Black Coffee: Would You Believe My Dog Ate the First Half of this Article?

It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe…

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance. Here’s what caught my attention over the past week…

I know what you’re thinking, folks: This week’s edition of Black Coffee looks a little light. Yep.   But I have a good excuse. This weekend I am in Chicago for the Financial Blogger Conference so I didn’t have a lot of time to this week. As a result, I have no smarmy commentary for the blog articles I stumbled upon over the past few days.

Look, it was either head out the door on time and catch my plane to Chicago, or spend an hour or so writing a four or five bad jokes that nobody was going to laugh at anyway. So I decided to catch my plane.

I did manage to get the Credits and Debits finished, so it’s not a total loss. Then again, after you read them, you’ll probably vehemently disagree with that assessment.

Anyway, I’m gonna do a much better job with my time management skills next week. Scout’s honor! (And although I was never a boy scout, I think I can still say that because one of my best buddies is an Eagle Scout.)

I’ll tell you all about how the conference went in next week’s edition.

Blogs I’ve Been Following This Week

Credit Card Assist – An Interview with Some Guy Named Len Penzo

Millionaire Nurse Blog – Kindle Books: From Your Library – A How To

Wisebread – How to Grocery Shop for Five on $100 per Week.

Financial Uproar – It Doesn’t Cost That Much to Raise a Kid

Krantcents – How I Cut My Expenses

 

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff – Early Holiday Shopping Tips

Bucksome Boomer – Lessons from a Power Outage

Financial Samurai – How to Get an Apartment in a Hot Rental Market

Moneyed Up – Credit Card Debt Relief Tips

20s Finances – The Best Way to Track Expenses

Money Help for Christians – Frugal Christmas Planning Starts Today

Green Panda Tree House – The Big List of Little Savings That Go a Long Way

Cash Money Life – How Telecommuting Can Save You and Your Employer Money

The Way-Back Machine: Past Posts Of Mine You May Have Missed

From March 2009:

Immunize Yourself from the Layoff Bug – You know how you can tell if the post you’re reading at Len Penzo dot Com is a fairly ancient one? Because I used highlight key points in bold text! When I look back at those older posts now, I wince. (I know, Karen. I realize I also put two spaces after a period back then too! Thank you for finally setting me straight.)

The Question of the Week

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Credits and Debits

Credit: If you have a home mortgage loan at 5 percent or more, you may want to consider refinancing. Thirty year loans are now averaging 4.01 percent — that’s the lowest rate since records started being kept in 1971. The 15-year loan is also at an all-time low, averaging just 3.28 percent.

Credit: If you do decide to refinance, make sure it’s only to lower your interest rate and/or the monthly payment, don’t use your house as a piggy bank. That’s what got a lot of people into trouble after the housing bubble popped.

Debit: This just in: For the second week in a row, the United States lectured Europe on how to handle its debt crisis and Europe told the US to piss off.

Debit: According to The Telegraph, what riled the European leaders was a rebuke from President Obama for their refusal to recapitalize the banks — essentially, “printing” money — to the tune of almost $3.5 trillion.

Credit: Yes, yes; that “piss off” part is hyperbole on my part. German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble was actually slightly more diplomatic: “I don’t understand how anyone can have such a stupid idea.” Hey; I said slightly more.

Debit: I’m not sure what Herr Schauble is so upset about. The Fed has been using the same strategy here for quite awhile now and it’s been very successful … (Okay, maybe the finance minister has a point.)

Debit: I see Hallmark is now selling unemployment sympathy cards. I know. But according to one retailer, the cards are “flying off the shelf.”

Credit: Don’t tell me America has lost her ability to innovate.

 

Credit: I’m sure other sympathy cards won’t be far behind for other unfortunate financial events like home foreclosures, bankruptcy, catastrophic investment losses, and rejected loan applications.

Credit: Perhaps even car repossessions: “I’m sorry for your loss. Keep your chin up and think of all the money you’ll be saving at the pump.” I better copyright that one before Hallmark steals it.