This Little Piggy Went to the Bank

eBay Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:04:00 +0000

Totally awesome Hello Kitty aquarium as seen on
Hello Kitty Hell.

Cinderella costume

eBay Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:49:00 +0000

eBay auction
More tomorrow

Stocks crushed

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:35:00 +0000

Stocks crushed

Approximately $1.2 trillion in market value is gone after the House rejects the $700 billion bank bailout plan.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks skidded Monday, with the Dow slumping nearly 778 points, in the biggest single-day point loss ever, after the House rejected the government's $700 billion bank bailout plan.
(click here to read more)

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:20:00 +0000

Not News:

Almost half of employees living paycheck to paycheck

A survey of 7,192 workers released Wednesday by online job-search Web site CareerBuilder.com shows 47 percent of working Americans claim they always or usually live paycheck to paycheck just to make ends meet. This marks a jump from 43 percent in 2007.

More female workers -- 54 percent -- always or usually have to live paycheck to paycheck, compared to 41 percent of males. More men (77 percent) than women (72 percent) said they save some portion of their paycheck each month.

I think that if the survey pool had been larger the numbers would be different. Forty-seven percent seems low to me.

An interesting thing is that even people making $100,000 or more still aren't able to save. I know the saying, "the more you make, the more you spend" but I would have thought that more would at least spend what they can afford.

More Bad News for Michigan

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:35:00 +0000

click here for entire article

Michigan was the only state where poverty rose and incomes fell last year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

The statistics illustrate the uniqueness of Michigan's economic swoon, and the extent to which the auto industry's downward plunge has caused a ripple effect across the state.

Michigan's poverty rate was 14 percent, up from 13.5 percent in 2006 and a full percentage point above the national rate, which was virtually unchanged during the same period. The state's rate has grown steadily since 2000, when it was just above 10 percent. The number of people in poverty increased by 45,000 during 2006-07.

The 2007 median income in Michigan was $47,950, down 1.2 percent or $596 from the 2006 median of $48,546. The state's nationwide ranking slid from 24th to 27th.

They also showed Michigan's rate of "extreme poverty" -- a yearly income of less than half the poverty threshold, or $10,325 for a family of four -- jumped from 6 percent in 2006 to 6.5 percent last year. Eight years ago, the rate was 4.8 percent.

More than 18 percent of Michigan residents get some type of assistance through the state Department of Human Services, said Sheryl Thompson, acting director of outstate operations.

Even Mrs. Fields is feeling the pinch

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:33:00 +0000

Mrs. Fields Famous Brands LLC plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to help restructure its business, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company also owns TCBY frozen yogurt.

The company plans to continue doing business and has also hired Blackstone Advisory Services to explore a possible sale of TCBY.

"There are several food retailers right now that are mall-based that are under pressure," said Marti Kopacz, managing partner of the restructuring group at accounting firm Grant Thornton. "Food that is out of the home and food that is arguably discretionary is going to come under pressure when people don't feel that they've got that discretionary income in their wallets."
click here for entire article

For some reason, this story was popular on celebrity gossip websites. Is Debbie Fields considered a celebrity?

I was never a fan of these cookies, I prefer the Original Cookie Company. Oh no! She owns that too and Hot Sam. I haven't been to our local mall in probably a year or more, if other people are like me and shopping online, I can see why these stores are having problems.

Summer Giving Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:25:00 +0000

ATTENTION ALL ST. JOHN PARISHIONERS

The Christian Service Commission will be sponsoring
the Summer Giving Tree once again.

The tree is now up in the Parish Center.
Please come take a tag or two.

The items need to be returned to the Parish by
Monday, August 18th.

I stopped in today to get some tags and there are quite a few left.
If you can afford to help out, please considering doing so.
Most of the tags are such things as:

Undershirts, backpacks, paper, socks, TrapperKeepers, etc.

I think I'll set up a Paypal contribution on the sidebar for the various charities I support if anyone would like to help that way.

Jackson hasn't been hit by bad weather (Thank God) but the Michigan economy has been affecting us negatively.

