Did you know there was 4 trillion dollars of money made available to banks as part of the “relief” package? Did you know interest rates for banks are at 0% right now? So if banks have trillions and the federal reserve loan rate is zero percent why the frog are banks still charging 20% to…
Category: Rants
The Sad State of Retail Stores – Hint, It’s the Experience!
I am going to share a secret with you, it has been over 3 years since I’ve set foot in a traditional retail store. Â I do almost all of my shopping on Amazon and the only two other places that I visit occasionally are the grocery store and Costco. Â The grocery store I visit…
Where Are My Tax Shelters?
I’ve been working on my taxes this year and was sadly disappointed to see that I would have to pay an additional $5,000 on top of the $70,000 I have already paid in taxes for 2016. Â Â It seems that I was hit with multiple bonus taxes for Medicare and the AMT for some reason….
Sonos 5 – Beware of the Built-in Microphones That May Inevitably Be Used By Government Agencies or Bad People
Christmas is just around the corner and I have been struggling with what to buy for others and myself.  I don’t really need nor want a new 4k TV since what I have now is fine – I even have TVs that I don’t use in the house!  The new MacBook Pro that I’ve been…
Why Are All The Personal Finance Bloggers Dying Off?
This Labor Day weekend I decided to stroll down memory lane and catch up with some personal finance bloggers that I enjoyed reading over the years and much to my surprise I find that most of them have either sold out and moved on or have left their blogs hanging out to dry in the…
Amazon “Black Wednesday” Sucks!
I’m a big fan of Amazon but this Black Wednesday in July sucks.   I just tried to buy Amazon gift cards for the $10 promo and got a message that the deal is no longer available. Really?  You ran out of gift cards already at 8:30 a.m?  The day has barely started and Amazon doesn’t…
College Admissions, Racism, Rape, Crime & Debt
A good friend sent me a link to an interview with one of Duke’s Dean of Admissions as a primer on what colleges look for in a student candidate. Â Â I saw the interview and immediately told my friend it was 90% bullshit. Â Â We both have kids that will be applying to college soon…
Do Not Order Glasses From Zenni Optical!
After many decades of better than normal vision, I am now finally in need of glasses. Â I actually bought a pair of nice reading glasses a couple of years ago through my optometrist and was just SHOCKED to learn the glasses I ordered were $600. Â While insurance paid for most of it, I thought…
Seriously People, Why Do You Shop On Ebay? It’s Terrible!
I’ve used eBay on exactly two occasions to purchase something and only because I was desperate and Amazon didn’t have something I needed desperately in stock. Â The first was 2004 and the last was in late 2013. Â I know the exact times because I keep very good records and both experiences have been absolutely…
Co-Workers Health Insurance Premium Skyrockets from $750 to $940
How would you handle a 25% increase in monthly health insurance premiums? That was the topic at lunch today when one of my co-workers (contractor) stated that his family health insurance policy was rising from $750 per month to $940 per month.  I pointed out the obvious, “How do you expect 40 million uninsured people…