JUST WHAT IS A RECESSION ANYWAY?

Yesterday George Bush assured the nation that we were not heading into a recession. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke echoed the same sentiments. They blame the media for overplaying the news of high costs, slowing growth and low consumer confidence. So, amid all of this banter and posturing, just what is a recession, are we heading into one, and if so, what difference does it make? The standard definition of a recession is two consecutive calendar quarters of negative growth in the overall U.S. economy. The first quarter of 2008 is two-thirds over, and we might squeak by with a tiny bit of growth. The second quarter, then, will be the telling time: if our economy shrinks between April 1 and June 30, the "R" word could indeed be not far away. What factors will influence the growth or shrinkage of the economy? George Bush feels that the tax rebate, The Stimulus---which will put $300 to $600 in many people's pockets, and as much as $1,200 in others---will get the economic engines purring again. That money won't be in hand until May, and it won't all get put to use until June or July. A huge amount of it will just be used to pay off back debts, which won't get the economic engines to whimper, let alone purr. As I read the nation's mood, George Bush's enthusiasm will count for naught. So there go the only two positive factors that could prevent or delay a recession. NEGATIVES OUTWEIGH POSITIVES On the negative side we have the following: A) Higher gas prices, which are felt in almost every economic transaction---not just at the pump, but also in delivering raw materials to factories andfinished products to stores, and much more. Those higher prices will cause people to cut back on other spending. B) Tight credit, which will remain with us for months even if the Fed cuts short term rates at its March meeting, as is expected, will curtail new investments in production. Less production and less to buy as a result are economic negatives. C) The weak dollar will cause the prices of goods we import to go up, which dampens growth. D) All of the above will start to cause layoffs, which means less people buying fewer goods. E) Layoffs plus rising prices sours the mood of the public, and people start stashing money away for a rainy day instead of spending it. A + B + C + D + E equals recession, no matter how you or George Bush defines it. What difference does it make? Not a whole lot, over time. We've been this route many times, and we've always bounced back, usually within a year or two. Yes, there will be some short term pain. Yes, the "R" word will get over-used during the elections, with fingers of blame pointing in all directions, until the public begins to ignore it. Yes, a change in the Administration will prompt changes in the national mood---new brooms always do sweep clean, regardless of what they're made of. Yes, we will awake from a hibernation of slow and/or negative growth and get moving again. And, like childbirth (or so I'm told) we will quickly forget the pain. The biggest thrust of economic growth comes from consumer confidence. Regardless of interest rates or gas prices or credit tightness, will we regain confidence in our economic potential? Yes, but denial---such as that coming out of Washington---only serves to confuse the public and delay the misery. Let's face facts---tell the public the truth, and get on with it. Mr. and Mrs. John Q. know a lot more about their sense of confidence than any politician can ever know. And any politician who tells you otherwise is just.....well....a politician. This article supplements Chapter One, pages 16-26 in Personal Finance. Access the text by clicking on the red box in the right column.

LINKS.....LINKS.....LINKS

LINKS TO HELPFUL SITES THAT DON'T SELL ANYTHING...(plus a few that do.) Many years ago, at the dawn of the Internet Age, I compiled a list of websites to include in the textbook, Personal Finance, as an extra benefit to readers. It was very important to me that I refer only to websites that were not selling anything. I didn't want my readers/students to get trapped in a scam or otherwise be abused by overanxious vendors. I spent a huge amount of time finding and later updating those websites. In the Eighth Edition, which you can access at no charge by clicking on the red box in the right column of this page, the chosen websites were designated as "Quick-Clicks." Those 200+ Quick Clicks are no longer operative---thanks to the ongoing development of the web, they've been consolidated into a handful of links that will take you to wherever you need to go to enhance your knowledge of subjects in this website and the Personal Finance text. Here are those links, with brief comments as to their content. www.pueblo.gsa.gov This is the home site of the Federal Citizens Information Center (FCIC), and it is a massive collection of just about anything the federal government can do for you. It provides free articles, books and continuing links to other federal agencies and services. www.ipl.org Just like having a complete reference library at your fingertips. This is the Internet Public Library, and it has more internal links---to free sources---than anyone could ever make use of. One feature of particular interest is its access to the current internet editions of virtually every newspaper in the world. Huge amounts of free consumer info. It's easy to get lost in the IPL, so pack a lunch before you log on. www.bbb.org This is the site for the National Better Business Bureau (and can also link you to your local bureau). It's probably the best place to research the reputations of business you might become involved with, and the best place to file complaints. www.ftc.gov The Federal Trade Commission's home, where consumer protection is their main objective. (This can also be accessed through the Pueblo address above, but why not take this shortcut?) www.irs.gov The name speaks for itself. As with the FTC, this site can be accessed through the Pueblo address, after some navigating.) www.investopedia.com As the name implies, this is an encyclopedic collection of more than everything you've ever wanted to know about the world of investments. Caution: This site is loaded with advertisements, so proceed at your own risk. www.calculator.com Whatever type of calculator you might ever need for your personal financial concerns you can find here. As with Investopedia, this site contains ads, so proceed accordingly. If you know of helpful websites that aren't listed here, please send the details to info@universityofbob.com. Non-advertisers preferred.

