Money Crashers: Are We in a Recession?

Back in June, Money Crashers had me rush through an article on the question of whether a recession was on its way. But apparently, it only took a couple of months for that question to become obsolete. They put me back to work answering a new one: Is the recession already here?

Spoiler alert: The answer is a definite maybe. There are different ways to define a recession, and the current state of the U.S. economy fits only some of them. It's possible that we have entered a recession at this point, but it's just too soon to make the call.

But one thing is clear: Times are getting tougher. Inflation remains high, and the Fed's attempts to tame it with interest rate hikes, necessary as they may be, will inevitably bring economic pain. So whether we're already in a recession or not, it makes sense to recession-proof your finances. At the end of the article, I discuss ways to do this (and another of my pieces covers these strategies in more detail).

Are We in a Recession Currently? Could We Be Headed That Way?

 

Money Crashers: Lending Circle – What It Is and How to Borrow From a Group Fund

In my latest piece for Money Crashers, I talk about an interesting way to borrow money: lending circles. These are informal groups in which members take turns pooling funds and giving all the cash to one person. For instance, ten people each put in $100 every month, and one person gets $1,000. Each person gets a turn to borrow, so everyone comes out even. And, since everyone is both a borrower and a lender, no one has to pay interest.

Now, if you're paying attention, you may have spotted a weakness in this plan. If you put in $100 every month, and once every ten months you collect $1,000, then you haven't really gained anything. You're no better off than if you had put that same $100 in the bank and withdrawn $1,000 after ten months. In fact, you're a little worse off, since banks pay at least a tiny amount of interest on your savings.

But the thing is, many people would have trouble saving up that $1,000 if it were just sitting there in the bank. They'd always be tempted to dip into it for emergencies, or to skip the $100 savings deposit some month when money was tight. But if they know the group is counting on them for that $100 payment, they'll do what it takes to make sure they have the money. It's the social pressure that forces them to save. And, since every payment is also an occasion for a social gathering, it's more fun.

Since I don't have trouble keeping my hands off my bank balance, a lending circle wouldn't be much good to me. But for those who do, it can make saving a little easier and more enjoyable.

Lending Circle – What It Is and How to Borrow From a Group Fund

Money Crashers: 5 Different Types of Taxes

Not every article that I write for Money Crashers goes up here. I try to post only the ones that have at least a tangential connection to ecofrugality (which is why you're not seeing a link here to a recent post that provides, I swear, a definition of a bank. Writing this was not my idea.)

Thus, I had some doubts about whether to include this one, 5 Different Types of Taxes and How to Minimize Them. It's only loosely connected to frugality and has no obvious connection to the environment at all. 

But upon consideration, I concluded that if you want to spend your money in ways that help the environment, paying taxes isn't necessarily the best way to do that. Yes, some of your income tax dollars go toward environmental protection, but it's less than a third of a cent out of each dollar. You could do far more good by reducing your taxes and putting all the money you save, or even half of it, into carbon offsets, or donating it to Project Drawdown.

So if you'd like to spend less on taxes and more on the environment, check out the article. It covers strategies for paying less on five kinds of taxes: income tax, excise tax, sales tax, property tax, and estate tax. Chances are, you won't have to pay all five of these this year, or maybe ever. But you're sure to pay at least some of them.

One new Money Crashers article, plus a podcast mention

Just a quick post here regarding my latest Money Crashers article on emergency room costs. I've already covered the benefits of going to urgent care instead of the ER when that's an option, but when it's not, there are various ways to minimize the expense. Some are things you can do before an emergency occurs, like figuring out ahead of time which local hospitals charge least for different procedures. Some can be done during your visit, like refusing unnecessary drugs and equipment. And some are for afterward, like getting an itemized bill and checking it carefully for errors. Check them all out here: 13 Ways to Save Money at the Emergency Room (ER)

Also, the Faithful on the Clock podcast is making mention of one of my earlier articles, 7 Important Financial Tips from the Bible. Check it out if that's your jam.

