If you buy everything in the book it's a waste but if you select what you need or what you can get free wrap up and give to a friend it saves a great deal of money. When I was doing this monthly I would tend to spend 10 dollars on 45 dollars worth of items. Everything from toothpaste and tooth brushes and makeup to vitamins and baby products. I don't have a baby so I would give those items to the pastor at church he always appreciated some baby shampoo or wipes. What cost me a few cents for the 6% sales tax saved him a few dollars a month.
if you have time please visit http://pkab.wordpress.com where more than 600 articles about Concept Map or Mind Map in English and Bahasa Indoenesia languages.
I have experience with both sides of the fence. My name is Jennifer and I am bummed to have such a common name without much flair. However, my mom almost named me Charity Charise which makes me cringe so I guess I shouldn't complain.
My husbands given name is Oisin (oo-sheen) and he stopped using it when he was about 7 because kids called him 'Oh, ****' (I didn't use that word at 7!!!) and no one could spell or pronounce it. Apparently it's a popular name in Ireland. His parents thought it was beautiful and his mom still defends her choice even though everyone calls him Sean now.
When we had our twins, we didn't have solid names until I was almost 7 months pregnant. I really liked the name Waylon but didn't want the Waylon and Willie reference (we live in Texas) and now my husband tells people we almost named them Waylon and Willie which IS NOT TRUE!! It was Waylon and Devon. We went with much simpler, easy to spell classic names, one of which is pretty popular now much to my chagrin. But they are solid names that suit them and even though we use the shortened versions they can use their full names later whenever the mood strikes them.
My brother's middle name is Baskerville, which is a family name and although he was teased a bit, I've always thought it was a cool name to have and since it was his middle not everyone knew it. Plus, "basketball" isn't much of an insult. We do call him 'Bubba' which he tells new acquaintances rather sheepishly. ;)
I would have to agree. It is a true friend who sees us making a mistake and warns us. It's hard to take sometimes, but it can save us a whole lot of pain and gain us a closer friend.
My worst financial mistakes were not taking financial responsibility and putting all finances in my husbands hands. I closed my bank accounts and got joint checking because "we're married!". At tax time, I was afraid of taxes.(I had taken my ez form to h&r blok.) so when he said, 'we're married, just sign your name' I said 'Yay!' 'My husband will take care of EVERYTHING!'
Years later, when we divorced, the IRS did not believe I was an 'innocent spouse' - he never paid the taxes.
Oh, and when he left, he cleared out the bank account. there was under $2 left. I couldn't buy food without a credit card.
(The lie that he never converted to Judaism and said he did all the requirements is another matter I discovered when I tried to get a 'get' - but I digress. - who asks the man they love to show paperwork from rabbis).
Lessons learned: keep your eyes open, communicate about money, know everything you're responsible for - and do it.
Your story hit me. Mine is nothing like yours, but this similarity: My 82 year old father told me from the time I was a small child that when he won the lottery (again when, not if) he would make me an heiress.
Money details - I don't know.
But he went online asking for people who grew up in his neighborhood. A group of people, who look like they're in a bar, sent him their picture and a letter, and emails, hoping to meet him. He keeps the picture taped to his mirror.
I studied in London last semester (law school abroad=poor student, expensive living=must read wisebread)...and instead of having a "dollar menu" they had "cheap eats"... obviously they can't have a "pound menu"... everything there is double the price and then double the value...so 2 pounds for a burger= 4 dollars= :::sigh:::. American businesses thrive over there without discounted menu items. Subway had a two pound sub each day, it changed daily...sub of the day. One day I went with four pounds, expecting a footlong. What did they do? They had SUBS OF THE MONTH...three subs all for 2 pounds 30 pence or so. :(
My brother thinks there should be (well there is in Germany already) a robotic restaurant... your meal comes out on a mechanical device directly from the kitchen, no waiter/ess involved...lower costs...and everything on the menu is $5.00 or $1.00. Consistency here being key.