IT'S A GOOD NEWS--BAD NEWS SORT OF DAY

"There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics." So said the wise Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime Minister in the late 1800s. We are inundated with statistics to a point of being numb to them. Politicians, government agencies, corporations and all of their P.R. people grind out the numbers relentlessly. Many are misleading. Many contradict each other. Many are taken out of context. Yet they continue to make headlines and seep their way into our brains. Here's one guideline that might help you survive the tsunami of statistics. Ask yourself, when you see the numbers: "Relative to what?" The truth might be surprising. Enough already with the headlines shouting about the bad times in the housing market. Yes, I agree, there has been a severe downturn. Jobs lost. Investments vanished. National mood somber. Indeed, the news becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Prospective home buyers read about how house prices are falling and mortages are tougher to come buy. So what do they do? Believing the statistics, they say, "Let's wait until prices fall even more, and getting a mortgage is easier." In other words, they put off buying houses. And so the statistics get worse. WHICH STATISTICS DO YOU WANT TO BELIEVE? But there's a bigger picture. The housing market is in a rut, but relative to what? New single family home sales in 2007 were less than 800,000. And 2008 might be worse still. But look back just a short way and, according to Department of Commerce records, there were about 1.3 million new home sales in 2005, an all time record high. In 2003, 2004 and 2006 there were over a million per year. From 1991 to 2002 the annual average was 700,000. (New home sales are particularly important because they create jobs, whereas existing home sales don't involve new construction.) Yes, new home sales are in bad shape right now. Just a little while ago they were soaring, but we didn't see many headlines to that effect. Housing has always been cyclical. No doubt too many homes were built from 2003 to 2006, and now the market has paused to catch its breath. Everything is relative. Even pain. Gasoline prices are another sore subject. Yesterday wholesale prices closed at over $100 a barrel, and predictions are for higher pump prices this spring. Yes, higher gas prices are a bad thing, but relative to what? In 1981, gas prices adjusted for inflation averaged $3.40 per gallon, and we survived. The Euro today hit an all time high of $1.50. Is that good or bad? Relative to what? If you're going to Europe in the months ahead, your trip will cost a bit more than it would have last year. That bad news applies only to a small number of people---and they're mostly people who can easily afford the higher exchange rate. But if you work for a company that exports products to Europe, those American-made products will be cheaper for European buyers (since their Euros buy more U.S. dollars) and that's good news for your company and it's employees. And that covers a lot more people than travel to Europe each year. Also today the Federal Reserve announced the possibility of further interest rate cuts to help prime the pump of our nation's flagging economy. Good news or bad news? Relative to what? It's good news for businesses, and their employess, who want to borrow to expand their output. (Don't hold your breath, though, waiting for interest rates on your credit card to come down.) But it's bad news for people whose investments are interest rate sensitive. They'll take a hit, and will have less money to spend. We will never run out of lies. Or damned lies. Or statistics. (The correct designation depends on who is issuing the statement.) What's important to remember is that statistics do not necessary equal truth. Everything is relative. Be careful what you take to heart. This article supplements Chapter One, pages 16-26, in Personal Finance. Access the text by clicking on the red box in the right column.

UNHEALTHY HEALTH INSURANCE POLICIES

By the time election day rolls around we will have had our fill of discussions on health insurance. Who should have it? Who should pay for it? Debate after debate will leave us reeling with an overdose on the subject. But there's another---and perhaps more important aspect---in the area of health insurance. It's this: If you do have a policy, and you're relying on it to pay your medical costs whenever the need arises, what assurance do you have the the company will honor your claim? Don't be too sure. In my right hand I am holding a flyer that came in the mail three days ago from an insurance company called Health Net. It's touting a Medicare supplemental plan, and inviting people to attend a "free informative seminar", at which a "sales representative will be present with information and applications." Health Net is no fly-by-night company. It's one of the biggest health insurers in California. In my left hand I am holding the front page of the Los Angeles Times from three days ago, and a headline reads: "Insurer Loses, alters course." The article tells of a woman who had breast cancer, and who was in the middle of a course of chemotherapy, when her health insurance company cancelled her policy leaving her with $129,000 in unpaid medical bills. She had to stop her chemotherapy for months until she finally found a charity that would pay for it. The woman took the insurance company to court, and in a private arbitration the company was ordered to pay her $9 million! The name of the insurance company? Health Net. "WE PROMISE WE WON'T DO THAT AGAIN?" Health Net has been under investigation by a number of agencies, as have other health insurers. Health Net was accused of paying bonuses to employees who racked up a lot of policy cancellations. The policies themselves are reportedly filled with enough legal gobble-de-gook to have people unwittingly sign applications saying they have not had pre-existing conditions, when in fact they had. The woman in question in this case had her policy cancelled because, Health Net claimed, she had falsely stated that she had not had pre-existing conditions, the later discovery of which voided the contract. She claimed that the insurance agent came into her place of work and HE filled out the application while she worked, so she didn't know what she had committed herself to. The judge said that she was right. $9 million right. According to the Times, Health Net has promised to review all of its cancellation protocols, and to cease offering cancellation bonuses to employees. Clever lawyers can write a short paragraph in an insurance application giving the company the right to cancel if an applicant denies having had pre-existing conditions, and then the conditions appear, or if the applicant otherwise answers questions in ways subject to interpretation. And trust me, such clauses can be worded diabolically, to favor the company in the most ambiguous circumstances. The promise may be well and good for all future policies, but it's not clear what, if anything, the company will do about their existing policies. The case at hand was not unique. There are other lawsuits pending against Health Net, including one class actions case involving 1,600 other people who claim they were cancelled out. Health Net claims that they can't operate profitably if they're required to pay claims based on false or misleading information, or if they are required to insure all members of a group, including many who might be sick. In other words, "We can't make a buck selling health insurance if we have to cover sick people." Then what's the purpose of having health insurance in the first place? TIPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF If you have a health insurance policy, whether with a group or privately, read the policy carefully Yes, it's a real chore, but a necessary one. Pay particular attention to the cancellation clauses, and if you think there's ambiguity there, contact your state's Department of Insurance and/or Consumer Protection agency for some guidance. If your plan comes from work, your Human Resources people ought to be able to help you. If you're shopping for a new policy, ask hard questions of the salesman on this point, and don't take "Don't worry" for an answer. I think I'll skip the free seminar. What would you do? This article supplements Chapter 17 of "Personal Finance," pages 494-504. Access the text by clicking on the box in the right column.

BLOW OFF STEAM AT AIRPORT SECURITY

In the February 9th article we took a look at flaws in today's airline industry. Most frequent travelers are already all too familiar with those problems. Now comes a chance to be heard (or, more accurately, read) via a blog that the Transportation Security Administration (T.S.A.) has set up. Go to www.tsa.gov/blog and see for yourself. The postings are mostly T.S.A. people writing about their accomplishments, but there's a place to comment, and the comments are often brutally honest. Will this blog change anything? Probably not. But at least you'll feel better if you can blow off some steam, and then the security checks might not seem so demonic. Reminder: Note also in the February 9th article the mention of the Open Skies Agreement, which will soon be allowing international airlines more freedom in flying from any European Union country to the U.S., and vice versa. This should mean more competition which, in turn, will hopefully mean better choices of flights and lower fares. One more website to look at that can lower your stress level: http://www.gethuman.com/ has compiled short-cuts for scores of company telephone "menus." Rather than listen to endless droning about which number to press, the tips in this website will help you get directly to that most elusive of animals, the human beings on the other end of the line. And many of the companies listed on the site are travel companies: airlines, car rental agencies, and so on. This article supplements Chapter 3 in Personal Finance, pages 88-98. Access the text by clicking on the box in the right column.

