I talk to a lot of college students about saving money after they get out of school and get a job. I think many have the best intentions of doing exactly that. Let’s face it, for four years or so they’ve been living on little or no income. Then they get out and take a job making more money than they’ve ever made in their life. But despite those best intentions and the new level of income, things get in the way of saving: material needs and wants, kids, life in general. My guess, based on anecdotal evidence, is maybe one in four households aged 25-30 actually practice significant savings habits. Continue Reading…
Time to Pass the Hat for Ed McMahon!
If Ed McMahon shows up on your doorstep in the near future, it’s probably not because you won the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes. It’s more likely that he’s needing money! You may have heard of Ed’s problems recently. He’s roughly $650,000 behind in mortgage payments on his house and facing foreclosure. While probably best known as the guy that introduced Johnny Carson each night, Ed was also a pitchman for Publishers Clearinghouse and various other products. He also emceed Star Search. By all appearances, it seems Ed had a highly successful career, one that made him a lot of money over the years. That doesn’t even count $7 million plus that he won in a lawsuit over a moldy house that caused the death of his dog (maybe he could release a country and western song off that story!) Yet in spite of all of this, at age 85, Ed still owes roughly $5 million on his house in Beverly Hills! Continue Reading…
26-Year Winning Streak Over: Clements Finally Retires!
After a successful 26 year career, Clements is finally retiring! By the way, I’m not talking about Roger Clemens, the baseball pitcher and recent object of Congressional attention. Rather, I’m talking about Jonathan Clements. I know many of you have never heard of him. But for 26 years he wrote the weekly personal finance column for the Wall Street Journal. It was the main column I looked for when I picked up the Journal. I termed it a winning streak because, for those who followed his basic themes of advice over time, I’m sure they have done well. Continue Reading…
40-Somethings, Mind Your Parents!
Remember back as a youngster when you got that first job and started earning a few bucks? My first job was an entrepreneurial effort at raising fishing worms. It’s a tough job digging worms. They grow even lower than cotton and your back starts hurting pretty quickly. I then moved on to the big money of drilling water wells — $15 per day and all the water I could drink. Continue Reading…