{"id":8324,"date":"2011-12-29T00:15:14","date_gmt":"2011-12-29T08:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=8324"},"modified":"2022-02-05T12:43:09","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T20:43:09","slug":"the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html","title":{"rendered":"The Penner Awards: The 10 Craziest Money Blunders of 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_8385\" style=\"width: 334px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Kim_Kardashian1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8385\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8385  \" title=\"Kim_Kardashian\" src=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Kim_Kardashian1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"324\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Kim_Kardashian1.png 360w, https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Kim_Kardashian1-227x300.png 227w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8385\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">You&#39;re right. This is the second time I&#39;ve used this photo in 2011.  I can assure you that it&#39;s purely coincidence.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>As 2011 finally comes to a close, it&#8217;s time for the second annual Penner Awards, a celebration of the year&#8217;s ten most dumbfounding displays of numismatical naivete and financial ineptitude known to man.<\/p>\n<p>So why am <em>I<\/em> giving out such a dubiously prestigious award?<\/p>\n<p>Well, as I see it, I have two very good reasons. First, I&#8217;ve made plenty of <a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id618-nobodys-perfect-my-10-dumbest-money-mistakes-part-1.html\">stupid money mistakes<\/a> myself over the years. Second, if not me, who?<\/p>\n<p>Besides, nobody seemed to quibble after I passed out the <a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id1465-biggest-money-mistakes.html\">2010 Penner Awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Okay, enough babble, folks. Let&#8217;s give out some Penners!<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Fool if You Think It&#8217;s Over<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Recipient:<\/strong> Kobe Bryant<br \/>\n<strong>Background: <\/strong>If the reports that claim <a href=\"http:\/\/latimesblogs.latimes.com\/lanow\/2011\/12\/kobe-bryant-divorce-prenup-could-have-saved-half-his-fortune-expert-says.html\">Kobe didn&#8217;t get a prenup<\/a> before marrying his soon-to-be ex-wife are true, then the Los Angeles Lakers superstar could be on the hook for at least $75 million &#8212; plus <em>additional<\/em> spousal support payments for the rest of his life. I know.<br \/>\n<strong>The Bottom Line:<\/strong> You can bet this never would have happened <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2011\/11\/01\/kim-kardashian-kris-humphries-prenup\/\">if Kobe had married Kim Kardashian<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Maybe They Should Have Picked Another Planet?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Recipient:<\/strong> The guy at Disney Studios who green-lit <em>Mars Needs Moms<\/em><br \/>\n<strong>Background: <\/strong>Disney budgeted $150 million for this 2011 film based upon the children&#8217;s book about a boy who sets out to save his mom after she gets abducted by Martians. Since being released on March 11th, the film has managed to take in only $39 million, making <em>Mars Needs Moms<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/gallery\/movie-box-office-biggest-flops-205951\">the box-office flop of the year<\/a> &#8212; and the fifth biggest ever, after adjusting for inflation.<br \/>\n<strong>The Bottom Line:<\/strong> Don&#8217;t count on a &#8220;Mars Needs Moms&#8221; ride being offered at Disneyland anytime soon.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Well, It&#8217;s the Thought That Counts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Recipients:<\/strong> Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada)<br \/>\n<strong>Background: <\/strong>In April Congress finally passed a $3.55 trillion budget with great fanfare, heralding a relatively meager $38 billion in spending cuts. Upon closer scrutiny, however, the CBO found that the actual savings amounted to <a href=\"http:\/\/nation.foxnews.com\/budget-battle\/2011\/04\/13\/americans-were-lied-cbo-says-budget-deal-cuts-just-353-million-not-38-billi\">only $353 <em>million<\/em><\/a>. To  put  that in perspective, that&#8217;s equivalent to a  household with a $50,000 budget cutting annual  expenditures by $4.96.<br \/>\n<strong>The Bottom Line:<\/strong> On the bright side, they say a journey of a thousands miles always starts with a single step.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Bake Me Another Cupcake, Cupcake<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Recipient:<\/strong> Rachel Brown<br \/>\n<strong>Background: <\/strong>The baker from Berkshire, England, lost over $19,000 &#8212; her profits for the entire year &#8212; after she was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-england-berkshire-15791507\">forced to make 102,000 cupcakes<\/a>,  thanks to a poorly-planned &#8220;75% off&#8221; Groupon deal that went awry.  &#8220;Without doubt, it was my worst ever business decision,&#8221; Brown told the  BBC. One can only hope so.<br \/>\n<strong>The Bottom Line: <\/strong>I&#8217;m not going to sugar coat it; by any measure, $19,000 is a lot of dough. Even for a baker.