stew Langille, Director of Marketing for Intuit Personal Finance Group talks about Mint’s new real time consumer spending tracking website Mint Data. More about episode 84.

Episode 83: November 21, 2010. Guest: Laura Rowley, columnist at Yahoo Finance and author of the book Money and Happiness: A Guide to Living the Good Life. More about episode 83.

Episode 82: November 14, 2010. Guests: Adrian Nazari, founder and CEO of the online credit & loan analysis tool Credit Sesame and Jon Stein, founder and CEO of the online investing service, Betterment. More about episode 82.

Episode 81: November 7, 2010. Guest: Adam Baker, author of the Sell Your Crap series of guides. More about episode 81.

Episode 80: October 31, 2010. Guest: Farnoosh Torabi, author of the book Psych Yourself Rich: Get the Mindset and Discipline You Need to Build Your Financial Life. More about episode 80.

Episode 79: October 24, 2010. Guest: Bob Meighan, VP of Consumer Advocacy at TurboTax talks about potential income tax changes. More about episode 79.

Episode 78: October 17, 2010. Guest: Kimberly Palmer, author of the book, Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back. More about episode 78.

Episode 77: October 10, 2010. Guest: Pam Lassiter, author of the book The New Job Security: The 5 Best Strategies for Taking Control of Your Career. More about episode 77.

Episode 76: October 3, 2010. Guest: Tara-Nicholle Nelson, from the real estate website Trulia, discusses Trulia and price reduction trends for houses that are listed in the U.S. More about episode 76.

Episode 75: September 26, 2010. Guest: Fred Williams, author of the book Fight Back Against Unfair Debt Collection Practices: Know Your Rights and Protect Yourself from Threats, Lies, and Intimidation talks about how consumers can protect themselves against debt collectors. More about episode 75.

Episode 74: September 19, 2010. Guest: NBC “Today Show” editor Jean Chatzky talks about her National Money Talk Night event and her new book, Not Your Parents’ Money Book: Making, Saving, and Spending Your Own Money. More about episode 74.

Episode 73: September 12, 2010. Guest: Consumerism Commentary founder Flexo talks about his tips on saving money while at college. More about episode 73.

Episode 72: September 5, 2010. Guest: Steve Siebold, author of the book How Rich People Think, talks about how “world class” people think differently than “middle class” when it comes to finances. More about episode 72.

Episode 71: August 29, 2010. Guest: Zac Bissonnette, author of the book Debt-Free U, talks about going to college without going into debt. More about episode 71.

Episode 70: August 22, 2010. Guest: Michael Gikas, Senior Electronics Editor at Consumer Reports, talks about tips to avoid cell phone bill shock. More about episode 70.

Episode 69: August 15, 2010. Guest: Keri Buster, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Communications, World Service at American Express, talks about her company’s recent survey about customer service. More about episode 69.

Episode 68: August 8, 2010. Guest: Carol Fabbri, co-author of the book Personal Investing: The Missing Manual, discusses multiple topics related to investing. More about episode 68.

Episode 67: August 1, 2010. Guest: Ramit Sethi, author of the bestselling book I Will Teach You To Be Rich, discusses the importance of earning more money. More about episode 67.

Episode 66: July 25, 2010. Guest: Richard Rosso, CFP and financial consultant at Charles Schwab, discusses his tips on how to prevent a natural disaster from becoming a financial disaster. More about episode 66.

Episode 65: July 18, 2010. Guests: Aaron Patzer, founder of Mint and Rob Garcia, Director of Product Strategy at Lending Club talk about Mint’s new “Goals” feature, then Tom Dziubek and Flexo discuss ways to save money at a ball game. More about episode 65.

Episode 64: July 11, 2010. Guest: Flexo talks about his recommended steps for people to take control of their personal finances. More about episode 64.

Episode 63: July 4, 2010. Guests: Landy Ung, co-founder of coupon and deal-finding website 8Coupons talks about her site’s services and Flexo discusses factors homeowners with extra money should consider when deciding to invest in the stock market or to pay down their mortgage. More about episode 63.

Episode 62: June 27, 2010. Guests: Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, talks about Charles Schwab’s 2010 Families & Money Survey and Jim Kelly, COO of ING Direct, talks about bank overdraft fees. More about episode 62.

Episode 61: June 20, 2010. Guest: Flexo, founder of Consumerism Commentary, talks about money saving tips for the summer. More about episode 61.

Episode 60: June 13, 2010. Guests: Mary Hines, Vice President of ZYNC Product Management at American Express, talks about the company’s new ZYNC charge card. Also, SmartyPig executives Bob Weinschenk and Mike Ferrari talk about their company’s recent affiliation with BBVA Compass Bank. More about episode 60.

Episode 59: June 6, 2010. Guest: Donna Freedman, personal finance columnist at MSN Money, discusses topics such as microsaving and emergency funds. More about episode 59.

