Archive for May 12, 2012

Weekend Wind Down 5/12/2012

May 12, 2012 / / 14 comments

I’ve felt like a VERY delinquent blogger this week. My apologies to all of you who I normally visit and comment upon. Work has been extra demanding this week (with one of the big projects nearing a close), so my time has been spoken for.

We’re looking forward to the weekend! Tomorrow, the boys are going to see “The Avengers” while the girls are going to get their nails done. And we’ve got all Sunday to do whatever Mrs. MMD wants to do for Mother’s Day (including catching up on all our shows that keep piling up on our DVR). Speaking of TV shows, is anyone watching “Don’t Trust the B”? That show is hilarious!

Posts You Should Check Out: 

In case you didn’t already, give these posts a read this weekend: Read more

Category: Weekend Wind Down / Tags: , , , ,

Adding Gold and Silver to Your Investment Portfolio

May 10, 2012 / / 17 comments

Everyone knows that a healthy investment portfolio consists of the right mix of stocks, bonds, cash, and even real estate. But another important and often under-utilized resource to add to this diversification is the contribution of precious metals.

Although there are many kinds of precious metals, the two most popular ones that are used for investments are gold and silver. Gold and silver have been regarded as one of society’s oldest forms of currency. Their appeal comes from 1) the fact that they are a tangible asset that we can hold in our hands and 2) the observation that they tend to retain their value even as the economy tends to fluctuate.

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Category: Stocks & Investing / Tags: , , , ,

What Results Are You Getting From Learning?

May 9, 2012 / / 33 comments

Do you love to learn? Even though you finished your degree and are proficient in your field, do you still find yourself searching for new information?

Years ago when I finished college, I had a hole – a big black void that I used to fill with homework, writing papers, and studying for exams. That sounds ridiculous right? When you’re in school, the one thing you can’t wait for is to finally be done!

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Category: Philosophy & Motivation / Tags: , , , ,

Yes, People Still Fall for Pyramid Schemes

May 7, 2012 / / 41 comments

I stumbled upon a very strange thing this week when I was traveling for business through a rural part of Ohio …

Setting the Scene:

I had finished work, ate some dinner, and was looking for a place to chill out on my laptop. With limited options, I found a local Tim Horton’s Coffee & Bakery shop and decided to hang out there.

When I entered, the first thing I noticed was the place was packed! “Perhaps this was the happening place to be on a Wednesday night” I thought. So I ordered my coffee, took a seat, and got on my computer.

The majority of the people that were there looked slightly less than well-off. But among them were a few very well (and overly dressed) young women.

Preying Upon the Ignorant:

I got on my phone to have my regular evening call with my wife when suddenly I observed “The Presenter” arriving. He was a young African American male in his 20’s that was also well dressed. He went around the store giving a “Whud up?” and handshake to everyone in attendance (all of which seemed to have been waiting for him to arrive). Everyone seemed glad to see him and he was warmly welcomed. Had I found myself in the middle of some type of cult meeting?

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Category: Popular Trends / Tags: , ,

Weekend Wind Down 5/06/2012

May 6, 2012 / / 8 comments

What’s this? Am I on a boat?? Nope! That’s just me driving through my neighborhood and what it looked like after a massive rainstorm came out of nowhere! When I initially drove out of my driveway, the water was just a little deep. But the further I went along, it got deeper and deeper! I was getting a little worried and didn’t want to stop. I’m glad I didn’t stall out!

This was kind of a busy week (as you can tell since I’m a day late on my normal schedule). I was on a business trip through OH when I stumbled upon something VERY interesting! More on that to follow in Monday’s post ….  I think you’ll enjoy!

Blog News:

In Blog news, I was finally bestowed a Google PageRank of 2! Although I’m not 100% sure how I obtained this, but I’m pretty sure that it had to do with a lot of commenting and link-backing. At the same time, my SEOmoz MozRANK increased to 2.55. My Alexa ranking has also finally fallen below 100,000. Hopefully I can continue this trend and improve my ranks in the next go-around three months from now.

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Category: Weekend Wind Down / Tags: , , , ,

Adding Your Children’s College Savings to the Budget

May 4, 2012 / / 29 comments

Please don’t hate me. I’m very proud that you’ve been following my advice (and the advice of my PF blog constituents) to start saving for retirement, etc. But now we’re going to talk about something that may require you to dig just a little deeper into those pockets of yours:

• College

“I Don’t Even Have Kids Yet!”  Why Do I Care?

I know some of you are pretty young and just graduating college yourself, while others of you may have recently got married and just had children. These are all great positions to be because, like most savings strategies, “more time” is our friend.

However, this post is going to assume that someday when or if you already DO have kids, that you’ll want to send your little Princess or Jedi (… there’s a Star Wars theme going on in my house right now) to college and give them every advantage possible.

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Category: Savings & Budgeting / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Tips for Building a House Into a Great New Home

May 2, 2012 / / 27 comments

tips for building a house

Building your new home can be a fun and exhilarating process! You get to pick how everything will look – inside and out! But there are also many mistakes that can be made along the way.  Here are some tips for building a house and making it into a great home.

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Category: Mortgage & Refinance / Tags: , ,
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