* I told New York Magazine for their 21 Questions column that I thought Donald Trump was a pretty good father. After meeting Taylor Swift’s dad this morning, I think he may be even better.
* Maybe you have to go through a life-threatening situation in order to live life fully. At the aforementioned Taylor Swift concert I also met Kathy Guisti, founder of the Multiple Myeloma foundation, and as well as a patient. She was having more fun in the rain than most of the kids and reminded me: We are all, in our own way, terminal, and need to live life that way.
* Never cut your daffodils after they die. Simply tie them in bundles and let them wither away.
* If you can cut one car trip from your home each day, you’ll save an average 8 miles. That’s 56 a week. Or 2912 a year. With gas at nearly $3 a gallon, that’s $546 in my car. (Admittedly a gas guzzler. I’m trading down soon.)
* My dog needs a bath. I think I’ll give him one myself this weekend and use the $40 for something else.
* Chris Gardner stopped by my radio show this week to talk about his new book Start Where You Are. He argued against having a Plan B. Why? Because he said it stops you from pursuing Plan A with a vengeance. Although I could listen to Chris all day (he, better than anyone, channels Barry White), I disagree on this point. With unemployment creeping up toward double digits I think we all need to be asking ourselves the question: What Would I Do, If I Couldn’t Do This?
If your debt is overwhelming you, my first suggestion is always to contact the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. They can very often hook you up with a member credit counselor, who will put you on a debt management plan that allows you to pay off your debt within three to five years.
I mentioned this a few weeks ago, and dljimerson left the following comment:
In my case, I went to NFCC, filled out their requested info on CC bills etc (I owe about 50K in CC and car payments). I am unemployed and have been for months now, blown through whatever savings I have and unemployment covers the bare minimum to sustain life. The response from NFCC was I should seek legal assistance – which means bankruptcy. NFCC sure didn’t help me with their DMP plan. What else can I do? Is a bankruptcy my only option?
More…
Money 911
Here’s the video of the segment that I talked about here. In addition to the question about Making Home Affordable, we also talk about private student loans, opting out of credit card interest rate hikes, and preparing for a loss of income.
A quick post: Am headed to Today this morning for a Money 911 segment. Yet again, we have questions (many, though we’ll answer one) from people feeling stuck — stranded — with mortgages they can’t afford despite the Making Home Affordable plan. They’re right for the plan: Have Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans, not in excess of the $700,000+ cap, have been making their payments but are paying more (often way more) than 31% of their income toward the loan. They’re calling their servicers (that’s the 800-number on your statement) and they’re getting….absolutely nowhere.
If this describes you — and judging by the piece in the New York Times over the weekend that noted only tens of thousands (not hundreds of thousands or millions as expected) of loans had been modified and made affordable, you MUST keep trying. The banks, the lenders, were unprepared to deal with this in terms of the manpower they have on their sides. They are attempting to get through the paperwork they have on their desks. They are just swamped.
I am not excusing them. I am just telling YOU what is happening behind the scenes. Call again today. Then again tomorrow. And while you’re at it, get a counselor from the Hope Now Alliance — call 1 (800) 225-5342 — to call with you and for you. And keep on trying.
I recently created a series of several dozen videos, working with the folks at Practical Money Skills. In each video, I take about two minutes to provide advice on some of the most common – and important – challenges we all face with money. You can view the videos after the jump.
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Money 911
In case you missed it, here’s this week’s Money 911 segment on the Today show. This week I’m joined by David Bach and Sharon Epperson. We touch on everything from whether credit card debt can be inherited to how to prepare for a loss of income. Check it out:
As the middle schoolers in my community — and my house — are gearing up for the performances of Annie, and I gear up for my interview with Elizabeth Edwards, the catchily annoying phrases from Tomorrow are stuck in my brain. The red-headed moppet trying to convince President LBJ that brighter skies are right around the corner was one thing — that was fiction. Edwards recent spate of interviews have yet to answer the question for me: How, in the face of all the bad news she has had to face, does she do it? Can we use her tactics to get ourselves through the day? More…
TODAY SHOW
As a follow up to my last post, here’s a video of my Today segment this morning on the same topic:
Read the newspapers these days and you’re seeing a lot of coverage indicating that there’s an economic recovery on the horizon.
* Last week, ADP said that employers cut 491,000 jobs in April, versus the 708,000 that were lost in March. In fact, job losses were at their lowest since November of 2008.
* Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke forecasted a turn-around for later this year, saying that conditions in the financial markets have improved and the banking system is gradually being repaired.
* President Obama said on Friday that “the gears of our economic engine do seem to be slowly turning once again.”
* The Dow Jones Industrials gained nearly 165 points and finished up 4.4 percent for last week – the eighth gain for the index in nine weeks.
Is this good news? Eh. What I really think it is is less-than-bad news. But the fact that it’s being played so positively could cause problems for you and me. If individuals follow these encouraging headlines they can become too optimistic and sabotage their financial future. When we feel too good, too powerful, too in control of the future, it tends to backfire. There are studies from Duke University that found that when people see the glass as too full, they behave in ways that aren’t good for their future. They overspend. They accumulate debt. They fail to save. On the other hand, mild optimists – people who are happy, but not complacent – save more and are likely to have emergency funds. More…
My latest book, The Difference, answers one burning question: Why is it that some people seem to move relatively easily from paycheck-to-paycheck into comfort or wealth, while others get stuck or – worse – fall back?
Not to toot my own horn, but this book couldn’t have come at a better time. These days, more than ever, you need to know how to make your own luck, how to zero in on the things you’re doing everyday – right and wrong – that have an affect on your bottom line. I’ll show you how to develop your intuition so you can recognize when to take a risk, help you increase your resilience in this bad economy, and tell you why it’s important to pinpoint your passion and make it your career (believe me, the money will follow). More…
