Coffee Franchise

Posted by caseyzimmerman1955

The Once and Future Sim

One hundred million copies sold, 36 magazine covers and 100 game critic awards: The Sims franchise continues to thrive ten years after its launch, basking in the uncommon flattery of having no real competition.

The Sims importance and impact on the video game industry as a whole could perhaps be measured by the games created by other developers that tried to recapture its success. But, there really aren't any.

In an industry that thrives not just on innovation, but also on creative derivation, it perhaps speaks even more to the success of The Sims that there has never been anything like it since.

Will Wright, whose unique take on gaming lead to the creation of games like SimCity, Spore and The Sims, points to the lack of competition as another unique facet of the franchise that is an odd amalgam of digital doll house and time-management simulator.

“I think that is one of the unique things about The Sims, that no one has effectively copied it yet,” Wright said. “When you look at all the other game genres usually there is a big hit and everyone comes out with their version of the big hit and then it becomes a whole genre. The Sims is a whole genre with no clear competition”

“The Sims was one of the first games to open up gaming to a much wider audience and it rewards and attracts a certain type of player that is more self motivated and more creative,” Wright said. “It was based in a world that most everyone could recognize even if they were a non-gamer. Almost everyone when they first got The Sims crafted a representation of themselves and then their family, their house and their neighbors. They then had this test tube, voodoo representation of their life. I think for a lot of people it captured the core of juggling your real life but in a whimsical, cartoon format so it was more fun but still about them and they were the core of the game.”

Unlike most video games The Sims, and the 35 sequels and expansion packs it gave birth to, isn't about doing the things we can't do, it's more about doing the things that society or our conscience won't let us do. Like spending all of our money on big screen TVs and coffee makers. Removing all of the toilets from a house and walling someone up inside. Or building a home of nice furnishings, expensive electronics, but no walls or roof.

The core of that first Sims title was based loosely around the psychological theory of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The idea in the game, and the theory, is that people can only start to worry about morality, creativity and happiness after they satisfy their basic needs, like eating, health, safety and friendships.

To play the game you have to worry over the minutia of a digital person's every day existence, hitting those needs to help them succeed.

Despite its surprising success and longevity, none of the games in the franchise's sequels have done much to change that basic formula.

Instead each iteration of the game digs further down into the concept.

The Sims 2 added aging and made the game 3D, said Tim LeTourneau, vice president and executive producer of The Sims Studio at Electronic Arts. The Sims 3 expanded the concept from the house to a full neighborhood, he said.

“For the last 10 years The Sims has grown as both a game and a creative experience,” LeTourneau said. “Throughout the history of the franchise, we have tried to introduce concepts and content that allow more and more of people's everyday life as well as their fantasies to be reflected in the game. We tried to stay connected to the changing times, and just like we are people continuing to evolve, so will The Sims.”

But that evolution will likely never mean tinkering with the basic Sims concept of time management, he added.

“Time management is what we do as humans,” LeTourneau said. “We are all on a clock, it's part of what makes us human, that recognition of time passing and its impact on us. The ebbs and flows of daily behavior, or behavior across a lifetime, are all a function of time's passage. We may choose to emphasize or deemphasize it in different situations, but time will likely always be part of how we ultimately control The Sims.”

The idea of changing anything in The Sims, even making iterative changes, must be taken quite seriously at Electronic Arts. Despite EA being one of the world's largest producer of video games, The Sims remains “one of the most important things to happen to EA since its founding in 1982,” LeTourneau says.

“Before The Sims, for the most part, EA was a sports company but The Sims changed everything,” he said. “With the introduction of The Sims ten years ago, it changed the way we looked at ourselves as a company and the way consumers perceived us as well. The Sims turned the equation upside down and gave the authorship to the player. They get to decide what they want to do and then they go do it. There is no real score as a consequence and that is different than anything that had been created in our industry before.”

The latest expansion for Sims 3 is a pack of new play things for the game. High-End Loft Stuff hits this month offering players and their digital prosopopoeia the wonders of a high-end loft and all of the slick manifestations of living in an expensive apartment.

It's, perhaps, ironic that a game built around the concept of helping our digital creations achieve self-actualization is itself so focused on materialism, churning out new gadgets, furniture and homes for gamers to tinker with, but rarely offering an upgrade of morality.

Well Played is a weekly news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Send an email to the author of this post at editor@kotaku.com.

Godwin's Law Strikes The SI Swimsuit Issue

Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and the blogosphere to bring you everything you need to know to start your day.

•Did Leni Riefenstahl shoot the swimsuit issue this year? South Africa's Genevieve Morton poses with a WWII-era fighter plane, and you know what that means: swastikas! But then, bikini models have always been like Germany: ambitious and misunderstood.

•Frank Thomas calls it quits, a year removed from being a major league hitter. Meanwhile Jason Giambi is set to report to spring training for the Rockies, a year removed from being a major league hitter.

•It'll be Rachel Alexandra vs. Zenyatta on April 9, to crown the Queen of ladyhorses. But don't count out Sarah Jessica Parker just yet!

•In a conference finals rematch, Cleveland topped Orlando with their franchise record-tying 13th straight win. A Lakers-Cavs finals with LeBron/Kobe and Shaq/Kobe storylines would be every fan's dream…so expect Raptors-Jazz.

•In a report from the Department of Obviousness, Binghamton's attempt to build a competitive basketball team resulted in numerous violations in recruiting, academics, and assorted criminal behaviors. So, mission successful if they wanted to build a real D1 program.

•••••

It's Friday! Citius, Altius, Fortius! Or at least take your coffee black.

Send an email to Barry Petchesky, the author of this post, at barryp@deadspin.com.

The Once and Future Sim

In an industry that thrives not just on innovation, but also on creative derivation, it perhaps speaks even more to the success of The Sims that there has never been anything like it since.

To play the game you have to worry over the minutia of a digital person's every day existence, hitting those needs to help them succeed.

