tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39920360704633959542011-04-21T11:30:50.163-07:00Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.comBlogger731100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-2595265874690411072008-07-17T01:32:00.001-07:002008-07-17T01:32:04.316-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><div><p>Personal finance columns drive me up a wall. Here is a doozy of bad advice. We'll take it point by point.</p><br /><br /><div class='text'><h2>Five Ways to Flub a Job Interview</h2><br /><br /><p>by <a href='http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/archive/careerist/penelope-trunk/1' title='See more articles by Penelope Trunk'><span style='color: #0f55c3;'>Penelope Trunk</span></a></p></div><br /><br /><div id='yfi_pf_columnist_article_body' class='yfarticle'><div class='dtk-art-tools'><div class='bd'><a href='http://mtf.news.yahoo.com/mailto/?locale=us&amp;url=http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/careerist/52808&amp;title=Five%20Ways%20to%20Flub%20a%20Job%20Interview&amp;rf=f&amp;prop=pfinance' title='Send a link to a friend or yourself via email' class='at-email'>Email this Page </a><a href='http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/careerist/52808' onclick='return YAHOO.Media.Dtk.ArticleTools.IM.imStory(document.title,location.href);' class='at-im'>IM this Story</a><a href='http://beta.bookmarks.yahoo.com/toolbar/savebm' onclick='window.open(&amp;quot;http://beta.bookmarks.yahoo.com/toolbar/savebm?u=&amp;quot;+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+&amp;quot;&amp;t=&amp;quot;+encodeURIComponent(document.title)+&amp;quot;&amp;v=fin&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;bookmark&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;width=800,height=600&amp;quot;); return false;' class='at-bmark'>Bookmark this Story</a><a href='http://del.icio.us/post' onclick='window.open(&amp;quot;http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&amp;partner=ypf&amp;noui&amp;jump=close&amp;url=&amp;quot;+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+&amp;quot;&amp;title=&amp;quot;+encodeURIComponent(document.title), &amp;quot;delicious&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;toolbar=no,width=700,height=400&amp;quot;); return false;' class='at-delish'>Add to your Del.icio.us account</a><a href='http://digg.com/submit' onclick='window.open(&apos;http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&amp;topic=business_finance&amp;url=http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/careerist/52808&amp;title=Five Ways to Flub a Job Interview&amp;topic=business_finance&apos;, &apos;digg&apos;,&apos;scrollbars=yes,width=950&apos;); return false;' class='at-digg'>Digg this Story</a><a href='/print/expert/article/careerist/52808' class='at-print'>Print this Story</a> </div></div><script type='text/javascript' src='http://fe.shortcuts.search.yahoo.com/script?fr=csc_fin_pf'/><div class='hd'>Posted on Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 12:00AM</div><br /><br /><div class='bd'><script type='text/javascript' defer='true'/><p>We spend so much of our careers doing good work, meeting interesting people, and learning new skills. But it really all starts with one moment: the interview. </p><br /><br /><p>Once you get there, you need to be able to package everything together for a nice, neat presentation that's memorable in exactly the right way. </p><br /><br /><p>Here are five mistakes a lot of people make -- even people who are great at doing interviews:</p><br /><br /><p><strong><span style='color: #000000;'>1. Not preparing for a phone interview.</span></strong></p><br /><br /><p>Most hiring managers screen candidates on the phone before they bring the candidate in for an interview. This is to make sure there aren't any glaring problems.</p><br /><br /><p>A phone interview saves time. If you can't get the answers to basic questions right on the phone, there's no point in interviewers watching you botch those questions in person. Also, the hiring manager is looking for you to make a mistake that would rule you out. For example, not knowing that you shouldn't take a call with a screaming baby in the background.</p><br /><br /><p>So instead of thinking of the phone interview as a precursor to the real thing, think of it as something you can prepare for. <a target='_blank' href='http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/04/02/five-ways-to-do-better-in-phone-interview/'><span style='color: #0f55c3;'>Learn the rules</span></a>.</p><br /><br /><p>MY INTERJECTION HERE--IF YOU DON'T PREPARE FOR AN INTERVIEW, THIS ARTICLE IS NOT GOING TO HELP YOU. YOU ARE ALREADY TOO STUPID TO GET A JOB. </p><br /><br /><p><strong><span style='color: #000000;'>2. Misunderstanding the point of a face-to-face interview.</span></strong></p><br /><br /><p>Hiring managers today have a lot of tools at their disposal to figure out if you're qualified for a job. The Internet reveals your history, and often the content and quality of your work; <span style='CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed' id='lw_1194498122_0' class='yshortcuts'>LinkedIn</span> can provide a plethora of references from people who have worked with you, whether you actually provide them to the employer yourself or not. And a phone screen can give a sense of your verbal abilities. </p><br /><br /><p>So what's left? Whether or not you click with them -- whether they like you. Remember that intangible thing that happens on a date when you decide if you like the person or not? The same thing happens with hiring.</p><br /><br /><p>This is what the face-to-face interview is all about. So make a great first impression, and focus on making sure the interviewer likes you.</p><br /><br /><p>SEE POINT 1. YOU DON'T KNOW THE POINT OF A FACE TO FACE INTERVIEW? IF YOU DON'T, DON'T WORRY, YOU ARE PROBABLY INCAPABLE OF FINDING THE OFFICE FOR THE INTERVIEW.</p><br /><br /><p><strong><span style='color: #000000;'>3. Neglecting talking points.</span></strong></p><br /><br /><p>When <span style='CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed' id='lw_1194498122_1' class='yshortcuts'>President Bush</span> walks into a press conference, he doesn't worry what journalists are going to ask him because he already has the answers he's going to provide -- no matter what the questions are. Such answers are called talking points. </p><br /><br /><p>Politicians want to frame an issue, so they listen to a question and then decide which of their talking points they'll use to answer that question. In this way, each question they're asked is an opportunity to get their own points across. </p><br /><br /><p>I once had a media trainer teach me how to <a target='_blank' href='http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/04/30/interview-tips-from-media-consultants-and-results-from-me/'><span style='color: #0f55c3;'>stick to talking points</span></a>, and it works for a wide range of situations -- including job interviews. </p><br /><br /><p>You control what five topics you want to discuss, so you should pick five things about yourself that you want to get across in an interview, and each point should come with some sort of story or example. You listen to each question and then figure out which point fits in well for a particular question. </p><br /><br /><p>You're not <span style='CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed' id='lw_1194498122_2' class='yshortcuts'>George W. Bush</span>, though, so you can't totally ignore questions that don't have pat answers. But you'd be surprised how often you can answer an interview question with one of the five answers about yourself that you've prepared. This is a way to control an interview and make sure the focus is on your strengths. </p><br /><br /><p>A great resource for helping you understand how to frame your answer for any question is the &amp;quot;<a target='_blank' href='http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Q-Job-Interview-Book/dp/0471601357/ref=sr_1_1/102-0987196-7720938?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1194364464&amp;sr=1-1'><span style='color: #0f55c3;'>The Complete Q &amp; A Job Interview Book</span></a>&amp;quot; by Jeffrey Allen.</p><br /><br /><p>YOU CONTROL THE INTERVIEW? SORRY, NOT TRUE. SURE THERE ARE SOME POINTS YOU WANT TO GET ACROSS BUT IF YOU START TAKING OVER THE STAGE, YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE. THE MAIN PURPOSE OF AN INTERVIEW FOR THE HIRING MANAGER IS TO SEE IF THIS PERSON IS GOING TO FIT IN. BE YOURSELF. IF THEY DON'T LIKE YOU, TOO BAD. IF THEY DON'T YOU ARE PROBABLY BETTER OFF NOT WORKING THERE ANYWAY. </p><br /><br /><p><strong><span style='color: #000000;'>4. Thinking the job description is set in stone.</span></strong></p><br /><br /><p>When you start an interview, find out what you're interviewing for. Typically, the person who writes and publishes a job description is not the person making the hiring decision. Ask the hiring manager what the goals are for the position, and ask who the new hire will work most closely with so you know who'll have the biggest say in whether or not you get hired.</p><br /><br /><p>And, if you get the job, remember that it could change all over again. Immediately. So don't ever assume you know what your job is until you investigate. The only constant about your job description is that you must <a target='_blank' href='http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/03/7-ways-to-manage-up/'><span style='color: #0f55c3;'>be invaluable to your boss</span></a> in order to succeed.</p><br /><br /><p>DOES THIS PERSON UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ABOUT CORPORATIONS? I DON'T THINK SO. THE PERSON DOING THE HIRING PROBABLY DID WRITE THE JOB DESCRIPTION OR GIVE THE INPUT TO HR SO THEY CAN PUT IT INTO THEIR PET FORMAT, SO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT THE HIRING MANAGER IS SAYING. THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES ANY SENSE IN THIS ARTICLE--BE INVALUABLE TO YOUR BOSS!</p><br /><br /><p><strong><span style='color: #000000;'>5. Failing to close.</span></strong></p><br /><br /><p>A job interview is a sales call, and all good salespeople know that <a target='_blank' href='http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/19559.html'><span style='color: #0f55c3;'>you don't have a deal until you close it</span></a>. An almost-deal is not a deal, in the same way that a good interview is not a job.</p><br /><br /><p>So toward the end of the interview, if you think things are going well, say, &amp;quot;Do you have any reservations about hiring me?&amp;quot; Most hiring managers will answer this question truthfully, and it'll give you a chance to assuage their fears. </p><br /><br /><p>This is a hard question to ask, because you'll be faced with your weaknesses right there in the midst of the interview. But if you don't take the time to explain how you'll overcome those weaknesses it won't come up, and you're much less likely to get the job.</p><br /><br /><p>THIS IS SO DUMB--DO YOU HAVE ANY RESERVATIONS ABOUT HIRING ME? WHY, SHOULD I? IF SOMEBODY ASKED ME THAT QUESTION, I WOULD ASK FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE JOB, SAY SO AND THEN TELL THEM WHY YOU CAN DO IT. JEEZ, THIS IS SO STUPID.</p><br /><br /><p>SORRY BUT THIS KIND OF STUFF WILL KEEP YOU UNEMPLOYED FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.</p></div></div></div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-259526587469041107?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-18300699274943323882008-07-16T01:32:00.001-07:002008-07-16T01:32:04.970-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><div><div class='bd'><p>Pretty much the same old stuff from this article about retiring rich--your expenses will stay about the same in retirement, inflation eats away at your money, Medicare doesn't cover all medical expenses, and so on. But read it anyway, mainly for the last sentence.</p><br /><br /><p><strong>Retire Rich: Learn From Someone Who Did</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>by Walter Updegrave/Money Magazine</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>When Henry &amp;quot;Bud&amp;quot; Hebeler was winding down his career at Boeing nearly 20 years ago, he was appalled at the advice he got from retirement planning software.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>&amp;quot;The assumptions about returns, inflation, longevity and expenses were highly simplistic,&amp;quot; says the 74-year-old Hebeler. With his engineering degrees from MIT and his experience - first as Boeing's chief forecaster and planner and later as president of Boeing Aerospace - Hebeler figured he could do better.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>He has. His Web site, AnalyzeNow.com, is a compendium of advice and tools (mostly free) that can help you tackle topics ranging from how to create a retirement budget to whether to buy an annuity.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>What distinguishes Hebeler from the typical retirement &amp;quot;expert&amp;quot; is that he combines a strong quantitative background with real-life retirement experience - his own and that of fellow retirees.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Hebeler took time out from his hectic schedule of skiing, golf, travel and running a site to share his thoughts.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Q. What's the most popular misconception about retirement planning?</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>A. That your spending will drop as you age and you become less active. My father played golf until he was 95. My wife and I are in our seventies and we ski the expert slopes at Park City, Utah.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>My friends who have reduced their spending didn't do so because of lack of energy or physical ability. It doesn't take much effort to get into a taxi and go to the theater. They're cutting back because they know they're going to live longer than they thought they would. They spent too much too early and now they're worried about running out.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Q. So what can you do to assure that your money will last?</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>A. If you have enough savings to live on, consider delaying taking Social Security until full retirement age or even later. Holding off can be especially worthwhile if you have a spouse who didn't work or had a low income, since the higher payment you get by waiting can be passed on to your spouse when you die.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>I also think retirees should consider putting some, but not all, of their money in an immediate annuity. Look at inflation-adjusted immediate annuities, since they provide a lifetime income that, like Social Security, goes up with inflation.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Q. How did your work at Boeing influence the advice you give?</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>A. It made me more conservative. In business you see how often things don't work out as you planned. Projects cost more to complete than you estimated.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>The same is true of retirement, but retirement plans seldom call for setting aside reserves for unforeseen events. There are a lot of surprises, usually more bad ones than good.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Q. What kinds of surprises?</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>A. For one thing, your expenses are likely to be very different in retirement than during your career. Things that were probably covered by your company insurance - dental work, vision care, a variety of medical tests - typically aren't paid for by Medicare. My hearing aids alone cost $6,000, which wasn't covered at all.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>People also don't anticipate the impact of inflation. In the first 10 years of my retirement, the purchasing power of my company pension declined by 30%. And then there are obligations people rarely plan for, such as having to help parents or adult children who are struggling financially.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Q. If you could advise people to do just one thing to improve their retirement prospects, what would it be?</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>A. People who aren't retired need to know how much to save. My father used to tell me that you should always save at least 10% of your income.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>That's more like 15% to 20% today because you're less likely to have a pension.</strong></p></div><br /><br /><div class='ft'><strong/></div></div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-1830069927494332388?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-2613016570084248342008-07-15T13:31:00.001-07:002008-07-15T13:31:05.476-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />I updated my NetWorthIQ page a day or two ago and it looks like I finally have a positive net worth! <a href='http://www.networthiq.com/people/kazulanth'>Click here to see my NetWorthIQ profile. </a><br/><br/>OK, so it's only $367 above zero, but it's a start! (Although I am currently only including my retirement contributions, not the actual value of the account, so if I used actual value it'd be about $2000 more.)<br/><br/>I have some pretty audacious savings goals for this year. I'm already trying to max out my retirement savings and I want to get up to a $10,000 emergency fund (right now at $4000 and change) as well as save up the money to pay off my 0% balance transfer when it comes due in December (I'll need about $4600, have about $2700 right now) so I've still got some work to do. I have some other goals to meet if I can do those, but those are the first priority.<br/><br/>I'm really not worried about paying off my student loan though - it's fixed at 3.9% and I'm getting 4.5% at ING, so it makes more sense to save right now than pay down the debt.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-261301657008424834?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-44488649882334047962008-07-11T01:29:00.001-07:002008-07-11T01:29:23.448-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />A few months ago, <a href='http://dimestodollars.blogspot.com/2007/10/what-is-this-conus-cola.html'>I posted about CONUS COLA</a>, as it was a new entitlement for Mr. Dimes. For the uninitiated, CONUS COLA is a taxable income supplement for living expenses in an area (as opposed to housing expenses, which are covered by BAH). It increases or decreases every year, and can appear or disappear altogether for certain areas. For 2008, a handy calculator is available at <a href='http://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/cost-of-living-allowance'>this site</a>. An official list of sites receiving COLA as well as the percentage rate can be found on <a href='http://perdiem.hqda.pentagon.mil/perdiem/cc_city.html'>this Pentagon site</a>, where the list is a PDF file. If your location is not listed, you are not eligible to receive CONUS COLA. A handful of locations that were previously receiving it lost it for 2008, though they may get it again in future years.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-4448864988233404796?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-89675269822421732942008-07-10T13:29:00.001-07:002008-07-10T13:29:21.870-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>I had quite a few entries into the first AFM Library Giveaway that I posted last week. The randomly-selected winner of the library of five books listed on this page is commenter #9, Stacey. </p><br /><p><center><img class='alignnone size-full wp-image-2637' height='152' width='283' title='Random Integer (07-03-2008)' alt='' src='http://allfinancialmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/randomint07032008.gif'/></center></p><br /><p>Stacey's been a reader of AFM for years now and I think this is the first time she has ever won anything. Congrats!</p><br /><p>Again, have no fear, there will be more giveaways in the future.</p><br /><p><a href='http://sharethis.com/item?publisher=6d87409a-652c-4308-909d-56ca4433bbbe&amp;title=ANNOUNCEMENT%3A+The+Winner+of+the+Latest+AFM+Giveaway%21&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fallfinancialmatters.com%2F2008%2F07%2F03%2Fannouncement-the-winner-of-the-latest-afm-giveaway%2F'>ShareThis</a></p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-8967526982242173294?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-55748021344106958822008-07-08T01:29:00.001-07:002008-07-08T01:29:02.538-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />Maybe it is Wednesday already in Japan, but anothernavywife has informed me that 2008 BAH rates are <a href='http://perdiem.hqda.pentagon.mil/perdiem/bah.html'>now available</a>! <br/>We got a pretty good bump around here; the Hampton Roads area seems to have had an increase of approximately $100-125/mo., fluctuating slightly based on paygrade, of course. <br/><br/>Hooray!<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-5574802134410695882?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-67375859006985376132008-07-06T13:27:00.001-07:002008-07-06T13:27:22.195-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>I may start a new feature that uploads my nightly stock screens which I did for my MarketStockWatch community back in 2004 to 2007. The excel sheet shows you what my screens are spitting back at me each night based on the specific parameters I run. Tonight (Wednesday night) is probably not the best night to do this since the market has been getting into trouble but what the hell. I am also using google docs for the first time on the blog and so far they seem great to use (I can't stand Microsoft anymore - for anything)</p><br /><p>The stocks present on the screens tonight are described in detail in the two links below:</p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/06/06/fundamental-screens-and-scans/'>Fundamental Screens and Scans</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/09/05/my-canslim-screening-and-buying-strategy/'>My CANSLIM Screening and Buying Strategy</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p>Take a look and let me know what you think. I typically view the charts of each stock in the excel sheet below and narrow the list to 10 to 20 stocks that I would like to keep an eye on (both long and short). I do this every night and look for patterns or trends; stocks that continue to appear on multiple screens and show-up on consecutive days. That is when I calculate risk/reward setups and enter new positions. These screens give me the stocks I highlight in my “<a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/category/2008-stock-of-day/'>Stock of the Day</a>” posts and my <a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/category/stocks/'>Daily Screen &amp;#8220;Stocks&amp;#8221;</a>.</p><br /><p>I will highlight and expand analysis on the stocks that do interest me going forward as I did with my equity research website.</p><br /><p><iframe src='http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pNrkdlK7fa2l5xhkh88UwQQ&amp;output=html&amp;widget=true' frameborder='0' height='300' width='500'/></p><br /><p>For example: Do you notice that (TITN) Titan Machinery appears on several of the screens I ran tonight? That is why it is clearly <a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/06/09/watchlist-and-stock-portfolio-update/'>on my watchlist</a>. It should already be in my portfolio but that's a story for another day.</p><br /><p><strong>TITN - Titan Machinery Inc.</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/06/02/top-rated-stocks/'>Top Rated Stocks</a><br/><br /><blockquote><p>&amp;#8220;TITN – 24.30, Titan Machinery Inc. is still making new all-time highs but did run into some selling pressure near the $26 level. The trend is higher and I am holding until told otherwise by the charts.&amp;#8221;</p></blockquote><br /></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/05/19/portfolio-stocks-on-the-move/'>Portfolio Stocks on the Move</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/04/25/portfolio-snapshot-growth/'>Portfolio Snapshot: Growth</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/04/29/young-stocks-moving-on-volume/'>Young Stocks Moving on Volume</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/04/21/titan-machinery-titn/'>Titan Machinery (TITN)</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><img title='060908_titn_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/060908_titn_wkly.png'/></p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-6737585900698537613?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-53338807335382687132008-07-05T01:27:00.001-07:002008-07-05T01:27:23.299-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>One of my more popular posts is about a former co-worker who lost everything in a <a href='http://www.mapgirl.net/mfc/2007/11/09/renters-insurance-dont-have-a-fire-without-it/'>rental fire on St. Patrick&amp;#8217;s Day</a>.</p><br /><p>Well, insurance is back on deck as today&amp;#8217;s topic because last evening there was a fire and boyfriend had to call 911 and knock on doors to make sure some neighbors got out of their houses. Four houses in a row were lost, possibly some pets as well.</p><br /><p>Last night a boarding up crew was out. I could hear their saws ripping through plywood as I went to sleep. All I could think about when I saw the fire engines was if the Red Cross was out to help the residents and hoping the residents had some insurance coverage.</p><br /><p>If you haven&amp;#8217;t done so already, review your insurance policies for 2008. Did you buy anything new of high value in the past year? Did you have a life changing event? Are you renting? Can you buy more coverage? Is your car old enough to warrant a change in policy? What&amp;#8217;s your commute like? Longer or shorter? Are you carpooling?</p><br /><p>I feel particularly sad for the young woman who is clearly house-proud. She was out with her parents earlier this spring planting and re-mulching her front garden. She obviously just bought the place because she&amp;#8217;s sprucing it up so much. I also feel pretty bad for the lady boyfriend rescued. She answered his knock on the door and he convinced her to get out. She was house- and petsitting. She saw the smoke through the wall and was looking for the cats when he knocked. He had to plead with her to leave the cats behind and make sure she was safe first. Then there&amp;#8217;s the lady in another house with lots of little dogs to keep her company.</p><br /><p>The Fire Department was still out there this morning to ensure the hotspots were out.</p><br /><p>After the shooting in the neighborhood a few weeks ago, I think the neighbors are slightly shell-shocked today.</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-5333880733538268713?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-68164619303679426362008-07-03T13:27:00.001-07:002008-07-03T13:27:04.672-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><div><p>Uncle Bill is always looking out for your well being and as the credit crunch heads west and out of sight, I think, there are some real things to worry about and they are---</p><br /><br /><p>1) politicians</p><br /><br /><p>2) the Supreme Court</p><br /><br /><p>3) the Fed</p><br /><br /><p>As the guys over at MarketMinder.com (full disclosure--I am a client) are often more articulate than <em>moi, </em>I'll let them do the talking--I've got a house to get built.</p><br /><br /><p><span class='bio_content'> </span></p><br /><br /><h1>The Real Risks</h1><br /><br /><p>10/9/2007</p><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div><u>Story Outline</u></div><br /><br /><div> </div><u/><ul><li>“Credit crisis” headlines are being replaced by economically insignificant headlines, signaling a lack of legitimate negatives to report. </li><br /><br /><li>Legitimate market risks are few, and unlikely to impact the market much at this point. The risks for aggressive legislation and a major monetary policy error remain low. </li><br /><br /><li>Positive fundamentals currently far outweigh potential market negatives.</li></ul><br /><br /><p>Anyone else notice the “credit crunch” headlines are starting to go away? They’re still out there, but no longer occupy top billing, chased off by Britney’s child custody saga, Pamela’s quickie Vegas nuptials, and harrumphing over stores gearing up for Christmas in October. This is front page stuff from allegedly “legitimate” news sources! Very bullish. (For more, read MarketMinder commentary “What a Week,” 10/05/2007.)</p><br /><br /><div>We spill barrels of virtual ink at MarketMinder underscoring why now’s a great time to be bullish and pointing out glaring flaws in popular bearish views. As we’ve covered here, popular concerns such as the credit crisis, a weak dollar, allegedly slowing US growth, trade deficits, debt, and even terrorism don’t have the market impact folks think. (For more, you can refer to our commentary archive.) But that doesn’t mean we’re blindly bullish. Rather, we see that legitimate risks are unlikely to develop into major market negatives right now and are far outweighed by positive fundamentals.</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>For example, we’d view an aggressive legislative reaction to perceived subprime problems as a legitimate risk. Our senators vow to “solve” subprime by forcing banks to tighten lending standards in order to protect the “little guy.” (Pardon us, but who is going to protect the “little guy” from the Senate?)</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>In our view, any attempt to limit credit access could have negative economic and market consequences—perhaps serious. Is it time to pack it in, go to cash, and safely watch the political melee from the sidelines? Not at all. As we’ve discussed here in the past (“Veto Power”—10/04/2007, “A Political Punch”—05/31/2007) third and fourth years of presidents’ terms are famously feckless. We nearly always see the president’s party lose relative power in the mid-terms—donkeys and elephants alike—setting up the perfect recipe for political gridlock. The political furor over subprime is likely to devolve into nothing more than inane investigations and name-calling—a very good thing if you’re a fan of rising stock prices.</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>The same goes for rising protectionism—another legitimate market risk. Though congressional cries to “save American jobs” may increase political contributions in the near term, efforts to hinder globalization will likely have an ugly economic outcome. But for now, third- and fourth-year politics should keep ill-considered protectionist legislation to a minimum.</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>What about a case the Supreme Court is hearing today—being called the <em>Roe v. Wade </em>of securities law (i.e., unique in its far-reaching significance)? In <em>StoneRidge Investment Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta</em>, the plaintiffs argue investors have the right to sue third parties—accounting firms, investment banks, consultants, vendors—if a public company commits fraud. If the plaintiffs succeed, it could mean open season on big business and an exponential increase in frivolous lawsuits. (Great news for plaintiff’s attorneys! Bad news for pretty much everyone else.) Imagine what companies would have to do to protect themselves from litigation. CEOs would become prohibitively risk averse—which would likely reflect in lackluster earnings growth and stock prices.</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div><strong>StoneRidge: Don't Look For a Landmark Ruling</strong><br/>By Brian Wingfield, Forbes<br/><a href='http://www.forbes.com/home/businessinthebeltway/2007/10/08/stoneridge-lawsuits-supreme-court-biz-wash-cx_bw_1009scotus.html'><span style='color: #0000ff;'>http://www.forbes.com/home/businessinthebeltway/2007/10/08/stoneridge-lawsuits-supreme-court-biz-wash-cx_bw_1009scotus.html</span></a></div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>However, we agree with this article’s assessment that the Supreme Court is highly unlikely to rule in favor of the plaintiffs. A 1994 precedent and two recent lower court decisions make it easy for the Supreme Court to rule against the plaintiffs and in favor of capitalism. Another risk moderated. (Though we’ll watch the Court carefully on this.)</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>Another risk we see is a massive monetary error—like the Fed aggressively tightening or even dropping rates dramatically. We view this risk as slightly higher now, though still unlikely. Mr. Bernanke will be the first Fed head up for reappointment in the first year of a president’s term, as opposed to the fourth year (thanks to term limits imposed on Mr. Greenspan). Ben’s recent cut might have been a signal to presidential candidates, “Hey! I can be accommodative! You want to get reelected to a second term? You need a pleasant economy in the first—and I’m your guy!” If he is indeed auditioning, he may very well cut rates again. But, we still don’t see a few rate cuts as a major deal. First, they take a long time to be felt. Second, inflation has actually been dropping over the last two years. We can’t see how another cut or two will ignite inflation radically from here. File “major monetary policy error” under “still highly unlikely.”