Free Money Finance

The Highest Earning Dead Celebrities

Bankrate lists the highest earning dead celebrities as follows:

• No. 1: Michael Jackson, "King of Pop"; Annual payday: $825 million
• No. 2: Charles Schulz, "Peanuts" cartoonist; Annual payday: $48 million
• No. 3: Arnold Palmer, golfing star; Annual payday: $40 million
• No. 4: Elvis Presley, rock music legend and actor; Annual payday: $27 million
• No. 5: Prince, singer/songwriter; Annual payday: $25 million
• No. 6: Bob Marley, reggae music star; Annual payday: $21 million
• No. 7: Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), author and cartoonist; Annual payday: $20 million
• No. 8: John Lennon, singer/songwriter; co-founder of the Beatles; Annual payday: $12 million
• No. 9: Albert Einstein, Nobel prize-winning physicist; Annual payday: $11.5 million
• No. 10: Bettie Page, iconic pin-up model; Annual payday: $11 million
• No. 11: David Bowie, singer/songwriter; Annual payday: $10.5 million
• No. 12: Steve McQueen, actor; Annual payday: $9 million

A few thoughts here:

• Michael Jackson earned almost $ billion last year! Wow!!!
• I can see how the musicians made so much. I still have Michael Jackson, Elvis, and Bob Marley on my phone after all these years.
• Prince probably bumped up there because he just passed away recently.
• I'm surprised that Einstein is on the list. Let's hear it for smart guys!!!
• I had no idea who Bettie Page was. Still don't.

Not much else to be gleaned from these -- just thought it was a "fun" money topic to consider today. Hope you enjoy!

It Takes $130k to Live the American Dream

We've seen how many Americans find it difficult to make it on much more than this, so I was surprised when USA Today said it takes $130,000 to live the American dream.

How did they arrive at this number? Here's the basic premise:

"It's not about getting rich and making a lot of money. It's about security," he said. It's also as much about hope for the next generation as it is about the success of this one. "They want to feel that their children are going to have a better life than they do," said Hirschl.

In their book, the authors write that besides economic security, the American dream includes "finding and pursuing a rewarding career, leading a healthy and personally fulfilling life, and being able to retire in comfort."

With that in mind, USA TODAY added up the estimated costs of living the American dream.

Here's what they got:

• Basics (food, clothing, shelter, etc.): $58,491
• Extras (vacations, entertainment, eating out, etc.): $17,009
• Taxes and Savings: $54,857
• Total: $130,357

A couple other quotes from the piece to round it out:

• It costs a lot less to live the American dream in, say, Indianapolis or Tulsa than it does in metro areas like New York and San Francisco, where housing prices and taxes are sky high.
• Only 16 million U.S. households — around 1 in 8 — earned that much ($130k) in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

A few thoughts from me:

• I'm not sure I agree with their definition of the American dream, but if you ask 10 people about it you'll probably get 10 different answers. At least they took a stab at it.
• I'm not sure I'd call $130k a "dream" income, but it certainly is pretty good -- much more than most people make.
• A lot of the expenses seem high. For instance, they list food (not restaurants, those are separate) for a family of four as over $12,000. We spend about $650 a month including food for two teenagers -- not anywhere near the $1k a month they list. I think there may be as much as $20k in fluff costs, so the "real" number could be $110k.
• Got to agree with the "where you live" quote. Maybe that's why the costs look high to me -- I've always lived in relatively low cost areas of the country. It's been a key part of our family being able to save as much as we have.
• Taxes are a killer! Over $32k for them alone!!!

I'm sure many of you will have interesting thoughts on this subject, so I just wanted to get us started and let the conversation flow. I'm looking forward to your comments.

$1 Gold Coins Dead in the Water

Last summer I noted that the US Mint had halted the $1 gold coin free shipping program because people were abusing it (they were ordering the coins to get the credit card rewards but they weren't circulating the coins -- the intent of the program -- instead they simply returned them to a local bank.) That said, you still could at least order them (you just had to pay shipping yourself.)

Well, now the party is over completely. The details:

Vice President Joseph Biden announced that the U.S. Mint would halt the production of those pesky $1 coins for circulation, because they’re not exactly in demand.

It's a sad day for me -- I really liked and used the coins. That said, I used them for special occasions and gifts, not for everyday use since, to the article's point, they aren't really that convenient to carry.

But they aren't totally dead. There are a "few" left over:

The U.S. Treasury Department said there are 1.4 billion surplus $1 presidential coins just sitting in the vaults of the Federal Reserve, and that the government would save taxpayers at least $50 million per year in production and storage costs by suspending their production.

According to the piece it will take over 10 years to filter out those 1.4 billion coins. So I guess my needs will be taken care of on this front for quite some time.

By the way, couldn't someone see the handwriting on the wall a bit sooner, like at $200 million extra coins? Seems like it would have saved a lot of time and money.

But never fear, the government has a plan to make this all work out financially:

U.S. Mint will produce a limited number of the coins, which “will be sold at a premium to collectors, so it will ensure that the coins will not be produced at a cost to taxpayers,” said Treasury spokesman Matt Anderson.

Hmmmm. I'm wondering how many collectors of these there will be. Maybe more now that future runs will be limited? I guess we'll find out.

I still have a couple thousand dollars of gold coins scattered between my home safe (for emergencies), my pantry (for gifts), and my car (in the coin tray -- for those simple purchases from car washes to movie tickets), so I'll be good for a while. Still it's sad to say goodbye to an old friend...

I'd Be Kicking Myself if This Happened to Me

Here's an NPR story about Warren Buffett's son Peter who inherited $90,000 in Berkshire Hathaway stock when he turned 19. It's been long documented and discussed that Buffett has decided not to leave his great wealth to his kids. Besides, the $90k is from Peter's grandfather, not his father. The grandfather left the family a farm upon his death. Warren sold the farm and invested it into Berkshire stock for his kids.

Peter Buffett took his $90k out and spent it on "college and to buy some recording equipment." Now here's the killer -- get this:

Had Buffett left the $90,000 in stock alone, it would be worth more than $70 million today — but he insists he has no regrets.

I hope that was some REALLY nice recording equipment!!!!!!

So while he has "no regrets", I'd be poking my eyes out since I had just let $70 million slip from my grasp. How about you? Would this be "no big deal" (and what could you do about it anyway?) or would you regret not keeping the money in stock and earning a cool $70M?

A Couple Money Stories that Surprised Me

A few weeks ago after I had spoken to a large crowd about the ten worst money mistakes anyone can make, a man came down to the front and we started discussing his finances. At one point he said, "Now get ready, this is going to shock you."

I replied, "After all these years hearing people's personal finance stories, nothing shocks or surprises me anymore."

I guess I was wrong -- and these next two stories are proof of that. They both shocked me, though in different ways.

The first is about a husband and wife who were running a high-end prostitution service out of their home. That's shocking enough, but the details are what blew my mind -- the husband was the pimp and the woman he was selling for sex was his wife (and she had sex with men in the couple's bed while her husband and 3-year-old daughter were in a nearby room)! Simply unbelievable! Why did they do it? The piece said they "set up an escort service after encountering financial difficulties." They must have been fairly good at marketing her services since they earned $180,000.

Now let's step back here a minute. How desperate does someone have to be to sell his wife for sex? And how messed up does the wife have to be to agree to it? And for what? Simply because they had money trouble? And they needed over $180,000 (I'm assuming they would have stopped had they reached an amount that got them out of trouble)? Just what had they done to mess up financially by over $180k?