Update Retirement Funds

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:24:00 +0000

Updated amounts:

Car fund: $5,575.86
IRA'S: $55,854.32

I still need to get the totals from my stocks and 401k.

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 23:22:00 +0000

From CNN:

Man Pays $30,000 in rent, faces eviction

LAGUNA HILLS, California (CNN) -- Charles Nelson has paid about $30,000 in rent since moving into a spacious four-bedroom home in August. He was stunned when a real estate agent knocked on his door recently and said the home was in foreclosure.

His landlord had not paid the mortgage since he moved in and the bank is now demanding the house back. Nelson will also lose his $7,700 security deposit.

More than 100 miles away in the working-class city of Palmdale, Fai Nomaaea -- a 35-year-old mother of eight -- can relate. The single mom was cleaning the yard when a man handed her a notice of foreclosure. Like Nelson, she had been paying her rent on time every month.

"It really is a frightening issue for tenants that have no way of knowing until almost the last minute that a landlord is defaulting on a property."

... in many cases, renters want to buy the properties being foreclosed, but the banks force them out anyway.

Nelson knows all about that. He called the bank to offer to buy the home he's renting but was told that he has to move out first and then make a bid. Now, he lives day-to-day, not knowing when he'll have to leave.

"There could be a knock on the door, saying we have 10 days, two weeks. I don't know."

Click here to read entire article.

The lady I sit next to at work is going through this exact thing. Not only is the owner not paying his mortgage, he is in violation of some safety concerns that he's had 6 months to correct. A representative from the city showed up on her day off to inspect the house to see if they had been repaired and he is the one who told her that the man hasn't been paying the mortgage. Last I knew she didn't pay June's rent because she may have to move if the bank is foreclosing.

The terrible part is that this owner just rented to her in late April to have her move in May 1st, knowing that he hadn't been paying the mortgage and probably had no intention to do so. He collected a deposit, 1st and last month's rent and a pet deposit. Even with that cash he most likely didn't use that money to pay on the arrears. That should be a criminal charge in my opinion.

Stamp Out Hunger

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:34:00 +0000

This Saturday, participate in the Postal Service's Food Drive by leaving your non-perishable food items next to your mailbox.

Donate items like: pasta, rice, soup, juice, fruits and vegetables.

No glass containers or expired items. Please.

For more information: HelpStampOutHunger

The Hunger Facts on the website are heartbreaking. If you are able to help in any way, I encourage you to do so.

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:32:00 +0000

Stamp Out Hunger?WidgetboxThis Saturday, leave non-perishable food items at your mailbox to participate.

Food Pantry To Open In May

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:32:00 +0000

Food pantry to open in May

A new Jackson food pantry will open in early May in the new American Red Cross building, 3425 Francis St. It will be open every Wednesday evening with no restrictions on how often people come for food.

It is being organized by members of Queen of the Miraculous Medal Catholic Church, 606 S. Wisner St., but is an ecumenical effort.

"This is Christ's mission, that's what we are all about," said the Rev. Robert McGraw, senior pastor.

When he arrived at the parish four years ago, McGraw said he heard about the food pantry at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1505 W. Michigan Ave.

"I learned they were open on Saturday mornings, but what happens to feed people midweek? One weekend I preached a challenge to set a goal to at some point open another food pantry on Wednesdays, and here we are," McGraw said.

As final work is being done on the facility, it has become a project that "was meant to be" according to Mark Smith, a member of Queen's and religion education director at St. Mary Catholic Church, 301 S. Mechanic St.

He explained that Queen's had 135 members who wanted to volunteer at Immanuel's food pantry, but only 30 were needed. From not wanting to waste that time and talent, and wanting to feed people midweek, came the inspiration to open another pantry.

The "meant to be" part came when the Red Cross recently moved into its spacious new location and offered room to store pantry items and a separate room to distribute it to people.

"We're honored to give them the space," said Larry Lloyd, blood services director.

"We learned from Hurricane
Katrina that a lot of people are never thought of, or never put first. We want people to come to the food pantry and associate us with helping in other ways."

