Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 27, 2009, 9:30 am
Hope you’ve enjoyed your Black Friday so far. I’ve enjoyed some relaxing time off with friends and family. I’ve avoided the malls and the strip shopping centers, avoided Wally world, Tar—J...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 26, 2009, 9:40 am
Anyone who’s spent much time in a commercial airliner knows about Skymall. It’s the over-the-top catalog that graces the seatback pocket on every commercial flight I’ve ever been on. Leafing thr...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 25, 2009, 7:00 am
It’s a natural human tendency to think that money makes you smart, or is it that being smart makes you money? After all, how did rich people get that way in the first place? Surely it had to do with...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 24, 2009, 6:00 am
When I was asked to review Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly, I was a little apprehensive. I thought it would be about how everything with all food productio...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 23, 2009, 6:15 am
Know why they call it “Black Friday?” It isn’t because those sale items push retailers into the “black” (accounting speak for profitability). Those sale items are almost always loss leaders ...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 20, 2009, 8:00 am
Do you realize how much of what you consider “personal information” is actually out there in the form of “public information?” With the advent of the Internet, courthouses are able to compile ...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 20, 2009, 6:00 am
I spent the week in Orlando on business and have decided to return with my family for Christmas this year. Woo Hoo! The weather was awesome and Disney/Sea World is calling! We plan to use our Christma...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 18, 2009, 6:00 am
When a health insurer denies a claim, most people complain to their circle of friends and family, then roll over and accept it, arranging payments and resenting every minute of it. It was bad enough y...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 17, 2009, 6:00 am
A friend asked how many books I had read over the past few years, wanting a recommendation for something to read over the holidays. I had to pause a few minutes to think about the answer and was more ...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 16, 2009, 6:00 am
When you go through a catastrophic incident, making the decision to file a claim on your homeowners insurance is a simple issue. In other cases, it’s a little risky because you could put your name i...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 14, 2009, 10:50 pm
We found out this week that 4 year old Owen Church has leukemia. He is the oldest son of some friends of ours. Owen has two older sisters and one younger brother and he is simply a joy to be around. H...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 13, 2009, 6:45 am
When I interview potential candidates for a position, few things irritate me like an applicant who never asks any questions about the company or the position. When a candidate is engaged, asks specifi...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 12, 2009, 1:00 am
Only in the crazy world of real estate can you hear something like: “Your return on investment for a kitchen remodel is 100 percent.” “Your ROI on a new deck or patio is 80 percent.” “New...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 11, 2009, 1:00 am
If you’ve taken the advice of most financial professionals, you own a term life insurance policy and you insure your life for 10 to 15 times your annual income. Great! But since “term” insurance...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 10, 2009, 1:00 am
It’s okay, we all give up too easily sometimes. You are not alone! It doesn’t matter if it was weight loss, living by a budget, learning to play a musical instrument, blogging regularly, spending ...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 6, 2009, 9:45 am
President Obama is expected to sign a bill today that will encourage people to spend/borrow more money to spur the economy. First time homebuyers have been eligible to receive up to $8,000 as a tax cr...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 6, 2009, 1:15 am
An Insurance Pothole? Potholes. The nemesis of drivers everywhere. They appear when you least expect them and they can do some real damage to your tires, your wheels, and even the frame of your vehic...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 5, 2009, 6:00 am
According to Credit Karma’s CEO, Ken Lin, 2009 has been a momentous year for credit issues – and I have to agree with him. Suddenly, frugality became cool, overspending was out, and consumers put ...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 4, 2009, 7:30 am
This is a guest post from Joel Ohman, a Certified Financial Planner and President of 360 Quote LLC.  He is a serial web entrepreneur and is currently spearheading several successful consumer comparis...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 3, 2009, 8:35 am
We’ve had it “drilled” into our heads for decades – reduce dependency on oil for the good of our planet, for the good of our air, for the good of our water. We’ve learned to drive less, driv...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Nov 2, 2009, 4:00 am
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”  –Plato, speaking through Socrates in The Apology Am I the only one who finds it ironic that one of the world’s wealthiest nations is the most ...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 30, 2009, 7:00 am
Imagine going to the grocery store to get some ideas on what to fix for a dinner party. As you’re pinching the fruit to test for ripeness, a man walks up to tell you that EVERYBODY needs to eat appl...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 29, 2009, 2:00 am
Over the past two years, I’ve regularly chronicled my disdain for debt, calling it slavery and listening to scores of readers who think it’s no big deal. To me, debt is always a big deal because i...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 28, 2009, 5:25 am
Yesterday I wrote an article about 13 loans that scare me to death, but the truth is, almost all debt scares me to some degree. Now I know what you’re thinking – what about a mortgage, what about ...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 27, 2009, 1:00 am
Some people claim that fear is based on ignorance, but my personal fear of these financial vampires is based on knowledge. Some of these loans are scary because of how they’re structured, some loans...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 26, 2009, 9:00 am
