Owner: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money URL:http://lifelibertyandthepursuitofmoney.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:07:06 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money is a Guide to Life, Personal Finance, Debt, Budgeting and Random acts of Silliness Site statistics:Click here
Best of the Week, Winners and Milestones 2008-03-09 01:50:20 Just Picked and Notified our third winner in the RSS Sign-up Contest. Hope to give a link and a quote during the mid-day update. Remember all you have to do is sign-up for the RSS feed HERE or on the main page, verify the email...and that's it! You are entered. If you are already on the list you are entered in to next weeks final drawing as well!Great week for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money as we hit new milestones, increased readership and had great traffic. It was a great week for some of my favorite blogs as well. so without any further ado...The Best Of the Web for the Week:Brightside of Debt - This one is me trying to rally folk to go there and comment on the linked post! - Brightside is considering stopping her blogg as her Hubby found out about itand she's feeling guilty. I Read more:Winners
Is Suze Orman's Advice Too Basic? 2008-03-08 05:09:10 First let me say I believe Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman have brought more people to consider their personal finances than most other financial writers. Orman has additionally brought more women into thinking more about their finances and take control of their financial futures. However, every time I see her (which, to be fair is not that much) something troubles me.Her advise is often very simplistic.I watched the show awhile ago and there was a segment on the show called "Can I afford It?" No offence to the people that called in, but it was like a bad SNL skit. Caller: Suze...Can I afford a Plasma TV?Suze: Tell me, do you have any cash on hand for Emergencies?Caller: No...Suze: Any Retirement savingsCaller: Yeah I have $2500 in my 401KSuze: How old are you?Caller: 50Suze: I wouldn't...get s Read more:Basic
Personal Finance QuickTake:Yahoo + AOL - Microsoft Fight Round III 2008-03-07 15:57:28 According to a report from AP today, Yahoo
has found another delaying tactic to keep Microsoft
at bay. By delaying their Annual Shareholders Meeting, Microsoft no longer has until March 14th to nominate a new board of directors for shareholder vote.Yahoo continues to use this time to try and either find a white knight, someone they prefer to swing in, to buy them, or find another business merger partner in order to go it alone. On the White Knight side, Yahoo is apparently still negotiating with NewsCorp's myspace for an online hookup. This would fill-in each others needs nicely as myspace and other sites are becoming a key way to share and search for information. NewsCorp has made it clear that online is a major on-going concern for the company.On the merger side apparently Yahoo is talki Read more:Personal
LifeLock = Life Crock? 2008-03-07 00:13:52 I was reading some of my favorite blogs and I came across a post about how the blogger had just signed up for LifeLock and they were very happy to have their credit protected for $198/year for the family. Now, I applaud taking extra measures to protect yourself, and I had heard the radio ads so I was interested in what this was all about.But after I read the post, and then checked out their website I was concerned. Here is there 5 point plan from their website:Here is what LifeLock Offers YouProactive Identity Theft Protection Reduce Junk Mail Reduce Credit Card Offers $1 Million Service Guarantee Only $10 per Month The only problem with that is that is a free service that the credit bureaus offer. People can easily place a fraud alert on their own account, for free, by calling Experian a Read more:Crock
Homeowner Equity Lowest Since End of WWII 2008-03-06 17:16:17 The amount of equity Americans have in their homes fell below 50% for the first time since 1945, according to an AP Report on Yahoo. That was the first year the Fed began to track that data.Per the report:Home equity, which is equal to the percentage of a home's market value minus mortgage-related debt, has steadily decreased even as home prices jumped earlier this decade due to a surge in cash-out refinances, home equity loans and lines of credit and an increase in 100 percent or more home financing. Economists expect this figure to drop even further as declining home prices eat into the value of most Americans' single largest asset.The threat of so-called "mortgage walkers," or homeowners who can afford their payments but decide not to pay, also increases as home values depreciate and eq Read more:Equity
Forbes Richest List Out - Big Changes 2008-03-06 01:35:05 The Annual Forbes
