Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge

I’m a big consumer of the Washington Post and WAMU (NPR-affiliate at American University).

Here’s a few stories I thought were great and wanted to pass along. Keep in mind, the Washington Post articles may require login. I recommend BugMeNot.com if you need one. But the Post doesn’t spam you if you sign up. (Not that I’ve noticed. They only bombard you if you get email news alerts. That I do regret.)

From Michelle Singletary’s column, Military Money Makeovers. This year she features three couples in the military or affiliated, and I’m actually kind of surprised. Some of them make really good money, yet seem to indulge themselves or else not crunch the numbers to make sense (going upside down on cars or losing money on a rental property). What makes me sad is that these are folks making really good money, but there’s a lot of younger military couples out there trying to scrape by on even less.

Kiplinger’s via WaPo: Tax Planning for your first job. Good advice for new hires!

Couples and their differing money styles. I think this is a great article. It’s a good reminder that money discussions are really important. That’s not to say it’s the first subject you talk about, but I’m trying something different with my new boyfriend and that’s to be frank about how we pay the check and other financial issues. I refuse to sit idly by with someone only to learn later on what a mess their financial life is. I make a point of ferretting it out a guy’s finances, not to be a gold digger, but to plan appropriately for the future.

Kojo Nnamdi interviews Bob Sullivan of Gotcha Capitalism. (First link is to the radio program. Second link is to Amazon.com for his new book.) I was really struck while listening to this program. Credit card companies and banks are going to nickel and dime us to death with their fees. I’m starting to think I’m better off with my local credit union, but I still feel like I’m being well served by my large retail bank without much hassle. (Especially since their ATMs are everywhere and there’s a branch near my regular bus stop.)

Kojo again with some basics on Investing.

Crud. I thought I posted this last week.

This is a rare Saturday post, but I feel guilty for blowing off the blog while on holiday this week. (And drinking beer at lunch on Friday with my co-workers. Don’t laugh. I’m still doing server maintenance this weekend. I’ve EARNED IT.)

After the IRS website, I love Kay Bell’s blog, Don’t Mess with Taxes.

Recently, Kay was featured on NPR, but she didn’t say a peep about it on her blog. So I will toot her horn here.

OMG! KAY WAS ON NATIONAL RADIO!

It was a piece on year end tax moves and has 4 other resource links you might want to read while you have three days left this year. (Which are gone now because I spaced out over the holidays.)

I love NPR. Today on Car Talk, they had a caller who had a dilemma about the car he drives. (It’s Call 4 on the link provided)

Leland is recently married and his two teen stepdaughters don’t like his dusty old pick up. He’s trying to get a Mazda Miata with a dent on the right door panel and a check engine light that comes on. He’s wondering if it’s worth fixing it up and getting it for himself and the approval of his style-conscious kids.

The priceless thing about the call was his philosophy on acquiring cars. He likes to take a drive in the country, find something by the side of the road, buy it for $500 cash and have it last for 3 years! I love it!

My Altima is going to die in my parking lot. I am not going to get rid of it. I can’t. I’m trying to squeeze out every last dime of value on the thing. My baby turned 7 years old yesterday. She shares a birthday with the US Marine Corps!

NPR had a charming story of a couple who got to stay at the Palmer House for the price it cost back in 1947! They were married 60 years ago and celebrated their honeymoon there. For their anniversary, they paid ten dollars verifiable with a receipt Mariam Orenstein had saved in a scrapbook!

Many years ago, a friend and I took a road trip across the US. The one receipt I regret not saving was for this killer chocolate cake. It was a huge piece of yummy cake and it cost a ridiculous 85 cents a slice. It would have easily been $6.95 at any cafe in DC. I think it was in South Dakota, but I can’t remember now, SINCE I DIDN’T KEEP THE RECEIPT.

At the very least, they make nice decorations for scrapbooking. I used some of the receipts on the trip because the address was printed on them or the date and it helped to cement the memory.

Of course, other forces intervened to destroy the scrapbook, but c’est la vie. I still remember that cake.

JD at Get Rich Slowly has a link to Business Week’s Poverty Business article. It’s about the business of keeping poor people poor.

The authors were on On Point, an NPR radio program yesterday. It reinforces what’s in the story. Some more insight, and a Byrider spokesperson gets questioned by the host. Kind of interesting, but really, it only infuriates me.

Think back to Edwardian England and Debtor’s Prison. If such a thing existed today, I am certain that a disproportionate number of poor people would be in it after getting a payday loan or other usurious loan.

