My Experiences with NML after Two Decades

Note: this was an epinions piece I wrote about my experiences with Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance (NML) after having policies for nearly two decades.For more information on insurance in general, see my entry "Are You Over-Insured?"*...

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Being Self-Reliant in a Technological World

Primitive "Cargo Cults" in the South Pacific worshiped technology without understanding how it worked. Have we devolved into a modern version of the "Cargo Cult" with regard to our electronic technology?Living in the Western World...

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New SCAMS from the Credit Card Companies

Two things to watch out for lately from our friends at the Credit Card Companies and some thoughts on Credit Card Habits.Two SCAMS to watch out for lately:1. The Check is In the Mail: Credit Card companies mail you these nice checks, sometimes bound in a checkbook, encouraging you to rollover debt or spend more money. Shred them! In most cases, they have huge interest rates attached to them and will get you in real trouble....

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Water, Water, Everywhere....

Water, Water, Everywhere...Water, water, every where,And all the boards did shrink ;Water, water, every where,Nor any drop to drink. - The Rime of the Ancient MarinerIn recent years we have become more conscious of water consumption in a way we never thought of decades ago. We are dehydrated, we are told. Americans don't drink enough water. We should drink quarts and quarts of water every day.At the same time, water fountains...

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Tracking Expenses for a Year

Since January of last year, I have tried to track, on Quickbooks, every expense I have had.This is an interesting experiment and something I would highly recommend to anyone to do - perhaps on a regular basis, for several reasons:1. You can figure out "where all the money is going" and take steps to cut back on expenses.2. You can figure out what you will actually need to live on, once you retire.3. You can see the benefits...

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LIVE like a 20-year-old!

I got to thinking the other day (I do that sometimes) and it occurred to me that approaching 50 years of age, some of the "fun" seems to be lost in life. I watch my friends and acquaintances, most of whom are much older than me, and it seems they worry a lot about things. What happened to the good old days?The few friends who don't seem to have this problem also seem to have no worries. They sort of drift through life, taking...

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Wither the LUXURY CAR?

What is a Luxury Car anymore? And why do people buy them?Historically, and by that I mean the dawn of the automotive age, automobiles were largely hand-built affairs, reserved for the very rich.Cars were built to last, and often custom-built to the owner's specifications. A chassis would be purchased and then custom coachwork made to order. Owners were known to change coachwork on the car, sometimes seasonably ("Jeeves, put...

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DISPOSABLE INCOME and Cost Cutting

Further to my previous entry regarding Disposable Income and Part Time Work, it is worthwhile to explore the same concept with regard to cost-cutting of your personal overhead.Many folks, reading a blog like this, will get impatient and say "Well, I make a lot of money, so I don't have to worry about that! Why should I worry about saving $100 when I can go out and make that much money in a couple of hours!"And it is true, if...

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DISPOSABLE INCOME and Part Time Work

Note: The details of the following example are combined from a number of different people and do not represent any one particular individualA friend of mine is married. Her husband has a pretty high paying job, making $150,000 a year, enough for them to live on.The conundrum for her is this: Should she get a part-time job now that their child is in school? She can make $20,000 a year working part time and still be able to...

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Gas Milage - How Much is Good Enough?

A friend of mine just sold a perfectly good and reliable "paid for" car for a pittance and bought a brand new car for nearly four times the amount he sold his old car. Why?"Gas Mileage" he said.He sold a reliable car that got maybe 25 MPG in favor of a new car rated at over 30 MPG. Is this a sound transaction?The short answer: NO.Gas mileage, as I have noted before, is a funny thing. The higher your gas mileage goes, the smaller...

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