Archive for May, 2008
« Previous EntriesJames Cayne: “We Ran Into a Hurricane.”
Friday, May 30th, 2008According to the Wall Street Journal that’s what Bear Stearns’ former CEO said during the final meeting as stockholders approved the sale of the company for $1.4 billion to JP Morgan.
To say such a thing would insinuate that what happened to Bear Stearns was out of management’s control. This is the typical BS we [...]
How Long Will it Take to Improve a FICO Score?
Thursday, May 29th, 2008On Wednesday I received this email from reader, Joshua:
Good Morning,
Thank you for reading my email.
My question regards my credit score. I recently got my credit report and score. My score as of right now is a 577 which as you know wont get me very far. I make decent money now and I am [...]
Interesting: St. John’s Required Reading
Thursday, May 29th, 2008I wish more colleges would follow St. John’s reading program. This is what one would call a classical education. Oh, and all of this will only set you back $48,000 per year!
FRESHMAN YEAR
HOMER: Iliad, Odyssey
AESCHYLUS: Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides, Prometheus Bound
SOPHOCLES: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Philoctetes, Ajax
THUCYDIDES: Peloponnesian War
EURIPIDES: Hippolytus, Bacchae
HERODOTUS: [...]
How to Write Your Very Own Investment Policy Statement – Getting Started
Thursday, May 29th, 2008In his book, Optimal Investing (Affiliate Link), Scott Frush writes this about the importance of having an Investment Policy Statement:
Much like a blueprint for building a house, an Investment Policy Statement serves as the blueprint for building your optimal portfolio. This policy is crucial to the long-term achievement of your specific financial goals. [...]
The End of the World as We Know It?
Thursday, May 29th, 2008Will our kids be dumb and broke? That’s the question/headline of a recent MSN Money article.
I sure hope the answer is no, but I’m not very encouraged. Every single one of my friends and peers it seems, are people who couldn’t explain compound interest if they had to, ignore the 401k matches offered [...]
What Are Your Thoughts on Fake Grass?
Thursday, May 29th, 2008The Personal Journal section in today’s Wall Street Journal had an article ($) about how some homeowners are turning to fake grass for their lawns instead of the real thing.
My thought:
YUCK!
It just seems wrong to me. What’s next? Fake trees and flowers? Fake birds and insects? Fake kids playing out in [...]
Larry Winget’s 12 Ways to Go From Getting By to Getting Ahead
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008I found this list of 12 Ways to Go From Getting By to Getting Ahead on page 200 in Larry’s book, You’re Broke Because You Want to Be (Affiliate Link). My thoughts are added in italics:
1. Know where you are. This is THE BEST place to start. Like Larry says in [...]
The Price of Gas
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008The other day the price of a barrel of oil closed around $134. The next day gas prices close to my home raised prices from $3.64 to $3.73.
Yesterday, oil was trading around $128 per barrel. This morning my local Kroger was charging $3.79 for a gallon of gas.
I don’t get it.
I mean I [...]
Larry Winget to be on Federal News Radio Today
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008Francis Rose sent me an email this morning informing me that Larry Winget will be on Your Turn with Mike Causey today at 10 AM EST. If you want to listen in, here’s a link to the listen live section of their website.
If you can’t listen to it live, you can listen to it [...]
Should You Include Your University’s Endowment in Your Will?
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008Marketwatch’s Chuck Jaffe wrote an interesting article last week about a financial planner who is urging her clients to think twice before leaving money to their college’s endowment. From the article:
Delessert’s [the financial planner] problem with Harvard is a simple one; the school has an endowment that has more than $35 billion in assets, [...]