Personal Finance Dumbed Down Well
The ongoing quest to make personal finance interesting to average schlubs is not just confined to the internet or television; the Daily News gets into the act today with its own celebrity-infused financial advisory articles that may or may not contain sound advice [NYDN]. First, the paper lets us know what to do with our upcoming national tax refunds: Splurge! They come to this conclusion by asking the most obvious personal finance experts: Rich people!
CNBC "Money Honey" Maria Bartiromo says she is a "big saver," but that she feels entitled to go ahead and splurge with her $600 from the government, because "Everybody deserves a treat." This is a good perspective, as long as your salary meets or exceeds hers.
An art director says he's buying a flatscreen; a lawyer is going for a new laptop and a piano. The only one who says she will paying down debt with her refund? An editor. Figures.
[Also, in what may be the tenuous connection champion of the year, the paper illustrates a story on flex spending claims with a picture of Tom Cruise and a caption reading, "Tom Cruise could have saved some bucks on his braces with a flex spending account." Well done.]