Articles written by Paul E. Zimmerman - Page 3

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I'm here for the money, and really, I hope that you are, too.

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Society & Lifestyle > Personal Morals & Values Your definition of happiness: 113 of 159
Humans being multitudinous in number and kind, so too is what constitutes happiness - it is individual. It also is something that can be given, but frequently, happiness must be made. I have never seen nor can I conceive of an example of happiness in which a person's existence is out of alignment with his or her values, that... More..
Personal Finance > Taxes Ways to spend your income tax refund: 8 of 11
Don't spend your tax refund, invest it! If you are like many people who have not yet begun setting aside funds for your retirement, your tax return is the perfect opportunity to do so, and the reason is that it has already solved the issue that prevents most people from saving for retirement: they want to spend their hard ea... More..
Personal Finance > Retirement Retirement savings: The traditional IRA vs Roth: 4 of 5
The major difference between traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs is tax treatment. A traditional IRA allows you as the owner to deduct part of your contributions from your taxes now, but you pay taxes on the money you take out of this type of IRA later. A Roth IRA, on the other hand, does not provide a deduction on your current t... More..
Arts & Humanities > Ethics The importance of philosophy in everyday thinking and decision-making: 13 of 16
In my short career as a university instructor of philosophy, I heard from my students more than my fair share of a question every philosophy instructor knows: "Why do we have to study this stuff? It has nothing to do with my degree!" (The philosophy majors did not say this, naturally, but they're a minority.) In fairness to ... More..
Pets & Animals > Cat Training How to keep your cat from destroying your home: 9 of 11
I have a cat, Figaro, who does something that gets the attention of every friend and relative who visits my home: he actually uses his scratching post! Occasionally, like any cat would, he'll scratch at something else (mainly the carpet, but never the furniture), but he quickly returns to his now well-worn scratching post to... More..
Personal Finance > Retirement The road to early retirement: 13 of 15
If you want to retire early, there are two things you must do: write out a complete list of your regular expenses, and learn about and invest in dividend paying stocks. The first part is easy. All you need to do is sit down with pen and paper and create a list of your regular monthly expenses. The reason you should do this i... More..
Personal Finance > Credit Cards Should credit card companies be targeting college students?: 24 of 26
Credit card companies should be targeting college students if doing so is profitable. They should not only if doing so tends to cause monetary losses. Achieving the former while avoiding the latter is the purpose and the obligation of a business to its shareholders. What we ought to question is the creeping infantilization o... More..
Personal Finance > Managing Debt The difference between bad debt and good debt: 27 of 28
The difference between bad debt and good debt is simple: good debt allows you to earn a higher return on something than the debt costs when you would not be able to acquire the asset in question without the debt; debt is bad when you owe it for something that does not go up in value, decreases in value, or when the thing owe... More..
Personal Finance > Mortgages & Home Loans Should the federal government offer foreclosure bailout relief for struggling homeowners?: 31 of 32
That the federal government should not bail out struggling homeowners can be understood by answering this question: should rehab centers hand out illegal drugs to addicts? Though the difference between these two questions is a situation involving economics and the other biology, the essential similarity between them makes th... More..
Arts & Humanities > Ethics Are we drowning in excess?: 34 of 35
Though this question invites a simple "yes" or a simply "no" answer, the real (and reasonable) answer to this question is, "it depends whom you ask." Human beings all share some specific needs in common, such as food, but we do not all require them equally; the common needs people share in kind are different from person to p... More..