tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97815482012-01-18T20:36:57.187-08:00Turning net income into net worth...one day at a time.usually mellownoreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-82708939304209772792012-01-18T20:36:00.001-08:002012-01-18T20:36:57.198-08:00

To clean something with water and soap usually means it needs to be dried. In the case of dishes, the dishwasher's coils heat up the air. In the case of clothes, the air is heated by gas or electricity and the clothes tumble about. Lately, I've been letting gravity and the ambient air to (nearly) dry my dishes. I like this method. First, no spots or residue. Second, my glasses don't steam up

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-6989547630966641882012-01-16T20:34:00.001-08:002012-01-18T20:22:53.596-08:00

Ouch. This is a large topic that can go in a lot of directions. I'll try to stay focused. Cleaning is a "have to do" for me. I like a clean house but it takes time and energy. Recently I've adopted a clean as I go approach in the kitchen. After each meal, I will wash all dishes, pots, cups, and silverware by hand. I'll set them in a dish rack to dry. While drying, I'll wipe down the counters,

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-51790798086132012602012-01-15T14:30:00.001-08:002012-01-15T14:30:41.624-08:00

No, not money. Just a slight change in how I wear certain clothes. My first reaction has always been to toss the shirt into the hamper after wearing it once in the afternoon around the house. Why not take it off before bed, fold it up nicely, and put it back in the drawer? Same goes for jeans, pants, jackets, sweatshirts and *maybe* socks. Boxer briefs? No way. One and done for those. Just

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-87771223428132337282012-01-13T11:11:00.001-08:002012-01-17T21:01:01.605-08:00

I explored my communications options and the various providers. Going with the local telco's bundled package of Internet and phone has a base of $69/mo. The cable provider is similar. Where the difference lies is the cable operator offers an Internet only plan for $29/month (10/2). Knowing this I turned to VoIP providers. Two came to mind: pay all at once up front or pay recurring monthly

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-61865410765496674852012-01-13T10:50:00.001-08:002012-01-13T10:50:22.252-08:00

I made another decision today...no microwave. Basically I've seen it used for two things: cooking popcorn and my kids dinners (and by my daughter melting ice to conduct an experiment...she's definitely NOT screwing around she tells me.). Both of these can be cooked using the range and stove respectively. Both will take longer to make, but that's okay with me. It takes up space. (Where I'm

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-30001167952253231382012-01-13T10:41:00.001-08:002012-01-13T10:41:00.861-08:00

I enjoy grilling steaks, especially in the summer, while sipping a beer. In my plans I just assumes I would take my old propane wheeled grill with me. But the thought of moving it and how little I use it (few times in winter and weekly in the summer) made it seem like a burden. So I thought lets go with charcoal. After all it's easier (where I live) to run out in a pinch to refuel vs having

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-61912690941837583562012-01-10T16:29:00.001-08:002012-01-10T16:30:16.064-08:00

Gyms. Temples to worship ones body and admire...envy...stare at other bodies. Memberships. Parking. Drive to and from. Crowds. Noise. Sweat. Waiting. Additional time required. All for $35/month. I'm trying to opt out. I have a few core exercises I do three times a week. Push ups. Pull ups. Dips. Sit ups. Rows. Shrugs. Nearly all can be done without a machine using body weight. other three

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-80197817057636260562012-01-09T20:12:00.001-08:002012-01-09T21:47:14.736-08:00

I try to stay away from processed foods as much as possible. For a whole I was on an organic kick but that got tiresome due to shopping frequently for fresh items and trying to find the right foods. I'm now realizing that my time is important to me and I want to spend as little time as possible shopping for groceries and other things. The fewer trips to the store, the better. Enter Costco. I

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-5000237328706444122012-01-09T15:56:00.001-08:002012-01-09T15:56:48.393-08:00

Some minimalists suggest buying used clothing. I'm not ready to go there...yet. But I am not willing to pay any more premiums for a t shirt with a logo on it whose only function is to cover my upper body in public. So I've decided to buy plain colored t shirts. I won't be a walking billboard, they're cheaper than brand name, and I can coordinate with the rest of my wardrobe especially jeans or

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-84100435861345734052012-01-03T19:07:00.001-08:002012-01-09T15:50:59.643-08:00

I'm of the mind that fighting the banks head on and on their own turf is a losing proposition. Let me back up here. Late summer and through the fall Occupy Wall Street was in the news and a was a figurative finger in the eye of authority. How'd that turn out? Police raided and shut down the protests. The media effectively painted the protestors as out of work hippies with nothing to do. The

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-43216555188268015762012-01-03T12:19:00.000-08:002012-01-03T12:21:44.959-08:00

I'm about to undergo a significant change in my life. While it is something I never expected to happen, there is also a sense of excitement about being able to change gears and start over. Without going into too much detail, here's my new motto: Simplify and opt out. (I'll explain the philosophy and the raison d'etre later.) This means in practical terms: -Taking only what I use/wear on a

