Archive for June, 2008
« Previous EntriesHow Big of an Impact Has the Falling Dollar Had on the Price of Oil?
Monday, June 30th, 2008OPEC’s starting to tick me off. First they say they are ‘unhappy’ about high oil prices. Then, Bloomberg.com reported recently that OPEC’s President is predicting oil to go to $170 per barrel by the end of the year:
OPEC President Chakib Khelil predicted that the price of oil will climb to $170 a barrel [...]
Oil Speculators Aren’t The Problem
Monday, June 30th, 2008There’s a very interesting Fortune article entitled In Defense of Oil ‘Speculators’ that I recommend checking out.
I am not an expert on the energy markets, and therefore I appreciated this article, which explains in simple terms some basic economic and futures trading principles – and common misconceptions. Here are a few interesting [...]
We’re Looking at the Second Worst June in S&P History
Sunday, June 29th, 2008As of Friday’s close, the S&P 500 Index is down 8.55% on a total return basis for the month of June. If things don’t improve during Monday’s trading, this June’s performance will be the worst June performance in S&P 500 Index history and the second worst in the S&P Index’s history. Remember, the [...]
OT: Wal-Mart’s Changing Its Logo
Saturday, June 28th, 2008From this:
To this:
Source: Wall Street Journal
According to the Wall Street Journal, the logo will be white letters on an orange background followed by a white sunburst. Another big change is that “Wal-Mart” will now be “Walmart”.
It’s definitely different. I suppose it does make Walmart look a little more up-to-date. Unfortunately, they still [...]
Summer Spending
Friday, June 27th, 2008Do you find yourself spending more in the summer months? Not just because of vacations, but in general?
After reading a recent post by English Major, it hit me.
This morning I was pouring over my actual budget (what I’ve spent as opposed to what I planned to spend) at Mint, and [...]
GIVEAWAY: I’m in a Generous Mood!
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008I’ll be out the next couple of days. So, to keep you busy I thought I’d do another giveaway. This one’s different from all the others because it’s going to require you to do a little work.
Here’s the deal:
This giveaway will be the entire collection of books listed on the right hand side [...]
The Law of Household Economics
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008I read an interesting and funny article by Karen Blumenthal in today’s Wall Street Journal titled Vanishing Act: The Law of Household Economics ($). She defines “The Law of Household Economics” as for every financial windfall, an equal, unexpected cost. She then goes on to lament the fact that everytime she and her [...]
What’s Missing From This Formula?
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008Quiz time.
Last week while on vacation, I read Brian Tracy’s Flight Plan*, a short little book about success. On page 14 of the book, Brian has this to say about financial independence:
Here’s a simple exercise: Determine how much it would cost you per month to live comfortably even if you had no income [...]
We’re ALL Self-Employed!
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008Have you ever wondered why good customer service is hard to find? I have! Everytime I go into a store, the first thing I notice is how crappy customer service has become. I would say that nine times out of ten, my customer service experience is subpar.
Why? Why are so many [...]
Balancing Frugality and Camaraderie – What’s Your Advice?
Monday, June 23rd, 2008I received the following email last week:
I was hoping you could throw this one out to the group of readers:
I’m a relatively frugal recent college grad, working hard to save as much as I can. I left my job at Bear Stearns in April and started a new position at a small but stable financial [...]