Electric company offers to let me pay more!

My electric company has included a tempting offer in my bill this month. If I sign up for their flat rate plan with a 12 month commitment, including a mere $100 cancellation fee. This amazing plan that will "save me hundreds of dollars" will do so by billing me at a flat $0.142 per kWh.

Wow!

The only problem is that my bill tells me I'm paying $0.139 per kWh. Uh...thanks for the offer?

Best financial advice, fewest words possible

Mine:

"spend < earn"

Any others?

Investopedia stock simulator

I have been playing this game: http://simulator.investopedia.com/home.aspx, and it's quite a bit of fun. You register (it is free - ad supported) and you can buy/sell stocks based on real feeds. I've found it a great way to get my ears wet in stock trading without actually risking any money (since I have fairly low income). Give it a try!

QuickCert is a telemarketing nightmare

QuickCert is a company that offers information on various computer certifications. I was at one point considering getting an A+ Certification - just for my amusement. The cost turned me away, but not before I had signed up to receive their newsletter. I usually don't sign up for things online, but I figured it wouldn't hurt.

Well, after getting bombarded with emails, I unsubscribed. That didn't stop them, and they just kept sending more. So I had to blacklist them as SPAM, but they keep sending advertisements from different email addresses.

I can deal with spam, but now they've started to call me. A few times a month I come home to a message on my machine from them. The only problem is that I never gave them my phone number. They must have looked me up!

QuickCert is creepy.

I might need to get divorced

I had a disturbing conversation with my wife the other night. We were talking about the results of this situation with the medical bills and about our progress on paying down our debt. We threw the idea back and forth of paying off my student loan before her car loan. Now interest-wise this makes no sense, but balance-wise it does. I can pay off the student loan in one big lump payment if I focus all our debt repayment on it for one month. That would kind of simplify things since I would have one less debt to worry about, and would be a nice feel-good victory. The extra interest we would end up paying on the car loan to do this would be negligible. She agreed. Then she gave a reason why she agreed:

"Well, the car loan isn't really debt anyway."

I was floored! What? Not debt? I need to tell the bank to stop charging us interest. She stood her ground; a car loan is not really debt. So I ask her why she thinks a car loan isn't debt.

"Because everyone has a car loan."

I stopped to think about this. Does everyone have a car loan? Of course not. Does anyone need a car loan? Of course not. Very few people absolutely need to buy a car that second...they could easily just start saving a payment and buy a car in a few years. Most people buy a new car when theirs starts having problems, or they just get tired of it. That's certainly not a necessity to borrow money. Rarely do people literally run their car into the ground until the engine implodes and it refuses to move another inch (and those that do have probably been saving for a new car anyway).

Yet there is the mentality that everyone has a car loan, that everyone needs a car loan, and that it isn't really "debt". Why is this? Is it because everyone around us is so addicted to debt that one little car loan doesn't seem like a big deal? Has the automotive industry itself so well marketed buying a car on time that it seems like just another standard process in buying any car? Or are we just so entrenched in this culture of instant gratification that saving money for 5 years for a single purchase just seems outrageous and out of this world?

Bill Mauer on cheap goods from China

After about 1:20 this video does get good, so grit your teeth through some of the flopped jokes. Nice commentary, Bill.

Collecting unclaimed property

States hold onto unclaimed properties on behalf of the owner. Such property includes life insurance policies, tangible goods, and unclaimed employment paychecks.

You can search online with just your name to find out if you have any unclaimed property by going to http://unclaimed.org/ or http://missingmoney.com/. I did a search myself and discovered a $300 paycheck from an old employer that we had, for whatever reason, not received. Though we have not yet gone through the process, we are going to file a claim tonight and I will post a review.

Be very wary of scams, however, as this information is public and various firms may try to charge you to claim your money. The state comptroller will charge you a small fee (my state charges 1% for up to $5,000 and 1.5% above, zero for less than $100). Some however will try to get up to 10% out of you, or charge you to do the search. Don't fall for it - the information is free and filing your own claim is easy and cheap (so far as I can tell, it can all be done online).

Acting in the best interest of consumers, each state has enacted an unclaimed property statute that protects your funds from reverting back to the company if you have lost contact with them. These laws instruct companies to turn forgotten funds over to a state official who will then make a diligent effort to find you or your heirs. Most states hold lost funds until you are found, returning them to you at no cost or for a nominal handling fee upon filing a claim form and verification of your identity.

If in doubt, call your state comptroller or visit your state's official website and search it for "unclaimed property".

