San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

I found "Super Size Me" really enlightening on how bad the fast food industry is for the health of people.

WOW.

Fun With Dick and Jane. It's a Jim Carrey movie, if you don't like him I still recommend it there's some great scenes that will remind you of this housing bubble.

An update of the 1977 comedy, Dick and Jane are living the good life. That is until Dick (Jim Carrey) loses his job shortly after getting a promotion that convinced his wife Jane (Téa Leoni) to quit her job. The money is gone, and the house ends up in foreclosure. Dick decides to turn to a hilarious life of crime to pay the bills with his lovely wife by his side. Then together they decide it's time to steal back what Former CEO Jack McCallister (Alec Baldwin) had stolen from them.

GlenGary GlenRoss...

Coffee is for closers!

(Rus I am showing my age again... although Superbad looks like a potentially funny movie this summer only cuz the George Michael is in it)

SD Realtor

Best Alec Baldwin scene EVER. Except for Glengary Glen Ross of course.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reHA665EQAg

(give it a 30 seconds or so)

I've never seen Glengary/GlenRoss but heard it's great. I'll add it to my queue. Thanks!

I felt "Maxed Out" was like a lot of documentaries of its kind, where the sort of person who would watch it already knows a lot of the info in it.

Predatory lending is a huge problem in this country. It shouldn't be financially advantageous for lenders to go after people who are the least likely to pay their debt back.

Still, it was a dissapointing documentary that completely glossed over personal responsibility and a culture of overconsumption. While government policy (and overspending) are a huge part of the problem, it's only part of it.

eccen in esc

The Future of Food is a good documentary

This Ad (from another blog) is better than all those documentaries. It makes a fine wall paper design!

http://bp3.blogger.com/_QMoXJ8fOgo4/Rwj-...

IN DEBT WE TRUST
Emmy Award winner Danny Schechter's 'In Debt We Trust' explores the relationship between Congress and the credit complex and how it is having an enormously negative impact on the country's financial health.

http://www.indebtwetrust.org/synopsis.php

I haven't seen the movie but I have read the book.

It does have some interesting history of Visa and the new generation of bankers (it's all about the fees).

One lady, in particular, was in foreclosure yet continued to get credit offers from the same bank that was foreclosing on her.

It's just really sad how screwed up people are in regards to their finances. I've never been THAT savvy but I know enough not to get myself into $20k in credit card debt.

There's an interesting show on TLC or some similar station now called "Big Spender" about people who are spending WAY beyond their means (most of these people are in the red thousands of dollars every monthy). It's an interesting show in the 'watching a train wreck' kind of way.

I saw the movie recently, I thought it was OK. My wife found it very troubling. I just keept telling her that we're making money off the CC companies, e.g. never incurring late fee, and always pay off full balance. A zero interest loan to us.

I'm beginning to think that a personal finance class should be mandatory for all high school students. I'm doing my best to educate my young kiddos on the value of money and how to save and invest it. I'm also trying to highlight that Caveat emptor should be always in your mind when you are about to buy anything. I will be sitting down with them when they are older and drilling these concept into them, then I'll have to hope for the best.

Bubblesitter

I agree bubblesitter, and same thing on paying off the credit card each month. I'm sure you've heard, they call people like us deadbeats.

Financially responisble and you're a deadbeat paying higher taxes so nit-wits who will do anything but take responsibility for their own actions can continue to point the finger at others for their poor choices.

I just finished watching this movie. While I find Corporate America and the World Bank VERY VERY deceitful, manipulative and full of greed.....this movie was a little over the top. Individuals NEED to take some personal responsibility for their actions. This movie reeked of entitlement.

The one lady that lost her husband and could not pay her mortgage....she should have sold that house and moved into a smaller place that she COULD afford. You have to do what you gotta do, and sometimes that means sacrifice whether you like it or not.

The victimizing of young college students and the poor, well, that is another matter. And, the folks that committed suicide over the debt, that just is just too drama-rama.

How much common sense does it take to know that if you borrow money, you are going to have to pay it back?

Movie Recommendation: The Corporation

I believe that financial education should be mandatory for all, starting in elementary/junior high. Included in this education is some treatment of ethics. After the Wall Street Enron, Tyco blow-ups a few years back, many MBA programs added courses on business ethics. When I was working on MBA back in late 90s there were no such courses. There is a general lack of ethics by many in the business world, for many their motto is a "sucker is born everyday".

I'm trying my best to instill in my young kiddos that you should always do right. I was recently at a store and a cashier overpaid me by a few bucks, I made a point with my son present to point out her error and hand it back. I talked with him about it afterward. I guess I can only hope that it makes a difference.

By the way, from a personal finance knowledge standpoint, getting an MBA was invaluable. For me it was a structured learning environment and I pick things up better than doing it on my own. Most can learn the softer "MBA" skill set on the job or reading the portable MBA, it is not rocket science. Even the finance stuff does not use anything much more mathmatically complex than amoritization, compounding interest, etc. An MBA course work does give you a broad in-depth knowledge of how the business world works.

Bubblesitter