I am in the same boat! I called to see why my the check that my family recived was 600.00 short and they pretty much laughed and said that I was just out the cash! You wait till I dont pay $600.00 that I owe and see what happens- I will be taken to JAIL- what a great system we have in this country! Gotta love it! No wonder the Europeans laugh at us, we as a people are so stupid, letting out govt get away with this type of behavior.
I should have known that it was too good to be true. I cant believe that the IRS can get away with this, but then who do they have to answer to? NO ONE.. thats not the way it should be- As far as Im concerned the Government owes me $600.00!!!!!!!!!!! its time we take the country back, and make it as it shoud have been from the start, a goverment for the people BY the people.
"It is a possiblity but with advances in medical care and underwriting the number of poeple that are declined coverage today in our agency is less than 5% and we process over 25,000 applications a year. Yes, the insurance is more expensive 20 years later but still affordable and accessible for most in their 50's, 60's and even 70's. "
but jeff, what about the people who don't make it through your pre-screening? I don't think you're being all that straight forward yourself here. You prescreen and for some folks you already say "no" by not taking the appication. How many of those are there? Aren't you really saying of the people who think they can buy insurance only 5% can't? However the diabetics, the hypertensives, the depressed.... not so much right?
I've had both good and bad experiences with placement firms, but the single most important trait I've found in all of them was that they specialized in my industry, which made my job placements that much more enjoyable (or better fitting anyways).
As for restaurants, even if there isn't a hiring sign in the window, you should always ask to fill out applications. I'll admit it, I'm actually a huge fan of working in restaurants, and every place I've ever worked takes applications even when they're not hiring. They're usually pretty honest as to whether they will need help immediately or not for another few months. The key to to try and pick a restaurant that doesn't have a high turn-over rate for the staff!
with Linsey. The people I choose to be friends with respect my opinion and insights into things, so even if they don't ultimately agree with what I am thinking, they're always willing to listen.
And I've referred more than one friend to this blog site after telling them how the various articles are helping me get out of debt!
Rune Scape is really a good MMORPG. Sure, the graphics might not be the best and not the sounds either. But all the different skills adds alot. Also, the story... The story about Rune Scape and it's many quests is fantasic. The quests and thier storys go deep and many of them build on each other. Sadly thought, I belive that many who play Rune Scape don't take thier time to read through the quest storys...
Also, somebody said that the customer service is junk, thats not true... Jagex has much better custumer service then most online game companys, (including Blizzard acording to me).
Also, finance is'nt the all Runescape teaches you, if you are young you WILL learn English from it, I did.
And for the records, I don't even play Runescape at the time and still I think it's awesome!
You have to beware of the hidden costs. You have to factor in time for taining and delegation of the tasks along with the possibility it won't be right the first time.
The key is being a good manager and finding the right people.
most of my "real" friends, that respect my opinion, have been open to financial advice. When people get into situations where they don't know what to do, personal advice from someone you know can go a long ways.
McDonald's recently did the sticky price trick. Daily I drove through & got an extra large iced hazelnut for $1.99...it was 24 ounces. Then one day I drove through & ordered the same, but got 16 ounces. I pulled yesterday's cup from my car trashbag & asked "if I had been given an extra large, because this was what it looked like yesterday". With a blank look, I was told that "Yeah, we don't have an extra large anymore, but now the large is the price of the extra large. I see...an 8 ounce drop in product, for the same price. That was my last iced coffee at McD's. AND when I emailed to complain, they sent me a form letter basically stating that "We can't please all the people all the time, so tough luck."
I've been running my own business for 8 years now and outsourcing is my secret weapon to keeping a consistent high 6 & 7 figure income while creating free time to travel and enjoy my life.
Don't get me wrong...I'm not a slacker...I just like having more time to enjoy my life...that's what being an entrepreneur is supposed to be about (freedom, right?)
Thanks for the article to spawn new thinking. Even though I've been teaching entrepreneurs HOW to build a dream team to outsource key work too for years, Timothy Ferriss certain made the idea more popular. My programs are flooded now with eager people wanting to figure out what they can get off their plate while maximizing ROI.