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1144213684285379362006-04-04T21:55:00.000-07:002011-12-30T07:58:31.005-08:00

The problem of health care for all is going to finally be solved...at least in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts policy provides insurance to the lowest-earning residents by offering low- or no-cost plans, with premiums and co-payments paid entirely by the state. If that weren't enough, residents who choose to forgo insurance can either pay a fine or buy insurance. Residents

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1141441112567717052006-03-03T18:28:00.000-08:002006-03-03T21:42:09.613-08:00

I filed my federal and state taxes this week. I experienced a few unexpected twists this year. Nothing major, but I think they are worthy enough to blog about.First, we bought a house this year. With that comes being able to itemize tax deductions. Moving is also a great time to go through your belongings and donate to charity what is no longer needed.With that in mind, I bought Turbo Tax's It's

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1141279633922013312006-03-01T21:30:00.000-08:002006-03-01T22:07:24.383-08:00

(Subscription Required)Prior to 2004, there were five definitions of a 'child' for tax purposes. Wanting to simplify the tax code, Congress passed (and the President signed) into law one definition of a child for the five tax breaks.The changes to the child-definition law streamlined the definitions of a child for five different tax breaks -- the dependency exemption, child-tax credit,

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1140752708168706382006-02-23T19:42:00.000-08:002006-02-23T19:45:08.180-08:00

For a comprehensive view of American Finances, check out the Fed's report.I have not reviewed it but I may (probably not) get to it.

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1133147807876664522005-11-27T19:03:00.000-08:002005-11-27T19:16:47.893-08:00

Christmas time. The celebration of capitalism. The time to move money around the economy by buying gifts for people.Pundits and the like have decided to offer us some tips on how to make the most of this celebration. This article attempts to offer some sage advice. I'll just pick on the first one.First you should -- "Use a credit card that offers a cash rebate. Put all your holiday purchases

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1131184823379628532005-11-05T01:59:00.000-08:002005-11-05T02:00:23.403-08:00

It seems that Europe for the past 50 years has tried to erase it's shared history, identity, and any sense of nationalism. Most likely, this is out of a sense of collective guilt for starting two world wars and allowing the holocaust to happen…just in the 20th century. Something darker once lurked. But thankfully, this is being actively stamped out and replaced by something grander, bolder:

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1130382100219475932005-10-26T19:56:00.000-07:002005-10-26T20:01:40.236-07:00

To whomever may read this, I am feeling inspired once again. After a 'hiatus' to settle down in the house and take care of my wife and newbord son, I am suddenly feeling inspired again to blog.A lot of things have been going on. What's up with Bush's 'blue ribbon commission' to simplify the tax code? Capping mortgage interest deductions? Pre tax health premiums not being allowed as pretax any

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1109919695210498332005-03-03T22:59:00.000-08:002005-03-03T23:01:35.210-08:00

Within a week, I've submitted two offers. Getting jerked around a bit as it is a seller's market. Hard to say what's going to end up happening. If nothing else, I've learned quite a bit with respect to the negotiations and strategy.Fun, demanding, and stressful.

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1108611571167895802005-02-16T19:33:00.000-08:002005-02-16T19:39:31.170-08:00

A WSJ editorial (susbscription required) discusses Gov. Ah-nold's proposals to convert California's largest pension plans to partial private accounts (similar to a 401k).What are some of the problems of the defined benefit plans? Drains on state treasuries, aging workforces and Mr. Angelides, a Democrat with gubernatorial aspirations, says that Governor Schwarzenegger's proposal would limit

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1106974548569509672005-02-02T20:42:00.000-08:002005-02-02T18:36:49.303-08:00

A Reuters article, citing a report issued by the Commonwealth Fund, states that recently created Health Savings Accounts are going to lower the quality of care and put more Americans into debt. Health plans with high patient-paid deductibles, embraced by many Republicans as a market-based solution to quell soaring medical-care costs, lead to poorer quality care and increasing patient debt, a

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1107399844972702942005-02-02T18:36:00.000-08:002005-02-02T19:04:04.973-08:00

A Harvard Study was recently issued providing insight into the makeup of debts discharged in bankruptcy. Half of U.S. bankruptcy filers say that out-of-pocket medical expenses led to their financial hardship -- and most of the people had health insurance, according to a Harvard University study. Recent posts on this site have discussed the difficulty researchers have had in trying to understand

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1106111528890200702005-01-18T21:38:00.000-08:002005-01-18T21:39:53.780-08:00

An article at Bankrate.com paints a dire financial picture for America's Generation Xers (ages 25-34). Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 now boast the second-highest rate of bankruptcy, just behind the 35-44 group. The average credit card debt for this group increased by 55 percent between 1992 and 2001, with the average young adult household now spending approximately 24 percent of its

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1105773323267692722005-01-14T22:41:00.000-08:002005-01-14T23:15:23.266-08:00

When we initially sign up for that 401(k) plan, the idea is to save money for our retirements. As our 'retirement' is sometime in the future, it is hard to predict how much or when we will be able to retire. Yet we all assume that we'll live that long and the money we set aside today will have grown to an amount that can support us in the future. Are those reasonable assumptions? Let's take

