tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34926098361261601512024-02-09T13:59:12.916-08:00Industry and FrugalityThe way to wealth is as plain as the way to market. It depends chiefly on two words, industry and frugality... Benjamin FranklinUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-14502118783610589482011-06-29T16:53:00.001-07:002011-06-29T16:53:21.892-07:00A Different Perspective on Wealth<p>Allan Roth has an interesting article today on viewing wealth as the number of days you can live off of your networth instead of just purely the dollar value of your networth. He notes that some multi-millionaires would seem poor using this method while some seemingly poor individuals could be wealthy. It's an interesting way to think about it and a legitimate means of measurement in my opinion. In fact, I think it is a more useful measurement than the pure networth dollar value. I remember Robert Kiyosaki used this definition of wealth in Rich Dad, Poor Dad as well. </p><p>A second interesting point Mr. Roth made was that a dollar saved is worth more than a dollar earned. That idea was probably just as important as the alternative persepctive on wealth, if not more so. I'll have to expand on that in a later post.</p><p>So, without further ado, here's the article. <a href="http://moneywatch.bnet.com/investing/blog/irrational-investor/financial-wealth-its-time-not-money/3641/">http://moneywatch.bnet.com/investing/blog/irrational-investor/financial-wealth-its-time-not-money/3641/</a></p><p> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-22993737878965831142010-12-26T16:31:00.001-08:002010-12-26T18:25:24.304-08:00Document Management<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.openkm.com/images/stories/screenshots/contextual%20menu.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 218px; height: 126px;" src="http://www.openkm.com/images/stories/screenshots/contextual%20menu.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />So, with the new year here and various things going on in my personal life the need to be more organized has made itself quite obvious. To that end, I've finally implemented the document management system I've been meaning to get around to. Allow me to explain what a Document Management System (DMS) is and how I was able to set one up.<div><br /></div><div>A DMS is a software suite that will allow you to store documents in a digital form and allow you to organize them, quickly find them, and do neat things like send them to your phone or access them from anywhere in the world (if you so desire). For more information on the definition of a DMS,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Document_management_system"> see Wikipedia</a>. Both a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_management_system">CMS</a> (Content Managment System) and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_Management_System">KMS</a> (Knowledge Management System) can serve the function of a DMS.</div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps the simplest way to get a DMS running is to use one provided online. <a href="http://docs.google.com/">Google Docs</a> and <a href="http://www.officelive.com/en-us/">Microsoft Office Live</a> are both forms of a DMS in addition to being an Office suite. This is probably the best solution if you want to be able to access your documents via the internet.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another option is to run your own DMS on your PC or your local network. Wikipedia has a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_content_management_systems">list of CMS's</a>. The system I chose was <a href="http://openkm.com/">OpenKM</a>. It was very easy to setup. All you need to do is download and extract the program, then run the "run" script for your system. I chose to set this up inside of a VirtualBox running Ubuntu Linux. Virtual Box and Linux are both free to use and what makes it even easier is that <a href="http://www.virtualboxes.org/">virtualboxes.org</a> has <a href="http://virtualboxes.org/images/">prebuilt images</a> for you to use. OpenKM supports mobile devices including android and iPhone, it allows you to scan documents directly from the browser, allows you to drag and drop from your desktop and much more. And best of all, it's free. One thing to keep in mind if you are going to be using virtual box is that you need to setup your local machine to port forward to the virtual box. You can read about how to do that <a href="http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2008/12/17/configure-port-forwarding-to-a-virtualbox-guest-os/">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a complete <a href="http://www.openkm.com/Features.html">list of features</a> for OpenKM. Good luck in your document management endeavors!