Category: personal finance

This Is What Happens When Financially Immature Students Get a Credit Card

Our kids are fortunate to be growing up in the most progressive and exciting time in history. Sadly, the very culture that offers them the world is also perpetrating this lie: “You are entitled to have everything you want, even if you don’t have the money to pay for it. It’s not a problem. You…


Little Green Martians and Social Security

I was looking through some old columns of mine and I found one from about 15 years ago with an intriguing headline: “Little Green Martians and Social Security.” I wrote that column in reaction to a news story that was running in media outlets around the country based on a poll of young people that…


How to Bolster Your Financial Confidence

Melinda Perez, a financial educator, still remembers the first time she felt financially confident. She had recently started investing money outside of her employer-sponsored retirement account because she was finally earning more than she spent. “It was exciting because for once, I had what felt like extra money,” recalls Perez, who lives in San Antonio,…


Closing Prices for Crude Oil, Gold and Other Commodities (Apr. 25)

Benchmark U.S. crude oil for June delivery fell $1.69 to $77.07 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude for June delivery fell $1.96 to $80.77 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for May delivery fell 4 cents $2.59 a gallon. May heating oil fell 8 cents $2.45 a gallon. May natural gas rose 4 cents to $2.31 per 1,000…


Retirement and Estate Planning for Broke Individuals

You can help your relatives immensely by setting up an estate plan now, regardless of who you are. Essentially, whatever you own makes up your estate. These assets could be: Any property your own Whatever money you have in a bank account Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds invested through a taxable brokerage account A Roth…


Retirement Plans Derailed: Quarter of Americans Slash Savings Due to Inflation, Study Shows

A quarter of American workers had to slash their retirement savings as inflation hit a 40-year high in 2022 and took its toll on their hard-earned dollars, according to new study findings published on April 20. The findings were reported in an annual study conducted jointly by the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) at…


The Changing Rules of Building Wealth in the Technological Age

Commentary If you are under the age of 40, you likely are actively engaged in building a family and building a career. You are also actively engaged in building up enough wealth so that when you hit the back nine of your life, you can retire and enjoy it. I am in the back nine…


My Sincere Apologies to Pawnshops Everywhere

In the wake of America’s big economic wake-up call back in 2008, dollar stores and thrift stores saw a big resurgence. And now another kind of retail quasi-lender is commanding all kinds of attention from sellers and buyers: pawnshops. I admit to having grown up with a weird bias against pawnshops. To me, pawnshops were…


Closing Prices for Crude Oil, Gold and Other Commodities (Apr. 24)

Benchmark U.S. crude oil for June delivery rose 89 cents to $78.76 a barrel Monday. Brent crude for June delivery rose $1.07 to $82.73 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for May delivery rose 3 cents $2.63 a gallon. May heating oil rose 4 cents $2.53 a gallon. May natural gas rose 4 cents to $2.27 per…


How to Save Yourself From a Foolish Purchase

I wish I had a quarter for every stupid purchase I’ve made in my life. I’d have some major dough. Regrettably, my financial faux pas have been remarkable in both quantity and quality. I’ve made some real doozies. Take the above-ground swimming pool. Its a la carte price was bad enough. Adding everything required but…