For implementing GTD for college you might try out this web-based application:
Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A mobile version is available too.
As with the last update, now Gtdagenda has full Someday/Maybe functionality, you can easily move your tasks and projects between "Active", "Someday/Maybe" and "Archive". This will clear your mind, and will boost your school productivity.
Dude everyone needs to chill out about the whole liquid wood thing. Im pretty sure the person was just joking and making fun of the person talking about the liquid co2. Can someone please post some informative RESULTs not just replies and questions like this one?
I don't think playing up good looks (or any other superficial attribute such as dress, weak health, or a foreign accent) is necessarily a bad thing. If you wouldn't hesitate to use, say, charisma or 'the gift of gab' to give yourself an advantage, why shouldn't you also use your looks?
It doesn't mean you _deserve_ better treatment than anyone else, and you shouldn't develop a sense of entitlement because of it. But if people are stupid enough to fall for it, it's a bonus. While it's sad that our society is so shallow, people do need to be realistic that it's unlikely society's going to be changing drastically any time soon.
I've seen people opting to do all sorts of things to put their best foot forward: wearing glasses to appear smarter, wearing tall shoes to be more physically imposing, or dressing nicely to get more attention. But it's not limited to physical things either. I've heard of people faking a British accent to seem more cultured, or a member of an ethnic minority using an English name to seem less "OMG foreign immigrant = terrorist," and so on.
Avoid Streamload/MediaMax/The Linkup at all costs! These low-life bums have taken our money (sometimes even after we've cancelled service), lost our files (1/3 gone after changing to MediaMax, ALL gone after changing to The Linkup), and think that they can just continue doing it.
How can "the little guy" fight back against millionaire corporations that change their names repeatedly, in order to avoid fulfilling their contractual responsibilities?
Information.
Tell everyone you know NOT to use "The Linkup". And if you do a bit of online research on the near-criminal dealings of this company, you might decide to avoid dealings with the people who run the place: Steve Iverson, John Hood, Marty Wexler, Greg Bohdan, among others.
I find it interesting that I have 2 children and only got a $300 credit for one child I suppose that's because my daughter who is a senior in high school turned 18, but I heard someone at work saying that it even drops off for 17 year olds. I wouldn't have claimed my daughter if I had know she would be cut out of receiving some additional financial aid. She probably would have gotten a better financial aid package if I'd have put her out on her own like the government did...
It's shame that we can send billions to countries and people that would just as soon blow us up than help our own. You rarely see anyone coming to our rescue when we need help. A better economic stimulus would have been to take all of the money they are spending on the war and divi it up to every legal American. Then anyone could afford to start a business, save it, spend it, or blow it. At least whatever happened, the money would be spend or saved in the US, stimulating our economy. We probably cause a lot of our own problems by contributing to everyone's economy except for ours causing an even bigger trade deficit. Think how much those billions of dollars would help our economy if they were spent in the US!
As Roland correctly points out, another benefit of keeping a sum of money in checking is fee avoidance. Many banks, particularly those that offer interest-bearing checking, require a minimum daily or average daily balance to avoid an account maintenance fee. We are fortunate our bank doesn't charge such a fee, but if we had such an account I would definitely consider making that the "floor" checking amount.
My checking account has a $2500 Ending Balance or a $1500 Average Daily Balance in order to avoid(Waive) the Monthly Maintenance and Per Item Charges.
So I keep at least $2500 in the account...avoiding $25 a month ($300 Year) plus in Fees IS THE SAME AS (note the emphasis!!!) as having $2500 invested in a CD that earns 12% Interest.
As long as the "Return" is high enough from using your money to Avoid Fees it can be considered a Prudent way to "Invest".
It's true: if you go to class, read the required readings, study, attend tutoring sessions, etc you will do well in class.
I can say that because that is exactly what happened to me. As an undergraduate I studied my tail off and never missed a class my entire three years there. Yes, I graduated in 3 years with a BA in Management..4.0 gpa too.
Then the same thing happened in during my MBA/JD studies..three years, two degrees, one great GPA, 3.98 (f'ing torts class).
your post gives me a lot of hope! thank you. your approach is also very positive. life is quite unpredictable but still one can follow some general direction towards what we want to do. it is important to start. thanks again.
if you just set up an interest-earning checking account (my tiny local bank offers a "sky-high" interest of 4% on a regular checking account...or just use ING Direct), then you'll earn a decent return on that 1000 floor AND you'll never pay the "stupid tax" again. sounds like a win win!
