Recession Diaries
The recession slammed 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' production, says Paul DiMeo
Jason Cochran
Feb 19th 2010 at 12:31PM
Filed under: Home, Charity, Recession, Video, Recession Diaries, As Seen on TV
You aren't the only one feeling the pinch. In an exclusive interview with WalletPop's Jason Cochran, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's resident carpenter, Paul DiMeo, reports that the tough times have hit his popular ABC show, too.
One of the first things to change was the size of the homes. In years past, families would be bestowed with homes that felt more like mansions, with scads of square footage and amenities such as new swimming pools. The taxman and the maintenance bills can prove too onerous for families to cope with, so that's a thing of the past, and homes are now built more modestly, with lower-cost upkeep in mind.
Also gone are the days when a dozen contractors would vie to be the one to give needy families their dream homes. Now, the show is lucky if one or two step forward for the chance at charity -- and national publicity.
DiMeo talks about how the downturn has impacted even the fantasy of his dream-come-true show. He also has a clever tip for homeowners who would like to make changes on their own, without the help of Ty Pennington and company.
His advice? Dumpster dive. No, really! See for yourself what Paulie thinks you should do:
DiMeo appears on EM:HE on ABC this Sunday night, when the rock band KISS joins the list of celebrity volunteers.
One of the first things to change was the size of the homes. In years past, families would be bestowed with homes that felt more like mansions, with scads of square footage and amenities such as new swimming pools. The taxman and the maintenance bills can prove too onerous for families to cope with, so that's a thing of the past, and homes are now built more modestly, with lower-cost upkeep in mind.
Also gone are the days when a dozen contractors would vie to be the one to give needy families their dream homes. Now, the show is lucky if one or two step forward for the chance at charity -- and national publicity.
DiMeo talks about how the downturn has impacted even the fantasy of his dream-come-true show. He also has a clever tip for homeowners who would like to make changes on their own, without the help of Ty Pennington and company.
His advice? Dumpster dive. No, really! See for yourself what Paulie thinks you should do:
DiMeo appears on EM:HE on ABC this Sunday night, when the rock band KISS joins the list of celebrity volunteers.
See Disney's record holder for World's Largest Structure of Canned Food
Jason Cochran
Feb 11th 2010 at 1:08PM
Filed under: Food, Travel, Charity, Fantastic Freebies, Video, Recession Diaries, In the News
WalletPop was at the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World in Orlando when Disney Parks (aided by ABC's Ty Pennington) unveiled a publicity stunt for a good cause: a Guinness-authenticated world record for the largest structure ever made out of canned food. A strange accomplishment, to be sure, but it was done in the name of the company's current promotion, which promises a free day of admission for anyone who does a day of volunteer work. Since January 1, Disney has had more than 600,000 takers for this freebie.
Despite the momentary frivolity, this food won't go to waste, either. By the end of the day, it will be on its way to needy families throughout the Southeast. Officially, Disney puts the number of cans used in the sculpture at 115,527, which beats the old record (yes, there was one, from New Zealand) by 61,000. There's enough food in this stack -- depicting Pluto, Donald, Mickey, and Goofy, whose hat is made of boxes of bread crumbs -- to create about 70,000 meals.
Despite the momentary frivolity, this food won't go to waste, either. By the end of the day, it will be on its way to needy families throughout the Southeast. Officially, Disney puts the number of cans used in the sculpture at 115,527, which beats the old record (yes, there was one, from New Zealand) by 61,000. There's enough food in this stack -- depicting Pluto, Donald, Mickey, and Goofy, whose hat is made of boxes of bread crumbs -- to create about 70,000 meals.
Perks of unemployment: Get a helmet, be a thug!
Sarah Gilbert
Jan 18th 2010 at 9:00AM
Filed under: Extracurriculars, Family Money, Career, Recession Diaries
The four of us, and several other scruffy-in-a-cute-way Portlanders have answered a call this blustery-cold January day, to ride our bikes in circles with smiles for a few hours, in exchange for minor fame and a free helmet. (I end up with four, one for each of us and an extra for my husband besides. The boys were really cold. The photographer had an extra.)
The 5 best ways to increase productivity
Marc Acito
Jan 4th 2010 at 5:00PM
Filed under: Make Money Fast, Recession Diaries
Luckily, I subscribe to an invaluable service called Help a Reporter Out, which connects journalists with sources. Normally I get 5-10 responses when I post a query, just enough to create an impression of a national zeitgeist. But when I asked other self-employed people for their best productivity tips, I was immediately deluged, eventually receiving a whopping 87 responses.
