20 questions that your financially unprepared friends are afraid of

Note: In many cultures, you would be considered a huge jackass for asking these questions out loud.

1. How much money do you spend each month?
2. Where does it go?
3. Where do you want it to go?
4. Are you rich?
5. What does rich mean to you?
6. Hey, how’d you pay for that iPhone?
7. How much do [...]

The Truth: What Obama and McCain won’t tell you about your money

After watching the debate tonight, I figured I’d translate what both candidates were saying. Sorry I’m not as politically correct as them, but I hope this is informative.
Things will get a lot harder before they get better.
All the predictions about the recovery taking until “at least the end of the year” are horseshit. In [...]

10 links to walk you through today’s financial crisis — and make you smarter than 99% of other people

All right, guys. I’ve gotten lots of emails about what’s going on with the economy and bailout, so I thought I’d put together a list of the articles I’ve been reading over the last two weeks. I added my own commentary to them below, plus links to stuff I’ve written that agrees/disagrees with each of [...]

My 3-minute video response: What you can do about today’s economy

Yesterday a bunch of you left comments and sent me emails about what’s going on in the economy. Here’s a quick video I did to answer some of them. Check it out and see my notes below.

Worst screen capture ever?
0:01 — Intro: We’re going to talk about what’s happening with the economy, asking the right [...]

Morons who don’t know what they’re talking about

I hardly ever post on weekends, but I was reading this forum thread today and I almost vomited in my own mouth while struggling not to throw my computer out the window.
Read this forum thread: What should I invest in?

Photo by smoo
LISTEN VERY CLOSELY PLEASE. JUST BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET TOLD YOU TO [...]

You have $100 extra per month. Should you pay off your mortgage early or invest?

Two answers:

Photo from luxerta
1. Invest (Consumer Reports)
2. Run the numbers (Get Rich Slowly)
The key thing here is to actually do an analysis, as opposed to throwing around hand-wavy arguments like “Renting is throwing your money down the toilet” and “Leverage always makes you money.” If you make a financial decision that will cost you hundreds [...]