March, 2009

Money 911

Health Insurance Help

On Today’s Money 911, I answered a question from Sue, who was recently laid off and was wondering about the COBRA subsidy that is included in the government’s stimulus plan.

Watch the video to see my answer, then follow the jump to see the full details of this plan, which is going to help a lot of people.

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THE DIFFERENCE

Pay Yourself First

I joined Carmen Wong Ulrich on her CNBC show On The Money last night to talk about The Difference. She focused on the power of saving, as do most of the wealthy and financially comfortable people I surveyed for the book: 55% of the wealthy said that saving was one of the big factors in getting them there.

THE DIFFERENCE

Q&A: The Star-Ledger

I wanted to share a link to an interview I did with New Jersey’s Star-Ledger about The Difference.  In it, we touch on everything from paying down debt to saving to the importance of taking risks, even – or perhaps especially – now.

THE DIFFERENCE

When I Grow Up I Want To Be…

Joan Hamburg.  If you are a woman from the tri-state area, you know Joan.  At least you feel like you do.  When I moved to New York City — to take up residence in a floor-thru in Brooklyn — back in 1986, I drove into town with WOR on the radio and Joan Hamburg was my soundtrack.  She is a tough consumer (she wrote the original book on New York on $5 a Day),  a great mother (of two kids:  Liz, who does reports for Joan’s show, and John, who directed I Love You, Man, out friday), a devoted wife, and a pistol.  And I mean that in the best sense of the word.   More…

THE DIFFERENCE

Securing Your Financial Future

I was back on Today yesterday to talk about The Difference once again, and the specific prescription the book offers – how to buy into the market now that prices are low, how to connect and network with others, and why having a Facebook profile is so important.  Take a look at the video for more:

You're paying too much...

Here’s How It Starts

They say every person has the ability to maintain only a few intimate online relationships — the kind of site you visit every day, if not more often.  I have more than a few of those (thedailybeast, huffingtonpost,  my daily pleasure/temptation gilt for online sample sales).  But every Monday, I also make sure to go to consumerworld where I learn about new ways people are making money, saving money, spending money or getting ripped off.  Today’s big aha? More…

THE DIFFERENCE

Stewart: “Our Wealth Is Work”

I spent yesterday at Bryant University in Rhode Island with  900 women — telling them about The Difference — and how it is my belief that they are the only ones who have the power to take themselves from a life of financial struggle to one of financial success. We talked about optimism, resilience, connectedness — and how I believe today as I always have you have to do the work.  And they got it.  These women, like so many Americans, and I think like almost every hearty Rhode Islander, were not — they are not — looking for a free pass. More…

Money 911

What You Didn’t See On Money 911

If you watch all or part of the video below you’ll see what happened on Today’s Money 911.

What won’t you see?  Al Roker with his hand up in the air stopping us as we — David Bach, Carmen Wong Ulrich and I –clammored to jump in and tell you more of what you needed to know about each and every question.   More…

Larry King

Round Table on Larry King

I stopped by Larry King Live last night to talk about The Difference and take part in a panel about surviving the recession with The Street’s Farnoosh Torabi and real estate mogul Don Peebles.  Watch the full clip here (our discussion begins about halfway through the video):

THE DIFFERENCE

The Magic of Jon Gruden

In my seventh grade chorus class, there was a boy with sandy blond hair and freckles.  He sat behind me and he had “it.”  The boys wanted to hang with him.  The girls just wanted to be near him.  He was popular.  I didn’t live in that town long enough to know if he grew up to be prom king.  But later, I — and everyone else in America — watched him motivating a bunch of pros to become the youngest Super Bowl-winning coach in history.

As I dug into the data for The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper In Even The Toughest Times, I was particularly interested to see if popularity at a young age was tied to success and wealth in adulthood.   More…