Color me shocked AND surprised.

The second piece is about Bristol Palin and the fact that she's hitting the speakers' circuit. In and of itself, that's not big news. But the amount she'll be making is pretty stunning. The article says she "will command between $15,000 and $30,000 for each appearance." Wow. $30k for a speech? I need to get my mom to run for vice president!

I have a couple thoughts on this subject:

• Good for her. If the market will pay that, then go for it. Why not?
• Is anyone really going to pay this amount? That sounded to me like the sort of fees her mom would command. So I went checking and found out that Sarah Palin actually makes $100k per speech (source #1 and source #2).

Color me shocked AND surprised yet again.

A Couple Money Stories that Surprised Me

A few weeks ago after I had spoken to a large crowd about the ten worst money mistakes anyone can make, a man came down to the front and we started discussing his finances. At one point he said, "Now get ready, this is going to shock you."

I replied, "After all these years hearing people's personal finance stories, nothing shocks or surprises me anymore."

I guess I was wrong -- and these next two stories are proof of that. They both shocked me, though in different ways.

The first is about a husband and wife who were running a high-end prostitution service out of their home. That's shocking enough, but the details are what blew my mind -- the husband was the pimp and the woman he was selling for sex was his wife (and she had sex with men in the couple's bed while her husband and 3-year-old daughter were in a nearby room)! Simply unbelievable! Why did they do it? The piece said they "set up an escort service after encountering financial difficulties." They must have been fairly good at marketing her services since they earned $180,000.

Now let's step back here a minute. How desperate does someone have to be to sell his wife for sex? And how messed up does the wife have to be to agree to it? And for what? Simply because they had money trouble? And they needed over $180,000 (I'm assuming they would have stopped had they reached an amount that got them out of trouble)? Just what had they done to mess up financially by over $180k?

Color me shocked AND surprised.

The second piece is about Bristol Palin and the fact that she's hitting the speakers' circuit. In and of itself, that's not big news. But the amount she'll be making is pretty stunning. The article says she "will command between $15,000 and $30,000 for each appearance." Wow. $30k for a speech? I need to get my mom to run for vice president!

I have a couple thoughts on this subject:

• Good for her. If the market will pay that, then go for it. Why not?
• Is anyone really going to pay this amount? That sounded to me like the sort of fees her mom would command. So I went checking and found out that Sarah Palin actually makes $100k per speech (source #1 and source #2).

Color me shocked AND surprised yet again.

Guess Who's Coming to My Town Tonight?

Yep, him.

My son has a basketball game or I would be going. My plan was to buy the ticket that allows you a free dinner, VIP seating, and the chance to meet the man himself. I was going to snap pics all the way through and then blog about it like crazy. Oh well, I think the game will probably be just as much fun. :-)

How to Lose $3 Million in Six Years

Here's another "person wins the lottery and loses it all" story from Yahoo. The details:

Callie Rogers was just 16 when she won a whopping $3 million in the lottery. Six years later, she reports that she blew untold sums on drugs, partying, exotic cars, and breast implants. A staggering $730,000 went to designer clothes alone, Ms. Rogers explains in an article from AOL. Says Rogers: "I honestly wish I'd never won the lottery money — and knowing what I know now I should have just given it all back to them." She's currently left with around $32,000.

I'm guessing that this keeps happening because people that play the lottery probably aren't the most financially astute money managers (otherwise, they wouldn't be playing the lottery) and when they win a ton of money they have no idea what to do with it. So they blow it -- thinking it's all the money in the world and there's no way it can run out. Wrong!

Some pick intelligent, honest financial advisors to guide them through the decision-making process and end up ok. But it seems just as many pick crooks that end up stealing a big part of the winnings. It's a sad situation all the way around.

Another Extreme Makeover Home Edition Home Being Sold

Add this home to the growing list of Extreme Makeover Home Edition homes being sold. The details:

The first home in Arizona to get the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" treatment is for sale, the family blessed with the two-story mansion saying it is looking to escape the crushing bills that came with the house.

The extreme-home asking price: $1.3 million. The Gilbert house, on Redfield Road, has six bedrooms and six bathrooms.

Since moving in, the Okvaths faced soaring utility, landscaping and general-maintenance bills for which they were unprepared.

The Okvaths took out a $405,000 loan on the home in 2006. It was an adjustable-rate mortgage, and the Okvaths struggled to make the payments.

They almost lost the home to foreclosure in 2008.

The home was first on the market in 2007, for $1.8 million, and still didn't sell when the price was reduced to $1.5 million.

Bryan Okvath, who most recently worked as a long-haul trucker, has suffered back problems and is unemployed. Nichol is planning to enroll in culinary school.

The home's Realtor called the price "optimistic." Tony Moore said most million-dollar homes in Gilbert are in gated communities. The Okvath home is on an acre lot in an area zoned for horse property, he said.

"The challenge is you have to find that right buyer who likes the farmlike surroundings," Moore said.

Ok, let's review the situation here:

1. This family was given a very expensive home.

2. It's not clear whether they had an existing mortgage (if they're like most Americans, they did), but they took out at least one big loan for $405k.

3. The couple is unemployed, which is likely the reason they almost lost the house to foreclosure (they couldn't make the loan payments.)

4. In addition to paying the mortgage, they had crushing maintenance bills, making the financial problem even more difficult.

5. Now they're trying to get out, but it's going to be hard. Who really wants to spend $1.3 million on (what the comments seem to say) is a house in rough shape and in that sort of neighborhood?

Let me state something at this point: I love the show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They do good. They help people. We love to watch and cry with the rest of America. There's not much bad about the show itself.

But when you give an over-the-top house to someone that 1) usually has low or no income, 2) doesn't have much financial savvy (which often got them in their original predicament), and 3) can't afford to pay for the maintenance costs on a backyard carousel, elevator, $5,000 oven, and many of the other things they put into these homes, it's a recipe for disaster.

How about simply going into a community and building five to ten homes for needy people? I guess that doesn't make for good TV.

Interesting Perspective on Losing It All

Check out this video. It's an ABC News piece that details how the founder of McAfee virus protection software made and lost a fortune -- and how he's ok with it. Lots of lessons to be learned here.

One especially interesting note -- his house sold for a bit less than what he spent on landscaping. Ouch.

Homeless Man Leaves Behind $4 Million

Here's an interesting story from NPR about a homeless man that died recently and left an estate of $4 million to friends and charities. In case it's not obvious, here's what stuck out to me:

• He was worth $4 million.

• He was homeless.

The piece ends by saying that what makes one person happy is not the same thing that makes another happy -- something I agree with 100%. But this guy's life seems so out-of-whack that it leaves me wondering what was really going on. Was he simply so miserly that he couldn't spend anything on himself? Was he trying to "earn his way to heaven/a better after-life"? (he was an atheist, so I don't think so.) Or maybe he just liked sleeping on the ground? The guy wasn't dumb -- he had saved, invested, done taxes, and had a will. Surely he could have afforded a modest home that would have barely impacted his nest egg and yet provided him with a much more comfortable lifestyle.

I just don't get it. Anyone with any insights on this one?

