Could Identity Thieves Be Any Dumber?
Written by Mrs. FLS
I was checking my email tonight and in my inbox I had email purportedly from Paypal.com. The subject line was: User Agreement Violation (ID PP133320) . Since it had not been filtered to my junk mail I thought it might be the real deal. When I opened it, it said that someone from my IP address had tried to change my password 3 times, and thus my account was blocked. I was then instructed to log into my paypal account to unblock it. For a second I thought it was real until I noticed that is said “We apologise for the inconvinience.” The 2 spelling errors had me smelling a scam. And when I clicked on the link to log into my paypal account the website it took me to was not paypal.com but: http://hvttp-www-paypai.com/us/cgi-bin/webscrcmd_profile_credit_card.php
Clearly not the real deal. The page told me to put in my credit card number and pin number and such to unlock my account. Pretty clever of them no? But then again I noticed spelling mistakes…it said that while my account was blocked I couldn’t ” transfer funds electronycaly.” Electronycaly???
What I don’t understand it how the scammers could put so much work into creating a fake website that looks almost identical to paypal (they did a great job with graphics and colors, and reassuring small print, very convincing) and then not bother to do spell check! How dumb can you get!
I have seen this scenario before, and spelling errors can be a great way to detect a fraudalent email. Also check the website they link you to. It is another dead give away.
Mrs. FLS | 01 Sep 07 | Should Professional Students Use Welfare?
Written by Brett McKay
My wife and I are fortunate enough to have our own health insurance. We’ve been paying about $250 a month for health and dental insurance for the both of us since we’ve been married. We’re thinking about adding a little Frugal Law Student to our family soon, so this past week we added maternity insurance for my wife and our health insurance went up another $100. So we’re now paying $350 a month on insurance. Boo. However, with my new job at Westlaw and the extra money I’ve been taking in with my blog projects, we’ll be able to afford it.
My wife and I have seriously looked into using state welfare in order to cover the cost of having a kid. It blows my mind what the cost of child bearing is. You can easily rack up a bill of over $10,000 for the birth of one child. Yikes! With our maternity insurance, it should cover most of the cost. However, we were reluctant to go the welfare route because of the emotional charge that goes along with being a married professional student on welfare. Here are some common things we hear about it.
Programs like WIC and Medical Assistance were not designed for graduate students who will be making a decent living in a few years. They are for the truly poor.
These programs are only for people who have hard times because of unforeseen circumstances. One should not plan on using them.
People have no business having children if they can’t afford to bear the cost of bearing and raising that child themselves.
As you can see, the decision to take government assistance is not only an economic one, but also a moral one for many people. But should it be a moral decision?
Take the first common thought about graduate students using welfare: Programs like WIC and Medical Assistance were not designed for graduate students who will be making a decent living in a few years. They are for the truly poor.
This thought carries the assumption that welfare programs were designed only for people who we feel deserve them. Many people feel soon-to-be-lawyers/doctors/MBA grads who will be making tons of money after they graduate don’t deserve welfare. The problem with this thought is that welfare programs are designed for people that qualify for them. If the government wanted to exclude people with certain circumstances, it could do so. It could exclude married people seeking advanced degrees, but it doesn’t. If you match the criteria, the program is designed for you. This thought also carries the assumption that all students seeking advanced degrees will be wealthy when done with school. As I’ve written before, that’s not necessarily the case.
I find it odd that many people who condemn married students using welfare to subsidize the cost of having children don’t have a problem with the government subsidizing their college education. We can make the same arguments about taking student loans that people make about taking on government assistance for child bearing. People have no business going to college unless they can pay the costs for it themselves.
Some may respond, “But an educated person is an asset to society.” So are children. Especially children who are highly likely to pay a lot of taxes over their lifetime, such as children of graduate and professional students.
But government investment in my education was just smart economics. So is government investment in the bearing of children and their subsequent health care and nutrition. More children mean more potential tax payers. Our current tax model in a large part depends on new tax payers being born each day.
In the end, I don’t have a problem with professional students taking on welfare in order to raise a family. To me, it’s an investment that we as a society make into individuals who are likely to contribute more much more to our economy in the long run. The reason Kate and I decided to pay for our own insurance is that we’re on the edge of missing the qualifying monthly income requirement. To be on the safe side, I’m planning on our income to continue increasing. I don’t want to be in a position where we don’t have any insurance at all.
