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Your Money or Your Life
Friday, December 28, 2007 Your Money or Your Life, is the non-fiction book by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. It describes in a no-nonsense, hype-free manner, the step-by-step way to transform a life full of debt without direction to one of financial freedom and limitless possibilities. It is not a get rich quick book. To me, it is a how-to on thriftiness, frugality, being poor (not really) and loving it. However, they answer a universal question (well, my universe): Where do I get the time and money to follow a few dreams? The authors flip a number of because-that's-the-way-it's-done on its head. Freedom from debt is the goal. The solution they offer, goes up against a lifestyle of consumption, debt, and scrambling to keep up with the Joneses. Debt is a ball and chain. If it becomes big enough it distorts most decisions made in life. I've read the book several times, it is one of the few I have dogeared. Most books I read are so pristine they look new. I've read (and still read) it religiously, but honestly, I am unable to follow all of their advice. In some areas, I can, but the whole kit-and-kaboodle? Nope. Trying to manage my spending is like trying to watch my eating - it's an eternal diet. I've tried to record my eating and spending. After a while I just forget (fatigue of trying) to tally every penny spent and every bite taken. I can follow most of the goals and hurdles set forth: it is the last steps that I can't handle. Your Money or Your Life, is great at emphasizing how to take back control of your life. It's fantastic for all areas of any sort of money management you desire to follow. Get a different job, a change of "career", move to a dream location and just be ready to make sacrifices. It's an excellent book because of that reason alone. Labels: bonds, debt, financial independence, money, residual income, savings, work posted by GoldenAh
email this! | article source | 0 comments | post a comment Economic Inquiry: How Does Moving Jobs Overseas Benefit US Citizens? Sunday, December 23, 2007 I haven't purchased or read any books on Globalism, I usually peruse articles on the topic. I'm sure they're nice books, especially those written by brand name journalists such as Thomas Friedman. Plus I loathe the idea of putting money into their pockets. I'm bemused by the argument that unemployed Americans improve our overall economy. Friedman's book, The World is Flat, is one of those treatises that claims Globalism is great. US Citizens should celebrate the transfer of jobs from the US to developing countries (India, China and the like). Why? Well, it helps them (and us) because, you know, somewhere down the road (decades from now) as their standard of living goes up - they'll be able to buy stuff from us. Since our manufacturing base is shrinking, and moving overseas, exactly what stuff can these poor countries buy from rich ones? It's easy for tenured economists, and their journalist ilk, to write about the joys of Globalism. Universities and media companies aren't eliminating their particular jobs. They enjoy tenure and have no competition. At least not yet. When one is employed in a market that is 100% closed, it is easy to write that the suffering of others is acceptable, even warranted. If a guy making $35 per hour is let go from a job he worked at for 15-20 years, how does that benefit the rest of us? Oh right, his job goes overseas to someone who'll make $35 per month. Yeah, the "savings" are passed back to the CEOs that run the corporation and there is product price reduction, but what about the other side of the damage? What's the other side of the damage? The US Citizen's $35 per hour salary necessarily supports the infrastructure of his local neighborhood, his state, and his country - not the rest of the damn world. This citizen's money went to: Social Security and Medicare / Medicaid - the entire FICA scheme, his retirement funds, local property taxes, sales taxes and whatever is left is disposal income. The US economy survives on over 70% consumer spending. In US politics, the rest of the world should never come above and before the interests of US Citizens. If fair trade practices mean we buy their goods, I'm all for it. Yet, how does a job in India and China contribute to our infrastructure? Didn't a bridge in Minnesota just collapse this year? Isn't this country running a deficit that in bills could reach the Moon? How does this help America again? Oh that's right, cheap products: lead based toys, poisonous pet food, polluted fish and produce, and who knows what other garbage they ship. Why do we get this crap? Because it is cheap! And how have the lower earning among us been making do? With credit cards. Any income gap that the low wage job didn't cover came from borrowing. People were encouraged to employ equity loans. Their cash machines came from the rising value of homes, because the money certainly wasn't coming from a well paying job. Is the subprime mortgage mess making sense now? Labels: globalism, jobs, subprime mortgage, work posted by GoldenAh
