Bernanke Sees No Rush to Boost Rates

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sent a fresh signal Thursday that he’s in no rush to reverse course and start boosting interest rates.

Pharmaceutical Sales to Rise In 2010

The global pharmaceutical market is set to grow between 4 percent and 6 percent next year, exceeding $825 billion, according to market intelligence and research company IMS Health. While the forecast still shows growth at a historically low level, it’s quite a change from the group’s more gloomy April predictions.

The NHL Should Show Games Free Online

A study done for the National Hockey League by Experian Consumer Research found that of all the major team sports leagues, NHL fans are younger, more tech-savvy and shop online more than fans of other leagues. Therefore, Kevin Maney of DailyFinance says, as strategy to mass-market the sport, the NHL should put all games online for free, supported by ads.

The Credit Crunch, Vol. 1: Five Useful Links

• “Prepaid, but Not Prepared for Debit Card Fees”: The New York Times

• “Credit Cardholder’s Bill Of Rights: Sooner Would Be Better”: The Wall Street Journal
• “Investigating Old or Inaccurate Addresses on Your Credit Report and Why You Should”: MasterYourCard.com
• “How to Improve Your Credit Score When Paying Down Debt”: NoDebtPlan.net
• “Gen Y Faces Credit Hurdles”: The Sydney Morning Herald

The Credit Crunch, Vol. 1: Five Useful Links

• “Prepaid, but Not Prepared for Debit Card Fees”: The New York Times

• “Credit Cardholder’s Bill Of Rights: Sooner Would Be Better”: The Wall Street Journal
• “Investigating Old or Inaccurate Addresses on Your Credit Report and Why You Should”: MasterYourCard.com
• “How to Improve Your Credit Score When Paying Down Debt”: NoDebtPlan.net
• “Gen Y Faces Credit Hurdles”: The Sydney Morning Herald

Help your child manage credit

In recent years college students could get credit cards almost as easily as they could score beer. Some 84% of undergrads have at least one card, a Sallie Mae study found, and half carry four or more.

Avoiding Holiday Debt Starts Now

While you’d be better off if you started saving in March, Spend On Life has pulled together 10 ways to avoid Christmas credit card debt, which it estimates will net you $750 toward Christmas gifts in the next two-and-months.

What $5 Can Get You

Welcome to Five Super Savings brought to you by Deal Seeking Mom. Each week I bring you the best grocery and health and beauty bargains around town.

Swine Flu: Diagnose Yourself Online

In an effort to cut down on the number of people running to their doctor or emergency room, panicked that they have the swine flu, Microsoft Corp. and Emory University have come up with an interactive Web site to help with a diagnosis. Here’s how it works.

Born in a Small Town

My wife just returned from a long weekend touring eastern Oregon with two of her co-workers. They drove from small town to small town, shopping for antiques and visiting museums.

On Saturday — with an early October snow falling outside — Kris and her friends stopped to eat lunch at La Laguna in the small town of Joseph (population 1054). As part of the worst job I ever had, I spent several weeks selling insurance door-to-door in Joseph, so I know the locals are friendly. Such was the case at La Laguna. Kris’s party struck up a conversation with their waiter.

He told them that he was raised in Joseph. When he was a young man, he moved to Portland; the big city seemed exciting. He had a good time, and is glad to have had the experience, but after a few years he moved back to small-town life in Joseph.

“Life is simpler here,” he said. “And it’s less expensive. When I lived in Portland, I couldn’t save anything; there was always something to spend my money on. There just aren’t as many temptations here.”

He also said he loves his restaurant job: He gets to talk to people, to sing and dance and smile. In fact, he was singing along to the mariachi tunes from the sound system while he served lunch to Kris and Celeste and Rhonda.

I love this story.

This waiter seems to be very in tune with his own needs and limits. He recognized that living in Portland was harmful to his financial health, so he did something to change it. This is a valuable skill to have. When I was struggling to get out of debt, I had to force myself to stop going into book stores and comic shops. I intentionally avoided temptation. This didn’t cut all of my spending, but it curbed a lot of it.

The waiter has also recognized that you don’t need a high-powered career to be happy. On Monday’s episode of The Personal Finance Hour, I mentioned that one of the best jobs I ever had was busing tables at a Holiday Inn. It may seem crazy, but I found that job fulfilling. I was good at it, had great co-workers, and never took my job home with me. Neal from Wealth Pilgrim called to share that the best job he ever had was moving irrigation pipe, and for essentially the same reasons.

In order to achieve financial success — or any kind of success, really — it’s vital that you know yourself. You need to look inside to learn who you really are and what you really want. I know this sounds new-agey and touchy-feely, but it’s true. You can never have enough money and you can never be happy until you know precisely what that means for you.

Bonus! Kris knows that I’m passionate about supporting locally-owned businesses. Every time a national chain knocks off another mom-and-pop operation, my blood gets closer to the boiling point. At an antique store in Baker City, she snapped this photo of a great “shop local” flyer:

If you want to read all of the propaganda (propaganda I support, in this case), click the image to view a larger version.

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Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly:

• links for 2007-01-06
• How One Father Taught His Son About Money
• The Oldest Retirement Advice in the World
• Frugality in Practice: Cheap Neighborhood Entertainment
• Economic Mobility and The American Dream

8 Sneaky Restaurant Ploys

As business has continued to drag at many restaurants, some have tried to trim the fat by cutting costs. Here are some of their sneaky strategies.

Frank Warns Banks About Hiking Rates

Rep. Barney Frank, the tough-talking liberal ushering through a major rewrite of rules governing Wall Street, sounded a warning shot on Thursday to big banks: Start playing nice or Congress will make your life even more difficult.

5 things never to tell your insurer

They may seem harmless, even well-meaning, but insurance companies see them as red flags, and they could hurt your chances of collecting on a claim.

5 things never to tell your insurer

They may seem harmless, even well-meaning, but insurance companies see them as red flags and they could hurt your chances of collecting on a claim.