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 Before the web, Lavalle had to fly to courthouses for research. Jennifer Barry: It’s very disturbing, because this unit of Bear Stearns was pushing you around and you could actually fight back. Did you say they spent $2.5 million fighting your family?
Nye Lavalle: Over $2.5 million, and the month before trial our law firm withdrew and we got a default judgment against us. It turned out our law firm was representing Bear Stearns and hadn’t informed us of the relationship and banking interests. And we had paid them $75,000 and then capped their fees, and they racked up a $750,000 bill themselves.
JB: Wow. So why do you think that Bear Stearns spent that much money fighting over a property not worth nearly that much? Continue reading A House of Cards, Part 2
Are you  worried about natural disasters, crime or terrorism? Neil Strauss was. He tried to prepare for everything, but ended up finding himself.
Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life is an informative, funny, and sometimes disturbing memoir. It details the transformation of the author, Neil Strauss, a music critic and writer who admittedly has few practical skills at the beginning of the book. Strauss’ family lived in a high rise apartment building, so he never learned about nature or how to fix things. By the end of the book, he’s able to care for both himself and loved ones in areas ranging from wilderness survival to hand to hand combat.
The book immediately draws you in with Strauss’ moral dilemma of whether to slaughter a goat in his quest for survival skills. Emergency then bounces back and forth in time, from location to location, and from factual narrative to analysis. This stylistic choice holds the reader’s attention, but is confusing at times. Continue reading Just In Case
 I believe in taking responsibility for my financial decisions, whether the outcome is good or bad. I’ve regularly paid on my loans for graduate school for the past 14 years, even though professors lied to students about their job prospects and minimum salaries. I continue to write checks to Sallie Mae, even though graduates who entered social work a few years later than myself received loan forgiveness, and I haven’t even worked in the field since 2001.
I’ve always believed in the philosophy, “You made your bed, now lie in it.” When I lost half my savings in the stock market crash of 2000, I figured it was my fault for not understanding what I was investing in. I’ve never collected unemployment or other benefits even when I qualified for them, since I was always able to (mostly) scrape by with a poorly paid job. If you asked me just 10 years ago if homeowners should continue to pay on their underwater mortgages, I would have said, “Absolutely.”
However, the current US housing armageddon has caused me to change my mind. Continue reading In Defense of Default
 Did you make New Year’s resolutions? Did you decide to be kinder to the environment or save more money towards your dreams? You can do both. I give you some tips on getting around while using less fuel.
1. Carpooling: It’s not easy to sell your home and move closer to work in this real estate market. You probably don’t want to quit a good job in this economy either. So you may already be sharing that long commute with some co-workers who live near you.
Sharing a ride makes sense. Carpoolers get a break from driving and can get caught up on their sleep or have a lively conversation. Many areas also have high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes so your trip is faster and you don’t have the annoyance of stop-and-go traffic. You’re more likely to stick with it if you find partners at your company whose company you enjoy. Continue reading Be Green, Save Green By Cutting Fuel Use
 Jordan was unhappy in public school. I continue my interview with Adrian S., a married man with a family who sold most of his possessions in search of a better life. He is disturbed about the direction the US is taking, politically, economically, and socially. Links to earlier parts of the interview can be found at the end of this post.
Jennifer Barry: As I remember it, you had moved to that suburban town because it was supposed to be a good school district.
Adrian S.: I guess it was at some level, but I didn’t like the way they treated my kids. I guess what I’m saying is I don’t think any of these school districts, or any of the schools are good, because they are throttling the creativity of these children, showing, I think that schooling has become very scientific. This is one of the things I remember reading from John Taylor Gatto.
JB: Oh yeah, I’ve read his stuff.
AS: I don’t think public schooling is doing many of these kids any favors. One time we went to a fast food place because we were hungry, and Karen needed change. There was some confusion about our bill, and she swapped an item for another. And this poor kid could not do the math even when he took out a pencil and paper, he literally gave up, and he handed it to her, and she figured out what her bill was. And this guy was probably 19. Continue reading Stranger in His Own Land, Part 10
A couple of weeks ago, Kevin wrote Has the Time Come Again to Invest in Real Estate? and made the case for and against investing in this area, making some excellent points. However, I think the majority of people who jump into real estate right now will be kicking themselves in a few [...]
 The Boomers are guinea pigs in a giant stock experiment.
When it comes to investing, I’m not like most people. This fact was brought into sharp focus when I started reading some guest posts by Rob Bennett of Passion Saving, and found out that his stance on buying when stocks are cheap and not when they are expensive is a controversial one. To me, this just seems like common sense, but apparently many advocates of buy-and-hold won’t even let Rob give his point of view.
One article in particular struck me, Stock Investing for the Long Run–But How Long is the Long Run? a guest post at Out of Your Rut blog. Rob looks at long term averages, and correctly states that your US stock purchases made in 2000 should pay off in the long run – in the year 2030. He asserts that stocks have performed as expected by students of history, but that most investors thought that the market would turn around much faster.
The scary thing is that Rob is an optimist. Continue reading Will You Retire on Your Stocks?
 Healthy food is important to Adrian. This is an excerpt from the September 2010 issue of Global Asset Strategist.
I continue my interview with Adrian S., a married man with a family who sold most of his possessions in search of a better life. Links to earlier parts of the interview can be found at the end of this post.
Adrian S: Well, we’re planning to go to Paraguay this year but we’re still researching what they would require for health examinations. I really don’t want to get shots from some Rockefeller allopathic doctor who’s going to stick me a mercury barb.
Jennifer Barry: Yeah, I can understand that. I have not gotten any vaccines in a while and one of the last ones I did was Hepatitis B, and I reacted poorly to that. I think that vaccine is still affecting me 15 years later. Continue reading Stranger in His Own Land, Part 6
 If you read this blog regularly, you know I haven’t done much to “monetize” it. I don’t have a lot of ads or affiliate links because I only promote things that I believe in and have tried out for myself.
However, when I read that Wandering Earl was coming out with a guide to cruise ship jobs, I had to check it out. I knew he had years of experience on ships, so I was sure he had a lot of information to share. Earl was kind enough to send me a draft copy to read, and I wasn’t disappointed.
Earl (aka Derek Baron) teamed up with another cruise veteran, Liz Aceves, to write How to Work on a Cruise, a comprehensive guide to getting a job in this field. In 173 pages, they answer questions you didn’t know you had. They discuss every aspect of getting work on a ship, from choosing your job and picking the best cruise line for you, to designing a resume that will get attention and how to ace the interview. Earl and Liz even tell you how to pack for your first cruise ship contract! Continue reading Insider Secrets: Get a Job on a Cruise Ship
 Traveling used to be a lot more dangerous. While there have always been explorers, wanderers, and people who wanted to see what was over the next hill, this group used to be dominated by single men. After all, the world was dangerous, and travel was very slow and arduous. Your ship could sink, you could be felled by an exotic disease, or you could be fatally attacked by a wild animal at any time. Even if you survived, you would not see your loved ones for many years. Mail service was nonexistent in many locations, so contact was infrequent at best.
Fast forward to today, and technology has made exploring a whole lot easier. Now single women, couples and even families can jump on a plane and go. Tours and guidebooks are readily available to make your trip go smoother, with hotels and restaurants serving all but the most remote locations. Modern medical care can treat you if you are ill, and vaccines can even prevent diseases. Animals are rarely a danger outside rural areas. Contact is cheap and frequent with the internet, and you can post pictures of your travels to Facebook or your blog before you even return home! Continue reading Mobile Lifestyle
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