</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>None of these seem likely to flare into major market conflagrations at this point. And they pale in comparison with healthy fundamentals like a growing global economy, strong corporate earnings, and attractive equity valuations. Add to the mix a historically unique positive gap between earnings yields and bond yields globally—which contributes to shrinking stock supply—and a lack of economically significant headlines, and the bears don’t stand a chance. Neither does Britney’s custody case, by the way, but as long as she hogs headlines and fundamentals remain positive, we’ve got a nice ride ahead of us.</div><br /><br /></div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-6816461930367942636?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-19680816861091740962008-07-03T01:27:00.001-07:002008-07-03T01:27:03.704-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />I'm feeling very pleased these days about my retirement contributions. With the new job came a healthy pay raise, and since my involuntary contributions as well as my workplace's contributions are done on percentage, they've gone up 30%, to $814 per month. I'm also putting in $500 per month myself, so I'm now getting nearly as much in retirement contributions as I am living on. This is astonishing to me. <br/><br/>I've got an automatic contribution of $200 per month to the Roth, and I'll max it out by the end of the year. And I'm now saving plenty of money. So I'm casting around for ways to get more money into my retirement accounts. I don't want to contribute so much every month that I have to rely on other money to live, but the 403(b) is the only other option after maxing out the IRA to get more money into a tax-sheltered account. <br/><br/>So here's my plan. I use about $1800 per month to pay all the bills, rent, groceries, contribute to the Roth, etc. So my plan right now is that once I have a comfortable amount saved up, I'm going to change my retirement contribution amount for that month from $500 to $2000 or $2500 - essentially my whole paycheck after about $470 in pretax required deductions - and live on my saved-up money for one month. Then I'll change it back the next month and save up my money again. Then when I get another $2000 or so saved up, I'll have another "no-income" month and put it in the 403(b).<br/><br/>This sounds pretty good to me but I'm also kind of chicken about not having the money coming in. But I think I can prep ahead of time and make sure the bills money is in the bills bank account, and the living money in the living expenses bank account, and I've got my ING debit card in case there is an emergency. So perhaps next month... :)<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-1968081686109174096?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-12817513214095754882008-06-28T13:26:00.001-07:002008-06-28T13:26:04.423-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>I just got finished reading <a href='http://www.mapgirl.net/mfc/2008/06/24/book-review-save-now-or-die-trying/'>Save Now or Die Trying by Mark Bruno</a> and for the first time, I realized that there are different ways of reading a personal finance book.</p><br /><p>1. Read a book from cover to cover. Just sit down and plow through the material like you were reading Marx in college. Dry and not too fun.</p><br /><p>2. Read for research. You&amp;#8217;ve got a question and you&amp;#8217;re going to find the answer by looking up the subject in the index and reading the 3 pages it lists till you&amp;#8217;ve got the answer.</p><br /><p>3. Read with a calculator/spreadsheet and your last paystub in hand. You read something and you start calculating what numbers apply to you.</p><br /><p>Obviously, we&amp;#8217;ve all done these sorts of things before. Some books out there are meant to be read from cover to cover. Others are resource books that can sit on your shelf when you want to reference them. But then there are some books that lend themselves to an interactive experience. There are worksheets printed in them. They command you to take 10% of your gross income and put that aside annually in a savings account. I wholeheartedly believe that if you read a personal finance book slowly and deliberately with your paystub next to you, you&amp;#8217;ll get a lot more out of it.</p><br /><p>I started out using the paystub as a bookmark and realized I could open it up and really see where the money was going with a personal finance book to guide me through. I could see that I&amp;#8217;m doing ok by saving 17% of my annual salary in a 401k account and a Healthcare Savings Account. I could manipulate numbers with a calculator to adjust and see other things happening to my money while absorbing the ideas the book.</p><br /><p>Give it a try the next time you&amp;#8217;ve got a personal finance book you are reading. I don&amp;#8217;t promise an epiphany, but maybe some good insights will come your way.</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-1281751321409575488?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-18470741276389459852008-06-28T01:26:00.001-07:002008-06-28T01:26:05.133-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>I have this tendency to hang on to things, thinking I might need them some day. I do pretty good with resisting this tendency to hoard in regard to <i>physical</i> things, but other things? Not so much.</p><br /><p>By other things, I mean things like bank accounts and domain names. I always think, &amp;#8220;Well, but what if I need them some day?&amp;#8221; and so I leave them be, even though I'm not using them. When I wrote about <a href='http://www.bluntmoney.com/finding-balance/'>finding balance</a>, I vowed to make some changes in this area. </p><br /><p>I started by calling up my credit union and closing my checking account there. I hadn't used it in hm, over a year, and didn't see any reason why I would use it in the future. I felt good after making the call, and I told my husband what I'd done. </p><br /><p>He wondered why I'd left the savings account there open. I thought about it, and realized that it was the old &amp;#8220;but what if I need it?&amp;#8221; excuse. &amp;#8220;Well,&amp;#8221; I thought, &amp;#8220;What if I DO need it?&amp;#8221; I could open another one, among other things. This is not a permanent choice. So I called them back up and closed my account entirely &amp;#8212; an account that I'd had for over twenty years. I felt even better after that.</p><br /><p>Coincidentally, I got the quarterly statement from the credit union in the mail that day. I was so happy, knowing that I'd only get one more statement from them and then that would be IT. One less envelope to open. One less account to reconcile. One less paper to file. Five more minutes in my life every quarter. I felt good. Remembering that good feeling will give me the help I need to continue battling the tendency to hoard.</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-1847074127638945985?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-55710342217780004012008-06-26T13:26:00.001-07:002008-06-26T13:26:05.459-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Summer is officially here and for many kids, that means camp.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>For a couple of summers, I spent time at <a href='http://www.cisco.cc.tx.us/'>Cisco Junior College</a> learning how to twirl. A baton, not just how to better spin around! Although the classes didn't help me make it as a majorette leading the Kermit High School band on parade routes, it was a fun experience.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>That camp of my youth is no longer around, but another Texas school, Kilgore College, offers a <a href='http://www.kctwirlers.com/events.php?eid=5&amp;PHPSESSID=dc84d2c71822ebf2e600c01350976139'>similar baton camp experience</a>. </span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><img style='margin: 3px; float: right;' src='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/21/idol_camp_logo.jpg' title='Idol_camp_logo' alt='Idol_camp_logo' border='0'/>Rock camps, which I <a href='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/dont_mess_with_taxes/2007/06/rock_n_roll_sum.html'>blogged about last year</a>, are a big deal here in music-mad Austin. <nobr>And speaking</nobr> of music, you knew it had to happen: There's an American <a href='http://idolcamp.americanidol.com/'>Idol Camp</a>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><br />That's right. If your child is a natural performer, or you're an overbearing stage parent, this camp in Lake Arrowhead, Calif., is for y'all. Young Jimmy or Janie will, according to the camp's Web site, learn from &amp;quot;former Idols, performing artists and inspiring teachers … how to take your skills to the next level.&amp;quot; <br/></span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>And the camp's new West Coast location, says the site, &amp;quot;will offer campers even greater access to the<br />inspiring industry professionals located in nearby Los Angeles!&amp;quot;</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Yep, there literally are camps for just about any interest or aspiration. Just take a look at <a href='http://www.summercamps.com/'>SummerCamps.com</a>. </span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Do you or your child have hopes that he or she will one day be a major leaguer or at least have good enough game to get a college scholarship? In addition to the standard football and baseball offerings, there are camps for hockey (field and ice) players, wrestlers, soccer and swimming. </span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><img style='margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; float: left;' alt='Summer_camp_2' title='Summer_camp_2' src='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/21/summer_camp_2.jpg' border='0'/> Unconventional sport camps include paintball, wake boarding, SCUBA diving and something called zipline, which apparently is that rope you zoom down via pulley, but in camp vernacular it also covers other X-Game type of activities.</span><br /></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>If your child prefers a <nobr>more cerebral</nobr> experience, check out the art, academic and technology camps. <br/></span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>There also are specialty camps -- why didn't my folks send me to <a href='http://www.paliadventures.com/specialties/secret_agent_camp.php'>Secret Agent Camp</a>? -- and kid getaways for youngsters with special needs. And, of course, most religious denominations offer their own camps for kids.<br/><br/>While it's fun for kids and parents to get a break from each other, these overnight camps can be costly. So a lot of families rely on close-to-home day camps to help occupy the kids when school is out and mom and dad are at work. <br/></span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>And when it comes to day camps, Uncle Sam might help cover some of the costs.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><strong><span style='color: #990000;'>Tax credit for camp care:</span></strong> If you incur care expenses for a child younger than 13, you can<br />claim the Child and Dependent Care tax credit if the expenses are<br />necessary for you to go to or look for work.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><a href='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/21/tax_tip_icon_3.jpg'><img style='margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px; float: right;' alt='Tax_tip_icon_3' title='Tax_tip_icon_3' src='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/dont_mess_with_taxes/images/2008/06/21/tax_tip_icon_3.jpg' border='0' height='162' width='131'/></a><br />And camp costs might qualify as tax credit eligible costs for working parents. Of course there are lots of rules. This is the IRS after all.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>The biggest requirement is the work-related necessity. If you're a non-employed parent and you just want to send the kiddies to camp, day or otherwise, to get them out of your hair, Uncle Sam understands but he won't help pay.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>The other big requirement is that the camp be one that operates only during the day. While having the kids off at a sleep-over camp probably will make getting to work much easier, the IRS<br />doesn't consider sending your child to an overnight camp a legitimate<br />work-related expense.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>There also are monetary limits. Not all care costs, camp or otherwise, are covered. In computing the credit, you can count only up to $3,000 in expenses for one qualified dependent or up to $6,000 for two or more.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Even then, you only get to claim up to 35 percent of the costs. But, hey, every little bit helps.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>You can get the full official scoop on the child care tax credit in general and camp and other care considerations in <a href='http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p503.pdf'>IRS Publication 503</a>, Child and Dependent Care Expenses. This <a href='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/dont_mess_with_taxes/2007/08/irs-formalizes-.html'>blog item</a> from last August also discusses the IRS' final, formal child care rules care rules, as does <a href='http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/tips/20010228a.asp?caret=1'>this story</a>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><strong><span style='color: #990000;'>Camp reflections:</span></strong> Kim of <strong>Kim &amp; Jason Escape Adulthood</strong> has some interesting reflections in <a href='http://kimandjason.com/blog/2008-06-20/summer-for-some-kids.html'>Summer for Some Kids</a> on school vacation and day camps. She also offers some advice to working and single parents so they can &amp;quot;allow their children the opportunity to experience the freedom of summer, that many of us look back on with delight.&amp;quot;</span></p><br /><br /><div align='right'><p><span style='font-size: 0.8em;'>Sun camp image courtesy of <a href='http://www.summit.pvt.k12.ia.us/summit/content/extendingtheclassroom/summercamps.asp'><em>Summit School Summer Camps</em></a>.</span></p></div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-5571034221778000401?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-67940268428623280872008-06-26T01:25:00.001-07:002008-06-26T01:25:05.301-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />It pleases me to report that I have passed the first of two exams necessary for me to attain the certification of Accredited Financial Counselor, a designation awarded by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education. Once I have completed a second exam (probably sometime in the spring), finished several hundred hours of practicum experience, subscribed to the Code of Ethics and paid the membership fee, I will be a blogger with a legitimate, real-life accreditation, and not merely an "internet professional"! How many other personal finance bloggers can say the same?<br/><br/>It was quite a test. Nothing at all compared to the CPA exams or the CFP nightmare, but it definitely required a lot of preparation to fully understand all concepts covered. <br/><br/>If you are eligible and interested, this program is a great opportunity for military spouses and survivors to get free education and certification in an important field. The certification would cost about $900 out of pocket otherwise. Applications are accepted in the spring sometime, usually in March. For more information on the program, <a href='http://www.nmfa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=afcpe_faqs'>click here</a>.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-6794026842862328087?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-14087220285441531682008-06-25T13:25:00.001-07:002008-06-25T13:25:05.214-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>This is a rant and there will be no pictures, so move along now if you have more prurient interests.</p><br /><p>This is the bitter me on trying to find the right pieces of undergarments over the last three years and how much it&amp;#8217;s been a trial. I was inspired by Mrs. Micah&amp;#8217;s post on <a href='http://www.mrsmicah.com/2008/06/04/the-lingerie-roi/'>the Lingerie ROI</a>.</p><br /><p>I worked for Express in college and I&amp;#8217;d get a coupon for Victoria&amp;#8217;s Secret and Cacique because they were owned at that time by the same parent company. Cacique is long gone now. It never took off like VS did. But they used to make 100% cotton undies and sell them 4 or 5 for $20. I&amp;#8217;d use my coupon and get them for $15. I ended up with about 50 pairs after graduation, over 10 years ago. Yes, I can admit to hoarding them but they are great. I used to have a little cache of them with the tags still on but even that final stash is its last legs and I have to find suitable replacements.</p><br /><p>I liked these because they were bikini style with encased elastic, 100% cotton in plain colors and cute floral patterns. They were full coverage bottoms, with a leg cut that was neither too high, nor too modest. Heck, I even made a dress out of similarly patterned fabric to match one pair because I liked the blue/white scheme so much.</p><br /><p>Unfortunately, it&amp;#8217;s really hard to find comparable underpants. I&amp;#8217;ve tried Victoria&amp;#8217;s Secret signature underpants and they do not cut the mustard. Neither does Hanes (in several types). The primary problem is that no one makes encased elastic waistbands anymore. I admit, I haven&amp;#8217;t checked online for any, but I don&amp;#8217;t feel like I should have to buy something so mundane as my skivvies online. Why can&amp;#8217;t you go and just buy them in a normal store anymore? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?</p><br /><p>As for upper body undergarments, I curse Target for dropping my favorite lace demi cup design. They never stocked them in quantity so I couldn&amp;#8217;t buy 10 of them at once. The last time I checked for them I was very sad. In my desperation though I found something suitable, also from Target. In fact, this new bra was $3 cheaper. It&amp;#8217;s the Gilligan and O&amp;#8217;Malley house line (same as the old one I liked) but this one is not a demi cup, but at least it fits ok and makes a nice line under your clothes. They are still understocked at the store, but this time, I&amp;#8217;m going to buy them online. I have one reservation which is that the top of the cup tends to roll *outward* which is very bad under a t-shirt. I swear, I&amp;#8217;d give my kingdom for Target to bring back the old demi cup I liked.</p><br /><p>One of my friends asked me about finding a bra with no underwire. She told me it was driving her crazy because she couldn&amp;#8217;t find one anywhere. I found one by Hanes (also at Target) and tried it, but it was unflattering and the tag placement is in the worst spot under your armpit. The new bra I like has the tag printed on which is much better, but it wears off quickly so I&amp;#8217;ll have to write the size onto the fabric if I want to remember the specs later.</p><br /><p>At any rate, the quest for a decent replacement for underpants is going nowhere. *harumph* I may end up going commando because all of my favorite Cacique pairs are dying rapidly. One of my dear hippie friends from California hasn&amp;#8217;t worn them in 25 years, but I&amp;#8217;m still skeptical. I&amp;#8217;m a little too modest to be quite *THAT* frugal.</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-1408722028544153168?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-72807045524190207942008-06-25T01:24:00.001-07:002008-06-25T01:24:04.256-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>I just paid out $3084.00 to the contractor for my apartment. It&amp;#8217;s done. It looks great.</p><br /><p>Total cost was $5684.00. Not bad for a DC area bathroom remodel. They&amp;#8217;re between $7K-12K for a low-end estimate. But since my bathroom is exceptionally tiny to fit in my studio, I saved some money by ripping out a tile backsplash around the room (but also spending $300 extra to remove some extra concrete under the tile). Paint is a lot cheaper than tile, plus you don&amp;#8217;t have to wait extra for the grout to cure.</p><br /><p>My contractor left me extra bath and floor tiles, just in case they cracked. He&amp;#8217;s going to send a granite care sheet for the countertop. (Basically no ammonia cleaner and wipe up all acidic liquids right away.)</p><br /><p>I saved money by telling my contractor about a special deal at Home Depot for a towel bar, toilet paper roll holder and handtowel and generally keeping my eye out for the things that I liked in particular so he would have an inkling for what to pick up for me. We sent a lot of pictures back and forth via email. It really does help to have a cameraphone sometimes, though it&amp;#8217;s the most loathsome of all cellphone features.</p><br /><p>Half of the construction was paid for by my tax refund, stimulus package payment and the insurance payout. I took out $5000 BT on a credit card, but I was able to payback $2000 right away. It&amp;#8217;s put a dent in my finances psychologically more than anything else. I have definitely depleted my emergency fund and added a little to my credit cards over the same period.</p><br /><p>Was it worth it? Well, if I add up my construction cost to my remaining mortgage amount, I&amp;#8217;m slightly over my original purchase price. If I look around my bathroom, touch my fixtures, and stare into the mirror with really good lighting, I am satisfied. Pleased. Happy.</p><br /><p>While I won&amp;#8217;t recover all the cost of the remodel, I think it was a good idea. There were small little patches all over the place. Just little stuff, but it added up in a way that didn&amp;#8217;t look good. I figure I&amp;#8217;m more likely to get a premium for the bathroom now if I sell it because it looks intact and unified.</p><br /><p>The only downside is still the dust everywhere, but at least now I can rearrange my closet more efficiently. (A lot of studios in DC have a walk through closet with the bathroom on the other end. I hate the layout, but it&amp;#8217;s what it is.)</p><br /><p>Que sera sera. I&amp;#8217;ll just have to live with it now! muhahaha!</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-7280704552419020794?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-7102384972508258272008-06-24T01:24:00.001-07:002008-06-24T01:24:03.464-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>After a deluge of rain this spring, my windows are still leaking. I tried to tell the HOA about this 2 years ago when we had a crappy representative from the property management firm. However, they&amp;#8217;re only taking action on it now.</p><br /><p>So now that I&amp;#8217;m done the bathroom, I&amp;#8217;m going to have to move out and redo the entire back wall. And if I do that, I&amp;#8217;ll rip out the carpet and put in hardwood flooring. And when there&amp;#8217;s money once more, I&amp;#8217;ll have to redo the kitchen.</p><br /><p>But since my HOA is somewhat incompetent, I will wait to do all of this until the window leakage problem is fixed. Since that&amp;#8217;s probably not for a few months, I&amp;#8217;ve got time to save.<br/><br />Blah blah blah.</p><br /><p>At least the flooring is something I can do myself on the weekend with a few friends.</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-710238497250825827?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-42720765498580188492008-06-22T01:23:00.001-07:002008-06-22T01:23:04.890-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Remember when I blogged about (<a href='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/dont_mess_with_taxes/2008/05/some-rebate-che.html'>here</a>) my relative whose ex-husband got their joint $600 rebate (they're retirees, due $300 each) even though they both sent in 1040As as married filing separately? Apparently, that's happening to other folks, too.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>According to this <a href='http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/105233/Stimulating-Confusion'><em>MarketWatch</em> story</a>, &amp;quot;Even as millions of people are anxiously checking their mailboxes and bank accounts for their stimulus payments, others have received more than their fair share.&amp;quot;</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>So what's a person to do if they get the excess money? Don't spend it. </span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><img style='margin: 0px 9px 1px 0px; float: left;' src='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/17/stimulus_rebate_2.jpg' title='Stimulus_rebate_2' alt='Stimulus_rebate_2' border='0'/><br />The IRS is likely to eventually discover the mistake and want the money back. And since it wasn't properly the taxpayer's to begin with, the agency is within its rights asking for repayment. <br/></span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>This <a href='http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/tips/20060419a1.asp?caret=2z'>story</a> talks about such instances; it refers to refunds, but the problems and procedures are the same for the economic stimulus payments.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>In the case of my family member who's involved in a wrong rebate amount situation, her ex-husband got the erroneous $600 that was meant for joint filers and my relative, the former wife, got her separate, correct, $300 amount a couple of weeks later. </span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>So the ex-husband should be prepared to come up with the overpayment amount. Not that I hold a grudge or anything, but nyah-nyah!</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><strong><span style='color: #990000;'>Some extra checks are correct:</span></strong> The <em>MarketWatch</em> story also notes, as did I in this <a href='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/dont_mess_with_taxes/2008/05/more-rebate-pro.html'>previous blog</a>, that some second stimulus payments are OK. </span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>In these cases, the IRS is making up the rebate shortfall that about 350,000 taxpayers experienced because their original stimulus payments did not include the bonus money for eligible children.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><strong><span style='color: #990000;'>Learning process:</span></strong> This whole rebate process has been a learning process for both taxpayers and the IRS.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Because of the eligibility specifics (you can read about whether you can expect a check <a href='http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=179181,00.html'>here</a>), many filers were confused and sent in incorrect forms that resulted in incorrect rebates. Many of them will be able to correct the mistakes on their 2008 returns they'll file next year.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>But some of the screw-ups fall squarely on the IRS. <br/></span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>I know politics played a part in rushing these payments through the system. But still, there are some things the IRS could have done better. <br/></span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>So here's my unsolicited advice for the IRS if it ever has to deal with rebates again.</span><br/> </p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><strong><span style='color: #990000;'>Trash the timetable:</span></strong> The whole delivery schedule idea. Good intentions, bad PR move. So scrap it!</span><br/> </p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Remember the 2001 rebates? Those were distributed the same way as these 2008 checks, using the last two digits of Social Security numbers. But seven years ago the IRS didn't put out a firm timetable. That worked OK.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>This year, however, folks are apoplectic because they didn't get their rebate money when the IRS said they would. Sure the agency has some legitimate reasons why the delivery dates weren't met, but because they gave folks specific date hopes, they basically invited angry reactions from every person who didn't get his or her check on schedule.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Next time, and I'm sure Capitol Hill will come up with a next time sooner or later, use the 2001 no-delivery-dates method.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><strong><span style='color: #990000;'>Make sure the system is ready to go:</span></strong> Secondly, and most importantly, don't send out checks until you're absolutely, positively sure they are right. If that means the process starts a bit later or takes somewhat longer, so be it. </span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>In the end, people will be happier. Sure they'll complain about the wait, but at least when it's over, things will (should be) correct. </span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Again, the deadline pressure might have contributed here. In trying, at the constant urging of the Administration, to get the money to taxpayers ASAP, the IRS learned that valuable haste-makes-waste lesson. </span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>True, most folks are getting their checks -- their <strong><em>correct</em></strong> checks -- and in reasonable time. But those who didn't (or aren't) are making life miserable for the IRS, their accountants, their family and friends, for everyone!</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>From this whole process, the IRS needs to take heed of a basic business lesson: It's much easier and less expensive to do the job right the first time and keep customers relatively satisfied than it is to clean up after your mistakes and make unhappy folks happy again.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><strong><span style='color: #990000;'><a href='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/17/stimulus_check_in_question_lg_2.jpg'><img style='margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px; float: right;' src='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/dont_mess_with_taxes/images/2008/06/17/stimulus_check_in_question_lg_2.jpg' title='Stimulus_check_in_question_lg_2' alt='Stimulus_check_in_question_lg_2' border='0' height='112' width='200'/></a><br />Tracking down your correct check:</span></strong> If you filed your return and your rebate delivery date has come and gone, contact <nobr>the IRS.</nobr> </span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>You can check out the agency's various Web pages, such as <a href='https://sa1.www4.irs.gov/irfof/IRServlet?app=IRACTC'>Where's My Rebate?</a> or the IRS' consolidated links found <a href='http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=177937,00.html'>here</a>, for more information. Or you can call the IRS' toll-free Rebate Hotline at </span><nobr><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>(866) 234-2942.</span></nobr></p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-4272076549858018849?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-77138134747282656062008-06-21T01:23:00.001-07:002008-06-21T01:23:03.471-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><div><p>Somebody over at Tower Perrin doesn't have enough to do as evidenced by this 'study.' I struggled through it but not sure I can draw any conclusions except that Mexican companies have the greatest percentage of 'engaged' employees. From what I saw in Mexico they are engaged because they just feel damn lucky just to have a job.</p><br /><br /><p>Interesting remarks about Japan as well. Well, interesting if you are in Human Resources.</p><br /><br /><p>On the 'road to engagement?' What is that?</p><br /><br /><p>Read on and figure out your own conclusion. Please share any insight because I'm not sure I get this. Or even want to.