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Teaching Kids About Money So They Don’t Go Through All Yours

photo by Cliff1066, Flikr

photo by Cliff1066, Flik

Are you doing a good job teaching your kids about money?

Are you worried about your kids growing up unable to make smart financial decisions? Are you petrified at the notion that they’ll have to face the tough challenges you did? Do you fear they’ll repeat your jug-head mistakes?

If so, join the club. Many people I know have these worries…or at least…they should.

It’s tragic. It really is.

A family works hard to get out of debt and overcome obstacles. Then, the kids get out the shovels and dig the family right back into the hole they scratched and scraped their way out of.

This subject is especially important to me. As you may know, I was homeless and broke when I was 17. I worked my Pilgrim arse to the bone just to make sure my kids wouldn’t go through what I did. Do you think I’m going to stand by and watch my kids do something spectacularly stupid when it comes to money?

No I’m not. At least not if I can help it.

So what are a few “genius” strokes you can take to make sure your kids don’t put themselves (and you) in the poor house?

1. Teaching kids about money by not borrowing to pay for college.

This is not just about the debt….it’s about the debt mindset.

When your kids see you borrowing for college when a lower cost alternative is available, what message do you send? The wrong one.

You’re telling them that borrowing is OK and it’s not. Don’t be surprised when they buy cars and houses they can’t afford either. They’re just doing what they learned…..from you.

How are those tender little minds going to know the difference between good borrowing and bad borrowing? Debt is nothing to take lightly and you must demonstrate that by doing whatever you have to in order to get those youngsters through college without borrowing money.

Let them go to junior college. Work. Whatever.

This concept of not borrowing for college goes for you and them. You’re not allowed to borrow for their higher education if a lower cost alternative exists and you’re not allowed to let them saddle themselves with debt either.

Of course you’ll have to speak with the kids in order to make it a teachable moment.  But I do have some good news to remind you of.  You’re the parent, they are the kids and a family ain’t a democracy.  You are the Grand Poobah.  You decide.  They follow.

Even if the kids could get a “better education” by attending a more expensive school (that you can’t afford), don’t do it if it means you have to borrow money. They’ll benefit more by seeing, first hand, how powerful staying out of debt is.

That’s a life lesson they’ll never get in school. Only you can give them that gift.

Now for the second genius idea:

2. Teaching the kids about money by admitting your mistakes immediately.

This may seem to have to no connection to my earlier point but if you give me a chance to explain, I think you’ll see that it does.

Ever since my kids were babies, I’ve tried to admit when I was wrong. I jumped at the chance. I couldn’t wait. It was wonderful and I’ll tell you why.

I figured, even though they were my kids, there was still an off-chance they’d make a mistake or two down the line.

I wanted them to see how easy it is to own up to mistakes and rectify them quickly. There is nothing more expensive then ignoring a problem or working hard to deny one.

I wanted kids who understood how admitting a mistake wasn’t the end of the world.

Folks who have a life or death need to be right end up broke. They hold on to the wrong jobs, businesses, investments and boyfriends way too long. I didn’t want that happening to my daughters – especially the boyfriends part.

Do you think these ideas have merit? Is it beyond your power to insure your kids don’t become financial dunces? What other genius moves have I overlooked?

Like this article? You will love getting my free brilliant financial updates! No spam, and I won't give your email address to any other person or company.That's a personal promise. Neal Frankle, Certified Financial Planner, Los Angeles, California

Mar 03, 2010 | 3 comments | View Post

How To Know If You Are Saving Enough For Retirement

Do you know how much you need to save for your retirement?

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Do you know if you are saving enough for retirement?

Most people don’t have a clue.

According to an ING survey, a third of the people over 55 think they need to save $250,000 in order to retire. Another third think they need $1 million.  Most of the rest don’t know.

By the time you finish reading this and do the exercises, the good news is you’ll know.

Let’s get started:

1. Get A Personal Budget Plan by Knowing What You Spend.

Notice….I didn’t say that you should monitor your expenses – you need to know what you spend and there’s a huge difference between the two.

When I ask folks to tell me how much they spend, they often list their expenses. Unfortunately, most people spend about 30% more than they think they do.

Why? Because they spend money on things that aren’t included in their monthly expense list. I’ve written about this issue extensively and I will tell you that unless and until you are willing to track your spending, you will have to depend on your luck in order to save for retirement because your luck will be the only thing you’ll have going for you.