What are your thoughts? Should professional students use welfare? Drop a line in the comment box.
Personal Finance Books That Inspire Personal Finance Bloggers
Written by Brett McKay
What personal finance books most inspire our favorite personal finance bloggers? I set out to answer that question in today’s post. I wrote several of the biggest personal finance bloggers in the blogosphere and asked them which personal finance books inspired them the most to turn their life around financially and why that book inspired them the most. Here are their responses.
Leo Babauta, Zen Habits
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
“The book came at a time when I was re-examining the values in my life, and helped me realize that to be “successful” doesn’t necessarily mean having a lot of money and a lot of stuff, as I am trading away my life
(the time I spend working for that money) in return. It helped me realize that my happiness and how I use the few years I am given here on earth are more important than the stuff I can buy with money. And
so it taught me the true value of money, and the time I spend to earn it. That alone has taught me that frugality is more than just sticking to a budget. ”
AgentSully, Life Learning Today
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Little Book Big Profits)
This book gives you all the proof in the world that simple investing is best. What a relief to know that you’re not missing out on great returns because you’re using mutual funds.
For busy people this is great. I used to be a stock broker for over 10 years and so I know that it is difficult and time consuming to invest in individual stocks. I recommend using mutual funds and this books backs that up.
Trent Hamm, The Simple Dollar
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
I used to lay awake at night worrying about money. Reading this book didn’t automatically end that, but it showed me that my idea of the money I had available and the money I was making was completely wrong. Once I made that adjustment, suddenly it was as if a cold grip released itself from me.
Even more, I started believing that my life controlled my money. I began to see my life without the weight of debt and the need to chase a paycheck because I actually understood the path to get there. Without this revelation, I would never have started The Simple Dollar and I would have never had the courage to start really chasing my dream of becoming a writer. If that’s not a life changer, I don’t know what is.
Silicon Valley Blogger, The Digerati Life
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
This book is one of those classics that didn’t become a classic till after I’ve owned it a while… I purchased a first edition copy of this book and was an “early adapter” of the principles shared in it. I loved how it explained the tradeoffs between time, energy and money and how it appealed to both my right and left brains. It is primarily a behavioral finance book but also one that gives you a thorough analysis (based on some simple calculations) of how much spending and consuming can really cost you. It changed how I viewed spending and it really caused me to change my shopping habits. I owe my first decade’s worth of savings to this book.
Julie Rains, Wise Bread
Gone with the Wind
“Gone with the Wind,” especially when Scarlett says “As God as my witness, I’ll never be hungry again.” Scarlett O’Hara is not necessarily my hero but survives hardship and is driven to become an astute businesswoman by her difficulties. I was a business/finance major in college and moved away from home a few months after graduation so between the academic training and very practical experiences of being broke and then finally having some money several years later, I learned about PF.
Linsey Knerl, Wise Bread
Pushing the Envelope All the Way to the Top
It’s probably cliché, but I got alot from “Pushing The Envelope” by Harvey Mackay. It got me through a lot of the boredom that business can bring, and is still a good read if I find myself needing a little motivation. It also gives those of us who aren’t on the “get rich quick” boat some sense of worth.
Paul Michael, Wise Bread
Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money–That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
Written in a way that is easy to understand, it has humor and gives out some great advice. Not all of it is completely accurate, I’ve talked to a few PF gurus that say he over-simplifies things. But generally, it made me think hard about my future and my finances. A great read.
Ben, Money Smart Life
The Millionaire Next Door
I think the first personal finance book I read that really got me excited about the power of frugal habits combined with long term savings was the Millionaire Next Door. I like to think our family follows the basics of living frugally and saving/investing money as described in the book.
Smart Couples Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner
I also enjoyed Smart Couples Finish Rich. Not so much because of its unique content but because it’s a personal finance book I could get my wife to read. Obviously having both partners in a marriage on the same page is necessary for successful financial planning and execution.
One last comment on personal finance books; it’s not enough to just read them, you have to put the practices you learn about into place to make a difference. It’s easy to get pumped up about saving or making money after reading one of these books, it’s another to get out there and make it happen. I’d say you’re much better off just reading one or two books about money then taking the time to make changes in your life than it is to stay up on the latest personal finance best seller. If you’re interested in reading about how we spend our time practicing smart personal finance you can subscribe for daily money updates in your feed reader or by email.