Money Crashers: 2 financial pieces

Here are two more Money Crashers articles dealing with core financial topics. The first is a companion to my earlier piece on debt settlement — arranging with creditors to cancel your debt for less than you owe. I noted in that piece that debt settlement isn't the only option for debt relief and isn't always the best one, so in this article, I explore some of the alternatives, such as credit counseling, debt management plans, debt consolidation loans, and bankruptcy. 

8 Alternatives to Debt Settlement for Debt Management and Relief

The second article is on the broader topic of getting your finances under control. For anyone who's ever struggled to make ends meet, it provides a complete, step-by-step guide to taming every aspect of your financial life — from budgeting and building emergency savings to paying off debt, investing, and estate planning.

How to Get Your Finances Under Control – 19 Things to Do Right Now

New articles from Money Crashers and Perch Energy

A quick update here to let you know about three new articles of mine that have gone live at Money Crashers, as well as one new one from Perch Energy.

The first Money Crashers piece has split off from my earlier piece on flooring. That one covered the different flooring options available and their pros and cons, particularly with regard to cost; this one is about how to save money on the materials and installation for whatever type of flooring you want.

How to Save Money on Flooring - 9 Steps to Get What You Want For Less

Continuing in the home renovation vein, here's a piece about remodeling your basement on a budget. In it, I cite as examples several of the techniques we used in renovating our already-kind-of-finished basement to turn it into a real room.

How to Save Money on a Basement Remodel - 10 Useful Tips

Next, a simple little piece about community banks. I explain what sets them apart from big banks and the pros and cons of choosing one for your banking needs. (In the process of writing this, I learned that our bank, Provident, was a community bank when we joined it, but apparently is no longer. As of last October, it has too many branches to qualify. So we're now using a regional bank instead, but we're okay with that.)

What Are Community Banks?

And lastly, my new piece for Perch is about tidal energy. I explain how this renewable energy source works and why it isn't used more (spoiler alert: it's mostly about cost).

Tidal Power Explained: What is Tidal Energy & Is It Renewable?

Money Crashers: Five pieces

Money Crashers has posted a whole bunch of my articles in the past week, so here's a really quick roundup:

Should You Buy an Electric Car? – 5 Cost Considerations

Here's a topic that's on a lot of ecofrugal people's minds these days: Is it time to switch to an electric car? This piece focuses mostly on the financial side of that question (cost of buying, cost of maintenance, cost of charging at home and on the road), but I also go into the convenience and environmental costs of electric versus gas-powered vehicles.

Best Personal Finance Books for Kids

This is a companion to my earlier piece on personal finance books for teens and young adults. While that one included some books aimed at adults, this one focuses on books that help younger readers (ages 5 through 11) learn the basics about money.

What Is a Debt Consolidation Loan and How Does It Work?

Here's a topic ecofrugal people are unlikely to need, but I'll include it here anyway: debt consolidation loans. I explore how these loans work, what kind of debt you can use them for, who can qualify for one, and their costs and benefits.

Should You Buy a Fixer-Upper House? The Pros and Cons to Consider

And we're back firmly on ecofrugal ground with the costs and benefits of buying a fixer-upper. Does it really save you money? Does it save you enough to be worth the cost in time, sweat, and stress? (Should you decide the answer is yes, check out my earlier piece on how to do it.)

The Best Places to Buy Wine Online of 2022

Finally, here's one for frugal wine lovers. During the COVID pandemic, Americans discovered the benefits of buying our booze online, and many of us have stuck with it. In this roundup, I share eight of the best places to find great wine online.

Money Crashers: 3 new articles

A quick update here to tell you about my three latest pieces on Money Crashers. The first is about one of my favorite subjects, books — specifically, books to teach kids about money. I already have a piece on the best personal finance books for adults, and there's an upcoming one about the best books for younger children, but this one focuses on the tween and teen set: ages 11 to 20. 

These days, schools are teaching kids this age the facts of life about sex, but not about money, so it's up to parents to fill in the gap. My folks did this decades ago by giving me a subscription to Penny Power magazine, a version of Consumer Reports for kids. But that magazine is now sadly defunct, so books are the best way to go, and these seven books are the most-recommended of all. Together, they cover every aspect of financial life, from splitting the check at a restaurant from starting a business. With one exception ("Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Kids," which I included because of its popularity but honestly don't think much of), these are all books I wish I'd had the chance to read at this age.

