Mar 15, 2010  •  In Baby, Finance, Personal, Pregnancy

Judging Others for Their Financial Decisions

I once knew a blogger who lived an enviable life. Not only was she gorgeous, her husband was extremely wealthy and handsome. She constantly wrote of her designer purchases, exotic getaways, and decorating their mansion with custom-made furniture and one-of-a-kind decor. Soon, she started getting snarky comments from readers who judged her for her lifestyle. […]

Jan 9, 2010  •  In Finance, Personal

Donations via Guilt

Every few months I receive the Johns Hopkins Magazine in the mail. I pore over each issue with a cup of joe, reading it cover to cover to keep afloat on the latest from my alma mater. Who am I kidding? It usually ends up in the recycling bin, untouched. And, like indigestion is sure […]

Sep 15, 2008  •  In Finance, NYC, Personal

Another Gloomy Day in Manhattan

The beautiful weather today does little to quell the current situation in Wall Street. My morning commute was a somber one. Thumbs flew across BlackBerries with more flurry than usual. Newspaper headlines flashed: “Anxious Morning on Wall Street as Lehman Makes Chapter 11 Filing, Merrill Is Sold, AIG Seeks Cash” (Wall Street Journal) “Stocks Slide […]

Sep 8, 2008  •  In Career, Finance, Marketing/Advertising, NYC

The Best Salesman in the World

The last time I was in San Francisco, I ran into the world-famous Bushman as many other tourists do at Fisherman’s Wharf. After getting the crap scared out of me, I had a little chat with him, and even asked, “Do you make enough money doing this?” “Hell yeah, I sent two kids through college doing this.” […]

May 18, 2007  •  In Finance, Personal, Relationships

Kept Women

This month’s Elle magazine has an interesting article titled “The Smart Girl’s Taboo: Wanting to be a Kept Woman.” In it, the writer contemplates the success of the E! television show The Girls Next Door and even spends some time with Hef’s three main ladies. She then asks why so many women are attracted to the show – can […]

Feb 28, 2007  •  In Career, Finance, Personal, Touching

Don to Earth

One of the many blogs I subscribe to is Get Rich Slowly, a personal finance site written by a man who was successfully able to dig himself out of major debt and want to help others do the same. Today, he posted a link to Don To Earth, a “blog written by a 93-year-old-man. There’s […]

Feb 17, 2007  •  In Finance, Korean, Personal

Koreans and The Man

In my last post, I talked about the Korean kye. Many people may wonder why I would not just deposit the money into a high-yielding savings account or stocks/bonds. The thing is, a kye is more about camaraderie, trust, and the sense of jung (one of the most difficult words to translate – loosely, it means […]

Feb 16, 2007  •  In Finance, Korean, Personal

Kye

When I first started working full-time my parents knew that I would have trouble saving without a rigid plan in place. And so they asked me to join a kye. The Korean kye, which means contract or bond, is a credit rotating system built on trust and honesty. It dates back hundreds of years when it was first used […]