Thanks to all the participants for your awesome responses! Make sure to go buy these bloggers sites to poke around and subsribe to their feed so you can get even more amazing personal finance info. If you’re a personal finance blogger and would like to contribute your most inspiring personal finance book, drop me a line in my contact form. If I get enough, I can create another post.
Carnival of Personal Finance #112: Best Week Ever Edition
Written by Brett McKay
It’s the second week of August 2007: The Best Week Ever!
It’s everything you love, everything you missed, and everything you need to see again! The Best Week Ever!
Spent all week chastising yourself for paying $1.50 for bottled tap water? (That’s right. We’re talking about you Aquafina drinkers.) Here’s what you missed money burners and earth polluters. One of these bloggers is having the best week ever!
Indebted 2 You has discovered a way to lose that bloated feeling you experience when you’re at the gas pump.
If You Want It… looks at the real cost of having a sexy new car.
My Money and My Life has discovered an ingenious way to get rich with cars.
BasenjiMom discusses 10 Money Traps to Avoid.
Dough Roller busts out the wisdom he gained from time in 10 Things I Know At 40 That I Wish I Knew At 20.
The Amateurist Financial Journey brings us an awesome break down of the hows and whats of mutual funds and index funds. This is a great place to start if you’re just beginning to look at investing.
In honor of the Simpsons Movie, Don’t Mess With Taxes presents 6 Homer Simpson “Doh’s!” of personal finance.
My Wealth Builder asks the question: “How Will I Know I Have Saved Enough?” and then gives us a break down on how they think they can know.
Do you know what a “dosh” is? How about “wonga”? If you don’t, check out Plonkee’s British money slang dictionary. Fun stuff!
I’ve Paid For This Twice Already… takes a look at their comfort level with making money online. I’ve done everything on his list from using blog ads to doing online surveys.
Chief Family Officer explains why they keep their emergency fund in a low interest bank. As a guy who is moving completely to online high interest banks, this post caused me to reevaluate my plan.
Growing Money takes a look down personal finance memory lane to the income they made at old summer jobs. It would be interesting to see how much I made at my high school summer jobs. It’s probably more than I’m making as a full time law student. That’s sad.
Mortgage Blog presents 5 tips for students leaving college. These are great bits of advice. I particularly like tip #4: Keep finances in perspective.
Frugal Underground has made their 2 week meal plan form available free for dowloand. One of the best ways to cut down on food costs is planning.
APR? APY? What’s the difference? The Finance Buff argues that it doesn’t matter.
Consumerism Commentary makes a case not to trust too much in statistics when it comes to making financial decisions. Statistics can be manipulated easily. The Commentary gives examples of this happening in the financial world.
Hustler Money Blog gives advice on how to re-build a bad credit score.
Finance is Personal presents Five Money Topics to Discuss With Your Future Spouse Before You Get Married. They say that the two things that cause divorce are money and sex. Take some preventive measures by having these discussions with your future spouse.
Moolanomy (that’s fun to say!) presents 35 Common Sense Rules For Investing. Rule 23 is timely: Don’t sell into a panic.
Four Pillars takes another look at the standard “Pay yourself first” advice that we often read about and concludes that for some, it might not be a great idea. See why.
Married and Broke looks at the SWOT method of decision making in their personal finance life. Don’t know what SWOT stands for? Check this post out for a really neat decision hack.
Free Money Finance suggests taking professional classes to boost your career, which in turn will boost your income.
InsureBlog takes a look at a family that was edited out of Michael Moore’s new film “Sicko.” This family’s situation is a sad case of our health care system failing, but it is a warning to us all to look at our own insurance policies more closely.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door reveals how she became a millionaire working in her pajamas. My dream is to be a Millionaire Daddy Next Door working in my PJ’s. This post has got me thinking about how I can make that happen.
Journey 2 Retirement takes a look at life insurance on kids. Children don’t make money, so why take out a policy for them? Here’s an interesting argument for making this step.
Despite the downturn in the stock market, Advanced Personal Finance argues that no, it’s not a buying time.
Make Your Nut presents part two of the complete newbie’s guide to buying a house.
Ever wonder how banks look at you? Check out The Financial Blogger’s post on how banks see you as a customer.
Your First Million Dollars talks about calculating how long you need to achieve financial freedom. I think everyone’s goal is to one day get to the point where their investments pay for living expenses. See how long it will take you after reading this post.