Best Personal Finance Books for Young Adults (Teens and Tweens)

The second is on a topic I've frankly been a little behind the curve on: money transfer apps. The only one I currently use is PayPal, and according to my research, it's a good one overall — but there are lots of other options that can be better for specific uses, from splitting the check with friends to sending money overseas. No matter where and how you want to send money, there's bound to be an app here that works for you.

The Best Money Transfer Apps for Sending and Receiving Cash of 2022

And finally, there's a piece on the boring but highly necessary topic of health insurance. I've written on this subject before, but this piece covers the absolute basics: what health insurance actually does, what terms like "deductible" and "coinsurance" mean, what an insurance policy is required by law to cover, and what kind of limits insurers tend to place on their coverage to keep costs down. It goes into the many different types of health insurance in the higgledy-piggledy U.S. health-care system, from Medicare to HMOs, and answers some basic questions about what health insurance costs and how to get it. It's everything you always wanted to know about health insurance but weren't sure how to ask.

What Is Health Insurance and How Does It Work? 

Money Crashers: 2 new articles

A quick post to let you know about two new articles of mine that have popped up on Money Crashers in the past week:

9 Best Books to Read Before Buying a Home

From the author who brought you "7 Best Personal Finance Books to Read of All Time," a new piece on the best books about home buying. These volumes cover every aspect of your biggest purchase ever, including real estate agents, mortgages, inspections, title insurance, negotiation, and closing costs. It's everything you've ever wanted to know about home buying but were afraid to ask.

How to Get the Best Price on a Rental Car – 10 Simple Steps

The second  article is a companion to my earlier piece on avoiding rental car fees. This one focuses not on the fees, but on the base price you pay for a rental car. It lets you in on the secrets to getting the lowest possible price, from avoiding upselling to taking advantage of discounts.

Money Crashers: 2 health care articles and one on debt settlement

Money Crashers has published three of my articles in the past week. The first is not so much a new article as a spin-off from an old one: my piece on debt settlement from last year. The editors decided to split this into two articles, one on when debt settlement is a good idea and one on the nuts and bolts of how to do it. So the old URL now directs you to the article on the "how," and the new one on the "why" is here:

When Is Debt Settlement a Good Idea – Disadvantages and How It Works

The other two pieces are on health care, and they approach it from two different angles. The latest one is on how to choose the best health insurance plan out of the array of options that your insurer or your state health exchange offers. I walk you through the various factors to consider — premiums, out-of -pocket costs, provider network — and how to balance them to choose the best plan for your family.

How to Choose the Best Health Insurance Plan for Your Family

And the other attacks the problem from the other side of the coin: what to do if you're one of the nearly 30 million Americans without health insurance. I outline the various places to get care without it — including subsidized health clinics, retail clinics, direct primary care, telehealth, free health screenings, Hill-Burton hospitals, urgent care centers, and hospital ERs — with their costs, pros, and cons. And I examine some other ways to save, from the common (discount medical plans) to the obscure (clinical drug trials).

How to Get Affordable Medical Care Without Health Insurance

 

Money Crashers: Latte Factor

My latest Money Crashers article takes on one of the great myths of personal finance: the Latte Factor. This phrase, coined by financial guru David Bach, signifies the idea that the key to financial independence is to cut out small, unnecessary expenses and steer that money into investments instead. And you must admit, as a sound bite, it's sheer genius. It's easy to grasp, and it's such a comforting idea — that the only thing standing between you and retiring rich is something so trivial as a latte. All you have to do is cut out coffee, and you've got it made! What could be easier?

In fact, there's only one thing wrong with the Latte Factor: it is, to borrow a phrase from "The Good Place," bullshirt.

In the article, I explain exactly why Bach's calculations don't work, and why they trivialize the problems that are really holding people's finances back — much more complex problems like overpriced real estate, skyrocketing health care costs, and punishing student loan debt. Then I go on to outline some approaches that actually can help you solve these problems, such as rethinking housing, refinancing debt, maximizing your income, and boosting your investment returns.

Spoiler alert: These fixes are nowhere near as simple as giving up a daily latte. But they're a lot more likely to work.

