May, 2009

MONEY 911

Your Questions Answered

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:

Tomorrow: Resilience

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

A Suckers Rally

As a follow up to my last post, here’s a video of my Today segment this morning on the same topic:

Less-Bad News

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…

The Difference

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…