What’s wrong with CapitalSource?

Recently, I took an interest in buying stock in CapitalSource (ticker: CSE), a relatively small financial firm. It was recommended in a newsletter from Motley Fool, in part because of its ridiculously high dividend yield–then about 22 percent.*
It seems too good to be true and maybe it is. Jon and his dad both said there’s [...]

Should we run up a $4,000 credit card bill?

We’re going to Europe for about ten days in early August. More specifically, we’re going to London and Paris, and considering how weak the dollar is right now, compared to the euro but ESPECIALLY compared to the pound, we think we’ll probably spend a boat load of cash. We’ve been saving money so we don’t have to run up our credit [...]

Musings on the uselessness of airline miles

“Yes!” the American Airlines agent told me, in a voice that was far too excited considering the state of customer service in the airline industry. “There are seats on that flight available for 100,000 miles each!” He was talking about two one-way tickets, from Paris to New York City. ONE WAY.
Jon and I have a [...]

Buying GE stock with emergency fund money

Yesterday, GE reported unexpectedly bad earnings, and its stock dropped more than 12 percent. A couple savvy investors we know emailed us and told us to buy. Jon did a “caveman valuation” and decided that the stock was a good price. He asked me to take money from our emergency fund, put it in my [...]

How we learned to stop worrying and love Quantum Leap

Remember Quantum Leap? The TV show starring Scott Bakula that premiered in 1989? Well, it just may save our budget. 
Jon and I recently started to think about getting cable. It happened one night when we clicked through every channel only to find that Everybody Loves Raymond was on every one. Wait, that’s every night. Anyway, it was [...]