Merry Christmas…In a Box! (The Annual Holiday Rant)

Posted On: December 18, 2017
Comments: No Responses The Amazon Christmas ad running lately features smiling, otherwise faceless boxes travelling from a robo-warehouse to a little girl. It’s a fine ad that no doubt brought prosperous smiles to some ad agency. And that…

Top Workplaces Serve Suds But Not Sabbaticals

Posted On: June 27, 2016
Comments: No Responses Yesterday’s Star Tribune included a hefty supplement about Minnesota’s best employers, as determined by the Strib and Pennsylvania’s Workplace Dynamics. The Twin Cities remain a top metro to work and live in according to umpteen…

Boomer Bust: Beware the Retirement Burst

Posted On: October 27, 2015
Comments: No Responses “When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is.” ~Oscar WildeWealth is the ability to fully experience life.…

College Ain’t What It Used To Be

Posted On: August 23, 2013
Comments: No Responses You can’t toss a diploma anymore without hitting some media story about the plight of millennials. They can’t find decent jobs. They’re up to their mortar boards in debt. They’re moving back in with their…

Hate to Bust the Boomers’ Bubble…

Posted On: March 16, 2012
Comments: No Responses A group of guy pals celebrated a friend’s retirement last week. He’s earned it; he’s ready. So what’s next? I have no idea!” he answered with a cunning grin. He does still have a kid…

American (Money) Idiots

Posted On: December 2, 2010
Comments: No Responses We Merr’kuns may still be learning our money math. But if a downturn is good for anything, it’s for ruthless fiscal forehead-gripping—for economists and Joe 6-Packs alike.  The good news:  Americans are reducing their credit…

Stuck at Work?

Posted On: October 24, 2010
Comments: No Responses I couldn’t be happier that the career break movement is finally getting legs. But I’m also acutely aware that many people who used to be racing toward retirement are finding themselves stuck in an increasingly…

KPMG’s “Flexible Futures” Works!

Posted On: January 12, 2010
Comments: No Responses Sabbatical fans have watched with wide eyes as global mammoth KPMG/Britain hit hard times, sought solutions beyond firing, and found success.  Their “Flexible Futures” concept offered TIME in exchange for money.  And 80% of the…

The Opt-Out Revolution–are you in?

Posted On: November 12, 2009
Comments: One Response photo by Kirk Horsted Married With Children families are no longer the norm in this country, but they still command attention and fill the portrait of the American Dream.  A few generations ago, two incomes…

Survey Sez: Home & Retirement Values Look Bleak

Posted On: September 26, 2009
Comments: No Responses photo by Kirk Horsted This darn recession shows little sign of mellowing. Oh sure, the economic indicators and trading markets look better. But without the infusion of massive (borrowed) cash courtesy of Uncle Sam, we’d…