Despite its surprising success and longevity, none of the games in the franchise's sequels have done much to change that basic formula.

Instead each iteration of the game digs further down into the concept.

But that evolution will likely never mean tinkering with the basic Sims concept of time management, he added.

Well Played is a weekly news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Send an email to the author of this post at editor@kotaku.com.

Godwin's Law Strikes The SI Swimsuit Issue

•It'll be Rachel Alexandra vs. Zenyatta on April 9, to crown the Queen of ladyhorses. But don't count out Sarah Jessica Parker just yet!

•••••

It's Friday! Citius, Altius, Fortius! Or at least take your coffee black.

Send an email to Barry Petchesky, the author of this post, at barryp@deadspin.com.

existing franchises for sale , franchises for sale

Small Business News for March 3, 2010 | Small Business Trends

Learn more about what's important to your small business today. Here is our latest roundup of the news articles and blogs we're reading and what's important,

President Obama to Say Democrats Will Use Reconciliation to Pass …

White House officials tell ABC News that in his remarks tomorrow President Obama will indicate a willingness to work with Republicans on some issue to get a health care reform bill passed but will say that if it is necessary, …

Jon Stewart Exposes Fox News 'Balance,' Goes After Sarah Palin And …

It looked like Jon Stewart was going for some of his bread-and-butter Sarah Palin jokes on Wednesday night, mocking her appearance on NBC's Tonight Show and tossing in a little ribbing of Jay Leno. But the quips about a Palin "Fair and …

manage personal finances

Posted by caseyzimmerman1955

Once You Reach Your Financial Security Goals, What's Next?

Wise budgeting, spending, and saving will help you build a retirement fund and meet your other financial goals, but what happens then? Finance blog Get Rich Slowly takes a look at what to do once you've feathered your financial nest.

Photo by pfala.

At 26 years old, entrepreneur Erica Douglass found herself in the enviable position of having a surplus of cash after selling her online business. Once she established a retirement fund and paid off debt, Douglass had to figure out what to do with the income that continued to roll in from her new business venture.

Rather than blow tons of cash on impulsive purchases just because she can, Douglass limits most spending to things that allow her to live a more fulfilled life. For instance, instead of buying a new car every year, Douglass employs a personal chef to make dishes that make living with an autoimmune illness easier.

It has been more than two years since I sold my business, and I am happier than I have ever been. I made different choices than most: We rent a house instead of owning (a savings of nearly $4,000/month in our neighborhood – more than our monthly rent payment!); we only have basic cable; we don't have a landline, credit card debt, car payments, or student loans.

I chose, instead of buying more Stuff, to live a more fulfilled life. For me, even more important than holding onto my money tightly was to learn to let it go – to give it to others in exchange for work well done, and to trust that they could do tasks well. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Though most of us aren't able to afford the luxuries of a personal chef or full-time housekeeper, Douglass makes an interesting point. If you have a surplus of cash left over after paying your bills and adding to your savings each month, maybe blowing it on a fancy dinner or a new electronic gadget isn't worth it in the long run. Instead, consider spending it on something that adds to your overall quality of life—like an accountant to do your taxes, or commercial productivity software that will help you more easily manage all your work tasks.

What would you do if you had a batch of extra cash to spend as you wanted? Would you hire a personal assistant to deal with all the chores you don't like, or blow it on something frivolous like good cognac or a box of truffles? Talk about it in the comments.

When you think personal finance software, the first thing that comes to mind is probably Quicken. While Quicken has been a mainstay on Windows desktops for years, its Mac presence has been less than stellar. That changes today, with the release of Quicken Essentials for Mac. Re-built from the ground up and integrating lots of features from Mint.com, Quicken Essentials is a great addition to the Mac software space.

Quicken has always treated the Mac platform as kind of an also-ran. Although new versions of the tool appeared yearly (at least until 2006) alongside the WindowsWindows variants, the Mac editions always lagged behind in features, stability and even pricing options. Quicken Essentials for Mac, previously known as Quicken Financial Life for Mac, has been promised since Macworld 2008. After two years, it’s finally here.

Rebuilding Quicken for the Mac

Quicken Essentials for Mac is a native Cocoa app. This in itself wouldn’t be that noteworthy, except that previous versions of Quicken for Mac have not been built on Cocoa (or even optimized for Intel Macs), which has meant that there were user interface quirks and behavioral differences that made Quicken feel like less of a real Mac app.

With Quicken Essentials for Mac, the interface and program have been designed to use Mac OS X’sMac OS X core features and strengths. This is a really good thing, and it shows a commitment to the Mac platform. This is important because it has been nearly four years since a Quicken app was released for the Mac. QuickBooks has had more frequent updates, but for home users who want to manage their finances, this is a long time coming.

A Dose of Mint (.com)

In September, Intuit, the makers of Quicken, acquired the money management web app, Mint.com. The acquisition was controversial among some MintMint users, out of fear that Intuit would end up changing Mint into something different.

It’s still too early to assess how the acquisition has affected both product groups (Mint.com continues as a separate product), but consumers did get something out of the deal: Aaron Patzer, the founder of Mint.com, is now Intuit’s vice president and general manager of the company’s Personal Finance Group. That means that Aaron and the Mint team are now working on both Quicken and Mint.com.

I spoke with Aaron at the Future of Web Apps in Miami on Monday night, and he offered me some insight into his new role and the changes on the new Mac product.

Aaron described Quicken Essentials for Mac as “the closest thing to Mint on the desktop as you are going to get.” From a personal money management perspective, that’s really great, because it means that not only is it easier to visualize where money is going, but you can connect to more financial institutions through the program than ever before. More than 12,000 institutions are supported now, and a total of more than 18,000 is expected by the end of the year.