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1105489060704789822005-01-12T15:59:00.000-08:002005-01-12T21:09:52.926-08:00

Imagine for a moment you were promised a retirement package by your uncle. You gave your uncle a portion of your paycheck every two weeks and you entrusted your uncle to hold onto the money until the day you needed it. When that day came, your uncle gave you the locked box and you opened it only to find pieces of paper on them with the letters 'I O U'. Angry and confused, you went to your uncle

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1105169618686158242005-01-07T23:12:00.000-08:002005-01-08T16:45:29.106-08:00

Credit card companies are prolific marketers. Television ads. Sponsorships. And direct mailing. Credit card mailings are in the billions. These mailings are offers to individuals to sign up for a company's credit card, transfer balances from old cards, often times, combining the two. Do credit card companies blindly mail out solicitations to everyone in the United States? Probably not. Each

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1105022620867449032005-01-07T08:30:00.000-08:002005-01-07T09:19:01.680-08:00

Enron in many ways was the poster child for corporate failures in the early part of this decade. Shareholders lost billions; thousands lost their jobs and their stock options, and some even lost their retirement (unwisely putting much of their funds into Enron's stock). To add to the intrigue, the Houston-based Chairman and CEO of Enron was a staunch supporter (fundraiser) for President Bush's

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1104654185786836162005-01-01T23:02:00.000-08:002005-01-02T01:09:24.733-08:00

Mike Hatch, Minnesota's Attorney General, has filed a lawsuit against Capital One alleging deceptive advertising. The advertising is misleading because a low rate is advertised, yet that rate could significantly increase. Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch filed a lawsuit today against Capital One Bank and Capital One F.S.B. for using false, deceptive and misleading television advertisements,

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1104433201049778012004-12-30T10:30:00.000-08:002004-12-30T11:00:01.050-08:00

The New Year is just around the corner and with it comes the time honored tradition: New Years resolutions. No doubt, millions of Americans will resolve to improve their financial situation somehow: save more, pay down/off credit cards, start a college fund, etc. Before a person can run, they must learn to walk. But, before that, they need to learn how to sit up, which means they need to

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1104337188533433582004-12-29T14:56:00.000-08:002004-12-29T15:09:17.046-08:00

Many Americans are wage earners, meaning they get a paycheck on a regular and consistent basis. The gross pay is one thing, and net pay is another. What's most important to us is that our net pay gets deposited into our checking accounts. (Business owners and independent contractors are required to file and remit taxes quarterly.) A little known fact about our tax system is that the concept

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1104347568984342412004-12-29T10:40:00.000-08:002004-12-29T11:12:48.983-08:00

Just where do children learn their financial skills? And what are their parents teaching their kids? TIAA-CREF conducted two (not so recent) surveys on these topics: 2001 Parents, Children and Money Survey 1999 Youth and Money Survey The general gist I get from both of these surveys is a disconnect between how people view themselves versus what they are actually doing. My setiments also

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1104262084689879722004-12-28T11:19:00.000-08:002004-12-28T21:18:45.746-08:00

Frontline (in my opinion) is one of the best news-magazine shows. Better than 60 Minutes (no Dan Rather, no books to push). I seem to recall that I once watched a show on how a few major media companies are the Merchants of Cool. I bring this up because a major source of influence on our children's perception of 'what's cool' comes from television and the media. At a young age, the little

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1104201245469345532004-12-27T18:30:00.000-08:002004-12-28T11:18:33.426-08:00

Bloomberg has an article describing pending legislation in Congress that would modify the existing bankruptcy laws. Before going any further, I should note that the studies I cited in previous posts attempted to answer 'why' people file bankruptcy and also to quantify the debtor's ability to repay. The answers to these questions are important for legislators to consider in developing new laws.

usually mellownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1104122707736807652004-12-26T20:44:00.000-08:002004-12-27T18:26:27.623-08:00

The US Bankruptcy court compiles statistics on bankruptcy filings. The general thrust of the data is by chapter (type), by district (location), and by legal entity (business and non-business). This blog's general focus is on the individual. Therefore, the statistics of interest are the 'non-business' (individual) filings. For the period between 1990-2003, non-business bankruptcies have increased

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1104105593892740202004-12-26T15:57:00.000-08:002004-12-26T16:01:10.466-08:00

The US DOJ kids website defines bankruptcy as "statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt." (I chose the kids website to keep the concept simple and easy to

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9781548.post-1104043299794308882004-12-25T22:38:00.000-08:002004-12-25T23:19:23.636-08:00

I'm not quite sure what to write down. What do I want to accomplish? What am I trying to prove? Do I know what I want to do with this? I like taxes. I like personal finance issues. I like budgeting. I like to bank online and save money. I like to work with my spouse on these issues, although while we share the same goals, I tend to make things too complex and lose her interest and

usually mellownoreply@blogger.com