Janet Jaeger, who helps with Immanuel's pantry and is a member of End Hunger in Jackson, a coalition of food pantries that meets on a monthly basis, said she is delighted with the new facility.

Immanuel's pantry, Jaeger said, started in 2003 with a dozen families. Today it averages 260 families, with some Saturdays seeing more than 300.

"We want to have more food available in our community, and that location will be convenient for clients who can't get here. You know, we really can end hunger," she said.

Once the new pantry is up and running, McGraw said volunteers will take it a step further by offering people an "assessment" of their needs and helping them meet those needs. For instance, maybe a person has never been taught budgeting skills. Or a person needs help creating a resume or learning which agencies to call for specific assistance.

"We know they really don't want to be walking in the door asking for food. We want to help rebuild their dignity so the next time they come in it's as a volunteer to work at the pantry," McGraw said.

Over 300 people on a Saturday?!!! The economy in Jackson is horrible. And this is just one food bank. We don't have many but my church has one, there is the Interfaith Shelter which serves meals and people can stay and The Salvation Army. Possibly Catholic Social Services but that might be my associated with my church and now this one with Queen's.

But when I Google "End Hunger In Jackson" it says there are 10 groups. I've emailed Immanuel Church asking for more information and I'll post it when if they respond.

I have a list of items my church posted in the weekly bulletin that like to have on hand and I try to purchase those items when I go and have my mom drop those off when she volunteers there for funeral dinners. I usually try to do that once a month, but this article reminds me that I haven't in a while. I'm going to have to go grocery shopping this week.

This also reminds me, that the Post Office will be having their Food Drive in May. I'll do a post on that and I like to collect food at work. I think I'll see if anyone will do it at the golf course too.

Taxes

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:11:00 +0000

Federal--Owe: $195.00
State--Refund: $295.00
City--Refund: $6.00

Plus for some reason the H&R Block website kept locking up on me while I was trying to input my Federal information so I ended up doing the Federal and State myself so I saved the $59.95.

Pretty good year.

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:49:00 +0000

I've already blogged many times how Angelina donates 1/3 of her income.
PerezHilton.com reports:
Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie have donated $8 million to various charities through their non-profit Jolie Pitt Foundation.

Their biggest donations were to Doctors Without Borders (International Division) and the Global AIDS Alliance. The couple gave these organizations $1 million each.

In addition to donating cash, Brad and Angelina invest a lot of TIME helping out those in need. Brad's helping to re-build New Orleans with the Make It Right Foundation and Ange travels the world with the UN to advocate for refugees.

I really admire Angelina Jolie. She has really reinvented herself since adopting her son Maddox (who is the cutest little boy) and really stepped up and thrown herself into causes she really believes in.

She has said before that she divides her income into thirds. 1/3 to expenses, 1/3 to charity and 1/3 to investments.

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it. No matter how much your income, can you imagine cutting it by 33%?? Could you do it? Even if not for charity could you divert 33% to debt reduction, retirement, or children's college fund? Would you even try it for a month? Three months? Six months? (answer in the comments)

Another important thing that can be gained from this article is that even if you can't make monetary donations most non-profit organizations can benefit from your TIME. Most if not all can use more volunteers a few hours a week.

IRA & Car Fund Addition

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:03:00 +0000

I made some additions to my IRA & car fund.

Evidently I forgot to add to the IRA for last year. ('duh) so $2,000 to fully fund 2007. $2,000 for 2008 and $1,000 to the car fund.

So that brings the car fund up to $4,423.79 and the IRA up $17,955.76 I added to the Blue Chip Growth fund which at the time was at $33.70 a share.

Retirment

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 18:52:00 +0000

I overheard a co-worker talking about wanting to retire this year. She said she'd like to but isn't sure if she can afford it. She will have to check with a financial planner.

