#141 — Shaking the Money Tree

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I don’t have to tell you that the economy is in bad shape; that’s the job of the talking heads on the TV news. Every half-hour the round-the-clock news drones come on to report that the economy is still in bad shape. If the economy was a broken-down car, the newscasters would be the helpful passer-by who peers under the open hood and declares, “Looks like you’ve got engine trouble.” For the next thirty minutes he’ll tell you all about similar trouble he’s seen in similar cars and expound on various unsupported theories as to the true nature of the underlying problem. Just about the time you think he’s talked out and winding down, he’ll take a deep breath and declare, “Looks like you’ve got engine trouble.” You won’t be listening anymore, though. You’ll be using all of your will power to resist rearranging his frontal lobes with a tire iron.

Listening to the TV news about the economy is exactly like that; only a lot less informative.

Even so, just because the economy is going downhill faster than a bowling ball on a water slide, you don’t have to fret. If you take a few simple precautions you can maintain your standard of living or even make a profit.
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Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post.  If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://myfavoriteshortcomings.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/shaking-the-money-treeshaking-the-money-tree/

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Notes:

• You can find out more about my correspondent Dan Murrell (and the University he works for) at:
  http://www.memphis.edu/releases/jul08/murrell.htm
• Sam Fawaz also provided some inspiration for this episode.  You can find his outstanding financial blog at:
  http://themoneygeek.com/
• Speaking of matters of finance (and isn’t that what we’ve been doing this whole episode?) author and radio/TV host Dave Ramsey offers excellent advice on getting your finances in order:
  http://www.daveramsey.com/
• On the technical side of things I owe a HUGE debt of gratitude to Summer Brooks and Brian Brown for their help this week in my move to Farpoint Media.  You can find them both on Slice of SciFi at:
  http://www.sliceofscifi.com/
• Jim of the Howling Wolves podcast was a great help as well.  You can find Jim at:
  http://www.thehowlingwolves.com
• Jim and I are both on the writing team over at:
  http://www.techtalkforfamilies.com