Whatever your financial circumstances, it just makes sense to try to spend less, especially in an unpredictable economy.  It takes so little other than thought to spend less every month and the payoff can be huge.  Besides big savings, living frugally can lead to higher self-esteem, less anxiety, more money available for emergencies and a […]

Cities around the country rightsize streets to make them compact and efficient. New Jersey has experienced ‘rightsizing’ with government budget cuts while citizens are downsizing their spending and their homes. Whether it is a progressive movement or result of financial set-backs for businesses and governments is debatable. But at the forefront of the movement, the […]

  I recently received several emails purportedly from Booking.com, a reputable reservations booking site on the Web (see email image below).  Having not booked a hotel reservation, I would normally simply delete this email.  However, I was struck by the warning that a cancellation or prepayment penalty of $195 would be billed to my credit […]

  The following story is true.  The names have been omitted to protect the innocent and the guilty.   Family relationships are complex, and individual members of families often play roles determined by birth order, gender, comparative dominance-submissiveness of mother and father, and a variety of other factors.  Narcissism – ranging from a healthy self-love […]

  Florida may be home to the happiest place on earth, but when you’re used car shopping you probably feel like Mickey and friends are halfway around the world instead of just down the highway. Successful used car shopping is all about information. When you have good information, you can buy with confidence. And the […]

  I am old enough that I can remember the first video game that went mainstream – Pong.  It was a console-based, two-dimensional table tennis game that could be played with one or two players.  The player(s) controlled a paddle that was basically a short vertical line and attempted to keep a small circle representing […]

  As Labor Day 2012 dawns, 23 million unemployed Americans have little cause to celebrate.  Countless more are employed or underemployed and struggling to make ends meet.  They are using credit cards or equity lines (if they still have equity in their homes) to cover the shortfall – when necessary – between their monthly incomes […]

The Internet, chaotic as it is, has overcome differences in race, religion, culture, wealth, and country.  It has emancipated people from the bonds of geography and created an interconnectedness that would not have been possible just a few short decades ago.  It has enhanced communication globally and spawned revolutions to free citizens from tyrannical leaders […]

  This is the story of the youngest of three brothers who shared a life experience growing up in a happy home in South Philadelphia.  Preceded by his older brothers Rocco in 1924 and Thomas in 1926, Anthony Petruzzelli was born to Donato and Rose Petruzzelli on Armistice Day in 1928, ten years after the […]

  The New Jersey Self-Help Clearinghouse has been helping people find and form support groups for over 31 years. Plans for the Clearinghouse began in 1980. Armed with a wooden card file box and index cards, the Clearinghouse began to collect information on self-help support groups. This list continued to grow and was printed as […]