THE REAL LOSERS IN THE MORTGAGE DEBACLE

There was an announcement today about the government and the financial industry trying to come up with yet another possible solution to the disasters of the subprime mortgage scandal. It's getting more than a little frustrating to hear of these rescue plans, and worry that nothing good will come of them. The "financial stimulus" won't stimulate. The lower payments that will come from restructuring loans will affect only a tiny percent of borrowers. Everyone in Washington and every financial CEO has blueprints for a solution to help out the foreclosed buyers. But the real losers have yet to have their feet put to the fire. The real losers are the stockholders in the companies that made the bad loans in the first place. Yes, of course, the home buyers who got conned into signing papers they didn't understand might deserve some help. Less help, if any, is owed to the developers who built too many houses, the speculators who bought too many houses, and the real estate agents who encouraged the building and sale of too many houses. But no help is in the offing for the stockholders. They have to bite the bullet before this storm passes. When they acquired stock they were betting on the future profitability of the company. With that chance of profit comes the risk of a loss. And there's a lesson in that for all of us. Here's an example of one specific company involved in the subprime mess---Countrywide Financial. Their stock has almost fallen off the charts. Who cares? The top five officers and directors of the company (as listed by the amount of their shareholdings) own almost 1.6 million shares among them. The top 10 institutions (investment banks and the like) each own tens of millions of shares, ranging from 55 million at the top and 22 million at #10. The top 10 mutual funds own from about 25 million shares to 8 million shares at #10. How much they've lost is not calculable because we don't know how much the shares cost them. But the total losses, among just these entities, must soar into many billions of dollars. That was risk money. They risked. They lost. THE BIGGEST WORRY One swift slice of the sword that can ease their woes, and help millions of borrowers at the same time, has not, to my knowledge, been seriously addressed. That would be to put a moratorium on all interest rate increases that are built into all the mortgage contracts. The biggest worry in the financial world is that the interest rates on millions of loans will be "reset"---or adjusted upwards---in the next year or two, and that will throw even more loans into the trash. If those rate resettings were temporarily banned, say for one to three years, that would give the housing and mortgage markets a whole lot of breathing room, which in turn could give a substantial lift to the stock market. Foolish talk? Maybe. It would take an act of Congress, the blessings of whoever is President, and likely the concurrence of the Supreme Court. This is an election year, and 2009 will be an adjusting-to-the-new-regime year, so it's a tough time to get anything as complex as this done. Too many of those folks are too busy getting elected. 'WE NEVER THOUGHT THINGS COULD GET THIS BAD..." Plus, there's one influential group that wouldn't want to see rates capped---the stockholders. That's right. Those same stockholders who are sitting on billions of dollars in losses on their investments. Why? Because capping the rates will curtail the income to the lenders, which could push stock prices even lower. Poor guys, they're in a lose-lose bind. Tough. They might say, "We never thought things could get this bad." But the fact is, they can. And they have. And you should bear that in mind before you take your money from a safe harbor and put it where the water is too deep to see the bottom. That's the lesson for today. This article supplements Chapter 16, pages 448-451 of Personal Finance. Access the textbook by clicking on the box in the right column.

GENERATIONS MUST TALK TO EACH OTHER

Let's keep this brief and to the point. When there is an inheritance that is to pass from one generation to the next, it is IMPERATIVE that the two generations discuss the matter frankly. Failure to do so all too often results in feuds, broken families, lawsuits, unrealized dreams and all sorts of legal and tax expenses that might have been avoided. This doesn't apply to just millionaires. Middle class families with little more than a house, some life insurance and savings plans have as great a need to keep lines of communication open. Parents should keep mature children informed of the general nature and size of the inheritance. Specifics aren't always necessary. Mature children should inquire---diplomatically, of course---as to the estate planning efforts of the parents. It might help to have a third party initiate and/or intervene in the matter. A family lawyer. A bank trust officer. A credentialed financial advisor (who isn't selling anything). Even a family therapist, who might not be able to answer financial questions, but who, for starters, can pry open those lines of communication. Parents can gain peace of mind in knowing that their earned wealth will be treated as they wish. And children can benefit from learning how an inheritance can impact on their lives. Examples include as paying for their kids' college tuition, career moves, buying a home---or not. This is particularly critical over the next 2-3 years, as the federal estate tax laws might change drastically in 2010 or 2011. It will take time to get all the ducks in a row. Start NOW. We'll visit this important subject in more detail in the future. This is just a wake-up call. This article supplements Chapter 19, pages 568-572 of Personal Finance. Access the textbook by clicking on the red box in the right column.

RIVER CRUISES ARE FINE VACATION OPTION

Ocean-going cruise ships are getting bigger and bigger. They're going to have to find a new word for "mega." How about "mega-mega?" Ships are coming on line that will hold over 4,000 passengers. They'll be so big that the they will be anchored permanently somewhere in the Caribbean, and the islands will be towed to them. Ocean cruising can certainly provide a wonderful vacation---for all budgets---but the experience is not what you'd call cozy. Cruising on rivers, on the other hand, might be an ideal way to go from place to place without having to unpack more than once. River cruises have been around for a long time, but the big-time glamour and pzazz has always gone to the behemoths of the seven seas. Even the Titanic made ocean cruising look great. (Up to a point, of course.) So let's give some high-fives to ocean cruising's little cousin---the riverboats. The river cruise boats are tiny by comparison---they hold a rough average of 150 people, so you don't have features like rock-climbing and deck-tennis and Las Vegas-style musical extravaganzas in auditoriums that seat a few thousand fellow passengers. Many river boats don't even have swimming pools, though hot-tubs are frequent amenities. Bars, lounges, dance floors, hair salons, libraries and gift shops are common on riverboats. Cruising time ranges from a few days to a few weeks, and prices are competitive, if not lower per person per day than ocean sailings. What's particularly attractive about river cruises is that you're rarely more than a stone's throw from shore, so sight-seeing is a full-time delight. Life on shore is always more fascinating than looking at ocean waves. When you dock in a port, it takes just a few minutes, and you're off the boat in a twinkle, often just a short walk to the center of town. FREE SHORE EXCURSIONS River cruises offer shore excursions in every port, and most of them are included in the price of the cruise. No extras to bother your credit card. The boats can navigate to places that ocean ships only dream about, so your land activities are unique. Compare, for example, a mega-mega disgorging 4,000 people en masse into the town of Sitka, Alaska, with a river boat that takes a single busload of passengers to the extraordinary civil war remnants in Natchez, Mississippi. Food on the river boats can be excellent, but given the necessarily smaller kitchens you won't find the assortment you're offered on the biggies. However, you're often in port during meal times, so local restaurants can round out your choices. Cabins are also smaller on the river boats, again, due to the smaller size of the boats themselves. They have to be able to sail under bridges and through narrow canals, and their drafts have to fit the depths of the rivers. River boats don't have stabilizers like their ocean-going counterparts, but they don't need them. River sailing is calm, and sea-sickness is simply not an issue. A WORLD OF CHOICES There are river cruises in the U.S. (which eliminates the need for trans-oceanic flights) and in many exotic countries abroad. Google "river cruises" and you'll find mind-boggling choices. Just a small sampling: In the U.S. you can cruise the Mississippi, the Columbia and inland passageways along the northeast and southeast coasts. Europe is criss-crossed with rivers that can take you to cities not accessible by ocean ships: Prague, Paris, Moscow, Kiev, Lyon, Budapest and dozens more. For more exotic locales you can sail on the Nile, the Yangtze, the Mekong and the Murray (in Australia, and one of the best river cruises you'll find anywhere.) You can book on the Internet or though travel agents. Shop aggressively, as many sailings offer good bargains. This article supplements Chapter 3, pages 88-98 of Personal Finance. Access the textbook by clicking on the box in the right column.