</p><br /><br /><p><strong><span style='font-size: 1.4em;'><span class='t'>Few workers are 'engaged' at work and most want more from execs</span></span></strong><br/><span class='tt'>Sunday October 21, 10:28 am ET</span> <br/><span class='au'>By <a href='mailto:acoombes@marketwatch.com'><span style='color: #0f55c3;'>Andrea Coombes</span></a></span> <table border='0' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' height='4'><tbody><tr><td height='4'/></tr></tbody></table><span class='t2'><strong><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Just 1 in 5 workers are 'engaged' -- and most want more from executives</span></strong></span> </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class='ar'>SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Only 21% of workers worldwide are &amp;quot;engaged&amp;quot; -- that's human-resource-speak for ready to expend some extra effort at work -- while 38% are either disenchanted or disengaged, according to a new survey. <p><table border='0' align='left' cellpadding='4' cellspacing='4'><tbody><tr><td><table border='0' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' class='ad_slug_table'><tbody><tr><td align='center'><span class='ad_slug'><span style='font-size: 0.6em;' face='Arial' class='ad_slug_font'>ADVERTISEMENT</span></span><br/><iframe topmargin='0' leftmargin='0' allowtransparency='true' height='250' scrolling='no' width='300' frameborder='0' src='http://view.atdmt.com/RSC/iview/yhxxxofi0010000038rsc/direct/01/?time=1193241439005220&amp;click=http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12g3qvf0k/M=609425.11167553.12029927.1435155/D=fin/S=97702452:LREC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1193248639/A=4932136/R=0/*' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0'> </iframe></td></tr></tbody></table><script language='javascript'/><noscript/></td></tr></tbody></table>Engagement is not satisfaction or happiness, but the degree to which workers connect to the company emotionally, are aware of what they need to do to add value and are willing to take that action, said Julie Gebauer, a managing director with consulting firm Towers Perrin, which surveyed almost 90,000 workers in 19 countries. </p><br /><br /><p>&amp;quot;Happy employees don't necessarily create better financial results, but there is a definite link between engagement and a company's financial performance,&amp;quot; Gebauer said. </p><br /><br /><p>The survey found 21% of workers worldwide are engaged, and another 41% are &amp;quot;enrolled,&amp;quot; which means they're on the road to engagement, Gebauer said. </p><br /><br /><p>More than 80% of the engaged employees say they contribute to the quality of company products, services and customer satisfaction, while only 40% of disengaged workers agree. </p><br /><br /><p>Engagement helps retention too: About 50% of engaged employees say they have no plans to leave their company versus 15% of the disengaged. </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><h4>'Dollars-and-cents issue'</h4>The fact that almost 80% of workers are less-than-engaged is likely costing companies money, Gebauer said. <p>&amp;quot;The notion of engagement is really a dollars-and-cents issue. Organizations that have employees that are highly engaged deliver better financial results than those that don't,&amp;quot; Gebauer said. </p><br /><br /><p>In a separate study, Towers Perrin assessed data on 40 global companies over a three-year period, measuring employee engagement at a certain point and then looking at the companies' financial results over the ensuing three years. </p><br /><br /><p>Companies with highly motivated workers enjoyed a 3.7% increase in operating margins and a 2% rise in net profits, while companies with a lower level of worker commitment saw both measures decrease slightly. </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><h4>Countries vary widely</h4>The portion of engaged workers varies widely by country, according to the survey. <p>In the U.S., 29% of workers are engaged and 28% are disenchanted or disengaged, while in Mexico, 54% of workers are engaged -- the highest among the 19 countries surveyed -- while 16% are disenchanted or disengaged. </p><br /><br /><p>The lowest portion of engaged workers on the list is Japan, where 3% of workers are engaged and 72% are disenchanted or disengaged. </p><br /><br /><p>Still, other reports find higher levels of worker commitment among U.S. workers, at least. A separate survey finds that 72% of workers would recommend their company as a good place to work, up from 62% two years ago, and 64% say their company values them as employees, according to a survey of 2,000 U.S. workers in September by Rasmussen Reports LLC, a research firm, for Hudson, a staffing and recruitment firm. </p><br /><br /><p>From the Towers Perrin report, here's the full list of engagement levels by country: </p><br /><br /><p><table border='1' cellpadding='4' cellspacing='0'><tbody><tr valign='baseline'><td>Region </td><br /><br /><td>Engaged </td><br /><br /><td>Enrolled </td><br /><br /><td>Disenchanted </td><br /><br /><td>Disengaged </td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Global </td><br /><br /><td>21%</td><br /><br /><td>41%</td><br /><br /><td>30%</td><br /><br /><td>8%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Mexico </td><br /><br /><td>54%</td><br /><br /><td>30%</td><br /><br /><td>13%</td><br /><br /><td>3%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Brazil </td><br /><br /><td>37%</td><br /><br /><td>38%</td><br /><br /><td>22%</td><br /><br /><td>3%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>India </td><br /><br /><td>36%</td><br /><br /><td>46%</td><br /><br /><td>15%</td><br /><br /><td>3%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>U.S. </td><br /><br /><td>29%</td><br /><br /><td>43%</td><br /><br /><td>22%</td><br /><br /><td>6%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Switzerland </td><br /><br /><td>23%</td><br /><br /><td>50%</td><br /><br /><td>23%</td><br /><br /><td>4%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Canada </td><br /><br /><td>23%</td><br /><br /><td>44%</td><br /><br /><td>25%</td><br /><br /><td>7%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Spain </td><br /><br /><td>19%</td><br /><br /><td>35%</td><br /><br /><td>31%</td><br /><br /><td>15%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Russia </td><br /><br /><td>18%</td><br /><br /><td>46%</td><br /><br /><td>30%</td><br /><br /><td>7%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Germany </td><br /><br /><td>17%</td><br /><br /><td>47%</td><br /><br /><td>28%</td><br /><br /><td>8%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>China </td><br /><br /><td>16%</td><br /><br /><td>51%</td><br /><br /><td>27%</td><br /><br /><td>6%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>U.K. </td><br /><br /><td>14%</td><br /><br /><td>42%</td><br /><br /><td>33%</td><br /><br /><td>11%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Belgium </td><br /><br /><td>13%</td><br /><br /><td>47%</td><br /><br /><td>31%</td><br /><br /><td>9%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Netherlands </td><br /><br /><td>13%</td><br /><br /><td>47%</td><br /><br /><td>32%</td><br /><br /><td>7%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>France </td><br /><br /><td>12%</td><br /><br /><td>41%</td><br /><br /><td>35%</td><br /><br /><td>12%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Italy </td><br /><br /><td>11%</td><br /><br /><td>40%</td><br /><br /><td>36%</td><br /><br /><td>13%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Poland </td><br /><br /><td>9%</td><br /><br /><td>37%</td><br /><br /><td>39%</td><br /><br /><td>15%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Korea </td><br /><br /><td>8%</td><br /><br /><td>45%</td><br /><br /><td>40%</td><br /><br /><td>7%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Hong Kong </td><br /><br /><td>5%</td><br /><br /><td>36%</td><br /><br /><td>46%</td><br /><br /><td>13%</td></tr><br /><br /><tr valign='baseline'><td>Japan </td><br /><br /><td>3%</td><br /><br /><td>25%</td><br /><br /><td>56%</td><br /><br /><td>16%</td></tr></tbody></table></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><h4>Engage me</h4>So, what makes for an engaged employee? It's not necessarily pay. While the level of pay is important, it's not among the top 10 drivers of engagement, Gebauer said. <p>Rather than using &amp;quot;the blunt instrument of pay,&amp;quot; Gebauer said, companies should survey their work force, much as they might study their customers, to assess what employees are seeking. </p><br /><br /><p>The top 10 drivers of employee engagement across all 19 countries are a mixed bag that includes both the behavior and actions of senior management and individuals' own actions and abilities: </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><ol><li>Senior management sincerely interested in employee well-being </li><br /><br /><li>Improved my skills and capabilities over the last year </li><br /><br /><li>Organization's reputation for social responsibility </li><br /><br /><li>Input into decision-making in my department </li><br /><br /><li>Organization quickly resolves customer concerns </li><br /><br /><li>Set high personal standards </li><br /><br /><li>Have excellent career advancement opportunities </li><br /><br /><li>Enjoy challenging work assignments that broaden skills </li><br /><br /><li>Good relationship with supervisor </li><br /><br /><li>Organization encourages innovative thinking </li></ol><br /><br /><p>Many employees &amp;quot;are looking for a greater demonstration of senior management's interest in their day-to-day work,&amp;quot; Gebauer said. </p><br /><br /><p>&amp;quot;What employees are looking for is open communication, communication that reflects the fact that senior management really understands how the work gets done, and recognizes and appreciates that,&amp;quot; she said. </p><br /><br /><p>Senior management's interest in employees can be expressed in a number of ways, Gebauer said, &amp;quot;including organizations' willingness to help employees balance work and activities outside of work, to sponsor competitive benefit programs, to focus on career development and training,&amp;quot; she said. </p><br /><br /><p>&amp;quot;Those are things that will translate to employees as senior management being interested in my well-being,&amp;quot; she said. </p><br /><br /><p>Communication helps, too, even the electronic kind. &amp;quot;CEOs who will provide a monthly Web cast or a voicemail just letting people know about key developments in the industry and in the company -- those are some of the things that help employees put at least a voice and a face to senior management,&amp;quot; she said. </p><br /><br /><p>The study's findings refute other studies that find workers' immediate supervisors are most important to employees' sense of well-being. </p><br /><br /><p>&amp;quot;It's not to say the manager isn't important, but imagine the best manager in the world working in an organization that doesn't have a good performance-management system, doesn't have good advancement opportunities,&amp;quot; Gebauer said. </p><br /><br /><p>&amp;quot;How is that manger going to help the employee navigate through an organization that is actually not working so well?&amp;quot; </p><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><p><em>Beats the hell out of me.</em></p></div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-7713813474728265606?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-36484347830727996932008-06-18T13:22:00.001-07:002008-06-18T13:22:08.601-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>The IRS says tax shelter penalties are too tough. No joke.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><img style='margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; float: left;' alt='Tax_shelter_tent' title='Tax_shelter_tent' src='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/12/tax_shelter_tent.gif' border='0'/><br />Janet Novack, in <em>Forbes</em> magazine's latest ; <a href='http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0630/042a.html?partner=alerts'>OutFront</a> column, reports that IRS Chief Counsel Donald Korb believes the penalty for abusive tax shelters and transactions is ; so draconian that he's loath to add new ploys to the list.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Instead, Korb has adopted a new category of questionable shelters, &amp;quot;transactions of interest,&amp;quot; which carry a penalty that's only a fraction of the amount assessed for not reporting an abusive shelter. The IRS also has the option to waive this penalty.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>&amp;quot;You just can't have a system where there's no discretion,&amp;quot; Korb told <em>Forbes</em>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>That attitude doesn't sit well with the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. &amp;quot;The IRS doesn't get to pick and choose which laws to enforce,&amp;quot; said Iowa Senator Charles Grassley.</span></p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-3648434783072799693?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-30919614656411451112008-06-18T06:33:00.001-07:002008-06-18T06:33:20.972-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />Custom home building is a very expansive field. Sometimes, all of the decisions you need to make can be incredibly overwhelming. For people like me, a pre-set floorplan may be a better move. I found this page about <a href='http://www.squidoo.com/schumacherhomes'>Schumacher Homes</a> and it was pretty helpful. Anyone else have other recomendations?<br/><br/>tags: <a class='bopkeyword' title='See the Technorati tag page for home building' rel='tag' href='http://technorati.com/tag/home building'>home building</a>, <a class='bopkeyword' title='See the Technorati tag page for home builders' rel='tag' href='http://technorati.com/tag/home builders'>home builders</a>, <a class='bopkeyword' title='See the Technorati tag page for home construction' rel='tag' href='http://technorati.com/tag/home construction'>home construction</a>, <a class='bopkeyword' title='See the Technorati tag page for house construction' rel='tag' href='http://technorati.com/tag/house construction'>house construction</a>, <a class='bopkeyword' title='See the Technorati tag page for real estate' rel='tag' href='http://technorati.com/tag/real estate'>real estate</a>, <a class='bopkeyword' title='See the Technorati tag page for homes' rel='tag' href='http://technorati.com/tag/homes'>homes</a>, <a class='bopkeyword' title='See the Technorati tag page for houses' rel='tag' href='http://technorati.com/tag/houses'>houses</a>, <a class='bopkeyword' title='See the Technorati tag page for builders' rel='tag' href='http://technorati.com/tag/builders'>builders</a>, <a class='bopkeyword' title='See the Technorati tag page for construction' rel='tag' href='http://technorati.com/tag/construction'>construction</a>, <a class='bopkeyword' title='See the Technorati tag page for contractors' rel='tag' href='http://technorati.com/tag/contractors'>contractors</a><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-3091961465641145111?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-89602154915009403612008-06-17T01:20:00.001-07:002008-06-17T01:20:25.093-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>It's time for this week's Carnival of Debt Reduction. The Carnival of Debt Reduction is a weekly blog carnival that highlights posts on getting out of debt, personal debt reduction progress reports and posts about reducing debt. </p><br /><p>With Father's Day just past us, I thought it might be time for some debt reduction advice from Dad. Dad sez:</p><br /><p> ;</p><br /><p><b>When I was a boy, we lived within our means.</b><br/><br /><img border='0' height='170' width='250' alt='Wallet &amp; shopping bag' src='http://www.bluntmoney.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/wallet-bag1.jpg'/><br/><br />(Photo by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/blueace/'>robertgaal</a>.)</p><br /><p>Picture of Wealth realizes that maybe Dad has a point and so she <a href='http://picturewealth.blogspot.com/2008/06/shift-your-thinking-to-beat-debt.html'>shifts her thinking to beat debt</a>. </p><br /><p>Becoming Debt Free investigates the <a href='http://www.debtopedia.com/debtfree/debt-reduction/secrets-of-living-debt-free.php'>secrets of living debt free</a>. </p><br /><p>Find Financial Freedom offers some tips on <a href='http://www.findfinancialfreedom.com/32/how-to-get-out-of-debt'>how to get out of debt</a>. </p><br /><p>Tisha agrees with Dad. She offers steps on how to <a href='http://debtfreeplaybook.com/blog/stop-living-one-paycheck-tonext.html'>stop living paycheck to paycheck</a>. </p><br /><p>The Happy Rock goes even further. He's reached a tipping point, and says that <a href='http://www.thehappyrock.com/2008/06/11/my-personal-finance-tipping-point/'>debt is slavery</a>.</p><br /><p>But Debt Reduction Formula isn't so sure that Dad has all the answers. He wonders, <a href='http://www.debtreductionformula.com/blog/debt-fact-life/'>is debt a fact of life?</a> </p><br /><p> ;</p><br /><p><b>Do I have to turn this car around?</b><br/><br /><img border='0' height='170' width='250' alt='US 66' src='http://www.bluntmoney.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/route-66.jpg'/><br/><br />(Photo by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootbearwdc/'>dbking</a>.)</p><br /><p>Destroy Debt tells us how to <a href='http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/p/239-go-on-vacation-without-adding-more-debt.html'>go on vacation without adding more debt</a>. (That should make Dad happy.)</p><br /><p>But sometimes you just get fed up. Millionaire Money Habits explains <a href='http://www.mmhabits.com/stop-bill-collector-harassment/'>how to stop bill collector harassment</a> while you're working on getting out of debt.</p><br /><p>Debt Sucks feels like he's reached the <a href='http://debtsucksblog.com/?p=121'>end of the road</a>. Maybe a new map will help.</p><br /><p> ;</p><br /><p><b>Money doesn't grow on trees, you know.</b><br/><br /><img border='0' height='170' width='250' alt='Money Tree' src='http://www.bluntmoney.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/money-tree.jpg'/><br/><br />(Photo by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/idreamoutloud/'>Sancho Papa</a>.)</p><br /><p>Not the Jet Set reminds us that <a href='http://www.notthejetset.net/2008/06/ed-mcmahon-is-not-coming.html'>Ed McMahon isn't coming</a>. </p><br /><p>Silicon Valley Blogger thinks that you should pick up <a href='http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/09/want-some-extra-income-try-odd-jobs/'>a few odd jobs</a> to help pay off debt. </p><br /><p>Until Debt Do Us Part thinks that <a href='http://www.untildebtdouspart.com/2008/06/10/debts-and-pets/'>pets should help pull their own weight</a>.</p><br /><p>TooSmart looks around and takes stock of <a href='http://www.too-smart.info/money/lay-of-the-land-moneystupid/'>the lay of the land</a>. Nope, no money trees in sight.</p><br /><p> ;</p><br /><p><b>Never a lender nor a borrower be.</b><br/><br /><img border='0' height='170' width='250' alt='Cutting up a credit card' src='http://www.bluntmoney.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/credit-card.jpg'/><br/><br />(Photo by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/squeakymarmot/'>SqueakyMarmot</a>.)</p><br /><p>Credit Friend has a common sense focus on <a href='http://creditcardsense.net/2008/06/how-to-get-out-of-credit-card-debts/'>how to get out of credit card debt</a>. </p><br /><p>Cash Money Life reminds us that you <a href='http://cashmoneylife.com/2008/06/06/how-to-handle-late-credit-card-payments/'>can’t squeeze blood from a stone</a>. He explains what to do when you absolutely can’t pay your credit card minimums. </p><br /><p>Get Out Of Debt thinks that <a href='http://debtfree.blogsome.com/2008/06/09/pay-off-your-mortgage-fast/'>monthly mortgage payments can feel like a dead weight around our necks.</a>. So pay them off fast!</p><br /><p>Budgets are Sexy uses a <a href='http://www.budgetsaresexy.com/2008/06/i-did-it-my-first-credit-card-balance.html'>credit card balance transfer</a> so he can get a credit card paid down faster. </p><br /><p>Money Blue Book thinks that <a href='http://www.moneybluebook.com/use-low-interest-lifetime-balance-transfers-to-pay-off-credit-card-debt/'>paying off credit cards with balance transfers</a> might be the way to go too. </p><br /><p>American Consumer News has a straightforward way of <a href='http://www.americanconsumernews.com/2008/06/sick-of-credit-card-debt-pay-it-off-in-14th-the-time-no-crazy-schemes-just-math.html'>saying goodbye to the balance on your Visa once and for all</a>. </p><br /><p> ;</p><br /><p>For information on next week's carnival, please visit the <a href='http://www.carnivalofdebtreduction.com/submit/'>Carnival of Debt Reduction</a>.</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-8960215491500940361?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-10040087523781811462008-06-15T13:20:00.001-07:002008-06-15T13:20:22.210-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />Last night, a group of friends old and new gathered to celebrate the passage of time, the ritual of the 30th birthday, for two of our best party boys at the mysterious <a href='http://www.debonairsocialclub.com/'>Debonair Social Club</a> on the city's West side. <br/><br/>The bar, billed a "boutique video club" by a local review site, featured a curious mix of clientele, decor and wait staff. Among mash up of goth-ish goers, heavily tattooed leather fans, 80's material girls and quasi-punk lovers, my casual crowd was totally out of place. The bouncers seemed more focused on keeping people out than getting people in, and the bartenders were ridiculously rude, but for the most part, we didn't mind. Intrigued by the people watching and the strange interplay of Nirvana, Annie Lennox and Fall-Out Boy on the speakers, we spent most of the night debating whether the place was an all-out gay bar, a bar for the more dramatic theater crowd or simply an oasis for the eccentric. The videos and images on the high walls offered more than a little fodder for conversation.<br/><br/>Today, in thinking about a bar whose image is up for grabs, I began noticing how within my own social scene, people's images, personas and passions have changed over the last 10 years. <span class='fullpost'><br/><br/>The fun-loving, free-sprited lifestyle of our early 20's - yet so filled with drama, tension and angst - seems to have given way to a more focused kind of existence. As some friends said good-bye early to be home with their babies, others laughed about recent stints living abroad in Europe and Brazil while others discussed career goals and other aspirations. Of course, this conversation was often punctuated by the occasional sing-along to Billy Idol and eventually became more vodka-driven than not, but still, this morning I can't help but think about the change that's occurred.<br/><br/>If our early 20's are all about defining our identity, determining our priorities and filtering out what we don't want in our lives, then our late 20's - for some of us, at least - are about internalizing those priorities and goals and setting in motion a path to get there. <br/><br/>I'm not sure how long this "setting in motion" phase lasts. But I would define it as the point in between once you finally identify what you want out of life until you actually are able to achieve it. Crap. Scratch that out. Because that sounds an awful lot like life itself. <br/><br/>OMG, the enormity of what I wrote just hit me... <br/><br/>When did we become adults?<br/><br/>That's the difference, isn't it. Individually, we're at different stages, but collectively, we're all officially adults now. I'm at once proud and sad.<br/><br/>Is that what our 20's are really about? You pay the student loans back, you learn to succeed in the nine-to-five (Ok, 8 a.m.-to-8 p.m.) world, you buy the furniture and the wall art, you adopt pets, you learn to manage your finances and live well within your means. <br/><br/>And somewhere in there, adulthood happens. Who knew?<br/><br/><br/> <br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/></span><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-1004008752378181146?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-9595820252477381162008-06-14T01:18:00.001-07:002008-06-14T01:18:04.088-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p><span style='display: inline;' class='mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image'><img style='float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;' class='mt-image-left' height='118' width='117' src='http://dealbreaker.com/departmentofjusticeseal.jpg' alt='departmentofjusticeseal.jpg'/></span><a href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121331581272270057.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news'>Microsoft Studies Strategy as Yahoo Talks End (WSJ)</a><br/><br />Jerry Yang says his company's new ad deal with Google doesn't raise any regulatory red flags, but does it? It probably doesn't matter. Microsoft is going to throw every last resource it has into blocking this deal, based on multiple reports. And why not? What's it goes to lose. Already Yang says they're delying the launch by 3.5 months just to get a super-green light from the feds. Why not push to make that 12 or 18 months? In the meantime, Yahoo employees squirm, waiting to see how relevant they are within the company, once a key part of the company's money-making ops is gutted.</p><br /><br /><p><a href='http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/13/business/13bags.php'>2 more airlines to charge for first bag (IHT)</a><br/><br />United Airlines and US Airways are jumping on the first checked bag charge that AA said it would institute last week. And oh, coincidentally, each one is $15. Somestimes you don't need to talk in secret if you want to collude. We've got no problem with this. Hopefully it will lighten the load a little bit, though we still say that an airline should offere a $15 discount to flyers sans-bag, but maybe it's harder to raise the underlying core ticket price. That must be what it is.</p><br /><br /><p><a href='http://www.suntimes.com/business/1003875,CST-FIN-cat13WEB.article'>Cat's $1 billion investment could affect Aurora (Sun-Times)</a><br/><br />As Cramer says, this whole weak dollar thing is really a boon to our manufacturers out in the Midwest, and alas... the town made most Famous by Wayne's World is set to benefit from a fresh capital re-investment at Caterpillar into new manufacturing facilities. Despite the weak economy, says Caterpillar, international demand for its wares allow it to justify the investment.</p><br /><br /><p><a href='http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2008/06/13/go_to_africa_yo.html'>Go to Africa, Young Investor (Paul Kedrosky)</a><br/><br />We have a bet with a friend of ours -- a 'long bet' if you will -- that at the end of the 21st century, it will be known as "Africa's Century". It's going to be a tough bet to collect on given that neither of us expect to be alive in 2100 (we can hope!), so we'll have to check in on things around 2060. We took the affirmative side, he didn't. Anyway, Paul Kedrosky offers some interesting stats arguing that, yes, Africa appears to be in the larval stage of a societal and economic rebirth. So far, it's just a couple choice indicators, but all good signs.</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-959582025247738116?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-42232834917216775792008-06-12T01:18:00.001-07:002008-06-12T01:18:21.698-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />A really long time ago, <a href='http://centsandsensibility.wordpress.com/'>Maria</a> at Cents and Sensibility <a href='http://centsandsensibility.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/six-word-memoir-meme/'>tagged me</a> for the Six-Word Memoir Meme. I've totally broken the meme, as she made her post on April 15 (guess where I was that day?), but I won't leave her hanging forever. My memoir is...<br/><br/><span style='font-style: italic;'>Whoops! Got distracted by something else</span>. <br/><br/>My mind is a cluttered field of thoughts and ideas, and my life and household are no different. My parents and husband think I have Attention-Deficit Disorder, and maybe they're right. I'm just a little undisciplined in my thinking, and I have better things to do than to stay on top of everything all the time. I ultimately accomplish all my goals, I just don't always finish them in the order they were started. :-)<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-4223283491721677579?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-44365604635567830932008-06-11T01:17:00.001-07:002008-06-11T01:17:23.434-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p><a href='http://www.bostongals.com/2008/05/millionaires-in-making-shifrins.html'>BostonGal says</a>, &amp;#8220;Seeing how many people are on the Millionaire in the Making list due in part to secure state, government, or military pension plans is becoming a bit of a downer for me. Should I try to start a second career as a state or government employee? Just so I can get guaranteed income and heath benefits in retirement?&amp;#8221;</p><br /><p>Some of her commenters take issue saying that benefits are not guaranteed and changeable with the economic tides especially at the state level. I agree. It&amp;#8217;s a risk and it has a lot of pros and cons. Living in DC, I can see that every day. The CNN/Money series has generally profiled <em>federal</em> government employees and if you ask me, a lot of them have been active military and I&amp;#8217;m not sure combat pay is a great way to build your wealth up.</p><br /><p>Check <a href='http://www.opm.gov'>Office of Personnel Management</a> if you really have questions. OPM is your best resource for general questions or else the HR office of your potential agency.</p><br /><p>In terms of benefits as a full-time employee, you get:</p><br /><p><strong>FEGLI - Group Life Insurance</strong>: But you have to sign up for it when you are hired. No changing your mind later because you can&amp;#8217;t sign up. OPM only runs a sign up period every few years, &amp;#8216;few&amp;#8217; meaning &amp;#8216;decades&amp;#8217;. You can check their site for the open enrollment dates, they are very, very far apart. When you&amp;#8217;re young, you don&amp;#8217;t think you need it, so you think you&amp;#8217;re saving money. Then you turn 40, have two kids and you want insurance and now you have to go get it on your own. Something to think about if you enter a government career at 25.</p><br /><p><strong>FERS-Federal Employees Retirement System</strong>: A three-part system consisting of<br/><br />1. Social Security - Yes, they really think they&amp;#8217;re going to pay it in 20 years.<br/><br />2. Basic Benefits/Annuity - Pension benefit, an annuity payment of a portion of your salary.<br/><br />3. Thrift Savings Plan - Retirement investments, which on the whole, are very generic and probably don&amp;#8217;t chase a lot of risk for high reward. But it&amp;#8217;s a little hard to tell from the available literature. The other thing is that the maximum match is 5% of your salary, for a total of 10%. The other good thing is that you vest in 2 years and they automatically give you 1% even if you don&amp;#8217;t save anything.</p><br /><p><strong>Health Insurance</strong>: Health insurance, for your whole family, dependent children, adopted/fostered children.</p><br /><p>I&amp;#8217;m sure all that sounds great, but you have to work for the government for 30 years unless you are in one of several categories, all of which have stipulations.</p><br /><p>1. Military or Law Enforcement: 25 years of service or Age 50 and 20 years of service.<br/><br />2. Voluntary Early Retirement: Special retirement packages offered agency by agency, dependent on a matrix of age and length of service, determined at the time the packages are offered which could be few and far between.<br/><br />3. Part-Time Employees<br/><br />4. Members of Congress/Congressional Employees<br/><br />5. Military Reserve Technicians</p><br /><p>Frankly, I don&amp;#8217;t like the idea of working for 30 years for anybody. At that point, I might as well be a company man for some large corporation or something crazy like that.</p><br /><p>The other thing is that BostonGal might not like her <a href='http://www.opm.gov/oca/08tables/'>pay grade and step</a>. I know she&amp;#8217;s in IT but some federal IT jobs in the DC area don&amp;#8217;t pay well and frankly, they can truly stink. (I knew a sysadmin who left our company for two weeks and came right back because his FAA IT job wasn&amp;#8217;t what it was billed to be.) You&amp;#8217;re better off being a contractor if you ask me, but the government does pay for a lot of training, so you might be able to move your grade up a lot faster with an internal promotion, new degree, or an agency change.</p><br /><p>At any rate, if you want to work for the government, check out <a href='http://www.usajobs.com/'>USAJobs.com</a>. It&amp;#8217;s OPM&amp;#8217;s website for recruiting. It works like <a href='http://www.monster.com/'>Monster.com</a> where you can set up agents and bulletins for new listings. That&amp;#8217;s key since there are closing dates on postings which are very important. However, several agencies subcontract out to AVUE, like DOJ, USDA Forest Service, and TSA. (Get used to acronyms, that&amp;#8217;s what government life is all about!)</p><br /><p>There is much more to consider but these are some basics. Things like COLA, &amp;#8216;danger pay&amp;#8217;, locality pay, etc are more esoteric but can really make a huge difference in your salary comparisons. (For instance DC area pay is 30+% higher than published tables.)</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-4436560463556783093?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-14389147854793582932008-06-09T13:16:00.001-07:002008-06-09T13:16:03.973-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>Today’s screen locates stocks that may become longer term short candidates based on the direction and action of their major moving averages. They are all trading below their 200-day moving averages after reaching a new high within the past 6 months or so. This type of action has historically tipped off a longer term downtrend that may be in the stock’s future. As some of you know, I prefer to use options to capitalize on downtrends rather than shorting the stock outright.