Latte Factor – Giving Up Lattes Won’t Make You Rich But Here’s What Will

Money Crashers: 3 new articles

Money Crashers has popped up three of my articles in the past couple of days, all on quite different topics. The first is about reuse centers like the Habitat for Humanity Restore, which served us so well when we remodeled our downstairs bathroom ten years back. The piece explains how reuse centers (and architectural salvage stores, a related type of store that focuses more on unique, high-end pieces) work, the pros and cons of shopping there, and how to find one near you.

How to Shop at Reuse Centers & Architectural Salvage Stores to Save on Home Improvement

The second piece is about another topic we have some experience with, refurbished electronics. When I bought my old Mac (the one I finally replaced this year), I bought a refurbished one-year-old model, not as a way to save money, but because it was the only way to get a Mac with a CD drive, which I still needed, and without the latest OS, Lion, which was full of bugs. However, "refurbs" offer other benefits too, including the warranties and tech support you'd expect on a new device with prices up to 50% lower. In my piece, I explain how refurbs differ from both new and used goods, where you can find them, and how to get the best deals.

Should I Buy Refurbished Electronics? – How It’s Different From New & Used

Finally, a piece on a somewhat less gripping topic: bank accounts. This is simply a primer on the four common types of bank accounts — checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs — and how they differ. I cover the pros and cons of each account type in detail, plus the subcategories within each type, and how to decide which type of account you need.

4 Different Types of Bank Accounts Explained

Money Crashers: 2 new posts

A quick update here to tell you about my two latest posts on Money Crashers. The first is about your credit score, and about how to get around the annoying fact that (1) it has a tremendous impact on your life, and (2) the credit bureaus have no obligation to tell you what it is. My article explains how to get around that problem and check it for yourself, either for a fee or, better yet, for nothing.

How to Check Your Credit Score – Subscription Services & Free Monitoring

The second is about my former favorite store, IKEA. Although I've become disillusioned with IKEA lately, we still have some IKEA pieces that have served us well for many years and that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. So I'd say the key to shopping at IKEA is knowing which pieces are good values and which ones aren't — and that's what this article is all about. It looks at reviews and interviews with home professionals to identify the best items in every category, from furniture to textiles to lighting and beyond. as well as the ones best left on the shelf.

What To Buy And What Not To Buy At IKEA

Money Crashers: Why Some Stores Are Not Accepting Cash – Is it Legal & What to Do

I'm old enough to remember when many stores didn't accept credit cards. Nowadays, by contrast, there are some stores that don't take cash. For some, this is just a temporary measure during the COVID pandemic, when many people see bills and coins as germ carriers (although the CDC now admits that catching COVID this way is highly unlikely). But the cashless trend was already around before COVID, and it will probably be around afterward.

Strange as it may seem, this is perfectly legal. Cash is legal tender "for all debts," meaning bills you already owe — but if you haven't made a transaction yet, a store is within its right to accept or refuse any form of payment it likes. It can insist on Visa, MasterCard, or even Bitcoin if it wants to.

For most of us, cashless stores aren't a big deal. Most consumers prefer to use credit or debit cards anyway, or the even newer payment apps. And even those who like to use cash usually have at least one card to fall back on. But for the "unbanked" — those without bank accounts or cards — a cashless store is a store where they can't shop, period.

So what can be done about it? That's the topic of my latest Money Crashers article. It explains why some stores are going cashless, why it's a problem, and how you can deal with it.

Why Some Stores Are Not Accepting Cash – Is it Legal & What to Do

 

Money Crashers: 4 new articles

Several of my new articles for Money Crashers dropped yesterday and today, covering a variety of topics. First up is a piece on home power generators — specifically, on whether buying one to deal with disasters like the recent crisis in Texas is a good idea for you. I explored this idea myself during a series of rolling (and totally unpredictable) blackouts in 2014, and I concluded that the answer was no; we didn't have a reasonable place to set up a portable generator, nor to store it and the fuel for it, and a standby one would be far too expensive a solution for what was, for us, a fairly infrequent problem. This article walks you through the same process I went through to reach this conclusion, covering the pros and cons of owning a generator and the questions you should ask to determine if it's right for you. I also discuss several alternatives to consider for getting through a blackout, such as the gas heater we eventually ended up with. (And in case you decide a generator is the right choice for you, there's a companion article to this one due out soon on how to buy one.)

