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As recently as last week, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit Europe. It has been four years since I was last there and a lot has changed. One of the greatest surprises was being welcomed as an American. On my previous visit, my family and I were spit at in Italy. Now they yell, “We Love Obama.”

Now that I am a little older, I became aware of something that was hardly on my radar during my earlier trip but was very evident this time around. In Europe the culture is all about living within your means. Americans, in particular, pride themselves on over indulgence. We even praise the Paris Hilton  types who are able to achieve the American dream without having to ever lift a finger. The  

wayne wilderson effect

With stock prices hitting rock bottom, I keep thinking it’s now or never to jump into the market. Question is for a newbie, what’s a good strategy for picking stocks? Is it any different than walking into a casino or going to a race track and having a feeling about a lonely slot machine or a horse with a name you like? I’ve been asking around for advice and in the process, noticed a pattern I’m calling the Wayne Wilderson effect. What is that? Hang in there and I’ll tell you.

I shutter to think how much of my personal information is on the internet. My photo’s, career, education, etc. At this point Google probably knows what I am wearing right now as I write this. None of the less I decided to try out Mint.com after hearing some really great things about it and at this point why not put my most personal financial information out on the web? I mean I use online banking, I even pay bills  

The economy might be tough, but I believe the entrepreneurial spirit is tougher. Recently the news has paid an inordinate amount of attention to the plight of laid off workers who are desperately searching for new jobs. In previous periods of high unemployment, the banks were still relatively healthy and in a position to lend money, which fueled an increase in the number of small business start ups.

Unlike all the other experts of the Trusted Expert Network, I am not a personal finance, investment, tax, retirement or long term care expert. I am, however, a taxpaying citizen who has thoughts on the economic stimulus package that was just passed by the House and is now moving to the Senate.

Have you ever wondered if you are paying too much for your phone bill? How about your credit cards? Of course you have because you know you probably are. Every month I open my phone bill to find that my $80 bill is coming in closer to $150! Those are real American dollars. How can this be?