recession

Ask the Readers: Now, is the Economy Back on Track?

In late August, we asked you if you thought the economy was back on track. Overwhelmingly, you thought that it was leveling off, but not yet back on track. And 30% said that it was still getting worse, including Phil, who posted this comment: Absolutely getting worse. Spending for the sake of spending does not […]

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We Can’t Buy Our Way Out of a Recession

Black Friday is over. This year, there were many news stories of hope and optimism that consumers would rush out and buy, buy, buy. The broadcast news stations sent their local correspondents to talk with mall owners and department store managers to get their forecast. The ones I saw used their interviews to plug discounts, […]

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3 Positive Effects From the Recession

The recession has been bad on almost everyone. The unemployment rate, though down last week, is in double-digit figures. The government is spending a ton of your money to stimulate the economy, with mixed effects. The financial industry and housing market have both been in shambles. When it comes to how everyday people manage their […]

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Ask the Readers: How Are You Improving Your Financial Situation?

There is good news coming from the recession. Last week, we learned that American consumers have cut their their debt by $21.6 billion, the largest ever on record, with credit card usage accounting for $6.1 billion of that total. Add that to the personal savings rate hitting 6.9% in May, the highest since 1993, and […]

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Weekend Linkage: Bad Habits, Automatically Poor, and the Recession

While things are looking up in this economy — the Dow hits 9000, housing sales are up and companies are reporting better-than-expected results — it’s still tough out there. Some are even suggesting that we’re only in the first third of the recession. But just because times are difficult doesn’t mean you can’t do better […]

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The Best News Coming Out of the Recession

In October of 2006, I wrote a simple post at the Online Savings Blog called “Rule #2: Spend Less Than You Earn“. Now, this is one of the most fundamental basics of personal finance: don’t spend it if you don’t have it. In that post, I linked to a chart of the Bureau of Economic […]

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Will Banks Lead Us Out of the Recession?

The federal government has been bailing out the nation’s banks since last summer, handing out billions in emergency reserves to as many as 500 banks, always with a press release telling the public there must be bailouts or the banks and economy will collapse. According to a recent article in The Washington Post (“Bank Profits […]

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