Forbes has released their annual list of of the top towns to live well in here in the U.S., and there might be some surprises on the list. Here are the Top 10 from the list:
10. Foster City, California
9. Coral Gables, Florida
8. Rockville, Maryland
7. Columbia, Maryland
6. Newton, Massachusetts
5. Cupertino, California
4. Mountain View, California
3. Fairfax, Virginia
2. Doral, Florida
1. Boulder, Colorado
We are all very concerned with the health of our bodies, but sometimes people let the health of their finances slide a little bit. I know I have been guilty of this in the past! Lucky for you, I just came across a simple 7 step quiz you can take to get an insight into how you are doing financially, depending on your age, how much debt (and what kind) you have, what you have in the bank, and a few other things. I took the test, and it looks like I have my housing costs and debt level under control, my emergency fund is ample, my diversification is a little conservative, and I am just slightly undersaving for retirement. Overall though, I am doing pretty well according to this simple test that took only a few minutes to do. If you want to take the test and see what your financial health looks like, head on over and see how you do!
She doesn’t need more crap to clutter up the house, I promise you that. Throughout my teenage years and into my twenties, I always felt like I had to get my mom something for Mother’s Day. Something, anything – a frame with the word “Love” on it, a nice picture, some flowers that die in a few days. I can only think back on all the extra “stuff” I bought for her that ended up in a landfill someplace over the years. Only recently have I started thinking that buying stuff isn’t really what a Mom would want; after all, it’s just extra things to keep around the house. Instead, I am of the firm opinion that giving TIME is much more of a gift that someone would appreciate, and it costs you nothing. And that’s not because you are cheap – in fact it means quite the opposite. Buying “stuff” is easy, anyone can do that. But taking the time out of the day to call your mom for a while, take her out to lunch, do something she has always wanted to do – that’s being thoughtful.
If you can afford to lose a few billion dollars but still have billions left, I have trouble feeling bad for you, even if it is 25% of your net worth. If I lost 25% of my net worth, I would be worth $.75, so there. 
There’s a big difference in how much you lose, based on the initial size of your bank account. Figures compiled for the Sunday Times Rich List 2009 reveal that the number of billionaires has fallen from 75 to 43 in the past 12 months. Some gems from the article, which made me cry out in pain over their apparent poverty:
I have absolutely no need or want to be wealthy. There, I said it. Was that so bad? Many people would take issue with that statement, but not me. I honestly have no need to be wealthy in my life. Comfortable? Yes, absolutely. Do I want to go without? Nope. But do I need more than my fair share? Not at all. After all, you cannot take it with you when you go, and the less I take the more there might be for someone else less fortunate than I. All I want is to be happy, stable, and fed. Is that too much to ask?
