Credit Debt Banking News | CDBN

It’s amazing how often “luck” comes up when people find out I started Smart Bear.

“You’re lucky to have your own business. I hate my boss.”“You’re lucky your business is still doing okay in this recession.”“You’re lucky that you sold your business.”

You’d think they’d be impressed with the hours I put in, with the ideas I had, with the way I handled customers, and with the stress of bootstrapping.

But no, success is “lucky.”

It feels dismissive, perhaps even insulting: It wasn’t you, it was luck.?Your decisions weren’t important, your ideas weren’t special; you’re lucky. Anyone could have done the same; time and chance happeneth to them all.

It’s easy to be indignant and dismissive right back:

So when I quit my job ..read more

They say that everything in social media is either free or close to free. Blogging and Twitter and Facebook and viral movies and webinars are sooo cheap, and yet sooo valuable!

So they say.

I completely disagree. ?Social media is expensive. ?In fact, it’s more expensive than traditional media. ?It just comes in the form of spending time instead of spending money.

The “cheap” claim is everywhere. ?For example, Seth Godin suggests?summer camp counselors should make videos:

Have your private school or summer camp record a 7 minute video on every student every month (that’s a seven minute a day commitment per teacher) and post them privately. Seven minutes is the equivalent of a three-page personal letter, with far less resistance on the part of ..read more

With the Federal Reserve’s recent move to pump another $1 trillion dollars into the US economy, the possibility of rising inflation is highly likely if not imminent. Simply put, inflation happens when prices rise due to the falling inherent value of a currency and usually occurs when the government prints money it does not have. Inflation is harmful because prices rise, but wages do not rise as quickly.

Inflation is also harmful to investments and savings. In order to actually grow your money, your money must grow at a faster rate than the current inflation rate. When your money grows at a rate slower than inflation, you are actually losing money because your ..read more

If you’re like me, you have a burning desire to be awesome at Photoshop. It seems so easy, so within reach. Maybe you’ve learned a few tricks like making gradient backgrounds for website titles. Ooooh, it looks 3D! Look out Pixar!

But then you come to some bitter realizations:

I’m spending way too much time on this. None of this is making my website truly awesome. Design doesn’t come from Photoshop filters; there’s color palette, page layout, consistency, compatibility with messaging, not to mention fonts other than Myriad Pro.

Making your website or blog or software gorgeous means finding a great designer. And since you probably don’t have enough work to hire an in-house designer, you need to find a freelancer.

Well, you’re in luck. Here’s how ..read more

Late last year I wrote about how American Express lowered my credit limit from $25000 to $7900, without a legitimate reason.  Well yes, just last Friday I received I received an email notice of credit limit reduction, down to $6800.

Notice of Credit Limit Reduction Your Account ending in XXXXXX

Log in to Manage Your Account Online

Dear JK:

We are contacting you to let you know that after a thorough review of your credit profile we have lowered the credit limit on the account listed above. We wanted you to be aware of this change immediately.

Your revised credit limit for purchases is now $6,800.00. The new cash advance limit is $200.00. Please ..read more