About

Welcome! I am most honored to serve you today. First off, I like to thank you for your interest to explore further who is behind this blog. Let me introduce myself a little.

My name is Shafi and I am the owner and presently the author of this blog. Other authors are more than welcome to write articles on the topic of personal finances. To know more about me, read my professional history.

What is this blog about?
The nation’s economy is in recession, the worst since the Great Depression. We are deep in this together. Everyone is affected, from financially rich to financially poor.

I love to help others get success in their personal finances as I continue to improve myself! I learn everything I possibly can so I can then share it with you.

I started this blog in October of 2008. My intention has been to help folks who are heavily in debt – whether of their own creation or because of this lousy economy – to try to be debt free and to put their financial house in order.

Almost everyday, a post is published about personal finances on this blog which, as you know, encompasses a variety of topics. The author(s) will publish a post in simple, understandable and step-by-step fashion.

How can this blog help you?
We all have some experiences of learning almost everyday. Some we have lived through, while some we have learned from others. What I am sharing with you on these pages is what I research and learn in real life.

You will learn, as I will, about personal finances, credit, debit, debt, mortgage, insurance, shopping, taxes, and a lot more. The main emphasis is two fold: Live within your means and be debt free. I take a very direct and blunt approach and tell it the way it is. That means I stay away from telling stories.

This blog is dedicated to helping you learn to live within your means and be debt free. Sometimes I use some harsh words, like for example, schmuck. But there are schmucks out there and I have warned folks in my various posts to be aware of them.

Beware the schmucks of the world
One big example is Bernie Madoff. He is a schmuck and you know why he is a schmuck. I tell you why he is a schmuck. He has proved himself to be a schmuck and besides he, himself, has said so many times “I am a schmuck and I am a schmuck of the worst kind.” Sometimes you know a schmuck when you see one. Unfortunately, in Madoff’s case, we just didn’t see him as a schmuck until it was too late.

Most popular topics
I have researched a few articles for these extremely bad times as well as when things would go better one day, hopefully soon. Get yourself familiarized with different kinds of investments.

Personal Finances

• Stop and learn to live within your means
• Let’s talk personal finances, shall we?
• What to do in a lousy market
• Pay special attention to your personal finances
• Saving money while spending
• Can you get rich by saving?
• Find a good financial adviser

Credit

• Get your free annual credit report now
• Take steps to improve your credit score
• Find a good Credit Counselor

Debt

• Let’s talk debt, shall we?
• Your debt has inflated – time to deflate it
• Last resort: What to do about high personal debt when nothing else works

Insurance

• 5 Insurance policies you must have

Careers

• Can you tailor your resume without lying?

Financial News

• Who is at fault – Madoff, SEC or a Third?
• Beware the schmucks of the world
• Do we have to know bailout details?
• AIG to pay $503 million to top execs

Financial success
As always, if you want to be on a path of financial success:

• Pay special attention to your personal finances.
• Get your free annual credit report now.
• take steps to improve your credit score.

• To invest, find a good financial adviser.
• To be debt-free, find a good credit counselor.
• To file taxes, find a good tax preparer.
• Take steps to ensure your financial adviser is trustworthy.

Financial Disclaimer
This blog is designed to educate individuals about their personal finances in the form of suggestions. The author(s) try to provide accurate and authoritative information on the subject, after a thorough research in different categories. It is provided with the understanding that the author(s) do not provide legal, accounting, or other professional services by providing this blog.

The author(s) shall not be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential or other damages.

Figures and facts on this blog may have unintentional errors. Any investment has a potential to go down in value. Sometimes investments can have huge losses.

As each individual situation is unique, questions relevant to personal finances and specific to the individual should be addressed to an appropriate professional to ensure that the situation has been carefully and appropriately evaluated. Only you are responsible for your decisions and consequences thereafter.