Track you spending…..OK? (While this can be a complete pain in the rear, it doesn’t have to be. You can use my free budget planner to track your spending and get out of debt in 5 minutes a month.)

2. Don’t Make Bad Assumptions.

You know what happens when you assume don’t you? You make an ASS out of U and ME!

Specifically, don’t kid yourself into thinking your expenses will drop when you retire. They won’t. I say this for 3 reasons:

a. When you retire, you’ll have more free time to spend money….so you will.

If you think about it, you probably spend more money on the weekends than during the week. Well…when you are retired….every day is a Saturday. You’ll have the time you always wanted to go bowling, travel the 7 seas, take up skydiving as a hobby and more. It costs money baby. It all costs.

b. Inflation isn’t going to stop working just because you do.

Even if inflation doesn’t get out of control because of unfettered government spending, you should figure that inflation is going to continue. Let me illustrate the danger of inflation.

If you spent $50,000 a year in 1980 to get by, it would cost you $128,000 to pay for the same standard of living today.  That’s an increase of 250% in 30 years.  If you are 60 years old today, it probably makes sense to count on living another 30 years so you do the math.

c. Medical expenses.

Even after you qualify for Medicare at 65, you still have premiums, deductibles, co-pays and uncovered items such as glasses and dental.

d. You will probably live longer than you think you will.

Many people make the mistake of looking at actuary tables and assume they’re only going to live into their 70’s or 80’s. The reality is that the longer you live, the longer you are likely to live. So a healthy 53 year old man can expect to be older at death than a newborn who hasn’t overcome childhood diseases etc. What I’m trying to say is that you can’t rely on actuary tables.

3. Be realistic about your retirement income.

If you’re like me, you can’t count on collecting from a pension plan. My retirement income is going to be generated from investments and social security. With that in mind, let’s take a stab at estimating both.

Social security benefits are pretty easy to estimate. You can get simply ask them to send you a worksheet and you will have your number.

If you collect rent from real estate, adjust that rent for inflation.  Not too hard either.

Estimating income from investments is another story.

If you own equities and mutual funds, you’ll have no choice but to make assumptions about what they will grow to be. There are a number of calculators you can find online that will tell you what your nest egg will grow to given an assumed growth rate and assumed contribution rate.

For argument’s sake, let’s say that you currently spend $8,000 a month. Let’s also say that when you retire (15 years from now), you’re going to need $10,000 a month to keep pace with inflation. Some of your expenses will drop off (like your mortgage hopefully) but others will increase – like health care.

Let’s also assume your combined social security income will be $4,000 a month.

So in this case, you are $6,000 a month short.

Remember a few paragraphs ago you estimated what your nest egg would be when you retire? We’ll need to use that number now.

I know I asked you not to assume earlier…but now I see we are going to have to make some assumptions in order to illustrate the point.

If we assume you can withdraw 4% of your nest egg every year to create the income you need, let’s determine how much more you need to save.

Assume your nest egg will be $900,000 by the time you retire, that will generate $36,000 a year at 4% – or $3,000 a month. That means you are still $3,000 a month short. So this indicates you aren’t saving enough money.

How much more must you save for your retirement?

Well……you need an additional $3000 a month – or $36,000 a year income. You’ll need to generate that income in about 15 years so you’ll need an additional $900,000 by the time you retire.

Using the calculators I mentioned above, you calculate that you need to save an additional $33,000 a year (approximately).   Rather than look around for another calculator or use my fancy one in the office, I just plugged numbers in until I reached my goal of $900,000 using 6% as a growth rate.

Now of course for some of us, saving an additional $33,000 is an impossible task.

There are a number of solutions for this retirement problem but for this post, let’s set that problem aside.

You see, I think the reason more people don’t go through this exercise is because they are pretty certain the additional savings they’ll need is quite beyond their ability. As a result, they act like ostriches and stick their heads in the sand.

Mistake!

Look, for the time being, don’t worry about how you’re going to get there….all I want you to do is make sure you know what your number is.

I will guarantee that if you’re not willing to calculate the number, you’ll never be able to devise a good plan on reaching your goal — or modifying your goal so that you come up with one you actually can reach.

Have you calculated what you need to save for your retirement?  When you did, were you surprised with the result?

Mar 01, 2010 | 21 comments | View Post

Broke, Evicted Heart Attack Victim Has No Finacial Stress –And I’ve Got One Desperate Request

Can you be free of financial stress while in debt?

Not if you are sober….at least that’s the message in the media today.

