- Getting ready to go build a rain gauge at home depot with the kids. #
- RT @hughdeburgh: "Having children makes you no more a parent than having a piano makes you a pianist." ~ Michael Levine #
- RT @wisebread: Wow! Major food recall that touches so many pantry items. Check your cupboards NOW! http://bit.ly/c5wJh6 #
- Baby just said "coffin" for the first time. #feelingaddams #
- @TheLeanTimes I have an awesome recipe for pizza dough…at home. We make it once per week. I'll share later. in reply to TheLeanTimes #
- RT @bargainr: 9 minute, well-reasoned video on why we should repeal marijuana prohibition by Judge Jim Gray http://bit.ly/cKNYkQ plz watch #
- RT @jdroth: Brilliant post from Trent at The Simple Dollar: http://bit.ly/c6BWMs — All about dreams and why we don't pursue them. #
- Pizza dough: add garlic powder and Ital. Seasoning http://tweetphoto.com/13861829 #
- @TheLeanTimes: Pizza dough: add lots of garlic powder and Ital. Seasoning to this: http://tweetphoto.com/13861829 #
- RT @flexo: "Genesis. Exorcist. Leviathan. Deu… The Right Thing…" #
- @TheLeanTimes Once, for at least 3 hours. Knead it hard and use more garlic powder tha you think you need. 🙂 in reply to TheLeanTimes #
- Google is now hosting Popular Science archives. http://su.pr/1bMs77 #
- RT @wisebread 6 Slick Tools to Save Money on Car Repairs http://bit.ly/cUbjZG #
- @BudgetsAreSexy I filed federal last week, haven't bothered filing state, yet. Guess which one is paying me and which one wants more money. in reply to BudgetsAreSexy #
- RT @ChristianPF is giving away a Lifetime Membership to Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University! RT to enter to win… http://su.pr/2lEXIT #
- RT @MoneyCrashers: 4 Reasons To Choose Community College Out Of High School. http://ow.ly/16MoNX #
- RT @hughdeburgh:"When it comes to a happy marriage,sex is cornerstone content.Its what separates spouses from friends." SimpleMarriage.net #
- RT @tferriss: So true. "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." – Abraham Lincoln #
- RT @hughdeburgh: "The most important thing that parents can teach their children is how to get along without them." ~ Frank A. Clark #
The Happy Butt
Do you find the cloud in every silver lining? Is the glass not only half empty, but evaporating? Do you start every day thinking
about how the effects of entropy on the universe make everything you do ultimately pointless?
You may be a pessimist.
Pessimism gets a bad rap. Without pessimists, we wouldn’t have insurance plans, missile defense systems, or Eeyore, and what would the world be without those things?
The thing you have to ask yourself is “Does the negativity make you happy?”
The next thing you have to ask yourself is whether or not you were lying with your previous answer.
If you have a negative outlook on everything, I have good news for you: it’s possible to defeat it. No matter how long you’ve been looking at the world through coffin-colored glasses, no matter how ingrained your negative slant is, it’s possible to change it.
You have to want to change it, because, as the saying goes, old habits die hard. Yippee kai yay.
You need a happy butt.
Little known fact: language shapes the way you think. If your language has no words for a concept, you will have a difficult time thinking about that concept, or even understanding it. Statistically, Asians are better at math than their western-world counterparts. Why? It’s not genetic. When a family moves to the US, the edge is lost within 2 generations. It’s not the amount of school they get. Even in backwaters with limited school access demonstrate the same abilities.
It’s the language. Euro-based languages are horrible. They are a clumsy mish-mash of crap from around the world, and the numbering system makes no sense. 11, 12, 13, huh? Spoken, that’s not a progression, it’s something we have to learn by rote. Why is 13 pronounce “thirteen”, with the ones place first, but 23 is pronounced with the tens place first, the way it is written? Where did the word “twenty” even come from? It’s obviously a horrible bastardization of “two” and “ten”, but is it self-evident? Does the progression through the decades follow some kind of rule? Twenty, thirty, forty, fifty. Nope.