Republic Airways CEO insults Milwaukee
Barbara Bartlein
Dec 29th 2009 at 2:00PM
Filed under: Travel, Recession Diaries
Political power migrates with the population: 2010 Census will change who rules
Lou Carlozo
Dec 28th 2009 at 2:00PM
Filed under: Recession Diaries
While that might sound like a variable regardless of the economy, a recent New York Times story by reporter Damien Cave reveals that the recession has caused some dramatic demographic shifts. The evidence lies in new U.S. Census Bureau figures culled between July 2008 and July 2009, with the trends expected to take more solid form as we head into the 2010 Census year.
Put the solution in 'resolution:' 10 steps to financial sanity in 2010
Lou Carlozo
Dec 28th 2009 at 12:00PM
Filed under: Recession Diaries
In a two-page spread, I outlined 10 steps to a better family budget, using my own experiences with debt, savings and spending habits as the template. This led in short order to a roller coaster ride I could never have anticipated:
- taunts from twisted readers who bombarded me with mean comments about how dumb my wife and I were.
- a gig as the Tribune's recession columnist.
- getting laid off by the Tribune about a month later.
- hundreds of well wishes from fans who couldn't believe the Tribune would lay off the Recession Guy.
- and finally: an immediate invitation from WalletPop editor Beth Pinsker Gladstone to move my "Recession Diaries" column to AOL, which I did.
10 reasons for pocketbook optimism after a financially shaky 2009
Lou Carlozo
Dec 22nd 2009 at 5:30PM
Filed under: Recession Diaries
But as the "aughts" turn into whatever you wanna call a decade with years 10-19 in it, I found plenty of reasons to feel upbeat. To me, it's not so much a matter of putting a happy spin on a sad year, but looking at the facts, and choosing to build a case based on them -- one that affects the all-important bottom line.
Here's my list of 10 financial highlights worth celebrating with the end of the year, and the decade.
1) Health Care Reform: When it comes to this issue, I blame the Obama administration for only one thing: It failed to effectively communicate the evils in the private insurance system that most of us -- including every Senate Republican--somehow forgot during the Great Healthcare Debate. No matter: Real reform is on the way, and while far from perfect, it marks the first crucial step in terms of bringing the U.S. on par with the rest of the world, including our neighbors in Canada, in building a health care system that guarantees a fair shake for all of us. No matter how shaky the new system starts, it will mark an improvement over the insurance company mafia where everything short of death itself is treated as a pre-existing condition.
Giving to charity declines in Scrooge's America, and that's not bad
Marc Acito
Dec 21st 2009 at 12:00PM
Filed under: Charity, Recession, Recession Diaries
A recent poll from the Red Cross shows that 20 percent of Americans plan to reduce their charitable giving this year. Salvation Army centers and Toys for Tots drives across the country all report decreased giving of at least that much. Indeed, donations to the San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program are down a whopping 60 percent from last year, while demand is up almost 20 percent. "A lot of people who donated last year are now in lines to receive help," said Sally Casazza, the program's chair. "This is our worst year ever."
Will Jim Powers' BeerCompass point the way to money?
Lou Carlozo
Dec 14th 2009 at 1:00PM
Filed under: Recession Diaries
So why is a guy like Powers dabbling in the world of iPhone apps, especially those designed to sniff out beer? It turns out that Powers, a beer connoisseur, found himself intrigued by the possibility of turning a pastime passion into a viable cash cow. And so, BeerCompass was born -- an app that locates suds and pubs anywhere on the planet.
WalletPop spoke with Powers not long after BeerCompass went public to find out what inspired his sudsy smart-phone creation, and how his detour into applications has fared financially.
WalletPop: Where did the idea for BeerCompass come from? Where were you, how did the idea come to you, and what was your first impulse once the light bulb went off?
Powers: I was talking with someone who was looking for marketing ideas for an app they were making for a festival, and I blurted out the idea of a compass dedicated to finding beer ... a "beer compass." I loved the idea and thought the compass had potential, so I made one.
Ayn Rand -- back from the dead and still dead wrong
Marc Acito
Dec 7th 2009 at 3:00PM
Filed under: Banks, Recession, Recession Diaries
Like Frankenstein's monster, Rand's ideas are back from the dead and have attracted the attention of torch-bearing angry villagers like the teabaggers. Sales of her cinder-block-sized manifesto, Atlas Shrugged, are reportedly at their strongest ever (more on that later) and this Christmas we have not one but two Rand biographies from which to choose. (Apparently nothing says "magical holiday" like "angry screed.") There are also lots of "Who Is John Galt?" T-shirts and even the Atlasphere, an Ayn Rand dating and networking site.