Entertain yourself for less

When I think of things to do, I also consider how I can save as much money as possible doing it. If anything is too expensive I decline. With all the inexpensive or free entertainment out there, there's little reason not to plan ahead to maximize your savings. Here are some tips for entertaining on the cheap:

• Museums and zoos: Not many people bother checking their museum and zoo schedules before planning a trip there. Almost all of these institutions have sponsored days where you can visit for free. Sometimes this is once a month, but often it is once a week. Just avoid the gift shop.
  
• Movie Theaters: Going to a movie with a spouse on a Friday evening can easily cost upwards of $50. Many are also getting into the dining business, attaching restaurants to their buildings and serving pricey entrees. Check around to different theaters for their pricing. Everyone knows about the cheap matinees, but many also have an even lower price for the early morning crowd. Have a big breakfast that morning and (being that it is before lunch) you'll be less tempted to go for the popcorn and soda. Though the clerk might give you dirty looks, they will serve you tap water with ice in a small cup at no charge. Tell them you are allergic to Dasani.
  
• Farms: Pick your own fruit and vegetables. You're not going to save any money on the food itself because of the gas it takes to get there, but you can spend almost an entire day with the family picking fruit at a farm for often less what it costs at the grocery store. Check the Internet for farmers near you that do this. Many also have plenty of land for bringing along a picnic lunch where you can sit and enjoy some of the fruits of your labor.
  
• Dog parks: Even if you don't have a four-legged pal, bring a few tennis balls and a gallon of tap water to your local dog park and you'll instantly find yourself surrounded by half a dozen furry friends. Just about all the owners encourage their dogs to play with other people and you are helping out those who forgot to bring extra drinking water for their pets. Young kids will go nuts!
  
• Dining out for two, for one: American portions are really large these days. I find that if we just go out and order bread/chips and a single entree we are both full. Sometimes we even have a drink and appetizer at home before going out, avoiding those overpriced items. Mexican restaurants are the best, as almost all of them serve free bottomless chips and salsa. If you absolutely must have liquor, go early and hit the happy hour.
  
• Sushi on the cheap: My wife and I love sushi, but it is a very expensive treat. What do we do? First, we try out as many sushi restaurants as we can, because you'll find that prices on individual sushi/sashimi pieces vary wildly. Then we order the sashimi (cheaper) with a bowl of white rice on the side (which they usually give for free). You can get a mouthful of rice and fish for less!
  

Any other tips for staying entertained without breaking the bank?

Have $80 million to spare? Buy a sub

No, it's not an expensive sandwich. For only $80 million dollars (a bargain if you ask me) you can have your own luxury 5,000 square foot submarine. Expect your friends to trade in their private yachts for one of these in the near future. If you don't have at least the base model, which starts at $25 million, please don't bother showing your face at the billionaire's country club.

Each sub comes with a custom interior, extravagant viewing windows, and even a carport to park your Bugatti and a minisub that you can take afternoon jaunts in.

Sales information is not known, but there's a good chance this guy has one. Nothing says "living off the backs of stockholders" like buying a submarine with your $200 million severance package after 5 years of doing a mediocre job. If you can't afford it, chances are good that American Home Mortgage will lend you the money.

Torpedoes not included.

Want to go broke? Build a pond

I am exaggerating, but I never knew a pond could be so expensive! When my wife and I moved into our house, we set about redoing our backyard. We literally had a clean slate; the whole yard was mostly dead grass and mud pits. Our first project was building a small pond, which is 5x6 kidney shaped. Around it we extended our patio with natural stone and added beds around the entire yard. 2 years later we have just started adding foliage. It's been a long project.

Unfortunately, our pond has been a real money pit.

As it turns out, some drainage problems resulted in a lot of mud from a failed and unfinished elevated flower bed to wash into the pond. So for several months it has been completely clouded. We only see the 3 big fish and half a dozen babies they spawned when they come up to feed. So, this winter we are going to have to empty it all out, clean it, refill it, put the fish back in and start over. Let's not forget the huge string algae problem that developed over the summer.

Otherwise, the pond has been really expensive while we have tried everything imaginable to clear it; from chemicals to scrubbers to water changes to vacuums. Nothing has worked!

What would being debt free mean to me?

What if I had no mortgage payment, no car payment, no debt at all? Here's a fun activity. Take all your essential bills, not including the debt and the 'luxuries', with the average you pay each month and multiply it to a year. My list includes:

water, electricity, gas, telephone, taxes, insurance, fuel, food

Altogether this is a yearly expense of $15,680. This is what we live on if we own our home (paying taxes/insurance on it of course) and cut back to the bare essentials.

Could you make $16,000 net a year? What is the cost of your "bare essentials"?

What would you do with $30,000?