List of the World's Richest is out and there have been some big changes. First off, for the first time in 13 years, Bill Gates is not Number 1! He is replaced by a fellow Omaha native, Warren Buffett (Go Huskers! :) )Mr. Buffett watched his fortune jump $10 Billion in 2007, to reach $62 Billion. Berkshire Hathaway continues to be the company to beat for long term investment prowess. His friend and List buddy Bill Gates saw his fortune jump $2 Billion to $58B, not good enough to even hold on to #2. Gates slipped to number three behind Mexican Telecon Kingpin, Carlos Slim Helú, who has seen his fortune double to $60B in just two years. An amazing financial run.Mr. Helú is part of a growing International trend to the list. Four of the Ten Top Billionaires are from India. I
I Can't Afford to be Trusting 2008-03-05 02:36:06 First let me say...I love Wikipedia. I like to go up there each day and learn something new. Whether it is telling you it is Lei Feng Day In China (w00t!), in 1770 American's pelted British Soldiers with snowballs and that led to 5 dead or even that the Euro hit an all-time high today.Sure I know the jokes about the inaccuracies (and here is a good one!): How do you know what 40% of Wikipedia's Facts are lies?...You take out the 60% that are blatant lies and it is what's left over :) (joke!)Hey, but I love the goal of trying to contain all of the collected knowledge together in one place! Just for the betterment of mankind.Well, allegedly the betterment of one kind. Jimmy Wells. Apparently, again, there are alleged incidences of improprieties with expenses, including a $13,000 Steak Dinner
Two Great Carnivals to See 2008-03-04 15:47:40 A quick post, because today is crazy busy!!!Two great must-see Carnivals
are going on. The ever popular Carnival of Personal Finance is being held at Baglady! There is a really interesting slant on this one, probably a carnival if seen in real-life that would scare kids! But its on the net so it can't hurt you!Next, the Carnival of Debt Management is running at Credit Card low-down. These are laways jam-packed full of goodness, and this one is no exception.As a blogger these are really great way to let others see your great work!Back off to crazy-town!
Read more:Great
, Two Great
Aligning Goals with Reality 2008-03-04 01:00:01 Well we are two months into the New Year. Still early, yet 1/6th done. Trends are appearing. The rush and promise of the New Year feels quaint, while new visions of tax rebate check...sorry stimulus checks, dance in your heads. The big question is how is it going? Especially Budget and Goal-wise.I firmly believe a good plan executed is far superior to an excellent plan in a drawer, but even better is the adequate plan that fully recognizes that the battle plan needs to be fluid. I like to do a look every two months at my goals to see if they are still on track, are achievable and even make sense given whatever has gone on.This is so important for your finacial goals and budgets. Did you really think you would spend $14 a month on eating out when you had been spending $100? And now you are Read more:Goals
The Active Veil Of Consumerism 2008-03-03 00:51:04 We have a family budget meeting at the end of every month. For February we discussed the good progress we made, when a question came up from our middle child, our 10-year old daughter."If we have $2000 in our Emergency Fund and $3000 saved on taxes, that $5000, right?" "Why can't we use some of that to go to the mall like we used to?"After some chuckles I noticed that others were thinking along the same lines...and probably me too. See when we would get money in before we would allocate some of it for "fun." We would buy something on our list that we had all agreed we wanted. New TV, DVD player, etc.. But not this time.What we were all feeling was the break from the past.Before we would "celebrate" our wins more. We would look forward to bonus as it meant a second Christmas, albeit with mo Read more:Active
February's Top Traffic Drivers and Commenters! 2008-03-02 14:58:05 We are 2/12th through the year already! Before we March into the new month, it is a great time to recognize those that have help my blog the most in February
. We saw a bunch of milestones hit and a couple crushed!First I want to recognize those that sent the most traffic to Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Money in February.Top Traffic Drivers
in February:ShoeMoney pfBlogsJohn ChowIowa Hippie ChickBankerGirlPaid it Down and Moving ForwardMy Open WalletMrs MicahMy Dollar PlanThe Digerati LifeThe traffic drivers are really important, because without them no one would see the blog! However, once they are here it is important the they feel they can jump in and comment. That were the next group come in...The Top Commenters for February! Thanks for starting and joining in the conversations!Top Com
February Financial Month in Review 2008-03-01 02:36:50 End of a longer then usual February
