The Gulf Oil Rig Explosion and Your Personal Finances

What has happened from the gulf oil rig explosion and is about to happen to the Louisiana coast is going to cost all of us. It won’t be pretty but even Mr. ToughMoneyLove is disturbed by what is happening there. Read more

Hard Truth Week in Review – Cynics Edition

I’m a generally cynical person about personal finance. No surprise there. I’m not saying that’s a good thing. I’m just owning up to my flaws as a human being. Here’s an explanation of why you may be a cynic too.

Here are a few more cynical readings in the world of money. Read more

Tax Man Charlie Rangel – I Told You So

Charlie Rangel was forced by prevailing sentiment to today take leave from his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee.

It’s about time. Rangel can’t even spell the word “ethics” let alone understand its meaning.

I have been on Rangel’s case and ethical misdeeds since September 2008. The facts were there yet Rangel’s Congressional colleagues just sat there for months, ignoring them.

Even in his last words before stepping aside, Rangel’s dishonesty was on display. Catch this tidbit from the article:

Pushed on whether he would step aside temporarily, he replied, “No.”

He said he was headed back to his office to work on jobs legislation, and when a reporter asked if he would still be the committee chairman on Wednesday, Mr. Rangel said, “Yes, and I don’t lie to the press.”

Well, actually he did lie to the press because this is Wednesday and Rangel is no longer the Committee Chairman.

Everyone should be relieved that Rangel will no longer have the opportunity to direct his “mother of all tax bills” through the House. On the other hand, I have no doubt that the morons in his district will re-elect him.

We don’t need mere “change” in Washington. We need an earthquake – for Republicans and Democrats alike. Our collective financial future still hangs in the balance.

Vote Buying in Vegas

Lest you think that money and politics have changed (or will ever change), consider President Obama’s recent decision to use $1.5 billion of your money to buy votes for a desperate Harry Reid. Read more

Should Personal Finance Blogs Come with Warning Labels?

I scan/read a lot of personal finance blogs. A few I find educational. A few others are worth reading because of the quality of the writing. Some I read for no good reason at all. (I gotta do something about that time-waster.) And then there are those blog posts that just make you shake your head in amazement. Some of those need “bad money behavior” warning labels. 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

Clubbing with Money Morons

We knew that the clowns who crashed President Obama’s first State Dinner were in it for the money. What we weren’t sure of was exactly how they would exploit their faux celebrity. Now we know. Read more

A Christmas Message for those Considering Law School

Long time readers know that Mr. ToughMoneyLove is a lawyer. They also know that I am no fan of law schools, who mostly exist to attract mostly borrowed tuition money from students having mostly unrealistic expectations about their post-law school financial futures. Read more

Financial Incapability in America

The U.S. Treasury Department, the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation has discovered through a survey what Mr. ToughMoney and others could have told them for free:  Americans are pretty much financially incapable. Read more

Troubled Homeowners Can’t Be Bothered with Helping Themselves

In February, the Obama administration announced its $75 billion dollar plan to rescue 4 million homeowners (and I use that term loosely) from probable foreclosure. The concept was that these troubled homeowners would negotiate with their lender for a revised payment plan, test the plan for a few months, then make it permanent for five years. Taxpayer funds would support all of it. So far, this program has been a dismal failure and another waste of our money. Read more

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