My goal is to have over $30,000, cash in a savings account, by the end of 2009. What would you do with $30,000? Assume no debt except a mortgage. Off hand:

• Keep it in savings, let it earn 5% interest or so
  
• Divide it up, keep an emergency fund in cash and invest the rest in the market
  
• Pay a huge chunk of mortgage principle with most of it, retaining some as emergency funds
  
• Fund a Roth IRA, 529, or some other retirement fund with the interest it earns in a 5% savings account
  
• Buy a Lexus
  

Investopedia

This is a little gem, an online "encyclopedia" of investment/financial terms.

Investopedia.com

It has some articles, but I found the dictionary most useful. List of Personal Finance Terms.

Very nice.

Earth Day Footprint Calculator

I had long lost track of this site, but found it once again! From EarthDay is a carbon footprint calculator. They call it the "Earth Day Footprint Quiz". You answer a bunch of questions and it tells you, based on how you live your life, how many planets we would need to support everyone to live like you do.

I remember taking this quiz a long time ago, and its a shame I didn't keep the results in some way. It would be interesting to compare them to today.

My results today were:

CATEGORY	ACRES
FOOD	3.7
MOBILITY	2
SHELTER	6.9
GOODS/SERVICES	5.9
TOTAL FOOTPRINT	18
IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON. WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON. IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 4.2 PLANETS.

4.2 planets! Ouch. On the other hand, I'm lower than the average in my country, but does that say anything when I'm essentially comparing myself to my iPhone loving McMansion living Hummer driving McDonalds eating fellow Americans?

Then again, how is it possible to live with only one planet? Apparently you have to be married and live in a house under 500sqft with no running water or electricity, walk to work, grow your own vegetables in your back yard and become a vegan. We really conserve in our house, but I don't think I could sacrifice that much!

Take the test and see how you do!

Consumerism at its best

Here's consumerism and overconsumption at its best.

iPhone cravers

Some people are just dying to get their hands on the new iPhone. They are willing to pay hundreds above the already ridiculous retail price to have it, and they are willing to stand in line for days to be the first to have one. Are we going to see a repeat of the Playstation 3 mess?

No doubt there is a team of advertising marketers somewhere working with Apple patting themselves on the back right now, because pushing people to this level of sheer stupidity is an award-winning accomplishment!

Here are some amusing quotes.

I am looking for several people who will wait in line for me to buy the new Apple iPhone on Friday, June 29...You need to be reliable, mature, and patience will definitely be a plus

I don't think this will get many responses. The problem is that anyone who is mature and patient is going to wait until they can walk in and buy an iPhone, not wait 3 days outside a store.

I am charging approximately $150 over the cost of the iPhone

Some people pride themselves in finding good deals, or buying things on sale, others happily pay significantly more.

It seems like the asking price for people to stand in line is 200-300 dollars (however i have seen offers for 150). but I want to make SURE that i get one, and I'm pretty much willing to pay the 200-300 extra for it

Who is going to stand in line for $300 for 3 days? That ends up being $4.16 an hour.

Ok, so here's the deal. I need an iPhone. Like, really need an iPhone. It's so bad, I've taken to carrying around my paper cut-out just to get used to the size

Here's a corporate executives dream come true. He hasn't even used the product yet, but he is completely obsessed over it.

In any case, the iPhone release is going to be really entertaining. I can't wait to hear the first report of someone paying $1,000 for their iPhone and then accidentally dropping it in the toilet a day later.

Why work? Con your way to success!

I usually enjoy Money's articles, if only for entertainment value, but the July 2007 issue made me want to cancel my subscription.

The article was entitled "How to Marry a Billionaire" and filled 7 full pages of absolute garbage. Apparently Money magazine, along with tips on how to diversify your portfolio, stay away from crooked financial advisers, and encouraging you to safely start your own business, feels that one honorable path to wealth is for gold digging women to marry someone for their money and leach off another person's success. I thought Money magazine was supposed to be for people who actually put effort into gaining their fortunes. The cover page exclaims "Getting Rich in America", which obviously includes becoming a lazy worthless bum.

Well, I suppose it does take effort to land a billionaire, with such helpful tips as moving closer to where billionaires live, pay for a "Be a Successful Gold Digger" seminar, and "fake" your status. That's right, the key to marrying a billionaire is to fake a personality and pretend to be something (or someone) you are not. This has "wedding bliss" just written all over it.

Thankfully there is a little survey at the end to help you if you're still wondering if you're moocher material, which asks questions like "what are your goals?" and "what's your ideal pet".

The "correct" answer to the first question? You want to strive for marriage, because "big money lies in marriage" according to divorce lawyers.