</p><br /><p>See my posts below to understand exactly what I am looking for when placing a short trade or buying put options several months out. </p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/01/23/setups-for-selling-stocks-short/'>Setups for Selling Stocks Short</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/03/11/stages-of-a-stock-breakdown/ '>Stages of a Stock Breakdown</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/03/06/10-week-crossing-below-30-week-moving-average/'>10-Week Crossing Below 30-Week Moving Average</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><img title='060408_gme_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/060408_gme_wkly.png'/></p><br /><p><img title='060408_pcp_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/060408_pcp_wkly.png'/></p><br /><p><strong>Stocks Starting to Trend Downward:</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><strong>PCP – 110.69</strong>, Precision Castparts Corp. is trending lower as the stock is challenging (to move above) the 200-d m.a. for the first time since crossing below the average in January. The stock does sport a 10-week m.a. below the 30-week m.a.</li><br /><li><strong>GME – 47.38</strong>, Gamestop Corp was <a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/03/06/10-week-crossing-below-30-week-moving-average/'>screened back in March</a> as a stock setting up a possible short but it had one last push before starting to crumble again. Now is the more ideal entry area for a short or put options based on the 200-d m.a. and the 10/30-week crossover.</li><br /><li><strong>VOD – 30.10</strong>, Vodafone Airtouch is attempting to challenge (move above) the 200-d moving average but doesn’t seem to be having success. The 10-week m.a. is trading below the 30-week m.a.</li><br /><li><strong>GR – 57.96</strong>, Goodrich Corp. is down more than 10% this week on large volume as the 10-week m.a. also trades below the 30-week m.a. A drop below $56 would violate all recent support.</li><br /><li><strong>LLL – 101.90</strong>, L-3 Communications is down more than 5% this week on above average volume as it violates the 200-d m.a. (for the second time since 2006). The 10-week m.a. is still above the 30-week moving average so I would not short the stock until they cross.</li><br /><li><strong>GOLD – 41.14</strong>, Randgold Resources, has started to pullback and violate the 200-d m.a. for the first time since the summer of 2007. It may be early to short for the long term but keep an eye on this stock and the commodity in general. The 10-week m.a. is still above the 30-week m.a. (10-week moving average is now trending downward).</li><br /><li><strong>TEF – 83.21</strong>, Telefonica is about six months removed from its high as it trades beneath its 200-d m.a. for the first time in years. The 10-week m.a. is now trading below the 30-week.</li><br /></ul><br /><p>Please note that it is still early for a few of the names above (they may have some life left for a bounce higher before a longer term decline).</p><br /><p><span id='more-1460'/></p><br /><p><img title='060408_vod_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/060408_vod_wkly.png'/></p><br /><p><img title='060408_gr_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/060408_gr_wkly.png'/></p><br /><p><img title='060408_lll_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/060408_lll_wkly.png'/></p><br /><p><img title='060408_gold_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/060408_gold_wkly.png'/></p><br /><p><img title='060408_tef_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/060408_tef_wkly.png'/></p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-1438914785479358293?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-17367119589586052492008-06-08T13:16:00.001-07:002008-06-08T13:16:10.070-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Welcome to the 37th Carnival of Taxes. Long-time readers know that I usually come up with a theme for the submissions, throw in some segues between posts and sprinkle a few images throughout. </span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Today, however, I'm heading to Denver for a <a href='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/dont_mess_with_taxes/2006/12/doing_the_tax_t.html'>Taxpayer Advocacy Panel</a> meeting. Not to worry; I'm taking the trusty laptop for on-the-road postings.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>In preparation for the trip, I was up way too late last night trying, semi-successfully, to wrap up some projects. And as you can see from the time stamp, I had to get up at Oh-dark-thirty this a.m. to beat rush hour traffic en route to <a href='http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/austinairport/'>Austin-Bergstrom International Airport</a>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'><img style='margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px; float: right;' src='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/02/airplane_flight_sun_2.jpg' title='Airplane_flight_sun_2' alt='Airplane_flight_sun_2' border='0'/><br />So, since I'm so preoccupied with my trip, I decided to dub this Tax Carnival the <strong><span style='color: #990000;'>Leaving on a Jet Plane</span></strong> edition.</span> </p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>I'm traveling light, having emptied my carry-on and pockets of any items that could attract TSA attention. </span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>This 37th Tax Carnival takes that same approach. Nothing fancy this time, folks. OK, I had to put in one photo. </span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>But the focus is on the collection of postings to help get you to your tax destination. So let's proceed to the boarding gate:</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Diane Dean presents <a href='http://irshelp4u.blogspot.com/2008/05/why-installment-agreement-full-pay-is.html'>Why an Installment Agreement-Full Pay is Your Better Option</a> posted at <strong>Need IRS Help?</strong></span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Heather Johnson presents <a href='http://taxdaddy.blogspot.com/2008/05/havent-received-your-stimulus-check.html'>Haven't Received Your Stimulus Check?</a> posted at <strong>Tax Daddy - The Metro Business Service Blog</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Beckie presents <a href='http://taxconsultant4u.com/2008/05/19/income-limitations-on-education-credits/ '>Income Limitations on Education Credits</a> posted at <strong>A Tax Consultant for All Seasons</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Lubna Kably examines the tax issues faced by globe-trotting employees in <a href='http://talkingtax.blogspot.com/2008/05/law-street-in-economic-times-may-2008.html'>Law Street in The Economic Times - May 2008</a> posted at <strong>Talking Tax</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Phil for Humanity presents <a href='http://www.philforhumanity.com/Subsidies_and_Tariffs.html'>Subsidies and Tariffs are Anti-Capitalism</a> posted at <strong>Phil for Humanity</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Robert D Flach looks at the new zero capital gains rate in <a href='http://wanderingtaxpro.blogspot.com/2008/05/tax-planning-opportunity.html'>A Tax Planning Opportunity</a> posted at <strong>The Wandering Tax Pro</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Rickey Henderson presents <a href='http://ridingwithricky.blogspot.com/2008/05/memo-from-office-of-steven-r-lawlor-cpa.html'>A Memo from the Office of Steven R. Lawlor, CPA, to Indiana Jones</a> posted at <strong>Riding with Rickey</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Larry Russell presents <a href='http://www.theskilledinvestor.com/wp/best-money-market-funds-259.htm'>The Top 25 Low Cost Best US Money Market Funds</a>, including several tax-exempt funds, posted at <strong>The Skilled Investor Blog</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Mrs. Micah asks and answers the question <a href='http://www.mrsmicah.com/2008/05/20/can-gay-spouses-have-spousal-iras/'>Can Gay Spouses Have Spousal IRAs?</a> posted at <strong>Mrs. Micah - Finance for a Freelance Life</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Nate Desmond presents <a href='http://buildecommercesite.blogspot.com/2008/03/irs-ramps-up-audits.html'>IRS Ramps Up Audits</a> posted at <strong>Build Your Own Ecommerce Website!</strong></span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Shan-ul-Hai presents <a href='http://www.globallyrational.com/2008/05/23/my-business-doesnt-pay-taxes-because-its-too-expensive/'>My business doesn't pay taxes because it's too expensive</a> posted at <strong>Globally Rational</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Hank presents <a href='http://myinvestingblog.com/2008/05/03/how-to-automagically-change-your-2100-tax-stimulus-check-into-2310-in-seconds/'>How To &amp;quot;Automagically&amp;quot; Change Your $2,100 Tax Stimulus Check Into $2,310 In Seconds!</a><strong> ;</strong>posted at <strong>My Investing Blog</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Sharon Raines presents <a href='http://taxresolutionaries.blogspot.com/2008/05/tax-help-do-you-have-profit-motive.html'>Tax Help - Do You Have a Profit Motive?</a> posted at <strong>Tax Resolutionaries</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Nickel presents <a href='http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2008/04/23/appealing-our-property-tax-re-assessment/'>Appealing Our Property Tax Re-Assessment</a> posted at <strong>fivecentnickel.com</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Frugalicious also has property tax issues in <a href='http://texasmoneytalk.blogspot.com/2008/05/i-fought-law-and-i-won.html'>I Fought the Law and I Won!</a> posted at <strong>Texas Money Talk</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Wenchypoo presents <a href='http://wenchwisdom.blogspot.com/2008/05/taxing-rich-hell-you-cant-even-soak-em.html'>Taxing the Rich? Hell, You Can't Even SOAK 'Em!</a> posted at <strong>Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Anthoney Grigsby presents <a href='http://www.helpmycashgrow.com/2008/05/08/amazoncom-vs-ny-the-internet-sales-tax/'>Amazon.com vs NY &amp; The Internet Sales Tax</a> posted at <strong>HelpMyCashGrow.com</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Jim presents <a href='http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/when-does-married-filing-separately-make-sense.html '>When Does Married Filing Separately Make Sense?</a> posted at <strong>Blueprint for Financial Prosperity</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>FMF presents <a href='http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2008/05/how-to-get-more.html'>How to Get More Out of Your Accountant</a> posted at <strong>Free Money Finance</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>Super Saver presents <a href='http://my-wealth-builder.blogspot.com/2008/04/preparing-for-higher-taxes.html'>Preparing For Higher Taxes</a> posted at <strong>My Wealth Builder</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>And for you folks who put off filing back in April and are facing the Oct. 15 deadline, Silicon Valley Blogger presents <a href='http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/index.php/2008/03/20/turbotax-review-a-look-at-my-tax-software-of-choice-plus-useful-tools/ '>TurboTax Review: A Look At My Tax Software Of Choice Plus Useful Tools!</a> posted at <strong>The Digerati Life</strong>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>I hope the flight was a smooth one for you. We know you have a wide choice of tax and personal finance blogs, and we appreciate you choosing <a href='http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/'>Don't Mess With Taxes</a>.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>We hope to welcome you back aboard for our 38th Carnival of Taxes. It will take off on Monday, July 7, with submissions due by 11 p.m. Central Time on Saturday, July 5. Send along your tax post via our <a href='http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_334.html'>Blog Carnival page</a>.</span><br/> </p><br /><br /><p><span style='font-size: 1.2em;'>And wish me luck in getting an aisle seat by someone who wants to doze the whole flight!</span></p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-1736711958958605249?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-26216152485887689832008-06-07T01:15:00.001-07:002008-06-07T01:15:21.170-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />So I just set up an SEP-IRA for myself, partially because then I can contribute for last year, and knock a good chunk off the taxes I owe, and because I came across this wonderful bit of logic from <a href='http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2006/09/05/self-employment-taxes-and-sep-iras/'>Five Cent Nickel</a>:<br/><br/><blockquote>As I noted above, you can contribute to your SEP-IRA as either the employer, the employee, or both. In the case of the latter, it counts against your annual IRA contribution limit, so it reduces the amount that you can contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA. But in the case of the former, there’s no effect on your annual IRA contribution limit. Thus, it seems that you can use employer contributions to your SEP-IRA as a way of legally exceeding the IRS contribution limits.</blockquote><br/><br/>Brilliant!<br/><br/>See, an SEP can't be set up as a Roth, but you can still deduct it from your taxes, and you can contribute up to 25% of what your business makes each year. So I can contribute my money to either the SEP or into my workplace accounts, and it doesn't make any difference. This is attractive because depositing into my workplace accounts can't exactly be done when I have a bit of spare cash - I have to fill out a form and hope they process it before my next paycheck. ALSO, I could roll it over into a Roth whenever I pleased, and I'm not limited to waiting until I leave this job. So I could have my 403b, my 457b, my Roth IRA, AND my SEP IRA.. drool. (I'm definitely in the savings-is-addictive club.)<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-2621615248588768983?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-51714940861528055582008-06-04T01:12:00.001-07:002008-06-04T01:12:04.064-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>Well, DRYS is now down 16.81% this week and volume is peaking at the largest level we have seen in years – huge distribution!</p><br /><p>This is what I had to say a few weeks ago in my post titled <a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/05/06/dryships-drys-drying-up/'>DryShips (DRYS) Drying up?</a></p><br /><blockquote><p>All in all – I am not a buyer of the stock at this level. It may be a solid short term buy for traders that make these types of plays such as Blain and Rajin but it does not fit into my criteria for a trend trading opportunity.</p></blockquote><br /><blockquote><p>I see a decent consolidation over the past few months but I have a problem with the current pattern that is forming if it does not test former highs near $130. Volume is increasing as it moves higher but the stock is starting to struggle near the last peak of $88.</p></blockquote><br /><p><img title='052208_drys_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/052208_drys_wkly.png'/></p><br /><p>I stick to my original analysis as I am watching the stock from afar or the weekly chart. I am not day trading DRYS or any stocks for that matter so I can cut through the noise and view the market on a weekly basis to assess the “true overall trend”. Don’t get me wrong, many traders made money on the recent spike in DRYS but I wasn’t touching it with a 10-foot pole. I look for the big runs and couldn’t be bothered with a few points here and there (and I am not about to support my broker with constant buy and sell commissions, even if they are minimal).</p><br /><p>The easiest way to characterize this trade and the market in general is to view it all as a risk/ reward potential or an <a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/05/22/what-is-ev-or-expected-value/'>expected value</a>, as I wrote yesterday. DRYS was not a +EV trade in my trading system but, it very well may have been an excellent +EV trade for a shorter term day trader such as Rajin or Blain.</p><br /><p>Anyway, here are a few more charts that are starting to look suspicious (some more than others). The bottom line or point of today’s rant is the fact that I still feel that the market is headed for a decline or as I phrased it a couple weeks ago:<br/><br /><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/05/07/the-big-decline/'>The Big Decline</a> (long term perspective of course).</p><br /><p>These charts are just examples as many more exist but they were some of the first I viewed Thursday night:</p><br /><p><span id='more-1440'/></p><br /><p><img title='052208_cmg_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/052208_cmg_wkly.png'/></p><br /><p><img title='052208_gme_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/052208_gme_wkly.png'/></p><br /><p><img title='052208_bidu_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/052208_bidu_wkly.png'/></p><br /><p><img title='052208_isrg_wkly' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/052208_isrg_wkly.png'/></p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-5171494086152805558?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-7378007882140221532008-05-31T13:09:00.001-07:002008-05-31T13:09:21.316-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p><img align='left' src='http://www.bryancfleming.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/money.thumbnail.jpg' alt='money.jpg' title='money.jpg' id='image343'/>Congratulations on making savings a priority!? Now that you have some money in the bank, it is time to figure out what kind of account will yield you the best benefits.? Do not leave your money sitting in checking where it does not accrue interest; this practice does nothing for you, and will not help you grow you money.? In fact, leaving your money in a checking account may actually tempt you to spend more than you intend, so watch out for your funds!</p><br /><p>A basic savings account is a better option than your savings account, yielding you a small interest payment each month with little or no minimum balance required in the account.? If you need your money to be highly mobile and available at all times, then this is the perfect account for you, particularly if you tend to maintain a low balance at this point.?</p><br /><p>If you have managed to save a few thousand dollars, on the other hand, a money market account might be the best thing for you.? This account has a much higher interest rate than a traditional savings account, but also has a much higher minimum balance, often of several thousand dollars.? If you feel comfortable having a few thousand dollars dedicated to the account at a time, then this might be the perfect option for you.? If you can’t afford not to have instant access to that money, however, you might want to stick to a more traditional savings account.? <a id='more-344'/></p><br /><p>If you really don’t mind having your money tied up for a long time, though, you can spend your money on a CD, which stands for Certificate of Deposit.? A CD is a special kind of account, which usually has an even higher rate of return than a money market account, but which ties the full balance up completely.? When you put your money into a CD, you commit the money for a certain amount of time.? You cannot deposit or withdraw to or from that account, and the money that you earn on it is often applied less frequently, sometimes annually.? This kind of account yields higher interest payments, but usually have a large penalty if you withdraw your money before the term is up.? If you can afford to have your money set aside for long periods of time, then a CD might be a good option for long term savings.?<br /></p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-737800788214022153?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-82356191395217752942008-05-30T13:08:00.001-07:002008-05-30T13:08:24.944-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />I got all excited because Boyfriend asked me if I would do his taxes. Normally he mails his things home to his father, who has an accountant do them. Which is really silly, because Boyfriend has exactly one W-2 and an interest statement. It took us about half an hour, at least ten minutes of which was consumed by such activities as trying to get TaxCut to open in a browser (doesn't work in Linux or Firefox) and printing out the sheet he has to sign and mail in because he doesn't know his AGI from last year (which is what TaxCut asks you for to prove your identity.) We then went to the Ohio e-file site and filed that - hells no I would not let him pay thirty bucks to let TaxCut do it! He's getting a couple hundred back which is pretty nice. I have also been telling several other people that I will help them do their taxes, because I just don't see the point in paying a couple hundred for someone at a tax place to do what will take us and the programs in Free File half an hour. And maybe some chips. I do like chips.<br/><br/>I won't file my own until April, although they are done, so I can hang onto the money a little longer.. plus TaxCut still does not have the Ohio form that assesses me a penalty for underpayment. (I probably should have looked into this earlier, since the estimated tax payment deadline was Jan. 15th and I could have made that and saved some bucks. But, since I have no idea what they are going to charge me, I might actually earn more in interest than I will pay in penalty.)<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-8235619139521775294?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-28381990017381931522008-05-30T01:08:00.001-07:002008-05-30T01:08:22.055-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />I gather that some new visitors are discovering the site, or maybe just some old friends are bellying up to the bar again. Regardless, welcome! It's an absolute pleasure to have you here.<br/><br/>Let me recommend a few ways to catch up on what's been going on with me.<br/><span class='fullpost'><br/><br/><ol><li>Look up in the upper left-hand corner. See that search button? That will shift through all 300+ posts that I've accumulated here during the past four years (FOUR YEARS! Ridiculous, I know). I recommend searching for a random word or topic and seeing what comes up. (Like bridesmaid or ocean or friends or cat.) It's a really fun way to explore the craziness that's been my life since I started the blog. <br/></li><li>I started tagging my posts into categories, which you can find on the left if you scroll down the page (<span id='SPELLING_ERROR_0' class='blsp-spelling-error'>ok</span>, really far down). I haven't been able to do all the posts, but there are a lot of good topics to reflect on.</li><li>I've also kept every single post on the archive, so if you want to follow my journey chronologically, start at the oldest post and work your way up.<br/></li></ol>While I'm leaps and bounds ahead of where I started, I still have a lot to learn. And you all have so much to teach me! So from the bottom of my heart, thanks for joining me and supporting me for all these years. I'll keep posting if you'll keep reading. You guys are my inspiration.<br/><br/>PS-- I would like to give a special shout out to all my new friends in <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_1' class='blsp-spelling-error'>Toluca</span>, IL... I'll see you on Labor Day for the <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_2' class='blsp-spelling-error'>Bocce</span> Tournament! And another to my 22 readers in Belgium. I don't know how on earth you found me but I hope to one day come visit!<br/></span><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-2838199001738193152?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-87979537332762324102008-05-28T01:08:00.001-07:002008-05-28T01:08:21.426-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />This month has been a particularly crazy one for CashDuck, hence the long silence. But I am doing pretty well with it all, though it does mean I don't sleep quite as much as I'd like. Or blog, or clean the house, or feed the cat. (Sorry, cat.) Recent thoughts:<br/><br/>Taxes - Ouch. I paid about $4,600 between federal, state, and local (plus I paid some 2007 estimated taxes for local). H&amp;R Block decided that I should pay a penalty for underpayment of estimated taxes - however yesterday I got a letter from the IRS (which did cause some consternation when I saw it) in which they stated that I didn't actually need to pay the penalty and they were going to send it back to me. Awesome! Albeit in 30 to 60 days. Still essentially free money. I signed up for the federal estimated tax payment website, and am waiting for my packet on that, and attempted to sign up for the state program but it is rather confusing so I need to sit down and try to figure that out. Local taxes, I just fill out a little coupon and mail that in with a check, there doesn't seem to be an online method. If the state and federal systems weren't so massive that I'm afraid that a paper check would get lost, I'd do it there too as it's simple, but unfortunately doesn't leave much of a record.<br/><br/>Housing - I am really getting the itch to get a bigger place. Our current apartment runs $695 per month plus electric/gas which is another ~$115, so it's pretty easy for me to swing. This is a two bedroom apartment and currently Boyfriend has the small bedroom (it's pretty small) as his office, and I have the remaining space in the large bedroom that isn't actually taken up by the bed. I would really like to have my own room though (especially since then I could take a larger home office deduction if I had a whole room instead of a 5x8 area) and I really need more storage space for all the duck stuff. Second, I would really like a backyard that is fenced in and that dogs haven't been pooping in so I can take my guinea pigs outside. I used to do that all the time when we first moved here but then our second year here several dogs moved into the neighboring apartments and their owners allow them to crap right off the pathway, so I can't let my guinea pigs eat that grass for fear of getting an infection. So some space outside that I can absolutely know dogs haven't crapped on would be great. Third, we need more storage space - we had a great big closet that fit everything, but then (although this is both good and bad) our landlord put a washer and dryer in it. Plus, I am storing most of the unpacked CashDuck duck stuff on a giant shelving unit which is oh-so-lovely right in our living room. So I am really thinking about moving, but have to weigh more room and nicer space against paying at least $400 more per month for what I want. I found a nice place that's a block away, but despite the fact that I walked by this morning and the rent sign is still up, the landlord said it had been rented already. So I've emailed about another place that's a little farther from where I live now, but closer to where I work, but is available in May (and our lease here is not up till August). It won't be a tragedy if we have to stay here a little longer, and then maybe our current landlord will have something that I want available, since we really like our landlord. But I am just getting a little frustrated with how crowded our house is - the rooms are all pretty small or full of furniture.<br/><br/>Savings - I have successfully put Plan Not Living On My Actual Salary into effect. I will get paid $338 on Monday, split 80/20 between the bills bank account and the fun stuff bank account. I already sent off the rent check from my ING checking account (hopefully it will get there on time as I forgot to do it till yesterday so it won't go out till Monday) and transferred some extra money into my bills account. I also didn't get around to making my normal $500 Roth deposit in March so I will put in $1000 in a couple of days for March and April, and my 403(b) will get the $2500 from my salary, plus my regular nonnegotiable contributions, so I am pretty excited about this massive influx. I will also probably put some more money into the Fidelity SEP IRA that I set up - I put $4600 in during early March sometime, of which only $1000 was for this tax year, so I should really put some more in. Part of the logic of not living on my salary is that pretty much one way or another there is not any way for me to get out of paying self-employment tax on my CashDuck earnings, and how much I can save of that is limited to 25% of profit, so I might as well sock away as much as I can with my 403(b) and then put away whatever I can in the SEP afterwards. Also because I can continue sending in money for 2007 to the SEP until Apri 2008, but I can't do so for the 403(b). If I continue not living on my salary for the rest of the year, I'll nearly max out the 403(b) and 457.<br/><br/>MBA - I've been thinking about what kind of advanced ed I should get (as I have intended to get something or other all along) and I'm really leaning towards getting an MBA. The university where I work has a really great part time MBA program which you can get done in as little as two or as many as five years, and is very flexible, and all the classes are at night. The thing that worries me though is whether I will really have the time to do it with both working full time and doing CashDuck. I finally broke down and got someone to help me with CashDuck, but I would really need more help or more time to be able to do this. So the options there are, hire someone else to help me, or go to 32 hours or less per week at my full time job. Option 1, I don't know how helpful that would be because there is so much that would be really hard to spin off, and would require a lot more sophisticated of a structure in order to keep all of the gears running together. The person who helps me now is doing tasks that can be done anytime and don't really intersect with other operations, so it doesn't matter that I don't keep tabs on her. I have a few other things that could be spun off that are similar, but she doesn't have unlimited time or unlimited space for duck prizes at her apartment. :) Option 2 might be the way to go but I think I will wait until I have been there long enough that I am too valuable for them to say "no" to me going 80% (since it would then be 80% of me or 0% of me.) <br/><br/>In the back of my mind there is also option 3 which is to get a different, less demanding or less than full time job, because where I work now seems pretty dysfunctional and unless things improve I might leave too. I do like the work but the management stinks. Everybody keeps asking me why I haven't quit my job to work CashDuck, but the short answer is that I would become very neurotic working at home and having nothing else to think about. Plus I need the psychological security of having that income (even if I'm not living off it) and I wouldn't feel safe quitting my job without having large, large sums of money stashed away. Third, I'm young enough that having that kind of gap in my resume might be disastrous later on. ("You were in research and quit to run a website and now you want to do research again?") So I don't feel it's wise. I mentioned this to Boyfriend the other day and he told me that he would think I was nuts if I quit my job to run CashDuck, for pretty much the reasons I outlined above, but mostly the neuroticism.<br/><br/>A parting thought.. Anybody else notice that ING put in a total deposits amount at the bottom, that shows how much money you have among all of your accounts? I find this to be dangerous as I am practically a compulsive saver now, and I am going to be very unhappy to see that number go down when I have to pay CashDuck estimated taxes soon (since I park CashDuck tax money and general savings money at ING), but I do like seeing that nice big number (though more than half of it is CashDuck's money anyway.)<br/><br/>I will try to keep to a once weekly blog update as I feel very squeezed for time right now - if you saw my house (and desk) you would understand.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-8797953733276232410?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-20254041775853221522008-05-26T01:08:00.001-07:002008-05-26T01:08:03.933-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />This morning I logged onto Vanguard to look at my husband's Roth IRA as well as my own, and was in for a surprise. Since October 31, my Roth account has lost $1100 in value. My husband's Roth, invested in an entirely different fund, has lost $2300 in the same four weeks! OMG! We should withdraw all the funds and put them into cash or something more secure, shouldn't we, rather than risk losing any more?