Posted on June 30th, 2009 by MoneyBlogger
The Accidental Slumlord
A writer whose lives in Massachusetts buys a two-unit rental property in Pocatello, Idaho for $62,750 during the housing boom. Read what happens when he actually visits his house and deals with his tenants.
OptionsHouse Brokerage – $2.95 Stock Trades
Another new discount online brokerage with cheap trades, but actually won #1 in Trade Experience in recent Barron’s Broker Survey, beating out E-Trade. Offers flat-rate pricing at $2.95 for stock trades regardless of number of shares, and $9.95 flat for options (no per-contract fee). $1,000 to open, $100 balance needed to trade. Anyone try them?
New research sheds light on the habits of successful savers
Includes a lot of expected characteristics, but worth a skim to see how you compare.
AMC Theatres A.M. Cinema
“A.M.Cinema, a new program providing early-morning guests the opportunity to see first-run movies at the best ticket price of the day. The program invites moviegoers to visit their local AMC theatre before noon Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays to enjoy ticket prices of $4, $5 or $6 depending on the theatre and market.”
F*** my job, Selling Everything!
Found in the Best of Craigslist section. Have you ever had the urge to simply sell everything you own, cash out your investments, quit your job, and just travel the world until the money runs out? This guy did.
Credit Bailout: Issuers Slashing Card Balances
People are haggling directly with credit card companies to lower their amount owed. However, the articles neglects to go into detail about the impact on credit scores. I suspect that there will still be significant damage to your credit if you “settle” in this way.
Tuesday 10: Good stuff from other personal finance blogs
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Posted on June 30th, 2009 by Canadian Capitalist
No post today on account of our nation’s birthday. Happy Canada Day everyone!
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Posted on June 30th, 2009 by Canadian Capitalist
On Earth Day 2009, Loblaws started charging 5 cents for disposable plastic bags. Initially, I grumbled that grocery stores have found a way to make a tidy profit on an item that costs them, perhaps, 2 cents. But, paying an extra 50 cents for plastic bags has a way of changing consumer behaviour in a hurry. I wasn’t about to allow Loblaws to continue to ding me nickels, so I threw a few reusable bags in the trunk the next time I went shopping. At the checkout, I found a less publicized side to the story: Loblaws gives a bonus of 50 PC Points (worth about 5 cents) for every reusable bag. In other words, it is not a simple rip off: Loblaws penalizes customers who use plastic bags and rewards those who ditch them. The company also says that part of the proceeds goes to environmental causes but it is possible that some of the levy falls to the bottom line.
The program is a fascinating case study in how incentives influence behaviour. Loblaws had been trying to entice customers to opt for reusable bags by offering 50 PC Points with little success. But, when a 5 cent charge was instituted, the company says customers reduced the use of plastic bags by 55%. Metro, which recently instituted a 5 cent levy, also reports a 70% reduction in disposable plastic bags. I’m not surprised – we don’t buy plastic bags at Loblaws anymore.
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Posted on June 30th, 2009 by MillionDollarMan
Today’s book review is a bit different than the typical book about finance, but just as relevant in my eyes. A New York Times best seller, Happier – Learning the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment, is written by Tal Ben-Shahar who happens to be a Harvard Professor on Positive Psychology – and teaches Harvard’s most popular course.
About the Author:
According to the book:
Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D., is one of Harvard University’s most popular lecturers. He has been profiled on NPR and featured on CNN, CBS, in the New York Times and the Boston Globe. His classes attract 20% of all Harvard graduates. Ben-Shahar graduated from Harvard with a degree in philosophy and psychology. For the last ten years, he has been teaching personal and organizational excellence, leadership, ethics, and self-esteem.
About the Book
Happier is about finding meaning and fulfillment in life, something which I have written about before. They teach that when you learn how to live for the present and future at the same time, it brings true enjoyment and life fulfillment.
The book is separated into 3 sections:
- What is Happiness? – That is the question that a lot of us have. Ben-Shahar goes through the debate and gives us his definition of happiness. He explains happiness as the ultimate currency (not money) and how important it is to have self-concordant goals.
- Happiness Applied – Here the author applies his theories on happiness in education, the workplace, and in relationships.
- Meditations on Happiness – Various meditations and exercises that you can do to help you find what brings you happiness and fulfillment.
Final Thoughts
In my opinion, this was a great book for those of you looking for a little more out of life. I especially enjoyed the section on setting goals along with the various exercises to enhance happiness.
Want a Free Copy?
McGraw-Hill was generous in offering Million Dollar Journey readers the chance to win 2 copies of the book. The details are below:
- Simply leave a comment and you’ll automatically be entered in the draw for a free copy.
- All email subscribers will receive an additional entry (privacy).
- Please only 1 comment entry / person (please enter a valid email address).
- Only those with a North American mailing address may enter (publisher rules, sorry).
- Contest will end Friday 5pm EST July 3, 2009 and the winner announced shortly after!
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Posted on June 30th, 2009 by DebtAway
As the fiscal year closes for government agencies, it’s time to prepare for the new. If the budget is higher, it means raises. Lower… well, we all know what lower means.
Our agency is short around 20 million dollars (which suddenly makes my $30K debt look like chump change). Remarkably, we are fairing much better than most agencies – or so they tell us.
Today was difficult. I watched as co-worker after co-worker was escorted into an office… and then escorted out of the building. I joked with my manager that I was considering hiding under my desk. You can’t get laid off if they can’t find you right? Then…
They came for me.
The CFO sat me down and said, ‘Let’s talk about your job.’
Tears started to spring. I’ve only been employed for a few months and I’m going to be jobless again?!?
He continued, ‘I heard from your manager that you were frightened about job security? You have no reason to worry. Your department is short three people and we simply aren’t going to hire those positions. Sure you have to do the work of those three people, but at least you have a job… err… well, at least this fiscal year anyway.’
I’ve been told to quit my job and to pursue a more stable position. In this economy, a guaranteed year of work IS stable. Hurray for 2010!!!
Whew!
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