Help Your Child Manage Credit – A Contrarian View

Today CNNMoney.com published a story telling parents how they can help their children manage credit. The author is apparently very concerned that all hell is going to break loose in the credit world this February. Why? Because credit card companies won’t be able to issue credit cards to folks under 21 unless: (a) there is an older adult co-signer or (b) there is proof that the young adult card-holder has the means to make payments on the card. Read more

Enough with the Credit and Debit Card Confusion

Frank Curmudgeon – clearly knowledgeable in the world of finance – is wondering out loud why folks use debit cards instead of credit cards.  He appears proud of a history of never having used his own debit card to purchase anything.   Read more

The American Dream Revisited

Long time readers know that Mr. ToughMoneyLove has been a harsh critic of government intervention into the homeownership business, particularly its cheerleading of unqualified buyers into sub-prime mortgages.  I’ve written several posts on the topic including:  Homeowner Bailouts Destined to Fail, Sub-Prime Memories are Short on Capitol Hill, and Taxpayers Crushed by the Destructive Push for Home Ownership. If you think I’m wrong about the failure of government involvement, read the data cited in those posts. Read more

Cash for Clunkers Goes “Clunk”

What’s the fastest way to spend taxpayer money? Offer it to car hungry consumers who cannot wait to put the debt hooks back in their mouths. Read more

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

Is Common Sense Returning to Consumer Lending?

Yesterday I read a post by The Finance Buff which the writer entitled “The Credit Crunch Finally Hit Me.”  After reading the post, Mr. ToughMoneyLove had to leave a comment that disagreed with the title and premise of the article. Read more

Debt-Driven Consumption – It Won’t Be Stopped

All of the talk in Washington about financial reform is just that: talk.

The Obama administration wants radical change in the way that financial institutions are regulated. But that will not happen because well-entrenched political interests won’t let it. Read more

Help with Your Credit – Can it be True?

Most readers of this blog know that Mr. ToughMoneyLove is no fan of credit and is an avowed enemy of the credit score. But I made a little discovery this morning and need to give credit where credit is due. (How is that for a play on words?) Read more

You Can Benefit from Impending Inflation

I have a suggestion for how you can benefit in residential real estate from the approaching inflation.

When writing about inflation, most personal finance writers (including Mr. ToughMoneyLove) spend most of their energy on damage control. We talk about investing in gold, commodities in general, or inflation protected securities such as I-Bonds and TIPS. There is a lot more of that going on now because of current government fiscal and monetary policies. Most experts just can’t see a way for our economy to avoid the ravages of escalating inflation in the very near future.

Read more

The Problems with Credit Card Reform

I’ve been in some debates with other personal finance bloggers about the merits of the bill that the Senate passed yesterday. This is the bill that “regulates” the credit card industry. In this case, “regulates” means that the federal government is now setting some key terms of the agreement between the bank and the cardholder. I don’t like it. Here are my issues: Read more

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