Giving Up Money

Here's a money-related story about a guy that has chosen to have zero income and live his life away from our materialistic society. He lives in a cave in Utah, forages for food, and either adjusts to compensate for or totally does without much of what you and I would call "the basics" of life. Here are some highlights from the article:

Daniel Suelo lives in a cave. Unlike the average American—wallowing in credit-card debt, clinging to a mortgage, terrified of the next downsizing at the office—he isn't worried about the economic crisis. That's because he figured out that the best way to stay solvent is to never be solvent in the first place. Nine years ago, in the autumn of 2000, Suelo decided to stop using money. He just quit it, like a bad drug habit.

His dwelling, hidden high in a canyon lined with waterfalls, is an hour by foot from the desert town of Moab, Utah, where people who know him are of two minds: He's either a latter-day prophet or an irredeemable hobo. Suelo's blog, which he maintains free at the Moab Public Library, suggests that he's both. "When I lived with money, I was always lacking," he writes. "Money represents lack. Money represents things in the past (debt) and things in the future (credit), but money never represents what is present."

In 1987, after several years as an assistant lab technician in Colorado hospitals, he joined the Peace Corps and was posted to an Ecuadoran village high in the Andes. He was charged with monitoring the health of tribespeople in the area, teaching first aid and nutrition, and handing out medicine where needed; his proudest achievement was delivering three babies. The tribe had been getting richer for a decade, and during the two years he was there he watched as the villagers began to adopt the economics of modernity. They sold the food from their fields—quinoa, potatoes, corn, lentils—for cash, which they used to purchase things they didn't need, as Suelo describes it. They bought soda and white flour and refined sugar and noodles and big bags of MSG to flavor the starchy meals. They bought TVs. The more they spent, says Suelo, the more their health declined. He could measure the deterioration on his charts. "It looked," he says, "like money was impoverishing them."

Suelo tells me that years ago he had a neighbor in the canyon, an alcoholic who lived in a cave bigger than his. The old man would pan for gold in the stream and net enough cash each month to buy the beer that kept him drunk. "What if we saw gold for what it is?" he says meditatively. "Gold is pretty but virtually useless. Somebody decided it has worth, and everybody accepted this decision. The natives in the Americas thought Europeans were insane because of their lust for such a useless yellow substance."

It's an interesting piece (on many fronts) and a good read if you have the time.

A few other comments to add to this:

1. The guy gathers food in the canyon he lives in, but also gets some from scavenging and friends in the nearby town that give him food. So he still does rely on others to at least some extent.

2. Like the author notes, simplicity can be a very nice way of life, but once you go past a certain point, it gets too simple and quite uncomfortable. For instance, do you really want to live without plumbing?

3. A portion of this guy's philosophy is rooted in his religious beliefs. Sounds like to me he's trying (at least in part) to earn his salvation by suffering on earth.

4. I wonder what he does in the winter. Does it get cold there? People can survive rather easily (comparatively) as long as the temperature remains above a certain level, but once it gets too cold, things turn south quickly.

Any other thoughts out there on this most unusual lifestyle?

Do You Have Financial Goals? Do You Declare Them?

Here's an interesting piece from Newsweek about whether or not you should tell others about your goals in life. A summary of the situation:

Traditional thinking has held that it's best to make a public declaration, maybe even more than one. Enlisting others in your hopes will shore up your intentions, and motivate you to work toward your new-found goal. But is this folk wisdom sound? Psychologists have been exploring this question, and some recent studies are now raising doubts about the "going public" strategy. Indeed, it appears that some people may mistake the talking for the doing—and end up failing for lack of hard work.

The jury is still out on this one, but I thought it would be interesting to discuss financial goals and whether or not we can (or should) tell others about them.

We have several financial goals (save for retirement, save for college, etc.), but we don't tell others about them. We don't need that as motivation. Even when we were paying off all of our debt, something many people "go public" with, we didn't tell anyone about it other than maybe in casual, passing conversation. Again, we really didn't need the verbal commitment to spur us on to action -- we were motivated by ourselves.

How about you? Do you have financial goals and do you share them with others? Why or why not?

Recap of Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope

Here's my recap of last night's Town Hall for Hope simulcast/meeting that was put on by Dave Ramsey. I took four pages of notes (front and back) and I may have missed a few things or written them down wrong in my haste. But here's what I happened as I remember it:

• The event was seen by 1 million people in 6,000 locations and they billed it as the largest webcast ever (not sure what they used to measure it.) There were about 250 to 300 people in the church I saw it in.

• Dave came out and told why he thought America had gotten itself in trouble: We had unprecedented prosperity for the past 25 to 30 years and we got sloppy as a result -- bought things we couldn't afford, made stupid financial moves that weren't a problem because everything was going up, etc. Then, when the bottom came out of the economic system, the foolishness of these moves was exposed (such as people buying homes they really couldn't afford.)

• Having said this, Dave said that the actual situation isn't as bad as the mainstream media is making it out to be. They are panicking, crying, stirring up fear, etc. While Dave admits that our economy is hurting, he says it's certainly not another Great Depression. In fact, he says it's not even our worst recession. There were two recessions -- 1973/74 and 1982 that were worse than what we're going through now.

• He believes that the answer to our economic problems is what has made our country great: hard work, businesses with a moral responsibility to their employees and their customers, and individuals working hard and making things happen for themselves. He is COMPLETELY against the "Bush bailouts" and "Obama stimulus" and decried all the money the government is spending -- putting generations in debt -- just so we don't feel the pain of our poor economic choices. He'd prefer we feel the pain, take our lumps, suffer a bit, learn from it, and have the recovery happen on its own without government intervention.

That's the gist of his opening comments, which were about 30 minutes long. Next, he answered questions from people via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, email, phone, in the audience, etc. Here's a summary of what he said during his answers:

• He hopes that our current economic situation is like the Great Depression in one way -- that it leaves a huge impression on the people and their economic lives are changed (for the better) as a result. Just like the Depression taught people to avoid debt, spend less than they earn, etc., he hopes this recession does the same thing for this generation.

• He believes the best investment for people with a long-term time horizon is stocks. He noted that the S&P 500 has never had a down period over any 15-year period. He said if you had that amount of time or longer, you should buy stocks (he didn't say it, but I believe he meant index funds as he talked about "buying the market") since they are at a discount price right now and should return a good amount over the years to come. He also believes real estate is a good investment and said "now is the best time in 30 years to buy a home."

• He believes that housing will actually lead us out of the recession. Why? Because a certain number of people have to move each year (some die, some get transferred, etc.) but many have held off on this for quite awhile. With interest rates so low, eventually the dam will break and people will start gobbling up homes. As a result, prices will rise quickly. Then prices of new homes will be a bit more competitive, home building will start up again, and the economy will respond as people buy more homes, equip them, etc. He thinks employment and the market will recover after that.

• He said "85% of financial advisors are taught how to sell versus what to sell." :-)

• He banks with local banks and credit unions because they still treat people like people versus the big banks where you're simply a number.

• He thinks inflation is likely if the government keeps spending like it is and it could be a problem in the future. In this and in all his other comments, he said he didn't know these facts for sure, no one does, that these were his opinions. He also noted that “economists' forecasts are around simply to make weathermen's forecasts look good."

• He hates gold as an investment. From 1833 to 2001, gold returned 1% a year. Since 2001, it's returned 15% a year. It's at an all-time high now, so you especially don't want to buy. He also thinks goods and services, not gold, would be the standard currency if things got really bad. His example was New Orleans after Katrina. He noted no one was carrying around bags of gold down there, but trading water, gas, etc.

• He said is could or couldn't be a good time to start a business. He gave examples of many businesses that were started in bad economic times, so it can be a great time to work for yourself.