Categorization is also much easier in Quicken Essentials for Mac, which is again, a hat-tip to Mint.com

A Few Notes For Users

Quicken Essentials for Mac is designed for home users and while it supports basic investment tracking, it isn’t as robust as the Quicken for Windows offerings or the old Quicken Mac 2007. Better support for investments is planned for future versions of Quicken Essentials for Mac, but for right now, this isn’t really designed for users with heavy portfolios.

Because only 6% of Quicken users used the built-in Bill Pay option in Quicken, this was removed from Quicken Essentials for Mac. You can still track your bills and make sure you have the money to pay them, but you can’t pay directly from the app unless you sign up for Intuit’s Bill Pay service.

If you’re a TurboTax user, Quicken Essentials for Mac doesn’t integrate or export to TurboTax, although again, that type of support might be added to the future. If you rely on getting your Quicken info into TurboTax, you’ll need to use Quicken Mac 2007.

A Nice Start

This is a great rebirth of sorts for Quicken for Mac. After being virtually abandoned for such a long time, it’s nice that the most popular money management tool is finally back on the Mac and in style. Quicken Essentials for Mac is $69.99 and requires Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

Mac users — what do you think about Intuit’s new commitment to Mac? What are your favorite Mac-based financial management apps? Let us know!

http://removeripoffreports.net

personal finance budgets

Posted by caseyzimmerman1955

About Making Money

Posted by caseyzimmerman1955

Attention journalism fans: The New York Times Co. actually made money last year. And that's even before everyone started refreshing nytimes.com every five minutes in hopes the “bombshell” Paterson story would drop. The Times reports that a slight fourth quarter uptick allowed the company to turn a “modest profit” of $19.9 million in 2009, after losing $57.8 million in 2008.

A number of factors contributed to the turn of the paper's seemingly dismal fortunes, allowing earnings to increase to 61 cents per share from 19 cents per share earlier in the year. While revenue produced by print ads continued to fall—though less steeply than before—web ad revenue increased, and now accounts for 23 percent of the company's total advertising revenue, according to WCBS. At the same time, the paper sold off some holdings, reduced its debt and pension obligations, cut operating costs drastically, and saved about $20 million after “bitter contract talks” with the Boston Globe.

So what's going to happen when the paper builds its controversial paywall?

Don't get the wrong message from the troubles in countries like Spain and
Greece. The deficit hawks may try to tell you otherwise, but it wasn't fiscal
profligacy that caused the problems these countries are experiencing, it was the adoption of the euro before these countries were ready:

The Making of
a Euromess, by Paul Krugman, Commentary, NY Times: Lately, financial news
has been dominated by reports from Greece and other nations on the European
periphery. And rightly so.

But I’ve been troubled by reporting that focuses almost exclusively on European
debts and deficits, conveying the impression that it’s all about government
profligacy — and feeding into the narrative of our own deficit hawks, who want
to slash spending even in the face of mass unemployment, and hold Greece up as
an object lesson of what will happen if we don’t.

For the truth is that lack of fiscal discipline isn’t the whole, or even the
main, source of Europe’s troubles — not even in Greece, whose government was
indeed irresponsible (and hid its irresponsibility with creative accounting).

No, the real story behind the euromess lies not in the profligacy of politicians
but in the arrogance of … the policy elites who pushed Europe into adopting a
single currency well before the continent was ready…

Consider … Spain, which on the eve of the crisis appeared to be a model fiscal
citizen. … It was running budget surpluses. And it had exemplary bank
regulation.

But with its warm weather and beaches, Spain was also the Florida of Europe —
and like Florida, it experienced a huge housing boom. The financing for this
boom came largely from outside the country: there were giant inflows of capital
from the rest of Europe, Germany in particular.

The result was rapid growth combined with significant inflation… Thanks to
rising costs, Spanish exports became increasingly uncompetitive, but job growth
stayed strong thanks to the housing boom.

Then the bubble burst. Spanish unemployment soared, and the budget went into
deep deficit. But the flood of red ink — which was caused partly by the way the
slump depressed revenues and partly by emergency spending to limit the slump’s
human costs — was a result, not a cause, of Spain’s problems. …

If Spain still had its old currency, the peseta, it could remedy that problem
quickly through devaluation… But Spain no longer has its own money, which
means that it can regain competitiveness only through a slow, grinding process
of deflation. …

Greece, of course, is in even deeper trouble, because the Greeks, unlike the
Spaniards, actually were fiscally irresponsible. Greece, however, has a small
economy, whose troubles matter mainly because they’re spilling over to much
bigger economies, like Spain’s. So the inflexibility of the euro, not deficit
spending, lies at the heart of the crisis.

None of this should come as a big surprise. Long before the euro came into
being, economists warned that Europe wasn’t ready for a single currency. But
these warnings were ignored, and the crisis came.

Now what? A breakup of the euro is very nearly unthinkable… As Berkeley’s
Barry Eichengreen puts it, an attempt to reintroduce a national currency would
trigger “the mother of all financial crises.” So the only way out is forward: to
make the euro work, Europe needs to move much further toward political union, so
that European nations start to function more like American states.

But that’s not going to happen anytime soon. What we’ll probably see over the
next few years is a painful process of muddling through: bailouts accompanied by
demands for savage austerity, all against a background of very high
unemployment, perpetuated by the grinding deflation I already mentioned.

It’s an ugly picture. But it’s important to understand the nature of Europe’s
fatal flaw. Yes, some governments were irresponsible; but the fundamental
problem was hubris, the arrogant belief that Europe could make a single currency
work despite strong reasons to believe that it wasn’t ready.

online stock trading, robert shumake, robert shumake, loss mitigation training

how to manage personal finances

Posted by caseyzimmerman1955

Organizing your personal finances can be a headache. There are several reasons a person might not wish to organize their personal finances: they may fear what they will uncover, they may have a rather large pile on the desk of bills, receipts and statements or they might just feel overwhelmed with the idea of categorizing all of the different bills they have. Organizing and managing your personal finances is the first step to financial freedom.