Episode 58: May 30, 2010. Guest: Richard Lewins, founder of the LewinsLaw legal practice and author of the book, How to Keep From Going Broke with a Broker. More about episode 58.

Episode 57: May 23, 2010. Guests: Gerry Cuddy, President and CEO of Beneficial Bank talks about Beneficial’s two new education-themed banks in NJ. More about episode 57.

Episode 56: May 16, 2010. Guests: Preeti Vissa of the Greenlining Institute talks about bank overdraft fees and Atakan Cetinsoy, Vice President of Corporate Development and Personal Finance Products at the personal financial management website, moneyStrands discusses his company’s website. More about episode 56.

Episode 55: May 9, 2010. Guest: Kimberly Palmer, senior editor at U.S. News & World Report and author of the upcoming book, Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back, talks about tendencies of the typical Generation Y consumer. More about episode 55.

Episode 54: May 2, 2010. Guest: Schwark Satyavolu, co-founder and president of the service comparison website BillShrink, talks about how to save gas and money during the summer months. More about episode 54.

Episode 53: April 25, 2010. Guest: Flexo discusses his tips on how to explore the art of photography without taking a hit to your wallet. More about episode 53.

Episode 52: April 18, 2010. Guest: Adam Baker, creator of the Man vs. Debt website, discusses his new e-book, Unautomate Your Finances. More about episode 52.

Episode 51: April 11, 2010. Guest: Kara McGuire, personal finance columnist at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, discusses several topics relating to money and parenting. More about episode 51.

Episode 50: April 4, 2010. Guest: Cate Williams, Vice President of Financial Literacy at Money Management International, discusses several topics about financial literacy in honor of Financial Literacy month. More about episode 50.

Episode 49: March 28, 2010. Guests: Stacy Johnson, author of the book Life or Debt 2010, discusses ways to overcome debt and Murali Subbarao, founder and CEO of Billeo talks about charitable giving trends that his company has observed. More about episode 49.

Episode 48: March 21, 2010. Guest: Robert Pagliarini, the author of The Other 8 Hours, discusses how to eliminate wasteful activities from your life and better utilize your spare time. More about episode 48.

Episode 47: March 14, 2010. Guest: Lou Scatigna, The Financial Physician, discusses his book and his financial advice. More about episode 47.

Episode 46: March 7, 2010. Guest: J.D. Roth, author of Your Money: The Missing Manual, discusses his new book and how he went from blogger to published author. More about episode 46.

Episode 45: February 28, 2010. Guest: Gary Belsky, author of Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes And How To Correct Them, discusses the aspects of behavioral economics. More about episode 45.

Episode 44: February 21, 2010. Guest: Bob Meighan, VP of Consumer Advocacy at TurboTax, discusses income tax tips related to major life changes such as getting married and buying a home. More about episode 44.

Episode 43: February 14, 2010. Guest: Sam, founder of personal finance website Financial Samurai, discusses the Samurai Fund, retiring after 20 years, and the Samurai Codes of Honor. More about episode 43.

Episode 42: February 7, 2010. Guests: Jeff Bartlett, Autos Deputy Editor at Consumer Reports, discusses recent Toyota recalls and Flexo later discusses money saving tips for Valentine’s Day. More about episode 42.

Episode 41: January 31, 2010. Guest: Samir Kothari, co-Founder of BillShrink, discusses credit card issuers’ compliance with the Credit CARD Act of 2009. More about episode 41.

