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Saturday Roundup

First, the shameless self-promotion:

If you want to see the glorious wisdom that is my Twitter feed, follow me on Twitter. I’m @LiveRealNow.

Please take a moment to subscribe to Live Real, Now by email. You get a choice between having all of the posts delivered to your inbox, or just occasional updates and deals. Both options get my Budget Lessons, free of charge, including exclusive access to articles that are not published anywhere else. Woo!

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And of course, there is always the wonderful RSS subscription.

The Best Posts of the Week:

Give the gift of kidneys so that Larry Correia can murder you for charity. Larry is the author of Monster Hunter International and Monster Hunter: Vendetta. Both books are excellent mind-candy, if you like explosions and monsters that, well, explode. Save a life and get murdered at the same time. Who could ask for more?

A V-8 only insinuates virility; multiple child seats prove it. With a title like this, and multiple car seats in my car, I have to include the post.

And finally, here are some tips to save time with email: Email Sucks.

Finally, a list of the carnivals and blogs I’ve participated in:

Dustin at Engaged Marriage was kind enough to run my guest post: Arguing Fairly with your Spouse.

I was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance with Check Your Bills.

Repair Plans, Appliances, and Rancid Meat…Oh, My! was included in the Carnival of Money Stories.

Selling Your Home: The Real Estate Agent was included in the Festival of Frugality.

If I missed a carnival, please let me know. Thanks to those who have included me!

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August 28th, 2010 | Tags: , , | Category: Finance, Life, Misc | Comments are closed | Subscribe | Print This Post Print This Post | Email This Post Email This Post

Do you have what it takes to be wealthy?

I saw this quiz and thought it would be fun to liveblog taking it. Yes, I’m lame. I’m going to take the quiz here. I’m copying the questions over before reading the answers and answering each question before reading the next.

1. How optimistic are you?

I have to go with A, the glass is half full, but I like to think I’m more of a “That’s half of a glass of water” kind of guy.

2. When you grew up, your parents were:

A & C. We owned a home, but money was always tight. I’m picking C. We always had everything we needed, so we certainly weren’t poor, but I also didn’t have every video game system in existence.

3. How healthy are you?

A. I can’t complain. I’m borderline on a few issues, but overall, I’m pretty healthy.

4. How smart are you?

I’d bet very few people consider themselves stupid, regardless of evidence to the contrary. I’ll take B, smarter than most, and hope it doesn’t sound arrogant.

5. What level of education did you complete?

B. College. I went to a tech school and took a diploma program. That’s working out well for me, so far.

6. Physically, you are:

A, B, & C. I’m tall, heavy, and pretty darn sexy!

7. What’s your sibling situation?

I have two and I’m the middle child.

8. Are you married?

A. Yes, to spouse #1.

9. Do you have kids?

3 of the little monsters. They are a money-drain, but worth every penny. Most days.

10. Do you exercise?

D. I neither smoke nor exercise. There’s no middle-of-the-road answer to this one. You either hit the gym regularly, or you are a lump on the couch.

11. People describe you as:

B. Persistent. I think the actual word used is “obsessive”.

12. Do you believe a woman’s place is in the home.

A. I may joke about it, but that’s not a choice for me to make.

13. When it comes to work:

A, B & C. I have a day job, but I’m also regularly pursuing side-hustles, including one that is 4 years old and relatively profitable. Since I can only choose one, it’s A, because that’s my primary income.

14. How would you like to jump out of a plane?

A. I want to, but promised my wife I’d wait until the kids were out of the house.

15. Who would you rather emulate?

B. I’m not into an entourage, and have no urge to surround myself with 500 of my closest leeches. Good times with good friends is enough for me.

I scored 39 out of 72, which puts me in “You’ve got a shot at real money!” My financial outlook puts me at comfortable, but not care-free, which is an okay place to be.

What’s your score?

August 27th, 2010 | Tags: , | Category: Finance, Life | 3 comments - (Comments are closed) | Subscribe | Print This Post Print This Post | Email This Post Email This Post

Bonding Relationships

People can’t be happy in a vacuum. We are social creatures. Even the most anti-social among us needs some human contact. How can you make that contact happen in a meaningful way? How can you connect with other people beyond some superficial meaningless chatter?