If you’re a regular reader of personal finance and self development blogs, you’ve probably read about someone’s mistakes. I’ve made some big mistakes myself in the past, but part of maturity i...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 22, 2009, 7:45 am
After I wrote How to Compare Insurance Companies and Agents, I received this comment a from Mark, one of The Wisdom Journal’s readers about his experience with NetQuote. I was able to save a f...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 21, 2009, 1:30 am
I scoff at the idea of haggling for a better price. I tell you that it’s no big deal when you get incorrect change at the drive through. I tell you there’s nothing you can do when you get passed...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 20, 2009, 9:30 am
Are you like me? No claims of any kind (ever), no traffic tickets, no accidents, and no teenagers on my policy (so far), yet my car insurance took a jump in premium costs. I asked my auto insurance ag...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 19, 2009, 8:00 am
This is part 12 of a 12 week series where I explore the tactics of verbal cheap shot artists – people who can’t, or won’t use valid arguments to present their case, but instead resort to verbal ...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 16, 2009, 9:30 am
leafy greens eggs tuna oysters potatoes cheese ice cream tomatoes sprouts berries Are you kidding me? Leafy greens? Sprouts? Berries? Tuna? Ice cream I can understand but how did tomatoes get on the ...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 15, 2009, 1:00 am
Though credit cards are not the only cause of consumer debt, they’re by far the easiest type of debt to accumulate. Some people advise “cutting up your plastic” in order to prevent more debt, bu...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 14, 2009, 8:00 am
Avoid Getting Back in Debt No matter how you did it, getting out of debt usually takes years. There was a lot of work involved in getting to this point. Don’t blow it now. Remembering that mone...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 13, 2009, 1:00 am
As a parent, you recognize that teaching your children the skills for a successful life is your responsibility. Neither the government, schools, community groups, churches, nor any other person has as...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 12, 2009, 1:20 am
This is part nine of a 12 week series where I explore the tactics of verbal cheap shot artists – people who can’t, or won’t use valid arguments to present their case, but instead resort to verba...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 9, 2009, 8:00 pm
Okay. Enough is enough. The drought is over. We get it already. I don’t know about you, but my yard is drenched. The amount of rain it’s received in the last few days has been incredible! Thank g...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 9, 2009, 7:00 am
Buyers and sellers rarely agree on the first offer on a home. In most home negotiations, the seller will reject the offer outright or respond with a counter-offer. If you’ve never seen a counter-off...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 8, 2009, 2:00 am
Okay, your 401(k) has become a 201(k) and you’ve lost a ton of money in the market. You actually believe those researchers who claim the sting of a financial loss is much more intense than the s...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 6, 2009, 8:00 am
If you’ve made the switch and you’re like me, you really enjoy using compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in your home. Why? CFL’s save a ton of energy (lowering my electricity bill). They...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 5, 2009, 1:45 am
This is part 10 of a 12 week series where I explore the tactics of verbal cheap shot artists – people who can’t, or won’t use valid arguments to present their case, but instead resort to verbal ...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Oct 1, 2009, 9:00 am
Everyone makes mistakes but if your boss is like most, he or she isn’t concerned with making sure you feel like you’re in good company. No, the boss wants you to do two things AFTER you’ve screw...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Sep 30, 2009, 10:00 am
Living in today’s world of static incomes and rising prices, avoiding a retail rip off that could plunge us into financial disaster just makes good sense. Over the years, I’ve learned to be aw...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Sep 29, 2009, 3:20 am
Food is usually one of a family’s biggest variable expenses, and while some of these ideas seem like common sense, maybe you can pick up an idea or two to help you reduce the amount you spend on foo...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Sep 28, 2009, 4:00 am
This is part nine of a 12 week series where I explore the tactics of verbal cheap shot artists – people who can’t, or won’t use valid arguments to present their case, but instead resort to verba...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Sep 27, 2009, 12:01 am
Knowing how to find and evaluate insurance companies and agents is a crucial step toward making sure you get the best and most thorough coverage for your particular needs. Researching Insurance Compa...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Sep 25, 2009, 7:00 am
Your credit report is an official record of how you’ve used and managed credit (borrowed money) in the past. Every time you apply for a loan, lenders examine your report or credit score to assess yo...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Sep 24, 2009, 4:45 am
Note I am not a lawyer and the information I gathered here came from www.uscourts.gov. The information contained in this article should NOT be substituted for sound legal opinion, nor cited or relied ...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Sep 23, 2009, 1:10 am
Note: I am not a lawyer and the information contained in this article should NOT be substituted for sound legal opinion, nor cited or relied upon as legal advice. You’ve weighed the pros and co...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Sep 22, 2009, 5:00 am
Note: I am not a lawyer and the information I gathered here came from www.uscourts.gov. The information contained in this article should NOT be substituted for sound legal opinion, nor cited or relied...
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Ron H. posted an article on The Wisdom Journal - Sep 21, 2009, 5:30 pm
Long time readers of The Wisdom Journal know my stance on most credit cards – don’t care them but they’re a necessity in today’s economy it seems. If you’re currently carrying a bala...
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