What Can We Do If a Recession Hits America Again?

When the next recession hits, how will you cope with financial setbacks? Nicklewise has a few ideas.

All the signs of the next recession happening are almost in place. Some people say it's already happening in parts of Europe. South America is not enjoying a boom time. It doesn't matter if you blame the trade war between the U.S. and China or wars in the Middle East. People and companies are spending less money today than they were only a few months ago. A recession could be mild or really bad. Either way, if it affects you then you won't have many resources to fall back on.

Not A Good Time to be a Boeing Investor

The Boeing 737 Max 8 was thought to be a great plane. It has harmed everyone
but Boeing President Dennis Mullenberg.

I have nothing against Boeing. I've flown in their aircraft many times through my life. I've even known a couple of people who worked for Boeing. They loved their jobs and they had a lot of respect for the company's engineering achievements. I don't want to take anything away from the people who have contributed so much to our defense and our economy. But now may be the time to "sell the news" as far as Boeing's stock goes.

Former Programmers Who Made Big Changes to the World

Computer programmers changed the world 1 byte at a time on old computers like this.

We don't call them "programmers" any more.  Now everyone is a "coder" or "a developer", although these are probably not the same kinds of jobs as the old school programmers held down.  Developers use tools that did not exist when programmers were hard-core techie guys no one could relate to.  But a lot of the technology we use today is run by companies that were started by programmers, people who had no business training.  Let's take a look at a couple of successful former programmers who changed the world.

What This Economy Needs is More Jobs Not More Efficiency

Despite the latest economic news, millions of Americans still cannot find jobs.

It's an incredible illusion that anyone on Wall Street cares about your well being.  They are just out to make money.  And I know we all need to pay the bills and live but those investor guys are just interested in making money.  What cooks my goose is the way investors keep talking about improving productivity.  If the guy has anything to do with technology, he interprets productivity as "kill more jobs".

How to Answer the Moral Question about Using Free Resources on the Internet

We use our phones, computers, and TVs to browse the Internet. But how much is good?

If you have a large screen TV and an Internet connection to a computer like we do you may have experimented with watching movies online.  This can be a great alternative to packing the family up and going to the local theater.  When money is tight we cook up some "movie food", connect the TV to Netflix, turn the lights down, and watch a great movie in our home theater.

Options for the Small Investor with Little to No Money

Can you invest in the stock market if you have little to no money?

So you want to play in the stock market but you don't have Warren Buffett's retirement fund to work with.  Brother, I feel your pain.  And let me tell you, there isn't much available in the way of a solution for us yet.  But I have scraped together a few ideas that I want to share here.  We can be investors without having to be rich and super wealthy.

Making Money by Buying Debit Cards

Sometimes you can make a profit from prepaid debit cards, but think carefully.

My wife told me to think about this carefully.  We were having lunch at a nearby restaurant and they offered us a deal: buy a $50 gift card and get a $10 gift card free.  It sounds like you are getting a good deal.  But my objection was that we don't eat at this restaurant very often.  So why would I want to give them more money?  My wife pointed out something very important to me.