To the person who hasn't cruised in 6 years  - I've taken 4 cruises since 2009 and none of them were as you described.  Since you haven't cruised since 2007, perhaps you should consider trying another.

Actually, you'll note that one of the 10 is NOT the person's credit rating.  While many of these things would definitely lower your credit rating, being a "deadbeat" can also mean being way overextended.  You can't do that without a decent credit rating.  So, yes, if you combine this (leasing a car) with several other ...more

The relevance of this scene is apparently lost on Hatch - the point is that parents DON'T want their kids using expletives, and having them pick one up and repeat it so young is one of the challenges of parenting.  He clearly doesn't understand...sadly.

What little I've seen of her, she seemed pretty "common sense" regarding living within one's means, etc.  However, the fact that she is profiting from a prepaid credit card that she's recommending is just bad.  As the author points out, this is a huge conflict of interest.  And why does she think hers is so special?  I...more

Wow - interesting comments...I'm a Groupon user, mostly for restaurants, but have used for massage and salon services as well.  Here is what I've learned (for me - your mileage may vary):   - don't bother with something that saves $10 unless I'm already a regular.  It's not worth the hassle of keeping track of the ...more

To the person who said "If you don't have 3.5% down, you can't afford the house" - this is not true.  We're in an area where home values are high.  3.5% of $500,000 is $17,500.  Just because I can't dump close to $20K into a house for the next 30 years, doesn't mean I can't afford the mortgage.  Fortunately, we bought ...more

JJ - as I understand it, the tax he has to pay isn't on the ball he gave away, but on all the stuff he got in exchange.  And yes, they could give him the money to pay taxes on that, and increase it enough so that he can pay the taxes on the money they gave him as well.  I'm with the author, I think he should have ...more

We don't know how the money was used, and I can think of a number of reasons that someone would be in a casino and not gambling: applying for a job, meeting a significant other or family member where THEY work, meeting a friend from out of town who is staying at a casino, etc.  Put the blame where it belongs...use of t...more

I have to agree with the parent (Neighbor B) paying half.  The driver didn't ask for the full fine, thereby taking some of the responsibility, but your kid has to have some responsibility to do as they are told by the responsible adult.  When they don't, the parents have to deal with the consequences (and it's up to Ne...more