Recession Diaries
Perks of unemployment: Get a helmet, be a thug!
Sarah Gilbert
Jan 18th 2010 at 9:00AM
Filed under: Extracurriculars, Family Money, Career, Recession Diaries
We are waiting at a light, my two youngest boys and me, on our bike, when she pulls up beside us: shocking-pink hair streaming behind her. It coordinates with her bike and, more importantly, her helmet: a striped Nutcase. My boys, too, are sporting Nutcase helmets. We both look at our watches. 11:35 a.m. "You're going to the photoshoot, aren't you?" she says. Yep.The four of us, and several other scruffy-in-a-cute-way Portlanders have answered a call this blustery-cold January day, to ride our bikes in circles with smiles for a few hours, in exchange for minor fame and a free helmet. (I end up with four, one for each of us and an extra for my husband besides. The boys were really cold. The photographer had an extra.)
The 5 best ways to increase productivity
Marc Acito
Jan 4th 2010 at 5:00PM
Filed under: Make Money Fast, Recession Diaries
As one of the nation's underemployed, naturally my new year's resolution is to get un-underemployed, perhaps even overemployed. But since this was also my resolution last year, I better go about it differently in 2010.Luckily, I subscribe to an invaluable service called Help a Reporter Out, which connects journalists with sources. Normally I get 5-10 responses when I post a query, just enough to create an impression of a national zeitgeist. But when I asked other self-employed people for their best productivity tips, I was immediately deluged, eventually receiving a whopping 87 responses.
Republic Airways CEO insults Milwaukee
Barbara Bartlein
Dec 29th 2009 at 2:00PM
Filed under: Travel, Recession Diaries
Republic Airlines CEO, Bryan Bedford, has a bit of egg on his face after his disparaging remarks about Milwaukee at a recent analysts' meeting in New York City. The comment by Bedord was "I don't care how cheap you make it, you don't go there (Milwaukee) unless you have to." I, like most native Milwaukee residents, am insulted. The timing is especially poor, since Republic Airlines just purchased Midwest Airlines, Milwaukee's longtime hometown airline.Political power migrates with the population: 2010 Census will change who rules
Lou Carlozo
Dec 28th 2009 at 2:00PM
Filed under: Recession Diaries
By now, you know the numbers statisticians and economists most often use to paint the picture of the Great Recession: unemployment percentages, jobs lost and created, and gross national product among them. Now, add to that another crucial though less obvious number: shifts in U.S. population growth.While that might sound like a variable regardless of the economy, a recent New York Times story by reporter Damien Cave reveals that the recession has caused some dramatic demographic shifts. The evidence lies in new U.S. Census Bureau figures culled between July 2008 and July 2009, with the trends expected to take more solid form as we head into the 2010 Census year.
Put the solution in 'resolution:' 10 steps to financial sanity in 2010
Lou Carlozo
Dec 28th 2009 at 12:00PM
Filed under: Recession Diaries
Last year at this time, one writer -- and only one -- in the entire Chicago Tribune features department was either brave or foolish enough to bare his family finances for all to see: yours truly. In a two-page spread, I outlined 10 steps to a better family budget, using my own experiences with debt, savings and spending habits as the template. This led in short order to a roller coaster ride I could never have anticipated:
- taunts from twisted readers who bombarded me with mean comments about how dumb my wife and I were.
- a gig as the Tribune's recession columnist.
- getting laid off by the Tribune about a month later.
- hundreds of well wishes from fans who couldn't believe the Tribune would lay off the Recession Guy.
- and finally: an immediate invitation from WalletPop editor Beth Pinsker Gladstone to move my "Recession Diaries" column to AOL, which I did.
10 reasons for pocketbook optimism after a financially shaky 2009
Lou Carlozo
Dec 22nd 2009 at 5:30PM
Filed under: Recession Diaries
I lost my job of 16 years in 2009, and perhaps your luck was no better. I certainly wouldn't blame you if you looked at 2009 as one to forget where your wallet is concerned.But as the "aughts" turn into whatever you wanna call a decade with years 10-19 in it, I found plenty of reasons to feel upbeat. To me, it's not so much a matter of putting a happy spin on a sad year, but looking at the facts, and choosing to build a case based on them -- one that affects the all-important bottom line.
Here's my list of 10 financial highlights worth celebrating with the end of the year, and the decade.
1) Health Care Reform: When it comes to this issue, I blame the Obama administration for only one thing: It failed to effectively communicate the evils in the private insurance system that most of us -- including every Senate Republican--somehow forgot during the Great Healthcare Debate. No matter: Real reform is on the way, and while far from perfect, it marks the first crucial step in terms of bringing the U.S. on par with the rest of the world, including our neighbors in Canada, in building a health care system that guarantees a fair shake for all of us. No matter how shaky the new system starts, it will mark an improvement over the insurance company mafia where everything short of death itself is treated as a pre-existing condition.
