Loving Heights
Article Swap with Steve of GetOutofDebt.org
Apparently they took a look at the average credit scores of 20,000 people and placed those scores into bins based on the email address people use. They then calculated the average credit score.
The Light
It was circa 2009, a time when decadence was still in fashion, and people would stop at nothing to get the very best, and to live an extraordinary life (of course, to show off too).
Imagine, a $1,000 dollar pizza (with salmon roe, lobster, caviar), a $1,000 golden cake (literally made of gold, that is, 24 karat gold leaf), a $5,000 hamburger (with foie gras and a bottle of a really expensive wine), an executive chef cooking for you in the comfort of your own home ($10,000 for 10 people), taking a party (even a piano and a pianist, or a band!) high up into the sky (Dinner in the Sky, $50,000 – $100,000).
Calmer Waters
That is, for a person to save at least 3-6 months’ worth of his monthly expenses for emergencies (prolonged sickness, job insecurity). But really, that concept (that comes across as almost common sense, but not really) – does not even cross the mind of those uninitiated in money matters.
Well, it never crossed my mind prior to 2008 (when I have not yet met – er, won, our financial planner).
But now that it has, and the panic has resonated within (a realization that anything can happen), I would be flustered (and yes, panicky) when our emergency funds fall below that imaginary line (6 months’ expenses, in our case).
Fighting to keep the amount intact is important, but it is also important that this fund is liquid, that it is reachable, that it is safe. But it would also be great if it could also earn interest, right?
Yearning to See the Light
The article said you should forget about it (pay the bare minimum on it), and focus your energies on earning more income.
Forget your credit card debt…?
Now, I am appalled and alarmed by that suggestion on a lot of levels.
Because that simplistic approach cannot possibly apply to (1) people who cannot handle their money, (2) people do not know how to grow their money, and (3) or who cannot (for the life of them) stop buying.
And they exist – an obscene number, in fact!
Besides, according to Carmen Wong Ulrich’s The Real Cost of Living: Making the Best Choices for You, Your Life, and Your Money, having a credit card debt has an emotional cost.
A huge emotional cost.
To Whichever Way the Water Flows
You have a private equity fund. And you say to yourself, I have arrived.
But, have you?
Because, in fact, it may take you longer to arrive.
First things first. Let me explain what a private equity fund is (but please bear with me – we will be going a little technical here). It is typically a limited partnership, in which the private equity firm acts as the general partner and accredited investors fund the investments of the partnership. According to Daniel R. Solin in his book, The Smartest Portfolio You’ll Ever Own, the average returns on equity funds, net of fees, were 3% below that of the S&P 500 (an index that consists of 500 stocks weighted by market value, often incorrectly used as a benchmark for the performance of the US stock market) and fees were a whopping 6% a year.
The fraud (it is fraud) does not start, or end, with private equity funds.
A View from Within
I like getting my discounts and am shameless asking for it, while I see him at the corner of my eye, squirming in his seat, wanting to disappear.
Like the time our engine light came on during our trip to Tagaytay and luscious Canyon Woods (while we were singing – shouting – Don’t Stop Belieeeevinnn!!!). Long story short, we had the car checked, had the car checked-in for almost a week (uh, sorry, we have to take a closer look at it, might be serious), and were charged an arm and a leg just so they can clean the computer box.
Seth Godin
Guest Post from Lois.
I had to sell ice candy at my grandma’s sari sari store when I was a kid and it ruined me for life. I would cringe when anyone asked what flavor it was. I didn’t know how to make them buy it. And every time someone walked away without my ice candy, I felt so rejected! Selling sucks.
But more than 20 years later, here I am doing exactly that. It’s not ice candy this time, mind you. Let’s start at the beginning. Back in January 2011 I had quit my job, sold most of my stuff and embarked on a 6 month journey across India and Southeast Asia. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, without considering the financial repercussions. Fast forward to 6 months later, I was homeless, unemployed and not sure where the money was going to come from. So I employed myself. I googled a couple of companies and asked if they had a job for me. A leadership consultancy firm met with me and offered me a job. I managed to get a position as tadah: Project Manager. To say I was overjoyed is an understatement. I was ecstatic! I had a job to pay the bills and maybe even fund some future trips!
Illumination
Guest Post with a special note from YouWanttoBeRich.
You don’t even have to make risky decisions on a trading floor. if you want to become involved in financial trading, then there are other options.
One of these options is trading in gold. Even for those who have little or no previous experience in financial trading, this can be a great way to make money via investments. The principle of investing in gold is much more straightforward than those surrounding some other types of trading. Simply, investors aim to sell the gold which they have bought for a higher value than that which they bought it. This is a concept which anyone who had been involved in any type of business will undoubtedly be familiar with, and one that even those without such experiences will have little trouble getting to grips with.