Archive for July, 2009
« Previous EntriesIs This Graphic Troubling to You?
Friday, July 31st, 2009Take a look at this graphic I found in an article in today’s Wall Street Journal:
Of course things could change (and they probably will) but if this graphic is true, the U.S. is on track to have government debt equal to about 110% of GDP (it looks like it was around 63% in 2007 according [...]
A Review of the Cuisinart Fully Automatic Burr Grind & Brew Coffeemaker
Friday, July 31st, 2009On July 7, I decided to program my old Cuisinart Grind & Brew so that I would have coffee ready when I woke up the next morning. I had noticed for several months that water would pool under the coffeemaker after I brewed a pot of coffee. I thought the water leaked during [...]
22 Investment Maxims from Sir John Templeton
Thursday, July 30th, 2009Looking through Peter Krass’ The Book of Investing Wisdom*, I came across a 22 Investment Maxims from Sir John Templeton. For those of you who don’t know, Sir Templeton was a successful international investor and founder of Templeton Funds. As you’ll see from his maxims, Sir Templeton was an active manager (my thoughts [...]
Fun, Fun, and More Fun
Thursday, July 30th, 2009I have been preoccupied the last few days with computer issues.
I first noticed a couple of days ago that my computer was extremely slow when I tried to surf the internet. I found out from my brother that I had probably picked up a spybot or something along the way. I ran the [...]
Follow-up on the Lady Who Baked Her Way Out of Foreclosure
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Call me a sucker but I like this kind of stuff (I mentioned this last week):
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
I know not everyone can do this but you have to applaud the effort of this woman.
Social Security History
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Take a look at the following graph which shows the maximum dollar amount subject to social security taxes each year:
Using the base amount of $3,000 in 1937 and $106,800 in 2009, I calculated that the amount subject to social security taxes has increased 7.67% per year (the CPI has increased an average of 3.88% over [...]
Understanding and Conquering “the Wanting Mind”
Monday, July 27th, 2009How is it that I can have over 13,000 songs (over 1,100 CDs) on my iPod but STILL want more?
Or…
How is it that I can have a decent library of books—many of which I haven’t even read yet—and yet I still want to buy MORE books?
Or…
Why am I looking forward to my cellphone [...]
An Update on the Youth Cash Card Experiment
Friday, July 24th, 2009Remember back in December when I wrote about how I was rethinking my kids’ allowances? Well, it’s been a little over six months since we opened youth cash cards for our kids and I thought it would be good to give you an update.
So far, so good!
Not every bank offers youth cash cards. [...]
Stuck at $620 – An Update on Beth’s Fundraiser
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009First off, thanks to those who helped Beth with a contribution towards her fundraising goal. Thanks to some big contributions (that had nothing to do with yesterday’s post), Beth is now 41% towards her goal. The bad news is that she’s stuck at $620. The good news is that you can still [...]
Kids and Money – Is the Money Really Theirs?
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009It’s a common problem. Kids get a birthday card with a check and the first thing they want to do is cash it and immediately go spend it. Why do kids do this? David Owen, author of The First National Bank of Dad*, thinks the reason is because kids typically have no [...]
« Previous Entries