Sunday, March 26, 2006

CNN way to park money

He Said She Said

CNN Money article lists four options on where to put your savings.
1. If you're just starting to save - Best choice: Online savings accounts. I got one at HSBC

2. If you have lots of idle cash - Best choice: Money-market funds. I dont think so. despite risks, i would say invest (stocks, real estate)

3.If you need your cash at a specific time - Best choice: Certificates of deposit. i got one with dcu. but i park my emergency fund as CD. Crazy huh? but trust me it works. I wont break the CD unless its a true emergency. Also DCU allows you to take loan against the CD for very little rate. The money in the savings account bank is always an motivation to spend.

4.If your low-risk savings are devoted to long-term goals - Best choice: Short-term bond funds. again i would say build a portfolio.

In the list they say about things not to do with cash, they say dont invest in bonds (TIPS, Ibonds, EE Bonds). I dont think so, i dont like EE bonds, but TIPS for roth IRA and Ibonds for parking unexpected windfall of money looks good.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Things I Learned Today

  • Men, Women, Money. I am sure i got ur attention to this CNN article
  • 50 Ways to Trim Your Budget - freemoneyfinance article
  • Save big on a tiny income - msn money article. Some interesting lines - Look at the Pottery Barn catalog, shop at Goodwill, Fly cheap. Renee recommends mobissimo.com and itasoftware.com, There is little that can't be cleaned with (a mix of) vinegar and baking soda.
  • Five cent nickel talks about IRA Contribution Limit Workaround using SEP. i need to look into details before jumping in.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

New words for 2006

She said (a humorous forward I got at work)

Essential vocabulary additions for the workplace (and elsewhere)!!!

1. BLAMESTORMING : Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.

2. SEAGULL MANAGER : A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.

3. ASSMOSIS : The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.

4. SALMON DAY : The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.

5. CUBE FARM : An office filled with cubicles

6. PRAIRIE DOGGING : When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm, and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on.

7. MOUSE POTATO : The on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato.

8. SITCOMs : Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What Yuppies get into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids.


9. STRESS PUPPY : A person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and whiny.

10. SWIPEOUT : An ATM or credit card that has been rendered useless because magnetic strip is worn away from extensive use.

11. XEROX SUBSIDY : Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one's workplace.

12. IRRITAINMENT : Entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them. The J-Lo and Ben wedding (or not) was a prime example - Michael Jackson, another...

13. PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE : The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.

14. ADMINISPHERE : The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were
designed to solve.

15. 404 : Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error Message "404 Not Found", meaning that the requested site could not be located.

16. GENERICA : Features of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as fast food joints, strip malls, and subdivisions.

17. OHNOSECOND : That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake. (Like after hitting send on an e-mail by mistake)

18. WOOFS : Well-Off Older Folks.

19. CROP DUSTING : Surreptitiously passing gas while passing through a Cube Farm.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Tips for the Newcomers to workforce

I like morning star articles. especially this one about the six things for new college grads. i am about to reenter real job in another 2 months. Always remember that the power of compound interest is remarkable. To quote A 22-year-old who invests $2,000 per year and earns a 5% annual return on that money will have approximately $226,000 when she reaches the age of 59. Were she to wait until 30 to begin saving, she'd have just $139,000 when she's 59. So save from the beginning.

Tip one does not apply to me, as i dont have any debts. Also i dont agree to the advice to have only one credit. If u are financial prudent, then you should have atleast 2 credit cards. i have close to six and i plan to increase it to eight. My credit card strategy is as follows.

  1. Chase Visa - The main card 0% APR till May 2007. i buy everything using this one and put an amount equivalent to the purchase amount into my HSBC account.

  2. Citi premier pass - used for purchasing airline tickets. I get 1 reward point for every 3 miles I fly

  3. Amazon chase visa - rarely used for purchase at amazon, took it for the $30 reward. Will close it in another two years

  4. Wachovia visa- very rarely used. First credit card, never going to close

  5. Sams club - for use at sams club. I have stopped going to sams club so I stopped using this card. will close it when i move to seattle and take costco membership.

  6. Hechts - not used more than thrice, took it to get 15% off while purchasing suit and other things. will close it in another two years time
i plan to take citi's drivers edge card and apply for a new credit card each year to take advantage of the 0% APR deal.

Tip 2 is important. i plan to max out the 401K and Roth IRA. Tip 3 does not apply to me, as i already have an emergency fund established. I am not sure about tip 5, with auto invest option. i might do it. Tip 6 is always true. It sure is a continuous education.

Monday, March 13, 2006

What's for lunch?

She said ( in a slightly paranoid undertone)

Seeing the growing numbers of Bird Flu and Mad Cow in Asia and now the US .I have been thinking of what to and what not to eat.

Meat and fowl are sick literally...

Fish is brain food or so they say except maybe canned tuna which with its mercury is more like brain frying food.

Vegetables have high pesticide percentages that are not water soluble.Fruits are now a result of genetic engineering and hormones.

Tap water has too much lead...

So that leaves me pondering over the question What's for lunch?

Suggestions anyone...

Friday, March 10, 2006

Things I Learned Today


  1. I agree to this article on Free Money Finance, espcially the comment that the statement rich get richer, the poor get poorer is wrong. If you are discplined and determined anyone can get rich. Ofcourse its very easy to sit and complain about the rich.

  2. Save on rental cars says pluggedinfinance. The strategy is using sidestep.com establish the highest rate you are willing to pay and entering a price about 10 and 20% below the sidestep rate in priceline and bank the savings!. As noted in the comments u may have to repeat the cycle couple of times. Thanks pluggedinfinance for the comments.

  3. An easy tool for figuring out the allocation. its very basic. one of these days i need to sit and find out the best tool for allocations

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Things I Learned Today

My Daily Rant

  1. The matter of Bed. choosing on what to sleep

  2. Expense rule of thumb after marriage and kids by rediff. Start off with an income that keeps you in comfort as a single person and add 50% extra for marriage, and another 25% for each child you have. Frankly i dont think mine will match this rule of thumb

  3. For mortgage payment, writing a check is better than online payment as per fatwallet. It seems mortgage companies screw up the payments and hence processed check is admissible in court.