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. The High Price of a Little &#8220;Us&#8221; Time <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Recipient:<\/strong> Jimmy McMillan<br \/>\n<strong>Background: <\/strong>The New York man who ran for governor on the Rent is Too Damn High  ticket <a href=\"http:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/jimmy-mcmillan-getting-evicted-because-his-rent-is-too-damn-cheap-53459\/\">may end up getting evicted<\/a> from his rent-controlled Manhattan apartment because he temporarily stopped living there so his adult son could enjoy a little privacy. But why would McMillan risk forfeiting his $872 monthly rent-controlled apartment in a neighborhood where flats can reportedly fetch upwards of four times that amount? Mr. McMillan&#8217;s reply: &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2011\/11\/24\/jimmy-mcmillan-rent-is-too-damn-high-eviction\/#.Tvt2Dkrm4ip\">I want a grandkid<\/a>.&#8221;<br \/>\n<strong>The Bottom Line:<\/strong> With privacy apparently in such short supply, perhaps adoption would have been a more financially savvy option.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. This is a Stick-up! (No, really.)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Recipient:<\/strong> Richard Verone<br \/>\n<strong>Background: <\/strong>The North Carolina man surrendered to police after <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/health\/wpix-man-robs-bank-health-care,0,4161298.story\">robbing a bank for $1<\/a>.  After demanding the lone dollar from a teller, Varone took the loot and sat himself down on the bank&#8217;s sofa until police arrived. Why would  anyone do that, you ask? To get free healthcare in prison, of course.  Explained Varone: &#8220;I&#8217;m sort of a logical person, and that was my logic.&#8221;  Makes sense to me.<br \/>\n<strong>The Bottom Line:<\/strong> Obviously, prison healthcare is a lot better than logic would otherwise suggest.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. Death and (Refunded) Taxes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Recipient:<\/strong> IRS Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman<br \/>\n<strong>Background: <\/strong>A lawsuit filed by the federal government this year disclosed that the IRS was tricked into paying out $12.1 million in fraudulent tax refund claims to <a href=\"http:\/\/money.msn.com\/taxes\/article.aspx?post=e319fcb3-fa07-41d7-ad05-c829df544437\">5,108 dead people<\/a> in 2009 and 2010. Yes, the same IRS that  never misses a chance to  tell the living they&#8217;ve under-reported <em>their<\/em> income by $1.63.<br \/>\n<strong>The Bottom Line:<\/strong> To paraphrase Will Rogers, this is just more proof that the IRS has made more liars out of Americans than golf.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. That Turned Out to Be One Very Expensive Suit<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Recipient:<\/strong> An unnamed Illinois man<br \/>\n<strong>Background: <\/strong>An 80-year-old man contributed more than he intended to a Goodwill store in Moline, Illinois, after belatedly realizing he had <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/USCP\/PNI\/NEWS\/2011-12-01-APUSAccidentalDonation_ST_U.htm\">left $13,000 in the pocket<\/a> of a suit he donated. Although he&#8217;s offering a $1000 reward, the money has not been recovered.<br \/>\n<strong>The Bottom Line:<\/strong> Apparently, there <em>are<\/em> still people out there who have never heard of banks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9. And You Thought Losing Your Lease On Life Was Bad<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Recipients:<\/strong> Spanish cemetery owners<br \/>\n<strong>Background: <\/strong>A cemetery in Zaragoza, Spain has been threatening evictions of its dead for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.suntimes.com\/news\/world\/8679195-418\/spanish-cemetery-warns-of-evictions-for-nonpayment-of-burial-site-leases.html\">non-payment of rented burial sites<\/a>. Rather than sell them outright, many Spanish cemeteries &#8212; get this &#8212; now only <em>lease<\/em> grave sites for periods of 5 or 49 years. Genius. According to the  city&#8217;s planning manager, Were not doing it to make money or empty  graves but rather to improve management. Right.<br \/>\n<strong>The Bottom Line:<\/strong> In Spain, apparently there&#8217;s no such thing as a final resting place.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. That&#8217;s the Ticket! (Or not.)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Recipient:<\/strong> An unidentified person who plays the Georgia Lottery<br \/>\n<strong>Background: <\/strong>On June 29th of this year, somebody walked into the Pilot Travel Center in Tallapoosa, Georgia, and bought a state lottery ticket that correctly matched all six numbers, including the Powerball. Unfortunately, the prize wasn&#8217;t claimed within the mandated 180-day window, and so on December 26th the winning ticket &#8212; and the $77 million grand prize &#8212; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebostonchannel.com\/news\/30084331\/detail.html\">unceremoniously expired<\/a>.<br \/>\n<strong>The Bottom Line:<\/strong> Now you know the elusive answer to the question: <em>What&#8217;s the only thing <a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id528-dont-get-caught-paying-the-stupid-tax-2.html\">dumber than playing the lottery<\/a>?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As 2011 finally comes to a close, it&#8217;s time for the second annual Penner Awards, a celebration of the year&#8217;s ten most dumbfounding displays of numismatical naivete and financial ineptitude known to man. So why am I giving out such a dubiously prestigious award? Well, as I see it, I have two very good reasons. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[472],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8324","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-commentary","7":"pmpro-has-access","8":"entry","9":"has-post-thumbnail"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.8 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Penner Awards: The 10 Craziest Money Blunders of 2011<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Penner Awards: The 10 Craziest Money Blunders of 2011\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As 2011 finally comes to a close, it&#8217;s time for the second annual Penner Awards, a celebration of the year&#8217;s ten most dumbfounding displays of numismatical naivete and financial ineptitude known to man. So why am I giving out such a dubiously prestigious award? Well, as I see it, I have two very good reasons. [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Len Penzo dot Com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LenPenzo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-12-29T08:15:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-05T20:43:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Kim_Kardashian1.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Len Penzo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LenPenzo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@LenPenzo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Len Penzo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Len Penzo\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3968bb46693d14b2ae2ab4958aa41dfd\"},\"headline\":\"The Penner Awards: The 10 Craziest Money Blunders of 2011\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-12-29T08:15:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-05T20:43:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html\"},\"wordCount\":1013,\"commentCount\":19,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/Kim_Kardashian1.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html\",\"name\":\"The Penner Awards: The 10 Craziest Money Blunders of 2011\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/Kim_Kardashian1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-12-29T08:15:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-05T20:43:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/Kim_Kardashian1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/12\\\/Kim_Kardashian1.png\",\"width\":\"360\",\"height\":\"474\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Penner Awards: The 10 Craziest Money Blunders of 2011\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Len Penzo dot Com\",\"description\":\"The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Len Penzo dot Com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/Block_L.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/Block_L.png\",\"width\":359,\"height\":360,\"caption\":\"Len Penzo dot Com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/LenPenzo\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/LenPenzo\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3968bb46693d14b2ae2ab4958aa41dfd\",\"name\":\"Len Penzo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Len Penzo\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Penner Awards: The 10 Craziest Money Blunders of 2011","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Penner Awards: The 10 Craziest Money Blunders of 2011","og_description":"As 2011 finally comes to a close, it&#8217;s time for the second annual Penner Awards, a celebration of the year&#8217;s ten most dumbfounding displays of numismatical naivete and financial ineptitude known to man. So why am I giving out such a dubiously prestigious award? Well, as I see it, I have two very good reasons. [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html","og_site_name":"Len Penzo dot Com","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LenPenzo","article_published_time":"2011-12-29T08:15:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-02-05T20:43:09+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Kim_Kardashian1.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Len Penzo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@LenPenzo","twitter_site":"@LenPenzo","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Len Penzo","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html"},"author":{"name":"Len Penzo","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3968bb46693d14b2ae2ab4958aa41dfd"},"headline":"The Penner Awards: The 10 Craziest Money Blunders of 2011","datePublished":"2011-12-29T08:15:14+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-05T20:43:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html"},"wordCount":1013,"commentCount":19,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Kim_Kardashian1.png","articleSection":["Commentary"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html","name":"The Penner Awards: The 10 Craziest Money Blunders of 2011","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Kim_Kardashian1.png","datePublished":"2011-12-29T08:15:14+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-05T20:43:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Kim_Kardashian1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Kim_Kardashian1.png","width":"360","height":"474"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id8324-the-penner-awards-the-10-craziest-money-blunders-of-2011.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Penner Awards: The 10 Craziest Money Blunders of 2011"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/","name":"Len Penzo dot Com","description":"The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Len Penzo dot Com","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Block_L.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Block_L.png","width":359,"height":360,"caption":"Len Penzo dot Com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LenPenzo","https:\/\/x.com\/LenPenzo"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3968bb46693d14b2ae2ab4958aa41dfd","name":"Len Penzo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Len Penzo"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8324"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71129,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8324\/revisions\/71129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}