Giving to charity declines in Scrooge's America, and that's not bad
Marc Acito
Dec 21st 2009 at 12:00PM
Filed under: Charity, Recession, Recession Diaries
This just in from the Department of Why I am Not Suprised: Americans are giving less to charity this Christmas. A recent poll from the Red Cross shows that 20 percent of Americans plan to reduce their charitable giving this year. Salvation Army centers and Toys for Tots drives across the country all report decreased giving of at least that much. Indeed, donations to the San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program are down a whopping 60 percent from last year, while demand is up almost 20 percent. "A lot of people who donated last year are now in lines to receive help," said Sally Casazza, the program's chair. "This is our worst year ever."
Will Jim Powers' BeerCompass point the way to money?
Lou Carlozo
Dec 14th 2009 at 1:00PM
Filed under: Recession Diaries
As a record industry executive and owner of Minty Fresh Records, Chicago's Jim Powers has proved his creativity and eye for talent time and again. He discovered the Cowboy Junkies, was one of the first to sing the praises of Liz Phair, brought the music of the Cardigans to America, and turned Ralph Covert from an aging club rocker into a kids-music phenom. So why is a guy like Powers dabbling in the world of iPhone apps, especially those designed to sniff out beer? It turns out that Powers, a beer connoisseur, found himself intrigued by the possibility of turning a pastime passion into a viable cash cow. And so, BeerCompass was born -- an app that locates suds and pubs anywhere on the planet.
WalletPop spoke with Powers not long after BeerCompass went public to find out what inspired his sudsy smart-phone creation, and how his detour into applications has fared financially.
WalletPop: Where did the idea for BeerCompass come from? Where were you, how did the idea come to you, and what was your first impulse once the light bulb went off?
Powers: I was talking with someone who was looking for marketing ideas for an app they were making for a festival, and I blurted out the idea of a compass dedicated to finding beer ... a "beer compass." I loved the idea and thought the compass had potential, so I made one.
Ayn Rand -- back from the dead and still dead wrong
Marc Acito
Dec 7th 2009 at 3:00PM
Filed under: Banks, Recession, Recession Diaries
"She's back!" screams the cover of Reason, the magazine "For Free Minds and Free Markets," featuring a photo of right-wing icon Ayn Rand looking suspiciously like the Bride of Frankenstein. (Seriously. Did you ever see the two of them together? I didn't think so.)
Like Frankenstein's monster, Rand's ideas are back from the dead and have attracted the attention of torch-bearing angry villagers like the teabaggers. Sales of her cinder-block-sized manifesto, Atlas Shrugged, are reportedly at their strongest ever (more on that later) and this Christmas we have not one but two Rand biographies from which to choose. (Apparently nothing says "magical holiday" like "angry screed.") There are also lots of "Who Is John Galt?" T-shirts and even the Atlasphere, an Ayn Rand dating and networking site.
So I felt compelled to find out what the buzz was all about.
Salvaging the real estate market by becoming a Section 8 landlord
Jason Cochran
Dec 3rd 2009 at 2:45PM
Filed under: Bargains, Make Money Fast, Home, Real Estate, Recession, Bankruptcy, Video, Recession Diaries, Mortgages
Real estate prices have bottomed out. Depending on the market-- Las Vegas, Arizona, Southern California -- house prices can be insanely low.
In Broward County, Fla., for example, homes that once cost more than $200,000 can be had for as little as $30,000, many as foreclosures. Now that the days of high-profit speculation in the real estate market have come to a close, real estate investors are turning to another program that provides a more modest, but still reliable, return.
The Section 8 Rental Voucher Program is a federal endeavor that pays the rent of qualified low-income renters. The homes they live in are privately owned by everyday people, who receive monthly rent checks from the government on behalf of their low-income tenants. Considering rent is paid back at what amounts to something close to market rates, renting an inexpensive property to the Section 8 program can more than pay for itself.
WalletPop's Jason Cochran traveled to Broward County to meet with Suzanne Dunn, a real estate investor who has independently jumped on the Section 8 market. She gives us an overview of how it works for people who want to become landlords:
In Broward County, Fla., for example, homes that once cost more than $200,000 can be had for as little as $30,000, many as foreclosures. Now that the days of high-profit speculation in the real estate market have come to a close, real estate investors are turning to another program that provides a more modest, but still reliable, return.
The Section 8 Rental Voucher Program is a federal endeavor that pays the rent of qualified low-income renters. The homes they live in are privately owned by everyday people, who receive monthly rent checks from the government on behalf of their low-income tenants. Considering rent is paid back at what amounts to something close to market rates, renting an inexpensive property to the Section 8 program can more than pay for itself.
WalletPop's Jason Cochran traveled to Broward County to meet with Suzanne Dunn, a real estate investor who has independently jumped on the Section 8 market. She gives us an overview of how it works for people who want to become landlords:
Scam busters turn the tables on those running the Nigerian scam
Marc Acito
Nov 23rd 2009 at 2:00PM
Filed under: Banks, Fraud, Recession, Recession Diaries
Beloved One,I have the Courage to Crave Indulgence for this most opportune business venture...