HEDGE FUNDS CRAPSHOOT---THE SEQUEL

On October 31, 2007 I posted an article titled "Hedge Funds High Roller Crapshoot," in which the dangers of hedge fund investing were illustrated. Check it out in the Archives (lower left column.) While hedge funds themselves are geared towards the seven-figure net worth set, there have been a number of mutual funds introduced which invest in various hedge funds, and these mutual funds are available to Bill and Betty Barbeque. And Bill and Betty have been very tempted. So let's take an updated look at the hedge fund industry. The biggest difference between hedge funds and the race track is that hedge funds use bigger jockeys. Unless you're prepared to risk major losses, leave the hedge funds to the high-rollers who can survive losses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yes, I know, their sales pitches are appealing, offering returns of 15%, 20%, 25%. Some, indeed, might have generated such returns. But that was then, when the market was riding high. Now, in today's volatile market, not only have hedge fund bettors lost their shirts, but many hedge funds themselves have gone belly-up. And there go the hedge fund jockeys new Mercedes's and Caribbean condos and shopping trips to Tiffany's. "...STAGGERING LOSSES..." The New York Times painted a chilling portrait of the hedge fund industry last week, in an article titled "Bad Bets and Accounting Flaws Bring Staggering Losses." If that headline has already convinced you to stay away from hedge funds, there's no need to read the rest of this article. Still with me? The Times article noted that the number of hedge funds has doubled since 2000, and there are now about 10,000 such funds managing almost $1.9 trillion in O.P.M. (Yes, that's trillion, with a T, a word you don't see often. And O.P.M. is the favorite playtoy of Wall Street's Wizards. It stands for Other People's Money.) It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that when you have $1.9 trillion to invest, you have to be very creative to find that many investment opportunities that are somewhat understandable, minimally predictable and relatively legal. When you run out of the good opportunities, you have to start looking at junk. The crux of the article is in the following quote from Bradley Alford, founder of the prestigious Alpha Capital Management, an investment advisory firm: "This will be the year with the highest number of hedge fund failures...This year there's no clear trend and no safe place to hide." The Times also quoted a manager of a mutual fund that invests in hedge funds (see above) who asked not to be identified because he does a lot of business with hedge fund managers and, obviously, does not want to bite the hand that feeds him: "People who have been in the business for 20 years are saying January was one of the most difficult and challenging times they have ever seen." And finally, the words of Mark Fishman, co-founder of hedge fund Sailfish Capital Partners, whose recent collapse with $2 billion of O.P.M. under it's wing was the focal point of the Times article: "It feels like someone has died." SPECTACULAR FAILURES? The Times reporter, Jenny Anderson, sums up the situation in words that I can't make any more direct: "After years of explosive growth, this secretive, sometimes volatile corner of the financial world is entering a dangerous new era. The running turmoil in the markets is stirring fears that more of these funds will fail, some, perhaps, spectacularly." What do I say for an encore to that? Play it safe. The smart guys aren't so smart after all. [This article supplements Chapter 16, pages 421-424 in Personal Finance. Access the textbook by clicking on the box in the right column.]

THE FORECLOSURE FOLLIES OF 2008

Googling "foreclosures" on Feb. 14 showed 49.8 million hits. Googling "mortgages" showed 188 million hits. Obviously, something is on the minds of the American public. Our guest expert, Hubert Hindsight, retrospective speculative historian extraordinaire, examined this obsession in his classic book, "What Were They Thinking?" which was published in the year 2020. Here is what H.H. said in the book. "It was like a tsunami. Suddenly, in late 2007 and into 2008, millions of homes of Americans went into foreclosure proceedings. That meant that those millions of citizens could lose their homes. What would this mean? The media spun horror stories of families thrown onto the streets...of lenders in dire financial trouble as a result of their loans going unpaid....a glut of empty houses on the market putting the brakes on new housing starts and all the jobs that go with it. Indeed it was cause for concern. But there were aspects of the problem that weren't fully explained, and full explanations could have reduced the national anxiety many-fold. Here are some examples: SPECULATORS AND THE GREATER FOOL THEORY A huge number of foreclosures were the result of wild and crazy speculation gone wrong. The number of these was impossible to gauge because the guilty parties were not going to admit that they had been foolish gamblers. No one likes to do that. In the early years of the 2000s there was money galore for the borrowing. That enticed developers to start new housing projects---many more than the market really demanded. Abundant money also provided a field day for mortgage lenders: "No Down Payment" loans were there for the asking. "Teaser" interest rates of 1% were offered on every street corner (After the introductory period those rates would soar to double-digit levels , but borrowers paid that no mind.) Appraisals were made with blindfolds, and verification of income was ignored. This was fertile territory for speculators. They bought up houses helter-skelter, using more and more borrowed money in the process. They were operating on the Greater Fool Theory, which states that if you buy something at whatever price, sooner or later a Greater Fool than yourself will come along and buy it for a higher price. This is all fine, until you run out of Greater Fools. That's what happened in 2008. Higher interest rates and an excess of loans gone bad brought the housing market crashing down. The supply of Greater Fools had been exhausted. But the speculators didn't care! The houses had cost them nothing---and many had already profited nicely from the game---so they could walk away from the deals. Let them go into foreclosure. Let the greedy lenders eat the losses. "I'm outa here." So much for Act One of the Foreclosure Follies. "FORECLOSURE? WHAT MEANS FORECLOSURE?" Another huge but uncountable source of foreclosures came from people who, a year or two earlier, had never even heard the word "foreclosure," let alone knew what it meant. They bought homes and signed loan agreements that they didn't understand. When they couldn't make the payments the lenders started legal actions called "foreclosure." Word spread rapidly that if you had bought a house with little or nothing down, and you had lived in it almost for free for a few years, and you could no longer make the payments, just walk away and give the key back to the lender. No harm. No penalty. No problem. You've lived virtually rent free, and so the house goes into foreclosure. So what? That's the lender's problem. (Their ruined credit history will come back to haunt them sooner than later, but at their foreclosure party they could care less about that.) THE PROPERTY PIMPS All of this buying and lending was fueled by real estate agents---a few among the many legitimate ones---who smelled a fast buck in the game. They enticed speculators with lures of "can't miss" big profts. They lured the unwary home buyers by failing to adequately divulge the hidden traps in their loan agreements. They wooed developers into building more houses than the market really need in order to create more inventory for them to broker. As word of the fast buck possibilities spread, peopel who were otherwise gainfully employed as car salesmen, waitresses, teachers and the like, gave up their jobs to get real estate licenses. This excess of agents stirred the pot to an even greater boil. When the bubble burst---and they had spent their real estate profits and their life-savings trying to buck the collapse---they had to start looking again for jobs as car salesmen and waitresses and teachers. THE MONEY MEN Countless Wall Street Suits bought their first class air tickets for London and Hong Kong and Dubai and Singapore and all points in between to sell dubious deals tied mortgages to greedy buyers abroad who knew next to nothing about the exotic securities that the Wall Streeters had created. They were aided by the very influential Ratings Companies who bent their standards far enough to designate sour loan packages as sweet. THE MEDIA If you sell advertising space or time, and you're making a bundle of money from the real estate and home loan industries, you wouldn't want to upset those big advertisers by saying precautionary things about the rapidly growing housing bubble. That could cause them to stop advertising. That would mean less income for you. That would be bad. So don't do it. Thus did greed trump knowledge yet again. THANK HEAVEN FOR THE POPULATION GROWTH At the time this was going on, the population of the U.S. was about 300 million, and growing at roughly two percent net per year. That's six million new Americans annually, and with an average family having around three people, we're talking two millions homes per year just to accomodate the newcomers. In due time, the population growth would absorb the excess of homes in 2008, and would make way for new building to resume at a less insane pace. Today, in 2020, it's still too early to tell if the Americans learned a lesson from all of this."

