OK, so the word “Giftery” doesn’t seem to be in the Oxford Engrish. Uppity damn Brits, anyway. Everyone here knows that giftery is the fine art of giving unto others, so they will give unto you” at well-managed levels both in terms of time and resources. Perplexing no end are the mysteries of giftery that will periodically … Read More

A super busy day ahead, since we are sneaking up on Christmas (Monday) and we’re half-way expecting the market to blow down a bit going into the extended weekend. Two reasons we can harbor such fears: first is tax selling and also the world situation. Now, my consigliere thinks I’m nuts.  “Corporations are going to hold … Read More

In our new book, The Personal Ark, we tackle what kind of personal data resources you may need if (or when) we experience GHD (grid, hard down). There are lots of considerations. some of which are non-apparent. This assumes, of course, that you’re a second-level prepper.  A first-level person focuses on basic food, water, and … Read More

America is a Great Place. (If you like lines…) Most of us don’t do “waiting” well.  My career “waiting” began sometime in mid 1948.  It wasn’t until 1949 that I could stop waiting and get on with life; because that’s when I was born after a 9-month wait. The main feature of growing up, after … Read More

Other than a Biden motorcade incident, drone lobbing, and NATO getting ready for war with Russia (over Ukraine’s aggression/taking of Russian-speaking lands), it’s just another Monday. With a week to shop for Christmas which is a three-day weekend ahead and New Years the week after. Devaluing News I wanted to begin with a simple lesson … Read More

I received a marvelous email from long-time reader LOOB (Looking Outside Of (the) Box) up in one of the cold Square States. In case you are not familiar with his work, I seem to recall a ShopTalk adventure a while back where he went through making a cardboard dry bar. Came out as good (or better) … Read More

Where we size up how the year has been and look ahead to next year’s challenges.  We like to have these lookaheads because they go hand-in-glove with other annual exercises, such as the personal financial statement discussion. We have been – for literally decades – fans of the concept preached in management schools “What gets … Read More

Just how crazy – out of its flipping mind – is the Market? My first calculation today demonstrates this to a tee. We take the close last Friday in our meta index (the Peoplenomics Aggregate Index) which is based on the silly notion that at any one moment there is only so much money in the world.  After that, … Read More

Yeah, the market rallied in a hysterical way Wednesday when the Fed: Did nothing In an unchanging war-crazed world During a domestic political nightmare In an over-crowded, resource constrained world Amidst headlines about stocks hitting “records” Seriously, Bubba?  In reverse order, let’s put some neurons to this, shall we?  In reverse order – because the … Read More

“Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say why not.” Famous quote from the late Robert F. Kennedy. Very much on point as we answer the question “What is a rational person to do for a survival strategy in a world gone mad?” The answer … Read More

A fair amount to cover going into the Fed announcement on rates tomorrow.  For now, the money centers on “no change” but, of course, a “hot” CPI number could blow all that.  Let’s unwrap that pickle first: The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.1 percent in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, … Read More

From the top of the heap: The Fed Open Market Committee gavels in tomorrow morning, about this time.  Which is a serious point of hype for markets.  Consider for example: “Nothing Money” (Bitcoins, based on made-up numbers) made a run at the $45,000 level this weekend. But they failed and dropped under the $42.500 mark … Read More

There are two kinds of Home Handy-Bastard shoppers out at this time of year.  The kind who are dirt-under-the-fingernails working bozo’s (like us).  And the non-handy, but infinitely more refined who see dirty fingernails, curl up their noses, furrow the brows, and screech “Eeoow, YUCK! Don’t come near me until you… [inserts list of conditions].” … Read More