Personal Money Management 101 Blog

Recession is nothing new. By their very nature financial markets, and whole economies, move in cycles. Highs turn to lows and then back to highs again, and there isn’t usually an easily pinpointable reason.

However, the current recession is outstanding in two respects. In terms of severity this one is big, as witnessed by the massive scale of government intervention and bailouts. The Congressional Budget Office has forecast it: “is likely to be the longest since World War II, and by some measures could be the worst since the Great Depression” [Source: McClatchy]. The current crisis also stems from a clear cause, ie so-called the credit crunch, itself the result of irresponsible greed. Read the rest of this entry »

by Steve Selengut

“The Big Takeover” by Matt Taibbi is probably the best article written to date explaining the financial crisis and how we got to where we are now. Taibbi’s necessarily lengthy article explains the problems, names the “poipetrators”, and exposes all of the conflicts of interest— absolutely a must read. Read the rest of this entry »

by Steve Selengut

Now more than ever, you can appreciate the need for comprehensive investment education. All of a sudden, fifty percent of your nest egg has disappeared— and the bad news? There never was a plan for income generation. Ouch!

Dwelling on coulda’s, woulda’s, and shoulda’s isn’t going to rebuild your portfolio. Attempting to become proficient in the speculation of the month will do little to decrease the long-term pain. Casting blame on government regulators and Wall Street scam artists does little to grow retirement income. Read the rest of this entry »

by Steve Selengut

The purpose of IBOR is to protect financial markets and to create self-sufficient investors who produce economic growth instead of government deficits. IBOR standards create transparent financial markets, regulate speculation, and protect retirement portfolios. Here’s a Summary:  Read the rest of this entry »