Spencer's Blog

The following link is a guest post I had on Frugal Upstate by Jenn Fowler. Jenn writes about being creatively, sensible with money decisions. As a former Army officer, she has a take no prisoners approach to her new career as a stay at home mom of two and writer in Upstate New York.  The post sho...

Dana Dratch  at Bankrate.com has written an article on the changes on federally insured  reverse mortgages. They have increased the lending amounts and have capped the origination fees lower. The reverse mortgage has a place in one's retirement planning, especially if it is not a house to pass on...

The linked article from the Wall Street Journal shows why we have this mess. The thing I cannot figure is why the investors in the original mortgage sale didn't do their due diligence when they purchased this loan from the originator. This should be a case of fraudulant conveyance. Read the artic...

Today in MIT's Technology Review there was an article about the President Elect Obama's social networking strategy. Whether he was your candidate or not, the article gives some good ideas on how to tap and motivate a social network. You can find the article at the link below at MIT Tech Review si...

The Harvard University Endowment made investing in timberland mainstream when they annouced that returns of 15% annual were possible in this asset class. Timber is now an institutional asset class. In my course of reading, I came upon a good tax guide for Timber. Many of my clients own timber and...

As we near the election day, we all need to read the fine print of the candidates. McCain isn't a great orator, he is a fighter pilot. Obama has the years of crafting a statement for a jury's benefit. So when listening to them Obama comes off great, while McCain doesn't get his point across  well...

This is a great marketing idea. everybody should try it some time. by the way Google Alerts is a great way to keep tract of a person or a company . Oh  - I almost forgot: Hey Seth Godin!!!! Come over and review Margaret Rome's new book"Hi folks. My good friend and fellow ActiveRainer, Margaret Ro...

On November 1st, 2008 will be the 13th edition of the King's Tree Trials. Its held at the McCutchen Training Center in the Cedar Swamp community outside of Kingstree, SC. This event has grown annually to about 3500. bring your tailgate supplies and join us.  Individual tickets are $15 with infiel...

Last week Warren Buffett was on Charlie Rose giving his opinion on the ill-named bailout. This video is available at charlierose.com. The transcript of this conversation is available at cnbc.com. For anyone who doesn't understand why we need the bailout and how we got here, should watch and learn...

Brian Wesbury of First Trust Portfolios, LP is one of my favorite economists. No matter how bad the situation looks, he finds the profitable way to go forward. today in the Wall Street Journal he had an op-ed piece on how to heal the current credit turmoil -- its worth a read. Go to my other web-...