, and pretty good progress this month. Not too many Ninja Bills, out side of taxes but still OK there. We got our high yield E*Trade Savings Account (currently 4.1%) going and we have now funded half of our 2008 Property Taxes already!Here are some highlights:Net Worth Increased $5019 - Huge Increase! $3000 was from Tax Return, rest from debt reduction. Take that out and still a good month!Debt Reduction of $1692! - Included over $500 off of Credit Card Debt!Tax Return - Direct to our E*Trade Complete Savings Account. Not one Dime spent. This is a big deal here as we always "talked" ourselves into a little here a little there.Went to dinner and a movie to celebrate last night (used our allowance! Not Breaking any rules! Semi-Pro!) and we both commented ho Read more:Financial
, Month
Is Grandma Coming to Live with Us? 2008-02-29 01:33:40 As more baby boomers retire there are going to be some parents that are not going to be in the position of just being able to make it. Starting late with 401k's, higher then expected health costs and frankly, longer life will add to this phenomenon. This is the flip side of the coin of kids waiting longer to leave. We may end up living with our parents, between homes over half out life! Don't get me wrong, I love my Mom and Mother-in-law, but I could end up with both!Personally this is not a burden I want to put on my children. And to be fair it would be child...singular, it is always one that is the go to person, either due to closeness geographically or responsibility. level.Are we ready to become multi-generational home dwellers like many other countries?My opinion is that, I think a l Read more:Grandma
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money Featured on msn's Smart Spending 2008-02-28 15:57:13 Last night Karen Datko over at msn's moneyBlog picked up our story, "College the Poor Kids Way." She wrote a great story about the piece and today traffic is amazing! (At least for me!)Thanks so much Karen!Sphere picked up our story about the impending Fed Rate cuts from yesterday's Personal Finance QuickTake: Another Rate Cut Coming!Thank you Sphere!Last, But definitely not least; Reuters picked up "Tax Carnival #30" that we were involved inAnd one P.S to Add...Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money
just got PageRank as well! It is just PR2 to start, but hey, gotta start somewhere and it looks like today is going to be a record day!
Read more:Featured
, Smart
, Spending
What Fight Club Can Teach You About Personal Finance 2008-02-28 01:43:59 OK...I know I broke the first rule, but given that my last post was accused of being a "fantasy" I thought...I will go with that. It's one of those random acts of Silliness.I really like everything Chuck Palahniuk writes, but Fight Club is such a great visual by David Fincher, that it transcends for a lot o' folk my age. What a lot of people don't get is that the story is a great allegory for Consumerism and Commercialism. Frankly...a whole bunch of ism's, but we'll focus on the first two.The narrator of the story is a never named character that is an insomniac, at least at the beginning. As the movie shows, and as someone who has lived through that hell, you live in a daze. Not really awake not really asleep. However you really believe at times that you discover some universal truths...I Read more:Personal
Personal Finance QuickTake: Another Rate Cut Coming 2008-02-27 15:52:17 Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled to Congress on Wednesday that the Fed is ready to again cut rates to help jump start the economy according to an AP story.The Fed is in the unenviable position to get the economy moving while not fanning the flames of inflation, which is already showing its ugly head. Bernanke is fighting an uphill battle against home mortgage and general credit issues in the market. But the economy is the top concern, over inflation fears. He pledged to adjust a key interest rate and help the economy, which many fear is on the verge of a recession, if not already in one."The economic situation has become distinctly less favorable" since the summer, the Fed chief told lawmakers. The country should prepare for "sluggish economic activity in the near term," he went on to say. C Read more:Personal
Ten Financial Lessons Every Kid Should Know 2008-02-27 00:40:01 I am the proud parent of three growing independent-thinking kids. No not the ones pictured, although I picked the pic 'cause it reminded me of me in High School. My parents did a lot of things right bringing up my brother and me. I wouldn't be where I am without them, especially my Mom, believing in me.However today the one thing I look back on and wish I had a better understanding of personal finance when I was younger. Today, I understand why; my Mom was just trying to make ends meet, and given my award winning personality from 13-17 I probably wouldn't of listened, because I was lucky...I already knew everything.Our kids though will leave the house with these lessons understood and hopefully better prepared then I was.Ten Personal Finance Things Every Kid Should Know:You Can be a Millio Read more:Financial
