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To the best of my knowledge, I’m not a pretentious jerk-wad. Nor is my ego inflated by enticements of luxury and exclusivity. I’ve never owned a “Members-only” jacket, if that means anything at all. Imagine my surprise, then, when I received an invitation to apply for the exclusive Black Card from VISA, which (according to the marketing [...] Read more

A few days ago I was walking home from the bus stop after a day at the university. It had been a long day, and I was tired. As I rounded a corner, I heard someone yell at me from behind. Turning to look, I saw a man in his forties walking toward me and waving to catch my attention. Being someone of generally nice temperament, I stopped walking and [...] Read more

Note: This is a follow-up from a previous post (Desperately Seeking a Job). As some of my readers (both of you) may remember, I’ve been on the job market for some time now, furiously and desperately trying to land my first job as a university professor. Times have been tough. My wife and I have been scraping by on laughably pitiful salaries as [...] Read more

I just ran across this fascinating video. Created by Jonathan Jarvis, the video breaks down the credit/mortgage crisis in under twelve minutes. Sure, there’s some simplification involved, but it all ultimately boils down to one disgusting word anyway – GREED. Take a coffee break and watch this. It’s worth it.

I generally try to post information that is useful and helpful to other people, but now and then I need to reserve a post for an outpouring of personal information and emotion. This is one of those posts. I admit: I’m downright nervous about jobs, or in this case, the lack thereof. As some of you may remember, I’m a graduate student at the very [...] Read more

A New Year is upon us. At the end of a year, I normally have feelings of pensiveness and of reflective nostalgia about the year past and the inexhaustible marching forward of time. This time, not so much. Sure, I still have those nostalgic feelings on a personal level, but economically, I’m ready to kick 2008 to the curb. As painful as it is, here [...] Read more

No matter who you are, where you are, or what your lot is in life, I wish you a heartfelt Merry Christmas from Interesting Money! My hope is that you are able to devote time to friends, family, and other loved ones this time of year. This past year has been rough financially, and I know that my own meager portfolio is down much more than I care to [...] Read more

Ever since I was a small boy, granola has been one of my favorite cereals. My parents encouraged me to eat it for health reasons, but I just loved the taste. I’m sure my parents were thrilled to feed me granola rather than an onslaught of sugary, artificial cereals. Fast-forward 20 years or so, and I still like granola. It’s healthy, and it gives [...] Read more