On this day after Christmas, in the wake of the dramatic markdowns that will cap off the holiday shopping season, we explore yet another variation on a theme…that no good deed ever goes unpunished.
The good deed would be a nation of consumers that curtails its mindless and reckless consumption in favor of only necessary and […]

It’s time to fess up.
In my last post, I listed 10 resolutions for the new year. I only wish I had taken my own advice in the past.
It’s always the shoemakers’ children who run about barefooted.
The Ghost of Christmas Past
Years ago, when I ran my own investment real estate brokerage firm, I […]

Everyone will be glad to put this dismal market behind us and start fresh in 2009.
With just a few weeks left in the year, here is a menu of goals and actions you should start planning for to help you make up for lost ground.
1. Contact your human resources department now…there is often a two […]

So, how exactly does the average person justify their clunky and emotional consumption purchases?
Easy. They don’t call it consumption. They re-label it as an investment.
If only it were that easy.
The case in point today is the resort time-share.
This is an equal opportunity calamity in waiting, that affects the rich and the poor alike. […]

Three dominant themes are clearly visible on the horizon:
1. The entire concept of early retirement will be scrapped.
For several reasons. Mostly because our sprawling entitlement mentality is on a collision course with actuarial science. We simply don’t have the intrinsic wealth to provide both retirement income (Social Security) and elder […]

I usually don’t publish on holidays, but on the eve of Black Friday, I thought it would be good to have a some spending tips before you hit the mall tomorrow…(Thanks also to Geezeo for publishing this on their site!)
If ever there were a year when you needed to get maximum value from minimal […]

Who says that good news never gets reported?
I just filled up my car at $1.83 per gallon. I know that deflation is not good for the economy as a whole, but taken in bits and pieces it becomes a palliative for all the shocks we’ve endured since last October.
The latest catch phrase from Washington […]

De-leveraging is the force driving market prices lower.
Don’t be overly impressed with its fancy finance-geek name. It’s just an economic term for selling off assets to pay down debt.
The Macro View
It’s at the core of the $700 billion rescue package. The lenders’ capital base is too small to support the weight of all […]