Here is one way that will help you understand how to organize all of your finances.

Begin by gathering all of the statements, bills and other paperwork that might be sitting on your desk. Get it all together so that you can begin going through all of it. This may seem overwhelming at first, but once you set up your method of organization, it will go quickly.

Now, you should buy a file cabinet or a small filing bin. Purchase one that allows you to use hanging folders. Then, pick up some manila folders to put in these filing folders. Make sure you have at least 10 hanging folders and enough manila folders to cover all of your accounts.

Label your hanging folders with the following categories:

Credit Card Debt
Insurance
Loans
Utilities
Housing
Investments
Retirement
Tax Information
Credit Reports

Now, it is time to sort this out. Each of these folders will contain manila envelopes as follows:

Credit Card Debt – make one manila folder per credit card. Hopefully you have been diligent in paying your credit card debt down, but if not you will want to label your each credit card name in RED pen. This will make them stand out, and will remind you to take care of this bill as soon as possible. The danger of credit card debt is a whole other topic! Now, with each folder having a credit card name on it, place any related statements into these folders. You now should have a place for each piece of credit card related mail. Keep only the essential things, privacy statements, rate increases and monthly statements to keep the file nice and tidy.

Insurance – In this hanging file you should include manila folders labeled: home/renter’s insurance, car insurance, life insurance, medical insurance, and dental insurance. Place statements, bills or policy paperwork into the appropriate folders. This will likely be a hefty sized folder since many insurance companies send lengthy policy notices.

Loans – This hanging file will include such items as student loans, car loans, personal loans or other loans you might owe. It should not include your mortgage loan, as this is included in the housing file. If you have decided to have loan payments directly deposited from your bank account, place this paperwork in the files also as it will help if you need to go back to change the amount.

Utilities – This hanging file is pretty basic. It will include utility bills such as water, energy, heat and sewage. In this folder you should also include items like cable, internet and phone. This will be the folder in which you keep everything related to running your apartment/home.

Housing – This is the folder to use for your mortgage loan, or any paperwork you may have regarding an apartment you are leasing. Be sure to put your lease paperwork, including the lease you signed in this folder. It will be easily accessible if there is a problem with your apartment. If you own a home this is a good place to put a folder for repairs or remodeling. If you keep track of your expenses you may be able to use this information for tax purposes when you sell your home.

Investments – This folder should contain information about any checking, savings or investment accounts you may own. You should make a separate manila folder for each bank account you have, and each separate investment. Be sure to place bank statements in these folders monthly.

Retirement – Any information you have for a 401K, IRA or other retirement documents should be in this folder. If you have more than one retirement plan, be sure to make a separate folder for each of these as well.

Tax Information – Keeping your tax returns from year to year is essential. Label folders starting with the most recent tax year all the way back to when you first began filing taxes. Give each year it’s own folder to keep things nicely organized. You should make a folder for tax deductible receipts as well. This will come in handy when it is time to do your taxes and itemize your deductions.

Credit Reports – The Fair Credit Reporting Act now mandates that you can receive free credit reports, up to 3 per year. Check out this site: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm You should run this regularly and keep them on file. This is something that you can refer back to as well to see how your credit is improving.

So that is it! That is how easy it is to organize your personal finances. Now, the key is to manage them. When you pay your bills, be sure to make it a habit to file away the statements or any other information you receive in the mail. Keeping up with filing will change your financial life and will make the overall picture much clearer for you. You will find that after you do this, it is much easier to sort though your files and knowing what you owe is much clearer.

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personal finance budgets

Posted by caseyzimmerman1955

I did it!

I finally finished the manuscript for Your Money: The Missing Manual; I e-mailed the last chapter to my editor at 9:10 this morning.

This book was a lot of work. I started writing it on 23 September 2009 at 12:27 p.m. Over the next 115 days, I gained fifteen pounds. (I actually gained eighteen, but I’ve lost three since the start of the year.) The final manuscript contains 125,244 words and 269 pages in Microsoft Word, which would be about 400 printed pages. That’s too long, so we’ll spend the next month whittling it down to something more manageable.

During the past few months, I’ve been a virtual hermit, cloistered in my office (”deep in the word mines”, as I like to say), working 8-10 hours every day — and sometimes many more. Now that the book is nearly finished (aside from editing and printing), I calculate that my hourly wage for this project is…drumroll please…less than minimum wage!

Still, I’m not doing this for the money. I’m doing it because I want to help people turn their financial lives around. I’m doing it because I wish I’d had a book like this twenty years ago. If Your Money: The Missing Manual sells enough copies to earn back its advance, that’s great. But if it helps even a handful of people get out of debt and start saving for the future, I’ve done my job.

Chock full of goodness
What’s in the book? Plenty of the stuff you see at Get Rich Slowly — but also lots of new topics, too. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter breakdown:

