Personal Finance

Hi everyone! I was wondering if you guys could help explain what's going on with the stock market. I need help clarifying. I don't really understand what's going on, other than we are in bad shape and all that. I constantly check cnn.com everyday to keep myself updated with what's going on. 

Right now on cnn.com the huge breaking news story is: Bailout bill fails; Dow plunges. The description underneath the title reads: The House of Representatives today rejected a $700 billion plan to bail
out the U.S. financial system, putting a roadblock in front of the
largest government intervention in the markets since the Great
Depression. The next steps were not clear, but supporters were
scrambling to salvage the package. The Dow was down more than 600
points after the voting ended.

Seeing the Great Depression referenced in the description makes me worry. Are we headed down that path? How bad are we? What can we do to get out? Enlighten me, please! 

Posted by Vicki

I heard about an article in October's issue of  NASCAR Illustrated that I was very interested in reading. So I decided, why not just subscribe to the Magazine. I did in Mid-October.

Here is where it gets good.

When I called to pay my bill I was told my first issue will be the December issue. The article I wanted to read is in the October issue. I called the Magazine last week to see if I could get a back issue. I was transferred to that department and left a message.

Now the impatience comes in to play. I decided to try eBay; I figured I would have to pay either way for the October issue. I found it on eBay. My cost $8.00. Yes, I will be able to read the article.

Today, I received my return phone call from the magazine and since the worker was out sick for a week, he said he will ship me out the October issue for Free and apologized for not getting back to me quicker.

Lesson, I spend $24.00 to subscribe plus another $8.00 to get the issue I really wanted. I spent a grand total of $32.00 to read an article. I must be nuts!

It will not be a complete misuse of money because I will enjoy the subscription.

However, a good lesson in patience in a time where we all want everything right now or yesterday.

Today, I am waiting for the magazine to arrive from the eBay seller and now the Magazine itself. When will it get here? It should have been here yesterday! Oh oops. Be patient.

Posted by Norm

The short answer, from a recent article I read, is "hard work". I guess it's true what Mom used to say "practice makes perfect". This article is actually fairly uplifting because it implies that we can all be really good (or great) at something - if we work hard and stick at it long enough. Our physical and mental limitations (size, height, IQ) only reduce the areas in which we can achieve greatness, but not as much as we might think.

Here's the link if you're interested:

http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/great_1.html

Posted by Dave