<br/><br/>Are you kidding me? <br/><br/>My husband and I are 25 years old, and by law, with a couple of exceptions, cannot enjoy the fruits of our retirement accounts for another 34 years. Surely the markets will have rebounded by then. Heck, they may rebound by Christmas, which would keep us from regaining our losses if we pulled out. Another important tidbit I failed to add is that despite my $1100 dive, I'm still up about 13% for the year. So my gain wasn't 28% or whatever. Big deal. I'm still not going to sniff at anything over 6%. My husband's funds have gained as well, though not as much as mine have (his are a lot more volatile and have been dippier this year). We haven't lost any of our initial investment, but isn't that a risk you take when lending money?<br/><br/>There are two lessons to be learned here. First one is don't panic. The market fluctuates, your investments can go up or down, and if you realize that you won't act irrationally and sell off before a big rally. The second lesson is not to follow your retirement accounts too closely (provided you're at least several years away from retirement). Vanguard, for example, sends a quarterly statement. When you're more than 20 years away from retirement, glancing over your funds every three months is about all the monitoring they need.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-2025404177585322152?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-68395270012480556522008-05-24T13:07:00.001-07:002008-05-24T13:07:04.536-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>SOL Remains HOT after my post titled <a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/05/14/sol-is-en-fuego/'>SOL is ‘En Fuego’ </a></p><br /><p><strong>SOL - 27.80, ReneSola Ltd.</strong> was up 6.76% Monday on volume 325% larger than the average. I told you last week that this was one momentum stock you should not ignore. It's now up almost 30% in three days after my Thursday morning post. It was up 15% last Wednesday, one day prior to me highlighting the stock which is why I will repeat that stocks in motion typically stay in motion (simple physics - right).<br/><br />5/14/08:</p><br /><blockquote><p>Renesola Ltd (SOL), $21.67, is on fire over the past several weeks since its IPO debut in January. Volume has been exploding as the stock is up almost 200% since it’s low in late March. I have been watching the stock as it has crossed dozens of nightly screens but decided not to post it to the blog until now.</p><br /><p>If you want momentum, SOL is currently providing it. The stock was up more than 15% today on volume 409% larger than the average. At least 11 accumulations days have occurred over the past month as the stock started to log new all-time highs.</p></blockquote><br /><p><img title='051908_sol_intraday' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/051908_sol_intraday.png'/></p><br /><p><strong>A couple more HOT momentum stocks:</strong><br/><br /><strong>VISN – 22.53, VisionChina Media Inc.</strong> has also been tearing up my nightly screens but it slipped past any and all ideal entry points for me as a trend trader. It is now in the hands of the day traders with a year-to-date gain of 146%, a 148% gain over the past three months and a 42% gain over the past month.</p><br /><p><img title='051908_visn_daily' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/051908_visn_daily.png'/></p><br /><p><strong>CSUN – 13.06, China Sunergy Co.</strong> is now up more than 47.74% over the past month but is still down 20% from my <a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/01/04/china-sunergy-co-csun/'>original 2008 post of $16.15 on January 4, 2008</a> (however, I did state: Ideal Entry: $12.00). The three month gain is 80.93% with a peak of 97% - I timed this one wrong but saw the trending potential back at the turn of the year. Patience – a must in this business. CSUN did reverse Monday - the first red flag in May.<br/><br />1/4/08:</p><br /><blockquote><p>China Sunergy (CSUN) is part of a booming solar industry that includes stocks such as the ones listed below; all head lined by FSLR, a stock that is up more than 700% over the past year or so. </p><br /><p>FSLR - $265.87<br/><br />STP - $88.22<br/><br />SOLF – $36.95<br/><br />YGE - $38.02 (another stock I am looking to add)</p></blockquote><br /><p><img title='051908_csun_daily' alt='' src='http://www.chrisperruna.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/051908_csun_daily.png'/></p><br /><p><strong>One last word:</strong> watch the daily action because the summer months are coming - sell off time (hint, hint). Have all stops set and always look for red flags! Enjoy the momentum while it lasts but NEVER let a solid gain slip away.</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-6839527001248055652?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-39040942842011552362008-05-24T01:07:00.001-07:002008-05-24T01:07:04.469-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><a href='http://www.pvponline.com/article/3141/tue-feb-13'><img width='600' src='http://www.pvponline.com/images/3015.gif'/></a><br/><br/>Click if the image is unclear.<br/><br/>This is from <a href='http://www.pvponline.com/'>PVP Online</a>, a comic that I like to read. This character won a whole lot of money in the lottery and now spends his days drinking beer and playing video games with his friends.<br/><br/>But seriously, I have been thinking (not in a morbid way) about where I would leave my retirement money when I don't need it anymore. One thing I think would make a big impact on people's lives is to dispose of it to a foundation associated with the hospital I work at. This foundation generally pays for things like cab fares and hotel stays and other little things that are important to getting your cancer treated just like the doctors and nurses are - after all, if you can't afford to get there and you have no place to stay, life is going to be a lot more difficult. I know there are a lot of foundations that support research - and seeing as how I am in research, I certainly appreciate it - but the best drugs in the world will not find you a sitter for your kids while you are in the hospital, or drive you here from two hours away when your car is broken down.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-3904094284201155236?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-85960501778214681992008-05-22T01:07:00.001-07:002008-05-22T01:07:06.431-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />Dear Chicago:<br/><br/>I don't know what I did to piss you off, but I'm writing to let you know that I've absolutely had it with your attitude. I WILL NOT, no matter how cold, snowy or downright nasty you get, WILL NOT wear my down parka <em>another minute</em> until at least October. I refuse! You may have gotten the best of me this winter by jacking up my heating bills to over $200 each month, leaving permanent salt stains on all my clothes and shoes <span class='fullpost'>and halting my driving lessons with your "ice storms," but mark my words, frienemy, your frosty days are numbered.<br/><br/>Watch out Chicago. Because as soon as your cold snap ends, I will be out on your town with a vengance. <br/><br/>Regards,<br/>Nicole<br/><br/></span><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-8596050177821468199?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-85362124861304839252008-05-21T01:07:00.001-07:002008-05-21T01:07:05.282-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><div><p>When I see something I like, I steal it. Or at least borrow it. The financial world is full of worthless calculators. Here is something by Jon Clements of the Wall Street Journal that makes sense.</p><br /><br /><p><strong>It's halftime. What's the score?</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Today, I turn 45. (Don't feel bad; only my mother ever remembers.) By my reckoning, that puts me halfway through my working career and hence halfway to retirement.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>How big a nest egg should a 45-year-old have? Here's a look at who faces a midlife financial crisis -- and who might be able to retire early.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Taking stock. Start with the accompanying table, which shows what percentage of pre-tax income you need to sock away over the next two decades, depending on how much you currently have saved.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Suppose you have a $240,000 portfolio, equal to three times your $80,000 annual income. To retire in comfort, you ought to save a manageable 12% of income every year for the next 20 years, calculates <span style='BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed' id='lw_1199485436_0' class='yshortcuts'>Charles Farrell</span>, a financial adviser with <span style='BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed' id='lw_1199485436_1' class='yshortcuts'>Denver's</span> Northstar Investment Advisors.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><table style='BORDER-RIGHT: #d7deee 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #d7deee 1px solid; MARGIN: 10px; BORDER-LEFT: #d7deee 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #d7deee 1px solid' align='right' width='40%'><tbody><tr><td style='PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 10px'/></tr></tbody></table></p><br /><br /><p><strong>That savings rate -- which would include any employer contribution to your <span style='CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed' id='lw_1199485436_5' class='yshortcuts'>401(k)</span> -- will give you a retirement stash equal to 12 times income at age 65, or $960,000 in today's dollars. If you then use a 5% initial annual withdrawal rate, your savings will kick off $48,000, or 60% of your old salary. Add in <span style='CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed' id='lw_1199485436_6' class='yshortcuts'>Social Security</span> and you might be hauling in a respectable 80% of pre-retirement income.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>All this assumes you can clock an after-<span style='CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed' id='lw_1199485436_7' class='yshortcuts'>inflation</span> investment return of five percentage points a year during the next two decades. To hit that target, keep a healthy sum in stocks and a tight lid on investment costs. (If you don't have precisely 20 years to retirement and want a sense of whether you're on track, try the retirement planner at </strong><a href='http://www.dinkytown.com/'><span id='lw_1199485436_8' class='yshortcuts'><span style='color: #0f55c3;'><strong>www.dinkytown.com</strong></span></span></a><strong>.)</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Quitting early. What if you have savings of four or even five times income? As you can see from the table, amassing enough for retirement should be a breeze. In fact, if you have savings of five times income today and you never saved another dime, you would hit 12 times income at age 63.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>But if you have already amassed a hefty nest egg at 45, you're probably a diligent saver, and you might look to retire early. Let's say you salt away 20% a year.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>At that rate, if your portfolio today is equal to four times income, you will hit 12 times income at age 59, Mr. Farrell calculates. Similarly, if you currently have five times income saved, you should be set by age 56.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>True, that means retiring before you're eligible for Social Security. But if you are a diligent saver used to living on a small portion of your income, that shouldn't be a big sacrifice.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong><img style='MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px' align='left' width='178' src='http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/fi/14/47/01.gif' alt='exit_strategy.gif' height='275'/></strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Catching up. On the other hand, maybe you haven't been so thrifty. As the table indicates, the annual savings rate required to amass 12 times income by age 65 is 20% if you currently have two times income saved -- and a whopping 27% if your nest egg today is merely equal to your annual income.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Can't do it? Instead, you could scale back your retirement goals, delay retirement or both. Suppose you have savings equal to twice your income. If you sock away 12% of income per year, you could retire at age 69 with 12 times income.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Alternatively, you could call it quits with 10 times income at age 66. Again, imagine you earn $80,000 a year. If you retire with 10 times income, or $800,000, and use a 5% withdrawal rate, you will have $40,000 a year from your portfolio, equal to 50% of your old salary.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Meanwhile, if you have a nest egg of just one times income and you can't see cranking up your savings rate to 20% or more, you will likely have to curtail your spending fairly sharply in retirement, unless you work well past 65. For instance, to retire with 10 times income, you would need to salt away 12% of your <span style='CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed' id='lw_1199485436_9' class='yshortcuts'>pretax income</span> every year until age 71.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>One warning: All of the above presumes your income rises at the <span style='CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed' id='lw_1199485436_10' class='yshortcuts'>inflation rate</span> between now and retirement. What if your income rises much faster? Ironically, that could make it tougher to retire.</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>&amp;quot;Let's say you get a big raise at age 50,&amp;quot; Mr. Farrell says. &amp;quot;It's probably not feasible to replicate that lifestyle in retirement. The majority of that money should probably be committed to additional savings.&amp;quot; If you do that, your nest egg will grow faster, and you won't have to throttle back your spending quite so much when you retire.</strong></p><br /><br /><div class='ft'><strong>Copyrighted, Dow Jones &amp; Company</strong></div></div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-8536212486130483925?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-80383274304552708422008-05-20T01:07:00.001-07:002008-05-20T01:07:04.860-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />While I typically spend my weekends dining, drinking and catching up with friends at social functions, I spent much of this weekend at the Kellogg School of Management's<br/>Women's Leadership Workshop in Evanston, Ill. Kellogg is one of the world's top business schools, and I was honored to be a participant. The session featured valuable classroom workshops on negotiations, interviewing techniques, values-based leadership and relationship dynamics for leaders.<br/><br/>I'm going to reflect on those themes and share learnings from the workshop in coming days, so look for more on that. In the meantime, I noticed that many of the women attending the session were grappling with the issue of funding and student loans. Serendipitously, I had already been working on a story about college loans with the good folks at Simply College, a company that specializes in simplifying financial aid for those applying to college and graduate school.<br/><br/>Since the job market's looking pretty glum these days, and the news about student loans has been drab as well, I posed some questions about loans to Rene Bolti, Vice President of Simply College, and an educator with 17 years’ experience creating and administering programs and services for elementary, secondary and higher education. I hope you find her answers helpful.<br/><br/>Here's the Q&amp;A... <span class='fullpost'><br/><br/><span style='font-weight: bold;'>1. In layman’s terms, what’s changed in student loans over the past six to twelve months?</span><br/>Probably the most significant change is a new trend toward eliminating loans from financial aid packages of students below certain income levels. As a result, students at many top-name colleges may find themselves being awarded grants (which don’t need to be repaid) instead of loans.<br/><br/>But, the vast majority of students attend colleges that still include loans in the financial aid equation, so unless you are accepted at one of the top-tier, no-loan colleges, you’re likely to have to grapple with the question of student loan debt.<br/><br/>Although some lenders are exiting the student loan market, there are still many education loans available through a variety of lenders, including federal loans. In fact, the maximum annual limit on federal loans and grants for undergraduate and graduate students has recently increased, making the loans go further toward paying for a year of school.<br/><br/><span style='font-weight: bold;'>2. What are three things I should know about college loans today?</span><br/> 1) There are many different types of college loans.<br/><br/> - Federal Stafford loans are available to students who complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).<br/><br/> - A family’s financial situation determines whether a student qualifies for subsidized or unsubsidized Stafford loans. (In subsidized loans, the government pays the interest while you’re in school; in unsubsidized loans, you’re responsible for the interest that accrues while you’re in school.)<br/><br/> - Federal PLUS loans are a low-cost option available for parents of students.<br/><br/> - Private loans, made directly by banks or specialized lenders, which tend to be the most expensive option, are available to students and parents to fill any gaps that remain once financial aid has been awarded.<br/><br/> 2) Not all education loans are taken in the name of the student; some are student loans, some are parent loans, some need to be co-signed by the student and a credit-worthy adult.<br/><br/> 3) Private education loans need to be researched for terms of repayment, length of repayment, total cost over the life of the loan, special qualifying characteristics (like minimum grade point average), and whether all terms and special offers (like interest reduction based on a certain number of on-time payments) are guaranteed for the life of the loan.<br/><br/><span style='font-weight: bold;'>3. Can’t parents help their kids navigate the process?</span><br/>The financial aid process is complex and overwhelming, even for parents who are college-educated and highly motivated. It is a multi-step process requiring attention to timing and detail, with many significant decisions compressed into a very short period of time. To minimize the anxiety and stress inherent in the process, it is beneficial for parents and students to work together, using trusted resources, to be sure they pay attention to each critical component.<br/><br/>Our program, Simply CollegeTM offers a step-by-step workbook/organizer, “Financial Aid Simplified”, to guide students and parents through the entire financial aid process beginning as early as January of junior year in high school, including researching scholarships and loans, completing required forms, comparing financial aid award offers, building a “college life” budget, and more. Go to www.simply-college.com to view video segments that accompany each tab of the workbook.<br/><br/><span style='font-weight: bold;'>4. Is the financial aid process different for grad students?</span><br/>The financial aid process for graduate students typically includes the FAFSA (to make federal loans accessible), but also may include looking for fellowships, assistantships and private loans. FinAid.org has a page dedicated to information for graduate students, including information on specialized loans.<br/><br/><span style='font-weight: bold;'>5. Are working professionals at a disadvantage when it comes to loans?</span><br/>While it is true that income will determine eligibility for certain loans and grants,<br/>working professionals might consider financing their graduate degree through a combination of: employer tuition reimbursement, fellowships, grants, loans.<br/><br/>If you research the possibilities, you’re likely to be able to put together a package that meets your needs. In addition to discussing all possible funding sources with your selected university’s financial aid office, be sure to discuss assistantship and fellowship opportunities with your selected department.<br/><br/>If you are currently employed, talk to your human resources department about tuition reimbursement options (even if you’re unsure whether your employer has a tuition reimbursement program). As mentioned above, finaid.org is a good source of information and fastweb.com has loads of scholarship opportunities, including some for graduate students.<br/><br/><span style='font-weight: bold;'>6. If I’d like to quit working and go to school full-time, using student loans, what special considerations might I have to take?</span><br/>Giving up a salary and returning to the classroom full time will mean making some adjustments to your current lifestyle as student loans are unlikely to equal your salary. Each person needs to weigh personal responsibilities, career aspirations and financial goals when considering full time graduate study and how best to finance it. Here are some specific questions you should ask.<br/><br/>- Is there an alternate source of support available while you’re in school, like a spouse or parent? Even if it’s a loan from a family member, the terms of repayment and amount of the loan would likely be more favorable than any formal education loan.<br/><br/>- Is it possible to work part-time to cover basic living expenses while in school?<br/><br/>- Will a post graduate-degree job in your field draw a salary sufficient to afford and justify educational loan payments?<br/><br/>- Do you already have employment prospects that will be enhanced by a graduate degree?<br/><br/>- If you need to take an educational loan, how soon will you be expected to begin repayment?<br/><br/># # #<br/><br/>To read some of my personal thoughts and other research on college loans and education, click <a href='http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/2005/01/grad-school-dreamin.html'>here </a>and <a href='http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/2006/05/student-loans-primer.html'>here </a>and <a href='http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/2006/05/hats-off-to-graduates-now-pay-up.html'>here</a>.<br/><br/>Good luck with your applications!<br/><br/><br/></span><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-8038327430455270842?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-52282322041367117182008-05-16T13:06:00.001-07:002008-05-16T13:06:05.358-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />... cuz you aren't going to get it, at least not for awhile. <br/>Remember the National Defense Authorization Act, which President Bush vetoed a couple of months ago, with the 3.5% military pay raise? Well, our pandering and inept congresspeople were unable to revise the bill such that it would be passed before the start of the new year, so military personnel will have to settle for a 3.0% raise across the board. However, plans are "in the works" to assure that "the half-percent raise will be applied to military pay retroactive to January first, 2008," but I wouldn't count on seeing it for a couple of months, at least. Luckily, for most families, this amounts to a difference of $20 or less per month; however, it's hard to plan a budget when something as basic as base pay hasn't even been established. Keep this in mind next time you go to the polls.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-5228232204136711718?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-27007981746606647752008-05-16T01:05:00.001-07:002008-05-16T01:05:04.438-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />Random reader question time!<br/><br/>Today's super fab question comes from fellow Chicagoan Aideen, who asks:<br/><em><br/><strong>"I love you website! I am 26 and a former NYer who moved to the windy city. I try to budget and am doing an okay job of it. Do you have any posts on the best ways to save for buying a condo or house. Is socking away money in a savings account the best way or should I invest the money. i'd love to know what other people do."</strong></em><strong><br/></strong><br/>That's a great question, Aideen. And since I am in the same boat as you, I'm probably not the best person to answer your question. But I am totally curious, so I asked someone who's a little more credentialed on finance - Eric Brotman, CFP, CLU, MSFS, and president of Brotman Financial Group, Inc. - to help us out. Here's what he said: <span class='fullpost'><br/><br/>A: "Where to save for a first home is largely dependant on the amount of time it will take someone to put together the amount needed for a down payment and closing costs.<br/><br/>Normally, the best option is in a money market account, as they tend to pay a higher rate of interest than a traditional savings account. There are several good online options, including ING Direct and HSBC. <em>(Budgeting Babe note: This is what I'm doing, and I'm at Emigrant Direct.)</em><br/><br/>Another option is a certificate of deposit, with one caveat. The CD must either have no penalty for accessing the funds before maturity, or a maturity date must be selected which is in advance of the anticipated home purchase.<br/><br/>Investing the money for a first home is only a reasonable idea if the time-horizon is at least two years out, and if that is the case, a moderate allocation portfolio with low transaction expenses would make the most sense. First-time home buyers can also access their Roth IRA for up to $10,000 towards the purchase. Checking with a CPA or tax advisor to see if someone is eligible for a Roth IRA is a good first step. It will provide tax-favored growth while the savings/investments are being accumulated, but not everyone is eligible."<br/><br/><em>Eric Brotman is President of Brotman Financial Group, Inc., an independent financial planning firm specializing in wealth creation, preservation, and distribution. Mr. Brotman began his financial planning practice in Baltimore in 1994, and founded Brotman Financial Group in 2003. He provides investment, retirement, estate, insurance, and business planning for professionals, executives, and business owners. Mr. Brotman's clients benefit from his technical expertise, extraordinary client service, and a knowledgeable team of insurance and investment specialists.</em><br/>&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;<br/><br/>As a side note, Aideen, I was tracking with Eric's answer until he threw out the term "moderate allocation portfolio." I looked <a href='http://money.aol.com/investing/fct1/_a/portfolio-diversification/20050225133309990006'>online </a>and determined he means that if you choose to invest in a mutual fund or group of stocks, pick one that's not too high risk. You don't want to lose your downpayment fund when you're three years away from buying a house! (If you like this moderate risk option, a lot of people on my site have said that <a href='http://www.vanguard.com/'>Vanguard </a>is a good place to start investing because it has really low transaction fees.)<br/><br/>I got kind of lost during the Roth IRA part, so I appreciated that he mentioned seeing a professional. I heard that borrowing against yourself is pretty common, but I wasn't sure it was recommended by financial professionals. I'm sure peeps will write in the comments about it. If you have an answer, let us know! I'll also go back to Eric and ask him if that's risky or recommended if you're eligible.<br/><br/></span><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-2700798174660664775?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-79644240538985387952008-05-15T01:05:00.001-07:002008-05-15T01:05:05.361-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />It seems like the days right before the 15th, when I get the bulk of the money and can start making payouts and transferring money and ordering cards, are longer than other days. The 15th is always a busy day for me - all the cards get ordered, and all the checks are written. So I'm looking forward to that.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, the other thing that goes on just before payouts are reversals - usually though if I don't feel that the member did anything wrong, I don't reverse the member's credit. So far this month I have gotten at least 10 Foreclosusre.com reversals and 4 Advertising Web Service reversals, and lots of CallWave signups were put "under review".. hopefully there won't be too many more reversals, but the bulk happen between now and the 14th, when the invoice is finalized.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-7964424053898538795?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-50722683532526974882008-05-14T01:04:00.001-07:002008-05-14T01:04:04.934-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />We've been living here for about two months now, and I've had a couple of job interviews but haven't heard back from them, and at this point I am wondering if I should even bother with trying to get paid employment. It may not be worth the hassle. It might. If I get hired with either the company I interviewed with two weeks ago or the tax preparation firm I worked with in Virginia (surprisingly, employment is NOT as portable as they'd have you believe), I'll take the position, but I'm trying to decide if I should even try for more.<br/><br/>Reasons I should get a job:<br/><ul><li>Boredom! I have quite a bit of free time on my hands, and while I am engaged in volunteer activities, I could easily handle a part-time job and not sacrifice any family time or fail to accomplish any of my regular errands.</li><li>The gap in my working resume is only getting longer with every day I fail to work. Same thing with my salary history.<br/></li><li>A supplemental source of income would provide Mr. Dimes and me with greater ability to fatten up our short-term and long-term savings (and a matched 401k would be totally awesome if I could get it). We've got the three-month emergency fund taken care of, but a car-replacement fund or home down-payment fund would be great to get started on.</li><li>My student loans, which I have earnestly been paying off with my income, are now starting to become my husband's responsibility with no earnings coming into the household from my efforts. Even earning $200/month would enable me to fully cover the loan payments.</li></ul>Reasons not to get a job:<br/><ul><li>Potential lack of flexibility. I am doing hundreds of practicum hours for my <a href='http://www.afcpe.org/pages/page.cfm?page_id=67&amp;top_id=20'>AFC certification</a>, and a full-time job would cut off my ability to do those at the pace needed to complete them on time. A part-time job is ideal, and what I'm looking for, but even some part-time schedules are unworkable with my volunteer commitment.<br/></li><li>Interference with family planning: Mr. Dimes and I are thinking about starting a family within the next year or two. It would be difficult if I were to start a job and then immediately get pregnant, as I have no plans to work after giving birth.</li><li>Possible relocation. As I mentioned a <a href='http://dimestodollars.blogspot.com/2007/10/should-we-move-into-base-housing.html'>few posts ago</a>, we might be relocating onto base housing. Currently we live about 20 miles away from the base. If I had a job close to where we currently live, it would be just as far from our new residence as his workplace is from our current one. In that case, we'd just be trading commutes. My car <a href='http://dimestodollars.blogspot.com/2007/10/gas-mileage-unscientific-case-study.html'>gets better gas mileage</a> than his does, but do I want to drive so far every day for supplemental income?</li><li>Allegedly, there is a lot of nepotism in this area for jobs. I've heard that a lot of people get passed over due to internal hiring decisions or choosing friends or acquaintances instead of the most qualified applicants. While this wouldn't keep me from applying for jobs in general, it would probably cause me to throw in the towel sooner than if I weren't thinking the process was rigged.<br/></li></ul>So I'm not sure. I guess another thing to keep in mind is that Christmas is coming, and a new job might keep me from being able to go and visit family in December, though I'm not sure that's necessarily a bad thing. ;-) We'll see what happens.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-5072268353252697488?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-65443834868560170502008-05-12T13:04:00.001-07:002008-05-12T13:04:15.032-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>Whenever you buy anything online, it’s always a good idea to do a quick search for coupons or discount codes. You can often easily find 10% off, 20% off, and free shipping. Many times the values are even higher than that.</p><br /><p>With many purchases or just large ones, these discounts can add up quickly. Whenever you are checking out and see a box for a promo code, it's always prudent to take a quick look for some codes before submitting the form.