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-83152431141656398312010-09-20T20:32:00.001-07:002010-09-20T20:34:31.160-07:00Amazon Prime for StudentsGood news if you are a student. Amazon is offering one year of Amazon Prime to all eligible students. See their page <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html/ref=amb_link_353486462_3?location=http://www.amazon.com/gp/student/signup/info&token=3A0F170E7CEFE27BDC730D3D7344512BC1296B83&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1MP73CJE3KYDSXFW10Q0&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1274066542&pf_rd_i=668781011">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-13571519888623646302010-08-18T10:38:00.000-07:002010-08-18T11:06:33.281-07:00What is Price Elasticity?I saw this term used on clarkhoward.com and couldn't remember the exact definition from when I took Econ way back when, so I thought I'd look it up and share it. There are at least two different types of elasticity. Price Elasticity of Demand and Price Elasticity of Supply. They are basically the same thing but for two different variables. <div><br /></div><div><i>Price Elasticity is simply a measure of how much the Supply or Demand changes with a change in price.</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Let's do an example with Price Elasticity of Demand. Say a candy bar is $1 and the demand for it is 100 units and the price is raised to $1.01 and this causes the demand to decrease to 90 units. We can come up with a number that represents how much this difference in price is affecting the demand.</div><div><br /></div><div>The equation is (P/Q) * (∆Q/∆P) or ∆Q%/∆P%. For our example, let's use the first equation. P = Price = 1.01, Q = Quantity = 90, ∆Q = 90 - 100 = -10, ∆P = 1.01 - 1.00 = .01. Therefore, PED (Price Elasticity of Demand) = 1.01/90 * -10/.01 = -11.22<br /><div><br /></div><div>Note that since the value is negative, it indicates an inverse relationship. Basically, as price increases, the demand decreases. That's usually how it happens, but sometimes you could have weird cases where the fact that it's becoming more expensive makes it more in demand. Perhaps this could happen with an IPO of stock or a rare diamond.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-42819513419481057862010-04-19T16:34:00.000-07:002010-04-19T16:36:25.272-07:00Volcano Causes Financial Strain and Stranded Travelers<a href="http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100419/D9F625SG0.html">MyWay</a> has an associated press article highlighting individuals around the globe that are being affected by the recent volcanic eruption in Europe. Here is another good example of why you need an emergency fund!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-3798522542484406092010-03-20T07:31:00.000-07:002010-04-19T16:37:19.643-07:00Mortgage Payment InflationI had an interesting idea this morning when I was reading a Bogleheads post on paying extra on your mortgage. Basically, assuming you are doing a traditional fixed mortgage, your mortgage payments are going to remain pretty much the same throughout the term of your mortgage. However, inflation will take it's toll on the value of your dollar so the real cost of your payment each month will be decreasing. To compensate for that, why not increase your mortgage payment to keep pace with inflation?<br /><br />For example, if your mortgage payment is $1000 in today's dollars, then 10 years from now you should be paying the equivalent of today's $1000, which at 3% a year is $1,343.92. All of your other expenses will be increasing at that rate, so why not force yourself to pay off your mortgage faster. If your relative level of income has remained the same, you won't notice the difference. Of course, if your situation<span style="font-style: italic;"> has</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">changed</span> then the reduced relative cost of the mortgage payment is a great advantage and can help you get by.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-66460446568322242612009-12-31T11:18:00.000-08:002009-12-31T11:21:45.611-08:003 Months of Amazon PrimeYou can once again get a 3 month trial of Amazon Prime. This is an awesome deal. I had this once before and it was really nice... free faster shipping!<br /><br /><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/SlickdealsnetFP/%7E3/NrtYidhdxWE/28834">http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SlickdealsnetFP/~3/NrtYidhdxWE/28834</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-85485988196564652962009-11-16T23:17:00.001-08:002009-11-16T23:21:06.590-08:00USAA Expands MembershipUSAA has further expanded their membership to include all veterans who were honorably discharged, no matter what the length of time in service. Family members of service members may be eligible as well. If you think you might be eligible I highly recommend that you<a href="https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_blogs/Blogs?action=blogpost&blogkey=newsroom&postkey=usaa_expands_membership&tags=eligibility"> check it out</a>. You can read some good comments about USAA <a href="http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45420&start=0&mrr=1258438350">here</a>. I have been more than pleased with my membership.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-84416493431336391992009-10-29T19:29:00.000-07:002009-10-29T19:30:01.795-07:00ING Plans to Sell ING Direct<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Apparently my favorite savings bank, <a href='http://whyy.org/cms/news/regional-news/delaware/2009/10/26/delaware-based-ing-direct-to-be-sold/20914'>ING Direct, is set to be sold by 2013</a> by it's parent company, the ING Group. I plan on keeping my ING account at least until I find out who they plan on selling it to. It is FDIC insured so I'm not worried about losing my money. I believe the bank is still in good shape, but even if it's not, your money should be safe and move seamlessly over to any new owner.