Be sure to check out the development of my free eBook, "Stock Investing Basics."

Want to learn how to sell anything online? Here's how.

Tough Times, Even Microsoft is Contemplating Significant Layoffs

Posted by billspaced | 10:43 AM | | 0 comments »

Microsoft has been able to weather past economic storms without laying off significant numbers of employees, always having layoffs in the "hundreds," at most. This time, they're thinking about thousands, perhaps 10 to 17 percent of its 95,000 employees. That's a lot of displaced workers, and it's not getting better for the Seattle, Washington area, what with all of WaMu employees in Seattle now looking for work.

An interesting tidbit from the CNET article:
Meanwhile, Google said Wednesday that it is cutting 100 recruiters from its payroll as the company significantly slows its once torrid hiring pace.

How big is Google to be able to cut 100 recruiters? That's a lot of recruiters!

Microsoft eyeing significant layoffs - iMedia Connection
Wall Street Journal
CNET

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Kids and Money -- January 15, 2009

Posted by billspaced | 11:40 AM | | 2 comments »

Welcome to the first edition of Kids and Money 2009! There are a lot of posts (as a reader, do you like reading lots of material all at once, or do you want smaller "helpings?" This would entail going back to once-a-week publishing, which I'm okay with, as long as you, the READER, wants that), so pull up a chair and sit down for a while!

Tell me your viewing preferences in the Comments, please. Also, as a submitter, what would you rather have? Once a week, twice a month, or monthly?

That said, here goes.

Isaac Yassar presents Manage Your Anger posted at Isaac Yassar .com, saying, "Teaching kids with anger is not a good idea. If parents cannot manage their anger well, kids will be victims. Show them some example how to deal with anger. Manage your anger!"

He says, with a SHOUT!!! :)

Credit Shout presents TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express Review posted at CreditShout, saying, "The TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express can save families who shop at Costco a lot of money over time."
I've pondered this one for a while...

Ben presents Best Online Savings Accounts posted at Money Smart Life.

Debt Free Destiny presents Should Mom and Dad Get an Allowance? posted at Debt Free Destiny.
Yep, but only Mom :)

Jim presents Best Student Credit Cards posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Joe Manausa presents REAL ESTATE TRENDS WORTH WATCHING | Tallahassee Real Estate Blog posted at Tallahassee Real Estate Blog, saying, "The MLS is the only source of information that directly ties supply to demand, so I find that it is important to keep an eye on this set of information on a daily basis. The most important information is new listings, new sales, new failures, and new pendings (homes put under contract), and track these as an “average” or trend over time."
Could you tell us more?

Silicon Valley Blogger presents 529 College Savings Plan Rewards, Referral Bonus To Save For College posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "Thanks Bill! Happy New Year!"
Right back at ya'! I love the 529 plans, as well as the ESAs.

The Smarter Wallet presents Family Budget For Frugal Living: Living Cheap Can Be Fun, Too! posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, "Thanks!"

Jack S. Keifer presents The Ten Commandments For a Stable Internet Business posted at Jack S. Keifer.
I'm telling you guys, if you want income stability, the best way for 2009 (and beyond) seems to be an income business. Search this blog for my posts about this.

Mary Cavanaugh presents Some encouraging thoughts for those getting a later financial start? posted at lean and green, saying, "Not so sure this fits exactly - but it's encouragment for anyone trying to catch up saving money!"
Nowadays, we all need some encouragement! Thanks.

Concerning Kids presents Help For Single Parents Raising Children posted at Concerning Kids.

KCLau presents Introduction of a new scheduler tax deduction (STD) posted at KCLau's Money Tips, saying, "About LHDN introducing a new scheduler tax deduction (STD) system"

Matthew Paulson presents Family Skiing Made More Cost Efficient posted at American Consumer News.
Love it!

Savings Toolbox presents Save For College With 529 Plans Through FreshmanFund posted at Savings Toolbox.
Ditto SVB above!

Destroy Debt presents 20 Inexpensive Ways to EntertainYour Kids in the Winter posted at Destroy Debt.
Excellent list!

Deposit Accounts presents Learning to Live on 70% of Your Income posted at The Money Blog.

Trisha Wagner presents Are You Waiting For Your Ship to Come in? posted at Empowering Mom.

Lauren Rose presents Secrets of Keeping to the Family Budget posted at No Debt Anymore .org, saying, "Making your money work for you is the ultimate goal of any budget. Financial problems usually arise due to lack of proper budgeting skills, or failure to keep to the proposed budget."

