Keynes vs. Hayek – A “Fear the Boom or Bust” Battle Rap on our Economy

Thanks to reader Don, Mr. ToughMoneyLove learned of a recent YouTube video that, in approximately six minutes, will educate you about contrasting views on central control of our economy. More particularly, the spirits and ideas of economists John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich August von (“F.A.”) Hayek are channeled in a rap battle by two guys with awkward moves and bad mustaches. But you have to watch it. It’s funny, witty, entertaining, and informative, all at the same time.

If you don’t know anything about Keynes or Hayek, it’s never too soon or too late to learn. You might as well start with a video. Enjoy: Read more

Why Don’t I Feel Better?

A few interesting events this week on the economic-political scene. First, President Obama tells us about the state of our union, i.e., a “hope and change” redux tempered with the reality that “hope and change” part 1 didn’t seem to produce much tangible economic benefit. “Hope” doesn’t get it done without the “change.” Spending doesn’t get “change” done when primarily used to buy votes and cater to favored constituencies. (Bush wasn’t any better, by the way.) Read more

State of the Debtor Union

Some exciting stuff happening today in the worlds of buying and selling. Let Mr. ToughMoneyLove tell you about them.

First, Apple is finally going to tell us all about its latest must-have product offering. This will have gadget freaks and the Apple-brand obsessed running for their credit cards to be the one of the early adopters. Read more

When the Name Brand Purchase is a Bad Deal

Paying more for a “name brand” product is a tricky proposition. A few high-end or luxury brands are worth the extra cost because they legitimately provide a valued upgrade in performance or durability. The cost-benefit analysis is favorable to the consumer. But that is not always true and the trend may be downward.

The worst reason to buy a name brand is to fulfill the purchaser’s desire to impress others and to create feelings of self-importance. There are plenty of consumers who play that game and the expensive name brand merchants are happy to oblige. We see a lot of that in the constantly changing world of high fashion. (Sorry ladies, but I think you are the primary players in that money-wasting area.) Today I learned of an extreme example of a “name brand” manufacturer taking advantage of careless consumers. Read more

Bargain Babe Anniversary Giveaway

Mr. ToughMoneyLove is not big into the giveaway scene beyond giving away my version of the hard truth.  However, I do appreciate bloggers who provide value to their readers in short and to-the-point posts.  Bargain Babe is one of those.  So I’ve decided to help her celebrate her first blogoversary by promoting her giveaway. Read more

Compare Spending with Your Peers

I just learned about the launch of a new site that allows visitors to compare their spending habits with their peers. The exact sources of the spending data are unknown but it is broken down by age group, marital/kid status, income, and geography. Read more

The Real Cost of Credit Cards

I get bashed often about my attitude towards credit cards. Responsible users (those who never carry a balance) are very proud of the rewards and benefits they provide. Other personal finance bloggers devote substantial time writing about the various rewards cards available to us, hoping to garner some extra income through affiliate links. Read more

An Early Visit with the Tax Man and Weekend Reading

Yesterday was the deadline to pay estimated federal income taxes. Although I have taxes withheld from my paychecks, we always end up owing money at tax time. Sometimes the amount we owe puts us close to or in the underpayment penalty range. My normal method of solving that problem is to run our basic data through some tax software in early December and then have our accountant withhold extra amounts from my final paychecks. (In some years, that’s been the entire paycheck.) Read more

What to Do About Rebuilding Haiti

I hope that the rush of international aid to Haiti will minimize the loss of life and suffering by the folks stranded on that island. Phase two of the recovery will involve important questions of what should be done to rebuild the country. As harsh as it may seem, this is a financial question as well as a human one. Read more

New Credit Card Rules and You

A hot topic among personal finance writers and bloggers is how the new credit card rules will affect existing credit card owners. I have already received a notice from our credit card issuer (yes – we have one). Mr. ToughMoneyLove scanned the document to make sure that it did not impose random fees just for the privilege of owning the card. Then I threw that mess of boilerplate away. I knew it was sent merely to inform us of the “new rules.” I have already read enough about the “new rules” to know that they were written in an attempt to protect careless consumers from their own carelessness. That leads me to write this brief post on my proposed rules for dealing with the new credit card rules. Read more

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