LEAVE THAT IRA AND 401k ALONE!

We've been living it up on borrowed money. When you can't borrow any more, you're living on borrowed time. We borrow to buy cars that do more for our vanity than for our transportation needs. We borrow to buy electronic goodies that will impress the neighbors but won't improve the quality of the TV shows we watch. We borrow to pay bills that will recur before the ink is dry on last month's loan. We borrow to pay off our borrowing. Danger signs abound. We max out our home equity credit. We max out our credit cards. We max out our "rainy day" savings account. What's next? How about maxing out our future---that is, cashing in or borrowing against our retirement funds, such as the popular IRA and 401k plans. This warning applies to ALL future retirees, whether R day is decades or years or months away. DON'T PAWN YOUR FUTURE---YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO RECLAIM IT Reportedly almost half of all 401k plans are either being cashed in prematurely, or borrowed against for so-called hardship distributions, which are allowed by the IRS. If you do either, you face some very big catches. The hardship distribution loans can be made for medical expenses, to buy a home, to pay tuition and to make repairs from storm damages, among other things. But it doesn't take much under-the-table juggling of the books to borrow for a cruise or a new car or a stylish wardrobe and disguise those loans to pass the IRS tests. If you do this, you're only fooling yourself. After a few decades of observing the odd financial habits of fellow Americans, I can assure you that cashing in or borrowing from your future nest-egg is extremely ill-advised. That money is too often are not replenished or repaid, and then you wake up one day and, TA DA, it's the future. But you're far short of the money you had hoped to have. You spent it many years ago on the cruise or new car or stylish wardrobe, all of which are now just memories. TALLY THE COSTS If you cash in all or part of your 401k, the money you take out is subject to income taxes. And the amount you take out can bump you up into a higher tax bracket, thus raising the cost of your nestegg raid. Further, if you cash in before you are 59 1/2 years old, the IRS will hit you with a penalty of 10% of the withdrawal. That's in addition to the income taxes. If you borrow against your 401k---and many employers will allow this for the hardship situations---you face even more complications. In general terms, you might be able to borrow as much as 50% of the fund, but it must be paid back in about five years. If you fail to pay it all back, the unpaid balance is subject to income taxes. The same 10% penalty applies if you're under 59 1/2. WORST CASE SCENARIO To make matters possibly worse----much worse in some cases---some employers won't allow you to make contributions to your plan if you have a loan outstanding against it. That means you'll be losing out on any contributions the employer might make during that time. And---a double-edged dilemma---if you're repaying the loan, you likely won't have enough extra cash to make your regular contributions to the 401k. Thus do nest-eggs shrink out of site at a time when you can least afford it: you're retired. There are similar income tax and penalty consequences for early withdrawal of IRA funds. Remember this: If you reach retirement and you find you don't have enough money to live in the style you had hoped for, YOU DON'T GET A DO-OVER. You can't go back to age 30 or 40 or 50 and start again. Better to forego some non-essentials today so you can have the essentials when you need them. [This article supplements Chapter 18, pages 529-531 in Personal Finance. Access the textbook by clicking on the box in the right column.]