</p><br /><p>You can find some great discounts with <a href='http://www.couponsforeveryone.com/coupons/adobe-coupons'>Adobe coupons</a>. (Although university students can get very cheap education packages from their campus bookstores) If you need to get a copy of Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Acrobat, or any of Adobe's other products, then you should check it out</p><br /><p>You can get discounts with <a href='http://www.couponsforeveryone.com/coupons/kohls-coupon-codes'>Kohls coupons</a> or <a href='http://www.couponsforeveryone.com/coupons/macys-coupons'>Macys coupons</a>. This could save you a chunk of change, versus shopping at their department stores. And if you wanted, you could even go take a look at the items in the brick and mortar stores beforehand.</p><br /><p>Hopefully you will be able to find some great bargains and codes that will save you money today and down the road.</p><br /><p><em>This post has been sponsored by ‘<a href='http://www.couponsforeveryone.com/'>Coupons for Everyone</a>’.</em></p><br /><img width='1' height='1' src='http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Aridni/~4/275684137'/><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-6544383486856017050?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-20874014364010227262008-05-10T13:02:00.001-07:002008-05-10T13:02:22.234-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />When Mr. Dimes and I moved to California, we put our names on the base housing list at our command. We were told the wait time would likely be from three to five months, depending on who else moved in or opted out. Well, we hadn't given it a lot of thought but after a few weeks here we're trying to decide whether or not we should move when the time comes. It's a complicated decision, with a lot of pros and cons. Here are some of the factors that matter:<br/>Pros:<br/><ul><li>A dramatically reduced commute. Right now my husband is driving 40 miles per day in a round trip commute, much of it along dubious roads. Moving to base would reduce the round trip to about ten miles. This would reduce his gasoline expenditure considerably and also reduce his risk of being on the road during periods of dense fog, driving rain, or blinding dust storms. <br/></li><li>Monthly rent and utility expenses would be at the exact level of BAH. Currently we're paying less out of pocket for rent, but water, electric, and gas bring the total above our BAH. Living in base housing would provide a cap, which will be helpful during the high energy use summer months. <br/></li><li>We would probably use the commissary more. Right now, with the commissary being 20 miles away and open limited hours, my husband tends to run to a local grocery store which is a lot more expensive than the commissary would be. I try and use the commissary, but the savings don't necessarily offset the gas and time expense of going there. <br/></li><li>We would be living in an actual house instead of an apartment, and I'm pretty sure it's not going to be a duplex. They recently renovated/rebuilt all the housing on the base, so it's in pretty good shape, not your standard prefab double-wide layout. It is also probably bigger than our current accommodations. Also there is more freedom to do your own repairs and not be accountable to a landlord.<br/></li></ul>Cons:<br/><ul><li>We just moved! Moving again is going to be a hassle, even if we don't have to pay for it out of pocket. However, it won't be as major of an upheaval as when we moved here from VA. I can probably haul a lot of my own stuff (like my kitchenwares) which would save mover time and effort as well as unpacking hassle. We'll also have to forward mail again, cancel/move utilities, update insurance and drivers licenses as well as addresses on everything else, which we just did six weeks ago. <br/></li><li>The financial consequences of breaking our lease will be moderate. After reading the lease agreement, the consequence will be one month's rent (the time between notification and move out) plus a $1000 early termination fee. We'd also have to pay for any damages (there are NONE) and a carpet cleaning. Total consequences would probably be as high as $2000-2500, though theoretically we'll recoup that within a year in gasoline and housing cost savings. <br/></li><li>While my husband's gasoline costs will drop, mine will most likely rise, as I'll be the one with a longer commute. However, if I work as a tax preparer, that will only be on a seasonal, part-time basis. Also, unless we switch churches, it'll still be a 40 mile round trip every Sunday. <br/></li><li>We'll have to deal with lawn care. Most of the yard is maintained by the base, but a section of it is the service member's responsibility. We've never had to deal with a yard before.</li><li>Less quiet. The base is noisy. Much noisier than where we currently live. I'm used to it somewhat, but it's been a nice break from the racket. I'll be sad to hear all the noise again.</li><li>Less diversity. When you live on a base, everyone else who lives on the base is military. Everyone goes through pretty much the same thing, and tales of people being all up in your business are commonplace, though I'm not sure how true they are. <br/></li></ul>So we're torn. Luckily we haven't gotten a solid offer yet, but we're trying to figure out what to do if we do.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-2087401436401022726?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-75578670580114301732008-05-09T13:02:00.001-07:002008-05-09T13:02:35.601-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />Given the recent market turmoil and some time since a portfolio update, I thought I'd share the latest holdings, trades and outlook on the market:<br/><br/>The most notable recent trades were the plunge into the financials last Monday with the leveraged 2X Financial Sector <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_0' class='blsp-spelling-error'>ETF</span> <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_1' class='blsp-spelling-error'>UYG</span>. I can't take credit for stellar performance this year, but in this case, I called the bottom spot on (<a href='http://everydayfinance.blogspot.com/2008/03/capitulation-is-it-time-to-buy.html'>here</a>). On Monday 3/17, I recorded the following transaction for a 1 week 35% return:<br/><br/>3/17, Bought 100 <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_2' class='blsp-spelling-error'>UYG</span> @ 26.069<br/><br/>Today, Sold 33 <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_3' class='blsp-spelling-error'>UYG</span> @ 35.0206<br/><br/><br/><img border='0' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4un1GP2PSuM/R-hdXNlNTjI/AAAAAAAAAbk/63weW7nsjVs/s400/uyg.bmp' alt='' style='DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181494024653852210'/><br/>I'm still holding the remainder with the thought that the Financials are undergoing a sustained recovery, but this is a rather bold statement, so I took 1/3 off the top.<br/><br/>Elsewhere in the portfolio, I sold the gold <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_4' class='blsp-spelling-error'>ETF</span> <a href='http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=gld'><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_5' class='blsp-spelling-error'>GLD</span></a> and bought the 2X leveraged <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_6' class='blsp-spelling-error'>ETF</span> <a href='http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=dgp'><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_7' class='blsp-spelling-error'>DGP</span></a>. I believe gold's going to hit 1200 before it hits 800 per ounce. The dollar has staged some temporary strength, but I don't think it's going much higher given further cuts and a long way to go to true stability in the economy.<br/><br/>On a bit of a whim, I bought Sirius Satellite when I caught wind of the <a href='http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUKN2434628220080324?rpc=44'>merger announcement </a>with <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_8' class='blsp-spelling-error'>XM</span>. I'm kicking myself for this one. It's been a year that this routine, logical merger should have been approved and the action was awaiting finalization. I should have bought in months ago, but following a random conversation in the office about the news, I bought in at $3.19 per share and in after hours, it's at $3.26 for a nominal gain as of now. I envision as the relief sets in and terms and conditions are fully recognized (along with requisite regulatory approval), the shares move up from here, not down.<br/><p>Below is a full snapshot of the trading portfolio:</p><p><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_9' class='blsp-spelling-error'>BIDU</span></p><p><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_10' class='blsp-spelling-error'>CHL</span></p><p><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_11' class='blsp-spelling-error'>DGP</span></p><p><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_12' class='blsp-spelling-error'>FMCN</span></p><p><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_13' class='blsp-spelling-error'>GOOG</span></p><p><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_14' class='blsp-spelling-error'>KTII</span></p><p><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_15' class='blsp-spelling-error'>SIRI</span></p><p><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_16' class='blsp-spelling-error'>SU</span></p><p><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_17' class='blsp-spelling-error'>TKC</span> </p><p><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_18' class='blsp-spelling-error'>UYG</span></p><p>VIP</p><p>To highlight a few notables...</p><ul><li><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_19' class='blsp-spelling-error'>Baidu</span>.com was up 15% today. I think <strong><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_20' class='blsp-spelling-error'>BIDU</span></strong> has been overly punished during this downturn in Chinese stocks, as it is the leader in an <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_21' class='blsp-spelling-error'>increbible</span> market with real earnings.</li><li>I'd sold off about half of the holdings in <strong><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_22' class='blsp-spelling-error'>FMCN</span></strong> and <strong><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_23' class='blsp-spelling-error'>CHL</span></strong>, both Chinese stocks, after <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_24' class='blsp-spelling-error'>runups</span> of over 150% each. Unfortunately, the remaining half of each position has declined significantly this year. I'm holding both through the Olympics this year in anticipation of strong demand for both <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_25' class='blsp-spelling-corrected'>advertising</span> with <strong><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_26' class='blsp-spelling-error'>FMCN</span></strong> and continued growth in cellular service with <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_27' class='blsp-spelling-error'>CHL</span>.</li><li>A stock I've been especially pleased with is the little-known K-Tron (<strong><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_28' class='blsp-spelling-error'>KTII</span></strong>). It has held up quite well in this downturn and is virtually recession-proof. Full background <a href='http://everydayfinance.blogspot.com/2008/03/little-known-special-k-tron-blows-away.html'>here</a>.</li><li>I also expect to see the other emerging market <span id='SPELLING_ERROR_29' class='blsp-spelling-error'>telecom</span> stocks<strong> VIP</strong> (Russia) and <strong><span id='SPELLING_ERROR_30' class='blsp-spelling-error'>TKC</span> </strong>(Turkey).</li></ul><p><br/></p><div class='blogger-post-footer'>www.everydayfinance.blogspot.com</div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-7557867058011430173?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-84819574051721360172008-05-09T01:00:00.001-07:002008-05-09T01:00:22.469-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>I am a yarn junkie. I can admit this. I can also admit that I have restraint. It&amp;#8217;s become abundantly clear to me that I have too much yarn. Showing my apartment to a new friend always makes me hesitate, not because I&amp;#8217;m a mess, but because they will see my plastic storage tubs. The see-through ones have crafty supplies, i.e. lots and lots of yarn. Heck the opaque ones do too, crammed in with some rock climbing gear.</p><br /><p>This year I made a promise to a new friend of mine (the girlfriend of an old friend) that I would take her to shop for special yarn for some projects. She had never been to the <a href='http://www.sheepandwool.org/events/sheep-show.html'>Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival</a> before. It&amp;#8217;s the largest in the US. Most of the hardcore yarn junkies I know attend on Saturday, but I had a prior commitment. Sunday was the best day for me. It would be less crazy and most of the good stuff will have been gone, thus limiting temptation. (Oh but there is always something, isn&amp;#8217;t there?) It was a pretty great day for bringing us closer as friends.</p><br /><p>As a multi-year attendee, I&amp;#8217;m much more selective about what I buy and what intrigues me. I like to catch up a bit on yarn news and gossip. I was sad, yet glad, to hear that Jolene is the new proprietess at Cloverhill Yarns in Baltimore. It was one of the first places to pique my interest in handspinning. The previous owner was an older woman and I was glad to hear she sold to Jolene so she could retire. Good for her! Isn&amp;#8217;t retirement what we&amp;#8217;re all about?</p><br /><p>The thing that tempted me most was a hand-carved ebony distaff for $45. A long-time vendor was going out of business for retirement and selling off all his wares. I was mighty, mighty tempted, but I hardly need such a lovely item. Gorgeous though it was. I simply do not use a drop spindle very much anymore so the distaff would basically be a really pretty stick, too valuable to use to bop someone on the head.</p><br /><p>The last thing notable about this year was noticing a new yarn called <a href='http://www.1855yarn.com/'>1855 Yarn</a> from New Jersey. It came in pretty colors and handspun. I like to keep my eye out for new stuff, otherwise, I could go to MDSW every other year while I cut back on my craft spending.</p><br /><p>And that was that. No really. I didn&amp;#8217;t buy any yarn or fiber material whatsoever.</p><br /><p>I spent nothing but money for gas and for lunch. I make a point of getting pit lamb BBQ at sheep and wool events because I don&amp;#8217;t cook lamb at home. Round trip was about 1/4 tank and lunch was $10. I packed my own can of Coke for my morning caffeine kick.</p><br /><p>I just wanted to add a post since I&amp;#8217;ve been blogging about my yarn festival trips since I started this blog. I wouldn&amp;#8217;t have wanted to skip it.</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-8481957405172136017?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-91810709180035859732008-05-06T00:59:00.001-07:002008-05-06T00:59:21.504-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>Since the ceiling needs repair, I figure I should do the entire bathroom. I thought maybe it would cost $5K, but after talking with a few people, I need to budget closer to $7K. I suppose this is a very salient lesson that everyone needs an emergency fund. Say 3-6 months of take home pay, which of course would cover the repairs. Unfortunately, my emergency fund has only about $1.5K in it.</p><br /><p>In desperation for cash, I looked at all my options here. I have credit available on my HELOC and on my credit cards. I have a few CD&amp;#8217;s expiring, which I was going to liquidate anyway to pay down debt. But since there is an emergency here and now, I&amp;#8217;m going to use them to fund the repair.</p><br /><p>With construction, you usually have to pay a deposit of some sort to get the work started. In my case, the earliest construction can start is in another week. The work will take approximately 10 days, taking me to early May.</p><br /><p>In looking at my cash flow and available credit, I decided, rather sadly that I cannot attend my friend&amp;#8217;s wedding in Boston this month. There&amp;#8217;s just no way I can find a hotel room under $200 a night anywhere near the festivities or near the hotel where my best friend and her husband are staying. I&amp;#8217;m looking at $1000 for just hotel and rental car alone at a time where I need the $1000 for something else.</p><br /><p>I have balance transfer checks coming to my house all the time for a promotional rate less than 2% APR. Unfortunately, these BT&amp;#8217;s have a fee. A friend asked me if that fee was capped out but reading the fine print, I couldn&amp;#8217;t find any mention of a cap. I called the customer service line and asked about a cap. However the representative said he couldn&amp;#8217;t change the BT fee. Instead he offered to change the rate from 1.9% to 1% APR after looking at my sterling payment record. It&amp;#8217;s the best he could do, but I&amp;#8217;ll take it.</p><br /><p>Now the trick here is that I&amp;#8217;m sitting on $5K borrowed for 1% APR. Do I pay off my 11.99% APR credit card balance of $4K only to ring them up further as the construction work progresses, or do I hold onto this wad of cash and wait to pay it out to the contractor? (It&amp;#8217;s going into an account that doesn&amp;#8217;t bear interest so there&amp;#8217;s no arbitrage going on here and there isn&amp;#8217;t enough time to move it around and take advantage of that sort of thing unless I&amp;#8217;m paying off the credit card.)</p><br /><p>The last $2K I need, I figure can come from liquidating all of my savings accounts and my next two paychecks. The problem now is that I&amp;#8217;ve shot my 2008 debt reduction goals to pieces.</p><br /><p>I&amp;#8217;ve been sighing a lot this week. Life. It&amp;#8217;s what happens to you. Dealing with it can suck, but I look forward to having a shiny new bathroom with better lighting in the shower and for the mirror when I put on make up.</p><br /><p>Luckily for you, this week, several PF bloggers have Emergency Fund posts.<br/><br /><a href='http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2008/04/14/how-to-build-an-emergency-fund/'>Five Cent Nickel</a>: On building an emergency fund<br/><br /><a href='http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/04/14/learning-to-love-the-emergency-fund/'>Get Rich Slowly</a>: Learning to love his emergency fund<br/><br /><a href='http://plonkee.com/2008/04/14/emergency-funds-are-no-fun/'>Plonkee</a>: On why they&amp;#8217;re no fun</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-9181070918003585973?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-79884288984192691842008-05-03T12:59:00.001-07:002008-05-03T12:59:23.635-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />I know this post topic is kind of morbid, but this issue is very important. Recently, Mr. Dimes and his family had to bury his grandmother, who died suddenly but not unexpectedly right around Christmas. She had a modest funeral and burial, and her final expenses clocked in around $8,000. My mother-in-law fronted the money and will eventually be reimbursed when the estate has been settled, as the grandmother did have some real estate and other assets which could be sold to cover the expenses. Not everyone is so lucky, though.<br/>I recently had a client whose mother died unexpectedly who was requesting over $16,000 in funeral assistance. Her mother owned no property, had no life insurance, and had done nothing to prepare for her final expenses in advance. While the client has siblings, neither individually nor collectively can they afford the costs of the burial. Their mother desired to be buried in the family plot in an area where real estate is very pricey and the burial costs are over half the cost of the funeral. I had to help a grieving client find an alternative to the burial she wanted in order to have something she could afford. This was not a particularly fun experience. Please, for the love of your survivors, do not do this to them. Plan for your final expenses now and let your family members know where they can find any information about plots, policies, final wishes, etc. Deaths are difficult enough without creating financial stress and trauma for a grieving family.<br/><br/>Here are a few ways to ease the financial burden on your survivors:<br/><ul><li>Consider prepayment of funeral expenses: If you know where you want to be placed upon your death, consider buying a plot in advance, and make sure your survivors know where it is. You can also prepay for the funeral, casket, and other mortuary services rather than requiring your relatives to front the expenses at the time of your death.</li><li>Have a life insurance policy specifically for funeral expenses: Both my client's mother and my husband's grandmother had small ($10K-$25K) whole life insurance policies to pay for their funeral expenses, but for one reason or another had let them lapse and when they died, there was no money. If, however, you make sure that you (or someone else) is paying on them and don't let the policies lapse, they can be sufficient to cover burial and funeral costs.<br/></li><li>Consider less expensive methods of body disposal: Burials are getting to be insanely expensive, and so are funeral plots. Cremation, on the other hand, is a more frugal alternative to standard burial, and is less harmful to the environment. Some people don't like the idea of cremation for religious or other reasons, but it definitely costs less. It also has the added benefit of allowing for portability of remains; for example, if you want to be buried a great distance away from where you died, ashes are much easier to transport than an intact corpse.<br/></li><li>Have a specific set of assets designated for funeral expenses: This would definitely require either a will or a joint account with a person most likely to survive you, but it could solve the problem of a family member having to front expenses and then wait for reimbursement. If you create an account specifically for funeral expenses, then a family member or the executor of your estate should be able to access those funds in order to pay for your funeral. If you're going to do this, you might as well make your wishes known as well as what should be done with any money that remains, in order to keep your relatives from donating your body to science and then flying off to Cancun with your funeral money.<br/></li></ul>While not fun, death is an inevitable (and expensive) part of life, and you can help your family tremendously by making provisions for what to do when it happens.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-7988428898419269184?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-48020224561969311762008-05-02T12:59:00.001-07:002008-05-02T12:59:22.600-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>We had a visitor this weekend so we took her to the Library of Congress&amp;#8217; re-opened exhibit areas and then to Jaleo for tapas dinner on Saturday night. Then we went back to <a href='http://www.mapgirl.net/mfc/2008/04/18/restaurant-review-napa-1015/'>Napa 1015</a> for the totally awesome brunch Sunday morning. (Where they recognized me and boyfriend from a few weeks ago. Gratefully there were a lot more people there for brunch and I also got a friend to go there for dinner last week for her birthday and she said it was amazing. But I digress.)</p><br /><p><a href='http://www.jaleo.com/'>Jaleo</a> is by far the best place in DC I&amp;#8217;ve been for tapas. La Tasca doesn&amp;#8217;t even compare. And fortunately, Jaleo is in several locations around DC.</p><br /><p>The food ranges from the very traditional Patatas Bravas, roasted potatoes with aioli and tomato sauce, to funkier stuff like artichoke hearts with grapefruit slices and olives. OMG was dinner delicious I am salivating just recalling the dinner.</p><br /><p>We got 9 dishes total, 2 desserts, a glass of sherry and a bottle of wine. Damage was about $135 + tip. Dishes ranged in price from about $6-10 each and the wine was a Rioja for $34. This was dinner for 3 and way too much food, but we wanted to impress our guest and give her a lot of options for her first taste of Spanish food.</p><br /><p>I got the artichoke hearts with grapefruit and olives, wild mushroom rice (basically a risotto), and cannelones with foiegras and pork. Boyfriend got Chorizo in crispy potato pastry, chicken croquettes, brussel sprouts with grapes, apples and apricots, there was mashed potato in cabbage leaf with goat cheese (&amp;#8217;Trinxat&amp;#8217;), sauteed cauliflower and Patatas Bravas.</p><br /><p>Dessert was the warm chocolate birthday cake with with bergamot flavoring and yummy vanilla ice cream and Basque cake with semolina cream, cinnamon-vanilla sauce &amp;#038; ice milk, and a very nice sherry for the guest. Dessert was amazing. I highly recommend the chocolate cake if you go soon. It&amp;#8217;s a seasonal special.</p><br /><p>In retrospect, 9 dishes was too much for the three of us. Jaleo has huge portions. 2-3 is usually enough for a person. But I&amp;#8217;ve been places where 3-4 is more the norm. (Thirsty Bear in San Francisco comes to mind, but I also remember their fish cheeks and beef with rosemary dishes. Yes. <em>That</em> good.)</p><br /><p>They also have a wine shop near their Crystal City location. CRAP. I wish I knew this before. boyfriend and I had a really amazing wine there before that just knocked our socks off. But now I can&amp;#8217;t remember what it was, else I would buy a case of it tomorrow. A rioja. Of course. What else would you have with tapas?</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-4802022456196931176?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-15616873700292030252008-05-01T12:59:00.001-07:002008-05-01T12:59:22.068-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><div><p>As they say at NPR, when we do the numbers we find that, well, it depends on how you do the numbers. Analysis is in the eye of the beholder. Just ask any finance guy told to justify the corporate jet. I prefer, with a few twists, to do the cash in, cash out method so here goes.</p><br /><br /><p>The HUD asking price was $39,900. I got it for $27,000 after some long negotiations. Dealing with HUD is tricky so a realtor that specializes in this is important. HUD picks the realtor and the realtor cannot opine on a bid but they will do so in code. &amp;quot;They may have an issue with this&amp;quot; means too low. &amp;quot;Perhaps in the ballpark&amp;quot; means you got it. Anyway, as I said before, you make money when you buy the house, not when you sell it. </p><br /><br /><p>Here are the cash flows (Sorry about the numbers going all over the place, programming ignorance):</p><br /><br /><p>Money out</p><br /><br /><p>Purchase Price $27,000</p><br /><br /><p>Maintenance/Repair 3,400</p><br /><br /><p>Property Taxes 3 Years 3,600</p><br /><br /><p>Insurance 600</p><br /><br /><p>Freddy and Celia Closing Costs 3,500</p><br /><br /><p>Foreclosure Legal Fees 750</p><br /><br /><p>Back Taxes and Penalties 3,000</p><br /><br /><p>Patricia Sale Closing Costs 500 </p><br /><br /><p>Total Out 42,350 </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>Money In</p><br /><br /><p>Rent $16,275</p><br /><br /><p>Freddy/Celia Mortgage Payments 7,920</p><br /><br /><p>Patricia Sale Proceeds 49,000</p><br /><br /><p>Total In 73,195 </p><br /><br /><p>ROI = Cash In minus Cash Out divided by Cash Out=$73,195-$42,350=$30,845 divided by $42,350=72.8%. Not too shabby, at first glance. I held the property for 4.5 years so the annual return is 72.8% divided by 4.5 years equals 16.2%.</p><br /><br /><p>At this point, any analyst out there worth anything should be shouting &amp;quot;Wrong, wrong.&amp;quot; And they would be right. You can't divide 72.8% by 4.5 years because it ignores the time value of money and a few other things but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. </p><br /><br /><p>There is a more glaring error. There is no expense in there for me but let's not quibble. </p><br /><br /><p>Let's do look at what is in there--The cost to renovate the house was only $3,400 because I did most of the work myself. It was a controllable variable. Uncontrollable variables are property taxes and penalties ($7,600), insurance ($600), closing costs ($4,000) and legal fees ($750). Actually, closing costs can be reduced significantly by avoiding real estate agents as I did with Patricia but it ain't a done deal yet so an agent still may be necessary. </p><br /><br /><p>What ate up a large amount of cash was FEES and you cannot avoid them but most people forget about them. If you invest in real estate, don't forget them.</p><br /><br /><p>BUT we still haven't come up with the most GLARING error in the analysis. The Donald and Co. would say &amp;quot;Don't do it this way. Use OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY.&amp;quot; Let's try that. You put 20% down and borrow the rest for repairs and everything else at 10%. So that is $5,400 for the downpayment and $15,350 for everything else and 4.5 years of interest payments=$31,899 plus the interest not paid you for the downpayment but let's not split hairs. Income of $73,195 minus expenses of $31,899 generates a return of $41,296 divided by $31,899 for a return of 129%, or an annual return of 29% doing it my way. </p><br /><br /><p>Not bad. In fact, great. The Donald is vindicated except for the fact that OPM is based on the assumption the OP are either idiots or charities because...</p><br /><br /><p>Who is going to lend you this money? Not HUD. Oh, there may be a government program out there that will lend you the money but I don't know about it and I wouldn't qualify. Maybe you would but I doubt it. Will a bank lend it? Lend $31,899 for a property worth currently, maybe $27,000? Remember OPM assumes you can borrow just about everything. I don't think so. Maybe Mom and Dad will lend it. Give it a try. Or private individuals may lend it but they will charge a lot more interest and take a lot more of the profits.</p><br /><br /><p>Please feel free to take a whack at the analysis or come up with a better one. I'm going to send this to a friend that is much better at finance than me so we will see what he has to say. For now my head is spinning and I probably made some major mistake BUT no matter how you do it you will come up with the same conclusion--yes, you can make money in real estate but it isn't as easy or painless as the guys on TV would have you believe.</p></div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-1561687370029203025?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-70240191254622311792008-05-01T00:59:00.001-07:002008-05-01T00:59:22.491-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><div><p>Very early in my career, like at the beginning, I had a boss who was not the happiest guy on the planet. He had about an hour and half commute by train each way which for me explained everything but so did a lot of other people but they seemed kind of normal. Not Dick, he was miserable. </p><br /><br /><p>Then one day he wasn't. Everyone noticed but put it down to exception. Until it happened again the next day and the next and the next. What was going on? As the junior guy with the most to lose, I was selected to ask about the reformation. </p><br /><br /><p>I did. Dick's answer--&amp;quot;I quit reading the newspapers.&amp;quot;</p><br /><br /><p>Here is an article with a lot of references to newspaper articles which you may want to read but you should probably ignore if you want to be a successful investor. </p><br /><br /><p> <span class='bio_content'> </span></p><br /><br /><h1>Flaming Kamikaze Squirrels! (And Other Anomalies)</h1><br /><br /><p>10/19/2007</p><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div><u>Story Highlights</u>:</div><br /><br /><div>• A true, prolonged bear market can’t be forewarned or foreordained by the mass media.<br/>• This week’s market volatility is perfectly normal, not a specter of ghosts past—stocks remain a great value for investors</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>Discounting an anomaly is impossible. What are the odds a squirrel catches fire and ignites a car? Like zero, right? Whoops…it happened!</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div><strong>Flaming Squirrel Ignites Car in Bayonne</strong><br/>By N. Clark Judd, Hudson County Now<br/><a href='http://www.nj.com/hudsoncountynow/index.ssf/2007/10/flaming_squirrel_ignites_car_i.html'><span style='color: #0000ff;'>http://www.nj.com/hudsoncountynow/index.ssf/2007/10/flaming_squirrel_ignites_car_i.html</span></a></div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>Flaming squirrels are uncommon…but fiery car-igniting squirrels are downright anomalies! As a car owner, there really is no way to protect against such an event, is there? (Do most car insurance policies cover flaming squirrels, or is that just geckos? If so, does that fall under “acts of god,” “collision,” “arson/vandalism,” or what?) We’ve written on the nature of market anomalies before:</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div><strong>Obsessing Over Black Swans </strong>(5/1/2007)<br/><a href='http://www.marketminder.com/commentary/commentarypage.aspx?articleID={798DE358-09EF-4BE6-B75C-AA673CB282E3}&amp;sectionID=commentarydaily'><span style='color: #0000ff;'>http://www.marketminder.com/commentary/commentarypage.aspx?articleID={798DE358-09EF-4BE6-B75C-AA673CB282E3}&amp;sectionID=commentarydaily</span></a></div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>On the 20th anniversary of Black October, today’s market drop (S&amp;P 500 shed 2.6%) has some folks wondering if it’s déjà vu all over again. But this is no new bear market and no downside market anomaly. This is barely a bump in the road.