Let’s face it…just about everything you read from books and blogs (including this one) might convince you that you can’t in fact be happy until you get rid of financial stress.

Everywhere you turn, you get the same message pounded into your head; you can’t do or be anything if you have debt.

Does Financial Stress Mean I Can’t Be Happy?

Let me go on the record; I think like goes better with no debt. I also think it’s important to take whatever steps you can to get your spending under control and out of debt as soon as you can. It has to be a priority. But at the same time, I think you shouldn’t wait to be happy until you reach your financial or business goals.

I spent way too many years thinking that financial serenity would be mine as soon I paid off my mortgage or reached a certain business goal.

photo by alancleaver, Flikr

photo by alancleaver, Flikr


What a waste. I’m here to tell you that I’m through thinking that way…and I hope you are too.

If we tie our happiness to some external achievement, we may work really hard and achieve a lot….but we’ll be stressed and not have any fun. We also won’t be that much fun to be around.

On the other extreme, if we abandon the goals we strive for and adopt a “who cares” attitude, we’ll be worse off. By so doing we shut off a part of ourselves that is truly wonderful. That part of us that wants to learn, explore and advance.

Clearly, we need a balanced approach.

While I can’t say this works for me all the time, the following idea has really helped me.

What is it?

Simply be present.

Being present is a very difficult thing to do but well worth the effort. Let me give you an example.

I met a woman the other day who had an amazing story. Even though she was a young woman, she had suffered a heart attack, lost her job and while recuperating, discovered she was being evicted from her apartment. Talk about something to worry about….right?

I asked her how she coped with that stress.

She told me that she couldn’t afford to waste any energy worrying about the future because it saps her strength and makes it hard to make rational decisions. Instead, she focuses on her daily activities….one day at a time.

She gets up every day and asks herself what the most effective thing she could do that day to improve her situation. All she “worries” about is making sure she completes those tasks. If she does, she feels successful. If not, she vows to try harder the next day.

She’s satisfied with doing her best. Why? Because if she does her best, she can do no more. Whatever the result is, if she tries her best, she feels successful.

I think focusing on daily activities rather than outcomes is a fantastic approach to finances…and life.

It doesn’t allow anyone to escape responsibility. It keeps you focused on doing what you can and letting go of the things beyond your control.

It’s appealing….isn’t it?

Do you approach your challenges this way or do you get caught up worrying about the future so much that you miss what’s going on today? Before you answer that, I’ve got to ask a favor of you…it’s that desperate request I mentioned earlier.

Wealth Pilgrim has been nominated for 3 prestigious Plutus Awards. If you’ve never heard of these awards, they are like the Oscars for bloggers but without the red carpet, cameras, fancy cars, celebrities and after parties. Seriously, these awards are the cat’s pajamas in blogger-world and I’d like to ask for your support.

Pilgrim has been nominated for:

Best E-Book

Best Retirement Blog

Best Podcast

Everyone has the the right to vote and I’m asking you to take a moment to vote Pilgrim down the line. To do so, simply follow this link and scroll down (or do a “FIND” for “Pilgrim” and you’ll see the three categories I’m running in. Of course, you can vote on all items on the ballot but I don’t think you are required to in order to have a valid ballot.

You don’t have to be a blogger to vote…you just need an e-mail address.

I hope you’ll take a moment and support the blog. The only cost to you is about 2 minutes of your time and I’d really appreciate it. If I win, I’ll have a special surprise for all of you.

Remember, vote Pilgrim and vote often! (Just kidding…you can only vote once.)

Feb 26, 2010 | 6 comments | View Post

The Best Tip I Know To Increase Your Negotiating Power


You may want negotiating power to have more cash for your small business or to make your small business more successful.. You may want more negotiating power so you can have a good night sleep and more peace of mind at home. If you keep this one secret in mind, you’ll have a huge leg up on your negotiating power skills .

Are you ready?  Here it is: Don’t Put Anyone Up On A Pedestal.

I know this because I failed to keep this mind recently and it was a huge mistake

The problem started 2 years ago and even though the end result will be good, my mistake wasted a huge amount of time and energy. I want to avoid doing this again and I hope you don’t fall into this pit like I did.

I’ve been working on a business deal for the last several years that ended (badly) this morning. Looking back, I know I planted the seeds that lead to this poor outcome.

The setup:

I have been collaborating with a very talented person over the last several years on a certain project. (I am going to be vague on purpose….forgive me.) I had the original idea for the work and this other person had the skills I lacked. It looked like a perfect match.

