Posted on 27 June 2008
Last night my wife and I got to watch Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders. On the whole, the movie was enjoyable to watch and made some very good points.
The most enjoyable aspect of watching Maxed Out was seeing it in the context of the sub-prime lending fallout. The movie was made before the 1997 bubble burst on the hedge fund investors who were playing another game of Enron. But the writing was certainly on the wall, and this movie did a good job of documenting many of the problems with the modern credit industry.
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Posted on 26 June 2008
Debt has knock-on effects beyond simple and obvious financial setback. It causes stress, loss of self esteem and feelings of inadequacy. In reaction people often think all they need to do is “tighten their belts”, make some sacrifices, and all will be well.
The problem with this thinking is nowhere in this “self control” and “pay it down” concept does the person address the root causes of their debt.
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Posted on 23 June 2008
Talking to friends and reading forums I see a popular misconception about how success, and in particular money work that I want to share with you to get your feedback on.
This way of thinking in particular I call a “Wealth Limiting Thought“, but there are of course many such beliefs that hold us back.
The reason I picked on this one is because of all of them I think people really do believe the wrong thing, it is not just something we tell ourselves but we even see it as the root idea behind advice. What is this misconception? Read the full story
Posted on 17 June 2008
If you are a sports fan, you might recently have heard pundits talking about this scary quote
60 per cent of retired NBA players go broke five years after their NBA paycheques stop arriving.
Yes, those same basketball players who live millionaire lifestyles many of us could only dream of. One day they wake up and realize they have lower net-worth than members of their entourage, or even their pool boy. How does this happen? Read the full story
Posted on 12 June 2008
Credit card companies offer a variety of perks for signing up to use their credit cards. Because the industry is so competitive, these rewards can be quite enticing.
When choosing the right credit card for your circumstance, it’s important to think clearly about which type of reward you will most benefit from. For that reason, we’ve put together a list of the top 10 reward credit card offers:
1. Gas & Fuel based rewards
With today’s rising gas prices, many people are drawn to credit cards that offer cash-back on gas and fuel purchases. If you drive a lot, this can be a great rewards card for you. Some gas credit cards offer up to 10% back. But you should also be careful. Many cards only offer cash back on gas, some even at just one type of station. All other purchases will get you either nothing or a low rate for all other purchases. Plus, these cards tend to have higher interest rates so you’ll never want to carry a balance.
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Posted in Tips
Posted on 06 June 2008
My friends and family seem afflicted with the same spending condition. Wherever in the world we go we have to bring something cheesy and touristy back with us.
We call them “souvenirs” but really it is just something cheap, mass-produced, usually plastic, made in China, with the name of the place on it.
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Posted on 03 June 2008
Think certain well to do people are spoiled? There are some pets who are pampered even more. In fact, some of the world’s wealthiest people would much rather leave their fortune to their furry friends than friends and relatives.
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