, Lessons
When Even the Rich Runaway... 2008-02-26 15:34:39 Even the working rich are worried according to Forbes. "Housing has imploded, the market's a yo-yo, recession's in the air. And the 'working rich' are learning to do without." This according to Russ Alan Prince, president of a private wealth-research firm and author of the book The Middle-Class Millionaire.Princes research points out that 78% of the Working Rich, identified as those with $1MM-$10MM in Net Worth and still working for a living, consider themselves "very or extremely concerned about their ability to maintain their current financial position." Furthermore he believes 21% of them are already reducing spending.Compared to the first half of 2007, the last six months saw a 20% drop in Luxury spending. According to a source in the report, "Luxury consumers have never expressed such Read more:Runaway
Save 50% When You Dine Out 2008-02-26 14:48:02 As I start to pull together our information for February I am struck by something. Our Dining Out amount, when it is just us two, has really fallen, frankly in half for an average meal. This has allowed us to have, pretty frequently, left over funds in that Envelope!For us, and probably anyone married with three kids, we often eat out to escape. It is nice to have adult time together. It is frankly nice to not order food through a Clown's Mouth when we do it either! :) We are both foodies, and Mrs. X is an amazing cook so we would good well made food. Unfortunately this can equal expensive (at least to us) and can leave buyer's remorse on the tongue!, not to mention in the past, the credit card!Guide to Save 50% when doing the Full Dining Experience:Drinks - This is a restaurants profit ce
Personal Finance QuickTake: Stock Market Loves the Fed 2008-03-12 07:09:01 The StockMarket
jumped 416 points today based on the Federal Reserve move to improve liquidity to the market. This is the largest gain for the market since July 2002. This $200 Billion flu shot, gives liquidity to an area that companies have been to afraid to buy or allow to use as backing for other loans; Mortgage backed securities. This will develop a market for those securities that have seen constant write-down, as even good performing portfolios have been painted with this tainted brush.This International Fund, backed by the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, the Bank of Canada and the Swiss National Bank aims to put a floor over the bottomless pit that had drained markets over 500 point in the last 3 days. Based on the large increases today, Wall Street believes that they did j Read more:Personal
, Stock Market
Are Oil Hedge Funds to Blame? 2008-03-11 15:49:09 The US is very shortly staring at $4 per gallon gas in its near future. Oil was at $108 a barrel today and given that those are 55 gallon barrels that is nearly $2 per gallon...for crude oil! The $1 Trillion Question is, Why?What has changed in 24 months in order to send oil from $50 to over $100? Is it demand? Nope, demand is rising 10%+ and will probably slow down to very low growth due to consumers driving less. Has OPEC turned off the spicket? Nope. There have been fluxes, but for the most part...no. Iraq and Venezuela have been an issue, but not enough to cut supply by half. Which is what it would take to double the price (at least in a linear fashion). This report from WTRG shows more great slides to review for yourself. From the report: The U.S. petroleum industry's price has been Read more:Blame
, Funds
, Hedge
, Hedge Funds
Welcome All Visitors from The Consumerist! 2008-03-11 11:03:32 Woke up this AM to an insane amount of visitors!I would like to Welcome
all of theose visiting from The Consumerist, a personal favorite of mine as well. It was trully an honor to be mentioned.If you like what you read, sign up for my RSS feed! and have it delivered directectly to you free every day! Once again...Welcome!
Read more:Visitors
Banks to Bust says Billionaire 2008-03-10 16:51:33 CNBC had a great interview with Billionaire
Wilbur Ross, CEO of WL Ross and Co. In the interview Mr Ross the question I have been asking; With all of these bad loans going on, why haven't we seen more bank closings?His answer: a very simple, "We Will." "I think that's going to be the next wave, and coupled with problems in the commercial real estate market; I think they'll be the next bubbles that burst." He was also asked about risk to big banks. ""I think that the big banks won't fail in the sense that they will go to zero and depositors would lose money," Ross replied. "I think the Fed and other regulators will make things happen. I think it's the medium-sized banks, and particularly some of those that got overextended with the subprime and other kind of mortgage debt. I think those are
Recommend Site To A Friend