So I felt compelled to find out what the buzz was all about.
Salvaging the real estate market by becoming a Section 8 landlord
Jason Cochran
Dec 3rd 2009 at 2:45PM
Filed under: Bargains, Make Money Fast, Home, Real Estate, Recession, Bankruptcy, Video, Recession Diaries, Mortgages
Real estate prices have bottomed out. Depending on the market-- Las Vegas, Arizona, Southern California -- house prices can be insanely low.
In Broward County, Fla., for example, homes that once cost more than $200,000 can be had for as little as $30,000, many as foreclosures. Now that the days of high-profit speculation in the real estate market have come to a close, real estate investors are turning to another program that provides a more modest, but still reliable, return.
The Section 8 Rental Voucher Program is a federal endeavor that pays the rent of qualified low-income renters. The homes they live in are privately owned by everyday people, who receive monthly rent checks from the government on behalf of their low-income tenants. Considering rent is paid back at what amounts to something close to market rates, renting an inexpensive property to the Section 8 program can more than pay for itself.
WalletPop's Jason Cochran traveled to Broward County to meet with Suzanne Dunn, a real estate investor who has independently jumped on the Section 8 market. She gives us an overview of how it works for people who want to become landlords:
In Broward County, Fla., for example, homes that once cost more than $200,000 can be had for as little as $30,000, many as foreclosures. Now that the days of high-profit speculation in the real estate market have come to a close, real estate investors are turning to another program that provides a more modest, but still reliable, return.
The Section 8 Rental Voucher Program is a federal endeavor that pays the rent of qualified low-income renters. The homes they live in are privately owned by everyday people, who receive monthly rent checks from the government on behalf of their low-income tenants. Considering rent is paid back at what amounts to something close to market rates, renting an inexpensive property to the Section 8 program can more than pay for itself.
WalletPop's Jason Cochran traveled to Broward County to meet with Suzanne Dunn, a real estate investor who has independently jumped on the Section 8 market. She gives us an overview of how it works for people who want to become landlords:
Scam busters turn the tables on those running the Nigerian scam
Marc Acito
Nov 23rd 2009 at 2:00PM
Filed under: Banks, Fraud, Recession, Recession Diaries
I have the Courage to Crave Indulgence for this most opportune business venture...
Look familiar? A day doesn't go by day that I don't receive an e-mail from people with names like Dr. Fortunate Goodpence or Mrs. Pius Motubo soliciting my aid in recovering millions from banks in Nigeria, if only I just sent a little money to get started. Which means I greet each morning with the same thought: who still falls for this crap?
Modern advance-fee scams, commonly called 419 scams after the number of the Nigerian Criminal Code, have been around for over twenty-five years, but exploded with the growth of the internet. So you'd think we'd all be wise to them, yet the latest statistics available show that worldwide losses to these kind of scams topped $4.3 billion in 2007 - and those were just the ones reported. Because, let's face it, losing money due to greed and a sense of colonial superiority to Africans is super embarrassing.
Frugal consumers push companies to embrace new age of thrift
David Schepp
Nov 11th 2009 at 2:00PM
Filed under: Bargains, Budgets, Debt, Food, Home, Saving Money, Shopping, Career, Recession, Recession Diaries, Economizer
In an attempt to cash-in on this new sensibility, businesses are keen on promoting their products as a good deal. That's why, for example, Clorox Co. isn't raising prices on its improved trash can liners and Campbell Soup Co. has reduced the promotional price of its V8 brand vegetable juice by 17%, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
The Man in the Van travels the Great Recession's long, long road, returns rich with stories
Lou Carlozo
Nov 9th 2009 at 3:30PM
Filed under: Recession Diaries
As he nears the end of the line for his Man in a Van Project, Aaron Heideman of Grants Pass, Ore. has only begun to process the stories he gleaned from his cross-country recession odyssey. After losing jobs himself due to the sour economy-not once, but twice-the 29-year-old set out to chronicle the tales of people whose lives have been affected by the Great Recession. From Florida to California and many points in between, people scrawled their stories onto a large roll of Tyvek paper. Some even scrawled notes and missives on the van itself, turning it into a rolling chronicle of continued economic woe, and the hope that survives amidst it.
In an exclusive interview with WalletPop, Heideman discussed the project, what it's meant to him and what comes next for a young man who, for now, still lives in his orange Dodge van, hoping to land permanent employment soon.
In an exclusive interview with WalletPop, Heideman discussed the project, what it's meant to him and what comes next for a young man who, for now, still lives in his orange Dodge van, hoping to land permanent employment soon.