I know that I used to get direct deposit advances from Wells Fargo when I was in my ’20’s and barely scraping by in San Francisco on $27K a year. I know what the temptation is to get a little cash today rather than wait a week. But the fact that relaxed availability of credit is actually hurting more than simple poverty is appalling. Working poor shouldn’t be made even poorer because they are being taken advantage of by these organizations.

I feel like there should be a picket line against these places, like the way pro-lifers stand out in front of Planned Parenthood every week. Maybe that’s what the next DC area PF blogger outing should be.

Don’t get me wrong, lately I’ve turned into a borderline Libertarian on issues for all my crunchy liberal positions, but this seems to push way beyond the Pale of blaming the people who take the loans. It’s like saying, well would you like to freeze or starve this week because you can’t pay both the utility and food bills? Any sensible person would take the payday loan and worry about staving off imminent starvation or freezing to death. (Let’s get real people, that is often the choice poor people are making. Ok, maybe not in May. I’ll concede that.)

NPR had a story a few days ago on caring for an autistic child after you’re gone.

I was bawling in the car. I’ve written before about my cousin. It hits me hard in the chest. Fortunately, my cousin is not severely disabled like this. He’s very functional, just slow. I want to be there to help if it’s needed.

Plan your estates now if you have kids, developmentally disabled or not. There is no time like the present to think about the future.

It’s the same as emergency planning. The time to plan is when there is no crisis.

There were a plethora of NPR stories this week on personal finance topics.

Banks trying to stem mortgage foreclosures, plus legislative discussions for action.

Financial counseling so you don’t end up with a mortgage foreclosure. This just reinforces my thought that everyone who wants to buy a house needs to learn about mortgage products before they look at houses. It isn’t just a house you’re getting, but a financial burden. Picking the right one will make all the difference in your enjoyment of that house.

University professors are making more, but still less than football coaches.

Tax fraud through identity theft. Fascinating story. Of course, he did end up getting caught.

Summer gas forecast. My boss is playing a game. We’re betting on the summer’s high gas price at the Exxon near our office. I said $3.82 just for kicks.

And Joshua Bell plays in the DC Metro. It’s not really about personal finance. I just love him. I’d marry him in a heartbeat. He’s very versatile. He played Bach’s Chaconne in the metro one of my favorite pieces, but he likes American music too, like bluegrass. [Link is to another NPR story on the Chaconne.] The one personal finance angle is that in a hour, he can make $40. That’s about what I make. Of course, I don’t own a crazy gazillion dollar Stradivarius.

He’s going to be on Jean Chatzky’s show on XM radio station ‘Oprah & Friends’. Times are 6 AM, Noon, 6 PM ET.

If you have it, please listen and leave a comment. I don’t have XM and will have to find someone who has it. (The only radio I pay for is WAMU!)

Thanks!

A Prairie Home Companion is now on WAMU on Saturday nights. This past weekend was live from the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia with Terry Gross of Fresh Air as a special guest. I loved it. He reminded me of so much of growing up in and around Philly. I remember going to the bodega down the street for penny candy. Throwing our sneakers up on the wire. Taking the subway or train downtown to the Gallery to shop. Driving to Reading for the outlets. Getting soft pretzels from the Amish ladies at Reading Terminal Market. Lining up at Tacconelli’s for pizza.

One thing he mentioned was scrapple. If you are vegan or vegetarian, stop reading now.

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JD weighs in on index funds. Read the Dowie article link. It’s absolutely incredible reading. I used to work at the place that brought MPT research to many a CFA at these institutions charging high fees. I think that’s part of the reason why I’m not really crazy about most mutual funds. It’s all the same research. Eventually it’s just one guy picking one investment over another. Might as well be Malkiel’s monkey.

Insureblog on healthcare. Couple that with Kay at Don’t Mess with Taxes with the new Bush healthcare insurance proposal.

English Major does the smackdown on David Bach. For what it’s worth, here’s my old book review in two parts.

Donna Jean is my girl. She also puts the smackdown on multiple carnival submitters.

Bauhaus_sea at Financial Fitness on deciding between a 401K and a Roth. Clearly I should be putting some of my money into a Roth! Right now I put it all into the 401k because it’s too easy to do that. Sounds like I should liquidate a portion of my Save-O-Meter to make a contribution to a Roth.

NPR has two stories this morning about credit card rates and new legislation. Yes, I think there is too easy credit available. But I’m a less is more person and on this one, I am not sure that a new law is needed, more than greater consumer education.