Fareed Zakaria on the new tax bill Whether or not one agrees with the wisdom of the GOP tax bill, if it becomes law (as it looks like it will, as of December 17th, 2017), then each taxpayer probably wants to make the best of it on a personal basis....

Arun Muralidhar , inventor of the SOLFIE, on managing financial risk With the declining availability of defined benefit pensions, the risk of having enough income in retirement is falling on the individual shoulders of a larger percentage of the workforce...

one entrepreneur's method for profit from used books " Arbitrage " is a Wall Street word for selling assets (or companies) at a profit at almost the same moment you are buying them at the lower price. The Planet Money episode linked below...

images of Leandra English and Mick Mulvaney from Heavy.com When Richard Cordray resigned last week as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), he followed the law that established the independent consumer watchdog agency: he appointed...

from Newsy on YouTube The GOP tax reform plan is far from being finalized, but certain aspects of the bill have a disproportionate (and negative) impact on specific populations. These groups tend to be people who don't make much money anyway. These...

According to Thomas Gallagher, being a multi-millionaire might actually increase one's anxiety about having enough money. Professionals who work in this psychological niche say that those with acquired wealth might fear: not having enough money...

image from blog article Students who teach in challenging urban areas or doctors who practice medicine in remote areas have historically been able to get help from their employers (usually local governments) in paying off their student loans. That employee...

Jack Canfield tells a story Jack Canfield and Victor Hansen started the "Chicken Soup for the [fill-in-the-blank] Soul" franchise. The company had successfully branched out into greeting cards and calendars before its sale to William J. Rouhana...

image from Merit Career Development Regardless of your belief system, the only life that you can make decisions about is the one you are living now. And even if you are independently wealthy, your choices about work, career and how you spend your time...

image by Minh Uong for the NYT in article linked below In the aftermath of the Equifax security breach, several companies have tried to step into the marketing niche as financial-identity Hero. But the costs can be hefty: ID Shield charges $899 to...

another analog y (and more advice) for benefits open enrollment Most employers who provide benefits have a fall open enrollment period, where participants can choose a different type of plan. The dates change from employer to employer, so pay attention...

image from linked podcast header As the baby boomer generation ages, one thing is certain--the need for burial or other end-of-life services will peak for more than a decade. As it happens, this coincides with a larger world population and less space...

John Oliver on Equifax TRIGGER WARNING! Bad language In September of this year, Equifax announced a security breach that had occurred in July that affected just about every American with a bank account or credit card. There was a flurry of stories telling...

DeVos stops implementation of rules to help students PBS NewsHour The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ' s (CFPB) mandate is to protect individuals from corrupt and fraudulent practices by big financial institutions. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act...

Ken Garduno, illustrator (from link below) There are many professionals from India working in Kansas City, Kansas. Apparently, this is a big deal, as evidenced in the cricket community: " The Indian community here, now 7,000 strong, has boomed...

a different company ( Carrier ) announces that it is moving jobs to Mexico Rexnord Corporation has employed 43-year old Sharon Mulcahy in a plant manufacturing industrial-use bearings for over seventeen years. She'd dealt with sexual harassment...

California fires 2017 Almost every homeowner has fire insurance...but, is it enough to replace one's home and belongings? Like every contract, the devil is in the details. What is covered?: Assessed value? Original cost? Depreciated cost...

trailer of Netflix series from YouTube Ozark' s initial reviews described it as being less compelling than Breaking Bad. Therefore , in the era of Too Much TV ( Forbes ), it did not get my attention right away. But a recommendation from a former...

PBS NewsHour on the Equifax hack Equifax, one of the three gatekeepers of credit histories for individuals, recently announced a breach affecting virtually all financially active individuals in the United States. The breach occurred between May and...

brief YouTube infomercial--immigration lawyer A person does not have to be a U.S. citizen to own residential real estate in the United States. In fact Chinese investment in U.S. real estate was $36.6 billion last year. Nevertheless, many assume that...

from the YouTube page of Charmalee Kirk Silicon Valley firms--including Instagram, Twitter, Amazon, and Facebook--have been making donations to public school teachers willing to brand themselves and use their products in their curriculum. One teacher...

Brian Brenberg, of King's College on Fox News ; other views below The historically unprecedented rainfall and storm damage of Hurricane Harvey has had massive human and economic costs. Some of the impacts include: exacerbation of construction...

chart from thrillist.com Airline frequent flyer miles are a currency that is always undergoing a process of devaluation. While a traveler is busy saving up miles for a big trip...the number of miles that it will take to fly for free is almost always...

an Uber receipt in New York State As you may be able to see in the receipt above, New York State sales tax is charged on Uber rides...but the amount is taken out of the driver's pay, rather than paid as an add-on tax by the customer. Most of us...

Gary Vaynerchuk gives advice to interns (not from Planet Money) Again, this year, National Public Radio's Planet Money podcast is offering an internship. It is a paid, 40-hour per week position in New York City. An applicant must either be a current...