So, they key to success is thus: hang around rich people, trick them into liking you, get married, get divorced and rake in the big bucks. Thanks, Money magazine. Marlys Harris, Cosmo magazine is calling; you're the perfect writer for them.

ps: no doubt the article was written tongue-in-cheek, as was this review of it

FREE Practical Money Skills educational materials

Want to teach your kids about money but don't know where to begin? Go to http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/english/resources/about/classroom.php and click "Classroom Resources" and "Download 2 CD-Rom set (75 mb.zip)" to download and burn to a CD (cd burning software required - usually comes with a home computer), or just load right on your computer.

Some of it is repeated material. For example, the "Practical Money Skills for Life CD-ROM" is the same as Disc 2 of the classroom resources. There is also a pamphlet series, but it has only general info and I consider it more of an introduction to the more detailed lesson plans.

Disc 1 is where the good stuff is. It contains lesson plans for kids in 5 groups, preschool-2nd grade, grade 3-6, 7-12, graduates and college students, and a special needs section (the addition of this last section scored big points with me). The Macromedia Flash interface they give you is a bit clunky. Basically all the material is in html, pdf, and powerpoint files. You might find it easier to just browse the files in the directories themselves, print the pdfs and htmls, and load the powerpoints manually (I couldn't get the Flash interface to launch the powerpoint presentations). Disc 2 has some practical but basic info for financial situations you might encounter at home, all in html format. There are also some games that kids might enjoy, but the only one I tried at length was the Quiz.

It wasn't very good, and some of the information wasn't quite correct. The credit card section also didn't quiz on the most important aspects of credit cards - reading and understanding the terms. It was also very flashy and loud, and not in a good way. I would stick with disc 1.

Also, its very disorganized and difficult to find the referenced materials. Although you can download the lesson plans to a CDROM, it doesn't contain just about all of the actual materials needed to learn anything. For that you apparently need to download them individually from here . There also did not appear to be any way to take the quizzes without being online.

Even so, the lesson plans are a useful guide, but expect to do most of the actually learning materials on your own. If anyone has had any experience with this program, please share it. For the conspiratorial among us, this program was created by VISA.

Also available is the Jump$tart Coalition, an education program for children who recently issued tests of financial literacy. It is sponsored by Citibank. If there are any consumer financial awareness/education programs out there that are not created by credit card companies, please let me know.

Still making millions from the Internet

This article from CNN tells the story of an entrepreneur who took the dotcom frenzy to a whole new level. He bought up domains of common words such as wedding.com and launched portal sites on them, generating revenue with pay-per-click ads. There is more to it, but that appears to be the meat of his business.

It's an exciting story that I wanted to share.

Want to win the lottery? Think twice.

Another blog, bargainengineering.com recently posted a link to a Washington Post article about a lucky Powerball winner. I thought I would pass on this story as well. I read the entire thing through, and I have to say it's completely depressing. It's a long read, so if you don't have the time here's the skinny:

Regular Joe grandpa-cowboy type wins $130 million in cash from the lottery (take-home). Has good intentions, plans to give it all away. Instead? Ends up being a big-headed drunk who frequents strip clubs. Gives unlimited funds to his granddaughter who ends up a drug addict along with her pals, and eventually dies. Wife divorces him. A few of his pals end up horribly damaged after he gives them money. It is just a horrible, horrible story.

You know Hurley from 'Lost'? It's like that...except no smoke monsters.

Wow! I'm underpaid.

Every mother's day, there comes out a study on how much 'moms' make (this year they even included working moms - smart since most moms do work these days). MSNBC ran the article for mother's day and quoted their source from salary.com. Mom's make $138,000 a year if they stay at home. Working moms make an additional $86k a year on top of their job. Somehow I get the feeling my mother would have gone on strike at that salary while raising me.

What really got my attention was that the calculator used at salary.com also included one for dad! It will be interesting if any news outlets run a fluff story about how much dads make for Father's Day. Not counting on it, I ran a calculation for myself and discovered that I make $170,000 if I were to stay at home. I was even conservative on those hourly numbers.

I work 40 hours a week, come home and do chores like cleaning up misc items, emptying the sink, watering the plants and feeding the fish. Then I spend about an hour to an hour and a half cooking dinner. By that time my wife is home and she does dishes and feeds the cats. On weekends we do yard chores together, or I do them after work during the week. I do all the maintenance on our cars, fix things around the house, and occasionally unload the laundry dryer. I also handle of all our finances, bills, and paperwork, while she keeps track of our schedule. So after estimating all this time I spend around the house, I ended up making $170,000.

Wow! I should just quit and stay at home. The problem is, if I'm doing my own laundry, cooking my own food, mowing my own lawn, and changing my own automotive oil, who's supposed to give me my pay check? I guess wishful thinking can be fun sometimes.

PS: The "average hours" listed on the calculator for dads was ridiculously low for just about every category. If this is accurate, let's step up and do some more work, dads!