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Social Security Is Not a Ponzi Scheme
Once again, people are comparing Social Security to a Ponzi scheme. That's a bogus comparison. (See also: Don't Despair Over Small Retirement Savings)A Ponzi scheme is a lie. Named after Charles Ponzi,...
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Is Bank of America’s $5 Monthly Debit Card Fee Just the Beginning?
In a word, yes.Consider this phrase — “Take money from businesses, they’ll just turn around and take it from the customers.”I’ve heard that, and many variations of it, several times over the last few...
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Occupy Wall Street, the 99%, and All That
The Occupy Wall Street movement does not lack a unified message. What they're saying is perfectly clear to me. (See also: Peak Debt and Income)To understand Occupy Wall Street, start with the people...
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Why Inflation?
We know how inflation happens—excess growth in the money supply. But why does inflation happen? (See also: Can a Little Inflation be Good?)Most people have a misunderstanding of inflation, because...
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Should Conforming Loan Limits Be Increased?
On October 1st, 2011, the conforming loan limit for loans backed by the FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac fell back down to the levels they were at before 2008. Less than a month later, the Senate has...
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How to Switch Banks
American banks aren't the most lovable of institutions. It's no wonder that the American consumer is sick and tired of low interest rates on savings accounts and sky-high ATM fees, to say nothing of...
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How Natural Disasters Can Change Pricing Worldwide
Millions of natural disasters occur around the world each year, from volcanic eruptions to wildfires to tsunami. As implied by the term “disaster,” these events can have devastating effects on human...
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6 Ways to Vet an IPO Before You Buy
In the aftermath of the Facebook initial public offering (IPO), the web has experienced a deluge of answers to the question “What went wrong?” What happens when one of the most hyped tech IPOs in...
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What Is the Fiscal Cliff?
If you’ve been surfing the web lately, you’ve probably seen the phrase “fiscal cliff” thrown around on finance, business, and political sites.The fiscal cliff refers to a series of fiscal policy...
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Retirement: Not Just for People?
This has always been true — almost all the economic value of a typical household is the future value of its members' labor.With a little foresight, this will change over time. As your career...
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The Housing Market Is Finally Rebounding
The housing market is rebounding. Really.After many premature predictions and optimistic announcements, the housing market has indeed turned a corner. Home prices and sales are up. Foreclosures and...
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Downside of the Rolling Jubilee
As a media-savvy ploy to shift public opinion on the debt problem, the Rolling Jubilee may be a brilliant PR move. It's probably not much real help for debtors. (See also: How Debt Fools People)Are you...
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Boost Your Retirement Savings: Avoid 401(k) Fees
You might not have noticed if your 401(k) plan has been charging exorbitant fees for accounting, record keeping, legal work, management, or for any number of dubious reasons. In fact, 7 out of 10...
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What I Miss About the Recession
The recent "Great Recession" was officially deemed to be over in 2009, but it is only recently that the economic recovery seems to have really picked up speed. While it is nice to see the stock market...
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Save More by Avoiding Multiple Bank Accounts
Want to save more? Keep it simple.Conventional wisdom holds that people should spread savings across different accounts, and the typical American has multiple checking and savings and other types of...
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New App Ondot Is a Remote Control for Your Credit Card
What's the good of ordering food via your smartphone's Grubhub app or ordering a car via its Uber app if you don't also have an app to make sure there's some money left on your credit card when it gets...
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Miracle Device Coin Rolls All Your Credit Cards Into One
Having your credit cards all suddenly disappear is something people usually fear. But now it's something you can eagerly look forward to, thanks to Coin, a new credit-card sized wonder-device that will...
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Why You Should Still Pay Attention to Bitcoin
It might sound like something the Super Mario Brothers obsessively hoard, but bitcoin is a form of electronic currency that's worth real money. Little known and even less understood, bitcoin has been...
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Clams, Cheese, and Bread: Why We Call Money What We Do
Money. Sadly, it does make the world go around. There are around 180 different types of currency in the world, including the Albanian lek, the Haitian gourde, the Moroccan dirham, and the Zambian...
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7 Weird Money Laws You May Have Broken
Money can make people do strange things. But what about when money laws themselves are beyond comprehension?From bizarre tax systems at home to monarchy-imposed oddities abroad, the world is full of...
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