• If you don't have a job, you need to take personal responsibility for your situation and "get after it." Make things happen. Take action like your life depends on it (since it may.) Too many people are looking for someone else to pick them up when they need to pick themselves up.

He ended the evening with three steps people should take if they need more hope:

1. Get up. Take action. Get moving. Your best bet at success in the long run is you, and you're not making progress by sitting at home watching Oprah.

2. Don't participate in loser-talk -- grumbling about "how bad it is" and so on. Instead, feed your brain with positive books and positive people that will help you grow. Have a positive, can-do attitude for life.

3. Give. If you've lost hope, go volunteer at a soup kitchen and you'll see what people with no hope look like. You'll eventually get your focus off yourself, and when you do your hope will return. He believes that if all Americans gave time and money like they should and can, we wouldn't need the government for any sort of bailouts, social programs, etc. It was a very interesting thought.

Overall, I liked the evening and Dave Ramsey gained a lot of points in my book simply for doing this. It was free to everyone and he simply tried to encourage a nation that's frightened, hurt, and without hope. Whether he did this or not and whether you agree with him or not, at least you have to give him credit for trying to take action and make the situation better rather than worse.

Here are more recaps:

• Suburban Dollar

• Man vs. Debt

Update on Mogul

So a week or so after I wrote about the real estate "game" Mogul, we decided to try it out. More accurately, my wife and daughter tried it out while my son and I thrashed Liverpool (we play Man United) in FIFA 09. My daughter (the smarty pants) wanted to play the game and I told her that if she read the rules and learned how to play, then I'd play. She somehow coerced my wife into this effort while my son and I quickly disappeared to pursue a more brainless activity.

After about an hour and a half (during which time my son and I crushed much of the Premier League with our now dominating Manager Mode team), I heard the cry of "uncle" from the other room. As we all sat down soon thereafter, I got their thoughts on the game. Here's what they had to say about Mogul:

• It's very, very, very complicated. It is Monopoly on mega-steroids. It makes chess look easy. It's certainly not a fun sit-down-with-the-wife-and-kids-for-a-fun-evening sort of game (FYI, our favorite games currently are Apples to Apples, Go to the Head of the Class, and Uno.)

• It's very, very, very realistic. From what they could tell (they're not real estate investors), the game did a great job of simulating many of the decisions that go into real estate investing as well as the general trials and tribulations of life (some would call this luck) that can bounce you one way or the other.

So there you have it -- something you could have probably guessed about a $100 game: it's more of a teaching tool than a game played for fun/enjoyment. The key audience for this is someone who wants to learn more about real estate investing, not someone looking for a fun time (though I'm sure it could be fun for those learning.) It's closer to an investment in a seminar or class than it is buying a game, so looked at that way, maybe $100 isn't that bad.

If you're interested in winning a free game (hey, it's a $100 value!), sign up for my newsletter. I'll be giving away a game or two via email over the next few weeks.

The Next Monopoly?

A couple weeks ago I got a new game in the mail. It's called Mogul and is supposedly "the game of real estate acquisition, finance, and management." Checking out their website, I got a bit more detail:

Joel Harden’s MOGUL is the newest and most realistic board game to simulate real-world real estate business transactions and management.  Easy to learn and fun to play, MOGUL immerses you in a world of high-stakes deals and cutthroat competition, all the while teaching you the importance of analyzing deals, the importance of cash and credit management, and dozens more real world skills. Build empire, crush your opponents, and become a Mogul.

Ooooooooo, "crush your opponents." I like it already!!! ;-)

We haven't played it yet (our family life is very busy right now), but I'm looking forward to it since it resembles an old favorite game of mine, Monopoly. After all, it's a board, has houses, you buy and sell stuff, etc. What's not to love?

There's one huge drawback I see already -- the price of the thing is $99.99. Yep, for a board game. I must admit that the packaging and the game itself is very, very nice -- very high end -- but $100 for a board game seems a bit over-the-top, don't you think? Then again, if you look at is as $100 to get an education in real estate, maybe it's worth it? What do you think?

I did a bit of digging and found what others had to say about the game. Here's coverage of the game from the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Sales are down 50 percent over the last year, even in the predominantly African American moderate-income neighborhoods where Harden does business. He says those locales aren't normally affected by "the highs and lows" of Center City. Harden's response to the slump includes three new businesses. [One is] a real estate board game, Mogul, which Harden started selling last fall. It's like Monopoly, but with promissory notes, cap rates, unsecured loans, noncredit tenants and other real-world elements.

"In high schools, they don't teach basic financial literacy. Understanding what the game teaches can help them learn to achieve the lifestyles they want to live," Harden said. He said he had sold "a few thousand" games, at $99.99 each, to clients like Andrew Carswell, a University of Georgia economics professor, who said: "It really gets down to the intricacies of property transactions."

Wow. A few thousand at $100 a pop is some nice coin.

Turns out, $100 is a deal. From The Real Deal:

The Philadelphia developer hopes the $99.99 (lowered from $199.99) board game -- which just hit the market -- will teach financial confidence, making real life financial transactions easier. The player with the highest total net worth -- each player receives a financial worksheet to fill out, and players have bills and credit ratings -- wins the game.

Yikes! $199.99?? Double yikes!!!!

I also found some thoughts from Off World:

I can't say whether Joel Harden's Real Estate Mogul game is good or bad, but I'm pretty sure it's at least suffers from bad timing. Here it is debuting at Toy Fair when you really can't think of a less appealing business to be in. [And] the game's $99 (!) price tag may prevent mogul wannabes from being able to put a down payment on anything in the short term.

And from the LA Times:

Perhaps an advanced version of Mogul will nurture dark real estate skills such as bad-rapping the competition, renegotiating a deal at the last minute and fighting over sales commissions. It better, if it really wants to be "the most realistic real estate trading game ever created."

I haven't yet seen a review from anyone who's actually played this game, so it could be the greatest game ever or a bomb. But from looking at it, I can be reasonably sure of the following:

• There's a big investment of time upfront in learning how to play. Its complexity appears to make Monopoly look like checkers.

• It's probably very realistic and very educational. Should be interesting to see what my kids think of it.

I'll give you the low-down once we do play it (assuming there's something noteworthy to share), but for now, you can check out the basics of the game for yourself. And if that's not enough, they even have a blog for more details on the various aspects of real estate!

Extreme Makeover Home for Sale Today

Just to follow up on the several Extreme Makeover Home Edition homes in financial trouble, it looks like one will actually be sold today. The details:

Their 5,300-square-foot mini-mansion is scheduled to be sold on the Clayton County Courthouse steps today.

And they’re not alone among winners of “Extreme Makeover,” the popular reality show that refurbishes or rebuilds homes for families in need.

Eric Hebert of Idaho lost his home in February with nearly $400,000 owed to the bank, The Associated Press reported.

Families living in two other “Extreme Makeover” homes, one near Detroit, the other in Central Florida, were granted last-minute reprieves after their financial struggles were publicized.

The Harpers were granted a loan modification last summer to avoid foreclosure on their house, the biggest built by “Extreme Makeover” at the time. They had used the house at 5489 Ahyoka Drive in Lake City as collateral for a $450,000 loan; the family says the money went to a failed construction business. According to state real estate records, the couple agreed to make payments of $2,279.35 until June 2047 on the outstanding $468,245 mortgage.