Earlier episodes of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast

Episode	Original Airdate	Topics and Guests
S02E16 #42	Feb 7, 2010	Toyota Recalls (Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports) Saving money on Valentine’s Day (Flexo)
S02E15 #41	Jan 31, 2010	Credit CARD Act (Samir Kothari, BillShrink)
S02E14 #40	Jan 24, 2010	Start Over, Finish Rich (David Bach)
S02E13 #39	Jan 17, 2010	Get Financially Naked (Manisha Thakor)
S02E12 #38	Jan 10, 2010	Eliminating Holiday Debt, (Peter Pham, BillShrink)
S02E11 #37	Jan 3, 2010	Financial Foul-Ups (Brian Scheur, My Next Buck)
S02E10 #36	Dec 27, 2009	Making the Most of Your Money Now (Jane Bryant Quinn)
S02E09 #35	Dec 20, 2009	Pay It Down!: Debt-Free on $10 a Day (Jean Chatzky)
S02E08 #34	Dec 13, 2009	Giving Stocks as Gifts (Dan Greenshields) and Kelly Whalen
S02E07 #33	Dec 6, 2009	The Complete Identity Theft Guidebook (Terri Cullen)
S02E06 #32	Nov 29, 2009	Gift Cards (Jim Sharvin, CPA) and Financial Reform (Heather Booth)
S02E05 #31	Nov 22, 2009	Peer to Peer Lending (Renaud LaPlanche and Rob Garcia) and Target Date Funds (Flexo)
S02E04 #30	Nov 15, 2009	Ask the Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job (Nick Corcodilos)
S02E03 #29	Nov 8, 2009	How to Live Well and Save Money (Sharon Harvey Rosenberg, The Frugal Duchess)
S02E02 #28	Nov 1, 2009	The Smartest Retirement Book You’ll Ever Read (Dan Solin)
S02E01 #27	Oct 25, 2009	War against debt, frugal traveling (Adam Baker, Man Vs. Debt)
S01E26	Oct 18, 2009	MAKE Magazine, Do-it-Yourself, Credit.com (Mark Frauenfelder, Boing Boing)
S01E25	Oct 11, 2009	Sandra Hannah (Smart Cookies) and Neal Frankle (Wealth Pilgrim)
S01E24	Oct 4, 2009	Path to becoming a millionaire (Jen Smith, Millionaire Mommy Next Door)
S01E23	Sep 27, 2009	Negotiating and bargaining (Herb Cohen, presidential adviser, and Teri Gault, author)
S01E22	Sep 20, 2009	Intuit’s Acquisition of Mint (Aaron Patzer, Mint) and Roth IRA conversions (Bryan Olson, Charles Schwab)
S01E21	Sep 13, 2009	How to survive on a teacher’s salary (Danny Kofke)
S01E20	Sep 6, 2009	You Need a Budget (Jesse Mecham) and PocketSmith (Francois Bondiguel and Jason Leong)
S01E19	Aug 30, 2009	Giving yourself a raise (Matt Jabs, Debt Free Adventure)
S01E18	Aug 23, 2009	Snap financial decisions (David Adler, Snap Judgment) and the PowerCost Monitor (Peter Porteous)
S01E17	Aug 16, 2009	Buying and owning a home in today’s market (David Crook, WSJ Complete Home Owner’s Guidebook)
S01E16	Aug 9, 2009	Financial planning (Jeff Rose, CFP) and Cash for Clunkers (Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports)
S01E15	Aug 2, 2009	Credit CARD Act (Dr. Robert Manning) and tips for dealing with layoffs (Flexo)
S01E14	Jul 26, 2009	We, the Savers (Jim Kelly, ING Direct) and Feed the Pig (Mackey McNeil)
S01E13	Jul 19, 2009	Tips for graduating seniors (Flexo) and Cash for Clunkers (Bob Meighan, Intuit)
S01E12	Jul 12, 2009	Myths of personal finance (Ramit Sethi, I Will Teach You To Be Rich)
S01E11	Jul 5, 2009	SmartyPig (Jon Gaskell) and new Consumerism Commentary contributor (Jeff)
S01E10	Jun 28, 2009	Frugal grilling (Jim Wang, Grillmaestro) and successful entrepreneurs (Erica Douglass)
S01E09	Jun 21, 2009	Maintaining careers in a recession (Penelope Trunk, Brazen Careerist) and minimalism in personal finance (Leo Babauta, Zen Habits)
S01E08	Jun 14, 2009	Yowza! and TalkAboutIt.org (Greg Grunberg)
S01E07	Jun 7, 2009	Quicken Online (Barron Ernst) and 10,001 Ways to Live Live Large on a Small Budget (Linsey Knerl)
S01E06	May 31, 2009	397 Ways to Save Money (Kerry K. Taylor)
S01E05	May 24, 2009	Following your passion to earn income (J.D. Roth, Get Rich Slowly) and a family budgeting system (Bryan J Busch)
S01E04	May 17, 2009	Financial advisory website Thrive (Matt Wallaert)
S01E03	May 10, 2009	Credit scores (Ken Lin, Credit Karma) and the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights (Liz Weston)
S01E02	May 3, 2009	Recession-proof your relationship (Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil) and Mint’s new features (Aaron Patzer)
S01E01	Apr 26, 2009	Recession tips (Flexo) and shrinking your bills (Peter Pham, BillShrink)

This Week in the Archives

by Flexo

Many readers have come to this site sometime within the last year. The archives at Consumerism Commentary go back to 2003, so in case there’s something you’ve missed, I’ll post some links to older articles every so often. From January 1-7, 2006: * Rebate Scams * Review of Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy ... Continue reading this article…

0 comments Read the full article →

Best of 2006, January Through June

by Flexo

At the end of last year, I put together a list of the “Best of 2005,” just a collection of posts here at Consumerism Commentary that might stand out. There was no rhyme or reason to my selection. Needless to say, I’m very lenient with my definition of “best.” We’re more than halfway through 2006, ... Continue reading this article…

0 comments Read the full article →

Stocks Are For Suckers?

by Flexo

The book I recently reviewed focuses on investing in index funds and letting the portfolio sit for decades — “buy and hold.” It’s a strategy that has been popular since the market took a downward spin when the tech bubble gave out. Not everyone agrees that it’s the best strategy. Mark Cuban, outspoken owner of ... Continue reading this article…

12 comments Read the full article →