Your money: March 2008 Archives

The New York Times today outlined why the current economic climate is both different from past recessions AND still not in a place to cause a depression. It's a little scary, but a pretty honest look at what could happen in the coming months and years. If you can only take the time to read one full article every few weeks or so, this one I think is it. See it here.

Earlier this week, I attended a seminar for parents on how to teach children to be financially responsible. And even though it was geared toward kids' saving and spending habits, I found that I was learning quite a bit.

For example, did you know the best age to start an IRA (individual retirement account) is at 15? I sure didn't.

When I came to York about three years ago, one of the most evident things I saw going on was the home ownership push in the city. Every city leader wanted people to own their homes, not rent. And I could see the whole lot of good that would bring.

People who own homes care more about them, so it would help the blight and litter issues in the city. And that level of pride in something could translate into other parts of life, and might help that angry, bitter attitude that smacks visitors in the face when the come into the city.

So everyone from the president to legislators to local elected and appointed leaders began a rallying cry to help everyone in the city, and other urban areas across the country, own their own homes.

And then the other shoe dropped, because getting everyone to own a home is the same as saying everyone is going to get saddled with a mortgage. And let's face it, people who can barely pay their rent from month to month have no business signing a 30-year mortgage, no matter what kind of "deal" they get.

Read more about how the "a home for everyone," an odd version of "chicken in every pot" coming from a Republican president and embraced by both parties, helped crash our economy in today's Wall Street Journal.

Do you have stuff you wish you would have known about the workplace before you got there?

We want to hear about it.

Tell us, in 100 words or less, what you wish someone had told you about bosses, resumes, sick days -- whatever workplace wit or wisdom you have to share. Send your response to mburke@ydr.com. Include your name, age, where you work, the municipality where you live, and a daytime phone number.

About 50 percent of teenagers didn't buy a single CD in 2007.

This fact didn't surprise me in the least, but it surprised my editor, who in absolutely no way could be considered old and out-of-touch with technology.

So when she saw the above statistic in a wire story and asked me if I could believe it, I said yes because I don't know a single person (well except my editor, who picked up Thriller 25 last month for her husband for Valentine's Day, and my college roommate, who has insane artist loyalty) who still buys CDs.

To me CDs are a thing of the past, replaced with downloaded MP3s.

The new $5 bill is being released today, and Lincoln's getting a splash of color.

And for comparison sake here's the bill we're all used to seeing:

It's been some strange coincidence that every time I've gone to get an oil change I've always had a male in the car with me. Once it was my dad, who had offered to pick up the cost because I was home visiting my parents. Once I had my friend in the car because we were preparing for a road trip to North Carolina. Needless to say, I never had any problems with people trying to sell me more than I needed.

Yesterday, I went to get my very first oil change by myself. I was feeling a little bit proud of myself when I told the guy I only wanted an oil change. Nothing else.

It turns out that along with the oil change, I also needed a new windshield wiper and a fresh air filter. Yes extra costs, but things I legitimately needed.

What happened to the green movement? When did it transform from being all about conservation to being all about consumerism?

Going green is about cutting back --spending less money and wasting fewer resources and in the process leaving less of a carbon footprint.

Today's green movement doesn't conserve at all. It throws away and buys more.

Now that it's hip, trendy and mainstream to be "green," the grassroots movement is getting farther and farther away from it's original cause.

This article in the Washington Post says it best.

That's the bottom line, isn't it? So here are a few tips to really save money on your daily drive, without the caveats of saving the planet that can actually cost you money in the end.

It's just cold economics.

And interestingly enough, the main tip to take away from this: Having a little beater car for the commute can save hundreds of dollars - and hundreds of gallons of fuel - per year. You don't need a Prius to save gas, and you end up helping the planet by default.

So maybe what we need to see on the long road south to Baltimore every morning is a string of cars that looks more like our old high school parking lots than the Detroit auto show circa 2015.

With everyone having trouble getting through to Comcast customer service, this article in Sunday's Baltimore Sun seems especially timely.

One of the reporters ran a test with several companies, including Comcast, Verizon and Verizon Wireless. She called in to their customer service lines and timed how long and how many automated messages she had to wade through before she got through to a real person.

Verizon Wireless scored well, but both Verizon landline service and Comcast score poorly.