The Asian languages (most of them) differ. The numeric progression is spoken in a rules-based progression that makes sense. 23 is literally “two tens three”, making learning math less about rote memorization and more about masters some simple rules.
In the western world, we are handicapped by our language, at least when it comes to math.
The rest of our thoughts are formed by language, too. Learn a language with different roots than the one your were born with and see how your perceptions change.
One of the signs of negative thinking is qualifying everything you say negatively. For example, one person might say “It’s a beautiful day, today” while Mr. Negativebritches would say “It’s a beautiful day, but it’s probably going to rain.” That’s a sad butt, err, but. Every time you qualify a sentence with a sad butt, you are reinforcing your negative view of the world.
The solution? Drop your drawers and paint on a smiley face. You need a happy but(t). You can rephrase the sentence into a happy thought without changing the sentiment or meaning in any way. Try this: “It’s probably going to rain, but it’s a beautiful day, now.” That’s a happy butt, and it reinforces the positive in your mind.
It sounds stupid, but it works. Your language shapes your life. Put a positive spin on what you say, and you will eventually start to think about life in a positive way.
Give it a shot. For the next week, every time you say something negative, qualify it with a happy butt. At the end of the week, come back here and tell me how it’s working and if you can sense a change in your mindset.
Saturday Roundup: Evil Dead
Last night, my wife and I went to see Evil Dead: The Musical. I’m a die-hard zombie-movie fan, and the Evil Dead Trilogy is among my favorites. I don’t recognize a difference between Candarian demons and zombies, so it still fits the genre.
The musical beats either of the first two movies, hands down. I was rolling. If you are in the Minneapolis area tomorrow, check it out at the Illusion Theater. If you are elsewhere, watch for it. It’s entirely worth the time and money.
Best Posts:
Sometimes, shopping can save you money, but don’t let it get out of hand.
I’ve never had food poisoning, but my wife has. It was unpleasant.
Bacon soda. Yum. No further comment.
Bad marketers. No donut.
Carnivals I’ve been in:
AAA – Save Some Cash was included in the Festival of Frugality.
The Spending Styles of the Rocky Horror Picture Show was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance.
Crack was included in Foodtastic Favorites.
If I missed anyone, please let me know. Thanks for including me!
Choosing an eCommerce Platform to Sell Products Online
According to the U.S. Online Retail Forecast, 2011 to 2016, a report conducted by global research and advisory firm Forrester, eCommerce sales in the United States topped $200 billion in 2011. This figure is set to rise by a staggering 62% by 2016, with the resulting $327 billion in annual eCommerce sales accounting for 9% of total retail sales. Spurred by innovative shopping models and online loyalty programs, the eCommerce sales channel is clearly benefiting from the increasing levels of comfort customers are feeling while shopping online. It’s not too late for companies of all sizes to reap the benefits of growth in this area. Assuming a product is ready to sell, the digital landscape boasts several eCommerce platforms and related services that will help companies to sell products online.
eCommerce Platforms: Several Flavors of Opportunity
eBay and Amazon: Ready Made eCommerce Platforms
Online retailers eBay and Amazon offer a quick and easy route for any business to start selling products online. The global reach of these sites means marketers gain immediate access to an audience of millions of potential customers. Despite increasing publicity in respect of the fees charged by the sites, particularly by eBay, a growing number of traders boast a turnover in excess of $1m. If nothing else, these platforms represent a practical opportunity for new companies to get started in online retail.
Shopify: Out-of-the-box Online Retail Stores
To date, over 20,000 business owners are using Shopify to realize the benefits of selling products online. This creative software allows businesses to use their own domain name, includes eCommerce hosting and an integrated shopping cart. It also boasts many online store designs customizable with over 100 ecommerce website templates. Payment for the service is made monthly with different plans available to suit businesses of varying sizes.
Facebook: Move Over Farmville
The phenomenal growth of social media has surprised most Internet users. With Facebook membership expected to exceed 900 million users by the end of 2012, a report from comScore, ‘The Power of Like, ‘ claims that customers are between 40 and 150 times more likely to consume branded content that is visible in their newsfeed than they are to visit a particular business page. Startups like 8th Bridge and Payvment are helping online retailers take advantage of this trend with the provision of innovative eCommerce solutions that encourage users to shop where they socialize.