The Harpers have struggled for several years with finances. In January, a State Court judge ordered Milton Harper to pay Southern Regional Medical Center $10,000 after the Riverdale hospital sued for the amount.

Harper said he told the hospital he was unemployed but did not follow advice to get indigent services agencies to help with the bill “due to my pride.”

Sad all the way around...

Dave Ramsey Stops by to See Me

Ok, so he really didn't stop by to see me last night -- he was kind of seeing the whole city. Picky, picky.

Anyway, here's a roundup of how some of the local press covered him:

• Newspaper

• TV

I wanted to go since I've never seen him live. I was even going to buy one of the backstage passes, take pictures, and do a "behind the scenes" write-up for the blog. It would have been cool. But my son had his last basketball game of the year, so I needed to be there for him. Oh yeah, and I'm the coach so it was important for me to be there for the other kids too. (Good news: we won, finished the year 10-4 and have our tournament coming up in two weeks!)

New Penny Designs Out

For those of you interested: four new designs for the back of the penny were just announced.

How about just getting rid of the penny?

The Best Job in the World

Anyone interested in this:

An Australian state is offering internationally what it calls "the best job in the world" -- earning a top salary for lazing around a beautiful tropical island for six months.

The job pays 150,000 Australian dollars (105,000 US dollars) and includes free airfares from the winner's home country to Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland's state government announced on Tuesday.

In return, the "island caretaker" will be expected to stroll the white sands, snorkel the reef, take care of "a few minor tasks" -- and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.

$105k for six months in paradise doesn't sound bad, does it?

Four More Uses for Gold Dollar Coins

I've asked you all if you use or plan on using gold dollar coins and followed that up with a post on some various uses for them. Well, since that time, I ordered $500 more in gold dollar coins to help out my annual credit card rewards balances, but I also found a few more uses for the coins, and thought I'd share those with you. Here goes:

• We used them as "blessing money" throughout the holidays. We gave them in Salvation Army kettles as well as to a few friends we wanted to bless. Kids REALLY love them -- you should see their eyes light up when they get a free gold dollar! ;-)

• Stocking stuffers! Our kids love them too!

• Chores bonus! One of my son's chores is to help me clear snow off our driveway and sidewalks. But he went above-and-beyond the call of duty in late December (where we got pounded with snow the second half of the month) and I gave him a few coins as an extra thank you. You would have thought he had won the lottery!

• I've decided to keep about $500 in coins in my home safe. After our discussion on keeping cash at home, I thought about keeping a bit extra around, but I want to be sure it's safe from potential fires and floods. My safe is fire-resistant, but with coins, I don't need to worry about fire or water as they'll make it through anything.

How about you? Anyone out there bought/used the coins lately? If so, do you have any creative ideas for using them?

Homes and Lottery Winner

Here are a couple pieces I ran into today that I thought were worth sharing:

• Home prices plunge as sales slow sharply -- Sales of new and existing homes plummeted in November, as buyers stayed out of the market amid the growing financial crisis and deepening recession, according to figures released Tuesday.

Sales of existing homes fell 8.6 percent, far more than expected, to an annual rate of 4.49 million in November, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.91 million in October. The median sales price fell 13.2 percent — the largest amount on record — to $181,300, from $208,000 a year ago.

That was the lowest price since February 2004 and the biggest year-over-year drop on records going back to 1968. The drop in home prices was probably the largest since the Great Depression, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun told reporters.

Looks like we haven't hit the bottom yet. Maybe I was lucky not to have purchased a home this past fall.

• Lewisville assistant police chief wins $13 million in Lotto Texas -- A Lewisville assistant police chief is the sole winner of this month's $13 million Lotto Texas drawing, lottery officials announced Friday. Her prize will be paid in 25 annual installments of $390,000.

She plans to keep working at the Police Department, and she's going to indulge just a little: "I've got an SUV, and since I really have a thing for cars, I'm going to let myself buy a new one."

Sounds like she's keeping her head on straight, so good for her. Hopefully, I'd do the same thing. One thing I would do differently, I'd quit asap!

The Perils of Being Poor

Interesting piece on being poor. Not sure that I buy it all (like the cops being your enemy), but it does present a compelling perspective. Unfortunately, many people will probably be facing such issues in the months to come.

Money News from Around the Web

Found these interesting pieces this morning:

• Obama warns economy will get even worse -- "The economic recession will get significantly worse before it starts to improve, President-elect Barack Obama said, seeking in an interview broadcast Sunday to tamp down expectations as he prepares to assume the presidency in 44 days."

Like a typical American, I'll give him 72 hours to fix things before I start complaining. ;-)

• Cost of gas is approaching a five-year low -- "The average price of U.S. gasoline fell 22 cents a gallon during the past two weeks, bringing it to its lowest level in nearly five years. The average price of regular gasoline Friday was $1.75 a gallon."

It's $1.55 here now.

• Parents wrestle with discussing the economy -- "It's a tough economy out there, even for a kid. And many parents are wondering how to broach the subject. Should they shield their children from the hard times and spend like there's no tomorrow? Or is it better to share the reality that more families — often their own — simply can't have it all, even at Christmas? It can be a real dilemma."

We haven't talked to our kids about it that much since it's not really affecting our family at a level that impacts the kids (one of the benefits of spending less than you earn by a good margin -- you have a lot of cushion.) What are you doing on this issue?

• Frugal farmer leaves $2 million to tiny church -- "A tiny church in western Pennsylvania inherited more than $2 million from a farmer who lived in a mobile home."

No details on how much he earned, the size of the farm, etc., but a reasonable person could assume that this guy lived on way less than he could have.

How to Use Dollar Coins

On my recent post about the new gold dollar coins, there were several suggestions about how to use them including the following:

• Random charitable giving
• Vending machines
• Drop them all in the jar at the end of the day and save more
• Buy my train tickets, subway passes and stamps
• Use them to buy a newspaper or other $1 item
• Put in tip jars
• Give them to your kids for doing odd jobs
• Municipal parking
• Tips -- waiters and waitresses really enjoy getting them
• Give two to your son to keep in his bathing suit pocket while swimming for when the ice cream truck comes around
• Tooth Fairy -- since they are gold and different, the kids think they are pretty cool (comment left on the post: I don't think I would have gotten the same photo had TF left two wrinkly singles as the one I got with a toothless smile holding up "two magic gold coins.")
• Coin collecting

These are just a few ideas -- I'm sure there are a ton more.

The government sure is putting a lot of effort into promoting the use of these coins. I saw a kiosk at our local regional mall where they were giving out free buttons (big deal, I know) if you turned your dollar bills into gold dollar coins. Knowing our government, the buttons probably cost $1.25 each and they would have been better off just giving a free coin to everyone. :-)

Our company also received a promotional sign for the $1 gold coins (we were supposed to hang it up somewhere so all could see it). Not sure why because we're just a small office -- perhaps the government did a mass mailing to all businesses.

Since I wrote the original post, we got rid of all our $1 gold coins. How? We used two methods:

• We got rid of $450 of them by donating them to our church. The kids' pastor then did a sermon on giving to others in need, gave each kid a coin (yep, we have that many kids at our church), and challenged them to bless someone needy with a free coin.

• We've been dropping the rest of them into Salvation Army red kettles while we've been out shopping this holiday season.

Any other ideas how to use these coins? 

Are You Using (or Will You Use) Dollar Coins?

Remember when I asked about the "money making method" of buying US dollar coins with a credit card and making money on the cash back rebate? Well, this question is related.