</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>Why? Many reasons. An important one is Black Monday took just about everyone by surprise. It’s extremely difficult to have a true market crash everyone expects because that expectation will be baked in to stock prices a priori.</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>A true crash today would not come as a surprise—too many folks are worrying about it:</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div><strong>Crash and Quivers a Lesson, Not Guide</strong><br/>By Annette Sampson, Sydney Morning Herald<br/><a href='http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/crash-and-quivers-a-lesson-not-guide/2007/10/19/1192301043459.html'><span style='color: #0000ff;'>http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/crash-and-quivers-a-lesson-not-guide/2007/10/19/1192301043459.html</span></a></div><br /><br /><div><strong>Watching for the Next Black Monday</strong><br/>Bryant Park Project, NPR.org<br/><a href='http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15436281'><span style='color: #0000ff;'>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15436281</span></a></div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div><strong>20 Years Later, Could Markets Crash Again?</strong><br/>By John Waggoner and Adam Shell, USA Today<br/><a href='http://www.abcnews.go.com/Business/PersonalFinance/story?id=3750809&amp;page=1'><span style='color: #0000ff;'>http://www.abcnews.go.com/Business/PersonalFinance/story?id=3750809&amp;page=1</span></a></div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div><strong>Paint it Black </strong><br/>Economist.com<br/><a href='http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9993586'><span style='color: #0000ff;'>http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9993586</span></a></div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>As a matter of fact, the so-called ills frightening today’s markets are the oldest of this bull market! </div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div><strong>Wall Street Walloped</strong><br/>By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com<br/><a href='http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/19/markets/markets_0405/index.htm?postversion=2007101916'><span style='color: #0000ff;'>http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/19/markets/markets_0405/index.htm?postversion=2007101916</span></a></div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>We quote: <em>“Stocks slump, with Dow down 300 points on credit and housing sector woes, earnings fears, record-high oil prices, slide in dollar, questions about the Federal Reserve.”</em> Not a new worry among them! That’s great evidence this is mere short-term investor psychology.</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>On Monday we gave our thoughts on why twenty years later a new Black Monday is highly unlikely:</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div><strong>Ghost of October Past </strong>(10/15/2007)<br/><a href='http://www.marketminder.com/commentary/CommentaryPage.aspx?articleID={3D4C6163-2B00-498C-8B3A-2481840C0DF0'><span style='color: #0000ff;'>http://www.marketminder.com/commentary/CommentaryPage.aspx?articleID={3D4C6163-2B00-498C-8B3A-2481840C0DF0</span></a><span style='color: #0000ff;'><u>}</u></span></div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>Keep in mind, the week’s market drop is not even the largest one week drop of the year. This is still well within the confines of normal market volatility.</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>Don’t fret stocks too much—their prospects for the immediate future are still stellar. This was just a rough week. But if you require further solace, here’s some sense about 1987 and today:</div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div><strong>The Truth About the Crash of 1987</strong><br/>Donald Luskin, Poorandstupid.com<br/><a href='http://www.poorandstupid.com/2007_10_14_chronArchive.asp'><span style='color: #0000ff;'>http://www.poorandstupid.com/2007_10_14_chronArchive.asp</span></a></div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div>Have a great weekend…and watch out for those kamikaze squirrels.</div><br /><br /></div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-7024019125462231179?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-33221129438167677862008-04-30T00:59:00.001-07:002008-04-30T00:59:26.844-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />Whilst perusing the latest Pottery Barn catalog, I noted that the fine print of their credit card bonus program is actually pretty sweet. If you spend $750 during the six-month "program cycle" (which appears to be the first six months of the year, and the second six months) you get a $50 gift certificate to Pottery Barn. Plus, if you spend $100 in the first month, you get a 5% rebate certificate which you could use to make the gift cards go farther. If I spent $750 on my American Express card, I'd only earn $7.50 in gift certificates, so that seems like a good deal to me. To totally dork out, $100 in gift certificates just for spending $1500 with the card (and it doesn't stipulate anything about balances, so you could pay it off right away) gets you a 6.6% return on your money. If you don't want to shop at Pottery Barn, you could sell the gift certificates on eBay or get 70% of value without hassle at GiftCardBuyBack.com or a similar site. (Most of the time eBay'ed gift certificates will get at least 85-90% of value, but it's more time-consuming and you have to pay fees.) I'm probably going to do some credit card arbitraging once my current 0% deal expires and I pay it off, so I'll apply for this one too and get my free gift card.<br/><br/>Details: http://www.potterybarn.com/cust/ccsplash/cust.cfm?cmtype=fnav<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-3322112943816767786?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-53769616704558432982008-04-29T12:59:00.001-07:002008-04-29T12:59:34.200-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />So I wrote previously about how I am trying to structure my contributions to cram as much money as possible into my retirement accounts this year. Well, TIAA-CREF just sent me a letter about this year's contribution limits for my 403(b).. and my 457(b). What what now? <br/><br/>Apparently I have BOTH a 403(b) and 457(b) set up for me through my work plan. I am not sure what a 457(b) is, but it appears to do the same thing that I am doing with my voluntary contributions to the 403(b). And my maximum limit on it is $14,740. Which means, total between the two, I could put away $30,240.<br/><br/>This has opened up whole new possibilities of cramming money into the account! I am tremendously excited. (Especially since I found out that you can only change your allocations once a quarter, and thus must plan more carefully.) So I think I will wait and see how things shake out in the next couple months as there may be some changes in my life going on, but I might be able to get a whole lot more money in there! (This would also save me a fortune in taxes, given how much self-employment income I have.) Very interesting...<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-5376961670455843298?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-23753150145682807222008-04-26T12:58:00.001-07:002008-04-26T12:58:22.000-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><div><p>Most people don't get rich because they refuse to start small. Why bother? Just win the lottery. I can't believe people buy lottery tickets but they do. And the ones I see doing so don't look very smart. And they aren't.</p><br /><br /><p>The way to get there is simple, well, kind of. Save two times your annual salary and let the power of compound interest take over. Einstein said that compound interest was the eighth wonder of the world and most people think Einstein was, well, an Einstein.</p><br /><br /><p>Jonathan Clements gives the details in the following---</p><br /><br /><h2>How to Save $1 Million for Retirement </h2><br /><br /><p>The Wall Street Journal Online <br/>By Jonathan Clements <br/><br/><br/>If you're a newly minted college graduate, the $1 million-plus needed for retirement might seem impossibly large. <br/><br/>Feeling discouraged? Try lowering your sights, aiming instead to accumulate savings equal to two times your annual income. <br/><br/>Once you hit that milestone, the financial wind will be at your back -- and reaching your retirement-savings goal should be a breeze. <br/><br/>Breaking through. Suppose you expect eventually to earn $80,000 a year. Looking ahead to retirement, you reckon that -- in addition to Social Security -- you will want maybe $45,000 a year from your portfolio, adjusted for inflation. <br/><br/>To generate that $45,000, you will need a $1 million nest egg, calculated in today's dollars. This assumes that, in retirement, you use a 4.5% annual portfolio-withdrawal rate. <br/><br/><strong>Investment Growth</strong><br/><br/>&amp;quot;People wonder how they will ever accumulate enough money,&amp;quot; says Charles Farrell, a financial adviser with Denver's Northstar Investment Advisors. &amp;quot;But what many investors fail to understand is that, once they reach a certain level of assets, most of the savings should come from investment growth.&amp;quot; <br/><br/>Mr. Farrell figures the breakthrough occurs at around two times income. Let's say your salary has hit that $80,000, you have amassed $160,000 in savings, you are socking away 12% of your pretax income each month and your investments earn 6% a year. <br/><br/>Over the next 12 months, your $160,000 portfolio would balloon to $179,518, or $19,518 more. Your monthly savings would account for $9,600 of that growth. But the other $9,918 would come from investment gains. In other words, you've got to the crossover point, where the biggest driver of your portfolio's growth is now investment earnings, not the actual dollars you're socking away. <br/><br/>You should, however, keep salting away money. That sacrifice will be handsomely rewarded, as things really start to snowball. Using the assumptions above, your portfolio would soar from $160,000 to more than $418,000 a decade later. True, part of this gain would be lost to inflation. But inflation should also drive up your salary, allowing you to squirrel away more money. <br/><br/><strong>Get Started Now</strong><br/><br/>Getting started. That still leaves the initial task of accumulating two times income. <br/><br/>&amp;quot;It can take people 12 to 15 years,&amp;quot; Mr. Farrell says. &amp;quot;The earlier you can start, the better. But if you're close to two times pay by your early 40s, you're probably in pretty good shape.&amp;quot; <br/><br/>As you strive to amass that sum, your top priority should be funding your employer's 401(k) plan. In addition to the initial tax deduction and continuing tax deferral, you will likely receive a matching employer contribution, which will help speed your portfolio's progress. <br/><br/>If you can, save outside your employer's plan, by funding a Roth individual retirement account. That won't get you an initial tax deduction, but you will enjoy tax-free growth. A Roth also offers a heap of flexibility. At any time, you can withdraw your contributions -- but not the account's investment earnings -- without any sort of tax hit. That means your Roth could double as an emergency reserve or as your house down-payment fund. <br/><br/><strong>Investment Ideas</strong><br/><br/>Which investments should you buy? Check out broadly diversified no-load funds like AARP Aggressive and Schwab Target 2040, both of which require a $100 initial investment. Until you reach Schwab's $1,000 brokerage-account minimum, you will need to add $100 every month through an automatic investment plan, where money is pulled out of your bank account and invested directly in the fund. <br/><br/>Also consider Fidelity Freedom 2050 and T. Rowe Price Retirement 2050. The regular minimum at both funds is $2,500. T. Rowe Price will trim that minimum to $1,000 if you open an IRA and waive the minimum entirely if you sign up for a $50-a-month automatic-investment plan. Similarly, at Fidelity Freedom 2050, you can sidestep the minimum if you agree to invest $200 a month through Fidelity's SimpleStart IRA program. <br/></p><br /><br /><div id='yfncpb'/><br /><br /><div id='yfnccrcol'><div id='yfnclrec'><script language='javascript'/><noscript/></div><br /><br /><div class='yfncmAO'><div class='yfncmAI'><h3>Yahoo! Finance Weekend</h3><br /><br /><ul style='MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px'><li><a href='http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/weekend/article/wsj/retire/millionretire/morewe/SIG=11f9tu9us/*http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/toughloan_1.html'>Lenders Get Tougher on Loans</a> </li><br /><br /><li><a href='http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/weekend/article/wsj/retire/millionretire/morewe/SIG=11fc8vbvc/*http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/youngcity_1.html'>Best Cities for Young Singles</a> </li><br /><br /><li><a href='http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/weekend/article/wsj/retire/millionretire/morewe/SIG=11gaq8kap/*http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/foodsupply_1.html'>How Safe Is Our Food Supply?</a> </li><br /><br /><li><a href='http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/weekend/article/wsj/retire/millionretire/morewe/SIG=11kpesn01/*http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/weddingplanner_1.html'>What Your Wedding Planner Won’t Tell You</a> </li></ul><hr style='color: #cccccc;font-size: 0.6em;' noshade='true' width='258'/><p style='MARGIN-TOP: 0px'><strong><a href='http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/weekend/article/wsj/retire/millionretire/morewe/SIG=10ve0h4v3/*http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/'>Read all Weekend stories</a>.</strong></p></div></div><br /><br /><div class='yfncmBO'><div class='yfncmBI'><h3>More From The Wall Street Journal Online </h3><br /><br /><ul style='MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px'><li><a href='http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/weekend/article/wsj/retire/millionretire/xwsj/SIG=13knf86lg/*http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117900578530001141-PuXOFvZ2pK6IC2l_I0sV4_tMDjI_20070520.html?mod=yahoo_free'>What Couples Don't Talk About: Retiring</a> </li><br /><br /><li><a href='http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/weekend/article/wsj/retire/millionretire/xwsj/SIG=13kh6b0rk/*http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117804695316188531-aB2sNKexpudbNL44VbA_PzD2V0E_20070520.html?mod=yahoo_free'>Giving and Receiving</a> </li><br /><br /><li><a href='http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/weekend/article/wsj/retire/millionretire/xwsj/SIG=13k8vl56p/*http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117804705262088534-fMOzxcjk6U65ARWX7pjKAI_LLzQ_20070520.html?mod=yahoo_free'>Profiles in Retirement</a> </li></ul><hr style='color: #cccccc;font-size: 0.6em;' noshade='true' width='258'/><p style='MARGIN-TOP: 0px'><strong><a href='http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/weekend/article/wsj/retire/millionretire/xwsj/SIG=10ve0h4v3/*http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/'>Read all Weekend stories</a>.</strong></p><hr style='color: #cccccc;font-size: 0.6em;' width='258'/><h3 class='hr'>Minimum Wages Worldwide at Yahoo! News </h3><br /><br /><table border='0' cellpadding='4' cellspacing='0'><tbody><tr><td valign='top'><a href='http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/weekend/article/wsj/retire/millionretire/xwage/SIG=119c8oft4/*http://news.yahoo.com/page/minimum_wage'><img border='0' width='90' src='http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/fi/10/51/30.gif' height='80'/></a></td><br /><br /><td><a href='http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/weekend/article/wsj/retire/millionretire/xwage/SIG=119c8oft4/*http://news.yahoo.com/page/minimum_wage'><strong>Who's Earning What?</strong></a><br/>America's minimum wage, though unchanged in a decade, is still more than 250 times that of Mongolia.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div><br /><br /></div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-2375315014568280722?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-92125779077237313592008-04-26T00:58:00.001-07:002008-04-26T00:58:21.213-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />The more I thought about the plan I came up with yesterday the more stressed I got that it might not work out (like if they don't process the paperwork to return my contributions to a normal level in time!) <br/><br/>So what I am going to do instead with the extra savings is to max out the Roth now, and change my monthly contribution to $1000 from $500. That way I won't feel much of a pinch since I won't be contributing the $200 per month (which sadly since I am now in such a high tax bracket, I would only get post-tax about $300 from the extra $500). <br/><br/>Also I figured out that I would only be able to do the whole-month thing twice before I hit the cap on my 403(b) contributions. What a dilemna to have, eh? ;)<br/><br/>So if all goes as planned, I will contribute the following amounts to my 403(b) during the year 2007:<br/><br/> $3990 - involuntary contributions<br/> $500 - already made, voluntary<br/> + $11000 - will make, voluntary<br/>----------------------------------<br/> $15490 - juuuust squeaking under the maximum voluntary contributions<br/><br/>Also: $5784 - employer contributions<br/>$4000 - Roth IRA<br/><br/>Total: $25274, maxing out both the IRA and the 403(b).<br/><br/>I am extremely pleased with myself. =) Maybe I will hit my retirement goal before 30!<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-9212577907723731359?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-87001659530185770152008-04-25T12:58:00.001-07:002008-04-25T12:58:24.012-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />Last Friday I was interviewing for a job at a local bank. The job is one with a fair amount of potential in and of itself, and should position me to effectively be able to use my AFC certification once I've attained it. Also, since the bank is fairly widespread, I'm hoping that any job with them would be at least somewhat portable. Anyway, I do a couple of skills tests (handwriting legibility, number recognition, workplace attitudes) and then they do the one-on-one questioning. I get the standard "describe your cash-handling experience," "what does 'teamwork' mean to you," "where do you see yourself in five years," questions, and then out of left field, the lady asks "what single word would best describe you?"<br/>Um. I can think of NOTHING. So eventually I stammer out "speechless." Possibly an even better response would have been "flummoxed."<br/>She laughed, at least. Hopefully a sense of humor will save my job candidacy. We'll see. At the very least, I have yet another ridiculous personal anecdote to share.<br/><br/>Oh, and I just remembered, I forgot to send a thank you note. I think I'll run it by tomorrow.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-8700165953018577015?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-52209473461151302162008-04-24T00:57:00.001-07:002008-04-24T00:57:23.182-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>Greetings and welcome! Thanks for reading my post on <a href='http://www.mapgirl.net/mfc/2008/04/18/restaurant-review-napa-1015/'>Napa 1015</a>. It really was very delicious and I encourage everyone to come on down to H Street and give it a try.</p><br /><p>A shoutout to <a href='http://frozentropics.blogspot.com/'>Inked</a> for making a real post out of it. I am truly honored.</p><br /><p>New readers can <a href='http://feeds.feedburner.com/mapgirl/qSFp' type='application/rss+xml' rel='alternate' title='subscribe to my feed'>subscribe to my feed </a></p><br /><p>I&amp;#8217;m so sorry that my site looks crappy in MS Internet Explorer 7, but you really should use <a href='http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/'>Firefox</a> anyway. (Truly frugal types go with open source software.)</p><br /><p>Also, I am not a web guru so you can&amp;#8217;t easily search the archives. I recommend the category links to the right. That&amp;#8217;s probably better anyhow since things are linked topically, rather than organized by what was on my mind that month.</p><br /><p>Please feel free to leave a comment. I just have a few basic rules that boil down to these two:</p><br /><p>1) Please try not to be anonymous. Even if you say something like ‘W.L.’ for a name, that helps clear up conversations that anonymous has with anonymous in the comments section.</p><br /><p>2) Please try to be courteous. Rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t say it to my face in person, don’t say it here or to my other guests.</p><br /><p>Thanks and welcome!</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-5220947346115130216?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-52794420624955905082008-04-22T00:56:00.001-07:002008-04-22T00:56:21.137-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />So the desk I have at my new job was inherited from a nice lady who is friends with my mentor lady, so I know her pretty well and have spent a lot of time with her. I have returned several things that I found in her desk that I thought she might want. Today, I went to ask her about the pennies. Lots and lots of pennies.<br/><br/>See, in my desk drawer I have a tray, and in the tray are some rubber bands, binder clips, bits of paper, and about 100 pennies. It seems that she just dumped all her excess pennies in this tray, and pushed it to the back. So when I went to give her something that I found in my area today, I asked her about the pennies and if she would like me to bring them to her.<br/><br/>She made a face and said she did not want them. Apparently she really, really doesn't like pennies.<br/><br/>So I put them in a zip bag and brought them home to put in my piggy bank. Hey, it's 100 more pennies than I had before!<br/><br/>And if you were curious, yes, I also pick up pennies off the sidewalk. That's also one more penny than I had before.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-5279442062495590508?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-69904445602181062922008-04-21T00:55:00.001-07:002008-04-21T00:55:05.374-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />The days here are still relatively warm, but the nights have gotten downright COLD! My husband and I often wake up at night pretty chilly, even though we set the thermostat to 68 degrees (yeah, not too frugal, but I almost NEVER turn on the AC, so there) and have both a flat sheet and a comforter. While I was in Target, the other day, I sought to find a remedy to this problem, and I believe I have. I purchased a <a href='http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=sc_pgc_r_3_0_12782991/601-9777314-3904964?ie=UTF8&amp;frombrowse=1&amp;asin=B000FE5OYS'>cheap cotton blanket</a> to tuck between our sheet and our comforter. It's not too well-made, which means the weave is loose and there's a lot of space for air to get trapped, upping the warmth potential. It's perfectly sized, so it fits between the other blankets without showing, because it doesn't quite match them, color-wise. <br/>I don't know how well it will hold up to repeated washing, as a few of the reviewers mention it kind of falls apart after washing and the hems look a little flimsy, but for our purposes, it's doing very well. After just a couple of nights under it, we're both sleeping much better and aren't freezing while in bed. Definitely a worthwhile purchase.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-6990444560218106292?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-26772863204226552652008-04-19T12:55:00.001-07:002008-04-19T12:55:05.225-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><a href='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4un1GP2PSuM/R-ht99lNTkI/AAAAAAAAAbs/TmIBwmCxnXk/s1600-h/2112586294_bff0a5bd3a_m.jpg'><img border='0' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4un1GP2PSuM/R-ht99lNTkI/AAAAAAAAAbs/TmIBwmCxnXk/s320/2112586294_bff0a5bd3a_m.jpg' alt='' style='FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181512282559827522'/></a><br/><br/><br/>A couple years ago, I read an incredible book about MIT students who were recruited and trained to master Blackjack and count cards in casinos (primarily Vegas, but also exotic locales globally) and net <strong>Millions</strong> of dollars at the expense of the casinos. It was a tale of incredible proportions - college co-eds strapping hoards of cash to their torsos and bypassing airline security, backroom roughing up, exotic disguises and deciept.<br/><br/><br/><br/><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><br/><br/>I was riding home the other night and heard an interview with one of the actual subjects of the book and they mentioned there will finally be a movie forthercoming titled "21". I wanted to highlight the book here and recommend that you take a read before seeing the movie, as you often miss out in just seeing a movie when it was preceded by a great book. Most of the time, you'll find that movie didn't do justice to the book, but you will feel vindicated in having read it first. You'll also sound cool in front of your friends in dispelling myths and misunderstandings in the movie and you can close with, "The book was better"...(we all hate that guy, I know). Attached are links to the original as well as the book tied to the movie "21":<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=everyfinan-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0743249992&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr'/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=everyfinan-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=1416561706&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr'/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>One might ask, <strong><span style='color:#000099;'>"What does a finance and investment blog have to do with gambling?".</span></strong> Well, there are many corrolaries and takeaways here. I am not one to espouse the belief that "investing is like gambling", which is the mantra of people that don't understand finances and like to relay this to their friends and spouses to assuage their egos.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><strong>The similarities are worth considering:</strong><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><ul><br/><li>Investing is about numbers. statistics. probabilities. and random variability. So is Blackjack. Blackjack is the ONLY game in the world where players can routinely beat the house. While the house edge is generally about 1.5%, this edge can sway to the player to the tune of 2-3% on certain hands, which can be exploited beautifully. This is a statistical certainty IF you count and alter your bets accordingly, play perfectly with the most optimal strategy and play long enough.</li></ul><br/><br/><p/><br/><br/><ul><br/><li>Although the odds are in your favor, in the short term, anything can happen. It's the standard deviation that gets you. If you're an investor with a short time horizon, you should not be fully invested in the stock market. For instance, if you have $50,000 set aside for a down payment on a house later in the year, you should NOT have this money in equities. Similarly, even by employing the optimal strategies and counting methods, the standard deviation of the game is such that over short periods, your odds of winning are about 50/50, but the standard deviation is enourmous. In a given round encompassing a full day, you will win only 2/3 times. That means you may fly all the way out to Vegas, play for 8 hours each day on the weekend and go home losing your entire bankroll.</li></ul><br/><br/><p/><br/><br/><ul><br/><li>Deviating from your strategy and letting your emotions take over can have devastating results. Each investor reading this has war stories of buying more of a favorite stock after a major drop thinking, "How could this stock possibly go any lower? This is the stock that I picked and I know it's a winner. I'm a winner! How is my stock going lower!?". We also know the downside of holding too much of our own company stock to which we already have so much vested, yet we continue to hold a disproportionate amount of shares in our employer's stock. Well, likewise, with Blackjack, how many times have you hit on 16 one hand and stayed on another because "you felt there was a face card coming". How annoying is it having the moron at the end of the table cursing out each person for ruining the run by not playing the hand right. Does he praise them for playing the hand wrong when it benefits the table by forcing the dealer to bust? People get emotional and do not act rationally or objectively when investing and when gambling. In each case, the best outcome cannot be achieved, because you're deviating from the optimal strategy, be it stock diversification, minimization of commissions, avoidance of buying high and selling low, or in Blackjack, giving the house an additional edge by not adhering to the optimal player's strategy.</li></ul><br/><br/>So, I'd like to dispel any rumors that I've made the proverbial simplistic statement that, "Investing is like Gambling". After all, when you leave the casino, you don't own shares in the casino still. But, there are lessons to be learned and employed in each that cannot be ignored.<div class='blogger-post-footer'>www.everydayfinance.blogspot.com</div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-2677286320422655265?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-13081443127197675342008-04-17T12:54:00.001-07:002008-04-17T12:54:03.537-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>Well things have resolved for my friend. She&amp;#8217;s going to move back in with her old boyfriend and live as roommates in a little while so she is going to give me back my keys in a few days. Honestly, this is a relief to me since I need to get to my desktop PC and my Quicken! It&amp;#8217;s time to do my taxes and my March Net Worth!</p><br /><p>She won&amp;#8217;t need to borrow any money from me since she forgot that she has a security deposit her ex-boyfriend will buy out her share of their current deposit. That&amp;#8217;s good because I had another car repair this month for about $550.00 and miscellaneous wedding expenses, namely advance deposits for a beach rental for the wedding in May. Unfortunately, that means I&amp;#8217;ll be putting off a laptop purchase for a few more weeks.</p><br /><p>Oh and my girlfriend offered me a few hundred dollars for the last few weeks, but I told her to knit me a nice scarf or something instead. Considering how long it takes to make an item and she has a lot of knitting talent, it&amp;#8217;s a pretty fair barter. Hm. But of course, if I took &amp;#8216;rent&amp;#8217; from her I could take it as a tax deduction&amp;#8230;Now there&amp;#8217;s a thought!</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-1308144312719767534?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-78712027627957488152008-04-16T12:53:00.001-07:002008-04-16T12:53:05.251-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><div><p>The stock market is doing great and I'm a big bull but I'm getting a bit concerned. As we enter another silly season of presidential politics the Dems are making noises about taxes. Bush's tax cuts disappear in 2010 if nothing is done to make them permanent and the Dems, sorry to say this, rarely show much sense when it comes to taxes and the economy. </p><br /><br /><p>If the tax cuts disappear, you can probably bet on a recession. The stock market will smell this out before the fact and the market could tank, big time, in 2008 or 2009. </p><br /><br /><p>Never happen? Maybe but let's look at some tax facts courtesy of Investors Business Daily. Tax cuts are fairly far and few between--Coolidge in the 1920s, Kennedy in the 1960s, Reagan in the 1980s and Bush in 2003.</p><br /><br /><p>Here are the facts--since the Bush tax cut in May, 2003, real GDP has grown 13%, about 3.2% a year. Pretty good. Compare that to Clinton's last year in office-1.5%. </p><br /><br /><p>But not just Bushie. After Coolidge cut taxes, real GDP rose 59% from 1920 to 1929. After the Kennedy tax cut, real GDP rose 42% from 1961 to 1968. Real GDP rose 31% during the Reagan boom.</p><br /><br /><p>Other factors? Of course. But tax cuts work and tax increases don't. So all the rumblings on the campaign trail are starting to make me a bit nervous. </p><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-7871202762795748815?