Introduction — I give a brief summary of my background and share the fourteen tenets of Get Rich Slowly. (2304 words, 5 pages, completed 09 January 2010)
Chapter 1: Happiness — I survey current happiness research. I explain how money is important but it isn’t everything. I also discuss the notion of lifestyle inflation (though we’re calling it “the hedonic treadmill” for the book). (6800 words, 15 pages, completed 05 October 2009)
Chapter 2: Goals — I discuss the importance of setting goals. Without goals, you have no reason to save. (6090 words, 13 pages, completed 12 October 2009)
Chapter 3: Budgeting — If goals are your destination, then a budget’s your map. But as most of you know, I’m not a fan of detailed budgets. Instead, I focus on looking at the Big Picture (including my favorite, the balanced money formula), suggesting readers can add detail as needed. (6975 words, 15 pages, completed 19 October 2009)
Chapter 4: Debt — I lived with debt for fifteen years. This chapter shares a bit about how I overcame my own debt, and then shares some of my favorite resources. My goal is to give readers the tools they need to kick debt to the curb. (7163 words, 16 pages, completed 16 October 2009)
Chapter 5: Frugality — This chapter got out of control! How can you compress this topic into just 25 pages? You can’t. I know some folks think frugality is pointless, but I’m not one of them. I sing its praises here. (11676 words, 26 pages, completed 04 November 2009)
Chapter 6: Income — The most overlooked topic in personal finance: how to make more money. You guys know I’m a passionate believer in boosting your income in whatever way you can. This chapter suggests some ways to do it. (11081 words, 24 pages, 10 November 2009)
Chapter 7: Banking — Banking’s not a very sexy topic, but there’s still some important stuff to cover, like how to find the best checking and savings accounts. (7836 words, 18 pages, completed 17 November 2009)
Chapter 8: Credit — Credit can be dangerous…but it doesn’t have to be. Here I go over credit scores and credit reports and offer some tips for using credit cards responsibly. (6350 words, 14 pages, completed 25 November 2009)
Chapter 9: Big Stuff — As great as it is to save money through frugality, it’s even more important to save on big things, such as cars, furniture, and vacations. This chapter tells you how. (13085 words, 26 pages, completed 03 December 2009)
Chapter 10: Housing — Yikes, this chapter was tough to write. I’m not sure why, but it got away from me. I had so much I wanted to say! In the end, I had to cut the info on “cost of living”, and I may have even had to cut the stuff on selling a house. There’s still plenty of meat here, though. (9906 words, 20 pages, completed 22 December 2009)
Chapter 11: Death and Taxes — When I started writing, I told my editor this chapter would suck. I didn’t feel confident about the subject. In the end, it was fun to write — and it turned out well. It’s tough to make taxes, insurance, and estate planning interesting, but I did my best. (10000 words, 21 pages, completed 16 December 2009)
Chapter 12: Investing — I outline the basics of investing, including some of the psychological pitfalls investors face. I encourage readers to look at index funds, but point them to good resources for other strategies if they simply must try to beat the market. (10684 words, 24 pages, 05 January 2010)
Chapter 13: Retirement — The chapter I completed this morning! I talk about the power of compounding and the importance of saving early. I also go on a rant about how much I hate retirement planning based around “replacement income”. (It’s so stupid!) (7872 words, 17 pages, completed 15 January 2010)
Chapter 14: Relationships — I close the book with a look at how money affects our relationships with family and friends. (The book is dedicated to my friend Sparky, who died a year ago today.) I also spend a little time exploring the notion of social capital, which is something I haven’t written about much here, but that I think is very very important. (7422 words, 15 pages, completed 11 January 2010)

So you bought a $4 latte for the fourth time this week. Or maybe you forgot to bring the coupon for your kid's favorite cereal to the grocery store. Most of us make money mistakes all the time (even personal finance bloggers are no exception!), but some of them matter more than others. We here at WalletPop interviewed experts in saving, spending, borrowing and investing to find out the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to their hard-earned money. Thousands of people will make these very mistakes in 2010. Just don't be one of them.

Not having life insurance. “If there's anyone who depends on you financially, get term life insurance,” says Gail Hillebrand, an attorney with Consumers Union, the not-for-profit organization that publishes Consumer Reports and the blog Consumerist.com. “If you have a spouse or dependent kids, they'll have money worries if you're gone,” she points out. It's an uncomfortable topic to think about, which is probably why it's something many Americans put off until it's too late, she adds. Even if you're a stay-at-home parent, you need life insurance, because if anything happened to you, child-care costs would come into play.

So how much is enough? Roughly five times your annual salary, says Hillebrand. The idea isn't that your surviving spouse or dependents would spend the money; rather, you want an amount that's large enough for them to invest and be able to live in a manner to which they're accustomed off the returns.

Being late with a credit card payment. This is just an all-around bad thing to do. “Especially now, it's the biggest mistake you can make,” says Jeanette Pavini, a household savings expert at Coupons.com. Your credit score gets dinged, you get slapped with a nasty late fee and your interest rate will probably zoom up — not just on the card whose payment you sent in late but possibly on your other ones, too. (That practice, called “universal default,” will be forbidden under the new CARD Act, but it's still in practice now, so watch out!)

At WalletPop, we hear from a lot of people who are having trouble right now making ends meet, and for many of them, their spiral into financial trouble began when they started paying their credit card bills late. It's a sad story, and it's one we've heard many, many times: Those rate hikes and fees add up faster than anyone thinks they will, until consumers find themselves deeply in debt.

Buying a company's stock just because you like what it sells. There are a host of investment strategies out there, and experts will argue themselves blue in the face about why one is better than the other. But they're in agreement when it comes to this tip, which was shared with WalletPop by Adam Mesh, author of The Average Joe's Ultimate Beginner's Guide to the Stock Market. (If his name sounds at all familiar, it's because he was also on the NBC reality show Average Joe.)

“If you like Starbucks coffee or Apple iPods, great, but you don't want to focus on the name,” Mesh advises. Plenty of companies have great products or services, but there are so many other factors that contribute to a stock's day-to-day price and its long-term value that you could end up losing money anyway. Do your homework and expand your investment strategy beyond the facile.

Not having an emergency fund. “The biggest mistake I've noticed is that while a lot of people know it's important to have a 401(k), they forget to focus on an emergency savings fund,” says Clarky Davis, a personal finance expert who offers advice under the moniker “the Debt Diva” for media outlets like Oprah.com and ABC News. “A 401(k) can't match the security of an emergency fund,” she points out, since there are steep penalties for taking money out of a 401(k) early. Also, that 401(k) is money you're going to need to live on once you leave the workforce, so raiding it now deprives you of the chance to build up that nest egg.