Smart Spending asked if Americans will learn to love the new dollar coins -- which led me to this question for you:

Are you using (or will you use) dollar coins?

Personally, I love the idea of dollar coins (there's just something about coins versus paper that's appealing to me -- I know it's strange) and the fact that it saves the government (and all of us -- it's our tax money) a ton of money is a benefit as well. But here's the problem I have -- they are very, very inconvenient. They are hard to carry in quantity (compare carrying a $20 bill with 20 $1 coins and see what I mean.) Besides, I use cash so infrequently that I simply wouldn't go through that many $1 coins.

I actually did buy $500 of the coins based on the "idea" we discussed. My plan was to give them to our family members (all four of us) and have them carry the coins. Then when they saw someone in need, they could "bless" them with a coin. The result: one month later and we all still have all our coins. Why? Yes, part of it is finding someone that needs to be "blessed", but it's also the fact that when we do see someone, none of us has any coins because they are a hassle to carry.

Anyway, anyone use these coins? If so, how do you get around the hassle factor? Any ideas on making $1 coins easier to use would be appreciated.

Here's one thought: how about making coins in higher denominations? For instance, I might carry a $20 coin as then I could use it to pay for a meal or something with a decent value. Then again, maybe it would just make it easier to lose $20 as coins seem more likely to be lost than paper money. Thoughts?

Economy Impacts Pets and Hypnotists

Here are a couple pieces I found on some of the impact our struggling economy is having on people:

• Pet owners skipping vet visits as economy sinks -- As the country slips further into an economic tailspin, with unemployment rates at the highest in more than a decade, pet owners are trying to give their dog or cat the best care they can on a more limited budget. For some, it’s a matter of simply cutting out the extras by buying fewer treats and doing more grooming at home. But some veterinarians say they’re seeing some pet owners skimping on preventive care by skipping checkups and even cutting back on some medications — which cuts costs, but could be putting their pet at risk.

• A Hypnotic Answer to Financial Angst -- Hypnosis has been used for years to help clients quit smoking, lose weight or sleep better. But recently there has been a surge of business from people who want help dealing with the stress of market turmoil, according to Dwight Damon, president of the National Guild of Hypnotists. The guild has more than 12,000 members.

Cue the creepy music now...

Elvis and Gas

Couple interesting pieces I found today:

• Elvis is still raking in a bundle. He made $52 million last year -- more than Justin Timberlake or Madonna.

• Gas sinks to a three-year low. Take that OPEC.

Morning Roundup

A couple interesting pieces I found this morning that are worth sharing:

• How to Take a Cake Knife to Wedding Costs -- By cutting so many corners, Ms. Brickley and Mr. Hope, who live in Manhattan, sliced a zero off the average cost of a New York City wedding — $3,500 versus the $35,000 estimated by the Wedding Library, a Manhattan planning service.

• Sick economy has patients skimping -- The ailing economy is leading many Americans to skip doctor visits, skimp on their medicine and put off mammograms, Pap smears and other tests. And physicians worry the result will be sicker patients who need costlier treatment in the long run.

Seems like saving money is back in vogue, huh?

We're Swinging the Other Way Now

We've come a long way very quickly from the days of the 4,000-square-foot home. Now all the trendsetters opt for 100-square-foot homes. ;-)

It's the Economy, Stupid

News about the economy is all over the place (no surprise there.) Here are a couple pieces I found noteworthy. First, from a Chicago Tribune poll:

Two in five say they are worse off than a year ago. Half say they will cut back on holiday spending this year—and only 1 in 100 say they will spend more on gifts.

And here's a USA Today piece on what's going on at the nation's largest retailer:

About 80% of shoppers cite "personal financial security" as their top concern in internal surveys, up from 65% just a few months earlier. A year ago, the price of gasoline was the top concern.

Wal-Mart has seen a rise in purchases of staples instead of discretionary items. Shoppers have more then doubled purchases of private-label items, eschewing name brands.

Some shoppers aren't coming to the stores as often so they don't have to drive as much. Others, who may be unemployed, are coming more frequently to buy a few items when they have money in their pockets.

Oh no! Giving up name brands? The end is certainly near!!!!! ;-)

Some More Good News

For those of your looking for a silver lining, here's some more good news coming with the recent economic problems:

The economy is a mess, home prices are reeling, and stocks have plunged. But for those likely to become ensnared in the estate tax, there's a silver lining: These troubled times offer some of the best opportunities in years to transfer wealth to younger generations, without triggering much or any inheritance tax along the way.

Of course, the reason this is an option now is because so many people have lost so much. But give me a break, will ya, I'm trying to be positive here! ;-)

Some Good News

Kiplinger brings us some good news today, listing 10 things that are going right with the US economy as follows:

1.Oil Loses Its Swagger
2. A Tipping Point for the Auto Industry
3. Interest Rates Are Low and Headed Lower
4. Homes Are More Affordable
5. Your Bank Savings Have Never Been Safer
6. Stocks Are on Sale, and Many Bonds Offer Terrific Yields
7. The Miracle of Technological Innovation Continues
8. Prosperity Reigns in the Heartland
9. A New Tone and Direction in Washington
10. Shoppers Can Expect Great Gift Buys This Holiday Season

We now have gas below $3 per gallon! Now let's go for $2!!!!!

10 Best Financial Blogs for Riding Out the Economic Storm

FMF was just named one of the 10 best financial blogs for riding out the economic storm by Russell Bailyn.

For all our sakes, I hope it's a short ride. ;-)

Some Things I Found Interesting

A few articles I found this morning that caught my attention:

• Obama to Plumber: My Plan Will 'Spread the Wealth Around' -- Key paragraph: "It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success too," Obama responded. "My attitude is that if the economy's good for folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody ... I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

Robin Hood rides again!

• Upper East Sliders -- Oh no! Flying commercial? The tragedy!!!! Welcome to the real world.

• Simon Cowell's salary dwarfs Paula Abdul's -- He makes $36 million a year from "Idol" ($22,000 per minute), she makes between $5-$8 million. Why? Because he "brings more to the table.” No kidding.

Buffett on PBS

Anyone see the interview with Warren Buffett last night on PBS? After watching it I'm thinking we hand the $700 billion Congress is spending to try and get the economy jump-started to Buffett and let him manage it. Certainly he could do a better job than some government agency.

I watched it off and on (flipped back and forth between it and America's Got Talent) and was pretty impressed with what he had to say. Didn't like the part about it getting worse before it gets better though.

Anyway, when I flipped to the station the first time, my son had some interesting comments. It went something like this:

Him: Who's that guy?

Me: It's Warren Buffett.

Him: What a doof (rhymes with "poof"). What's he know about money?

Me: He's the second richest man in the world after Bill Gates (not sure this is still true, but it's close enough to get my point across.)

Him: Oh. (pause) How'd he get so rich?

Me: He's the world's greatest investor. He's made his money by investing it in companies.

Him: Oh.

Needless to say, he was interested in what Buffett had to say from there on out. ;-)

Interesting Money News from Around the World: Economic Freefall Edition

There are lots of signs all around the web this morning that the US economy is in trouble. For instance:

• September worst auto sales month since 1993 -- Sales fell 27 percent compared with September 2007, with every major brand but General Motors Corp. reporting drops of at least 24 percent. “It was tantamount, really, to a natural disaster,” said George Pipas, top sales analyst for Ford Motor Co., which saw sales slide 34 percent, its worst month of the year.

I don't know anyone who's purchased a new care recently.

