The Hurricane that Keeps Spending Our Money

We have another post-Katrina announcement from one of Louisiana’s bevy of incompetent politicians.  The Federal Victim’s Insurance Company (aka FEMA) is dumping another $1.8 billion of taxpayer money into the New Orleans school system. Apparently, in the five years since Hurricane Katrina, school children in New Orleans haven’t become any smarter or less dependent on government support. So another $1.8 billion is supposed to change that. Read more

Saving Telephone Costs with Gmail

I have been an avid user of Google Voice for several months. I have encouraged my family, friends,  and many of my key clients to use my Google Voice number as the best way to reach me anytime, anywhere. My experiences with the Google Voice system have been excellent. Yesterday, Google added a new feature in Gmail which greatly expands the utility of Google Voice and provides even more opportunities for anyone to save money on phone usage. Read more

Real Estate Stimulus Fail

For two years I’ve preached that artificial means to prop up an inflated real estate market are not permanent solutions. Obama and his economic advisors (who are gradually jumping ship) thought otherwise. Can you guess where this is going? Read more

Dodging the Credit Card Punishment

You may have been reading about record low interest rates on mortgages and thinking “Wow, credit is cheap right now!” You would be wrong, at least as to that ubiquitous source of lifestyle support: credit cards. Read more

Is a Crash Coming?

I can’t add much to a recent article from the Wall Street Journal. It contains a list of ten reasons why the market may due for another a big drop. They are reasons based on logic, not hysteria. Read more

Closing the Refinanced Mortgage

Mrs. ToughMoneyLove and I spent about 30 minutes at a local office of our new bank. Today was closing day on our mortgage refinance. The number of papers that need signing seems to be increasing exponentially. Read more

Drive Thru Americans: Fat and Broke

For some reason this summer I have been paying attention to breakfast traffic at fast food restaurants as I drive to work. What I observe is sad and pathetic. Read more

Craigslist Computing Success

A few weeks back my wife’s ancient Dell laptop finally died. She needed a new one and suggested a budget Windows unit. I hesitated because her desktop computer is an iMac. She likes Apple products (I don’t) and doesn’t need to slow her learning curve by using another Windows machine. On the other hand, the prices that Apple fans are willing to pay for new Macs astounds me. Enter Craigslist. Read more