You mentioned not being sure about a personal assistant. Here are a few ways my on-site personal assistant supports me (and is very profitable in today's economy!)
1. Picks up my mail, sorts it, and files as much as possible.
2. Picks out gifts for clients & colleagues and mails for me.
3. Sends birthday and thank you cards ON TIME for me (I use a program called Send Out Cards.)
4. Packs my suitcase of the business forms & products for speaking events. Makes sure I have everything I need to be successful.
5. Generally keeps my office clean and my organized.
When you think about what your time is worth, and what our highest payoff activities are, having other people do things that we aren't good at or keep us from making money, is an excellent investment in ANY economy.
After re-reading this article, I think my first comment was a bit off base. I think what threw me off were the words "Outsourcing Your Life", because to me that refers to the daily tasks that I need to do - other then what I do at work. The tasks that need a physical presence to complete, like cutting the grass, planting the garden, cleaning the house or doing the laundry. These are tasks that have been outsourced to the growing service sector of our economy. As the economy slows down, I think more people will be doing more of these things on their own.
Nora's article was about work tasks that can be done by a virtual assistant that do not need a physical presence. This trend had been growing and will likely continue to grow. Sorry, Nora for getting confused. This is a great post.
My 'old economy' reference is still something to consider, as I work with lots of contractors from India that are feeling the pinch of the falling dollar and are beginning to ask for more money - which reduces the value of outsourcing and increases the value of hiring local college grads instead. As this dollar continues to weaken, the 'old economy' outsourcing trend is likely to further deteriorate.
It's really good to hear that more and more services are being offered by placement firms. I especially appreciate the credit and career counseling services that you mentioned your firm provides.
Finding a good firm is important, and I wouldn't hesitate to "shop around" a bit if I didn't feel that they were representing my desires in the job market. When I first became a mom, I really wanted to work, but didn't feel good about being gone more than 30 hours per week. My firm worked really hard to get me opportunities that both paid well and respected my schedule. It was also instrumental in some networking that finally got me that "career" position I had always been wanting!
Friends will hate you more if you try to dabble in their affairs without being invited. And, usually, they want you to agree with their decisions, not try to talk them out of it. Our consumer society is about wants, not needs, and choices made this way are usually irrational. How many times have you heard "Yeah, I agree with you, BUT..." followed by some excuse or statement indicating this is what is wanted.
As an executive of a placement firm in Dallas, TX with branches in Arizona as well. I wanted to point out that your description isn't necessarily accurate for all staffing firms. In fact, many staffing firms are changing their targeted business practices, and making permanent career placements a goal rather than one off temporary placements for any short duration.
We predominantly place individuals in full time positions (required to work full time), which typically convert after 3-6 months. The pay is very competitive (we place 30-85k a year jobs all the time) and our markup is negotiated with our client, and thus your pay (typically not negotiable) is negotiated beforehand. The salary might have some wiggle room in it based on salary, but this is always mandated beforehand as a range, and won't affect our markup. (In fact, since it is percentage based, we typically fight to get our employees as much compensation as we can). We also offer free credit and career counseling services because we believe in an investment of our employees.
I have toyed with the idea of living elsewhere when I retire. What I have been trying to figure out is how people keep up with the requirements to return to the states or leaving to renew a visa.
The cost of a flight to the US from Europe or anywhere else far flung is rather expensive relative to someone living on a limited income. If you have to return to the states every few years that could put a big dent in your finances.
The other issue seems to be accessing medical care. It can be a real headache navigating health care here. Does anyone know how medicare tranfers over to any national health programs or how national health programs view expats?
I don't think the general public understands the reasons for inflation. I urge all readers of this blog to find a dictionary and look it up, especially an old dictionary.
Websters dictionary puts it as "A continuing rise in the general price level usually attributed to an increase in the volume of money and credit relative to available goods and services"
The key being the increase in the volume of money. The Federal reserve has the power to print money in unlimited amounts. In the old days say in the German Weimar Republic they just printed it. Nowadays its created electronically and the commercial banks then lend it to the general population.