Mr Credit Card presents Children and Identity Theft.
That's a chilling thought!

The Shark Investor presents Alternative Income: Tutoring posted at The Shark Investor.

KCLau presents Redefine Retirement: Lifestyle Design of the New Rich posted at KCLau's Money Tips, saying, "About retirement, mini-retirement versus deferred retirement, income relativity and how to earn the income you want in the shortes time."

Credit Shout presents Best Student Credit Cards posted at CreditShout.

Nancy Miller presents OEDb's Online College Rankings 2007.

Concerning Kids presents Some Thoughts On Affordable Child Health Insurance posted at Concerning Kids.

Praveen presents "See, Santa Also Likes Coke!" posted at My Simple Trading System.

FMF presents Financial Steps New Parents Need to Take posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "Money tips for new parents."
As always, a great post. Kids are expensive. But the return is more than worth it!

Jim presents Free College Money: The FAFSA on Blueprint for Financial Prosperity posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Jeff Rose presents Preparing Financially for Your First Child posted at Jeff Rose, saying, "What to do when your first little one is on the way."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
Kids and Money using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: , .

Money isn't everything. It's the only thing. Wait. That's only for football.
Enjoy life. Spend time with your family.

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6 Things to Consider When Re-Writing Your Resume

Posted by billspaced | 12:53 PM | 0 comments »

Resumes suck. Writing them is even suckier. But recruiters and hiring managers look at them. And they're often your only introduction to a potential employer.

So you better get it right.

Here's an article on 6 things to consider when taking your resume online.

Remember, ONLY YOU are responsible for getting yourself a job. In today's labor environment, where you may change jobs 10-20 times over a lifetime (or even more!), your resume is your three-fold color brochure about the business of YOU, Inc.

This article gives some great ideas on how to take YOU, Inc. online.

HOW TO: Build the Ultimate Social Media Resume

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China's Money Man on the US and World Economy

Posted by billspaced | 2:06 PM | 0 comments »

Here's a great piece from The Atlantic about one of China's top money manager and how he feels about the world economy, America's position in it, the Dollar, and lots of other things. Have a seat though, and a chill-pill, because what he says is not pleasant. The excerpt below is a great illustration of how derivatives work and where we lost our way.
So I wondered, How do I explain derivatives?, and I used the model of mirrors.

First of all, you have this book to sell. [He picks up a leather-bound book.] This is worth something, because of all the labor and so on you put in it. But then someone says, “I don’t have to sell the book itself! I have a mirror, and I can sell the mirror image of the book!” Okay. That’s a stock certificate. And then someone else says, “I have another mirror—I can sell a mirror image of that mirror.” Derivatives. That’s fine too, for a while. Then you have 10,000 mirrors, and the image is almost perfect. People start to believe that these mirrors are almost the real thing. But at some point, the image is interrupted. And all the rest will go.

When I told the State Council about the mirrors, they all started laughing. “How can you sell a mirror image! Won’t there be distortion?” But this is what happened with the American economy, and it will be a long and painful process to come down.

I think we should do an overhaul and say, “Let’s get rid of 90 percent of the derivatives.” Of course, that’s going to be very unpopular, because many people will lose jobs.
It's a chilling take on how things might turn out. But all this has been said before, and we came out on top (only to fall a little bit more the next time around)...

Time, of course, will tell.

“Be Nice to the Countries That Lend You Money” - The Atlantic (December 2008)

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Search Engine for Kids Meal Deals

Posted by billspaced | 10:24 AM | 0 comments »

I have two kids. They eat like horses one day, gnats the next. It kills me to buy them full adult-size meals (you can always order more food, but once it's there, you can't say, "Can you send this back and not charge us for it?"), but often times we have to because the restaurant in question doesn't offer a kids menu (shame on you, big restaurant conglomerate).

Here's a search site for kids meal deals. It's new, so it's not by any means complete. But it's a fair starting point.

KidsMealDeals.com | Search Kids Eat FREE Restaurants

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Fulton County in Georgia Considers Giving Foreclosed Homes to Cops

Posted by billspaced | 2:41 PM | 0 comments »

Pretty good deal, but how many cops make it through 15 years (one of the stipulations of getting the deed to the house)?

