Economics for dummies - Planet Money

by Mark on May 14, 2009

I want to understand the world economy. I want to understand the United States economy. I think it’s really important to understand why we’re in the global economic crisis we’re in, how it affects the U.S., and our role in the debacle. The problem is that trying to learn what I want to know from the typical resources is akin to eating sawdust or yanking my teeth out very slowly and with a rusted pair of pliers. Ouch!

This is where NPR’s Planet Money podcast comes in.

First off, let me say that I’m not a raving fan of NPR. I mean, I appreciate the effort they put into their news and weekend programming but idealogically I differ in some key areas. I’m only telling you this so you don’t think I’m some sort of shill for NPR. But this program, Planet Money, is excellent for us non-uber-economist types.

With Adam Davidson at the helm the Planet Money team tells the “story” of our economies in an engaging, entertaining and easy to understand way. They use clever auditory props that simplify convoluted topics like Credit Default Swaps and Credit Default Obligations, how the central bankers spend the world’s savings, and what the current banking crisis means to the little guys like you and me. Before long you’ll have an amazingly informed view of how and why we’re in our current situation and what the result of our government’s economic machinations may produce.

So don’t walk, don’t mosey, RUN to Planet Money’s website and/or podcast page in your itunes application on your computer. Then come back here and tell me what you think.

Planet Money Podcast

You can also listen on page at the Planet Money website

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Least affordable U.S. real estate

by Mark on July 24, 2007

Frisco Forbes put out an interesting article about the least affordable real estate in the U.S. When I see these articles I always wonder where we’re going with all this. I mean, when do the fundamentals come back if ever? What I mean by this is when do average incomes allow for 30 year fixed rate mortgages on the average house? Perhaps those days are gone…

“Forget coffee when it’s time to sober up. Instead, check out the real estate listings in New York or Los Angeles.There, buyers pay $1 million for a property that might fetch half that elsewhere. The disparity illustrates how affordability has been spiraling out of control in places on the East and West coasts…”

Full article here

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10 money habits - the nasty ones

March 17, 2007

Here’s an article worth mentioning off Bankrate via MSN. (Confused)
Anyways, it contains some good “not to do’s” regarding your money. In a nutshell you shouldn’t do the following…
Spending without a budget.
Carrying a balance on credit cards.
Ignoring interest rates.
Not investigating disability insurance.
Failing to see how little purchases add up.
Not matching employer’s contribution to retirement.
Waiting until the [...]

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Subprime crash - What’s next?

March 16, 2007

Many of you have already heard the news, Subprime loans are going to be the death of many a lender. Many subprime borrowers are beginning to default on their loans and there too many defaults for the market to absorb.
Other reasons are rising interest rates and declining home prices. This makes it difficult for those [...]

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Mortgage Refinance - How to do it

February 24, 2007

This is a shameless self promotion. I guess I’ll just admit it.
Here it is: If you want to refinance your mortgage you should consider using our free mortgage comparison tool. It’s easy to use, takes just a minute to fill out, and you get comparisons from the top mortgage companies in the U.S.
Give it a [...]

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The truth about real estate investing

November 15, 2006

There is a whole lot of “noise” about real estate investing. Will it make you rich? Will it make you bankrupt? How about, “Will it help you just barely get by?” Believe it or not, it will do all these things. You can take my word for it, I’m a full-time real estate investor. Yes, [...]

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Why are you in debt?

November 7, 2006

I know this is a sensitive question, but why are you in debt? More specifically why are you in debt with credit cards and other non-mortgage debt? I know why I was in debt. I wanted more than I could pay for. And once I had more than I could pay for I found myself [...]

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Housing Price Tracker - revised

October 20, 2006

Here is a link to the latest version on the housing price tracker. I like this site because it gives unbiased data about local housing markets. In our uncertain real estate market it’s good to be familiar with the raw data. This helps us make decisions about what and where we buy and what kind [...]

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Mortgage disaster? Need to refinance to save home? Probably…

September 1, 2006

Selena Maranjian wrote an article on Fool.com that is a very clear description of a possible (and likely) impending mortgage crisis. Of course most of us have heard this warning time and time again but it’s worth revisiting if not for the simple fact that the more we understand about the ARM crisis the quicker [...]

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Success in the juice business.

August 3, 2006

Part of ultimately being financially successful is both being a good saver and a good worker. Being an independent businessman man myself I’m always fascinated by individuals (and couples) who succeed in their entrepreneurial ventures. Once such example is the couple who started the POM Wonderful group of beverages. It turns out that they also [...]

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