Finding Financial Peace reviews The Four Laws of Debt Free Prosperity. I’ve never heard of this book before and I’ve read a lot of personal finance books. It looks like a good read.
Home Finance Freedom looks at how Homeowner Profits Ignore Huge Costs. This is part 4 in a series of Housing Myths. Make sure to read the other posts in the series.
Family Finance Blog asks “How Frugal Should You Be When Hosting Guests?” This is an interesting read. It seems like whenever we have guests over, my wife and I splurge. Should we be doing this? Read this post to find out.
Everyday Finance discusses the easiest tax free $1,000 they make every year.
Fiveberries in
Online Savings Blog presents a recent survey that shows that online banking is the leading internet activity that makes your life easier.
Grad Money Matters continues their great series, “Campaign Against Financial Myths,” with the seventh installment: Debt.
Financial Dominance presents 6 ways to increase your kids’ financial intelligence.
My Two Dollars breaks down the benefits they cashed in from reward cards. Use your credit card, get airplane miles? Score indeed.
Five Cent Nickel gives us the run down on the Three Best 529 College Savings Plans. If you have little ones, it’s never to early to start saving for their education. Make sure you get the best return by following FCN’s advice.
The Digerati Life asks “How Are You Building Your Net Worth?” They go on to look at their own wealth building strategies. Great post to get you thinking about how you can improve your own net worth.
FIRE Finance presents key points to remember about making a will. I know a lot of us don’t like thinking about death, but if you want to make sure your loved ones are taken care of, then get one.
The Simple Dollar presents A Guide To Setting and Reaching a Net Worth Goal. This post was based off of the “crossover” point as explained in “Your Money or Your Life.”
Money and Such talks about the allure of Lifestyle Funds. If you’ve never heard of a Lifestyle Fund, this post is a good primer.
Ask Mr. Credit Card gives us a list of mandatory personal finance books to read. I haven’t read several of the books on the list. I’m looking forward to checking them out at my library.
Legal Andrew explains how to maximize your cash when selling textbooks online.
Art Dinkin looks at Newton’s First Law of Personal Finance. This is a clever take on Newtonian physics applied to personal finance.
Mighty Bargain Hunter shows us how to get free gift cards without too much effort. I’ve done what MBH has suggested and have received free gift cards to Chili’s and
Money Ning suggests setting boundaries for yourself to guide yourself to wealth.
Brip Blap says that credit cards don’t cause debt, people do. I agree 100%. See why Brip Blap thinks so.
Smart Money Daily analyzes Adjustable Rate Mortgages In the Post Boom Era. We’ve all been hearing about the real estate bust, will adjustable rate mortgages go bust along with it?
Saving With Me explains how the student loan industry became big business. As a student, I found this post very fascinating. The private student loan industry needs to take a sleep with the fishes.
Stock Trading To Go outlines 7 strategies for online investing. As a newb to investing, this post was informative.
The Sun’s Financial Diary analyzes whether they should get the VISVX Mutual Fund if they already have a VTMSX. If you don’t know what those acronyms mean, read the post.
Money Smart Life asks “Why do people ignore easy money?” Good question. I’m guilty of ignoring some of the easy money Money Smart Life mentioned in their post.
No Credit Needed takes a shocking look back at store-brand credit cards. When the clerk at the Gap offers you a 10% discount for signing up for a store credit card, just say no.
The Happy Rock explains how hypermilling can save you $466 a year or more. This was the first time I’ve heard of hypermilling. To find out more about it, read this post.
One Frugal Girl discusses whether being in debt is an integrity problem. It’s an interesting post that got me thinking about the causes of most people’s money problems.
My Retirement Blog presents 7 retirement tax haven states. I’m not anywhere near retirement, but for those of you who are, this is an informative read.
Home Insurance Guide suggests understanding your claims process before you need it. This is really good advice. Knowing what to do when accidents happen will definitely keep stress levels down.
Money and Values presents part 2 in the series “Socially Conscious Gas Guide.” This post focuses on how oil companies treat their workers.
Blueprint For Financial Prosperity presents one sentence summaries for 10 prominent personal finance books. This was awesome. If you want to know if you would like a particular personal finance book fast, check this post out.
Living Almost Large tries to figure out why they’re frugal. Is it genetic? Due to circumstance?
