>> Curbly: Salvage and season cast-iron cookware << “Cast iron is incredible. It’s like nature’s non-stick surface. I have a 12” skillet, a round griddle for tortillas, and a large, rectangular griddle/grill pan, all of which I absolutely baby, adding flavor layer by layer, and avoiding soap, and many times water, at all cost. So, [...]

Are you upper-class or lower-class? Someplace in between? The New York Times has an interactive graphic that explains how class works. While there are many characteristics that could be used to describe a person’s class, among the most influential are the person’s occupation, education, income, and wealth. Below are different ways of looking at class [...]

An anonymous poster at AskMetafilter wonders should parents finance grad school? Should parents help their children pay for grad school if they can afford it? My parents are divorced, but both are in households considered in the top 1% of the US in terms of income and net worth. After limited financial assistance from them [...]

>> Prosper personal lending update << Many of you enjoyed Frykitty’s post on investing with Prosper, the person-to-person microloan service. Here’s an article at PF Blog that describes the author’s experience underwriting 163 loans for a total of $14,880 over the past year. Based on the average interest rate (17.6%), I’m guessing that most of [...]