The Rise of Debit Cards

Can this be the U.S.? Visa is reporting that in 2008, American consumers spent more using debit cards than they did with credit cards.

Mr. ToughMoneyLove is pleasantly surprised. Shocked might be a better word. Read more

Celebrity Addiction 1 – Economic Sanity 0

So Michael Jackson succumbed to the demons within. The  news junkies and celebrity addicts are now focused 24/7 on the demise of a musical genius who was defective in almost every other human category. So be it. At least he had talent, unlike Anna Nicole Smith whose death weirdly distracted so many for so long.  Read more

Stock Option Unretirement

Do you have your retirement all planned out? So did Bob Bertrand. Now he is trying to unretire. Don’t let this happen to you. Read more

Beach Reading on Personal Finance

I will be on vacation next week. Not at the beach exactly but at the lake with family.

I like to get a little recreational reading in when I am on vacation, taking me away briefly from the legal and technical reading that fills my workdays. I guess you could say that I am a “beach reader” because I am fond of those action paperbacks that you read, enjoy, then forget what the book was about a week later. Read more

The Costs of Job Hopping

This month’s Money Magazine featured a few stories of the unemployed looking for work. Experts were brought in to give advice on what the job seekers were doing wrong and how they could improve their prospects. Read more

The Other Costs of Home Ownership

Despite the traumatic breaking of the housing bubble, I think it is fair to say that the desire for home ownership by non-owners remains strong. The lust to be a homeowner almost seems programmed into our DNA, even though a home “owner” these days is in reality more of a long term borrower. For example, 55.4% of Americans in the 55-64 age bracket have a mortgage compared to the national ratio of 48.7%. (Source) Thirty years of debt is a long time. Read more

Diesel Passenger Cars – Time for a U.S. Comeback?

I drove by a discount gas station today and noticed something relatively new: The price of diesel was lower than that of regular gasoline. That’s the way it used to be in the way back machine. That has not been the case in recent years. No one can provide an explanation for this flip-flopping that makes consistent sense to me. Read more

Getting Even with the Economic Bad Guys

To me, one of the most frustrating aspects of the economic crash we are experiencing is our inability to identify and/or to extract revenge from those who caused it. The desire for revenge is very human but mostly unproductive. Yet I find myself periodically looking for evidence that at least some of the true culprits in our economic collapse are being punished for it. Hey – Mr. ToughMoneyLove is human too! Read more

Do You Have a Retirement Date Target?

Most people have figured out by now that many baby boomers are having to re-adjust their plans for retirement, mostly by delaying their target retirement dates. The reality of the market crash coupled with inadequate boomer retirement savings to begin with has forced those decisions. Read more

Free Summer Movies and Equity Indexed Annuities

Free movies and equity indexed annuities? That’s admittedly a strange combination. So be it.

The frugal side of Mr. ToughMoneyLove is briefly emerging again today. I like free stuff just as much as the rest of you, as long as I don’t have to embarrass or inconvenience myself trying to get it. Today’s tip appears to be embarrassment-free. You just need the ability to enjoy a G-rated movie in the company of a gazillion other kids and their parents. Been there, done that. Read more

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