In fact, I was a little amazed that this person agreed to join me on the endeavor because he is nationally recognized figure and extremely gifted.  This is where the problem started.

You see, I subconsciously carried the wrong attitude. I told myself that he was doing me a favor and that I was really lucky to have him on board.

While I was certainly fortunate to him as a partner, I was dead wrong about him doing me any favors. He was doing himself a favor – at least, he must have thought so. He was acting in his own self-interest – and rightly so.

But because I held this person in such high regard, I belittled myself a little.. Slowly the project became about what he needed rather than what I wanted out of it. This happened very slowly over many many months…but it happened.

I can’t blame him. I put my partner up on a pedestal. I wanted to make him happy so I compromised time and time again. I shouldn’t have done that…but I did.

While it was happening, I didn’t say anything.

photo by Abardwell

photo by Abardwell

Why?

Because I didn’t even realize I was angry. Can you believe that? Does that ever happen to you?

What happened:

We received an offer to partner with another firm to bring the product to market. I wanted to accept the offer because the company making it was a perfect match for the project. They have the distribution we needed to make this a success like nobody else did.

My partner wanted to play hardball and ask for the sun and the moon. Maybe he was right….maybe we should have bargained but it wasn’t about the money anymore.

He told me that the success or failure of the project was more important for him than for me. He shrugged my needs off. I felt invisible.

At that point, I lost it.

Without wasting time thinking about it or consulting with anyone, I fired him. I just couldn’t stand it anymore. It wasn’t pretty.

I’m really pleased with the end result because the project will continue without his interference. But I handled it poorly.

The Takeaway.

There are many lessons I should learn from this experience but by far the most important is not to put people on a pedestal. First, it’s a lie. Even though other people may have skills you don’t posses, they are in business with you because they want something from you – not because they are doing you a favor.

Everyone is replaceable.  You don’t need anyone so much that you have to lose yourself. And, as my buddy Danny told me, no project in the world is worth losing yourself for.

When you give someone too much power, you tend not to stand up for yourself. At least, that was my experience.

When I lost it with my ex-partner, I think I lost it with myself too.

I was angry that a grown man, a successful business person, could make such an error.
I don’t know if you’ve ever had a similar experience but I’d love to hear about it and how you handled it.

Before I forget again…here are some nice links for the weekend. Check out these festivals:

20’s Money

eliminate the Muda!

Best of Money

Darwin’s Finance

Jan 07, 2010 | 12 comments | View Post

How You Can Achieve 93% Of Your New Years Resolutions – Guaranteed

New Years Eve Fireworks Pictures, Images and Photos

You can absolutely positively achieve (almost all of) your New Years resolutions and I’ll show you how in a minute.

Jan 01, 2010 | 7 comments | View Post

Mr. Mom Edition – Weekend Links

Kitchen Pictures, Images and Photos

Once again, my wife is off visiting our eldest daughter in Israel so I’m holding down the fort.  It’s just me and my 10-year old and since she can’t reach the stove, kitchen duties fall to me.

I very rarely touch the business end of a pan or pot in our house so nobody expects me to discover the joys of cooking.  But I have discovered one thing – Mac & Cheese saves lives and marriages. If you have ever been suddenly thrust into the position of chief operating manager of your household – you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Dec 18, 2009 | 7 comments | View Post

Friend Discovers Hubby’s High Credit Card Debt and Screams “I Want A Divorce”.

debt Pictures, Images and Photos

Over the weekend, my wife and I had a chance to sit down with a good friend of ours. She asked me what I was up to and I told her that I just published Money School for Couples – (re-launched & available today) and she was particularly interested.

(As an aside, a few weeks ago readers told me to be loud and proud about the course I created to help couples get control of their finances and stop fighting and arguing. I am and I’m not shy about telling folks about it if I think it might be helpful to them.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with it you can click the link above to learn more.)

While I think Money School is great, I was surprised to see her take such an interest. And I was even more shocked to hear about the financial situation she and her husband were in.

They have been together for over 7 years now. She’s an architect and he’s a professional (struggling) photographer. While it was clear they weren’t swimming in cash, it never occurred to us that they were so financially troubled.

Jessica told us that her financial fiasco started years ago even though she only realized what a predicament she was in late 2006.

Dec 14, 2009 | 28 comments | View Post

41 Year Old Must Learn How To Find A New Job Fast – Six Tactics To Make It Happen

unemployment Pictures, Images and Photos

Like many people, Sherri just lost her job .  She worked at a major bank in Los Angeles for over 15 years and had a stellar record.