<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=3c4c99a5-a607-8e83-8e9b-455b062bc3b5' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-84838502945548781522009-10-14T18:24:00.000-07:002009-10-14T18:25:17.928-07:00World of Goo Name Your Price<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>You can get the independently developed, award-winning game World of Goo for whatever price you want through October 19th. The game is normally $20. This deal was spotted on <a href='http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/25257'>slickdeals.net</a><br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-33020647492583973062009-10-14T14:02:00.000-07:002009-10-14T14:03:44.766-07:002010 Chick-fil-A Calendar Coming Soon<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>If you've never received a free Chick-fil-A calendar, take my word for it that it is a treat you will enjoy the whole year through. The calendar is usually very creative and contains great coupons. The calendar is <a href='http://shopchick-fil-a.com/%28X%281%29S%28u3d3bjbevn2r3545cvu53w2d%29%29/default.aspx?act=Catalog.aspx&catalogid=378&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1'>on the Chick-fil-A website</a>, but is not available yet. <br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-59668773319746184662009-10-09T20:58:00.001-07:002009-10-09T20:58:28.363-07:00First-Time Homebuyer Credit Extended for Military<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Jim over at <a href='http://www.bargaineering.com'>bargaineering.com</a> posted the news about the First-Time Homebuyer Credit being extended an additional year for some military. The only catch is that you have to have been deployed for at least 3 months. Right now this is only a bill and it has only passed in the House. It is expected to be pushed through the Senate and to the President shortly. You can read the full post <a href='http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/8000-first-time-homebuyer-credit-extended.html'>here</a>.<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=8eef56c7-9f0f-87fa-9197-163bcde2cb5c' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-15587234651719418532009-09-27T19:02:00.001-07:002009-09-27T19:02:09.612-07:00Starting Salary A Critical Difference<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>I found it interesting to read about a young accountant's situation on the Bogleheads forum. He was unhappy with the fact that despite being a top-performer at his company, someone else was making slightly more than him just because that person was there longer. Some of the comments that emerged mentioned that the school you went to could impact your starting salary. From here it was pointed out that the starting salary can be a key difference and that it may take a peer with a lower salary several hard-working years to catch up to the peer with the higher starting salary.<br/><br/><blockquote><span class='name'><a name='564177'/><b>DiscoBunny1979 wrote:</b></span><br/>"<span class='postbody'>My experience has been that it's really important to obtain the appropriate compensation from the beginning because all pay increases go from that initial salary."</span><br/><span class='postbody'/></blockquote><span class='postbody'><br/>This seems like an important tidbit to keep in mind if you are hunting for a job.<br/></span><br/><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=8a331d2e-7edb-81c9-9f0e-72a0fc39e939' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-590141732481072872009-09-26T12:04:00.001-07:002009-09-26T12:04:11.467-07:00Why You Still Need an IRA<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>As you may know, I am in the military. More than once I have had someone tell me that I don't need to be putting money in my Roth IRA each month since I'll have a pension waiting for me after I retire from the military. Ignoring the fact that I could become disabled or choose to leave the military before the required 20 years to claim retirement, there is another reason why it is important to have your own retirement funds. <a href='http://www.bostongals.com/2009/09/one-recession-story-with-happy-ending.html'>Boston Gal has the story</a> of a U.S. Army retired ranger who did not get his retirement pension despite serving over 20 years and being wounded in combat.<br/><br/><i><small>Note: The views expressed on this blog are strictly my own and do not represent the opinions of the U.S. Military or any other agency.