One of my favorite personal finance writers is Eric Tyson. I like the way he focuses on the basics, explains complicated issues simply, and has a philosophy of money that's similar to mine. Well, he now has a website and he was kind enough to answer a few questions from me about his writing and the new site. Once you read this, if you do check out his site, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. For now, here's the interview:

Tell us about yourself.

I have an extensive background in the financial services field. First, as a management consultant to major financial service firms including banks, insurers and money managers. I am a trained economist earning my degree with honors at Yale University and I earned my M.B.A. at Stanford. I worked for more than a deca

This article tells the story of two friends who won a lottery in 2005. They each won $3.7 million (not a fortune, but nothing to sneeze at either) and went their separate ways (for the most part.) One of the guys, Aristeo Robelin, has managed his money wisely. The details:

With most of his winnings reserved for his children, Robelin says he lives on $80,000 per year.

Soon after he picked up his check from the state lottery office in Lansing, Robelin quit his job installing windows. He avoided the spending sprees and extravagant gifts for family and friends that befall many lottery winners and estimates he has more than $2 million remaining.

"I know the value of a dollar," Robelin says. "It's not like I worked hard for it, but it's mine.&q

I am giving away a copy of You Need a Budget! All you need to do to enter is to leave any comment on this post. Sometime in the next day or two, I'll select a winner at random and announce with a new post that a winner has been selected. (Update: For those of you who don't know -- and some don't based on the comments below -- this is a piece of software. It's NOT a book!)

It will be the winner's responsibility to email me their contact information. I'll then send the winner's information to the You Need a Budget people and they'll work out getting the prize delivered.

A few rules for these giveaways:

1. You can not win more than one prize.

2. I will be the complete and final judge.

3. Legal disclaimer: I can not gua

Any of you ever have this happen to you:

We were in Walmart the other day when I heard my wife a couple aisles over talking to someone. Since the kids were with me, I knew it wasn't them, so I went over to see who she was talking to. Turns out there was a deaf gentleman there who had handed her a card saying 1) he was deaf and 2) would she "buy" a small book from him on sign language to help him out financially?

I've seen this "fundraising technique" a few times in the past (I can't remember if they've come to my house or if it's always been in a public place), but the situation is always the same: deaf person, card explaining what they are doing, "selling" a small booklet, so they can get financial help/support themsel