depression

I spend a great deal of my life talking, thinking and writing about money. We are all familiar with the oft-repeated biblical phrase that says the “love of money is the root of all evil”. It is important to understand that “money” is not the emphasis here, but rather the “love of” money. We are [...]

Economies develop and move forward under almost any conditions. Mankind can adapt, survive and even make a living in the totalitarian economies of Chavez and Castro to the laissez-faire, free market economies of Canada and Hong Kong. In a manner of speaking, free market is alive and well wherever people live. Sometimes it is a [...]

Impulse buying can be the end to all financial plans. Accounts are most likely overdrawn by the end of the month or purchase decisions are regretted. This is the reason for a sinking fund for all planned or major purchases. Sinking funds are simply savings put in one particular place for a specific thing. For [...]

One of the quickest ways to improve your finances is to reduce your expenses and find more ways to save money. This article is a compilation of various money saving articles that have been published over the years. A few tips are also highlighted from each article. Make sure you follow these links to see [...]

Following up on my how to create a budget article, I want to share with you a budgeting method called the cash envelope budgeting system. The envelope system of budgeting has been around for long time (it’s believed to have started during the Great Depression). However, it became more popular when Dave Ramsey preached it [...]

In this Ask the Expert with Larry Swedroe article, Rob observed that none of the alternative investments provided sufficient risk reduction to soften the impact of the current Bear Market. Diversification doesn’t seem to be working. What went wrong? Here’s the question from Randy:
Dear Larry,
I’m reading your book, The Only Guide to Alternative Investments You’ll [...]

In this Ask The Expert With Larry Swedroe article, Randy is shying away from the stock market and wondering if he should invest his money in Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS), or in Certificates of Deposit (CDs). Here’s the question from Randy:
Hi Larry…..seeing that the 5 year TIPS auction in January (reissue) offered a nice [...]

This is the 11th issue of the Ask The Expert column by Larry Swedroe. You can see Larry’s full biography and important disclaimer below. If you are interested in having your question answered by Larry, please send me an email via the contact page.
Now, let’s get to the questions and answers (please note that the [...]

Net Worth Review
September was a rough month! The U.S. economy suffered from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Major failures in our financial system forced the U.S. government to take over Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG. On top of that we saw the end of Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, and Wachovia. All [...]

With the recent turn of events, I have been giving a lot of thought about what to do in event of economic slowdown — i.e., recession, stagflation, depression, financial doom, or whatever you want to call it. As I put this list of 5 strategies together, I realize that they are nothing more than responsible [...]