But the bank didn’t have a stellar record.

They had to lay off over 400 people and Sherri was one of them. She  wants to work and needs to find a job but she has two major concerns:

a. The overall job market. With over 10% unemployment and real challenges in the financial sector, she’s afraid it may be difficult to land a job.

b. Since she’s no spring chicken, she’s concerned about age discrimination.

Here are my thoughts and suggestions:

1. Age discrimination exists.

It stinks. It’s unfair. But it’s true.

Even though the Age discrimination in Employment Act prohibits bias against workers over age 40, it’s easy for companies to filter out older applicants. Sherri’s profession is full of younger people and her job really doesn’t require years and years of experience.

For those two reasons, she’s going to run into age discrimination issues and she might as well be prepared. Since older applicants are often discarded at the resume review stage, her first step is to carefully reword her resume and not use outdated industry terminology.

And when she gets a job interview, she might run into a snooty HR kid who tells her she’s overqualified. Sherri has to anticipate questions that touch on her age and be able to overcome those objections.

People in their 40’s and 50’s are more seasoned, often approach work more professionally and have fewer distractions.  These are good things.

But let’s get real here. Even the most hip resume on the planet won’t land Sherri a job. Resume’s lead to very few interviews and even fewer job offers.

She’s going to have to be proactive if she wants to find work.

2. Honest Assessment

On the one hand, Sherri’s experience is in the financial industry. She’ll add the most value to her employer in that industry and that’s where she’ll probably make the most money.

On the other hand, that industry is in financial turmoil right now.

Is it reasonable for Sherri to expect to find a job in her industry? I don’t know. She’s going to have to be the judge of that and it’s a very tricky question. ( I know that if Sherri was an unemployed newspaper printer, I’d suggest she look into a different industry.)

3. Tech Training

Now would be a great time to take short-term courses to get her technical skills up to cutting-edge level. Sherri needs to master excel, Powerpoint and even Twitter. If she can demonstrate mastery in these areas, it can go a long way towards overcoming age discrimination.

But training isn’t enough.

As an employer, I don’t want someone to just tell me they’ve taken a class on a particular subject. I want Sherri to convince me that she has it down cold. Before the interview, I want Sherri to think about how I would use these technologies and prove that she’s already a master at doing exactly what I need her to do.

4. Be Flexible

These days, a lot of companies hire temps before they take the plunge and bring a person on full-time. Sherri has to be  ready, willing and able to accept those offers. She might even want to call the companies she is targeting cold and offer to work as a temp for them as a way to get in the door. If she does this, it will save the company a huge amount of money and it will demonstrate her ability to be proactive. Nice. Me likey.

5. Pretend she is older than she is.

The over 50 crowd (that includes me) developed fantastic resources to help find work.  She should plug into that if possible.

Why?

Well……if she finds a company looking to hire folks in their 50’s do you think they might consider a young wet-behind-the-ears 41 year old?   I do.

Here are a few resources that people over 50 use to find jobs:

1. www.experience-works.com
2. www.seniorjobbank.org
3. www.workforce50.com
4. www.yourencore.com
5. www.seniors4hire.org

6. Get out there.

A job offer isn’t going to magically appear in Sherri’s  inbox. And her resume, while an important support document, probably isn’t going to land her a job either.

She  has to get out there and network. I wrote an extensive piece on this on an earlier article, “How to find a job even if you have an ugly resume.”  Sherri should focus 100% on getting “information” interviews. Her goal should be 2 such interviews a day.  Odds are good that if she does that, she’ll find a job within 2 months.

Have you had to deal with issues like these?  What advice would you give Sherri?

Dec 07, 2009 | 7 comments | View Post

“Stop Arguing About Money” – Does the World Need Another Info Product?

Salesman Pictures, Images and Photos

I’m going out on a limb here so please be gentle with me. I want to tell you what I’ve been up to and what I’m struggling with. Even though this does have some elements of sales in it, I’m trying to be transparent with you.

I’ve created my first – maybe last – e-product (with videos, workbooks etc) and I’m really ambivalent about how to market it.

I call it,  “Money School for Couples – How to Fix Your Budget, Spending and Debt (and Stop Worrying And Arguing About Money)”

I’m offering it at a huge discount for the next few days only. If you want to find out more click here.

End Of Sales Pitch.

Why am I ambivalent about marketing this?