Look familiar? A day doesn't go by day that I don't receive an e-mail from people with names like Dr. Fortunate Goodpence or Mrs. Pius Motubo soliciting my aid in recovering millions from banks in Nigeria, if only I just sent a little money to get started. Which means I greet each morning with the same thought: who still falls for this crap?
Modern advance-fee scams, commonly called 419 scams after the number of the Nigerian Criminal Code, have been around for over twenty-five years, but exploded with the growth of the internet. So you'd think we'd all be wise to them, yet the latest statistics available show that worldwide losses to these kind of scams topped $4.3 billion in 2007 - and those were just the ones reported. Because, let's face it, losing money due to greed and a sense of colonial superiority to Africans is super embarrassing.
Frugal consumers push companies to embrace new age of thrift
David Schepp
Nov 11th 2009 at 2:00PM
Filed under: Bargains, Budgets, Debt, Food, Home, Saving Money, Shopping, Career, Recession, Recession Diaries, Economizer
Consumers are notoriously fickle in their allegiances and interests -- remember those food-assembly kitchens that were all the rage a few years ago? But the recession has sobered buying habits, and increasingly, more companies are viewing Americans' recent conversion to thrift as a long-term trend, not simply flash-in-the-pan fascination. In an attempt to cash-in on this new sensibility, businesses are keen on promoting their products as a good deal. That's why, for example, Clorox Co. isn't raising prices on its improved trash can liners and Campbell Soup Co. has reduced the promotional price of its V8 brand vegetable juice by 17%, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
The Man in the Van travels the Great Recession's long, long road, returns rich with stories
Lou Carlozo
Nov 9th 2009 at 3:30PM
Filed under: Recession Diaries
As he nears the end of the line for his Man in a Van Project, Aaron Heideman of Grants Pass, Ore. has only begun to process the stories he gleaned from his cross-country recession odyssey. After losing jobs himself due to the sour economy-not once, but twice-the 29-year-old set out to chronicle the tales of people whose lives have been affected by the Great Recession. From Florida to California and many points in between, people scrawled their stories onto a large roll of Tyvek paper. Some even scrawled notes and missives on the van itself, turning it into a rolling chronicle of continued economic woe, and the hope that survives amidst it.
In an exclusive interview with WalletPop, Heideman discussed the project, what it's meant to him and what comes next for a young man who, for now, still lives in his orange Dodge van, hoping to land permanent employment soon.
In an exclusive interview with WalletPop, Heideman discussed the project, what it's meant to him and what comes next for a young man who, for now, still lives in his orange Dodge van, hoping to land permanent employment soon.
Recession tales: Entrepreneurs shoot up when economy dives
Madhusmita Bora
Nov 6th 2009 at 3:00PM
Filed under: Make Money Fast, Recession, Recession Diaries, Special Reports
All your life you wanted to do something outlandish for a living. But that cushy corporate gig and the frills attached to it stopped you from turning your passion into a profession.Enter recession, pink slips and voila your ticket to be your own boss.
Unemployed folks are taking the leap of faith and investing their time, energy and resources into entrepreneurial ventures. Yes, believe it or not, new entrepreneurs are on the upswing in this downward spiraling economy. While some took that layoff as an excuse, many are jump starting new ventures out of necessity.
Last year, the hemorrhaging economy cost 2.6 -million jobs, the highest tally in more than six decades. The bloodletting hasn't stopped yet. But laid off employees are moving on. They are providing that silver lining to an otherwise gloomy environment.
How not to argue with your spouse about money - opera style
Marc Acito
Nov 3rd 2009 at 12:00PM
Filed under: Budgets, Career, Relationships, Recession Diaries
I recently learned how to avoid arguing about money with my spouse from an unlikely source: composer Phillip Glass. Not Glass himself - I'm hip, but I'm not that hip. No, I got marriage and money advice from Glass's setting of the classic Jean Cocteau film Orphée, which is having its West Coast premiere at Portland Opera this week. Starring me.
Okay, not starring me. But in this setting of the Greek myth, Orpheus travels through a mirror to the Underworld to rescue his wife, where he finds a glass maker who likes his job so much he can't stop working, even though he's dead. That's me. If you buy the CD that's being made, you'll hear me sing the words "glass maker" in French a whopping three times. But what the role lacks in actual length it makes up for in symbolic depth, so much so that Cocteau himself played it when he first wrote the piece as a play.
Okay, not starring me. But in this setting of the Greek myth, Orpheus travels through a mirror to the Underworld to rescue his wife, where he finds a glass maker who likes his job so much he can't stop working, even though he's dead. That's me. If you buy the CD that's being made, you'll hear me sing the words "glass maker" in French a whopping three times. But what the role lacks in actual length it makes up for in symbolic depth, so much so that Cocteau himself played it when he first wrote the piece as a play.
