Tag: money

Year End Advice

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

My good friend rialtus posted some good advice last evening over on Facebook, in which he said that the end of the year is a good time to do the following:

  • Check for unclaimed property at www.unclaimed.org.
  • Get a copy of your free credit report via www.annualcreditreport.com (to which I’ll add: given you get one free report a year, and there are three services, check the services on a four-month cycle, i.e., Equifax in January, Transunion in May, Experian in September)
  • Check your credit score through a service such as CreditKarma

As the son of an accountant, I’ll also add that the end of the year is the time for various tax saving ideas, such as:

  • Remembering to donate that junk cluttering your garage. Remember to get a receipt, or use a service such as the National Council for Jewish Women (which in Los Angeles, itemizes and sends you a receipt).
  • Remember to make any end of the year donations before 12/31.
  • If you need that extra boost of a month of deductable interest, pay your mortgage before 1/1.
  • Make any self-directed IRA contributions, which I seem to recall are due in the first quarter to be deductable.

I’ll also note that this weekend is a great time to organize your receipts and bill paying system for the 2010 calendar year, and to pull out receipts for your accountant for your 2009 return. Now is also the time to start that file to collect the 1099s and other tax information you’ll start receiving in January.

So, what year end advice do you have to share?

Share

Use It Just Like Cash

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Today, I travelled out to Baltimore for another week of workshops. Along the way, I saw how cash is no longer the legal tender it once was. The day started with a Flyaway bus to LAX. The Flyaway used to be a nice cheap roundtrip, but it has gone up to $14! Youch! Further, they no longer accept cash or use tickets — your charge slip is your receipt. Although this isn’t a problem for me, I could see it being a problem for those without credit/debit cards (such as young adults). I saw something similar on the airplane: United now only accepts credit cards for on-board food and alcoholic beverage purchases (and their prices have gone up: $6-7 for the boxes, $9 for the meals). Again, not a problem for me, but it could be a problem for some.

But what gets me most of all is the non-acceptance of cash. The ability to do things anonymously in our society is rapidly disappearing. Cash is going away, being replaced by a plastic society (which makes more and more money for the credit card companies, who get a small slice of every transaction).

Do others find this disturbing?

Share

Friday (uh) Thursday News Chum: iPhones, iPods, Hummers, Caltrans, Supermarket Wars, & Tax Increases

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Today’s the last day of the conference, and as I’m getting on the road immediately afterwards, I thought I would share some chum from this morning’s reading of the news:

  • From the “At Least It’s Not an Edsel” Department: The NY Times is reporting how the iPhone is overloading the AT&T networks. My favorite part of the article is the line, “Slim and sleek as it is, the iPhone is really the Hummer of cellphones.” Irrespective of the iPhone issue, its interesting to note how certain car names become symbolic of greater woes. The Edsel is representative of something that just was a bad idea, badly designed, badly executed. The Gremlin is an idea that goes up in flames far too easy. The Hummer is something that just wastes too many resources.
  • From the “Making Hay While The Sun Shines” Department: This weekend the Bay Bridge is being closed while some major work is being done. What’s interesting is that Caltrans is doing it right. While the span is being replaced, they are taking advantage of the closure to do other repair work and train first responders. For all we complain that the government gets things wrong, it is nice to note when they get things right (and why I like the conference this week, which is all about another area where the government is getting things right).
  • From the “It’s Dead, Bill” Department: Microsoft is killing the Zune, discontinuing it once the Zune HD comes out. For me, the interesting part of the article is related to Apple, “Does the Zune’s discontinuation signal the end of the iPod Classic, as Gizmodo posits? I don’t think so. Even though iPod sales fell 7 percent in the last quarter compared to 2008, Apple still sold 10.2 million iPods.” The thing about the iPod Classic is capacity. There is no other music player out there with a triple-digit GB capacity. When I fill up my 80GB iPod, I’ll likely replace it with a 120GB iPod.
  • From the “It’s a War” Department: Evidently, an old staple of SoCal is back: the Supermarket Price War. Worried about the loss of customers to Walmart and Target, LA area supermarkets are lowering prices. Of course, many of us won’t notice, as we’ve just given up on them, moving to TJ’s instead. The surprising thing in the article were the statistics: Ralphs is the largest chain, controlling 18.2% of the grocery market in Los Angeles and Orange counties through the first quarter of this year. Vons is second with just under 14.8%. Albertsons is third with 12.4% and Trader Joe’s is fourth with 6.3%. Stater Bros., which has a greater concentration in the Inland Empire, is No. 5 with 6.1%.
  • From the “Manipulating Taxes for Fun and Profit” Department: Lastly, a report of how politicians are under manipulation pressure to protect industries. We’ve seen it before in the health-care debacle, where the pressure to get rid of the public option is coming from the private insurers who do not want the competition. The LA Times is reporting on how the cable industry is pushing to add a 5% tax on satellite TV, to match the 5% tax they have to pay for digging in the streets and stringing poles. Never mind that satellite don’t need to build that infrastructure. The cable companies just want it to protect their industry. Will a cash-strapped legislature bow to the pressure? Stay tuned. They may sneak it under the radar: Cable’s tax-the-other-guy proposal is being shopped to legislators with the idea of adding it to a noncontroversial bill, currently focused on Indian gambling, that is close to winning final passage and being sent to the governor.