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-69840899840229563112008-04-15T00:51:00.001-07:002008-04-15T00:51:20.673-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><div><p>Going to post another article that is pretty good but pretty boring but has a lot of meaning so read it. I'm too busy right now to do it all myself since I just added a possible lawsuit in Florida over my late uncle's estate. Just gets better and better.</p><br /><br /><p>But I realized when I saw this article at MarketMinder.com (full disclosure--I do business with these guys) that none of you have ever seen or been under price controls. Hope you never do because they don't work, ever. Read on.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class='ft-story-header'><h2>The high cost of cheap food</h2><br /><br /><p>Published: October 24 2007 20:37 | Last updated: October 24 2007 20:37</p></div><br /><br /><div class='ft-story-body'><p>In 1973 Richard Nixon, US president, under political pressure be­cause of rising domestic food prices, banned the export of soyabeans. The policy had predictably dire results, but today, with the world in the grip of another bout of food price inf­lation, governments worldwide are rushing to distort the market with subsidies and quotas, price controls and export taxes. They should stop.</p><br /><br /><p>In the run-up to its presidential election, Russia has <a href='http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d9dcc132-8191-11dc-9b6f-0000779fd2ac.html' title='Russia to control food prices' class='bodystrong'><strong><span style='color: #003399;'>imposed price controls</span></strong></a> on basic foodstuffs, and plans an export tariff on wheat. China already controls prices; other importers, including Egypt, Jordan, Bangladesh and Morocco, are increasing subsidies or fiddling with their tariff regimes.</p><br /><br /><div id='ad-placeholder-mpusky' class='ad-placeholder ad-mpusky'/><br /><br /><p>The simple problem with all these actions is that they distort the market. Price controls and export tariffs make production less profitable, which discourages increased supply and can make shortages worse. Subsidies stimulate demand so it does not fall into line with higher prices. All distort the terms of trade within a country. Farmers suffer at the expense of city dwellers – especially perverse in countries with high rural poverty, such as China.</p><br /><br /><p>None of this is too bad in the short term. If food prices fall back, price controls become meaningless, subsidies can be withdrawn and export tariffs no longer make sense. The more pernicious problems will appear if food prices stay high. With more demand for protein from fast-growing Asian middle classes, lunatic policies to subsidise corn-based ethanol and the legacy of under­investment during long years of low prices, that prospect seems likely.</p><br /><br /><p>For exporters, distorting the market in favour of domestic consumers harms the balance of payments, lowers investment and helps rivals. Nixon’s ban is often credited with creating Brazil’s soyabean industry.</p><br /><br /><p>For net food importers, who can keep prices down without shortages only by offering subsides, the risks are much more serious. Cheap food is an open-ended fiscal commitment – once in place it is politically impossible to withdraw – that can play havoc with a budget. Developing countries have improved their fiscal position in recent years. They should not throw that away.</p><br /><br /><p>Rich countries, where food is a small part of total consumption, have less to worry about, although they should beware the ratchet effect as food importers increase subsidies and food producers tax exports, driving up world market prices still further. But leaders in the developing world, no matter the political pressure to bring down the cost of grain, should resist. Cheap food comes at a high price.</p></div><br /><br /><p class='copyright'><a href='http://www.ft.com/servicestools/help/copyright'><span style='color: #003399;'>Copyright</span></a> The Financial Times Limited 2007</p><br /><br /></div><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-6984089984022956311?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-89182182452946192552008-04-14T12:51:00.001-07:002008-04-14T12:51:24.314-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p><img align='left' src='http://www.bryancfleming.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/instacards.thumbnail.gif' alt='instacards.gif' title='instacards.gif' id='image348'/>There are many things that your bank fails to tell you when have a credit card with them.? One of the biggest things that they neglect to tell you about is the truth about interest rates and just what they can do with them.? Before getting a credit card with your bank you need to be well educated on interest rates and what the rules are with them.</p><br /><p>First and foremost don’t get pulled in by the claim of interest free time if you transfer the balance from one card to the new credit card.? What they neglect to tell you is that only the balance of the other credit card is subject to the interest free period.? Any new purchases that you make will be charged interest and this can be misleading for many as they do not read the fine print.</p><br /><p>Another thing that the bank may not tell you is that they can raise the interest rate on your credit card if you late with payments for other cards.? You need to be sure that you make all of your payments on time so you can avoid these unwanted increases in your interest rate.? This is known as the universal default clause and it is becoming a general rule for most credit lenders.</p><br /><p>Another thing that most people are not aware of is that the bank has no limit set on the amount they can charge you on a late payment.? Even if it is just one hour late the fees can be as little as $5 and as high as $30, sometimes even higher then that.? The amount of credit a bank will give you and the amount of the interest rate you will be assessed is based on your FICO score.? This is the score a person gets from their credit history.? Lenders such as banks and credit card companies look at the amount of dent that you have and how many times you have been late on your payment history.</p><br /><p>Banks do not tell you that there is no federal limit as to what interest can be charged on a credit card.? You need to be sure that you read the tine print to know exactly what you are getting into with any loan or credit card that you obtain.? Be sure to talk things over with your bank prior to signing any papers.? You need to know what you are getting into completely before the final signing of the papers.</p><br /><p>There is usually a 3 day waiting period when a loan is processed.? This is to allow you the opportunity to cancel the transaction.? This is the only window you have in which to rescind the loan or credit.? Again, this is something you need to discuss with the bank prior to signing the final papers.? You need to know what all of your rights are and what penalties that the bank will instill for breaks in the signed agreement.<br /></p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-8918218245294619255?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-89329115250025575592008-04-14T00:51:00.001-07:002008-04-14T00:51:21.446-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />Yes, folks, while I humbly submit to you that I am brilliant, I am not infallible. I understand a lot of the standard financial wisdom, a good bit of the less-common but still useful wisdom, and even some of the more abstract concepts. However, there is one thing I simply cannot wrap my mind around, and it is how installment payments work. So, when you take out a mortgage or a student loan or a car loan, provided it is on a fixed interest rate, you have a set repayment schedule where you make a certain payment every month which pays off all the accrued interest and part of the remaining principal. As the loan runs its course, the interest and principal both gradually decrease. The rate at which they do this is called an amortization schedule. A really helpful amortization calculator can be <a href='http://calculator-loan.info/'>found here</a>. The concepts behind this are baffling to me, though my husband can write out the mathematical formulas for periodic payments without breaking a sweat (he's awesome, did I tell you that?). <br/><br/>Anyway, what keeps tripping me up is that I forget that the advertised interest rate for loans is an ANNUAL rate, not a monthly rate. So, for example, with a 6% annual loan, the monthly interest rate is really .5% of the principal balance. Usually your interest rate doesn't neatly divide into 12, which makes it harder to figure out in your head. So I was wondering if the interest must be paid in full every month or if you can pay the principal instead. He said that the payments are usually applied to the interest first and then the remainder goes to the principal, which makes sense. It also makes sense that you must pay some portion of the principal every month otherwise you will be in a negative amortization situation, where the total balance of the loan is increasing on a monthly basis. This is what a lot of creative home buyers are currently facing.<br/><br/>So this raises the question of a financial tidbit you hear so often: Make an extra payment to your mortgage broker every year, and label it as saying "apply this to the principal balance only." Doing this in the early years of your mortgage can take years off of the life of the loan, since early on most of your payments go towards paying the interest. <a href='http://calculator-loan.info/index.php?form_complete=1&amp;sale_price=200000&amp;down_percent=0&amp;year_term=30&amp;annual_interest_percent=6&amp;show_progress=1'>For example</a>, with a $200K loan at 6% for 30 years, it takes almost four full years of $1200 monthly payments before more than $250 is going towards the principal on the loan. It sounds like a good idea, but will it ultimately make a difference in the amount you pay altogether as opposed to just a straight-up extra payment? The answer depends on how frequently your mortgage interest is compounded. If the mortgage is compounded monthly, it won't make a difference provided you make the two payments within the same month (which would happen in some fashion or other, right?). If the mortgage is compounded daily, it will make a difference, but depending on how close together the payments are received, it may not be as dramatic as you think. My advice in this situation would be to make a timely payment for double the normal amount (say $2400 instead of $1200), allowing for the entire balance of the second payment to go towards the principal. This is the approach I have taken with my student loans and it has worked well. By paying them down aggressively when the rates on savings accounts were lower than the loan's rate, I have managed to knock seven years off the life of the 20-year loan. If rates fall farther, we might consider adopting this approach again, but it won't save us as much in interest as it has in the past, even though it will retire the loan sooner. This study does go to show that making extra payments early on in a loan (most likely when you can least afford to do so) will potentially save you a great deal of money in the long run. <br/><br/>Also, if you're capable of more abstract thought, you can see that it's a better deal to borrow as little money as possible. Here's one last example to illustrate that point, figures derived using <a href='http://www.ascendantfinancial.com/morgagecalculatorprincipal.html'>this tool</a>. Suppose you are purchasing a $200K house with a 30 year mortgage at 7%. If you have saved a 20% down payment, you'll only need to borrow $160K, which you will ultimately repay in full along with $223,214,24 in interest. In borrowing the full $200K, you will ultimately pay back the full principal along with $279,017.80 in interest. Providing your $40K down payment saves you $55803.56 in interest, not to mention PMI or potentially higher rates because of a greater likelihood for default, etc. This is too significant to ignore.<br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-8932911525002557559?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-37914061699998638152008-04-12T00:47:00.001-07:002008-04-12T00:47:23.123-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>I will be taking off the next two weeks as I travel to the the Riviera Maya.<br/><br />My vacation has begun if you haven’t already noticed – sorry for the delay in getting this information out.</p><br /><p>Please take the time to check out some of my most popular and informative blog articles from the past 12-15 months (below).<br/><br />I also recommend that you select a book from my “<a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/12/13/a-holiday-gift-list/'>best of</a>” library and read it while I am away (scroll down on this page). </p><br /><p>Regular posting will return on Monday, April 7, 2008</p><br /><p>I will be reading Microtrends and The Art of War while relaxing on the beach.</p><br /><p><center><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0446580961&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr'/><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0486425576&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr'/></center></p><br /><p><font color='red'><strong>A look back at some of high quality educational articles from 2007</strong></font></p><br /><p><strong>January</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/01/29/understand-the-m-in-canslim/'>Understand the ‘M’ in CANSLIM</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/01/25/use-peg-ratio-instead-of-pe-ratio/'>Use PEG Ratio instead of P/E Ratio</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/01/22/how-to-calculate-a-stocks-pivot-point/'>How to Calculate a Stock’s Pivot Point</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/01/17/can-you-trust-talking-heads-i-mean-analysts/'>Can you TRUST Talking Heads, I mean analysts?</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/01/08/do-not-use-fundamental-analysis-alone/'>Do Not use Fundamental Analysis Alone!</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>February</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/02/23/must-read-stock-market-blogs/'>Must Read Stock Market Blogs</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/02/14/the-importance-of-timing-the-market/'>The Importance of Timing the Market</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/02/12/dont-forget-about-past-trades/'>Don’t Forget about Past Trades</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>March</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/03/19/paper-trading-nothing-to-lose-nothing-to-learn/'>Paper Trading: Nothing to Lose, Nothing to Learn</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/03/18/the-truth-about-education/'>The Truth about Education</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/03/07/a-study-in-human-psychology/'>A Study in Human Psychology</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/03/06/my-interview-at-stocktickr/'>My Interview at StockTickr</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>April</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/04/05/how-to-create-a-successful-stock-watch-list/'>How to Create a Successful Stock Watch List</a></li><br /><li>*I was in <a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/04/23/beautiful-maui/'>Hawaii</a> - it was a <a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/04/14/aloha-from-oahu/'>quiet month</a> for Education*</li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>May</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/05/29/can-slim-breakdown/'>CAN SLIM Breakdown</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/05/18/think-and-grow-rich-napoleon-hill/'>Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/05/17/ibd-20-rules-for-success/'>IBD’s 20 Rules for Success</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/05/14/how-to-short-a-stock/'>How to Short a Stock</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>June</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/06/26/position-sizing-and-expectancy/'>Position Sizing and Expectancy</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/06/21/stock-market-summer-reading/'>Stock Market Summer Reading</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/06/06/fundamental-screens-and-scans/'>Fundamental Screens and Scans</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>July</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/07/25/learn-to-focus-when-investing/'>Learn to Focus when Investing</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/07/24/make-millions-selling-fear/'>Make Millions Selling Fear</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/07/23/the-fear-of-losing-money/'>The Fear of Losing Money</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/07/11/the-holy-grail-of-trading-its-not-your-system/'>The Holy Grail of Trading: It’s not your System</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>August</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/08/27/my-stock-market-library/'>My Stock Market Library</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/08/23/inside-the-fundamentals/'>Inside the Fundamentals</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/08/09/inspiration/'>Inspiration</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>September</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/09/18/reinforce-position-sizing/'>Reinforce Position Sizing</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/09/13/markets-are-not-efficient/'>Markets are not Efficient</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/09/05/my-canslim-screening-and-buying-strategy/'>My CANSLIM Screening and Buying Strategy</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>October</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/10/23/follow-the-leaders/'>Follow the Leaders</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/10/15/how-to-make-money-selling-short/'>How to Make Money Selling Short</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/10/09/disregard-conventional-p-e-ratio-theory/'>Disregard Conventional P-E Ratio Theory</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/10/04/a-technique-for-profit-taking/'>A Technique for Profit Taking</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>November</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/11/20/the-stock-market-and-poker/'>The Stock Market and Poker</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/11/10/hot-blogs-on-my-blogroll/'>Hot Blogs on my Blogroll</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/11/08/market-corrections-bears-and-the-big-picture/'>Market Corrections, Bears and the Big Picture</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/11/06/point-and-figure-charts/'>Point and Figure Charts</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>December</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/12/27/chris-perruna-stocks-in-review-2007/'>Chris Perruna Stocks in Review 2007</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/12/13/a-holiday-gift-list/'>A Holiday Gift List</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/12/12/higher-priced-stocks-give-best-gains/'>Higher Priced Stocks Give Best Gains</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/12/11/when-to-sell/'>When to Sell</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>Top 20 chrisperruna.com Posts</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href=' http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/02/29/listen-to-my-audio-interview/'> Listen to My Audio Interview </a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/03/06/my-interview-at-stocktickr/'>My Interview at StockTickr</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/06/26/position-sizing-and-expectancy/'>Position Sizing and Expectancy</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/07/11/the-holy-grail-of-trading-its-not-your-system/'>The Holy Grail of Trading: It’s not your System</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/04/05/how-to-create-a-successful-stock-watch-list/'>How to Create a Successful Stock Watch List</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/09/05/my-canslim-screening-and-buying-strategy/'>My CANSLIM Screening and Buying Strategy</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/06/06/fundamental-screens-and-scans/'>Fundamental Screens and Scans</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/05/29/can-slim-breakdown/'>CAN SLIM Breakdown</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/01/29/understand-the-m-in-canslim/'>Understand the ‘M’ in CANSLIM</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/03/19/paper-trading-nothing-to-lose-nothing-to-learn/'>Paper Trading: Nothing to Lose, Nothing to Learn</a></li><br /><li><a href=' http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/01/28/focus-on-decisions-not-outcomes/'> Focus on Decisions, Not Outcomes </a></li><br /><li><a href=' http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/02/11/could-you-trade-full-time/'> Could you Trade Full Time?</a></li><br /><li><a href=' http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/01/15/position-size-to-determine-how-many-shares-to-buy/'>Position Size to Determine How Many Shares to Buy</a></li><br /><li><a href=' http://www.chrisperruna.com/2008/01/31/trading-mistakes-avoid-at-all-costs/'> Trading Mistakes: Avoid at all Costs</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/01/22/how-to-calculate-a-stocks-pivot-point/'>How to Calculate a Stock’s Pivot Point</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/01/08/do-not-use-fundamental-analysis-alone/'>Do Not use Fundamental Analysis Alone!</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/05/14/how-to-short-a-stock/'>How to Short a Stock</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/07/25/learn-to-focus-when-investing/'>Learn to Focus when Investing</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/09/13/markets-are-not-efficient/'>Markets are not Efficient</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/11/06/point-and-figure-charts/'>Point and Figure Charts</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong>Start with these books and then scroll down to view my Stock Market Library:</strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/05/18/think-and-grow-rich-napoleon-hill/'>Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2007/08/30/the-richest-man-in-babylon/'>The Richest Man in Babylon</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2005/01/03/recommended-business-books/'>A few Recommended Business Books</a></li><br /><li><a href='http://www.chrisperruna.com/2005/01/02/recommended-self-help-books/'>A few Recommended Self Help Books</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p><strong><font color='red'>An Excellent Stock</font> <font color='green'>Market Gift List:</font></strong><br/><br /><br/><br /><strong>Learning about Stocks (Fundamental and Technical Principles):</strong><br/><br /><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0934380759&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0071373616&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0471132977&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0735201811&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr'/></p><br /><p><strong>System Development and Market Psychology:</strong><br/><br /><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0070647623&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0735201447&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr'/><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0471304972&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr'/><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0132157578&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr'/></p><br /><p><strong>Great All-around Reads:</strong><br/><br /><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0471059706&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0887306101&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0446672815&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr'/><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0887309569&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr'/></p><br /><p><strong>All Others:</strong><br/><br /><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0818403969&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=1556236832&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0066620597&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0471132365&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/></p><br /><p><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0743200403&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0471710490&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=B000CSZ4NS&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=007142959X&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/></p><br /><p><iframe scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0071357548&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1 =_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' style='WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px'/><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0071459588&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr'/><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0071381562&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000ff&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=ffffff&amp;f=ifr'/><iframe frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' style='width:120px;height:240px;' src='http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=marketstockwa-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=0136137180&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr'/></p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-3791406169999863815?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-16604446553369731042008-04-11T00:47:00.001-07:002008-04-11T00:47:22.305-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />Phew! My taxes are filed. I'm glad to be done with them for the year. If you haven't filed yours yet, get moving. You only have about a week left!<br/><span class='fullpost'><br/>I filed my taxes using <a href='http://www.hrblock.com/'>H&amp;R Block online</a>. As many of you know, my lovely Aunt Mary usually files mine for free, but I ran out of time to send them her way this year so I filed online. For those of you accustomed to having financially savvy relatives or friends do your taxes, the experience was little daunting; I wasn't 100 percent certain I did everything right. Still, it was very convenient to file, took less time than making a trip to the nearest tax place and included a computer-generated error checking system, which comforted me a bit. It was difficult, but I only filed a 1040-A. I'm sure if I had more complicated finances, I'd use a professional.<br/><br/>So... now that you're all filed, what are you doing with your double whammy tax return and tax refund this spring? I'm predictably putting into the savings account, which will be a nice bump towards helping me achieve my savings goals this year, but I'm sure others have bigger, more exciting plans (exotic vacations? new refrigerators?). Share them! </span><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-1660444655336973104?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-43434883228136588042008-04-09T12:47:00.001-07:002008-04-09T12:47:21.908-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p><u> s.f. bayarea craigslist</u> &gt; <u>miscellaneous romance</u></p><br /><br /><p><strong>Mistress sought for femdom denigration and verbal/written abuse - m4w - <s>68</s> 49 (Berkeley)</strong><br/><br />Reply to: pers-61@craigslist.org<br/><br />Date: 2008-04-09, 08:47AM PDT</p><br /><br /><p>Princeton / London School of Economics graduate, accomplished financial author and UC Berkeley Fellow seeks mistress to berate me, call me a liar and overvalued fraud, insist my value will revert to "tangible book" and generally belittle my future prospects.</p><br /><br /><p>Can I buy you a coffee with the last of my free cash flow?<br/><br /> </p><br /><br /><p> * Location: Berkeley<br/><br /> * it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests</p><br /><br /><p><a href='http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&amp;refer=columnist_lewis&amp;sid=aSApdA59SFok'>The Rise and Rise of Analyst Meredith Whitney</a> [Bloomberg]</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-4343488322813658804?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-9021330592219396112008-04-09T00:47:00.001-07:002008-04-09T00:47:04.781-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p><b>Jamie Dimon</b>: Hey Hugh. So I’ve got all these Bear employees to layoff but I can’t decide when to do it. You had <a href='http://dealbreaker.com/2008/04/equal_opportunity_firings_at_b.php'>the bright idea</a> to can all the disabled ones so, I thought, maybe you could come up with something?<br/><br /> <br/><br /><b> Hugh J. Sole</b>: Well, obviously you don't want them to get an answer right away. </p><br /><br /><p><b>Jamie Dimon</b>: I don’t?</p><br /><br /><p><b>Hugh J. Sole</b>: No, you don’t know. You want to make it long enough that you've got them sweating, but not so long that they just assum they're done for and go and get other spots, which equals no fun for you. So…how about you do it on tax day? Insult to injury and all that? Plus, thing about this being a government bailout and everything? I mean, the joke plays on so many levels. </p><br /><br /><p><b>Jamie Dimon</b>: That’s good, Hugh. Really good. </p><br /><br /><p><b>Hugh J. Sole</b>: Thanks. Oh wait. Wait. TIME OUT. I just thought of something hilarious. The following week is <a href='http://www.iaap-hq.org/APW/apwindex.htm'>Administrative Assistant’s day</a>. So what you do is, you do it in two rounds. You fire all the front office guys April 15, and then you do the back office guys the week after, on their own national holiday. </p><br /><br /><p><b>Jamie Dimon</b>: You are a genius, Hugh.</p><br /><br /><p><b>Hugh J. Sole</b>: I know. I even scared myself a little on that last one. <br/><br /><a href='http://www.cnbc.com/id/23997231'><br/><br />Bear Stearns Employees to Learn Job Status Soon</a> [CNBC]</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-902133059221939611?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-19098665398914360492008-04-08T12:47:00.001-07:002008-04-08T12:47:02.409-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>And I hate it even more when my posts get eaten by the system.</p><br /><p>I just realized that Monday is payday for me. I get paid on the last day of the month this month.</p><br /><p>Sux0rs.</p><br /><p>I don&amp;#8217;t mind getting paid after Wednesday, but getting my check on Monday or Tuesdays stinks. I pay myself an allowance on Fridays so I can frugalize during the work week if I over spent on the weekend. If I pay myself early in the week, it sucks to frugalize on the weekend if I spent too much during the week. My mental spending plan runs from Friday to Thursday.</p><br /><p>I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way.</p><br /><p>Who else prefers to be paid later in the week? Does it effect how you spend?</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-1909866539891436049?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3992036070463395954.post-24726573426325871932008-04-07T12:47:00.001-07:002008-04-07T12:47:05.165-07:00<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><p>You want something done <a href='http://dealbreaker.com/2008/04/goldman_sachs_masters_of_henry.php'>Sachy</a>, you have to do it yourself. Turns out yesterday’s sitch at AQR, wherein the firm shuttered its Global Relative Value fund, a 401 (k) created specifically for GS, was Goldman’s fault, excuse me, shrewd doing. Apparently the product lost 21 percent of its value this year, down $28 million from $36, making it wildly inappropriate for the Masters’ retirement accounts. Enter, Goldman’s pulling the plug. Not really that surprising to those of us who helped coin the term <a href='http://dealbreaker.com/2008/04/goldman_sachs_masters_of_henry.php'>Sachy</a>. Moving forward, proceed on the following assumption and you are unlikely to go wrong: If it was savvy, Goldman was behind it. In fact, if you’d like a little insight as to how their sausage gets made, team building weekly seminars are currently being held on Tuesday nights, when <a href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120718315926985109.html'>everyone else is at lacrosse practice</a>. Topic, always: “Institutionalized Destruction Or: How To Think About Which Inferior Antibody We Should Kill Next.” Notes from last week include the following points: “Bear, that was fun, but easy. We’ve got to start going after more worthy adversaries.”</p><br /><br /><p><br/><br />Earlier: <a href='http://dealbreaker.com/2008/04/aqr_to_shutter_hedge_fund.php'>AQR’s Global Relative Value Fund To Call It A Day</a></p><br /><br /><p><a href='http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/03/news/companies/benner_aqr.fortune/index.htm'>Goldman pulls plug on an AQR account</a> [Fortune]</p><br /> </div><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3992036070463395954-2472657342632587193?l=jills-finance-blog.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09007274291118711350noreply@blogger.com0