[Joan.of.the.Arch]

The original post here is nearly 3 years old, so advice would be colored by the times--pre-recession. Still, it is not the advice I'd give, though I did in the past consider credit card a back up for emergency. I still do, though I've managed money so that I've never been backed into the credit card corner for an emergency. Actually, much less even is an emergency if your budget and savings are sufficient.

Bruce Williams has been on the air since I was in high school, and I'm now in my fifties! I listened to him in my early twenties; can't recall whether I listened to him while in high school. I always found his advice a little , eh, too full of self-important bravado or something. He ridiculed callers sometimes and spoke to them contemptuously. One recurrent piece of advice I recall to people inquiring about starting their own business or needing capital for an existing one was that if they were not willing to [2nd] mortgage their house for the dollars, then they were not dedicated enough to their proposal. So as I see it he was advising people to take more risk, to risk their family's living place.

Peculiarly I remember a phone call he got: A woman asking something about how to get the seller of a house to include window treatments in the purchase. He asked what window treatments were. She told him curtains, blinds, drapes. He made some scornful noises and told her not to bring such petty things into a real estate negotiation. Well, excuse me, but those window treatments could easily add up to as much as the kitchen appliances which are often negotiated in purchase. Big houses have big windows. Quality big house tend to have quality big window treatments, perhaps hundreds of dollars per window. After the caller hung up, he continued making fun of her.

He also recommended not negotiating prices when buying a new car! That, too, was petty. He figured by paying full price the dealership would appreciate him and give him better service. WTH?

He just had a bull in a china shop approach. Crash, grab, push, ignore other people. And he did not seem good at understanding personal finances on a level lower than his own.