Khaki shorts (5) white tank (2) black sweater (3). Fun scarf to pull it together.
I didn’t post yesterday because I ran off to give a speech to a group of financial planners in Boston (you didn’t miss much clothing wise, I wore the same thing I wore on Day 1). What was interesting to me, though, was that getting dressed didn’t make me as crazy as it had the couple of days before. I knew it would take me less time to choose so I gave myself 15 more minutes on the treadmill – and felt better as a result throughout the day.
On my ride home, I caught up with Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less and asked him to weigh in on my Sixperiment. He explained that because I had decided to understake this challenge, I’d be less likely to feel it as an imposition than someone who was forced to do it. More…
HOW: David Arrick, like many, found himself – and his source of steady employment – a victim of the recession. After he was laid off, Arrick, who worked in commercial real estate, thought he’d hit it big when he landed a job in Dubai. “But then the global economy took a hit,” says Arrick, and as he packed boxes in his New York City apartment, he again found himself unemployed. “I had cashed out my 401(k) and blown through my savings,” says Arrick, “and I thought to myself, ‘how much worse could it get?’” Fortunately for Arrick, he didn’t have to find out. During a walk around his downtown neighborhood, Arrick’s attention was captured by the around-the-block line outside of a “cupcakery” on Bleecker Street. More…
Today’s expert panel touches on what to keep in mind when co-signing for a student loan. Should you rent or buy a home after retirement? What is the best way to handle payments due for medical expenses? Plus, get some tips on green investing. To learn more, check out the video clip below.
Black skirt (4) White tank (3) Black cardigan (2) — if I need it. (it’s going to be HOT)
For the second morning in a row, I was up at 4 a.m. And again, I was focused on what I was going to wear. This is totally not the point.
I’m an avid fan of the research of Swarthmore College Professor Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice. He divides the world into maximizers and satisficers. Maximizers are people who want more, more, more of everything. They couldn’t have a closet big enough with enough choices. There is rarely enough. Satisficers are the opposite. They search through options until they find one that is good enough, then they call it a day.
Schwartz says that being a satisficer is better. It makes you happier over time and actually enables you to get going rather than getting stuck. I believed, in thinking about the concept of six-items-or-less, that it would move me in the right direction More…
Last week’s NY Times story on the six-items-or-less phenomenon, where you choose six items of clothing, then commit to wearing them (and only them) for a month caught my eye. Could I do this, I wondered? Would I like it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? I weighed the pros and cons.
Pro: I am one of those people who have trouble getting dressed in the morning. I encourage my daughter to pick hers out the night before and I should really do the same. Sometimes it takes a few tries, which is especially difficult when you’re trying to get from the suburbs to the city for an early segment. This could be a time saver.
Con: It’s summer. And although I work professionally, I also work from home. That meant picking items that could go both casual and to an office. That would be tough. More…
I’d like to open my first credit card and am looking for some advice. I am a year out of college, so I won’t be spending a ton of money on the card, under $1000/month (and plan on paying it off immediately every month). Since I won’t be spending much money on it, I would like a card with rewards that I will be able to realistically use. Besides that, being new to the credit card search, what else should I look for? – Nicole, Washington, DC
Opening your first credit card is a step in the right financial direction! It’s important to establish your credit early on – it’ll determine your eligibility for loans, mortgages, and new lines of credit throughout your lifetime, and your credit history is a big More…
You know how important your credit score is – but unemployment and the recession have played a role in lowering the average credit scores of Americans. So what can you do to get your score up if it’s falling into high-risk territory? Watch the clip below from this morning’s edition of Today’s Money to learn a few tips that can help you gradually improve your score.
The American Red Cross swimming program, at least as implemented at one Westchester County, NY daycamp, has discovered the secret of reaching your goals. Break ‘em into achievable benchmarks. My young friend Sasha, age 5, started camp as a non-swimmer, as did my own kids years ago. Back then, a half decade or so ago, kids had to cross a slew of items off their list to move from Level 1 to Level 2 and so on. It could take an entire summer to scale a single rung. No more. This year, within her level, Sasha has been challenged to hit a number of benchmarks within Level 1. She started as a guppie, moved to tadpole, then was a minnow, now she’s a frog. And, reports her mother, “she feels great!” More…
I often receive questions from divorced mothers who are having trouble getting child support out of their ex-husbands. I think this is something that happens all too often (and it works both ways – I also get letters from fathers who are trying to collect from their ex-wives) so I thought I’d address it here.
This question isn’t easy to answer, because child support laws vary pretty widely by state. Across the board, however, the district or state attorney is required to help you collect if you’re owed money, so that’s where I want you to start if you fall into this kind of situation. Once you’ve spoken to them and they’ve confirmed the court’s orders, they’ll serve your ex with papers. He’ll be required to contact their office to arrange a payment schedule. More…
They don’t call it smart shopping for nothing but these days it’s not the money we spend that’s making us feel brainy – it’s the money we save. That’s what the researchers from Deloitte and The Harrison group learned. They surveyed 2,000-plus consumers and learned that four out of five say they find saving money using techniques like coupons and loyalty programs “fun.” So fun, in fact, that 93 percent don’t plan to return to their frivolous spending habits when the economy improves.
The research – which is called The New American Pantry Study (PDF) – pointed to five different, new consumer behaviors. Take a look. Join in. You may be more satisfied with how you’re using your money if you do. More…
Khaki shorts (5) white tank (2) black sweater (3). Fun scarf to pull it together.
WHO: David Arrick
Black skirt (4) White tank (3) Black cardigan (2) — if I need it. (it’s going to be HOT)
I’d like to open my first credit card and am looking for some advice. I am a year out of college, so I won’t be spending a ton of money on the card, under $1000/month (and plan on paying it off immediately every month). Since I won’t be spending much money on it, I would like a card with rewards that I will be able to realistically use. Besides that, being new to the credit card search, what else should I look for? – Nicole, Washington, DC
The American Red Cross swimming program, at least as implemented at one Westchester County, NY daycamp, has discovered the secret of reaching your goals. Break ‘em into achievable benchmarks. My young friend Sasha, age 5, started camp as a non-swimmer, as did my own kids years ago. Back then, a half decade or so ago, kids had to cross a slew of items off their list to move from Level 1 to Level 2 and so on. It could take an entire summer to scale a single rung. No more. This year, within her level, Sasha has been challenged to hit a number of benchmarks within Level 1. She started as a guppie, moved to tadpole, then was a minnow, now she’s a frog. And, reports her mother, “she feels great!” 
They don’t call it smart shopping for nothing but these days it’s not the money we spend that’s making us feel brainy – it’s the money we save. That’s what the researchers from Deloitte and The Harrison group learned. They surveyed 2,000-plus consumers and learned that four out of five say they find saving money using techniques like coupons and loyalty programs “fun.” So fun, in fact, that 93 percent don’t plan to return to their frivolous spending habits when the economy improves.
