By John Packard After years of living large, U.S. households are finally learning what financial experts thought they never would: to live within their means. Economists have long warned that the U.S. consumer was on an unsustainable spending frenzy and that savings rates were dangerously low. Now, families are being forced into financial responsibility by the housing downturn and a weakening economy. My question is, why has it taken so long. The media, credit companies, and other culprits have perpetuated this myth that there should be no limit to our […]

By John Packard Although I think the economic stimulus package is a joke, it is money and we’ll take it. Government is expecting all of us good citizens to go out and ‘spend’ the money. The theory is that such ‘spending’ will jumpstart the economy back into growth mode. Forget the fact that the U.S. Federal government is the biggest perpetrator of fiscal irresponsibility in history. (I will stop here.) My suggestion is that we send uncle sam a message: That we are not going to spend the money, but […]

By John Packard The US Government is sending a strong signal to pre-retirees. “Get your own financial house in order…â€? Aside of being hypocritical, it is not the end of the message: “because we can’t seem to do anything right.â€? Translation: Don’t expect government to come to the rescue when retirement comes around. Congress is sitting idly; they are waiting to pass on the social security hot potato to the next group so they won’t have to deal with it. Without admitting to blatant incompetence, the government has tried to […]

By Brice Hogan Marching your way to financial freedom takes a lot of discipline. So I want to impart some wisdom on how to keep a little more money in your wallet when you shop around for things. Groceries My wife says that I am the king at grocery shopping, and I am. That is because when I go I try to look for the best deals possible I bring a list and stick to it. Generally I go during the busiest time of the week which is either the […]