[Edited: This was originally “Friday News Chum”. Attribute it to a brain slip.]

Share

Economic Chum: Kroger/Ralphs Marketing, Ford Family, Small Business Credit, Job Market

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Last night, I had the occasion to talk to my broker about building college funds and investing in this economy, and I pointed her to a number of articles I had seen during my lunchtime news reading. So, for today’s lunchtime chum, I thought I would share them with you:

  • From the “Targeted Marketing” Department: The LA Times has an interesting article on the Kroger chain, which out here in Los Angeles we know as Ralphs (disclaimer: My brother-in-law works for Ralphs as some sort of manager). Oldtimers in Los Angeles will remember Kroger as the one-time owner of the Market Basket chain (and if you are into grocery history, check out this site). Kroger, it seems, is making money through intensive analysis of their customer base, and by silently tiering their stores: the ones with wealthier clientele get more national brand products, the ones with more price-conscious consumers get more private-label products. They individualize coupon book mailings. Now, I’ve never particularly liked Ralphs since Kroger took over — we still prefer TJs and Gelsons — but that could be because we’re not going to a correctly-tiered store for our style.
  • From the “There’s A Ford In Your Future” Department: The NY Times has an interesting article on Ford Motors, which you’ll recall is the only US-HQed carmaker to not accept US Govt funds. The article claims that one reason is that the Ford family is still at the helm and actively involved. I should note that the NY Times also has an interesting piece on which autos are actually made in the US. By the way, when you buy that car, expect to see some colors you haven’t seen in a while. USA Today is reporting that carmakers are using colors in lieu of new models to lure buyers.
  • From the “Feeling Squeezed” Department: The LA Times has an interesting piece on the tightening credit squeeze for small business. It notes how the credit cards that small business depends upon to smooth cash flow are disappearing or having rates raised… and that the same companies that are doing this may be going out of providing private-label cards to these stores. This could affect those with private label cards (think Best Buy), or those trying to take advantage of the 0% financing deals (which are often private-label credit).
  • From the “Get A Job” Department: The NY Times has an interesting article on the job market: in particular, how certain skilled professions are begging for people. These include professions such as critical care nurses, welders, licensed civil engineers, special education teachers, geotechnical engineers, and electrical lineman. All are fields that require some aspect of professional experience or training on top of the school experience (making the people harder to come by). Interesting article, especially if you are looking for work, or know someone looking for work.
Share

Getting Chummy

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Some lunchtime news chums, garned from the usual skimming:

  • From the “More Things Going Away” Department: Yesterday, I wrote about some things that are going away, like Bakers Squares and the old Pepsi logo. Today’s news brought another thing that is disappearing: Viewmaster Scenic Reels. Hell, I’m surprised that Viewmasters are still around.

    ETA: In other restaurant news: Jack In The Box unveils a new logo, to be announced by a reenergized and recovered Jack Box, fresh from his recent accident.

  • From the “Making Lemonaide from Lemons” Department: Even wonder what happened to the folks who made bad loans at Countrywide? Surprise, surprise (as Jim Nabors would say): they are back in the loan business. Specifically, they have started a new company, PennyMac that is purchasing the bad loans and attempting to turn them good. I say: “More power to them”. If they can figure out a way to turn these bad loans into perfomring loans, take them off the balance sheets of the worried banks, that’s inginuity at work.
  • From the “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” Department: Guess who wants an iPhone, but can’t get it? Hint: It’s not the price that’s stopping the purchase, it’s the manufacturer. Yup, Melinda Gates. Seems the household has a no-Apple policy. Raise your hand if you think Apple should send her one, gratis.
  • From the “Get to Work” Department: Want a job? It appears that some folks are still in demand. No, I’m not talking about folks who repossess things. I’m talking about folks with security clearances. According to the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles area (including OC) was one of the top 10 areas for folks with clearances.
  • From the “I’m Cooking with Gas” Department: I’ve had a few food related articles collecting space in the to-post list, so I thought I would share them. The first explores how much water does pasta really need? What’s interesting is the answer: not as much as the package says. The second explores a humble cooking tool that one can acquire at Home Depot: kitchen twine. Sometimes, it is the littlest items that are the secret to a great bacon wrapped roast :-)… but just make sure you don’t use that plastic coated stuff. The last is an article on a retro-favorite: cube steak. I’m actually a fan of this stuff, especially Southern-style Chicken Fried Steak. Yum. Oh, that reminds me, I need to finish my lunch….
Share

A Lunchtime Soapbox Corner: 500K

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

[Climbs up on soapbox]

Over at the New York Times, one of the more popular articles is a piece on trying to live on $500,000 in New York City. The article has prompted an interesting discussion over in chessdev’s journal, and I’d like to use my lunch break to expand on it a bit here. I’ll note that I also live in a high-cost city (Los Angeles), in a neighborhood where the homes might be categorized as upper-level manager homes (as opposed to, say, blue-collar union homes, white-collar engineer homes, or storied executives/entertainment industry homes). These are homes that at their top price were probably in the low $800K; they’ve since dropped in value to around the mid-$600s.

Let me also note that (at least in the beginning of this post) I’m focusing solely on the salary and what it is used for, and not priorities and appearances. I’ll address those issues at the end of the post.

Read More …

Share