The context of this video is a little old (from last year), but it’s a great demonstration of where $100 million stacks up against $3.5 trillion.

Thanks to SHTFPlan for the heads up.

Today, I present a reader submission into the latest writing contest here at 20smoney that aims to offer ideas on how to fix some of our biggest problems.  The contest asks readers to submit their input on the following major challenges facing the United States (and other countries):
1. High unemployment – How would you go about lowering unemployment? The current policies seem to issue debt or print money in order to prop up the economy and boost employment, but these have potential disastrous side effects.  Your solutions need to have …

I like to report on good (or bad) experiences with businesses that might be very well known and some others that aren’t so well known.  First, let’s go with the good experiences…
I recently decided to cancel my DirecTV plan for my television.  This has nothing to do with DirecTV however, since the service has been phenomenal.  Instead, I decided to go with Comcast since I’m already paying for it partially with my HOA dues.  Upon notifying DirecTV, they offered me several deals to remain as a customer, which is nice, …

Depending upon your circumstances, you might be really in a funk right now or really moving forward with a pep in your step.  If you’re unemployed and struggling to find any meaningful work, it’s probably difficult to discuss motivation since you’re just aiming for survival.  On the other hand, if you’re financial life is stabilizing or improving, maybe it’s time to start looking at the motivation in your life.
So, what motivates you?  A paycheck?  Satisfying a customer?  Building relationships?  Building up money for a down payment?  Starting a business?  Getting …

Bailout nation is no longer the correct description of today’s economy.  The more accurate term is bailout world.  It seems like whenever any economic circumstances work against us, the appropriate reaction in today’s world is to reach out our hand to the respective government institution and expect compensation.  After all, being profitable is no longer an opportunity but a right, and any event that compromises this goal of profitability should promptly be resolved by the government.
The event I’m referring to, of course, is the massive volcanic eruption in Iceland.  The …

Dave Ramsey has an interesting approach to how much you should borrow for a home purchase.  While many say the rule of thumb is that your mortgage shouldn’t be more than a third of your income, Dave’s approach is much more strict.
The rule that Ramsey uses is that your payment on a 15 year mortgage should not exceed 25% of your take home income.  I would guess that 90% of homeowners are out of line with this standard (myself included).  This is a very conservative approach and would definitely limit …

Technical analysis is a complex subject and the value of it is definitely debatable.  Nevertheless, it is important to have some understanding of it in my opinion in order to become a successful investor or trader.  For all of you looking to improve your investing and trading skill set, I encourage you to read the following article.  This article does a great job on providing some high level technical analysis of the broad market that non-technical analysis people will be able to understand (i.e. most of you).  I encourage you …

The market dropped today when the SEC announced it would be charging Goldman Sachs (GS) with some fraud charges in related to some stuff too complex for me to even attempt to explain.
There is plenty of information out there that breaks down the situation – I’d refer you to zerohedge.com for the best, objective information on the subject.
If you want to just be entertained, here’s a good clip of Jim Cramer getting criticized pretty hard on CNBC which is never supposed to happen of course.  Whether Cramer is right or …