PERSONAL FINANCE---A LOOK AT THE BOOK

As the right column on this home page states, you have free access to PERSONAL FINANCE, a college textbook by Bob Rosefsky. The first edition was published in 1978 and the eighth edition in 2003. It was used by hundreds of colleges around the country, and PBS was the national distributor of a college-credit television course based on the book. The regular postings on this website will continually update the book. You don't have to register or sign in to access the book. Just click on the box near the bottom of the right column, and it's all yours on your monitor. To return from the textbook to this Home Page just click on the Back Button. The book is over 700 pages long. There's a lot of ground to cover. Take it in bits and pieces as your needs dictate. To help you navigate, following is a quick summary of the five parts of PERSONAL FINANCE. You can scroll to a detailed Table of Contents of the book in its front pages (not to be confused with the Table of Contents for the articles on this website, which can be accessed from the Home Page.) Part One---FAMILY ECONOMICS---offers a unique explanation of How the Economy Works, and how it impacts on our day-to-day lives. This has been a very popular part of the book, as it offers a clear and easy-to-understand translation of the mumbo-jumbo that the media and economists toss around. It also explains how governmental policies affect us, whether we like them or not. Other chapters in Part One include Working, Planning and Budgeting---the nitty-gritty on how to structure the best ways to provide yourself and your family with the needs and the luxuries. Sensible Shopping and Spending contains an abundance of tips on how to get the best values for your money. Frauds, Swindles and How to Avoid Them exposes Snake Oil Sam, his army of con artists, and how they conspire to separate you from your money. Part One concludes with a chapter on Transportation---getting the best value when you buy, finance and insure your cars. Part Two---A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD---deals with all aspects of housing: Buying a Home, Financing a Home, Housing Costs and Regulations, Renting and Selling Your Home. It contains numerous charts to help you figure all the costs you'll face, and explains the often misunderstood gobble-de-gook of how mortgages work. Part Three---WHERE THE MONEY IS---describes the various types of Financial Institutions you can make use of, and the regulations that control them. There is a detailed discussion of Credit and Borrowing, to help you get the loans you need, when you need them, on the best possible terms. Credit abuses and Cures for Overindebtedness are also explored. Part Four---MAKING YOUR MONEY GROW---covers the full spectrum of investing, starting with an Overview, and delving deeply (but clearly) into The Money Market, The Stock Market, plus Real Estate and Other Opportunities. These chapters will help you determine how much risk you can and should take, how the stock market works, how to evaluate various types of investments, how to measure your return and what criteria you should use in judging an investment. Among the "other opportunities" are discussions on investing in commodities, collectibles, foreign currencies and many other situations that are often pitched (too vigorously?) on television. Part Five---PROTECTING WHAT YOU WORK FOR---covers the main kinds of personal insurance you should evaluate: Life, Health and Disability Income. All of the basics of insurance policy lingo are explained, and checklists are available to help you determine how much of each kind of coverage you might need. Chapters on Financial Planning for the Later Years and Estate Planning cover the range of retirement concerns, and the discussions are geared not just to retirees but to the children of retirees, who themselves must deal with these matters in the not-too-distant future. The chapter on Income Taxes illustrates ways you can protect your income most effectively from Uncle Sam. And a final chapter on Working For Yourself explores all of the factors you must take into account if you plan to go it alone. EXTRA FEATURES: All chapters begins with segments titled This Could Happen to You, and What You Need to Know. These segments introduce the realities of financial life and how to prepare yourself to deal with them. Other features in all chapters include Caveats (warnings about dangers in that respective subject area); Strategies for Success (tips that can pay off for you); Personal Action Worksheets (helping you determine how you'll take action if faced with various financial dilemmas); Consumer Alerts (to prepare you to deal with ongoing trends that can affect your financial well-being); Ups and Downs---The Economics of Everyday Life (why things happen that impact on your finances); What If...? (self-quizzes asking you to plan how you would deal with various real life possibilities); and Number Crunchers (how to do the calculations you need to make the right decisions on real life financial possibilities.) The book concludes with a comprehensive Glossary, explaining all the words and phrases that make up financial reality, and a detailed Index.

THE KING (OF TORTS) IS DEAD.....

Class action lawsuits have twisted the U.S. legal system into pretzels in recent years. Greedy lawyers have stalked large corporations looking for any possible soft spot into which they could throw a lawsuit. There was no shortage of potential targets---any big corporation with deep pockets and a decent reputation was threatened by those lawyers. And all too often the courts played into the hands of the class action lawyers and allowed frivolous suits to proceed. The company's stock went down. So sue them, even though the stock market in general went down in parallel fashion. A consumer claimed damages as a result of using a company product. So sue them, even though the consumer was paid under the table to file the claim. A company allowed itself to be acquired in a merger deal. So sue them, even though the merger made perfect sense financially, and was for the benefit of the shareholders. Many companies, thusly sued, preferred to pay the legal-muggers rather than endure a protracted lawsuit. And the lawyers laughed all the way to the bank. Now the tide is turning. One of John Grisham's most exciting novels was titled "The King of Torts," (a tort being the legal term for a wrong, as in something getting twisted. See "torsion.") The novel told the story of a shark wearing a lawyer-skin suit---the prototype of the greed-driven class action hustler---and it uncovered the tricks of his illicit trade with no punches pulled. Any lawyer (including myself) who once had respect for the profession would have to have been severely embarrassed by this type of chicanery. William Lerach was one of the leading class action lawyers, and today he was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in instigating improper lawsuits. He and his firms had reportedly raked in hundreds of milllions of dollars in fees for their role in these scams. Much of that money came from the pockets of small investors in the companies---moms and pops and their mutual funds and pension plans. Other Lerach associates are yet to be tried and/or sentenced. Some self-styled "consumer advocates" praised the actions of the real-life class action lawyers as the only way "the system" could protect the little guy. When it was disclosed that some of the "little guys" were conspiring with, and getting paid by, the lawyers to commence otherwise groundless lawsuits, the courts and Congress finally started paying attention to the abuse of the system that was running rampant. No doubt Lerach will appeal, so it's uncertain whether he'll serve any much deserved time in the slammer. Once Lerach's involvement became known in legal circles, the law firms playing the class action game started losing their associates, and their clients, and their obscene paydays. At least for now the old king is dead. Long live.....who? Dare we hope that no other scandalous legal trends emerge? Tired old joke: What do you call 1,000 lawyers chained together at the bottom of the sea? Answer: A good start.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS AIRLINE INDUSTRY?

