At times like these it seems almost impossible to be optimistic about the future.  The stock market is reeling, yields on high-quality bonds are anemic, and everywhere you turn there’s a new disaster.  Wall Street banks are bleeding red, mortgage companies are dropping like flies, commodity prices are through the roof, and inflation is poised [...]

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As I was nosing about the internet last night, I came across Everbank’s World Currency Index CDs, which I hadn’t heard of before.  These appear to be a spin-off of Everbank’s popular Foreign Currency CDs, which let you buy a CD in a foreign currency and earn local interest rates.  For instance, prevailing interest rates [...]

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Organic foods are all the rage these days for good reason.  They are healthy, fresh, devoid of many harmful pesticides and chemicals, and don’t pollute the environment.  Unfortunately, organically grown foods can be anywhere from 10% to 100% more expensive than their non-organic counterparts, making it difficult for families on a budget to go green.  [...]

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Carnival of Personal Finance 
My post, Calculate Your Personal Inflation Rate, is in today’s Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by baglady.  Go check it out and read a plethora of pithy posts from the web’s best personal finance bloggers.  A few of my favorites:

Practical Reasons Why You Should Definitely Learn a Foreign Language by The Personal [...]

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Let’s face it:  the dollar is weak and seemingly getting weaker by the day, with currency experts forecasting it will get worse before it gets better.  While I don’t buy into the “end of the dollar” hysteria, I do think it’s prudent to hedge your bets.  There are a few simple ways you can benefit from [...]

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Consumer Reports releases its best cars to own list annually.  Since everybody already knows which brands tend to be most reliable (think Japan and Korea),  I thought it would be fun to see the worst cars.  The list is dominated by American-made, larger cars and SUV’s, which is no surprise.  But I WAS a little [...]

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Here are my favorites this week (2.24.08-3.1.08):
First Time Homebuyers, Think For Yourselves! by Five Cent Nickel
Your realtor and mortgage broker aren’t always on your side.  Only YOU know what you can afford.
My Wealth in USD is Increasing, But the Dollar is Falling by Consumerism Commentary
If you live and work in the US, does the relative [...]

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