County Considers Handing Out Foreclosures to Its Police Officers - The Home Front (usnews.com)

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Get Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan FREE

Posted by billspaced | 12:08 PM | , | 0 comments »

If you like Suze Orman (I don't, but it's not her advice, it's her delivery. She annoys me, so maybe she's better in book form!), go ahead and grab her 2009 Action Plan here.

Suze Orman's Free Book Download
The site gets hit pretty hard when there's a free book, so you may have to keep trying until you get through. There's a Spanish version there, too.

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THIS JUST IN -- Economy Set to Shrink by 202 percent

Posted by billspaced | 11:13 AM | | 0 comments »

O M G -- the economy is imploding, sucking in other aspects of society. I mean, it has to, right? How can anything shrink more than 100 percent?

Economic Headlines Stretch Limits of Imagination - The Inside Job (usnews.com)

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Some Notes on What to Buy and Sell for the New Year

Posted by billspaced | 9:50 AM | 0 comments »

From my favorite professional personal finance guy, Andy Tobias, Footnotes and Dazzle, comes a few nuggets to consider for your portfolio (read the notes at the bottom of the post).

SDS is one to consider, as is its cousin, RSW.


, ,

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Dilbert on the Economy

Posted by billspaced | 10:39 AM | 0 comments »

Yes, it's a horrible economy. Just read a piece on Mankiw about the money multiplier. It's now less than 1. That means that, for example, every dollar the Fed "creates," 5 cents of it immediately disappears. Doesn't seem to be a wise investment. This is why a fiscal stimulus is the ONLY policy prescription that has a chance to work.

People are losing their jobs, and consequently, their incomes. Get a dollar, save a dollar. Or try. That's the thought, anyway.

Obama has to persuade Congress to pass a bill with a primary focus on job creation.

To do that, there are various means. The most promising would be direct investment by the federal government in projects like rebuilding the power grid, developing alternative energies, re-energizing our school system, rebuilding bridges, roads, tunnels, and other huge infrastructure.

DC could also offer incentives to private enterprise in the form of tax cuts, rebates, and grants. Of course, they have to ensure that the money gets spent for its intended purpose (unlike the money they gave away to the banks, who used it to shore up balance sheets, save it, and hoard it, instead of loaning it out, as was the implicit expectation).

Leave me a comment on how you're fairing in this dismal economy. Have you lost your job? How are you making ends meet, or are you? Lost your home?

Or, are you doing just fine, even maybe getting ahead? How are you doing it?

Readers of this blog want to know how to cope. The "news" is horrible. Is there a shining light out there that's being ignored? How do you cope?

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Hyundai Offers Assurance in Tough Economic Times

Posted by billspaced | 9:40 AM | 0 comments »

How's this for "Assurance?" Hyundai is offering a program to new Hyundai buyers that lets them "give back" the car in case of income loss in the next year, with NO negative amortization (there is a $7,500 limit).

Is this a bold move or is it plainly stupid?

Hyundai is betting on an improved economy in 2009. Where do you stand?

Hyundai Motor America: about hyundai, HyundaiAssurance

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Federal Stimulus Package Approaching $800 Billion

Posted by billspaced | 3:24 PM | , , , | 0 comments »

In perhaps the biggest stimulus program EVER considered, Congress is mulling over a plan to spend over $800 Billion, none of which it has. Kinda what got us here in the first place...

"Congressional Democrats are planning a stimulus package with a price tag that could approach $800 billion over two years. It will include a tax cut, aid to state governments and funding in five main areas: traditional infrastructure, school construction, energy efficiency, broadband access and health-information technology. Meanwhile, top Republican lawmakers are positioning themselves as guardians against excessive spending rather than outright opponents of the Democrats’ plan." (from Scottrade's "Tomorrow's News Today")
I like their style (I say this facetiously)! Seriously, I think the right things are getting the focus. Our decrepit infrastructure is in serious need of overhaul, and in this classical Keynesian economy, it's high-time the federal government talked seriously about a stimulus program.

I know, we don't have the money. But it's in this time where the government has to step in and take the place of private investment (who's doing NOTHING to help resolve the issue).

Once it's apparent we're heading out of the woods, the government then needs to step out of the picture and let private enterprise reap the benefits. That growth will undoubtedly trickle down to the individual level.

Might as well spend some dough on education, alternative energy, and the like. It's all on the table.

What do you think? Tell me in the comments.


Money isn't everything. It's the only thing. Wait. That's only for football.
Enjoy life. Spend time with your family.

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