Wordpress: It’s not just for Bloggers
While it’s true to say that WordPress was initially targeted at bloggers, it is now better described as a competent eCommerce and CMS platform. It’s a perfect option for those businesses who prefer to do things their way. Users can take advantage of free or premium eCommerce website templates and various WordPress plugins that will see their site turn from a basic blog site to a fully functional online retail store in minutes. Although all the potential eCommerce platforms discussed required that due diligence is given to marketing and optimization strategies, a business running its own online store should prioritize these aspects of success.
From Bricks to Clicks
The ‘clicks not bricks’ mentality is set to grow beyond the most idealistic of visions. Savvy business owners will give appropriate consideration to which eCommerce platforms will best suit their needs and that of their business. Many will come to the conclusion that the best solution is a combination of platforms.
This is a guest post.
Phone Insurance
Thursday, at parent/teacher conferences, I sat on my phone and broke the screen.
Not just the glass, but the LCD.
Not a problem. I pay for Sprint’s repair plan.
Little did I know that Sprint–in their infinite #$!$%#$%–considers a phone unrepairable if there is more than one crack on the screen. That effectively means that any broken screen is a total loss.
It’s good to know my $4/month has been wasted.
Other than a phone I had stolen last year, I still own every phone I’ve ever owned. None have had water damage or anything catastrophic happen to them, so I didn’t get the replacement side of Sprint’s insurance plan.
To summarize:
- I broke my phone in a way that Sprint won’t fix, even though I pay for the fixit plan.
- My phone costs $600 when you aren’t signing a new contract.
- My phone has the most expensive LCD to replace at the moment.
The Total Equipment Protection program costs $11 per month. Given my history, that’s a waste of $11, though it would actually be a waste of $7, since I have been happy to pay $4 for the repair plan.
$7 per month since I got my first smartphone in about 2008, means I’ve saved $420 in insurance fees I haven’t used.
Today, I paid $298 to replace the LCD on my phone. That includes overnighting the part to the shop since it’s not stocked and I’m leaving town tomorrow.
An insurance claim from Sprint comes with a $150 deductible.
All told, I’m $270 to the good.
Would I get the insurance if I were signing papers today?
Probably not. A $7 monthly bill doesn’t hurt, while a $300 surprise does, but that’s why I have a repair fund.
Do you have insurance on your phone? Have you used it?
Investments are a Gamble
Or a scam.
If you’ve been reading Live Real, Now for long, you’ll know I hate scammers. I particularly loathe scammers who prey on the hopes of the naive. There is a special corner of hell reserved for those who live to steal the futures of the innocent.
For many people, especially day-traders, it is absolutely true that stocks are the same as gambling. For too many other people, investments are an opening for con-men to ply their trade.
People invest their money to secure their futures. They put their life saving into some investment vehicle and, hopefully, it grows to bring financial security. Properly done, it’s not a gamble.
In the worst case, you get investment advice from a slimy, scum-sucking 3-card-monte dealer. These blood-suckers–at best–don’t care about your future. They only care about their commissions. Others will do anything possible to run away with your nest egg.
So how do you avoid the karmicly-destined-to-be-cockroach fraudsters?
First, never invest more then you can afford to lose. Gambling rules apply. If you can’t afford to lose it, you need to keep your money someplace absolutely secure. Your mattress, buried mayonnaise jars, or a simple savings account come to mind.
Do your research. Is the person selling the investment licensed to do so? What is the historic return? Can you independently verify that? If you run across anything that looks too good to be true, it probably is. Run away.
Don’t fall for a time crunch. If something is a good investment today, it will still be a good investment tomorrow. Take you time, do the research, get the details in writing, and get a second opinion. If you are supposed to keep the investment a secret, it’s either a scam or a crime. Always cover your own butt.
Be safe. Keep your money.
For more information, see the SEC, the FTC, the CFTC and FINRA.