</small></i><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=43a83fd0-5436-8936-b955-79fea685957f' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-65387449042402851232009-09-15T10:51:00.001-07:002009-09-15T10:51:27.783-07:00Budget Tracking with Google Docs<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Many of you may have heard about the recent acquisition of mint.com by Intuit, the makers of Quicken. I really like using mint.com to monitor my financial status. I have yet to really embrace the budgeting aspect of it though. For budgeting, I use a little more antiquated method... spreadsheets! I originally created my own custom spreadsheet, first in excel, then in google docs. Having it available anywhere and being able to quickly update it without launching spreadsheet software is a plus. I can also easily share my budget with my fiancee. Recently, I discovered the wonderful library of templates available on google docs when I needed to create an invoice for some freelance work I did. Out of curiosity, I also checked out the personal finance templates available. If you are looking for an easy way to create a budget online, I highly recommend you look into the spreadsheet function of <a href='http://docs.google.com'>google docs</a> and also check out what templates are available in their <a href='http://docs.google.com/templates?category=14&type=spreadsheets&sort=hottest&view=public'>template library</a>.<br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-86673662541838517812009-09-09T17:41:00.001-07:002009-09-09T17:41:57.395-07:0050 Cent on Investing<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>CNBC has <a href='http://www.cnbc.com/id/32736386'>an interesting interview</a> with 50 cent. Some parts, such as the speculation that the recession will be over in a couple of years or less, were a little worrisome. There were some bits that made me think though. For example, when he talked about the fact that Mike Tyson's made over $500 million in his lifetime but now he wakes up in his old bedroom. It was also nice to hear him say he lives below his means, although I'm not sure how accurate that statement is. I guess he can live pretty extravagantly and still live below his means.<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=07aeae88-5db8-827c-873b-1ab548d95726' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-3788491864937920562009-06-15T15:44:00.001-07:002009-06-15T15:48:55.701-07:00New Credit Card Law<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Congress recently passed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (Credit CARD Act... cute, huh?). Here are some of the highlights.<br /><br /><ul><li>Companies required to mail statements at least 21 days before the payment is due.</li><li>The payment due date is required to stay the same each month.</li><li>Credit Card companies will be required to show how long it will take to pay off your balance making only the minimum payment. *<i>I think this is a great change. Too many people don't realize the impact of small payments with high interest. Too bad they don't show how much total interest you would end up paying.</i></li><li>You can no longer be charged an over-the-limit fee for transactions that exceed your credit limit unless you sign an agreement saying that you specifically want to allow transactions that will exceed your limit.</li><li>Payments in excess of the minimum amount will be required to pay off balances with the highest interest rates first.</li><li>Companies won't be able to increase rates on the existing balances for the most part, but they will be allow to increase the rate on new purchases after the first year. A penalty rate cannot be applied unless you don't make your payments for more than 60 days, and then a 45 day notice is required before the rate change. *<i>I disagree with this provision. I think it is the companies right to fluctuate the rate in response to the market. If you don't want to be subjected to market changes in interest rates, then you shouldn't take out unsecured credit.</i></li><li>For rate changes on new purchases, 45 days notice will be required. Also, you will have the option to close your account if you disagree with the new rate.</li></ul>Source: <a href="https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_blogs/Blogs?action=blogpost&blogkey=newsroom&postkey=7_ways_the_new_credit&offerName=logoff_7_ways_the_new_credit">USAA</a><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-86553956953881542412009-06-13T04:53:00.001-07:002009-06-15T15:48:28.194-07:00Thrift Savings Plan Upgrades<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">In typical government fashion, a tobacco bill is carrying changes to the Thrift Savings Plan. <br /><br />From the article:<br /><div class="para"> • A Roth 401(k) option, which would let participants<br />put some or all of their after-tax salary into an account that will<br />grow without tax liability on future earnings. </div>• Automatic enrollment of new federal civilian employees.<br /> <br /> <div class="para"><br />The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board said this will encourage<br />more young employees to start saving for their retirement as soon as<br />they begin working for the government and take advantage of matching<br />funds offered by their agencies.<br /></div><div class="para"><br /> • A survivor benefit that would allow spouses of deceased TSP participants to maintain TSP accounts.