- "The best way to spend your money is to spend it on time, not on stuff." http://su.pr/2tr5iP #
- First bonus by stock options today. Not sure I'm impressed. #
- RT @chrisguillebeau: US border control just walked the train asking "Are you a US citizen?" Native American guy says: "One of the originals" #
- @FARNOOSH My credit score is A measure of my integrity not THE measure. in reply to FARNOOSH #
- I'm listening to a grunge/metal cover of "You are my sunshine" #
- There's something funny about a guy on reality TV whining about how private he is. #LAInk #
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-04-17
- RT @kristinbrianne: Get Talk and Txt Unlimited Cell Svc w/ Free Phone for $10 per month by joining DNA for Free. http://tinyurl.com/yyg5ohn #
- RT: @ChristianPF is giving away an iPod Touch! – RT to enter to win… http://su.pr/2LS3p5 #
- 74 inch armspan and forearms bigger than my biceps. No, I don't button my shirt cuffs. #
- RT @deliverawaydebt Money Hackers Network Carnival #111 – Don't Hassel the Hoff Edition http://bit.ly/9BIAvE #
- @bargainr What would it take to get you to include me in the personal-finance-bloggers list? #
- Working on a Penfed application to transform my worst interest rate into my best. #
- Gave the 1 year old pop rocks for the first time. Big smiles. #
- @Netflix @Wii disc works well and loads fast. Go, go gadget movie! #
Charity is Selfish
I try to give 10% of my income to charity. I don’t succeed every year, but I do try.
I don’t give because I’m generous. I give because I’m selfish.
If you give to charity, you are too.
I’m not talking about people who give to charity strictly for the tax deduction, though that is selfish too. I’m referring specifically to the people who give to charity out of the goodness of their hearts.
If I give a thousand dollars worth of clothes to a homeless shelter, I get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that I helped people stay warm.
If I send $100 to the Red Cross for whatever terrible disaster happened shortly before I made the donation, it makes me feel good to have contributed to saving those lives.
The put-the-inner-city-kids-on-a-horse thing we do? Makes me happy to get those kids into a positive situation.
Donating blood? Yay, me! I’m saving lives!
While it’s nice to help other people, that’s not the ultimate reason I’m doing it. I do it because it makes me feel good about myself to help other people, particularly people who–for whatever reason–can’t help themselves.
That’s the basis of altruism. It’s not about helping others, it’s about feeling good about helping others.
The truly selfish, the evil dogooders, are the ones who want to raise taxes to give it away as “charity”. They get to feel like they are doing something and helping others while not actually contributing themselves and, at the same time, stealing that warm fuzzy feeling from the people who are providing the money to start with.
Evil.
Charity has to be done at a personal, local level or the benefits to the giver are eliminated while the benefits to the receiver are lessened. Bureaucracy doesn’t create efficiency.
For the record, if it’s taken by force, by tax, it isn’t charity. Charity cannot be forced. Forcing charity is, at best, a fraudulent way for petty politicians, bureaucrats, lobbyists, and activists to feel they have power over others.
Again, evil.
Anchor Price Your Salary
- Image by Dalboz17 via Flickr
Conventional wisdom says that, when negotiating your salary or a raise, you should make whatever crazy ninja maneuvers it takes to get the other person to name a number first.
Horse pellets.
Have you ever watched an infomercial? Those masters of of impulse marketing geared towards insomniacs, invalids, and inebriates?
“How much would you pay for this fabulous meat tenderizer/eyelash waxer? $399? $299? No! If you call within the next 73 seconds, we will let you take this home for the low, low price of just $99.99!”
That’s the magic of anchor pricing.
The first number you hear is the number you will base all further numbers on. If you hear a high number, other lower numbers will feel much lower by comparison. The number doesn’t even have to be about money.
There was a study done that had the subjects compare a price to the last two digits of their social security numbers. Those with higher digits found higher prices to be acceptable, while those with lower prices only accepted cheaper prices.
What does an infomercial marketing ploy have to do with your salary?
If you are negotiating your salary and your potential employer gives a lowball offer, every higher counteroffer after that will much, much higher than than it would otherwise. On the other hand, if you start with your “perfect” salary, they amount you will be happy to settle for won’t seem to be nearly as high to the employer. At the same time, you will be less likely to accept a lowball offer if you set your anchor price high.
For example, if you are looking to make $50,000:
The employer offers you $40,000. $60,000 seems too high by comparison, so you counter with $50,000, then compromise and settler for $45,000. Or, you could start at $60,000, making the employer feel that $40,000 is too low, so he counters with $45,000, leaving a compromise at $52,000. That’s a hypothetical $7,000 boost, just for bucking conventional wisdom and taking a cue from the marketing industry.
How have you negotiated your salary?
What is the financial prize for winning the Super Bowl?
When you win the Super Bowl, you get a big ring and your team takes home a giant trophy. But for most guys out on the field, there’s a bigger prize waiting elsewhere. There are financial incentives associated with winning the big game. Some of them are direct, while others come later, in ways that most people will never see. The financial incentives are even different for coaches, players, and the owners who already have billions of dollars anyway. So how do the finances of the Super Bowl shake out?
A Direct Bonus
When Seahawks coach Pete Carroll threw away the Super Bowl, he cost his players and coaches a significant amount of money. Each player from the winning team receives $97,000 as a bonus. The losers are not left empty-handed, of course. They make off with a cool $49,000 each. Still Carroll’s mistake cost his players $48,000, as they had to settle for the consolation prize.
Endorsements Galore
Where things really get interesting is when one considers the marketing gains that players make when they become Super Bowl champions. The calculations are necessarily very indirect when talking about things like sponsorship value, but there is definitely some benefit to winning the big game. In the wake of winning the Super Bowl in 2014, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman signed endorsement deals with Campbell’s, Nike, and Microsoft. Running back Marshawn Lynch used his Super Bowl win to propel him to a deal with Skittles.
It’s difficult to know just how value the Super Bowl win was to these players and their financial futures, but it’s clear that winning the big game elevates players in the marketing sense.
Ownership Rewards
Super Bowl wins work out well for owners, too. The New England Patriots have won four big games over the last 15 years. In doing so, Tom Brady and company have turned the franchise into one worth over $2 billion. In addition, the Patriots “brand value” alone is worth $350 million. Some of these gains would have happened without wins in the big game, but it’s clear that taking home trophies helped the franchise grow in value.
What’s in it for coaches?
Winning a Super Bowl is the brass ring for coaches, and they are often defined by their ability or inability to take home a ring. When Pete Carroll led the Seahawks to last year’s Super Bowl victory, he was signed to a five-year extension that made him the NFL’s highest paid head coach at around seven million bucks per year. While he might be the goat in this year’s Super Bowl for his horrific goal line call, he’s living proof that if you can win the Super Bowl at least once, you can cash in on financial rewards in a big way.
There’s something to be had for nearly everyone when a Super Bowl win is in the offing. This year, the Patriots will get to enjoy those rewards. Next year, it’s bound to be some other team, some other coach, and some other owner.
