With the recent increase in new fees at banks, and the backlash it has caused, people are starting to determine what the alternatives are.  At the moment, there are still banks and credit unions that are maintaining their current fee structure without adding anything new.  Many of those are also maintaining their “free” accounts.  But, [...]

Goodness!  Did you see what the markets did yesterday?  Down almost 400 points!  If you haven’t already, you had better join the rest of the world in getting out while you still can.  The era of easy gains in the stock market and guaranteed returns has officially ended, and it isn’t pretty.  It’s time to [...]

If you’re even slightly interested in the US economy, and, let’s face it, most of the world is, then you’ve likely been at least marginally following the last few weeks worth of debt ceiling news.  The quick and dirty of it is that the US government has a debt ceiling that puts a cap on [...]

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that we (Americans in particular) are in a boatload of hurt, financially.  Take the outliers away, and we’re a nation (and world) floating up to our eyeballs in debt.  Here’s a test for those of you who commute to work.  On your way to work, or your [...]

What if everyone in the world was as frugal as the most frugal?  Inspired by conversation on the Early Retirement Extreme forums about the ethics of the Early Retirement Extreme lifestyle.  So, the beginning of that linked conversation (if you haven’t read it) is based on the premise that if everyone did as Jacob does [...]

Typically, we hear about how much oil we use and turn into plastics.  When you think about it, it does make some sense that you could then turn plastics back into oil.  And you can! Watch this: Of course, the first thing that comes to mind after watching that is, “Why can’t they do that [...]

The banking and credit card reform laws were supposed to help us – and they did in many aspects – but one of the unintended consequences is that banks are making up for the lost revenue sources by creating new ones… fees, fees, and more fees! I just closed my brokerage account from BoA/Merrill Lynch [...]

Many people have been adversely affected by the economic recession that hit the United States in the last few years. Termed the “Great Recession”, from December 2007-June 2009, The United States has not fully bounced back. Let’s take a look at the facts. Jobs are being cut at an alarming rate, so much so, that [...]

When you think of the 1950s, do you think of an idyllic happy time?  Or do you think of it as an unexciting period in our country’s history?  There have been numerous changes in our society over the last 50+ years.  Many believe these changes have led to an easier and overall better way of [...]

[Editors Note: One of my weaknesses as the writer of much of the content of Beating Broke is that I am fairly unversed in most investing topics.  As such, I try to fill in those gaps where I can with knowledgeable guest posts.  What follows is one such guest post.] For students of investing, one [...]