email this! | article source | 0 comments | post a comment Flying: Greyhound Buses in the Sky Friday, December 21, 2007 I envision a time when a new paradigm changes the airline industry in America. The US Congress will stop bailing them out and allow them to go out of business. International competitors will be allowed to co-own or fully own our airlines. Cheaper isn't working. The price of flying should go up substantially, by as much as 125% in some cases. The airlines run by American companies are Greyhound buses in the sky. The problem is the cost of flying is too low. People respect higher costs: they behave better. A complete overhaul of the entire industry should occur. The stress of the strip-and-search, 2 hours plus wait before boarding, small tight seats, narrow aisles, morbidly obese passengers, loss of luggage, recycled polluted virus-laden air, and 12 hour delays on the run way make flying a national nightmare. The major changes needed. Security and safety is poor - it's an illusion. The comfort level needs to be improved. Airplanes should emulate hotels in the sky. The time spent in a hotel is probably less versus all the time spent on line at an airport, boarding, the flight, and getting off the plane. People shouldn't be allowed to bring any luggage aside from carry-ons. Get rid of the luggage handlers. Let third party companies take care of that. Carry-ons should be weighed, ex-rayed/scanned and that's it. No nonsense about skin creams, body oils, nail clippers and the like. Flying shouldn't feel like a high-security prison. Next, no one needs to strip off shoes, hats, scarves, etc. Frankly, it is a waste of time. There should be people walking freely past a scanner with all their items, and that's it. Anyone who exceeds their "load", or an alarm goes off (quietly), then suspicious people gently and politely get pulled to the side. Otherwise, keep it moving. I'd like to see the size of the average airline seat increase dramatically. Then, have aisles with more room. Last, but not least, get rid of the stinky virus-laden air they recycle now, and use air that always fresh and clean. Flight Attendants should have their names and roles changed. Their new roles should be divided into two groups: Air Security and Air Hostesses. No more seven hour runway delays! The moment that last person boards the plane (and they must be on time), within ten minutes it is airborne! No excuses! Runway delays - outside of weather - are due to too many planes, overbooking, and the ancient air traffic control system the USA has. Time for modernization and change! Flying is horrendous. In this age of modern technology it should be simpler, easier and less stressful. Labels: airlines, flying, Greyhound buses posted by GoldenAh
email this! | article source | 0 comments | post a comment The UN and Climate Change: How Much Will This Scam Cost Americans? Thursday, December 13, 2007 I believe Global Warming exists. I believe Global Cooling exists. I don't believe Global Climate Change is effected by humans. A short span of two hundred or less years of industrialization cannot have such a consequential effect on the Earth's climate. How come the Sun, the Universe's fireplace that keeps us alive, is being ignored in this theory? What happened to the hysteria over Global Cooling of the 1970's? There were wacky ideas back then to solve the problem of Global Cooling: cover the North / South poles with black to attract the sun and help them melt. What happened to the worry over greenhouse gases and deforestation of the Brazilian rain forest? Do museums and science books still show what life was like on this planet for the past five billion years? There were plenty of warm and cold periods. Those warm and cold spells lasted tens of thousands of years. Yet, media organizations (New York Times, BBC, etc.) suggest we can personally witness and measure climate trends in a couple of years in what ordinarily takes thousands. I have always believed that politicians were looking to tax people for breathing oxygen. Politicians believe that the monies people earn or have are for them to confiscate by any means and method. Environmentalists and their ilk are a close second with this arrogant belief. Politicians have come up with an even better idea: tax people for CO2. This chatter about carbon trading and reducing carbon emissions will have only one affect: the price of energy will rise exponentially. After these schemes are implemented be assured of one thing: the Global Climate Change fever will be cooled and "cured" to be replaced by another "crisis" that so-called rich countries must pay for. Regarding the UN Bali meeting, the International Herald Tribune, December 2007 says:
