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Keeping the Faith
Out all of the letters I received in response to my piece about my plight with student loans the one that stuck out most was from a reader who noted that I neglected to mention how faith helped me deal with my circumstances. I tend to keep my faith private, but for many Americans there’s…
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Spam: What's For Dinner
I understand that some of us have since moved on to the finer things in life like free KFC grilled chicken and such, but who else grew up having to eat Spam when times got a little rough? I can’t be the only with a mom who fried up the spam in a pan and…
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End Racism, End The Recession?
According to ACORN every 13 seconds a family loses its home. As it’s been made painfully clear a portion of those families are ones of color. Survey a number of Black neighborhoods and you may find them riddled in a sea of for sale signs. Last year conservatives placed the blame of the mortgage crisis…
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There Ain't Nothing Going On But The Rent
I distinctly remember looking over a writer’s resume and portfolio online with a friend last year and being in awe of the site and said writer’s extensive background. My friend and I both agreed that we needed to step our own respective games up. A year later I find out through a colleague that this…
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Despite Talk of Peak Unemployment Still Rising
Celebrations over reported initial job losses falling and talk of the recession peaking both appear to have been pre-emptive. Despite job loss claims falling earlier in the month, they have since grown higher than anticipated last week. The Labor Department said the number of first-time job loss claims rose to a 637,000 in the…
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Will Cities Start Using College Students for a Bailout?
Providence, Rhode Island is the home of four private schools — Brown, Providence College, Johnson & Wales University and the Rhode Island School of Design. In 2003 each school agreed to pay the city nearly $50 million over 20 years. Apparently that’s no longer enough. Facing a budget crisis the mayor of Providence wants to…
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Hanging Up On Fearful Spending
I’ve come to hate spending money. I’ve never been a cheapskate, but between the student loan industry becoming my personal pimp and working in an industry that seems hell bent on encouraging would be writers to step up their math skills I’ve had to learn some stern financial discipline. Meaning I have had to break…
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Tattoo Therapy
The American auto industry continues to fall by the wayside, the stock market remains as volatile as ever, and the real estate market, well, it’s about on par with Chris Brown’s career. But, there is one industry currently that’s still in the black. In fact, it’s also in the red, green, yellow, and any color…
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Goodbye Beaches, Hello Sofas
The other day I spoke with a friend of mine who was going on a trip to Europe. She said she was “broke,” but I had to quickly bring it to her attention that broke people don’t casually fly off to Germany and then enjoy a quick stay in Paris. Granted, she’s staying with relatives…
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Want To Invest? Don't Head For The Department Store
Over the weekend I came across an article on our sister site, The Big Money, that focused on luxury retailers trying to market their expensive merchandise as an investment to consumers. Now that the middle class is evaporating at a rapid pace and even some well-off people are pinching pennies (or gold coins, I should…