• Bid of $1.75 on eBay gets abandoned Saginaw home -- With a winning bid of just $1.75, a Chicago woman has won an auction for an abandoned home in Saginaw. Joanne Smith, 30, recently was the top bidder for the home during an auction on eBay, The Saginaw News reported. Her bid was one of eight for the home.

Doesn't look like much of a home from the pic, but still, it's only $1.75. I knew things were bad in Michigan, but never thought they were this bad.

• Maria Sharapova could be yours for a cool $10,000 -- The lovely Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova put herself -- well, a date with herself, anyway -- up for auction at a charity tennis tournament. The winning bid was $10,000, which seems a bit below market value.

When a date with Maria Sharapova goes for only $10k, you know we're in financial Armageddon! ;-)

Excellent Summary of Market Meltdown

Excellent, excellent, excellent insight into what's going on in the market and what you should do/think about it:

10 links to walk you through today’s financial crisis — and make you smarter than 99% of other people.

Bloodbath on Wall Street

What a day:

• MSNBC: Dow down over 500 points as bailout vote fails

• CNN: Bailout plan rejected

• Fox News: House Defeats Wall Street Bailout Bill

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.

What else can I say?????

Bill Heard Goes Down

As you may have heard, Bill Heard just filed for bankruptcy protection. Who is Bill Heard? The details:

Bill Heard Enterprises Inc., the largest U.S. Chevrolet auto dealership, sought bankruptcy protection, citing a declining automobile market after it closed 14 showrooms and fired most of its 3,200 employees last week.

Why the meltdown? Seems like he took on too many bad loans:

Industry analysts say, Heard couldn’t overcome what had become a flaw in his business model: high-volume but low-profit sales targeting people with blemished credit histories. Like the Wall Street investment bankers who grabbed up securities backed by risky subprime home mortgages, Heard apparently staked too much on people who couldn’t pay what they owed.

Now 3,200 of the company's employees are out of work. All that's left is one scary webpage.

I'm sure there will be more to follow. Can anyone say "rent to own businesses?"

Making Money and Money Crooks

Here are two interesting, though unrelated, money stories I found today while surfing around.

Gamer buys $26,500 virtual land:

A 22-year-old gamer has spent $26,500 on an island that exists only in a computer role-playing game (RPG). The Australian gamer, known only by his gaming moniker Deathifier, bought the island in an online auction. The land exists within the game Project Entropia, an RPG which allows thousands of players to interact with each other.

Entropia allows gamers to buy and sell virtual items using real cash, while fans of other titles often use auction site eBay to sell their virtual wares.

Earlier this year economists calculated that these massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) have a gross economic impact equivalent to the GDP of the African nation of Namibia.

Deathifier will make money from his investment as he is able to tax other gamers who come to his virtual land to hunt or mine for gold. He has also begun to sell plots to people who wish to build virtual homes.

"This type of investment will definitely become a trend in online gaming," said Deathifier.

Unbelievable. I'm familiar with this sort of "game", but I've never played a RPG. But I have heard of people making money creating clothes, selling real estate, etc. in games like Second Life. But $26,500? Wow!

Couple accused of fleecing elderly men:

Yana T. Ristick (31 years old), also known as Yana Tanya Schinman, and Ristick's boyfriend Michael Evans Jr. both pleaded not guilty Thursday morning to several charges of first-degree theft. According to police and prosecutors, the couple cooperated in bilking elderly men after Ristick befriended them.

According to police, Ristick met one 86-year-old widower who has trouble with his short-term memory several months ago inside a Seattle grocery store. Soon after, according to police, Ristick told the man she was romantically interested in him, and on June 28 the two were married in Reno.

Ristick allegedly told the man she was a wedding planner for wealthy people and needed a nice place where she could meet with clients. The victim provided her with $20,000 to rent a lavishly furnished 4th Avenue apartment where she and Evans lived with the elderly man until their arrest July 15. Ristick also received a $7,000 engagement ring, and Evans took the elderly man to the bank where he withdrew $30,000 and gave it to Evans as an "investment" in a car-sales business, according to charging papers.

When the man's nephew, who has power of attorney, became suspicious, Ristick took her elderly husband to the bank and opened a joint checking account where they transferred most of his funds, police said.

The relationship is just the most recent in a string of so-called "sweetheart scams" Ristick perpetrated on vulnerable victims, prosecutors allege.

Holy cow! How terrible!!!! Just when you think you've seen it all, along comes something like this.

Is This New News?

From MSNBC:

Want to keep Social Security from going bankrupt? Make future recipients wait longer for their first benefit check because they probably will live longer anyway, an influential group of actuaries says.

The American Academy of Actuaries, which advises policymakers on risk and financial security issues, wants any potential solution the White House and lawmakers might consider to include raising the retirement age from the current range of 65-to-67-years-old. The group provided The Associated Press with an advance look Thursday of its recommendations.

A major problem, the actuaries say, is that people are living longer. That means they are drawing more money from the program.

Uh, yeah. Don't we all know this?

It's funny how the solution seems rather obvious, but no one wants to take the steps to make it happen.

Financial Trouble Can Be Deadly

Check out this piece I ran into about how a bad financial situation started an unfortunate series of events:

A mother and daughter in difficult financial straits escaped injury this morning when a candle they were using for illumination in their Northglenn townhouse tipped over and started a fire.

"They had some financial struggles and power had been shut off at in their home, so they were living by candlelight," Wendy Krajewski, spokeswoman for North Metro Fire Rescue, said.

"That's what ended up being the cause of the fire. Someone forgot to extinguish a candle. It tipped over and the fire spread."

So sad.

And on a related note, here's a guy who set himself on fire because of debts incurred:

A Newark man frustrated with the volume of late payment notices and collection calls he received from a Bloomfield Rent-A-Center store, walked into the business Tuesday and set himself ablaze in front of several employees and customers.

"He basically pulled out a bottle of lighter fluid, poured it all over his body, pulled out a cigarette lighter and lit himself on fire," Bloomfield Police Capt. Chris Goul said.

As the Consumerist points out:

If you're in debt and having a hard time dealing with the collection calls and notices, there's help available. The first thing to do is to familiarize yourself with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If you're being harassed, you can sent a letter to the debt collector demanding that they stop contacting you. They do not have the right to keep contacting you simply to try to get you to pay. You can also do a little research and locate some free or low cost legal help in your area. If you have a lawyer, the debt collectors are required to contact the attorney instead of you. If the debt collectors don't follow these rules, you can sue them! Not being able to pay your bills can be a humiliating experience, but don't give up.

I echo their suggestion to not give up. There are always better solutions than harming yourself or others.

Two More Extreme Makeover Home Edition Homes in Trouble

Just a recap of what we've covered so far regarding the ABC show Extreme Makeover Home Addition:

• This home that the buyer can't afford to maintain and he's selling it as a result.

• This place that's now in foreclosure because the owner's took out a bad loan.

In addition to these, I had this comment left on my site yesterday identifying another home that's in trouble:

I live in the same county as the home in Port Deposit, MD that was recently featured on Extreme Home Makeover - the father had recently died, and the mom and two teenagers have a horse riding program that helps kids with disabilities.

In our local paper I recently saw an ad for a dinner and raffle to help the family keep the new, expanded facility afloat. I lay a large part of the blame on the show producers - if the family couldn't afford to fix up what they already had, how are they going to support an even larger operation? It's a nonprofit too, if I remember correctly.