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Gmail to Get Social News Feed: Report – GigaOM internetreporter » Blog Archive » personal finance budgets February 8, 2010Tracked on. Gmail to Get Social News Feed: Report – GigaOM …

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Posted by caseyzimmerman1955

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Making Money Now

Posted by caseyzimmerman1955

Crist making it … too easy

posted at 3:10 pm on January 26, 2010 by Ed Morrissey

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One might think that the new polls showing Marco Rubio closing the gap on Charlie Crist might have the Governor looking for ways to negate the notion that he’s an ally of Barack Obama and big-government spending. Obama himself is now under water in Florida, according to the latest Quinnipiac polling, so linking himself to Obama would seem like playing into Rubio’s hands. And yet, tying himself to Obama is apparently exactly what Crist wants to do:

Gov. Charlie Crist, who has been taking a steady pounding for his “man hug” with President Obama in Fort Myers last February, says he may be with the president again at the University of Tampa Thursday when the president may announce a major award of high-speed rail money for Florida — money that state officials say will create thousands of new jobs. …

“Currently, I have plans to be in Tampa on Thursday for the Board of Governors (meeting). We’re going to announce the new membership. If we can work it out logistically, I will be with him,” Crist said.

When reporter Steve Thomas pointed out to Crist that the “man hug” problem still hangs over his campaign, Crist insisted that he didn’t care — and that his concern was “fighting for jobs” in Florida. Of course, that was the same excuse Crist used when campaigning for Porkulus last Feburary. He tried to cast people opposed to the useless $787 billion massive pork expenditure as needlessly partisan and himself as a voice of pragmatic reason. Those opponents look a lot more pragmatic now than Crist does, and Crist looks a lot more opportunistic than principled.

Now we have Obama bringing pork to Florida again, only with his own approval numbers sinking. The high-speed rail jobs may or may not materialize, depending on whether Florida sinks billions of its own money into matching funds normally required for such projects. Floridians may prefer to spend their money on other types of transportation projects, or not spend the money at all, rather than build more subsidy-floated public transportation. In either case, Crist is going to make it all the more difficult to separate himself from Obama — and that’s exactly what Rubio wants.

Since March 2009, I have been executing a business but the cash was not forth coming. Main while, I have already collected some money from two of my friends on the ground that i will pay back soon. I collected $20,000usd from one and the other $140,000usd. It got to a point that money became a problem and I was short of cash. My cousin told me about one lender called Mr. Anuge Martins . I contacted him and told him the problems I was facing and ask for a loan of $350,000usd. He called me and said that i should pray against the spirit of lost that he will also pray for God's favours for me before sending the $350,000usd to me but that I will have to agree to his terms and conditions. I committed the matter to God hands and decreed an end to every lost of business. A week later my loan of $350,000usd was doposited to my account by Mr. Anuge Martins Loan Firm, he sent me an email that favour will come my way, I went to return the 20,000usd I collected from my friend, he returned $5,000usd to me as a gift but I refuse it on the ground that I have delayed his money. I then remember that I miss it all because Mr. Anuge Martins said that he has prayed for God's favour for me. I went to return the $140,000usd given to me by my other friend he collected $100,000usd and gave me $40,000usd and said that I should use it to boost my business. I have not recovered from the shock when an elderly friend called me and told he wanted to sell some materials off. But since I needed them for my business, he said I should go get a van to carry them free of charge. Mr. Anuge Martins is not only a loan lender but a man of God. You can contact him via. anugemartins@gmail.com, tell him Richard from Indianapolis USA

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Crist making it … too easy

posted at 3:10 pm on January 26, 2010 by Ed Morrissey

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Gov. Charlie Crist, who has been taking a steady pounding for his “man hug” with President Obama in Fort Myers last February, says he may be with the president again at the University of Tampa Thursday when the president may announce a major award of high-speed rail money for Florida — money that state officials say will create thousands of new jobs. …

“Currently, I have plans to be in Tampa on Thursday for the Board of Governors (meeting). We’re going to announce the new membership. If we can work it out logistically, I will be with him,” Crist said.

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Making Fast Money

Posted by caseyzimmerman1955

Catherine Zeta-Jones' plastic surgery bills don't pay themselves, so Michael Douglas had to get back out there and make some damn money. That's the only reason I can come up with as to why there is a sequel to Wall Street. But anyways, here is the trailer.

The title of this shit lies. They are making it sound like money has insomnia. I know for a fact that money is not wide awake at night watching HSN and downing warm milk laced with crushed Simply Sleep pills in order to finally get some Zzzzzs.

Money was definitely fast asleep the other night when I went to the ATM to pay it a visit and got an “insufficient funds” notice instead. Lazy ass money couldn't come to the damn door because it was alseep! Or maybe nobody was home. No, money was definitely hugging a body pillow in bed.

And what is it with Shia starring in unnecessary sequels with old dudes we may or may not still fap to. First it was Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones, and now it's Michael Douglas in this mess. What's next? Shia and Sean Connery in the sequel to First Knight called Second Knight?

UPDATE: ING Got Noah a new debit card.

Noah says he yanked his money out of his compromised ING Direct account after an unauthorized charge from the Middle East popped up. He reported the problem, found the CSRs unhelpful in freezing the charge to get the money back, then told them he needed his card to remain valid until he could pull out some money he needed. But when Noah tried to use an ATM, he discovered his card had been canceled.

He writes:

Although I am an avid reader of your site and know anything can happen to anyone, I fell into the “it'll never happen to me” mind set. Well, after being with ING Direct for years, liking their quick customer service response time and actually liking the no paper check thing, I found out when it comes to real problems and issues, everyone touts the new company line, “there's nothing we can do.”

It started with a $300+ charge showing up on my ING account from Reliance Mobile, some company based in the Middle East I believe. I have never done business with that company, have no idea how they got my bank info and charged me, and the only number I can find to ask them what's going on is an international number. I live in the US and don't really want to incur the high charges that would come with making such a call. (The whole Reliance Mobile thing is probably a separate issue for Consumerist!)

So, as I sat there wondering who this company was, I was comforted in the fact that I banked with ING. All other issues I have had with them were easily resolved, and I thought this encounter would be no different. Jokes on me I guess.