You've built up a supply of frequent flyer mileage, and now that you want to use them, the airline has no seats available for when you want to fly. You're flying across the U.S.A. and you get hungry. Peanuts! Deal with it. Or, on some flights you can pay five dollars or so for a pre-packaged "meal," provided they don't run out of selections before the cart gets to you. Want to check your bags curbside to avoid the line at the check-in desk? Be prepared to pay for the privilege. Costs ago up. Service goes down. And the public keeps their lips zipped. What lies ahead? I fly a lot, domestically and internationally, and one thing I'm seeing more and more---sadly---is that the travelling public puts up with more and more abuse, suffering in silence, discomfort and security-angst. As long as the customers don't complain loudly and clearly, the abuses will only get worse. Cheap Tickets in Lap Class? When will the airlines offer Cargo Class flights, where they wrap you in insulation and stack you in the hold? Then comes Lap Class---cheap tickets if you're willing to sit on someone else's lap. And cheaper still if you let someone sit on your lap. Eventually there'll be O.H.C. Class---Overhead Compartment Class, where you get to lie flat and motionless in the dark space where carry-on luggage used to go. It may be claustrophobic, but boy is it cheap. I kid, of course, but with a frown, not a smile. Air travel on domestic airlines wouldn't be so bad if they kept pace with many foreign airlines. I flew recently from Mexico City to Quito, Ecuador via Panama City, and return, on an airline known as Copa. Never heard of it? Neither had I. But Copa did a fine job---hot meals and free booze on all four segments, and service with a smile. (Stay tuned for an article later this month on the Galapagos Islands, which is where I was headed from Quito.) My Copa experience compares with a recent flight on American Airlines from Los Angeles to New York, departing LAX at noon (commonly known as the start of lunch time) and was served nothing more than a bag of peanuts. I would have bought a box lunch, but they had run out long before the cart go to my row. (Of course, I should have bought a lunch-to-go at the airport, but the long wait at security didn't allow me time for such a luxury.) Want to use frequent flyer miles? Fuggedaboudit. Airlines are allowing fewer freebie seats per flight, and encouraging more customers by giving miles for credit card purchases. Screeching frustration is the result for loyal mileage customers. Meanwhile, the inane security procedures, which reportedly are of no value whatsoever, get even more ridiculous. I've been on a number of flights, and heard of more from other travellers, where passengers have to go through a security check after they disembark from a flight! As if you acquired some forbidden hair gel at 30,000 feet. Better to Drive? Given all the time wasted---getting to the airport up to two hours in advance, suffering ever more frequently delayed flights, waiting for baggage to arrive from another planet---I have crunched the numbers and find that for any journey of upwards of 300 to 400 miles, it's better to drive. My crunching takes into account weather, costs, urgency of the trip, number of people travelling with me, amount and type of baggage, need for a vehicle at the destination and time of day for outbound and return trips. The wear and tear of driving is about equal to the frustration and jostling of flying. Bottom line: I'll pick driving over flying. "Open Skies" Agreement Offers Hope Naturally, overseas trips aren't conducive to driving. If you are planning a trip abroad, there is some hope for better times ahead. Starting on March 30, the "Open Skies" agreement goes into effect, That's a pact between the U.S. and the European Union which will allow any airline from either side of the Atlantic to fly to any member-nation destination on the other side. Until now, for example, European-based airlines flying out of the U.S. could fly only to their home country. Air France could fly from the U.S. only to French destinations. British to British. And so on. Open Skies will allow Air France, for example, to fly from Los Angeles to Rome. Or British Airways from New York to Amsterdam. And vice versa. The European airlines are now plotting out which routes they think will be profitable, and the competition by this summer could be ferocious. That could mean cheaper airfares, as the airlines scramble to create revenue. Keep your eyes wide open for good deals via the Open Skies agreement. Shop around like you've never done before, both on the Internet and by phoning the airlines directly. Travel agents should be on top of all the good deals (but be prepared to possibly have to pay the agents for their ticketing services.) If you see heavy duty advertising for specific international routes, that could mean a lot of empty seats are available on those routes, which could in turn mean lower prices. Most all transatlantic flights do offer meals and free booze, but those amenities might end if prices are forced down by competition. Check with each airline to learn what will be served, and prepare accordingly. (As a courtesy to your seat-mates, skip the onions on your Whopper.) And please, for the benefit of anyone who will be flying in the future, if you are treated poorly complain long and loud, in writing. If you don't, the abuse will only get worse.

NOTHING WILL BE SOLD AT THIS SEMINAR (?)

If you have a lot of money, you can hire professionals to take care of your taxes, your estate planning and your retirement investment portfolio. If you have too little money, you don't really need those professionals---you need more money. Somewhere between these two extremes is a huge segment of the population that needs help, but can't afford the high-priced pros who are there for the rich and famous. And it's that huge middle segment that are invited to "Free Seminars." The old saying, "There's no such thing as a free lunch," has never been more true than it is in these days of financial uncertainty. But free lunches do abound, particularly for people on the cusp of retirement planning. There are a lot of people like that in my home town, and invitations to free meals arrive frequently. There's a catch, of course. The free meal is preceded by a "seminar" in which you will learn everything that you will ever need to know about everything having to do with taxation, estate planning and investing. All in one hour. Then, dinner is served. I attend these freebies when I can, not because I'm hungry, but because I want to see what is being pitched to the eager and unwary (and hungry) public. They all follow the same patterns. The invitation notes clearly that nothing will be sold during the seminar. Nothing, that is, unless you count the hard sales pitch to get people to turn over thier financial affairs to the seminar hosts, who call themselves financial planners of one sort or another. Some of these planning firms might indeed be of value to the right people in the right circumstances, although some would like you to believe that they can be all things to all people. As with choosing any professional----medical, legal, insurance, etc.---you should understand the person's credentials and get trustworthy personal references. For many folks, financial planning professionals who generate their clientele at these seminars can be as good as any you'll find, but you MUST do your homework before you sign up. I was just at one such seminar and it was the same-old-same-old. The speaker started off by trying to scare the attendees into believing that leaving their pension accounts under the control of their employer was dangerous. "Better to turn that money over to professionals like us. Your employer might make mistakes, but we never will...." That kind of brain-game. Then there were brief and blurry minutes of rushing through subjects that would each take hours to just scratch the surface. Toss out enough question marks and some of them will stick in people's heads. Then came the offer of a free "consultation" with the experts to analyze the prospect's financial condition. During the meal which followed, the speaker flitted constantly from table to table urging everyone to fill out the questionnaire that would become the guidelines of the free consultation. During the roughly one hour seminar portion there was virtually nothing of any substance that was set forth. Plenty of seeds of doubt and fear were sown. And sadly, I must admit, that most people who need professional help in these areas will not seek it unless they are motivated by doubt and fear. Indeed, the guidance one gets from signing up with the seminar experts might well be better than getting no guidance at all. If you are tempted to go for the free lunch and whatever it leads to, please be certain to learn, in advance, how the experts charge for their counsel. If they are selling any financial products, such as annuities or mutual funds, they will likely earn a commission. That creates a possibility of conflict of interest---the annuity or mutual fund might be more beneficial to them than it will be to you. Do they charge a flat fee, and if so how is it calculated? Do they charge you a percentage of your assets that they are managing for you, and if so, how does it compare with other advisors who charge similarly? And it bears repeating---get trustworthy personal references from other customers. "Trustworthy" means objective evaluation from someone who is NOT in the pocket of the salesperson. That might be tough to come by. If you can't get it, the precautionary "proceed at your own risk" should be echoed loud and clear. This article supplements Chapter 19, pages 566-575 in Personal Finance. Access the textbook by clicking on the box in the right column.

NON-TECHIES, HAVE FAITH

Have you ever sworn at your computer, threatening to chop it up into little piece because it messes up your work, crashes at the worst times, doesn't do what the program tells you it should do plus a host of other annoyances? Are you convinced that the people who wrote the manuals and the "help" material have never actually followed their own instructions to see if they really worked? Do you ever regret how much time you have wasted trying to get the computer to do what it's supposed to do? The following gospel might not solve your computer problems, but it will give you some consolation that you're not alone in your frustrations. Walter Mossberg is the Personal Technology Columnist for the Wall St. Journal. For many years he has been giving sound and realistic advice to the public on a wide range of electronic products and services. Indeed, his might be the most popular and worthwhile column in the Journal. This is his mantra: "ATTENTION NON-TECHIES: Don't be embarrassed by your problems with computers...Just remember, you're not a "dummy," no matter what those computer books books claim. The real dummies are the people who, though technically expert, couldn't design hardware and software that are usable by normal consumers if their lives depended on it." Hail Walter! He speaks for all of us. And note also: If our cars were as unreliable as computers, we'd all be roadkill.

