Feb
7
February 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment
First, read this article: http://blog.stealthmode.com/2009/02/06/an-open-letter-to-my-two-mortgage-companies/ I, at first, wanted to join in the bashing that was going on in the various internet forums. I scrimped and saved and paid off my home mortgage in about 6 years. I do coding/teaching/projects on the side and used it to pay off all my student loans and mortgages. [...]
Oct
9
Bank Loans Have Not 'Dried Up'
October 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment
It's important to note that even though the hysterics of Washington bureaucrats indicate otherwise, lending has not stopped. It may cost you a little more, and you might have to actually, well, you know, qualify for the loan, but the banks are still lending money. I talked to a banker buddy of mine and he [...]
Oct
6
Are Scandals Inevitable in Regulated Industries?
October 6, 2008 | 2 Comments
As the financial system comes crumbling down, the 20/20 hindsight begins. Of course the casualty of this latest fiasco will be free markets. But when you examine the industries that have had massive scandals, you'll find a list of the most highly regulated industries including telecoms (WorldCom), energy/utilities (Enron, NorthWestern) and banking (too numerous to [...]
Oct
3
Back To Basics
October 3, 2008 | 1 Comment
The major news right now is the so called credit crises. Banks aren't lending to each other so the government is going to spend close to A TRILLION dollars to fix the problem. It's depressing but we can't dwell on it. (Just remember if your congress(wo)man voted for it in November, voting is the best [...]
Jul
21
How Long Should I Keep Credit Card Statements?
July 21, 2008 | 1 Comment
Have a pile of credit card statements? Find out how long you need to keep your old statements and why. When deciding what financial records to keep and what to throw away, there are several important criteria. Do you use your credit card for business expenses? Do you have any tax deductible purchases? If you [...]
Jul
10
Close Old Or Unused Accounts
July 10, 2008 | 7 Comments
I hate loose ends, especially financial loose ends. If you have old accounts that you no longer use like credit cards, home equity lines or other bank accounts, you should close them. In case you need convincing, I've created a list of the reasons you should close unused accounts. When ING kept sending me statements [...]
Jun
7
Nassim Nicholas Taleb got rich on a day when many many people went broke. He predicted the sub-prime fiasco and the crash of 1997. He didn't really predict these events, he just predicted some kind of event, a black swan, could happen. The Times Online has a new interview piece with Taleb. An interesting article. [...]
Apr
21
PayPal is an Expensive Way to Transfer Money
April 21, 2008 | 8 Comments
Do you use PayPal? If you do business on the internet, there is a good chance you do. Many web sites accept PayPal for payment. Our small business used PayPal quite extensively in the beginning, but now we are moving away from it. Why? It’s too expensive. Most people associate PayPal with EBay. That’s because [...]