I first dealt with a CSR who said, “sorry, there's nothing we can do,” until the money had actually been debited from my account. Due to the fact that it was pending and had not actually posted, which is ridiculous, they said, “there's nothing we can do.” I then spoke with a supervisor that told me the same thing, and I soon came to realize that ING's new company motto must be, “there's nothing we can do.”

The only option was to cancel my debit card or my account. I told them that I didn't want to do either because got paid the next day, and I needed access to my money. They assured me nothing would be canceled, and that as soon as the pending charge from Reliance Mobile posted, I could dispute it and they would handle the problem.

Ok ING, it was time to work and I didn't have time for your shenanigans anymore. I planned on just withdrawing the money I needed the following day, and transferring the rest of my money into a savings account. Then about an hour later I get a call from 800-830-1925, which was a company who handled risk/fraud issues for MasterCard and ING. I call back, they ask about the charge from Reliance Mobile, and I ask if they will resolve the issue. They say no, that they just verify the charge and cancel cards if the customer wants. I told him I didn't want my card canceled, and the issue is being handled directly with ING. They didn't say the card was being canceled or anything like that. I ended the call and I thought that was the end of it.

Well fast forward to this afternoon. I make a transfer from my checking account with ING to my savings account, and leave just enough cash in my checking so I can stop at the ATM after work and go pay what needed to be paid. So, there I am, standing at an ATM and I get the dreaded message….”transaction not authorized.” I try again, and I get the same message. That's where my hour and a half conversations took place with ING.

I was told my card was canceled because of the fraudulent activity I reported. I told the CSR that I had specifically told everyone under the sun that I spoke with to NOT cancel my card. Well I got the new company motto…..”there's nothing we can do.” He didn't know why they didn't tell me my card was being canceled, so I asked for a supervisor. I was not surprised when I got the standard line of “there's nothing we can do,” and they could send me a new card if I want. SO, not only did they cancel my card when I was assured it would not be, but they didn't send me a new one right away? I mean REALLY?

After not being helped out by John the supervisor, I got transferred to Bonnie Florex, the “St. Cloud call center manager.” Same story from her about “there's nothing we can do”, and she eventually just hung up on me. I wasn't being nasty on the phone to anyone, I was simply just trying to figure out a way to get me the money I really needed.

I called back and spoke with a CSR who said…well you can guess…and got transferred to another supervisor. She just said the same old thing….I asked them to overnight a card to me, and they acted like I was crazy. It simply ended with her telling me the card would be sent tomorrow, regular mail, not expedited, just plain old regular mail. Gee, thanks a lot, I will just search the couch for some spare change I guess!

I was really surprised that ING, the company that is so highly regarded for their customer service, wouldn't do anything to help me out, and canceled my card without telling me. If they would have simply told me on the very first call that my card was going to be canceled, I would have had time to figure something out regarding my important thing that needed taken care of today. Now I am suffering because of their mistakes, and here I sit, no way to access any money for several days. I don't have any other options to get cash. HELP!

So Consumerist:

1. What the heck should I do about the Reliance Mobile issue, and has anyone else dealt with this issue?

2. Any ideas, solutions, comments about the ING issue?

If you have any answers for Noah, please leave them in the comments.

UPDATE: ING Got Noah a new debit card.

He writes:

Although I am an avid reader of your site and know anything can happen to anyone, I fell into the “it'll never happen to me” mind set. Well, after being with ING Direct for years, liking their quick customer service response time and actually liking the no paper check thing, I found out when it comes to real problems and issues, everyone touts the new company line, “there's nothing we can do.”

It started with a $300+ charge showing up on my ING account from Reliance Mobile, some company based in the Middle East I believe. I have never done business with that company, have no idea how they got my bank info and charged me, and the only number I can find to ask them what's going on is an international number. I live in the US and don't really want to incur the high charges that would come with making such a call. (The whole Reliance Mobile thing is probably a separate issue for Consumerist!)

So, as I sat there wondering who this company was, I was comforted in the fact that I banked with ING. All other issues I have had with them were easily resolved, and I thought this encounter would be no different. Jokes on me I guess.

I first dealt with a CSR who said, “sorry, there's nothing we can do,” until the money had actually been debited from my account. Due to the fact that it was pending and had not actually posted, which is ridiculous, they said, “there's nothing we can do.” I then spoke with a supervisor that told me the same thing, and I soon came to realize that ING's new company motto must be, “there's nothing we can do.”

The only option was to cancel my debit card or my account. I told them that I didn't want to do either because got paid the next day, and I needed access to my money. They assured me nothing would be canceled, and that as soon as the pending charge from Reliance Mobile posted, I could dispute it and they would handle the problem.

Ok ING, it was time to work and I didn't have time for your shenanigans anymore. I planned on just withdrawing the money I needed the following day, and transferring the rest of my money into a savings account. Then about an hour later I get a call from 800-830-1925, which was a company who handled risk/fraud issues for MasterCard and ING. I call back, they ask about the charge from Reliance Mobile, and I ask if they will resolve the issue. They say no, that they just verify the charge and cancel cards if the customer wants. I told him I didn't want my card canceled, and the issue is being handled directly with ING. They didn't say the card was being canceled or anything like that. I ended the call and I thought that was the end of it.

Well fast forward to this afternoon. I make a transfer from my checking account with ING to my savings account, and leave just enough cash in my checking so I can stop at the ATM after work and go pay what needed to be paid. So, there I am, standing at an ATM and I get the dreaded message….”transaction not authorized.” I try again, and I get the same message. That's where my hour and a half conversations took place with ING.

I was told my card was canceled because of the fraudulent activity I reported. I told the CSR that I had specifically told everyone under the sun that I spoke with to NOT cancel my card. Well I got the new company motto…..”there's nothing we can do.” He didn't know why they didn't tell me my card was being canceled, so I asked for a supervisor. I was not surprised when I got the standard line of “there's nothing we can do,” and they could send me a new card if I want. SO, not only did they cancel my card when I was assured it would not be, but they didn't send me a new one right away? I mean REALLY?

