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During the summer of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the United States unemployment rate rose, but did not surpass the 24.9 percent of the great depression. As it rose, some began making an argument that the federal government should create an employment guarantee? Insecure times cause people to long…

Bruce McConville, a 55 year-old Canadian businessman, from Ottawa, Canada, used a very creative excuse to avoid paying his wife spousal and child support, as part of their divorce settlement—he burnt it! He told a judge in the Ottawa Supreme Court that he withdrew 1 Million Canadian Dollars ($750,000),…

100 years after the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, Australian billionaire Clive Palmer announced an ambitious plan to build a replica. It will first make the passage from Southampton to New York, then perhaps around the world. The plan is back on track after finances…

According to a January poll from the National Endowment for Financial Education, 42 percent of people admit to being financially unfaithful to their partner. They admit to keeping secret bank accounts, hiding big-ticket purchases, or covering up bad investments. Mandy Walker in ConsumerReports.org says…

Trulia, a real estate listing site conducted a survey of home owners. They discovered that 44 percent of Americans have regrets about buying their current homes. The most common source of regret was not choosing the right home size. A wise person will research and think very long about a financial decision…

The chief fiscal officer for the state of Illinois said she does not know how big Illinois’s pile of unpaid bills really is. The state sold $4.5 billion worth of bonds to pay down the estimated $16.6 billion it owes to contactors, health care providers, and others. Part of the problem is state agencies…

On December 26, 1919, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sent Babe Ruth, his best baseball player to the New York Yankees for only $25,000 because he needed the money to finance a musical. As a Yankee, Ruth set the record for home runs, and led his team to four World Series victories. The Red Sox, on the other…

A woman who wanted to help her church build a new building put a rare and valuable gift in the offering plate during a special Easter offering. The woman, who prefers to remain anonymous, gave an 1866 proof Liberty Head double eagle coin to the church to help finance the new building. Her church has…

The personal finance guru in The New York Times, Carl Richards, has an interesting suggestion for staying out of debt, or at least lowering it significantly. His suggestion is to pay for the item first, by putting the money aside in a savings account. If you can’t wait to save up for the whole amount,…

Cayla Chandara, a 22-year-old waitress in Hawaii was forced to drop out of college because of significant money problems. She shared her situation in conversation with an Australian couple she was serving. They were touched by her story and gave her a $400 tip. A gracious Chandara sent a thank you note…

A driver in South Yorkshire picked up his new Ferrari 430 Scuderia from the dealer and started home. On a wet road, he lost control of the $258,000 auto sending it airborne, and burst into flames. After owning it for one hour, the high-performance supercar was reduced to a flaming twisted wreck. That…

70% of respondents to an ING survey “agree that Christmas is too focused on spending.” What would happen if people would focus on receiving instead of spending? No, I’m not talking about receiving Christmas gifts. I’m talking about receiving the greatest news ever announced—good news of great joy.—Jim…

Air Force veteran Bruce Rideout, 79, received a check from the U.S. Treasury. He doesn’t know why he received it and isn’t sure what to do with it. He doesn’t want to cash it, not because he is afraid that at some point the government will want it back, but because it is for only 2 cents. He has decided…

Carrie Rausch, a 108 year-old woman can live her remaining years in comfort thanks to help from strangers. She lived in the same assisted living facility for three years, and was in danger of losing her home because her financial reserves were almost gone. Rausch’s daughter did not want her mother to…

One of the keys of good stewardship is to spend less than you make creating a surplus. The surplus allows you the ability to help others or to give to a good cause. Unfortunately, 60% of Americans say they spent more than they earned last year. A survey of more than 27,000 people by the FINRA Investor…

190 years after Thomas Jefferson died, a lock of his hair sold at a Texas auction for nearly $6,875. Heritage Auctions in Dallas said the sale involved 14 strands of Jefferson’s hair that were saved by his doctor at the time of his death in 1826. Though the buyer wished to remain anonymous, Heritage…

Donnie Davis was Tristan Jacobson’s guardian. She wanted to adopt the 9-year-old was by his birth mother. She could not afford the $10,000 in legal fees so Tristan took matters into his own hands. He began selling lemonade on the street. His little stand began to attract hundreds of generous customers…

There are many reasons to keep our financial lives healthy. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Board have revealed another. “Couples with low credit scores are more likely to break up than those with higher scores.” If you let your debt get out of hand, your marriage will suffer. The researchers have…

Police in Austria say they found more than $108,000 worth of Euros floating in the Danube River, but they still have no idea where the money came from. A young boy saw the money floating by and jumped into the river to get it. A bystander thought he was trying to kill himself, so he called police. Since…

In 1996, 58% of students used loans to finance their education. At graduation they owed less than $20,000. In 2015, 71% of graduating students took out loans and owe an average of $35,051 each. We are launching our children into the world already financially indebted. They are mortgaging their future,…

Ken Slusher says he received such a large bill that it would be funny, if it wasn’t creating problems for them to finance a new home. Their cell phone provider sent them a bill for $2 million for one month of service. He says the problems began when they switched carriers, and the first bill was six…

A survey investigating personal finances has found that roughly 18% of Americans say they expect to be in debt for the rest of their lives. The number has effectively doubled since the last time the survey was taken in May 2013. Overall the survey found that credit card indebtedness has increased moderately…

A water bill sent out in 1969 was finally returned to the sender, nearly 46 years later. The bill, totaling $1.40 was sent out by the Brunswick and Topsham Water District to a resident of Topsham in October 1969. When it arrived, the customer’s post box had been closed, so the bill should have automatically…

Los Angeles Clippers Forward Josh Smith will be taking a pay cut this year. “I do have a family, so it’s going to be a little harder on me this year. But I’m going to push through it.” You would find it difficult too, I am sure, if you had to get by on only $6.9 million this year. It doesn’t matter how…