Welcome to Brian Preston's “Money Guy” blog and podcast! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our free RSS feed or email newsletter. Thanks for visiting!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(click on the icon to play audio)

In tight economic times charities are often hit with increasing needs from the individuals who require their services. To make matters worse, generous donors are struggling with their own financial issues resulting in less donations to their favorite charities. In times like this both donors and charitable organizations have to adapt and become more creative and open to unique planning opportunities that can provide benefits to the donors and the charities.

Keep reading →

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Today's show is a grab-bag of goodies. If you keep up with pop-culture, you've probably come across the show Extreme Makeover Home Edition. If you're not familiar with this show, they select a family in need and makeover their home. One family they selected actually lived about fifteen minutes away from me, so when I read this story it really hit close to home (no pun intended).

As described in the July Atlanta Journal the largest home ever built on this show, which my wife can vouch for because she actually attended two of the construction days, is now in foreclosure. I find this so sad! This family fell victim to the same poor financial decision making that is one of the reasons for the current state of our economy. They were given a house worth anywhere from $550,000 - $650,000. They were even given enough cash to pay the taxes on the home for something like 20 years.

Keep reading →

Thanks and a huge shout-out to everyone who helped drive record numbers on the Money Guy website in July 2008.

If you've told a friend about me, subscribed to our free email update list, added a kind comment on iTunes, or linked to an article on your personal website, thank you! As one of the few successful independent personal finance podcasters, I appreciate your support.

Money Guy's July 2008 top friends:

• Five Cent Nickel
• Moolanomy
• Get Rich Slowly

Keep reading →

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The mutual fund universe is larger than ever and there are no signs of it slowing down. With more funds, more information, and easier access to this information, how can you go about selecting solid funds that are going to assist you in achieving your life goals?

Keep reading →