If the Fed really wanted to they could create deflation/dis-inflation. Easy, hike rates to 20% and cut off the supply of new credit. Essentially the money markets are trying to do this because of the sub-prime mess, however we have the Fed doing the opposite. The Fed lowers interest rates and then it supplies huge amounts of money to commercial and investment banks!
If say we were on the gold standard or using gold/silver as money the general prices of goods and services would be dropping every year. Remember the supply of goods and services rises each yr (gold/silver barely). This is an important notion to understand. Before the advent the Federal reserve this was the case.
I am not saying that inflation has not happened in the past. It has. Commercial banks always have a habit of lending out too money in good times without anything hard to back the loans. Deflationary recession/depressions however have always tended to correct the previous inflation. Imagine a situation where a bank has a run because it has a reputation of making dodgy/inflationary loans and then goes broke. You no longer have a bank that makes these loans anymore.
With the current banking system, whenever there's been too much money lend out they just bail out the banks and create more inflation! Everyone should look at the inflation statistics since the great depression. I think there has only been 2 occasions where the prices levels declined. There have been numerous recessions since then.
Personally, I think the Roth 401(k) still endorses the idea of allowing your employers to control your financial future.
Everyone should have an IRA at least, and the Roth IRA account is by far the best and most efficient tax-sheltered account because it protects against shaky tax brackets in the future.
We all know that America is in debt - heck the author's byline mentions Generation Debt, but not to be confused with Generation Y.
I don't trust congress nor any political advocate in the future, therefore I will go with the Roth IRA until something better reveals itself in the future.
Also, I compared my top 7 favorite Roth IRA Brokers on my website, so feel free to check out my personal reviews.
Finally, Great article, and honestly whether you choose a 401(k) or IRA, JUST CHOOSE SOMETHING. Don't let paralysis by analysis limit your financial potential in the future.
If you buy everything in the book it's a waste but if you select what you need or what you can get free wrap up and give to a friend it saves a great deal of money. When I was doing this monthly I would tend to spend 10 dollars on 45 dollars worth of items. Everything from toothpaste and tooth brushes and makeup to vitamins and baby products. I don't have a baby so I would give those items to the pastor at church he always appreciated some baby shampoo or wipes. What cost me a few cents for the 6% sales tax saved him a few dollars a month.
if you have time please visit http://pkab.wordpress.com where more than 600 articles about Concept Map or Mind Map in English and Bahasa Indoenesia languages.
hope this information useful.
warmest regards,
sur
the concept mapper
I have experience with both sides of the fence. My name is Jennifer and I am bummed to have such a common name without much flair. However, my mom almost named me Charity Charise which makes me cringe so I guess I shouldn't complain.
My husbands given name is Oisin (oo-sheen) and he stopped using it when he was about 7 because kids called him 'Oh, ****' (I didn't use that word at 7!!!) and no one could spell or pronounce it. Apparently it's a popular name in Ireland. His parents thought it was beautiful and his mom still defends her choice even though everyone calls him Sean now.
When we had our twins, we didn't have solid names until I was almost 7 months pregnant. I really liked the name Waylon but didn't want the Waylon and Willie reference (we live in Texas) and now my husband tells people we almost named them Waylon and Willie which IS NOT TRUE!! It was Waylon and Devon. We went with much simpler, easy to spell classic names, one of which is pretty popular now much to my chagrin. But they are solid names that suit them and even though we use the shortened versions they can use their full names later whenever the mood strikes them.
My brother's middle name is Baskerville, which is a family name and although he was teased a bit, I've always thought it was a cool name to have and since it was his middle not everyone knew it. Plus, "basketball" isn't much of an insult. We do call him 'Bubba' which he tells new acquaintances rather sheepishly. ;)
I would have to agree. It is a true friend who sees us making a mistake and warns us. It's hard to take sometimes, but it can save us a whole lot of pain and gain us a closer friend.
thanks Maria!