Since I wasn't part of the conversation I couldn't ask the following questions:

1. Do you already have an advisor or will you be hiring one now? If you are hiring one now, why did you wait so long?

2. Did you have any plan to retire or just decide? (for instance, I'd like to retire in 5 years)

3. What makes you think you CAN'T retire now?

Just some things that went through my mind, after all she has 35+ years with the company!! I think after 20 years or so, of working a person would have some idea about the future. Personally I think about retiring practically every day!!

Save $$$ Ordering Online

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:54:00 +0000

Did you know that when ordering online you can Google the name of the store + promotional code and find a discount?

I just ordered a black Halo dress, found a code word and saved $45!!! How cool is that? Only took three or four seconds and saved 15%. Easy money.

Try it next time you buy online and let me know how much you saved.

As Platinum Soars, the Catalytic Converter Gets Hot

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:37:00 +0000

Why are catalytic converter's getting stolen?

Catalytic converters use a small amount platinum to convert harmful engine emissions, including nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, into less harmful ones, like nitrogen and carbon dioxide.

Platinum is currently trading at $2100 an ounce and each catalytic converter contains between three and seven grams. This recent price spike is largely the result of fears of mine closures due to power cutbacks in South Africa, which controls some 80 percent of the world's platinum output.

Palladium and rhodium, also used as catalysts, are running about $445 and $7300 an ounce, respectively.

I had been wondering why I was suddenly reading a rash of stories of catalytic converters being stolen from parked cars.

eBay Seller Boycott

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:04:00 +0000

EBay seller boycott set to start Monday

Ebay sellers plan a weeklong strike to protest changes to the site's fee, search and feedback policies.

By Stacy Cowley

(FORTUNE Small Business) -- Activists opposed to eBay's (EBAY, Fortune 500) upcoming fee and policy changes are readying for a week long site boycott starting on Monday, with buyers and sellers waiting to see if this strike will succeed where past protests have failed.

The boycott, planned to run Feb. 19 - 25, is scheduled to overlap eBay's Feb. 20 rollout of significant changes announced last month.

Sellers say eBay's new policies are likely to cost them more money, but what's really inspired an outpouring of wrath is an adjustment to eBay's feedback system: sellers will no longer be able to leave negative commentary about their buyers. Critics say that will leave sellers vulnerable to negligent bidders and scammers.

"You get bad buyers as often as you get bad sellers," said M. Owens

Owens, who plans to participate in the boycott and avoid buying or selling on eBay next week, is also worried about the impact of a change to eBay's "best match" search algorithm, one of the least-publicized aspects of the upcoming changes. That search method, which will become eBay's default next month, favors sellers with high and detailed customer-satisfaction ratings. Low-volume sellers, like Owens, say this puts them at a disadvantage by burying their listings.

EBay spokesman Usher Lieberman said the company is taking a wait-and-see approach to the boycott talk

click here to read the entire article

I doubt that this boycott will make much difference to eBay, that is, unless the organizers are successful in getting a huge percentage of participants.

I disagree with the statemant that there are as many bad buyers as there are sellers.

What is the motivation to be a bad buyer? None that I can see. I've had bids and then didn't receive payment, but I still have the item, I'm out my listing fees and time but it has only happened once or twice in over 6 years. I wouldn't call that a big scam.

But to be a scammer as a seller? Yes, there is money to be made in that. How many of us have:
a) paid for an item and never received it or heard from the seller again?
b) received an item totally different than described?
c) seen (or bid on) items that were listed as pictures of the item?

Mutual Fund Update

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:06:00 +0000

I received my latest statement from T. Rowe Price.

Blue Chip Growth $16,659.97 -$279.17
Mid-Cap Growth $39,356.08 -$488.61
Value $3,223.14 -$176.86

I took a little hit this year but hopefully next year will look better.

New Car

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 23:39:00 +0000

My car turns 10 years oldnext month. It has over 240,000 miles on it and I drive 155 miles five days a week to get to work. I haven't had any major problems with it and I try to keep to a 5,000-6,000 mile oil change. But it will eventually need to be replaced.

Last May I finally opened a mutal fund with T.Rowe Price to use as a savings account for a car. My target is $20,000. That is assuming my current car lasts until I reach my goal. Hopefully I'll surpass my goal and still be driving my Escort.

