Born and raised in the center of the known universe, Brooklyn NY, and currently hiding out in the bucolic hills of northeast Pennsylvania writing about personal finance. His expertise includes personal loans, credit cards and retirement. It's not easy living the American Dream but someone has to do it!
There are few words that go together as well as Christmas and overspending. But there are alternatives to ending the year with piles of debt. Of course no one wants to feel like a Scrooge in the midst of a holiday season that celebrates giving across faith traditions as well as among the purely secular. SmartAsset has some tips so you can save money and celebrate this Christmas season. Read more
There are some facts that are immutable: 1. The modern world as we know it runs on credit. 2. Access to credit is governed by credit scores. 3. Crime is driven by greed. The first two facts above drive a particular type of the third. Scams, cons, hustles, and plain old fraud are some of the terms used to describe the types of crime that are the product of need for credit. Read more
It’s pretty well known that you should not pay sticker price when buying a car. Most of us head to dealer ready for some haggling (or negotiating). New or used, paying the sticker price is never a good idea. Okay there is one possible exception, you’re buying a used car from a close relative and are 100 percent certain that they are giving you the best price possible. Read more
Keep it clean and you’ll succeed. That was once advice young comedians received as the best path to success. It seems that business may be taking that same advice to heart as more and more companies,… Read more
I’m reasonably confident that when Benjamin Franklin wrote that time is money back in 1748 he was not talking about the relationship between the term of a loan and the cost of money being borrowed.… Read more
Congratulations you’re engaged! Tell your parents. Text your friends and tweet and post the happy news so that everyone can share in the happy occasion. Pick a date, pick a hall, book a honeymoon,… Read more
For better or worse divorce is the end result of close to half of first marriages and an even higher percentage of subsequent marriages. Adding to the crushing emotional toll is often financial… Read more
Buying your first home will be the biggest decisions you’ll make in both your personal financial lives. In fact, it ranks as one of the hardest, most frightening, long-term commitments you’ll ever… Read more
Let’s be honest, who doesn’t like the smell of a new car? It’s so popular that you can even buy it by the bottle to make your old car smell brand new. We’re Americans and we live in a new country… Read more
Having less than perfect credit shouldn’t be an invitation to being taken advantage of but it often is. The fact is that the worse your credit is the worse it can get if you’re not careful. The… Read more
In the wake of tragedies large and small, they pop up like mushrooms after a rain. With tales of woe and heartbreaking images of children or helpless animals, they beg for assistance. They are the… Read more
If credit drives the world of personal finance what happens when your credit report has a flat tire. From credit cards to home mortgages and car loans, even career opportunities are driven by credit… Read more
Preparing to send a child to college for most parents is a sort of a Jekyll and Hyde process. On the one hand you’re thrilled that you child survived adolescence, the trials and travails of high… Read more
When you think of college you think of studying, parties, pizza, guys, girls, and late nights. We seldom think about debt until graduation and the time comes to start making payments. Rising tuition… Read more
In the world of higher education rankings and earnings choosing to live and die by statistics is a recipe for unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Statistics do not represent individuals but collections… Read more
After decades of decline and shrinking populations American cities are seeing a resurgence of popularity. People are moving into cities of all sizes at near record setting rates. Why? It appears we… Read more
Unless you’re an eccentric living in the hills of Northeast Pennsylvania (I’m not mentioning names, it’s me) you will eventually want to get rid of your old car and move on to something newer if not… Read more
We’re not happy with our car insurance companies. We’re not angry with them either. We’re just not as thrilled with them as we were last year according to JD Power, the global marketing information… Read more
It’s everyone’s worst nightmare, you walk in your front door and your house is trashed. In my nightmare there’s 10 inches of water covering the first floor and my cat is floating on top of an ottoman… Read more
The question new and seasoned investors have puzzled over for decades is whether the better investment strategy lies in mutual funds or individual stocks. The answer is like comparing apples and… Read more
Saving for retirement is one of the most important financial planning goals for most Americans. However, the question of how much you’ll need to retire is often quite personal and uncertain. But for… Read more
The short answer to the title question is neither no nor yes. It is the ever uncomfortable, it depends. That big “maybe” won’t even provide a universal response to all adjustable rate mortgages (ARM… Read more
Congratulations, you’ve either paid off all your high interest credit card and revolving credit debt (or are well on your way) and you’re ready to start building your own emergency rainy day fund. A… Read more
What may be good for the economy may not have been good for retirees. When the markets crashed and the economy tanked the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates. Then they lowered them some more and… Read more
Marketers and advertisers learned long ago that no other word sells more than Free. Sell, free, isn’t that an oxymoron. Technically no, but it is an apparent contradiction and the terms do appear to… Read more
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