My worst financial mistakes were not taking financial responsibility and putting all finances in my husbands hands. I closed my bank accounts and got joint checking because "we're married!". At tax time, I was afraid of taxes.(I had taken my ez form to h&r blok.) so when he said, 'we're married, just sign your name' I said 'Yay!' 'My husband will take care of EVERYTHING!'
Years later, when we divorced, the IRS did not believe I was an 'innocent spouse' - he never paid the taxes.
Oh, and when he left, he cleared out the bank account. there was under $2 left. I couldn't buy food without a credit card.
(The lie that he never converted to Judaism and said he did all the requirements is another matter I discovered when I tried to get a 'get' - but I digress. - who asks the man they love to show paperwork from rabbis).
Lessons learned: keep your eyes open, communicate about money, know everything you're responsible for - and do it.
Your story hit me. Mine is nothing like yours, but this similarity: My 82 year old father told me from the time I was a small child that when he won the lottery (again when, not if) he would make me an heiress.
Money details - I don't know.
But he went online asking for people who grew up in his neighborhood. A group of people, who look like they're in a bar, sent him their picture and a letter, and emails, hoping to meet him. He keeps the picture taped to his mirror.
A reminder to keep better tabs on him.
I studied in London last semester (law school abroad=poor student, expensive living=must read wisebread)...and instead of having a "dollar menu" they had "cheap eats"... obviously they can't have a "pound menu"... everything there is double the price and then double the value...so 2 pounds for a burger= 4 dollars= :::sigh:::. American businesses thrive over there without discounted menu items. Subway had a two pound sub each day, it changed daily...sub of the day. One day I went with four pounds, expecting a footlong. What did they do? They had SUBS OF THE MONTH...three subs all for 2 pounds 30 pence or so. :(
My brother thinks there should be (well there is in Germany already) a robotic restaurant... your meal comes out on a mechanical device directly from the kitchen, no waiter/ess involved...lower costs...and everything on the menu is $5.00 or $1.00. Consistency here being key.
I am in the same boat! I called to see why my the check that my family recived was 600.00 short and they pretty much laughed and said that I was just out the cash! You wait till I dont pay $600.00 that I owe and see what happens- I will be taken to JAIL- what a great system we have in this country! Gotta love it! No wonder the Europeans laugh at us, we as a people are so stupid, letting out govt get away with this type of behavior.
I should have known that it was too good to be true. I cant believe that the IRS can get away with this, but then who do they have to answer to? NO ONE.. thats not the way it should be- As far as Im concerned the Government owes me $600.00!!!!!!!!!!! its time we take the country back, and make it as it shoud have been from the start, a goverment for the people BY the people.
"It is a possiblity but with advances in medical care and underwriting the number of poeple that are declined coverage today in our agency is less than 5% and we process over 25,000 applications a year. Yes, the insurance is more expensive 20 years later but still affordable and accessible for most in their 50's, 60's and even 70's. "
but jeff, what about the people who don't make it through your pre-screening? I don't think you're being all that straight forward yourself here. You prescreen and for some folks you already say "no" by not taking the appication. How many of those are there? Aren't you really saying of the people who think they can buy insurance only 5% can't? However the diabetics, the hypertensives, the depressed.... not so much right?
I've had both good and bad experiences with placement firms, but the single most important trait I've found in all of them was that they specialized in my industry, which made my job placements that much more enjoyable (or better fitting anyways).
As for restaurants, even if there isn't a hiring sign in the window, you should always ask to fill out applications. I'll admit it, I'm actually a huge fan of working in restaurants, and every place I've ever worked takes applications even when they're not hiring. They're usually pretty honest as to whether they will need help immediately or not for another few months. The key to to try and pick a restaurant that doesn't have a high turn-over rate for the staff!
with Linsey. The people I choose to be friends with respect my opinion and insights into things, so even if they don't ultimately agree with what I am thinking, they're always willing to listen.
And I've referred more than one friend to this blog site after telling them how the various articles are helping me get out of debt!
Rune Scape is really a good MMORPG. Sure, the graphics might not be the best and not the sounds either. But all the different skills adds alot. Also, the story... The story about Rune Scape and it's many quests is fantasic. The quests and thier storys go deep and many of them build on each other. Sadly thought, I belive that many who play Rune Scape don't take thier time to read through the quest storys...