I’m concerned you might get ticked off. I was going to send a special letter to all my readers announcing the pre-launch but then I got cold feet. I just don’t feel right about sending you an email if you didn’t sign up for my newsletter.

Why did I create the program if I don’t want to put in the effort to sell it?

In the 25 years I’ve been advising people about their money, I’ve seen a great deal of suffering, arguing and pain that was completely unnecessary. I felt compelled to create a program that snuffs this problem out.

There hasn’t been any other product I’ve seen that really does a good job addressing this in my opinion. That’s why I put together these videos, worksheets and exercises that do. (Damn….another thinly veiled attempt to get you to buy something!)

And I do want to sell it…I just respect your email inbox and won’t invade it. I don’t go places uninvited (unless it’s to visit my friends Lemor and Natan in Manhattan…….they have this killer apartment overlooking 68th and Broadway….)

Is this post just a coy way to accomplish the same thing?

Maybe yes….maybe no. On the one hand, I’m announcing the pre-launch here and if you are a subscriber, it’s in your inbox.

On the other hand, I’m trying to be as honest as possible.

Several months ago, my good friend Adam Baker & I discussed the need to be honest, passionate and helpful in blogging.

If I can’t do all three, I don’t want to do it at all. That’s why I’m spilling my guts here.

I’m passionate about what I’ve created and I think it’s going to be really helpful to couples who struggle or worry about any part of their finances (oops….another sales pitch! Damn me….damn me….damn me).  But I realize there is a very fine line that bloggers walk and I want to make sure I’m not crossing the line.

So there you have it. But now I have some questions for you.

If you were me, would you have sent out a letter?  Would you have created this post? Do you feel ambivalent about selling products or putting ads up on your blog?  I’m really dying to know.  Do you as a subscriber think bloggers should not sell or advertise?  What are the limits?

PS. As long as I’m shamelessly promoting myself, let me take it up a notch.  If you are interested, I’ve set up an affiliate program and you can join me in helping couples turn finances into a non-issue. Click here to learn more.



Nov 30, 2009 | 13 comments | View Post

“Black Friday Dubai Shopping” Edition of Weekend Links

dubai Pictures, Images and Photos

This is just plain weird.

It’s not often that you get a sign from the Lords of Shopping but I believe we all got a huge one on this, the holiest of holy holiday shopping days.

Dubai can’t pay it’s credit card bill.

As you may know, they’ve been acting like it’s “Black Friday” every day for several decades. This is the city-state that made itself famous for building man-made islands, the world’s tallest tower and an indoor ski slope. No doubt they bought all these items on sale.

What’s behind this crisis and what can you learn from it?

First, I don’t have much information on this.  I’m still recovering from jet lag and the good folks at Dubai Central have released very little information.  Also, they made sure to make the announcement while I was celebrating Thanksgiving.  Very inconsiderate.  But you don’t have to be an economist to figure out they spent money they didn’t have and now they can’t pay their creditors.

There is a huge lesson here for consumers:

Just because somebody ignores a problem doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

Sure it’s “Black Friday” but there will be a time in the very near future that you’ll have to pay your bills.  Just in case you aren’t a city-state yourself, remember to buy in moderation.  This is especially important today.

“Black Friday” is designed by merchants for merchants – not for you.

Sure you  might get a good deal on some things, but you’ll end up paying for it by purchasing more crap than you otherwise would.  Do you really need more junk in your closest?

I will guarantee that the Dubains never expected to be paupers but the day of reckoning has come.  Don’t get caught by surprise yourself.

Do you take advantage of “Black Friday” or do you end getting caught up in the frenzy?  What have your experiences been?

On to the Wealth Pilgrim Pick of the Pack:

Matt Jabs comes up with the coveted prize again for his political activism.  He wrote a fantastic piece on credit card reform and what we can do about it.  Nice work Mr. Jabs….or should that be Senator Jabs?

Hungry for some great ideas on how to deliver criticism? Financial Samurai has the answer.  It’s a deliciously written piece I know you’ll enjoy.

The Digerati Life gives you some pointers on how to use Netflix vs Blockbuster. Since this is prime movie going season, it’s a worthwhile read.

Moolanomy offers some ideas on how much debt is too much.

Christian Personal Finance offers some thoughtful Thanksgiving quotes.

Weakonomics gives us his two cents on how Black Friday works.

The Oblivious Investor wrote a very smart post on diversification on investment correlation.


Nov 27, 2009 | 6 comments | View Post
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