After not being helped out by John the supervisor, I got transferred to Bonnie Florex, the “St. Cloud call center manager.” Same story from her about “there's nothing we can do”, and she eventually just hung up on me. I wasn't being nasty on the phone to anyone, I was simply just trying to figure out a way to get me the money I really needed.

I called back and spoke with a CSR who said…well you can guess…and got transferred to another supervisor. She just said the same old thing….I asked them to overnight a card to me, and they acted like I was crazy. It simply ended with her telling me the card would be sent tomorrow, regular mail, not expedited, just plain old regular mail. Gee, thanks a lot, I will just search the couch for some spare change I guess!

I was really surprised that ING, the company that is so highly regarded for their customer service, wouldn't do anything to help me out, and canceled my card without telling me. If they would have simply told me on the very first call that my card was going to be canceled, I would have had time to figure something out regarding my important thing that needed taken care of today. Now I am suffering because of their mistakes, and here I sit, no way to access any money for several days. I don't have any other options to get cash. HELP!

So Consumerist:

1. What the heck should I do about the Reliance Mobile issue, and has anyone else dealt with this issue?

2. Any ideas, solutions, comments about the ING issue?

If you have any answers for Noah, please leave them in the comments.

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Art Careers

Posted by caseyzimmerman1955

The Decade's Top Models: Women Who Rocked The Post-Millennial Industry

When we're flipping through old magazines in thirty years, bemused by the dated art direction and the ridiculous clothing, some whippersnapper will doubtless point at an editorial and ask, “Who's that?” Chances are it'll be one of these ladies.

The modeling industry went through a variety of dramatic changes during the last decade. It was in these years that two relatively economically underdeveloped regions — South America and the former Eastern Bloc — supplanted the West as the industry's main source of tall, skinny 16-year-olds. (And the skinny 16-year-olds became skinnier 14-year-olds.) Lots of stuff happened: models died. The industry hesitantly considered self-regulation. There was a recession that decimated the luxury sector.

Who were the faces that cropped up during these tumultuous years and stood out from the crowd? Think of the Brazilian bombshells who stomped into prominence on the runways of Versace in the late '90s and held sway over the industry for the first few years of the decade that is now coming to a close. Remember the post-9/11 mini-vogue for “intellectual”-looking Belgians? (Though some — An Oost — have been unfortunately largely forgotten, others — Hannelore Knuts — still work regularly.) The doll-like models of the mid-2000s (hello Gemma, hello Lily!) The Russians who gained prominence during the last years of the decade. Who will be remembered as the faces of the 2000s? Our money's on these ladies.

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Author : Tony Jacowski

Ordinarily, most people do not perceive being an artist as a realistic career choice The common impression is that it is merely an elitist pursuit, with no guarantee of monetary returns However, this preconceived notion may not be applicable to every career option that involves art For instance, having a career in art is not restricted to just painting There are various other lucrative career options in the field of art, upon graduation from art school These schools can provide formal training in art, which equip students with tools that can be used in commercial settings You can be one of the lucky ones to be able to pay your bills through your art!

Career Options After Art School

MultiMedia Artist And Animator: If you are interested in creating animated images for commercials in various media, like television, print media, cinema or computer games, you can become a multimedia artist Multi media artists create the large series of pictures, which become the animated images on television, computer games or movies In 2002, there were almost 75,000 animators and multimedia artists in the United States of America, and this number is expected to expand further in the future You can become a multimedia artist if you possess a bachelor or masters degree in fine arts, although it is not always necessary

Craft Artist: A career as a craft artist can be ideal if you have a passion for creating useful artifacts like stained glass, pottery, hand woven rugs, sculpture or woodcarvings These crafts are very popular in markets all around the world, thus making a profession as a craft artist a lucrative career option You never know when your craftwork could become the next sought after collectible! Studio art classes at your local art school can be of great help in mastering the required skills You can also join an art club to enhance your craft Generally, craft artists work on a freelance commission basis You can also find work in studios and galleries that usually require creative craft artists According to the U S Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average earnings of craft artists in 2005 was $27,360

Fine Art Artist: Fine art is another career option that you can pursue after art school Painters, illustrators and sculptors come under this category The competition in this field is fierce, as there are a lot of aspiring artists As a fine art artist, you can display your art in museums, and your creations can be sold in auctions

Art Director: As an art director, you can produce creative visual concepts meant for magazines, newspapers, videos, websites or billboards An art director needs to coordinate with graphic designers as well as photographers, and make decisions related to the presentation of visual concepts Having management skills is an added advantage for being an art director A starting income of $73,790 was estimated for art directors according to the U S Bureau of Labor Statistics Advertising agencies also generally require the skills of an art director

Besides these career options, you can also try your hand at teaching art, landscape decor, interior and clothing designing, or photography

Requirements For A Career In Arts And Crafts

If you want to pursue a career in art, passion and interest in this field are prerequisites However, you will need patience, as earning from your craft may take awhile Dedication and determination often results in fame and success For example, artists like Van Gogh and Picasso have become household names People with a bent of mind and passion for art usually find their art careers satisfying and enjoyable

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

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Crist making it … too easy

posted at 3:10 pm on January 26, 2010 by Ed Morrissey Share on Facebook | printer-friendly

Crist making it … too easy

posted at 3:10 pm on January 26, 2010 by Ed Morrissey Share on Facebook | printer-friendly

The Decade's Top Models: Women Who Rocked The Post-Millennial Industry

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posted at 3:10 pm on January 26, 2010 by Ed Morrissey

Share on Facebook | printer-friendly

posted at 3:10 pm on January 26, 2010 by Ed Morrissey

Share on Facebook | printer-friendly