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Len Penzo dot Com

The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

Drive-By Movie Review: Taken

By Len Penzo

Today's Drive-By Movie Review is on the 2009 movie Taken, starring Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace... Plot Summary: A former spy relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been forced into the slave trade. Me: I miss the days ...

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August 20, 2009

Drive-By Movie Review: Defiance

By Len Penzo

Today's Drive-By Movie Review is on the 2008 movie Defiance, starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber... Plot Summary: Jewish brothers in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe escape into the Belorussian forests, where they join Russian resistance fighters ...

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August 13, 2009

Drive-By Movie Review: Killshot

By Len Penzo

This is a review of the 2009 movie Killshot, starring Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, and Rosario Dawson. Plot Synopsys: Carmen Colson (played by Diane Lane) and her semi-estranged husband Wayne are placed in the Federal Witness Protection program after ...

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August 6, 2009

Personal Finance Decisions: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

By Len Penzo

Regular readers know that I absolutely love Clint Eastwood movies. The other day I was watching for the umpteenth time one of my all-time favorites: the classic Sergio Leone spaghetti western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. While I was watching the ...

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August 3, 2009

Drive-By Movie Review: Knowing

By Len Penzo

This is a review of the 2009 movie Knowing, starring Nicholas Cage. Plot Synopsis: Astrophysicist and grieving widower, Professor John Koestler, studies a sheet of paper from a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; on it ...

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July 30, 2009

Evaluating the Cost of Extreme Frugality

By Len Penzo

Earlier this month one of my favorite personal finance bloggers, Bret Frohlich, wrote a terrific piece where he declared war on frugality and explained why frugality doesn't always pay. In fact, Bret's post got me thinking about those who choose ...

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July 26, 2009

Drive-By Movie Review: The Women

By Len Penzo

This is a review of the 2008 movie The Women, starring Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, and Eva Mendes. Plot Synopsis: A group of close-knit women try to figure out how to help their friend when she finds out that her husband of 13 years is having an ...

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July 23, 2009

Drive-By Movie Review: Gran Torino

By Len Penzo

There is nothing more irritating for me than eagerly settling down with the Honeybee to watch a movie we've rented that, ten minutes after the opening credits, makes me realize I should have chosen to do something a lot more entertaining with my ...

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July 16, 2009

Bernard Madoff Starts His 150-year Sentence

By Len Penzo

Good. ...

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July 15, 2009

Kids and Money: Our Decision to Let Our Impulsive Spender Fail

By Len Penzo

I've written in this space before about just how difficult it is to teach kids financial literacy. For every kid, that seems to have a natural ability to grasp the value of a dollar and a real determination to save as much as they can, there is ...

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July 8, 2009

Parents: Before You Name Your Baby, Learn How to Spell.

By Len Penzo

Igor: Dr. Frankenstein... Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: It's "Fronkensteen." Igor: You're putting me on. Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: No, it's pronounced "Fronkensteen." Igor: Do you also say "Froaderick"? Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: No... ...

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July 3, 2009

18 Facts You Didn’t Know About The Federal Reserve System

By Len Penzo

1. The Federal Reserve System is the United States' version of a central bank. Central banks, also known as reserve banks, are the entities responsible for the monetary policy of a country. The United States has not always had a central banking ...

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July 1, 2009

Does Anybody Know the Going Rate for the Tooth Fairy?

By Len Penzo

My 9-year-old daughter, Lenina, lost another tooth today! Of course, most everyone knows custom dictates that when a child loses a tooth they dutifully place it under their pillow knowing that the Tooth Fairy will come and take it in exchange for ...

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June 22, 2009

Celebrating My 100th Post!

By Len Penzo

You know, they say a milestone is anything that gives you a personal sense of accomplishment and helps you move forward. Amazingly enough, after just over six months I reached an important blogging milestone of my own today: post number 100! ...

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June 17, 2009

The 5 Worst Jobs For Teenagers

By Len Penzo

With summer here, schools are now on hiatus for vacation in most places around the country and teenagers are scurrying to find temporary jobs to earn some extra money. With that in mind, some parents may be interested to know that the National ...

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June 12, 2009

Paying Off the Mortgage Early? Not So Fast …

By Len Penzo

In January 2009 I wrote one of my most popular posts to-date entitled Paying Off Your Mortgage Early Is A No-Brainer. In that post I did a detailed analysis that justified why paying down my mortgage was the right thing to do. That Was Then, This ...

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June 1, 2009

9 Personal Finance Lessons I Learned from Watching The Simpsons

By Len Penzo

Twenty years ago the series premier of arguably the greatest cartoon ever, The Simpsons, debuted in the United States. Over that time I have watched countless episodes chronicling the lives of Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa Simpson and all of their ...

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May 26, 2009

How to Avoid Neighbor Conflicts When It’s Time for a New Fence (Part 2)

By Len Penzo

This is the second part of a two-part series. Click here for part one. As I noted in part one, over the years I have personally talked to several friends of mine who told me they would rather spend a couple hours in the dentist chair having their ...

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May 23, 2009

How to Avoid Neighbor Conflicts When It’s Time for a New Fence

By Len Penzo

Being a homeowner has a lot of responsibilities that renters never have to deal with. Many of the responsibilities are no big deal; others can be extremely unpleasant. One of the most painful homeowner tasks is dealing with the neighbors when a ...

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May 21, 2009

Inflation: How China May Be Forced To Use The Nuclear Option

By Len Penzo

It's Inflation Week at Len Penzo dot Com. Follow me over the next several days as I explore the multiple facets and facts about this insidious scourge, the probability of its resurgence, its potential impacts on us, and strategies for protecting ...

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May 17, 2009

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