My wife and I just returned from a short vacation to a local casino. We went there to see our favorite comedian and decided to make an overnight trip out of it. This included hitting the casino floor to test our luck. We had a great time and surprisingly won back almost all the money we started with. More than once I heard skeptics compare investing to gambling. “What’s the point? I might lose all my hard-earned money!” Yes, it is true that you could put all your money on one stock and lose it all. But that would also be a ridiculous and non-advised investment strategy. Taking a more common approach and investing in an index fund would have quite different odds. You see gambling is much different than investing in many ways: • … [Read more...] about Gambling at the Casino – Still Not Really Investing
Lifestyle
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone! I’d like to thank all my readers and visitors for making this a very encouraging first year of blogging. I wish everyone the best in health and happiness! … [Read more...] about Merry Christmas!
More Bad News for Netflix
Did you receive a weird email from “OnlineDVDclass”? If you did, it’s not some stranger trying to sell you unnecessary courses over the Internet. No, you’ve officially been invited to take part in a class-action lawsuit involving Netflix and Wal-Mart. This past fall, I ditched Netflix when they decided to double the cost of their subscription service (click here to read my post). Apparently, I wasn’t the only one. Thousands of other subscribers have left as well, and the stock is down 63% over the last 3 months. … [Read more...] about More Bad News for Netflix
What Will Be Our Next Economic Bubble?
When it comes investing, very few of us think about “defense” as much as we think about the “offense”. It’s easy to want to put money into something when the value of it goes up and up, but we never think about how it could come back down (and fast!). Sound familiar? Anyone with a mortgage knows this scenario all too well. So as the major indexes begin to perk up, it’s natural to wonder: • What will the next big economic bubble will be? More importantly, how can I avoid the next big bubble and not become a victim? There are a lot of interesting theories and opinions out there. The following are a few recent ones I’ve collected. … [Read more...] about What Will Be Our Next Economic Bubble?
Wasted Time Waiting for Service Appointments Equals $38 Billion!
Every once in a while, I come across a great poll or statistic that makes me smile. This is certainly one of them. In an article from CNN called “Waiting for the Cable Guy is Costing Us $38 Billion”, it claims that American workers lost approximately $37.7 billion dollars in 2011 in the form of wasted time while waiting for in-home services and appointments. This is according to an IBOPE Zogby poll. Waiting for service is one of those things we occasionally have to deal with and cringe when we have to. There have been a number of times I’ve had to leave work early or even take the day off just to meet with someone about our washing machine, sprinklers, cable, etc. It’s bad enough that the only available hours are from Monday through … [Read more...] about Wasted Time Waiting for Service Appointments Equals $38 Billion!
Farewell Steve Jobs
This week the world lost Steve Jobs, one of the most influential figures in the technology and business world. Although Apple didn’t invent mp3’s or cell phones, they certainly created a phenomenal market for these items with their outstanding and must-have products such as the iPod and iPhone. Steve’s vision for these products and ability to get his company to innovate these creations is what took Apple from an ordinary computer maker to one of the strongest and most powerful companies in the world to date. One of my favorite stories about Steve Jobs is when he was first brought back to Apple in the late 90’s a few years after he was forced to leave. The company was heading towards bankruptcy and needed a change. At the time, Apple had … [Read more...] about Farewell Steve Jobs
Bank of America and the Slippery Slope of Banking Fees
It’s no surprise that Bank of America (BofA) started charging a $5 fee for using their debit card. After all, they must really be hurting for money after only receiving a $5 billion dollar investment last August from Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet’s company! ... Right! Seriously, this event is just another data point along a long trend of obnoxious fees that rolls us further and further down the slippery slope of expenses that are eroding away our daily finances. Unfortunately, it’s not just the banks, but airlines, energy companies, cell phones, and many others. … [Read more...] about Bank of America and the Slippery Slope of Banking Fees
Does Extreme Couponing = A Good Use of Your Time?
My wife has an interesting theory about the people on the show Extreme Couponing: They are really just organized hoarders! How can you not come to such a conclusion? As seen on the show, they turn their entire garage into store-like aisles full of goodies they got for “free”. They have rows upon rows of frivolous items such as +800 toothbrushes or +500 sticks of deodorant. How about the sacred 6-inch thick binder that is packed full of coupons but is still somehow categorized? My personal favorite: When they go dumpster diving looking for newspaper circulars! Heck, in one episode I saw, they even bring along their kids and friends! Yes, people do some pretty crazy things to save a buck. Before I upset any couponers, I want you to … [Read more...] about Does Extreme Couponing = A Good Use of Your Time?