KEEP YOUR BENCH AT THE READY

Another football season has finally ended (except for all-star games, drafts, lawsuits, scandals and anything the paparazzi and the lawyers can turn up.) If you've been a fan, you've been aware of the importance of having your bench---your second string---in good health and ready to jump into the fray on very short notice. If you've not been a fan, then this article might help you prepare for some of the most important games you'll ever play. Our family doctor just retired. He's worked hard for decades and he deserves his time in the sun. He's been our go-to guy for over 15 years, and we knew we could always depend on him. But in all honesty we never thought of him NOT being available to us. Like, retiring! We wish him well, of course, but we have been faced with the task of replacing him. And trust me, that's not fun. He was a solo practitioner, so there was no back-up roster of younger docs on immediate call to stand in his shoes. He worked hard to find someone to take over his practice, but, alas, the new person was not to our liking. So we went out into the local medical marketplace to find a suitable replacement. We live in a relatively affluent community with a good roster of medical personnel, but you can't just throw darts at a yellow-page listing and take what comes. You want someone with the right personality, good credentials, a billing system compatible with your insurance, an efficiently run office, a good reputation, the right hospital privileges, reliable back-up, and, needless to say, one who is accepting new patients. That's a hefty check-list, and because your health is at stake you have to pay attention to each and every item. No short cuts allowed. It took some interviewing, some grapevine inquiring, some near-drastic bad judgment calls and some crossed fingers, but we've found a new doctor who we're quite pleased with. (Odd, isn't it, that when you find a professional you like, you hope you never, or rarely, have to see him or her.) WHO YOU GONNA CALL? NOT GHOSTBUSTERS! The point of this little personal dilemma is critically important during your retirement. It applies not just to your doctors, but also to your lawyer, your banker, your financial advisors (investing, insurance, taxes) and, yes, even your handy-man, plumber, electrician, auto mechanic and computer fixer-upper. Any or all of these peope upon whom you depend on might have to be replaced at a moments notice. They move away. They retire. They become disabled. They die. They sell their business or practice to a stranger. Or, in some cases, for whatever reason, they simply become someone you no longer have faith in. Each category has its own criteria---availability, affordability, reputation, credentials, etc. You have to do your own evaluations as they apply to each person. Think about it. Please. What would you do if any one of these support-people was suddenly no longer available to you. Hopefully that would occur when there is no urgent rush to find a replacement. But you can't count on that. It can take a long time to build up a rapport, a level of trust, with any of these folks. If you're caught in a crunch you might make decisions based on impulse rather than studied judgment. If you don't have a suitable replacment at the ready on your bench, you could face unnecessary costs, frustration, confusion and delays. Do a self-survey, and try to determine who you'd want on your bench. Recommendations from friends can be helpful. Local professional associations can give you referrals. The local Better Business Bureau and any appropriate state or federal licensing agencies can help disclose any demerits on someone's record. It might be helpful---although admittedly delicate---to ask your professionals who they might recommend as a possible replacment. You might even want to do some preliminary interviewing. Ghostbusters can't get the job done. You're on your own to find your own bench, and it can be a most worthwhile effort. The sooner the better. This article supplements Chapter 16, pages 551-554 of Personal Finance. Access the textbook by clicking on the box in the right column.

MEET THE FACULTY---PROFESSOR GREENBACK

Professor Gerald Greenback, Speaking Dollar-Wise. If you came here looking for get-rich-quick schemes, such as "10 Stocks That Will Triple Before Sunrise".....or "Make a Fortune Flipping Real Estate"---or "Retire at 45 With These Can't-Miss Mutual Funds" you're in the wrong place. There are millions of words written every day about the world of money. But our approach is refreshingly different. Since we're not selling anything, we don't hold back on anything. Here's where you'll find objective guidance on such matters as What the Agent/Broker/Salesmen Didn't Tell You.....Important Matters That the Financial Press Overlooked...as well as a lot of Easy-to-Understand Explantations of 'What's Really Going On?' and How to Deal With It. It's all done in crisp bites, with a light touch and a cumulative effect of expanding your financial smarts---and with occassional musings, theories, rules and rants. It will also serve to update the 8th Edition of Personal Finance (See home page, right colum.)

MEET THE FACULTY---PROFESSOR GOSFORTH

Professor Gulliver Gosforth, Life's A Trip Getting the best values for your travel dollars can be quite tricky. Experience is the best teacher, and our founder, along with his alter ego, has plenty of it. He was a lecturer on luxury cruise ships for nine years, a tour planner and escort, and has explored the planet extensively. In addition to his own experiences he has learned from observing many thousands of other journeyers first-hand, giving them guidance and solving their day-to-day problems. As a travel journalist he was Editor-in-Chief of CruiseNet, a glossy bi-monthly magazine, has hosted a daily radio travel program and has written for The London Times, Travel & Leisure and many other publications. Mindful of hte "all work and no play" mantra, you'll also find his travel-related amusements included he for your leisure pleasure.

MEET THE FACULTY---PROFESSOR WYZE

PROFESSOR WILY B. WYZE, Enrich Your Retirement First some advice. When the subject of retirement appears, most younger people turn off their receptors and go on to something else. Big mistake. The counsel in these segments certainly applies to older readers, but it could be just as important for younger readers. Not only can you get a head start on building your awareness, but you can also learn things you can teach your elders, and perhaps save them from making so many of the common mistakes. If nothing else, consider that by studying this material you might avoid having your elders become dependant on you in the future. That can be worth a lot. How better to teach about retirement than to actually do it...And do it successfully....From an early age? That's what our team has done, and you can do it too. Advance planning is the first and most critical step. Implementing those plans come next, and doing it properly is equally critical. We'll explore all the options, and we'll motivate you to shape your goals and acivate a workable retirement scenario. We don't pretend to offer all things to all people in one package, as some books try to do. But books can't offer immediate updates to ever-changing circumstances. So we take a middle road. Building on the foundation of the retirement material in Personal Finance (see Home Page, right column) we add appropriate new items as they become realities, thus giving you both background and update in one easy-to-navigate format. Special Bonus: A Spa For Your Brain---A unique do-it-yourself learning adventure that will enjoyable nourish your mind.

MEET THE FACULTY---DR. HINDSIGHT

ADJUNCT PROFESSOR HUBERT HINDSIGHT, Looking Back The University of Bob is proud to exclusively offer this unique material. Dr. Hindsight is a most unusual member of the team. We were fortunate to find one of the few exisiting copies of a book he wrote in the year 2020 entitled, What Were They Thinking? It's a fascinating study of the early decades of the 21st century, in which Dr. Hindsight reviews the foibles and follies, misjudgments and miscalculations of our nation, and the perils that those eye-popping mistakes held for our society. Dr. Hindsight has kindly consented to let us print occassional excerpts from his very controversial book. We regret that he is not available for personal interviews.