Spending
« Previous EntriesThe Tough Money Love “Can I Afford it?” Quiz
Sunday, December 21st, 2008Karen Datko over at the Smart Spending blog tipped us off to a nice summary published by the Strump of ten ways to tell if you can afford it. The Strump’s list is excellent as far as it goes but Mr. ToughMoneyLove is now inspired to administer the second part of the affordability quiz.
So here are [...]
Living Within Your Means and the Marital Allowance
Friday, December 5th, 2008The mainstream media is now chock-full of stories about married couples having to tighten their belts to “live within their means.” It is interesting that these stories are only recently becoming popular because not living within your means is a problem whether the economy is in good shape or, like now, in terrible shape. But reading a [...]
Media-Types Struggle to Get on the Same Economic Page
Monday, December 1st, 2008I was amused and intrigued by Sunday’s print edition of our local newspaper. The business section featured four articles under the following headlines:
“Foreclosure Wave Hits Malls”
“Big Players Scale Back Charitable Donations”
“Global Crisis Jolts Tourism in Caribbean”
“Companies Whack Pay Raises, Bonuses”
Definitely a doom and gloom article collection wouldn’t you say? This selection came from a newspaper with a definite liberal editorial [...]
This Year Give the Gift of Personal Finance Education
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008As “Black Friday” approaches, the personal finance blogosphere is exploding with ideas about where and how to find the best deals in holiday shopping. So, Mr. ToughMoneyLove thought he would chime in with his own, slightly contrarian suggestions on how to shop for Christmas gifts this year.
An Un-Toy Holiday Gift for Children
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008Having raised three boys of my own, I know the power of advertising in persuading children and their parents that toys must be at the top, bottom, and middle of all Christmas gift lists. The price we paid for falling victim to this power is measured by the many hours we spent wondering around Target and Toys [...]
Your Candidate Cannot Solve Your Financial Problems
Monday, November 3rd, 2008Change is Coming but Not in the Way You Might Expect
Election campaigns are all about calls for “change we can believe in,” a “new direction for America”, and “spreading wealth and prosperity to all Americans” When I see or hear campaign slogans such as these, my reaction is essentially “blah blah blah.” Other voters have [...]
Hide Your Checkbooks – The Direct Marketing Sales Army is Growing
Friday, October 31st, 2008I came a across a news article yesterday that was both interesting and disturbing. It seems that the declining economy has created more interest among the unemployed and the underemployed in personal direct marketing. As used in this context, “direct marketing” means that even more scary people are gearing up to knock on your door [...]
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