tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123543662023-10-03T11:12:16.954-04:00Personal finance, wealth building, debt relief, goal setting, money management, investing, and anything else I find interesting....Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118671538672682772005-06-13T12:23:00.000-04:002005-06-13T13:20:00.336-04:00

I just discovered Ric Edelman has a web site. Edelman is the author of several well-known finance books, including The Truth About Money(I highly recommend it for a good overall view of personal finance) and Ordinary People, Extraordinary wealth, among other works.Edelman's web site is pretty informative, with links to information on most of the big life changing money events in our lives, such

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118259612807306052005-06-13T12:06:00.000-04:002005-06-13T12:25:38.710-04:00

Starting over. Great, you’re out of debt. You haven’t used your credit cards in a while, and you’ve just made that last payment to the balance. Now what?It’s a level playing field. It’s as if you’re a ML baseball player and there are no more steroids in baseball. The fans are still there though, clamoring for longer home runs more than ever before. If you can’t beat the record, you’ll never be

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118667473090989832005-06-13T07:02:00.000-04:002005-06-13T08:57:53.096-04:00

Great article by Andrea Rock of Money Magazine today with tips on how to cut the high costs of buying drugs. I can relate. My HMO has a prescription drug program for $20/drug, but I learned to my surprise a couple of weeks ago that not all drugs are covered. Although I normally shop at a local drug store because the service is so spectacular (extremely helpful pharmacists, free local delivery), I

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118664969243231792005-06-13T06:54:00.000-04:002005-06-13T08:32:22.153-04:00

I've spent most of the weekend writing for a couple of other non PF blogs (which are not yet on-line), so I didn't get anything posted here. I did spend money though!I saw Mr./Mrs. Smith which was surprisingly entertaining ($5.50 matinee). I also ordered a book for my brother's birthday present, Hell or High Water : Surviving Tibet's Tsangpo River. He's an avid kayaker and I think he'll like it.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118409239165410382005-06-10T06:54:00.000-04:002005-06-10T09:31:55.816-04:00

want no e-garbage. What do you do with your ‘old’ technology? I know that in the office, our old tech is getting newer. We used to have lags of more than 5 years to get a new computer, or copy machine, or fax. Now they are replaced every couple of years. We just had a lot of PCs replaced that had nothing wrong with them. They had plenty of speed and memory, no problems, and were used primarily

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1116441063442808042005-06-09T16:12:00.000-04:002005-06-09T16:20:54.556-04:00

I couldn’t resist. When I saw the link over on Slashdot about the New York Daily News article on a geek dating service, I just had to write about it. You no longer have to hang out at geek fests like Gnomedex or Star Wars conventions for a hot date. Instead, there's a an online personals service just for you. After all, your best investment is really yourself. Who you end up with will change

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118329419184230022005-06-09T13:06:00.000-04:002005-06-09T13:20:34.850-04:00

Time magazine's recent Web Guide: Real Estate reminded me of a topic a friend and I discuss frequently. She’s quite a bit older than me, and is currently renting from a relative, but is saving to build a small house. I, on the other hand, have no interest in new construction. I love the lines of older homes, woodwork embellishment, craftsman details, tudor-style brickwork, and natural materials.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118323195354649092005-06-09T06:48:00.000-04:002005-06-09T09:23:01.340-04:00

Design your state quarter -As part of the 50 State Quarters Program, some states are inviting you to submit ideas for your state quarter. A couple of current submission sites are for the Washington State Quarter and the Wyoming State Quarter.You can see designs for existing and upcoming quarter releases at the site of the 50 State Quarters Program.The U.S MintContact your state governor’s office

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118244124473570762005-06-08T12:15:00.000-04:002005-06-08T12:16:37.916-04:00

just about everything. One of the most common excuses for: not taking public transportation, shopping at expensive 'convenience' stores, frequenting 'fast food' places, not exercising, impulse buying, buying pre-packaged meals, expensive gas, expensive airline tickets, you name it, is "I don't have time."Make time. How many times have you ran a red light? How many times, in a more relaxed mood,

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1116710498155457902005-06-08T07:24:00.000-04:002005-06-08T11:52:23.416-04:00

Are you ready for a pet? First, you need think about all of the issues concerning having a pet in your household. Too many parents act on impulse and give a pet for Easter (bunnies are extremely popular), or a puppy for Christmas, etc. You need to make sure your child is ready for a pet. It's not fair to the animal or child when you give the child a responsibility they are not ready for.Pets are

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118233266095571412005-06-08T05:53:00.000-04:002005-06-08T08:23:09.270-04:00

There's a nifty little site I found through a link on MSN Money called Sperling's Best Places. Their most recent study is about the most expensive cities to drive in. Funnily enough its the Southeast that is pointed to as the most expensive, even though it has the lowest gas prices. Least expensive, Brownsville, TX. Most expensive, Atlanta, GA. The article explained that "the places experiencing

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118156466807659752005-06-07T12:10:00.000-04:002005-06-15T09:42:02.636-04:00

In "Quit Smoking, Get Rich" the Motley Fool examines the personal price of smoking. Consider the actual costs of tobacco products to the consumer,"Multiply $4.50 by 365 days, and you're looking at an annual cost of $1,642... If you invested $1,642 in the market each year for 30 years, you'd end up with more than $250,000." (10%).BankRate's article takes the case against even further, citing the

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118147217328635382005-06-07T06:48:00.000-04:002005-06-07T08:28:35.666-04:00

