Personal Finance Advice

I am a Boston Celtics fan and I have been since I was a youth during the rather wonderful season that was 1981. I had the joy of going to see the Celtics play regularly in the Boston Garden back when fans could arrive early and, if they thought about it, walk on the parquet [...]

As I read the daily news, I can’t help but wonder about the causes of our current economic downturn. I know the reasons that are propounded by economists and business leaders and I understand, generally, the current credit crunch. That said, I also wonder whether our economic problems might not boil down to a bad [...]

Al Gore offsets his carbon footprint. Volunteering for your community is offset for minor crimes. If you can offset those, you can definitely offset luxurious spending. The opportunity or the cost of that opportunity is a perceived value. Sometimes you even have to make a case to yourself for something you know isn’t the most [...]

Most of us enjoy luxurious things. They look nice. They feel good. They confer status and elevate us above our peers. We’re conditioned from an early age to want the best clothes, beauty products, electronics, jewelry, cars, or furnishings. In our quest to have the best, many of us only look at the price tag. [...]

If I were to ask the average person what makes a Lexus better than a Kia, an outfit from Nordstrom better than one from WalMart or a Coach purse better than a Canyon River Blues one, the most common response I would probably get is “quality.” Now I’ve always been one to try to spend [...]