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="para"><br />• A mutual fund option that would allow participants to direct their<br />TSP funds to private-sector mutual funds. The board would be authorized<br />to select the mutual funds that would be available to plan<br />participants. </div><br /> <div class="para"> It’s far from certain that a mutual fund option will become reality. </div><br />I think the first three are definitely good improvements to the program. The fourth one I could care less about. It's noncongruent with the <a href="http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/The_Bogleheads">Boglehead</a> philosophy. I'm very pleased with their current low-cost index funds. As long as they keep those, I'll still be happy. The bad thing is that people will bite off on these funds, which I think is a mistake.<br /><br />The original article from the Federal Times can be found <a href="http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=4137138">here</a>.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-7371056244700308722009-04-28T16:35:00.000-07:002009-04-28T16:40:46.192-07:00Free Mother's Day Card<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>There is no longer any excuse for not showing your mom some love this Mother's Day. Hallmark is offering a free customized card through their website. The best part is they even mail it to your mom for free! Check out all of the info from the <a href='http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/20341'>SlickDeals</a> post. Also, to help you get in the Mother's Day mood, here's a message from Mr. T. I pity the fool who doesn't send his mother a Mother's Day card!<br/><br/><div class='youtube-video'><object width='425' height='355'><param value='http://www.youtube.com/v/7_rBidCkJxo' name='movie'> </param><param value='transparent' name='wmode'> </param><embed width='425' height='355' wmode='transparent' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://www.youtube.com/v/7_rBidCkJxo'> </embed> </object></div><br/><br/>Mr. T - Treat Your Mother Right<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=ad89d460-32b2-8bc1-b049-e6c1e26406ce' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-71222207865658906112009-04-07T21:35:00.001-07:002009-04-07T21:35:45.858-07:00iTunes Ups Their Prices<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>From <a href='http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/07/238219&from=rss'>Slashdot</a> "<i>Steve Jobs vowed weeks ago that when iTunes shifted to a tiered<br/>price structure in April, older tracks priced at $0.69 would outnumber<br/>the contemporary hits that are rising to $1.29. Today, several weeks<br/>later, iTunes made the transition. While the $1.29 tracks are<br/>immediately visible, locating cheaper tracks is proving to be an<br/>exercise in futility. With the exception of 48 songs that Apple has<br/>placed on the iTunes main page, $0.69 downloads are a scarce commodity."<br/><br/></i>I stopped using iTunes a while back and have been very pleased with the decision. The DRM is an unnecessary hassle that just makes life more difficult. I used <a href='http://www.tuneclone.com/'>TuneClone</a> to convert my iTunes songs from DRM'ed m4p files to mp3. It creates a virtual CD burner and allows you to 'burn' playlists to the virtual drive. It automatically converts any songs sent to the drive into mp3 and stores them in the folder you specify. As far as purchasing new songs, I've chosen to use <a href='http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMP3-Music-Download%2Fb%3Fie%3DUTF8%26node%3D163856011%26ref%255F%3Dsa%255Fmenu%255Fdmusic2%255Fys&tag=jamweb-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957'>Amazon.com</a><img width='1' height='1' border='0' style='border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;' alt='' src='https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=jamweb-20&l=ur2&o=1'/> since they've already had songs less then $0.99 for a while and their music is already in mp3. They are obviously aware of consumer wants and aren't just out to trap consumers into their products indefinitely. I don't like how Apple has always been less open than other tech companies.<br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=5d258ea7-d6ed-8fbc-8c32-189e7e35ccb3' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-73636238139851654732009-03-23T13:31:00.001-07:002009-03-23T13:31:20.680-07:00Free Game from Amazon<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Amazon is again offering a free game. Big Kahuna Reef (which was offered before) can be yours, free, from amazon.com. <a href='http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/19287'>http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/19287</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=ce8b65ec-a977-4fc9-bfdf-c8d016d63403' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-22791479597245082662009-03-10T06:30:00.000-07:002009-03-10T14:13:34.338-07:00This Too Shall Pass<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Here is some more info on past bear markets compared to the current one. All of them were bad, but all of them eventually recovered. Try to keep your cool and maintain your plan and asset allocation no matter what the markets are doing.