Also, somebody said that the customer service is junk, thats not true... Jagex has much better custumer service then most online game companys, (including Blizzard acording to me).
Also, finance is'nt the all Runescape teaches you, if you are young you WILL learn English from it, I did.
And for the records, I don't even play Runescape at the time and still I think it's awesome!
You have to beware of the hidden costs. You have to factor in time for taining and delegation of the tasks along with the possibility it won't be right the first time.
The key is being a good manager and finding the right people.
most of my "real" friends, that respect my opinion, have been open to financial advice. When people get into situations where they don't know what to do, personal advice from someone you know can go a long ways.
Good article.
McDonald's recently did the sticky price trick. Daily I drove through & got an extra large iced hazelnut for $1.99...it was 24 ounces. Then one day I drove through & ordered the same, but got 16 ounces. I pulled yesterday's cup from my car trashbag & asked "if I had been given an extra large, because this was what it looked like yesterday". With a blank look, I was told that "Yeah, we don't have an extra large anymore, but now the large is the price of the extra large. I see...an 8 ounce drop in product, for the same price. That was my last iced coffee at McD's. AND when I emailed to complain, they sent me a form letter basically stating that "We can't please all the people all the time, so tough luck."
I've been running my own business for 8 years now and outsourcing is my secret weapon to keeping a consistent high 6 & 7 figure income while creating free time to travel and enjoy my life.
Don't get me wrong...I'm not a slacker...I just like having more time to enjoy my life...that's what being an entrepreneur is supposed to be about (freedom, right?)
Thanks for the article to spawn new thinking. Even though I've been teaching entrepreneurs HOW to build a dream team to outsource key work too for years, Timothy Ferriss certain made the idea more popular. My programs are flooded now with eager people wanting to figure out what they can get off their plate while maximizing ROI.
You mentioned not being sure about a personal assistant. Here are a few ways my on-site personal assistant supports me (and is very profitable in today's economy!)
1. Picks up my mail, sorts it, and files as much as possible.
2. Picks out gifts for clients & colleagues and mails for me.
3. Sends birthday and thank you cards ON TIME for me (I use a program called Send Out Cards.)
4. Packs my suitcase of the business forms & products for speaking events. Makes sure I have everything I need to be successful.
5. Generally keeps my office clean and my organized.
When you think about what your time is worth, and what our highest payoff activities are, having other people do things that we aren't good at or keep us from making money, is an excellent investment in ANY economy.
Thanks for a great post!
Melanie Benson Strick
Million Dollar Lifestyle Business Coach
& Virtual Team Building Expert
http://www.successconnections.com
After re-reading this article, I think my first comment was a bit off base. I think what threw me off were the words "Outsourcing Your Life", because to me that refers to the daily tasks that I need to do - other then what I do at work. The tasks that need a physical presence to complete, like cutting the grass, planting the garden, cleaning the house or doing the laundry. These are tasks that have been outsourced to the growing service sector of our economy. As the economy slows down, I think more people will be doing more of these things on their own.
Nora's article was about work tasks that can be done by a virtual assistant that do not need a physical presence. This trend had been growing and will likely continue to grow. Sorry, Nora for getting confused. This is a great post.
My 'old economy' reference is still something to consider, as I work with lots of contractors from India that are feeling the pinch of the falling dollar and are beginning to ask for more money - which reduces the value of outsourcing and increases the value of hiring local college grads instead. As this dollar continues to weaken, the 'old economy' outsourcing trend is likely to further deteriorate.
It's really good to hear that more and more services are being offered by placement firms. I especially appreciate the credit and career counseling services that you mentioned your firm provides.
Finding a good firm is important, and I wouldn't hesitate to "shop around" a bit if I didn't feel that they were representing my desires in the job market. When I first became a mom, I really wanted to work, but didn't feel good about being gone more than 30 hours per week. My firm worked really hard to get me opportunities that both paid well and respected my schedule. It was also instrumental in some networking that finally got me that "career" position I had always been wanting!