I just don't understand what good it does people to leave them with a giant home to maintain when many of the people featured are already having problems making ends meet.

I remember that episode -- it was very touching. Aren't they all?

I also found details on this home that's in trouble as well. Same problems -- poor family who couldn't afford to hold on to a huge house and all the associated costs. A few details:

Boey passed away in late December and now, the family is struggling to pay for the expensive new home.

The Extreme Home Makeover Crews demolished the Byers old house, but the old mortgage still stands. There's still $250,000 dollars left on the old mortgage that they have to pay, plus they're paying property taxes for the value of the new home because it's worth more than the old home was. On top of that, utility bills now cost anywhere from $500 to $700 dollars a month.

I'm sure there are more of these either happening or about to happen. When someone who can't afford a small home gets a big, brand new, expensive place, there's bound to be financial trouble eventually.

Maybe it would be better to build a smaller home and give them some cash to get them back on their feet? Then again, that doesn't make for good TV. Also, if they have poor money skills, they're likely to blow through the money quickly. Not sure what the solution here is.

More on the Extreme Makeover House We Discussed Yesterday

Some more facts from our discussion yesterday. For those who missed it, one of the homes from Extreme Makeover Home Edition is facing foreclosure because the owners used it as collateral on a now failed business. Today's update:

ABC said in a statement that it advises each family to consult a financial planner after they get their new home. "Ultimately, financial matters are personal, and we work to respect the privacy of the families," the network said.

Some of the volunteers who helped build the home were less than thrilled about the family's financial decisions.

"It's aggravating. It just makes you mad. You do that much work, and they just squander it," Lake City Mayor Willie Oswalt, who helped vault a massive beam into place in the Harper's living room, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

It would make me mad too. What a waste.

Wonder if they ever did consult a financial planner. Maybe he got them into the mess? ;-)

The Rich are Different than You and Me...

...and when I say "rich", I mean REALLY rich. Check out this from the UK:

"The rich," wrote F Scott Fitzgerald, "are different from you and me." So when they want more living space but they don't want to move from their fashionable address they dig in... literally. Unfortunately, the digging is undermining neighbourly relations.

Increasing numbers of people in affluent areas of London, such as Kensington and Chelsea, are excavating under their houses. Wealthy homeowners are building underground rooms housing everything from swimming pools and gyms to home cinemas.

Wow. Just when you think you've heard/seen it all...

Extreme Makeover Home in Foreclosure

Remember when we talked about the guy who was selling his Extreme Makeover Home Edition home because he couldn't afford to keep it running? Well, another situation has emerged with an Extreme Makeover Home Edition hose and it's even worse:

An Extreme Home Makeover may be going bust. The first metro family who got a new home is facing foreclosure.

A foreclosure notice appeared last Friday, a $450,000 second mortgage they took out less than 15 months ago was in default.

Why did they have a $450k mortgage on the place? I thought these homes were free. A few paragraphs down tells the tale:

Harper told Channel 2 they invested the loan proceeds in a construction business and the business hasn’t been good. She didn’t say how much of the money is left.

Ouch!

Thanks to Matt for the heads up on this piece!

Great Stuff from Around the Web

Lots of interesting finance stuff on the web this morning. Here are a few I liked:

• Who are your picks as top entrepreneurs? -- List of the top 10 American entrepreneurs ever. Pretty good list IMO.

• National gasoline prices dip below $4 a gallon -- I paid $3.89 per gallon this weekend - a BIG drop from what we had been paying.

• Economy hitting the elderly especially hard -- Fixed income + rising prices = tough times. Add in health costs and things get really bad.

• Do Heigl And Sheen Deserve TV's Biggest Bucks? -- "A new survey by Forbes Magazine names Charlie Sheen and Katherine Heigl as TV's best-paid actors. The Two and a Half Men cut-up earned $20 million in 2007, while Heigl pulled in $13 mil for her rotation on Grey's Anatomy. Will Smith was the big screen's biggest earner for the year, depositing $80 million into his bank account. Among the men, he was followed by Johnny Depp (a bargain at $72 mil) and Eddie Murphy (overpriced at $55 mil)."

Personal Finance from Around the Web

Here are a few interesting pieces I found while surfing the web the past couple days. I thought you might like to check them out as well:

US home foreclosures jump 14% in 2nd quarter: survey -- US home foreclosures leapt nearly 14 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter, research group RealtyTrac said Friday in a sign of deepening housing woes. On an annual basis, home foreclosure filings soared 121 percent from the same period in 2007, RealtyTrac said in releasing a survey of the country's 100 largest metropolitan areas.

Sounds like prices will be going down quite some time -- good news for home buyers. Then again, it's not all good news...

Rates on 30-year mortgages jump sharply -- Mortgage rates shot up this week with 30-year mortgages climbing to the highest level in nearly a year, reflecting concerns in financial markets about the troubles at corporate giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac reported Thursday that its nationwide survey showed rates on 30-year mortgages surged to 6.63 percent this week, up sharply from 6.26 percent last week. That represented the highest level for 30-year mortgages since they stood at 6.68 percent the week of Aug. 1.

We'll probably take a 15-year mortgage when we buy, but still, not great news for us.

Inflation May Offset Pay Increases in '09 -- But even with a 3.5% raise, most workers will likely find that extra cash consumed by rising costs for everything from food to gasoline. The latest report from the U.S. Labor Department showed inflation rising at a brisk 5% in June -- more than the raise most employees will receive in 2009.

Great. Just great. We're earning more and going backwards.

She Won a Fortune With a Cookie -- Carolyn Gurtz, a Maryland resident, took the million-dollar grand prize in the Pillsbury Bake-Off with her Double Delight Peanut Butter Cookie.

Good for her. She took something she loved and made it into a money-maker. I like those sorts of ideas.

Taking Aim at Military Scams -- Military personnel are often young and transient, but they earn a regular paycheck from Uncle Sam. That makes them prime targets for shady sales practices and financial criminals.

It never ceases to amaze me what some people will do to cheat others out of money.

A free way to check out used cars -- Insurers offer buyers a new resource for uncovering vehicles' hidden histories of theft or damage. It's a great start, but nothing replaces a good inspection.

Maybe a way to make used car buying an easier process?

Some Interesting Money-related News

Here are some articles I found this afternoon that I thought you'd find interesting.

Article: Jilted bride calls $150,000 jury award ‘justice’

Summary: Men (or women) who decide to get on bended knee: Be warned. You could find yourself on both knees, facing a judge instead of a justice of the peace. That’s what happened in Florida this week, when a woman was awarded $150,000 after suing her former fiancé for calling off their wedding.

My take: He made promises, she relied on them, then he backed off. Seems like she's due something. Still, this seems unusual.

Article: 'Wellness' a healthy investment for company

Summary: Nebraska company grades employees on how healthy they are. All employees have quarterly checks of weight, body fat and flexibility. Firm's per-employee health-care cost is $4,000 annually, about half regional average.

My take: This company's been doing it for 16 years, so it's not new to them. But I think it's fairly unique overall. And I'm thinking we'll see more and more of this sort of stuff in the future.

Article: Watch out for the 'free' stuff

Summary: Use caution when something is advertised or said to be "free". No matter what high-pressure salesman says, if not in contract -- you don't get it. Read everything -- including fine print -- before signing anything. If it sounds too good to be true, check with the Better Business Bureau.

My take: Kind of common sense, but I guess it never hurts to repeat even very simple advice.