I opened the account in May 2007 with $1,000 and have $300 automatically deposited each month. I'm thinking of increasing that amount to $400 or $450 this year. If we get a bonus this year I'll deposit that also.

I'm not able to access my account online and the last statement I have is only up to the end of 3rd quarter. My balance at that time was $2,479.67 already up by $279.67 Good times!!!!

Forbes: Top 10 Richest Fictional Characters

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 19:56:00 +0000

The Forbes Fictional 15

To qualify: 1) must be an authored fictional creation 2) must star in a specific narrative work or series of works 3) must be known for being rich. Net worth estimates are based on an analysis of the fictional character's source material, and are valued against known real-world commodity and share price movements. In the case of privately held fictional concerns, we sought to identify comparable fictional public companies. All prices are as of market close, Dec. 10, 2007.

#1 Scrooge McDuck
$28.8 Billion

#2 Ming The Merciless
$20.9 billion

#3 Richie Rich
$16.1 billion

#4 Mom (Futurama)
$15.7 billion

#5 Jed Clampett
$11 billion

#6 C. Montgomery Burns (The Simpsons)
$15.7 billion

#7 Carter Pewterschmidt (Family Guy)
$7.2 billion

#8 Bruce Wayne (Batman)
$7 billion

#9 Thurston Howell 3rd (Gilligan's Island)
$6.3 billion

#10 Tony Stark
$6.3 billion

Goodbye 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 02:25:00 +0000

Happy New Year!!!!

(one year I want to ring in the new year in Vegas)

Emergency Fund

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 06:30:00 +0000

I've been noticing in reading debt reduction and personal finance blogs that most if not all have as a goal for 2008 to increase their emergency fund. By significant dollar amounts. This got me to wondering: How much money do people keep in their backup accounts? (Please take my poll)

My emergency fund is also my home improvement, vacation, IRA fund. I have $325 per pay payroll deducted into this account. I don't have an ATM card or checks for this account and although it's not very far away it's not terribly convenient to stop at. The balance is usually around $2000-$3000. Right now it is higher because I didn't go anywhere for vacation and the home improvements I did this summer I was able to pay for from my regular paychecks.

I'll call the credit union today or next week and request a check withdrawal for my 2008 IRA contribution and the account will be back down to it's normal balance.

If I don't go anywhere in the spring for vacation, I'll withdrawal some of the money and deposit it in my mutual account which is my new car fund. I have $300 withdrawn from my checking account each month for that fund but am thinking about increasing the amount for 2008.

How much do you have in your emergency fund? Do you have an emergency fund? Why or why not?

Indiana Man Buys Truck With Change

noreply@blogger.com (Little Baby Jade) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 16:04:00 +0000

Indiana Man Buys Truck With $25,000 In Change

FRANKFORT, Ind. -- Frankfort resident Paul Brant considers himself a penny pincher.

But it's his passion for saving quarters and gold dollar coins that's really paid off.
The 70-year-old used more than $25,000 in change Friday to buy a new Dodge Ram half-ton pickup truck.

That purchase comes 13 years after he bought another truck using spare change.

Brant stored his change in coffee cans, water jugs and piggy banks over the years.

He said he got so much change by using vending machines at Chrysler in Kokomo, where he works.

Brant was escorted Friday by sheriff's deputies as he brought the rolled coins to the dealership.

He said he was raised to be thrifty. His father always paid in cash and saved up loose change to take vacations.

I save my change too but I deposit it once or twice a year. I would hate to have to roll $25,000 worth at once. I usually have about $200 a year. I'm not sure from this article if they mean he uses the vending machines to change dollars into change to save or that he eats candy, chips and pop from machines so gets change.

I'm sure we've all heard the tip to always break a bill and save the change. This is a great tip. But I really try hard not to eat out or use the vending machines and I charge groceries and other purchases.

For a while I was also saving dollar bills but it's hard to find change at work unless I go to the cafeteria.