It’s truly astonishing how terrible the financial state of so many people is these days.  Really, it’s incredible and depressing.  While everyone’s situation is different, there are three major reasons that have contributed to this being a major widespread disaster.
Reason #1 – No Discipline
American’s have really moved away from discipline.  Maybe it is a result of a booming standard of living or ease in our lives, but discipline is definitely a thing of the past.
What has replaced it is a sense of flippancy regarding our finances.
Instead of taking our finances …

As I continue to overwhelm you with pessimistic economic insight, the WSJ had a recent article that was interesting on the baby boomers and their retirement picture.  The article paints the picture where policymakers of course always encourage saving for retirement, but the problem is that the baby boomers whose spending has fueled economic growth for decades are cutting back severely as they plan to enter retirement.
The cut back on spending is huge and is a must for most baby boomers if they wish to be able to actually retire.  …

Welp, the market did it!  We ended up on the week!  Hooray!  Recovery is back on!
I love reading the experts and their explanations of why the market did this or that.  Why it went up or down.  Here is a good one from a recap article from the associated press:
“The market is nervous,” said Joe Heider, principal at Rehmann Financial in Cleveland. “It’s reacting on a day-to-day basis.”
Ok, got it Joe.  Thanks.
Furthermore, you gotta love the article with the headline: Prep Your Portfolio For Next Week published over at CNBC.com.  …

I’ve long argued that the American consumer is shot, not to recover to pre-2008 levels.  While I stand by this, I didn’t anticipate a development that is simply incredible and scary at the same time.  The last boost to the American consumer is the new strategic default trend.  I’ve been discussing strategic default for some time and have been mentioning how it is an increasing trend with terrible ramifications for the overall economy.
Previous posts discussing strategic default:

Nothing can fix housing – June 1, 2010
A conversation on housing – May 1, …

Amazing times we live in.  It seems like more and more people are strategically defaulting on their debt obligations either simply due to being sick of dealing with it or with a larger goal in mind.  Allow me to explain.
Mortgage Default
I’ve been pondering (and many economists have as well) how consumption has been rising in recent months despite stubbornly high unemployment.  Most people are starting to point to the fact that people have simply stopped paying their mortgage.  It’s commonly accepted that people can live in their home for a …

The deals available at fast food restaurants these days is incredible.  McDonalds is promoting its dollar menu which is great.  You can get a McDouble with cheese for a dollar!  Other chains are doing the same, and Wendy’s even offers a double cheeseburger value meal with fries and drink for $2.99.  What do these trends tell us?
Well, it gives support to the deflationary argument and it gives support to the strapped consumer argument.  In a prolonged deflationary environment, businesses cut prices in order to keep customers that are not spending …

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, …

The SPDR S&P Retail Index ETF (XRT) is approaching an all time high, essentially erasing the losses during the crisis… err, meltdown… err, recession…. err, distraction.  Yeah that’s the word.  2008 was just a distraction on our way to unlimited prosperity for all.  Why even worry about it?
Onward and upward!
Thanks to Mark at Fundmymutualfund.com for pointing this out.