Friends will hate you more if you try to dabble in their affairs without being invited. And, usually, they want you to agree with their decisions, not try to talk them out of it. Our consumer society is about wants, not needs, and choices made this way are usually irrational. How many times have you heard "Yeah, I agree with you, BUT..." followed by some excuse or statement indicating this is what is wanted.
As an executive of a placement firm in Dallas, TX with branches in Arizona as well. I wanted to point out that your description isn't necessarily accurate for all staffing firms. In fact, many staffing firms are changing their targeted business practices, and making permanent career placements a goal rather than one off temporary placements for any short duration.
We predominantly place individuals in full time positions (required to work full time), which typically convert after 3-6 months. The pay is very competitive (we place 30-85k a year jobs all the time) and our markup is negotiated with our client, and thus your pay (typically not negotiable) is negotiated beforehand. The salary might have some wiggle room in it based on salary, but this is always mandated beforehand as a range, and won't affect our markup. (In fact, since it is percentage based, we typically fight to get our employees as much compensation as we can). We also offer free credit and career counseling services because we believe in an investment of our employees.
I have toyed with the idea of living elsewhere when I retire. What I have been trying to figure out is how people keep up with the requirements to return to the states or leaving to renew a visa.
The cost of a flight to the US from Europe or anywhere else far flung is rather expensive relative to someone living on a limited income. If you have to return to the states every few years that could put a big dent in your finances.
The other issue seems to be accessing medical care. It can be a real headache navigating health care here. Does anyone know how medicare tranfers over to any national health programs or how national health programs view expats?
I don't think the general public understands the reasons for inflation. I urge all readers of this blog to find a dictionary and look it up, especially an old dictionary.
Websters dictionary puts it as "A continuing rise in the general price level usually attributed to an increase in the volume of money and credit relative to available goods and services"
The key being the increase in the volume of money. The Federal reserve has the power to print money in unlimited amounts. In the old days say in the German Weimar Republic they just printed it. Nowadays its created electronically and the commercial banks then lend it to the general population.
If the Fed really wanted to they could create deflation/dis-inflation. Easy, hike rates to 20% and cut off the supply of new credit. Essentially the money markets are trying to do this because of the sub-prime mess, however we have the Fed doing the opposite. The Fed lowers interest rates and then it supplies huge amounts of money to commercial and investment banks!
If say we were on the gold standard or using gold/silver as money the general prices of goods and services would be dropping every year. Remember the supply of goods and services rises each yr (gold/silver barely). This is an important notion to understand. Before the advent the Federal reserve this was the case.
I am not saying that inflation has not happened in the past. It has. Commercial banks always have a habit of lending out too money in good times without anything hard to back the loans. Deflationary recession/depressions however have always tended to correct the previous inflation. Imagine a situation where a bank has a run because it has a reputation of making dodgy/inflationary loans and then goes broke. You no longer have a bank that makes these loans anymore.
With the current banking system, whenever there's been too much money lend out they just bail out the banks and create more inflation! Everyone should look at the inflation statistics since the great depression. I think there has only been 2 occasions where the prices levels declined. There have been numerous recessions since then.
I reckon the customer service job is the best in the list. Even if sparring with angry idiots isn't your thing, it's good for developing a thick skin!
Personally, I think the Roth 401(k) still endorses the idea of allowing your employers to control your financial future.
Everyone should have an IRA at least, and the Roth IRA account is by far the best and most efficient tax-sheltered account because it protects against shaky tax brackets in the future.
We all know that America is in debt - heck the author's byline mentions Generation Debt, but not to be confused with Generation Y.
I don't trust congress nor any political advocate in the future, therefore I will go with the Roth IRA until something better reveals itself in the future.
Also, I compared my top 7 favorite Roth IRA Brokers on my website, so feel free to check out my personal reviews.
Finally, Great article, and honestly whether you choose a 401(k) or IRA, JUST CHOOSE SOMETHING. Don't let paralysis by analysis limit your financial potential in the future.