I confess that I don’t read the newspaper. I just don’t see the purpose. With cable news and the Internet, newspapers are yesterday’s news.But, my wife and I do purchase the local Sunday paper. The reason? Coupons. My wife is such an industrious clipper and saver that she regularly saves $20-40 per week on our grocery bill.
But while she is busy perusing the week’s sales, my guilty pleasure is the USA Weekend insert.
I read the various “smart” sections:
- Money Smart
- Eat Smart
- Parent Smart
- Think Smart
Sometimes they’re interesting, but mostly they’re things I already know. But that’s OK, because it makes me feel smart. 
But the July 1st edition had what is perhaps the most useless Money Smart section in my memory. The topic that week was “Let your house make money.”
Hmm… that sounds like a good topic, I thought. I figured it would be the standard information about home equity, or making extra payments on your mortgage to build up more equity, but alas I was wrong.
The entire section was about renting out your home for extra cash. To be clear about this, it is a great idea – if you happen to be in the less than 1% of the population who fits the scenario!
It wasn’t even about having a 2nd home to rent out for income. It’s about going on vacation and renting your home while you’re away.
I happen to live in a town that has a very busy track season. Every year, for about 4 or 5 weeks the town is mobbed by tourists coming to see horse races.
Many people in town do what the article suggests. In fact, it’s just about necessary to pay for the exorbitant mortgages, but that’s a different story.
My major problem with the article is that it’s utterly useless, not only for the majority of people in the country, but also for the majority of homeowners as well!
It’s things like this that make me realize why so many people remain financially ignorant in this society. The Sunday USA Weekend insert strikes me as a terrific opportunity to educate people on the basics of finance. Inform the population of the things they never learned in school; the things they never learned before they got a credit card!
Here’s a sample of something that would be a great topic for such an insert:
So, just to recap:
Useful
Useless
- Let your house make money, MoneySmart
Got it? Good.
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