Author Topic: Stupid Stuff On CNN Money.  (Read 6277 times)

Rich M

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Stupid Stuff On CNN Money.
« on: May 19, 2013, 06:59:52 PM »
The list continues.

For today.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/17/pf/best-deals-savings.moneymag/index.html?iid=HP_LN

Maybe there should be a devoted thread.  But then maybe the ultimate message is to stay away from CNN money.

I think the CNN Money authors are desperate for space.
« Last Edit: May 19, 2013, 07:02:16 PM by Rich M »

oldtoyota

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Re: Stupid Stuff On CNN Money.
« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2013, 07:09:58 PM »
I read this in the article. Oh, dear:

"Half-price Pinot Grigio takes the edge off the effects of the day -- an aura of road grit and pizza grease..."

Maybe she should not have had the pizza? Then, she would not have to "take the edge of" the grease.

Silly.

Starstuff

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Re: Stupid Stuff On CNN Money.
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2013, 01:31:46 PM »
She saved $87 in one day.... that's more than I spend most weeks....

iamsoners

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Re: Stupid Stuff On CNN Money.
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2013, 03:25:19 PM »
WAIT!  She works for MONEY Magazine?  You've got to be kidding me...

nofool

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Re: Stupid Stuff On CNN Money.
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2013, 05:40:41 PM »
That...is absolutely apalling. She seems out of touch with reality.

Frankies Girl

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Re: Stupid Stuff On CNN Money.
« Reply #5 on: May 22, 2013, 10:17:39 AM »
$36 average a month on lunches??? WOW, that is nuts. I buy lunch maybe once a month if that... a can of soup is easy to pack, doesn't require a fridge, and even if I eat the whole thing (large cans of Progresso - on sale and used a coupon) has low fat and calories (try to get the low sodiums tho). Or I make a sandwich or salad at home and keep a bottle of dressing in the fridge at work. I also have a small lunchbox cooler and can pack lots of fresh goodies in there and it is still cold for lunch. Honestly, going out every day for lunch is insanely wasteful and not at all healthy. I'm lazy, and I can throw a can of soup in my bag without breaking a sweat, so why can't she?

The biking thing has to be entertainment value to her writing, as anyone that was going to ride their bike to work would have found the bike lock the night before, or like most people I know, have it in a basket or wrapped around the bike itself.

I don't like doing drinks after work, or the whole bar scene and never have, so to me her spending for that even if it was a savings still seems like a total waste of money to me.

The coffee thing. OMG. She gets free coffee at work, but it doesn't taste quite right so she prefers to pay for it. You know, I never acquired a taste for coffee, so I don't drink it. But I am a soda person, so I do have a similar addiction. However, I buy them when they're on sale, stock up and figure out the cost per can, and usually I'm in 20-25¢ range. I drink water if I forget my stash and I've lately been shifting over to green tea as my work started stocking it and it's free.

That article gave me a sad. It really does seem like the common person on the street has no concept of being smart about money.

iamsoners

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Re: Stupid Stuff On CNN Money.
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2013, 10:26:33 AM »
Quote
What I find most sad is they'd probably alienate their typical readership by suggesting anything more extreme than what was mentioned in the article. I picture the typical reader smiling and bobbing their head in agreement with the "first world problems" of not being able to find a bike lock or choosing an unhealthy slice of greasy pizza instead of home cooking.

I'm a long time reader of MONEY and Kiplinger and since reading MMM I'm more bothered by their advice than before. What gets at me most is that I think there is room for them to do interesting articles on someone like MMM, do a critical analysis of the real risks of early retirement, discuss the huge changes in PF blogging over the past few years, or do an analysis of Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey like MMM just did but instead they're like ostriches with their heads in the sand. They ignore the broader conversation that they could engage in in favor of the same old stories.

oldtoyota

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Re: Stupid Stuff On CNN Money.
« Reply #7 on: May 22, 2013, 01:39:10 PM »
I'm a long time reader of MONEY and Kiplinger and since reading MMM I'm more bothered by their advice than before. What gets at me most is that I think there is room for them to do interesting articles on someone like MMM, do a critical analysis of the real risks of early retirement, discuss the huge changes in PF blogging over the past few years, or do an analysis of Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey like MMM just did but instead they're like ostriches with their heads in the sand. They ignore the broader conversation that they could engage in in favor of the same old stories.

What are the huge changes in PF blogging?

BigRed

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Re: Stupid Stuff On CNN Money.
« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2013, 02:18:58 PM »
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$36 average a month on lunches

No, that was $36 per WEEK!  Her usual put her at $40 / week, for a salad you could make at home for probably $0.50.

iamsoners

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Re: Stupid Stuff On CNN Money.
« Reply #9 on: May 22, 2013, 04:02:00 PM »
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What are the huge changes in PF blogging?

Well, I'm not sure it qualifies as huge or groundbreaking but I definitely think there's an evolution going on.  Started out with a few big blogs writing on frugality, paying down debt, etc. (I'm thinking about Get Rich Slowly, The Simple Dollar, Frugal Dad, Free Money Finance)--almost all of them sold their blogs, reportedly for 7 figure sums and then checked out in one way or another.  Not necessarily their fault, but it turns out you can only write so many blog posts on making your own toothpaste. There's plenty of fodder just in that for the traditional finance media to explore--why did these blogs become so popular, how much did they sell for--has it been a good investment for the companies that took over, etc.

Towards the end of that cycle, I would say there began to be a focus on "lifestyle design" and the idea of not being able to have everything, but being able to have everything you want within a certain means--this was certainly the final thrust of GRS before the original author stepped away.  Ramit somewhat fits in the same vein...

Then, as a somewhat natural extension of the "lifestyle design" (but without the crazy bullshit "hey look, I'm working from the top of a camel and you can too! just start a blog!") came the early retirement bloggers--MMM being the biggest but many other quality ones out there with similar blogs.  Obviously MMM was preceded by ERE but that never gained as much traction (partly timing? partly the extreme-ness of ERE? Another something the media could explore...)

Anyway, that's my take as a pretty casual reader--I'm sure someone who goes to all the PF blogger conferences could give a more nuanced view.  My point is that I think the evolution is interesting and it's beyond me why the traditional media pretends it doesn't exist instead of commenting on it, or at least stealing some ideas from it.

Grigory

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Re: Stupid Stuff On CNN Money.
« Reply #10 on: June 01, 2013, 03:30:00 PM »
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Stupid Stuff On CNN Money
Redundant.