Archive for November, 2006

Most people believe that their car is an asset or that even their house is an asset. Is it true, I guess if you want to believe what the bank tells you. But for anyone who has read Rich Dad, Poor Dad you know better. Or at least you know something different.

To Rich Dad and to most people who understand how money works, an asset is something that puts money in your pocket. A car certainly doesn’t put money in your pocket it looses money the second it leaves the show room floor. And your house, although it allows you to take more money out on credit, which you may be able to use to buy or create an asset that does put money in your pocket, is definitely not an asset. More often than not the bank owns more of your house than you do and you just keep paying them more.

No, an asset is something that puts money in your pocket. Everything else can be considered a liability. You need to start thinking this way or else you’ll find yourself diligently lining the pockets of those that use your house or car as their assets.

You don’t even have to be real anymore to make a million dollars. Anshe Chung a former school teacher who used to live in Hubei, China become Second Life’s first Virtual Millionaire.

Second LIfe which is an online community where you basically build a life and interact with those around you is becomming all the rage for stay at home moms, internet gurus and geeks, and even car companies.

That’s right, both Ford and Toyota have real estate in Second LIfe world and sell cars, virtually. You can own one for a little over a real dollar.

Anshe Chung is a millionaire there, meaning she has enough virtual dollars that she can actually convert into real dollars by selling them to others in the virtual space. She did it by being a land baron. Building real estate, or server space.

See, theres money to be had everywhere. You just have to be a little creative sometimes.

For more on Anshe Chung go to cnn money’s write-up on her

technorati tags:Second, LIfe, Anshe, Chung, Millionaire, Money

Getting a Holiday Bonus this year? Here are 5 places you can spend it that might actually make you wealthier. It’s money you weren’t expecting, so why blow it on something that you’re not going to care about in 3 months. Try these.

1. Pay off a Credit Card
2. Put it in a CD, rates are rising and why not take advantage of free money
3. Open a Stock trading account and learn about stock investing, even $500 can help you get started.
4. Open an IRA account to save for retirement
5. Use it as your Gas fund, only for powering your vehicle

OK, so this post really isn’t going to help you save money, but how could we not write about it.

Google, Inc aka GOOG jumped above $500 in early morning trading today and looks like it’s going to close above the $500 mark as well. That’s right, it’s nearly 6 times what it was when they wen public in 2004 and with all the aquisitions it’s making, it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon.

Well I guess this could make you money. If you think there is a chance this titan will tank, sell short, if you think there’s a chance, and word on the street is that many analysts say this is fully possibly, that the stock will keep right on going past $600 then buy it.

The price is a little too rich for my blood, but then again I always wanted to buy Berkshire Hathaway when I was in middle school and the price was at $900 a share. If I would have bought one share back then, in the 12 years since I could have payed off almost all of my student loans with that money.

Hmmm, maybe I should buy just one share?

Maybe we should all just buy one share. Does anyone know if these Google guys idolize Warren Buffet?

Wanna save a little change on your electricity bill. I’ve written about it before in an energy saving and money saving post. But people never seem to listen. Now that there’s cold weather blanketing most of the United States, and oil prices set to rise. We can all use a little savings tips here and there.

I’ll bring it up again here as I did in that last post but you can save money by using compact flourescent lightbulbs. There has to be at least 5 lightbulbs in your house that you can replace, and we’re guessing a lot more.

Where a sweater and set your thermostat 2 degrees lower. This can save you bundles over the long haul. Now of course if there are health issues that keep you from doing this we don’t encourage you to start using this money saving tip, but if you’ve checked with your doctor and you can set your thermostat lower than you normally do. Do it.

If you aren’t home, keep your temperature way down.

Also, turn off lights when you’re not in a room, or other appliances, especially the TV. With the winter here we watch a lot of TV and even turning the TV off to make a sandwhich or run to the restroom can save you bundles over the course of a season or even a year!

Unplugging unused appliances like DVD players or microwaves or radios, can all save you money in the long run. Using a surge protector in these cases will help because constantly pluggin in and unplugging can cause unwanted sparks, especially in dry winter weather, so do this with caution as well.

But hitting the off button on the stereo you aren’t using for the DVD player is as good as anything and should be done.

Hopefully you’ll be able to save bundles of money and energy during the winter months that you can use to take a much needed vacation to Hawaii.

technorati tags:Money, Saving, Tips, Energy

So I guess I should just fill out those junk mail credit card applicaitons and then throw them away. Rambling News just pointed us to a crazy bit of information about what some credit card companies will accept.

He reported that 3 of 5 credit card companies accepted simply torn up and taped back together applications. More than half! And from big name credit card companies, not just these off the wall, shady mc shadsters.

You should read the rest of the article over at Rambling News about what these companies will accept and why, and then do as he says and buy a shredder.

technorati tags:Credit, Card, Companies, Applications

CBC News has a great article today about the Top 10 year-end tax planning tips for investors. It’s getting close to that time of the year for both Americans and Canadians, and Financing Wealth doesn’t care where you’re from, you can all learn to adapt these tips to your country.

The tips are written in detail at the link above but we’ll give you a recap here.

1. Invest in a resource tax shelter

2. Donate stock?

3. Defer sales til 2007, defer capital gains

4. Book looses outside registered plans

5. RESP’s

6. Spousal RRSP contributions

7. Converting RRSP’s

8. RRSP contribution with tax refunds

9. 69+? Contribute to RRSP and defer taxes

10. Avoid non-reg’d contributions ’til the new year

For those of you outside of Canada these tax defering tips can still help out in your 401K and IRA retirement plans. Just dig and think outside the box.

technorati tags:Retirement, Investing, Money, Dollars, Canada, Taxes

Cnn Money has a good write-up on 401(k) flubs to avoid. Which most of us can stand to avoid.

They have a good write-up that you should make sure to read on each mistake but here is a list to keep you interested.

1. Not participating in your 401K

2. Not contributing enough

3. Not investing for growth - this one you should read about

4. Borrowing from your 401K

5. Cashing out your 401K - early is a no no

Check it out, you’ll learn something new and maybe make a little more money in the coming year.

technorati tags:Retirement, Savings, Money, Investing, 401K, Cash

Contributing to a 401K plan but not sure how it works? Well, the great site HowStuffWorks.com has a great “how article” on How 401(k) Plans Work.

The site, known popularly as a great book from the early 90’s has thousands of articles on how everything works, not just those mechanical devices you always wondered about before. The article called “How 401K plans work” points out the basics to 401K plans and compares them to straight-up old fashioned buying of stocks.

Some of the key elements of the article that make it worth your look are:

1. A list of 4 things that make 401K plans different from other retirment plans.

2. A great chart, pictures always work better, on how the 401K process works.

3. 401K vs. Stocks, your tax advantages and differences

Overall it’s a great article and if you’ve ever wondered where you money is going I would head over to that article to find out.

technorati tags:401K, Roth, IRA, Traditional, Retirement, Investing