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dshort.com/charts/mega-bear-comparisons.html?mega-bear-quartet" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.dshort.com/charts/bears/mega-bear-quartet.gif" style="max-width: 800px; width: 395px; height: 289px;" /></a><br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.dshort.com/charts/mega-bear-comparisons.html?mega-bear-quartet" target="_blank">dshort.com</a><br /><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie"><img src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=56d3ba1a-22e9-404d-a2e9-9b2c5c508115" class="zemanta-pixie-img" /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-70502504802202087312009-03-09T16:54:00.001-07:002009-03-09T16:54:58.483-07:00Free Credit Score... If You Hurry<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) is giving 10,000 people their credit score for free. <a href='http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=1233321'>Click here</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=b73f1224-915d-4a3f-954b-bb69a7bddf68' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-24516452743851155812009-03-08T08:07:00.001-07:002009-03-08T08:12:11.689-07:00Is $6600 Really That Low?<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">I know the state of the economy right now is troublesome to most people. Many people have investments that have lost half or more of their value. However, I don't think we're necessarily that far off from what we should expect. Take a look at the chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, below.<br /><br /><script src="http://charts.wikinvest.com/wikinvest/wikichart/javascript/scripts.php" type="text/javascript"></script><div id="wikichartContainer_DDCE3545-E54F-4A8C-3581-E6A2262A8485"><div style="width: 390px; text-align: center; vertical-align: center; margin-top: 22px;"><a href="http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/"><img src="http://cdn.wikinvest.com/wikinvest/images/adobe_flash_logo.gif" alt="Flash" style="border-width: 0px;"/><br/>Flash Player 9 or higher is required to view the chart<br/><strong>Click here to download Flash Player now</strong></a></div></div><script type="text/javascript">if (typeof(embedWikichart) != "undefined") {embedWikichart("http://charts.wikinvest.com/WikiChartMini.swf","wikichartContainer_DDCE3545-E54F-4A8C-3581-E6A2262A8485","390","245",{"liveQuote":"true","startDate":"01-01-1980","showAnnotations":"true","endDate":"06-03-2009","ticker":".DJIA"});}</script><div style="font-size:9px;text-align:right;width:390px;font-family:Verdana"><a href="http://www.wikinvest.com/chart/.DJIA" style="text-decoration:underline; color:#0000ee;">View the full .DJIA chart</a> at <a href="http://www.wikinvest.com/">Wikinvest</a></div><br /><br />If we look at 1980, the Dow was around $830. A common number for the average growth of the market is 8%. So if we take $830 in 1980 and grow it at 8% for 29 years, it comes out to $7,733.34. This is higher than where we're at, but not too much higher. Even at 10%, we'd be looking at $13,166.37. I think the $14,000 range that the Dow was at previously (July 2007) was outside of the norm and that at least part of the drop in value is due to a correction back from that bubble. I know that won't do much to comfort those (myself included) who have seen a drastic drop in the value of their portfolio, but maybe it will help keep you from worrying too much about a total collapse of the market.<br /><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie"><img src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=64bf61fb-c63f-4f70-9326-3752451ea916" class="zemanta-pixie-img" /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492609836126160151.post-77630633809082688302009-03-06T22:28:00.001-08:002009-03-06T22:28:11.796-08:00What is the Savings Deposit Program?<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>The DoD describes the Savings Deposit Program as "A safe way to save for those members serving in designated combat zones." Basically, it's a savings account for the military with a really good interest rate. Here's what you need to know.<br/><ul><li>Must be in the armed forces and receiving Hostile Fire Pay</li><li>Must be deployed 30 consecutive days or at least part of 3 consecutive months</li><li>Deposits may not be more than your unalloted pay and allowances for the given month.<br/></li><li>10% APY, compounded quarterly</li><li>Deposits must be in multiples of $5.00</li><li>Withdrawals may only be made when you leave the combat zone or in the event of an emergency (requires commander's approval)</li><li>However, if you have more than $10,000.00 in the account, the amount of $10K (the part not earning interest) may be withdrawn while still deployed</li><li>Interest will continue to accrue for up to 90 days after you leave the combat zone (so wait three months to withdraw the money! Or, redeploy within three months to keep it going.)</li></ul>This is a really good deal, especially given current rates on savings accounts.<br/><br/>Reference: <a href='http://www.dfas.mil/militarypay/woundedwarriorpay/SDPBrochure_Mar08.pdf' target='_blank'>http://www.dfas.mil/militarypay/woundedwarriorpay/SDPBrochure_Mar08.pdf</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=cad87ebd-a48d-49a1-b300-174c7bc85640' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0