Seth has a great article over on Seth Godin's Blog called "Small is the new big" that shows a great perspective on goals and other aspects of business and life.In business, Seth points to comparisons between such entities as Amercan Airlines vs. Jet Blue, Boing, Boing vs. the New Yorker, etc. Smaller companies aim for success by filling a particular niche, their end goal is success, not world

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118080042759045812005-06-06T13:42:00.000-04:002005-06-06T13:49:15.053-04:00

"NEW YORK(CNN/Money)- Citigroup said Monday that personal information on 3.9 million consumer lending customers was lost by UPS while in transit to a credit bureau - the biggest breach of customer or employee data reported so far. "Jeesh, is somebody having a 'how can we screw our customers' contest? The winner so far- Citigroup just beat out Wachovia.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118062198577249512005-06-06T06:31:00.000-04:002005-06-06T08:51:44.023-04:00

Yahoo news has an interesting article this morning, "Web Sites, Blogs Can Boost Your Career." The article makes a distinction between the advantages of web site portfolios, which may include a resume or vitae, and a blog, which is ongoing and current (or should be, if you are referring prospective employers to it).If you have an on-line resume, make sure it is accurate and current. You should

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1118000635650433232005-06-05T15:43:00.000-04:002005-06-05T17:05:43.720-04:00

ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is stupid. I was watching a rerun of TLC’s Moving up show, in which a woman named Rebecca was buying a house. The real horror of the woman’s ordeal was not simply erasing all traces of the “hobbitesque” decoration, nor was it the dead squirrels in the ceiling, the termites, the maggots in the light fixture, the electrical that wasn’t up to code, the mice in the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1117983304323696642005-06-05T09:33:00.000-04:002005-06-05T12:20:57.740-04:00

A friend of mine asked me about Skype the other day at work, his teenage son uses it and he wanted to know what the deal was. I went to the company site and saw that Skype downloads surpassed 100 million on Friday. Skype is a free telephony service you can use to call people who also have skype on their computers or their phones. You can use expanded services to call people with regular

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1117821713211594562005-06-03T12:55:00.000-04:002005-06-03T14:03:11.910-04:00

An article about auctioneering today reminded me of what fun an auction can be. You can also get amazing deals. During a professional auction a couple of months ago, I basically sat in my chair wide-eyed for 6 hours, shocked at the incredible deals on antiques and furnishings.Here's how an auction works:Many of them are free. Some charge admission. Held at auction houses, they may have auctions

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1117806161937242202005-06-03T06:25:00.000-04:002005-06-03T09:49:28.770-04:00

Sharp's new 65-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) television is purportedly the biggest in the world, although this CNN article admits most consumers won't pay $15,000 for a tv. Still, I bet there are quite a few who will. $15,000. To me, that's a house downpayment. Here are a few other things I could spend $15,000 on: a car my IRA- this year and the next, and pay off my student loan a year of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1117730164393493022005-06-02T12:28:00.000-04:002005-06-02T12:39:30.323-04:00

Washington Post staff writer Shankar Vedantam explained in "Hormone Spray Is Found To Bolster Trust in Others." about a recent experiment using oxytocin. In testing, subjects administered the nasal spray were much more likely to entrust others with their money than subjects not administered the spray. Said one scientist, "I am more alarmed about the manipulations of marketing than the

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1117724966891043032005-06-02T12:05:00.000-04:002005-06-02T12:09:46.626-04:00

I'm looking for a new host to post some blogs I've been working on for a while so I can have my own domain name. There are so many companies out there it's hard to pick one. Anybody think their host is especially good? Price matters. I'll probably be using WordPress too. Please give me your recommendations.Thanks!

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1117717978643800702005-06-02T06:49:00.000-04:002005-06-02T09:36:53.616-04:00

The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the U of Pennsylvania's report Open to Exploitation, written Joseph Turow, Lauren Feldman, and Kim Meltzer, consists of a survey and results of adult consumers on their internet usage. The Policy Center’s web site says that,” Sixty-four percent of American adults do not know that it is legal for online stores to charge different people different prices at the

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1117662991696089862005-06-01T17:41:00.000-04:002005-06-01T17:56:31.700-04:00

Wow. Never thought I'd see this. Nathan Dugan of ShareSaveSpend recommends giving credit cards as gradauation gifts. But you know what? It really makes sense. Wouldn't it be better for you to help select the right credit card offer, and go through the process with your teen step-by-step, rather than have them accept the first free t-shirt-with-application offer on campus? And the second, and the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1117649116423757612005-06-01T12:49:00.000-04:002005-06-01T14:05:16.426-04:00

Liz Pulliam Weston has a great article over on MSNMoney on cutting the cost of teen driving insurance. Tips such as:Find out how your insurer assigns drivers to carsKeep those grades up Take driver’s edJack up your deductibles Take your college student off the policyDon’t buy new cars Consider not reporting fender-bendersand other cost-cutting, life-saving tips are mentioned. A great related link

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12354366.post-1117627353962570242005-06-01T05:38:00.000-04:002005-06-01T14:08:37.570-04:00

In "Old friends: One rich, one not" Jeanne Sahadi explores the depths of envy and friendship. While Sahadi focuses primarily on the first post college years, most of us have come across this issue at one time or another. Differences tend to break friendships apart. I believe its not the earnings that makes the differences, its the spending. If a friend wants to party all night, shop all day, and

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0