Michael on November 25th, 2008
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I’ve just arrived in Florida for some time with the extended family en route to another large Turkey-day dinner. While here, I was excited to see my post from last week titled Traffic and Spending together on the Ones was named an editor’s pick in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by Living Almost [...]

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Michael on November 21st, 2008
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After a week in Hawaii and a couple of days in Los Angeles, I am glad to be home in NH, even though the temperature is about 55 degrees colder here.
You: Tired?
Exhausted. Two red-eyes in three days is quite enough.  Nonetheless, I have some sleep-deprived observations from my trip to share.
I’ll start with LA.
“Los Angeles,” [...]

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Michael on November 12th, 2008
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Aloha from Hawaii.  Just reading through this week’s carnival of personal finance.
You: From Hawaii?  Pathetic.
Not arguing.  Nonetheless, I was excited to see that my post Toilet Paper as an Economic Indicator was there.  Also, an interview I did with Kimberly Palmer at her US News Alpha Consumer blog was posted last night.  In it, I [...]

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Michael on November 10th, 2008
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As I flew across the country yesterday, I sat next to a woman who was heading to Tahiti.  She explained to me that this was supposed to be a retirement trip, but with the market’s recent slide, she decided to work another six months.  Still, she was going to take the trip because much of [...]

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Michael on November 7th, 2008
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I just finished reading At the Supermarket Checkout, Frugality Trumps Brand Loyalty.  Fascinating excerpt:
Shoppers are even buying toilet paper differently. “When they get to the end of the month, and they’re out of paycheck, they may buy a smaller-count pack,” Mr. Falk said. “You’re seeing that shift in consumer behavior during a pay-period cycle more [...]

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Michael on November 5th, 2008
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This won’t be political.
You: Really?
Nope. This remains an apolitical blog.
You: But what’s with the title then, especially the morning after the election?
It’s to get your attention.  Now, to today’s topic: Change.  What do you do with yours?  I’ll admit, I am terrible at managing my change.  I have a huge cup (now two cups) full [...]

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Michael on November 3rd, 2008
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I’m lucky. I have the greatest job in the world.
You: Seriously?
Okay, I can’t prove it, but that’s how it feels most days.  I spend all my waking business time helping people help themselves through financial literacy. It’s truly a great field to be in.  So, while I was breezing through this week’s Carnival of Personal [...]

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