Wow, funny how this Global Climate Change thing is turning into a world tax on "rich" countries. Guess which country is blamed the most for Global Warming? Guess which country is always seen as not contributing its fair share to aid by the UN? Long before Climate Change hysteria made its debut, the UN wanted to levy a tax on all wealthy countries. How convenient that a tax (on rich nations) and Global Warming mesh together so nicely. Isn't the Inconvenient Truth actually a Convenient Lie? Newspapers can certainly show their honest commitment to Global Climate: cease publishing on paper and go online, devote every story to Climate Change, don't encourage illegal immigration or open borders (more people equals more energy used equals more carbon emissions), and endorse politicians who want a carbon tax. There are so many methods they can suggest to help shut down the US economy and reduce our standard of living. The possibilities for additional taxation are endless: further raise taxes on gasoline, tax people based on the size of their homes, tax people based on the price of their cars, tax people based on how often they fly, and a flat tax on everyone for CO2 emissions. Oh wait, what am I saying? Americans are already taxed in every way imaginable. I really hope the environmental extremists have their way. I'd like to see what happens to the politicians who want to follow this carbon trading / taxation policy. Labels: Climate Change, Global Warming, taxes, UN, US posted by GoldenAh
email this! | article source | 0 comments | post a comment Travel: Las Vegas Friday, December 7, 2007  One of my favorite places to travel to is Las Vegas. It is an entertainment mecca. I love to be entertained. The great thing about the place is that a great number of entertainment is free. Even for places that cost money - the price is reasonable. I think one the things I like most about Las Vegas is that the town is geared towards adults. I used to like Disney World, but it wasn't enough. I wondered where else there was to go. I would often head to Florida because it was easy and short. However, I've discovered it takes roughly the same amount of time to reach Las Vegas. I also don't gamble. Wait, I do. I invest in the stock market, so I suppose there's no difference. I rarely if ever touch a slot machine. I've never played black jack or poker. I don't know how to play poker. I've forgotten the rules for black jack. I once asked one of the nitwits at Bellagio how to play Backgammon and he handed me a manual. Oh yes, fuck you very much. I'm just playing, he was nice. I have a hankering right now to go to Las Vegas. I went last year. The weather right now suits me just fine: sometimes wet, a bit chilly, yet moderate. It reminds me of England. In that town, you start fresh. You are whoever you want to be. Nobody bothers you. In fact, I love the treatment, it's very customer service oriented without an obvious, overt "gimme a tip" mentality. I love it: There's so much to see, and so much to do. posted by GoldenAh
email this! | article source | 0 comments | post a comment President Bush and the Subprime Market Thursday, December 6, 2007 This is the definition of subprime, which comes from the HUD.gov website: Subprime loans are for persons with blemished or limited credit histories. It seems odd that if you have trouble paying your loans in the past, you are given terms more onerous, obscure and complicated to pay off new debts. Got that? Yes, I understand the concept that if a person is smart about debt, they wouldn't get into the subprime mess in the first place. Yet, an adjustable rate that quickly jacks up monthly payments makes the probability of payment failure more likely. Who wins by charging Americans such high rates of interest that they have to decide between eating, driving to work, and having somewhere to live? Is the policy of putting US Citizens between a rock and a hard place paying off? Apparently not, since we are entering a unique period of economic uncertainty. How is it different? I'm no expert, but I know that people cannot escape debt like the old days. In the past, Americans could declare bankruptcy and keep the house. Now, it's a no go. Why? Congress, in their eternal wisdom, who do not represent the people, but bank lobbyists, decided that bankruptcy laws were too easy. These geniuses decided to make sure that consumers will no longer easily loosen or escape their debt nooses. Fair enough, to a point. How do I feel about the whole thing? The government patted itself on the back about the large number of people, especially minorities, who were home owners. Historically, minorities are new home owners, have spotty credit records, and aren't the most sophisticated in dealing with banks. Oh hell, who is? During the rapid growth of home ownership, people were given mortgages that initially they could afford. After the interest rates started going up, their American Dream turned into a nightmare. This problem went all the way up the food chain, because several CEOs have lost their jobs. You see, those shaky subprime mortgages are grouped together and sold as collateralized mortgage obligations (CMO), etc. around the world. Fools gold, eh? I don't know how much hand holding US Citizens, and others, need in order to be protected when making complex (which should be simple) financial decisions. As we can see from the trembling of world markets: if Americans stop spending, some markets in the rest of the world make no money. There has to be a better way for people to buy a house, buy some consumer goods, and not end up in the streets after a few years. While exotic mortgages have helped people obtain the American Dream, it has also injured a great many others. Labels: CMO, President Bush, real estate, subprime mortgage posted by GoldenAh
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