Learning French helped my English more than any English class I've ever taken.

The authors conclude that, while lotteries can be and are (rarely) sound bets, they are not good investments. The risk is too high for the expected return—i.e., you could invest in something much more traditional, take less risk, and expect a higher long-run return.

Fredley, I think they're actually saying the expected value is positive (as you said, the expected winnings are greater than the ticket cost). While that seems incomprehensible, it is theoretically possible.

Wow, are you saying class mobility rates are less than .00001%?

I found a recent research project by an economist that evaluates some of the most popular charitable organizations (mosquito nets, donating animals, providing clean water, etc.) and gets to the heart of what your money actually does for people. I can't recommend it enough if you want to give money internationally. [w…

And Ramit is not Verizon...what is your point? He's selling a niche product to a niche audience.

I've tried it with Comcast at least 3 times and it's never worked for me...

Dude, you sound like you have no self-esteem and you build yourself up by tearing down others. There are people out there with outstanding work ethics and good ideas. If all you're looking for is a cog in a machine, then I don't want to work for you.

This is incredible. Thanks for the post.

Does anyone else have a problem with their Gmail contacts having all this information pushed to them? That really really bothers me. I don't want someone who I've talked to once through Craigslist finding out everything about me just because they know my e-mail address.

Looks like a great site; too bad it got recommended in the middle of the day when we're bored at work!

As I said, I'm sure there are legitimate suits. My problem is the author of this article seems to take the stance that if a settlement is awarded, you should go for the money, and doesn't offer qualifiers. I know there are many suits (such as the ones where I've received awards) where the case serves no purpose…

There's a distinction between infinite and functionally infinite.

I'd bet any suit against a credit card company is legit!

Ugh. Please don't promote these things. CA suits typically enrich lawyers who harass companies into settling. Whether or not they've done anything wrong, the "claimants" on these suits receive a few pennies or dollars, while the California law firm makes a few million dollars.

@smschanda001 If you do decide to roll one into the other, make sure you don't pay to do so. If you have to pay a 5% sales charge just to have the money put into a new account, you're just handing money to Fidelity. I'm not sure how they do it, but there's probably a way you can consolidate those 401(k)s without…

@ teddyo Amen. "Actionable" is a key word—Ramit helps readers get #@$! done.

@ iLife if you're really uncertain, there usually is a "Target Date" option which automatically selects the allocation for you based on your age. Otherwise, you can find sample asset allocations online. Just Google it. It's better to have a very good choice and get started than to wait years to find the "perfect"…

@ FrankReality also (a) there are often lower fees, (b) you can consolidate accounts, and (c) you can designate beneficiaries so your kids don't have to take the account as ordinary taxable income if you die with money in the account.

@Aex 401(k) is ALWAYS a good idea if you have a dollar for dollar match. Otherwise, you're missing a 100% immediate ROI. Then, the Roth makes sense, then a traditional IRA. However, if you want to keep it simple and you're not investing a ton of money, a 401(k) is not a terrible idea.