While there’s plenty of debate among the talking heads and politicians as to the longer-term impact of the Federal Reserve’s second reduction in federal funds rate–
You: Wait a second. Aren’t talking heads and politicians the same people?
Ah, you’ve been watching the debates. Here’s what I think is going on:

All politicians are [...]

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Michael on January 28th, 2008
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Last week’s post The stock market is way up, which I wrote during a day in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 100 points, was highlighted as a money article of the week in the Carnival of Personal Finance. It was also included in Free Money Finance’s (a wildly popular and [...]

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Michael on January 25th, 2008
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You: Sleep deprived?
Check.
You: Dozens of diaper changes daily?
Yup.
You: Smitten?
Completely.
There is perhaps no greater joy than the birth of a child. And so the memory of the four in the morning wake-ups and the related diaper changes soon fade away (hopefully the related odors will as well.) Financially, many things do change, [...]

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Michael on January 22nd, 2008
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You: Dude, that is so not what the websites I visit are saying. Have you even used the Internet today?
Of course I did.
You: Then what, exactly, are you smoking?
Just good clean (albeit cold and occasionally by dirty-diaper-flavored) oxygen. I’m fine.
Gary: You shouldn’t write your posts so far in advance.
Wrong, Gary! I’m writing [...]

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You: That is a crazy title.
I hear you. So I’m reading the newspaper the other day and my eyes drift to an advertisement that has as its header: “If you purchased a gem diamond . . . You may have a claim to receive benefits in a proposed class action settlement.”
I don’t know [...]

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Michael on January 17th, 2008
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My little girl–now four days old–still weighs less than the big bag of potatoes at the supermarket, but is much cuter. But in keeping with my “I just had a child, look at me!” theme, today’s post contains some useful suggestions from Pay Jr. on the topic of teaching children about money.
The best time to [...]

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Michael on January 15th, 2008
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Sorry I’ve been out of pocket for a few days. Okay not really.
You: You blog. No time off.
Gary: Jeez!
Well, my wife and I just had our second child, so a new era of insanity has begun in my life. So much fun and so little sleep for the next several weeks months decades. [...]

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Michael on January 10th, 2008
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You: Do rich people pay more tax? Seems to depend on who you listen to.
Yes, for two reasons. And no for two more reasons.
You: You’re arguing with yourself publicly?
Perhaps, but a straightforward answer to this question doesn’t exist. You’ll be ready to have this debate with others soon.
Why the rich pay more [...]

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Michael on January 8th, 2008
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Yesterday, I posted a question about the Roth 401(k) plan. While this follow-up question was written about a Roth 401(k), the truth is that the same logic holds for both Roth 401(k) and a regular 401(k):
You: I have another question. Or maybe it’s just a matter of ethics. I’m not sure how much longer [...]

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Michael on January 7th, 2008
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Entering 2008, the “new” Roth 401(k) is a hot topic lots of people want to talk about. Although this plan has been around for a couple of years, most employers did not decide to make it available to their employees until some recent additional Congressional tinkering made its existence permanent. I recently had [...]

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