Poorer Than You gives us a college freshman checklist for getting your finances in order during the first year of school. This is great advice for any university student, not just freshmen.
Financial Reference takes a look at the surprises their recent budgeting revealed.
The Money Well asks “How Much Can We Borrow?” This post is a look at the borrower’s situation in the post market hiccup we’ve seen the past few weeks.
We’re In Debt explains how to avoid credit card fees. Solid advice from an always solid personal finance blog.
Queercents discusses the economics of the Burning Man Festival. The Burning Man Festival started out as a cool counter-culture art festival that required little or no money. Queercents looks at the rising costs of attending
These posts were all great submissions. But one blog topped them all by presenting an awesomely creative photo personal finance confessions essay. That’s why Saving Advice is having the best week ever! It’s like Post Secret for personal finance bloggers!
Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to subscribe to my feed before you leave. I also want to to thank my wonderful wife for helping me with putting together this carnival. I couldn’t have done it without her.
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Is Your Personal Finance Physique Out Of Balance?
Written by Brett McKay
When I was an undergrad at OU, my wife and I would use the school’s awesome student health center to work out. Besides working out, the school’s gym was a great place to people watch. It was a proverbial meat market. The girls would get dolled up with make-up and wear the most revealing gym clothes as possible, while the dudes would were tank tops to show off their buff bods.
Another thing my wife and I noticed was that many of the dudes had the weirdest looking physiques. These testosterone filled young men would spend all their time working out their upper body, but no time with their lower body. As a result they had bulking torsos, but little scrawny chicken legs. Why did these guys just focus on their upper body? Well, the upper body seems to get all the press. When was the last time you heard E! News go on about how some guy has an amazing quadricep? That’s right. Never. It’s always about the pecs and the arms, so American males focus on working these muscles to the neglect of their lower body. What they don’t know is that not only does it look ridiculous, but they’re setting themselves up for injuries.
These misshaped individuals got me thinking about personal finance. How many of us have an imbalanced personal finance physique? Do we focus on one aspect of personal finance to the neglect of others? For example, one could focus all their time and money to investing in the stock market, but totally neglect living a frugal life. And vice-a-versa.
Just as having an imbalanced physical physique can set you up for physical injury, an imbalanced personal finance physique can set you up for a personal finance injury. Take our example of the person who invests in the stock market while neglecting to cut expenses. What happens when the market takes a tumble? Does this person have an emergency savings account developed from living a frugal life? Would they be able to adjust to the decrease in income from dividends? What about the person who only lives frugally, but doesn’t invest? What are they going to do when they retire and they no longer have a job? Living frugally doesn’t do any good unless you have money to use.
Many Americans have imbalance personal finance physiques for the same reasons college males have huge torsos and small legs. Instead of listening to sound financial principals, many Americans get their financial advice from slick TV shows and magazines. While these can be helpful resources, often the media just presents personal finance fluff. They tend to focus on the get rich quick with little or no sacrifice route. The reality is that a blanced and healthy personal finance life requires work, dedication, and discipline. Just like a well balanced physical physique.
So, take a look in your personal finance mirror. If your personal finance physique looks a little top heavy, bust out some frugal (or saving, or investing) squats to even things out.
Submit Your Posts To The Carnival of Personal Finance #112
Written by Brett McKay
I’ll be hosting next week’s Carnival of Personal Finance (Monday, August 6th) here at The Frugal Law Student.
Please submit any articles related to personal finance to http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_162.html by 9PM Central on Sunday, August 5th. The Carnival of Personal Finance covers a wide spectrum of personal finance related topics. Articles can be about investing, saving, real estate, you name it.
Also, if you’re not already a subscriber to The Frugal Law Student, please subscribe in one (or both) of the following ways:
1) RSS Readers subscribe to http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheFrugalLawStudent
2) Email Newsletter (you can unsubscribe easily, and you only get emailed if I write a post. The emails go out once per day with all posts rolled up into a single email for that day around 11am EST). Subscribe to emails here
I’m looking forward to reading your submission!
About The Frugal Law Student
The Frugal Law Student is for anyone trying to mitigate their crippling debt. Me? I'm trying to mitigate the tens of thousands of dollars I've taken on in student loans. Join me on my quest to avoid taking on more debt, paying off some of the debt I have, and trying to survive law school while doing it. Read more about The Frugal Law Student, check out some of the best articles, or become a subscriber via RSS feed or via email
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