About five years ago I was directly in charge of interviewing and hiring employees. I have since changed companies twice and am no longer involved in the interview process. However, I was thinking about all of the hilarious war stories on the front lines of the employment front.

Articles on the internet on how to do great in a job interview are a dime a dozen. Colleges and high schools go over ways to prepare for and ace an interview. And all of this is for good reason… job interviews are incredibly important. However, people still don’t pay attention to the mountains of advice.

The Casual Luncher

My girlfriend loves food. I am Italian, so my

One thing that you will find in the personal finance blogosphere is people who have gone through some pretty crazy situations. Some bloggers have found themselves in a mountain of debt, and documented their journey from a negative net worth to a positive net worth. Other bloggers document as they get closer to financial independence using a calculated regiment of frugality and investing.

And then there is me: I have never been in massive debt. I never looked at my bank account and saw $(1,500). And then only to realize my credit cards were maxed out. I would be lying if I said I have never had my share of sticky situations. But in each situation, I was able to step back and assess the issue at hand and

I reviewed The Skinny On Credit Cards: How to Master the Credit Card Game two weeks ago and decided to host a giveaway as well. For anyone else who is interested in the book, my thoughts about the book were summed up as follows:

I think this is a great book for someone who is new to personal finance. If you consider yourself to be a little more advanced, you probably won’t want to buy this book for yourself. However, if you know someone who could benefit from learning about how credit cards work and how to avoid credit card debt, this is the perfect book.

In my opinion, we all pretty much

The word usury comes from the Latin word usuria. The definition of the word is interest or excessive interest. Technically speaking, this applied to charging for the usage of money in any circumstance. We typically don’t think of a fee for exchanging currencies as interest, but that WAS considered interest back then.

Eventually countries got involved and legislated a maximum legal interest rate. Usury came to be known as the interest rate on a loan above the legal limit.

Historical Context

In the early hundreds CE (common era, often referred to as AD, anno domini), Christian bishops dictated that the clergy and laity could only accept up to a 1% interest rate. Anything in excess was

I love the 4th of July. What’s there not to love? You got summertime, fireworks, barbecues, friends and family, etc. This weekend should be fun, with all of that in mind! :)

Carnivals

• Money Hacks Carnival #70 @ Blogging Banks included my article Use Google Apps to Start Your Business for Less.
• Carnival of Personal Finance #211 @ Green Panda Treehouse included my article Two More Virtues of Owning a Dog.
• Festival of Frugality #184 @ My Frugal Adventures included my article5 Tips to Prepare for Next Years Tax Season.

Guest Post & “Radio” Appearance