Charles Hugh Smith has written and spoken on many occasions that a college degree functions primarily as a signalling device. That is, it doesn’t actually prepare the graduate for a job, but rather signals that he or she is worthy of consideration for employment. A college degree serves mainly as … Continue Reading

If you are a small enterprise, getting a small business loan can be a sort of a hurdle. That's mainly because of the tight standards that are set by banks. Nonetheless, getting additional financing from outside sources is often inevitable and necessary. It's how you start a business or make it grow … Continue Reading

After the second of our two adult children moved out early last month, my wife and I committed to shifting to more healthy eating. Since it’s just the two of us now, we have much greater control over what we eat. On our last grocery shopping trip last week, we fully implemented the new strategy. W… Continue Reading

When it comes to jobs, there’s a somewhat standardized version of how they should work. It’s something like full-time hours (35 to 40 hours per week), a guaranteed salary and a full line of benefits. When it comes to job hunting, this is the typical arrangement people look for. Unfortunately –… Continue Reading

This article is a reflection on Fourth of July, and specifically about what’s right about America as we celebrate national independence. But the ideas for it actually began taking shape this past Memorial Day weekend. And perhaps that’s fitting as well. It was the Sunday just before Memorial … Continue Reading

A while ago, we took a look at why you may be better off renting a home instead of buying one. To recap, some of the key advantages are: Greater geographic mobility to follow a job. No trapped capital. Owning isn’t as cheap as it used to be. Tax reforms have removed the tax b… Continue Reading

How many times have we heard that phrase, "Work hard and you’ll get ahead in life!" Is it true? Does working hard really get you ahead? I ask that question because the more I read and the more I talk with other people, I doubt if there's a definitive answer. Certainly when we were younger and in s… Continue Reading

In what seems like a blink of an eye, 20 turns into 30, and then 40 lurks around the corner. It’s at that time that people begin to take things in life a little more seriously, including retirement. Although you still have two decades to put money away, the time to start taking action is now. Make… Continue Reading

This is a difficult topic to take on in the current economy. At least right now, a recession seems unlikely, and some are saying impossible. But the current economic expansion – anemic that it is – is now about 10 years old. That makes it the longest expansion on record. As the saying goes, what… Continue Reading

In How Starting Your Own Business Helps You and the Economy we discussed the benefits of self-employment both to you as an individual, and to the overall economy in general. Self-employment not only liberates people from their corporate cubicles, but it also increases the number of available jobs, a… Continue Reading