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Latest blog posts from My Open Wallet

Vice Presidential Candidates' Finances
Which Vice Presidential candidate is a better personal finance role model? It pains me to say this, but I think it might be Sarah Palin! The tax returns released by politicians may not always tell the full story, but there are some striking contrasts here:br /br /blockquoteThe Palins reported... Read more...
Published 15 hours ago

Overheard on the Subway
I was on an R train the other night, and a young woman behind me asked if she was heading in the right direction. A few people reassured her that she was, and one man continued to talk to her, in a strong Brooklyn accent. I'm not sure exactly how he got onto the subject, but he began telling her... Read more...
Published 4 days ago

What To Do?
Over the last few days, a few readers have asked for advice on how to weather the tough economy we're facing right now. This is the kind of question I'm often reluctant to answer. Remember that I'm not a licensed financial advisor and I don't play one on TV, on stage, or in puppet shows (yet).br... Read more...
Published 5 days ago

What Does "Main Street" Really Want?
All the usual dichotomies in politics seem to have broken down lately. Republican vs. Democrat, elitist vs. populist, liberal vs. conservative.br /br /One of the reasons cited for the failure of the bailout was anger from "Main Street" that Wall Street tycoons will walk out of this laughing their... Read more...
Published 6 days ago

The Hit
My 401k lost about $12,000 yesterday, and is now down almost 23% year to date. I was obviously not the only one checking this morning, as the website was very slow, and I got a message at one point that the system was unavailable!br /My E*Trade account is down about 18.5% YTD, and my E*Trade Roth... Read more...
Published 7 days ago

Now What?
I haven't really commented much on this whole economic crisis and bailout issue, but seeing just now that the bill failed, and the corresponding drop in the stock market... well, it kind of made my heart sink. I don't know what the right answer is and what's going to happen next. I keep... Read more...
Published a week ago

Going Without A Slip: New ATMs
I love the new Chase ATMs where you don't need to use an envelope or a deposit slip-- they make depositing checks, and even cash so easy and fast!br /br /The first time I used one, I was a bit confused. I'd spent several minutes hunting around the bank lobby for envelopes and was really annoyed... Read more...
Published a week ago

When The Going Gets Tough...
... a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/nyregion/26bigcity.html?_r=1amp;ref=nyregionamp;oref=slogin"Bankers Wait in Line at Hermès Sample Sales/abr /br /p/pblockquotepWall Street may have turned into one big fire sale, but that is apparently not enough to dampen the perennial feverish... Read more...
Published a week ago

Monetary Mental Health
An a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/fashion/25money.html"interesting article/a from yesterday's New York Times, about the rise of "financial therapy."br /br /p/pblockquotepThe two women, a global celebrity and a Wisconsin divorcee trying to climb out from under a pile of bills, sought... Read more...
Published 2 weeks ago

My Fat Wallet
Today is one of those rare occasions when my wallet is stuffed with cash, including a $100 bill and a $50 bill. I had dinner with some friends last night, including one who was visiting from the UK and had exchanged money for a lot of US currency. Everyone at the dinner wanted to pay cash except... Read more...
Published 2 weeks ago

Book Bombs
There was an article in New York Magazine recently, called "a href="http://nymag.com/news/media/50279/?imw=Y"The End/a," which recapped all the industry problems bemoaned by everyone who works in publishing. I shouldn't say "all" the industry problems, because I think the low salaries weren't... Read more...
Published 2 weeks ago

Babar and Money
I loved the Babar books when I was a kid, and more recently, I've enjoyed reading them to my niece and nephew. Babar has been in the news lately due to an exhibit of illustrations at the Morgan Library amp; Museum here in New York. In yesterday's New York Times Arts section, a a... Read more...
Published 2 weeks ago