According to Keith Ferrazzi in his book, Who’s got your back, there are four mindsets necessary to build lifelong relationships.

1. Generosity. This is your promise to help others succeed. If have a skill that can help someone you know, why not give them a hand? when you help others, you are building social capital, which is a currency that cannot be bought. Since our lives are not ledger books, you can’t do favors with repayment in mind, but it is reasonable to assume that the people ou help will want to help you some day.

An often overlooked generosity strategy is to give away 90% of everything. I’m not suggesting you give away 90% of your wealth or possessions. I’m suggesting you give away 90% of your personal product. Plan to give away 9 times more than your receive. This will not only keep your from being disappointed, but it will also leave you feeling very fulfilled.

2. Vulnerability. It is important to let down your guard and let the world see your humanity. It’s almost impossible to truly connect with someone who’s shields are always up: the guy who seems to be invulnerable and unapproachable. The people you spend time with know your flaw anyway. If you pretend they don’t exist, you are only fooling yourself. I have a lot of problem with this one. Letting down my guard is incredibly difficult, in almost every circumstance. It is far easier to be strong than to let myself be vulnerable.

3. Candor. Total honesty is vital to establishing-and maintaining- lifelong relationships. Even the white lies can destroy your connections. If you can lie about the little things, you are planting doubts on everything else you do and say. Who can trust you then? Lying is inappropriate in almost all conceivable cases. I was raised that a man’s word is his bond. Almost everything you have can be taken away from you, but not your honor. That can only be destroyed by you. Without it, what do you really have?

4. Accountability. You need to follow through on your promises. Be Mr. Reliable(or Mrs!). If you say you will do something, do it! Nothing builds resentment faster than disappointing the people who are counting on you. If you can’t meet a commitment, let the soon-to-be-let-down know as early as possible, so other plans can be made. If you have a hard time keeping promises, then make fewer of them.

If you embrace these principles, you will be well on your way to building-and keeping-strong, satisfying relationships that benefit everyone.

How do you build your relationships?

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August 25th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | Category: Life, Relationships, Reviews | 9 comments - (Comments are closed) | Subscribe | Print This Post Print This Post | Email This Post Email This Post

Work at Home Scams

A work at home at placed on public property, w...
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The idea of working from home is certainly appealing. You get to set your own hours, sleep in some days, and be there when the kids get home from school. You can be there when the packages get delivered and let the dog out before it’s too late. Who doesn’t see the attraction?

Unfortunately, when something is so enticing, there will always be predators looking to take advantage of the dreams of others. They dangle the “be your own boss” bait and reel in the people who their wishes overrule their judgment.

The ads are hard to resist. “Make $2800 per month without leaving your home!” or “Stuff envelopes in your home for $1 per envelopes.” I cases like these, the old saw tends to hold true: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Common work-at-home scams include:

Medical Billing

For only $499.99, you can purchase a “business opportunity”. A lot of medical bill is actually done on paper so there is very real market for medical billing and processing. Unfortunately for the respondents to these ads, the vast majority of this market is already taken by large companies with huge marketing budgets. Finding enough customer to generate enough revenue to recover your investment is almost impossible, but you’ll never see that in an ad.

Envelope Stuffing

You answer an ad in the paper, sending $29.95 for a packet that will instruct you in the fine art of stuffing envelopes for $1 each. When you get the information, you find out it is a letter instructing you to place an ad in the papers stating “Stuff Envelopes for $1 Each. $29.95 for Information.” This forces you to become the scammer, just to recover your costs. Bad you.

Assembly or Craft Work

This one actually sounds like a business. You invest in-for example-a sign-making machine for $1500. The selling company promises to buy a quota of signs from you each month. After you buy the equipment and materials you spend countless hours making the product only to find out that either a) the company has disappeared or b) their undefined “Quality Standards” has rejected the work. Nothing is ever up to standards.

That’s not to say there aren’t legitimate opportunities to make money at home. Bob at Christian Personal Finance recently listed 24 legitimate home-based businesses, including blogging, eBay selling, wedding planning, car mechanic, and mobile oil changes.

Are you exploring any home-based business opportunities?

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August 23rd, 2010 | Tags: , , | Category: Finance, Life | 6 comments - (Comments are closed) | Subscribe | Print This Post Print This Post | Email This Post Email This Post
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