Escaping the Credit Card Debt Prison

When you find yourself in credit card debt it can feel like a financial prison.  Suddenly, you can’t go out to eat, pick up a new shirt, or even go to a movie without worrying about the fact that you are increasing your debt or using cash that could have gone to paying down your [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Understanding Credit Card Debt and Negative Amortization

Credit card debt can be difficult to pay off because of one incredible powerful financial force: negative amortization.  Put simply, negative amortization means that your credit card debt balance is increasing over time because your payments are not enough to offset the interest expense that is being charged to your account. Negative amortization is the [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Contemplations Over a Cup of 2 a.m. Tea

It is just past 2 a.m. and I finished brewing a cup of Darjeeling tea.  I’m sitting here enjoying the fragrance of the leaves in the cup and it made me remember something … During college, Aaron and I did our grocery shopping at the Wegmans on Route 1 in New Jersey.  Of course, living [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Think Like a Spider Web, Not an Organizational Chart

Here is the best thing I heard all day … Life is not an organization chart. Life is more like a spider’s web. Things happen in strange ways. – Ross Perot There is a lot of truth in this. You cannot think lineally about your life or business. You need to think in three-dimensions. This [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Where Do Millionaires Invest Their Cash to Keep It Safe?

I’ve been having a conversion about investing and money with the reader “Frat Man” in the comments section of another post.  He asked: I also had one other question I have always wondered. Where do millionaires keep their money? In the sense that FDIC insurance only covers $250,000 at the bank and SIPC only covers [...]

from Joshua Kennon

“Dreams Become Reality One Choice at a Time” – A Lesson on Life, Business, and Money

Isn’t that a fantastic quote?  I got it from Tara Beth Workman a few days ago and I’ve been thinking about it since.  I realize that it is entirely true and that my life is a reflection of that.  All of our lives are reflections of that.  Let me explain. This afternoon, Aaron and I [...]

from Joshua Kennon

A Change in the BP Situation Regarding the Dividend Yield Support

This morning, BP was trading between $30 and $31 per share, down more than 50% since the oil spill in the gulf began.  My “stupidly cheap” valuation was based at $33 per share but there is a slight monkey wrench thrown into the equation: The United States Government is exerting as much pressure as possible [...]

from Joshua Kennon

People Who Are Drowning in Student Loan Debt

Victims of the Student Loan Industry or Irresponsible Borrowers? I was reading a site called Student Loan Justice as well as a piece at the Huffington Post where people are talking about their “overwhelming” student loan debt that is – wait for it – $15,000 or $30,000.  Basically, less than the value of a car.  [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Misconceptions About Wealth

How The Marketing Industry Continues to Convince Average Americans They Know What a Millionaire Looks Like A few days ago, I quoted something from one of Dr. Thomas J. Stanley’s books: “In the United States, there are three times more millionaires living in homes that have a market value of under $300,000 than there are [...]

from Joshua Kennon

DeLong Sportswear Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

If you are involved in the sporting goods industry, you probably know that there are only a handful of companies that manufacture letterman jackets in the United States.  Among the biggest was a company called DeLong Sportswear, headquartered in Grinnell, Iowa.  A few months ago, rumors are that DeLong went into Chapter 7 bankruptcy and [...]

from Joshua Kennon