Should I Buy a Backup Standby Power Generator for My Home?

The next two articles deal with the cost of long-term care and how to deal with it. According to HHS, Americans over 65 have a 70% chance of needing long-term care at some point in their lives, and the costs can be astronomical — anywhere from $1,603 to $8,821 per month, based on a Genworth study from 2020. The first of the two articles focuses on ways to reduce this cost, such as relying on family members for care (which can take a toll on their mental health and yours), government aid programs, relocation, and long-term care insurance. (This, too, can be quite costly, so the article also explores ways to keep the premiums down as much as possible.) The second article approaches the topic from a more long-term perspective, discussing how you can plan ahead to deal with your costs, using products like insurance, annuities, or reverse mortgages. Between the two, they offer a complete primer on how to protect yourself from catastrophic costs.

How to Lower Long-Term Care Costs (Nursing Homes & Insurance)

Long-Term Care Options and How to Plan for the Costs

Finally, an article on a topic dear to my heart: podcasts. I'm a regular consumer of podcasts, listening to one every day in the shower. (In fact, I now have so many I listen to regularly that during the winter, when I don't always shower every day, I have trouble keeping up.) Many of my favorite podcasts are about economics, but I know many other people would rather learn about money on a more personal level: how they can use it to their best advantage for particular personal goals. The podcasts in this roundup can help. Whatever your goals — getting out of debt, earning more money, choosing investments, retiring early — there’s a podcast out there that can help you reach them, and this article can tell you where to find it. 

15 Best Financial Podcasts About Money, Business & Investing in 2021

Money Crashers: 12 Elder Fraud Scams That Target Senior Citizens

A quick post here to let you know about my latest Money Crashers article. This one focuses on scams that target senior citizens, who make particularly juicy targets because they often have both well-padded bank accounts and less-than-perfect memories. Some popular ones include:

• The call from (allegedly) the Social Security Administration warning you that your Social Security Number has been "suspended" because it's been used improperly and you need to supply lots of personal information pronto to avoid losing your benefits
• The call from your "favorite grandchild," who is in terrible trouble (a car accident, an arrest for marijuana possession, something like that) and needs money immediately, sent by an untraceable method, and also a pledge of secrecy because their parents would kill them if they knew
• The one where you get three issues of a magazine for free, followed by a bill for your new "subscription" (what, you don't remember subscribing? Well, your memory isn't what it used to be.)
• The particularly heinous one where you get a call immediately after a loved one's death to inform you that they owed a lot of money for which you are now on the hook, and threatening you with exposure, lawsuits, or arrest if you don't pay up

Don't let the bastards get away with it! Inform yourself, and your loved ones over 65, about these scams so you know what to be on the lookout for. And learn some tips for protecting yourself if you get a call that sounds suspicious, and for protecting your loved ones if they seem to keep falling for these cons. Get the skinny here:

12 Elder Fraud Scams That Target Senior Citizens – How to Stay Protected

 

Money Crashers: 9 Best Online Will Makers of 2020

For the past several years, I've had "make a will" on my to-do list. I knew it was a good idea to have one, but it never really seemed urgent. It wasn't just that I didn't expect to die any time soon, since I know that's impossible to predict; I also knew if I died without a will, my money would automatically go to Brian as my next of kin, and I was fine with that. Most of our assets are jointly owned anyway, and my IRA already has a named beneficiary, so I didn't foresee any problems there. The only possible wrinkle was that if we both died at the same time — say, in a car crash — our assets would then most likely go to our parents, who really don't need them. So I figured it would be a good thing to have a will specifying how to split up the money in that case, and also naming a guardian for the cats.But since the contingency seemed pretty remote, I dragged my feet about actually making one.

Apparently, I'm not alone in this. According to AARP, 6 out of 10 Americans haven't made a will, and most of them give the same reason I did — they just haven't gotten around to it yet. Unfortunately, for many of them, dying without a will could pose a significant problem for their heirs. Even if the money eventually gets to their kids, their siblings, or whoever is their next of kin, it could be held up for months in probate.

So, when I proposed an article about online will software for Money Crashers, I had a sneaky ulterior motive in mind. I figured in the process of writing it, I'd learn enough about the various software programs that exist to help you create a will to be able to choose one that would meet my needs and finally get this item off my list once and for all. And sure enough, it worked. I researched the various options, settled on one with decent features and a free trial period, and was able to dash off my will and supporting documents (living will and power of attorney) before the trial was up. (Actually getting the documents witnessed in the middle of a pandemic was trickier, but I managed it in the end.)

So if you're in the same position I was, knowing you need a will but putting off making one because the task seems overwhelming, this article can help. I've already done all the research for you, so all you have to do is read it, figure out which service looks best for your needs, buy it, and use it. Once you take the plunge, the process is actually quick and fairly painless.

9 Best Online Will Makers of 2020

Money Crashers: Loyalty programs and Inflation vs. your retirement savings

Two more of my articles have just gone live on Money Crashers. The first is one I started ages ago that languished for a while in the editorial loop before they decided to bring it up to date and publish it. It's all about store loyalty programs: which stores have them, what their benefits are, and what, if anything, they cost. I review all the top-rated loyalty programs from department stores, drugstores, eateries, supermarkets, and specialty stores to determine which ones deserve a spot on your crowded keyring (or phone).

12+ Retailers With the Best Customer Loyalty Programs

The second is a companion to my earlier piece on the effects of inflation. This one focuses specifically on how inflation affects your retirement portfolio and what you can do to minimize its effects. I explain how to adjust your retirement plans for inflation and how to increase both your contributions and your rate of return to make sure you keep up. The piece covers the investments that pay off best in the long-term (mostly stocks, especially those that pay dividends), those that make the best hedges against inflation (such as real estate and inflation-adjusted bonds), and those that aren't necessarily good choices (commodities, precious metals, and art).

How to Combat Inflation’s Negative Effects on Your Retirement Savings

 

Money Crashers: Debt Settlement Negotiation

Here's a new Money Crashers on a topic I hope most of you don't have to deal with: debt settlement.

I've written articles before about paying off debt, but this piece is for folks who don't see a way to do that — who can barely keep up with the monthly payments, let alone increase them. It's for people who have already missed multiple payments and are now dreading calls from debt collectors. People, in short, who are in a very bad situation.

One way out of this situation is debt settlement: persuading creditors to discharge your debt in exchange for a lump-sum payment that's less than you actually owe. This isn't a magic bullet, since you have to come up with that lump sum and persuade creditors to accept it, and the discharged debt will harm your credit rating. But it's easier to recover from than bankruptcy.

This article discusses the pros and cons of debt settlement, other alternatives to consider before trying to settle your debt, and strategies for negotiating with creditors. If you're lucky, you'll never need this information — but if you ever do, it's better to know your options ahead of time.

Debt Settlement Negotiation – Do-It-Yourself Guide to Beat the Creditors

Money Crashers: 17 Personal Finance Books to Read

First of all, let me be clear: the rather immodest title of this article, "17 Best Personal Finance Books to Read of All Time," was the editor's idea, not mine. I make no attempt to claim that the books on this list are the absolute best treatises on personal finance ever written, or even the best currently in print. Instead, this list features:

• 15 books selected because they consistently get good marks from reviewers for their ability to present financial topics, from basic budgeting to early retirement, in a way anyone can understand
• One book that I added to the list because it's a personal favorite of mine, and one that I think doesn't get enough recognition for its ability to make financial matters not merely understandable but entertaining
• One book (the last) that I added to the list by request because Money Crashers has "a partnership" with the author. In other words, he's paying us for our recommendation. I originally added a "full disclosure" notice revealing this information at the bottom of the section, but the editor removed it. So please take this as my personal disclaimer: I have not personally read this book, nor have I seen a recommendation for it anywhere. It gets pretty good ratings on Amazon.com, but for all I know, the author paid for those too, so I make no guarantees.

With the exception of this last one, all the books on this list come with solid recommendations. Whatever your financial goals may be — from making your first budget to buying a home to achieving financial independence — there's sure to be a book on this list that can help you achieve them.