I have, for year, paid bills weekly.. I take the average monthly bill and divide it by 4 and pay this amount every week via my banks autopayment feature.. Just love it..
Im in the same boat as you above...22 yrs old, working full time, paying taxes, going to school part time and living at home so i'm her dependent.
sure is NICE to get left out of something I was counting on to help me finish my BA.
And the best part of the story, of course I will have to help pay back this loan I was actually never given and the interest to wherever it was borrowed from, (Japan?) basically lumped in with the rest of the US's massive debt, because, being young, the chance that I will be one of the many taking the fall for the governments current choices is high.
so letter to congress en route? what can you do...
Ken, this isn't actually my office, but from the looks of it I'm ashamed to say it is fairly representative of mine!
Linsey, some people can pull off as little as $100 a month buffer in some cases. For us, I consider the $1,000 part of our emergency fund (as a local, easily accessible option).
I have been slowly implementing a 1-touch approach to everything in my house. (Clutter is our enemy.) The bills wasn't so much an issue for me, as we have been used to paying bills immediately so that I always have an accurate snapshot of our financial picture. The household decluttering wasn't as easy for me. It's hard to stop what you're doing when you find something that has to be dealt with and do it right away.
But I always find a reason to be distracted... so it's NOW or NEVER.
Thanks so much for simplifying this for others. I especially like your $1,000 "buffer" (as we call it.) We live in an area of our life where $500 worked just fine for us. But it's still the approach we have used successfully for over 3 years!
@Bill. The sense of unity is partly for "patriotic" reasons, but also to build political support for the program. Once you introduce means testing, you set up the political situation for opposition to the program from people who aren't included in it -- meaning the workers and investors with the most money. The people who benefit most from SS, who are the poor, mentally disabled, and people working in low-skill jobs, are less likely to vote, and do not contribute to political campaigns. Over time, SS would become an underfunded welfare program resented by the middle class.
As for eliminating poverty - frankly, your argument is hollow. You can't be Milton Friedman, Ron Paul, LBJ, and FDR at the same time.
Then again, if I read between your lines correctly, you don't want to eliminate poverty. (You say if "we" want to eliminate poverty.) You just want an argument against Social Security.
Because, frankly, a good way to eliminate poverty would be to expand Social Security, and also create some quasi-mandatory savings plans along the lines of FSAs or education IRAs. Explanation below.
@xin lu. My mom was basically a poor person who saved money. She did it when the market for financial instruments was more regulated than it is today, and she did manage to save money for retirement, and not lose out too much to inflation. So, my personal experience is that it's possible.
However, I also see my low-income peers cannot save money, and some high-income peers who will only be rescued by the fact that their job has a solid pension (because they cannot save money due to lack of fiscal wisdom).
Today, due to the growth in choices, it's simultaneously easier and harder to invest. It's easier to set up online accounts, move retirement money into different instruments, and so forth. At the same time, returns on "safe" investments seem to be lower compared to inflation, so, to stay afloat, you have to research to invest. Due to deregulation, there's pressure on banks and investment firms to sell riskier products.
It seems this growth in choices, and the erosion of pensions, puts the fiscally unwise at a severe disadvantage. I think it even depresses wages for poor people.
Wages in the working class are set by the cost of living -- that is, when they feel the pain of inflation, they're more likely to seek other work or ask for a raise, so the employer might respond by raising wages. In the absence of labor unions who negotiate more favorable contracts (by trying to negotiate a wage based on profit margins and by establishing pensions), or a very poor local economy where the minimum wage is the wage floor, it's the cost of living that determines wages for the poor.
The fiscally unwise tend to spend all the money they can put into their pockets (or bank account), saving little or nothing for the future, or, going into debt. By putting retirement decisions in the hands of these poor workers, within which there's a large population of fiscally unwise individuals, you will tend to depress wages because you delay the day when they must try to seek more work or ask for a raise.
A facebook group has been created to gather and impower the millions of people forgotten by the government. This group is named "Not Getting An Economic Simulus Check?" and is open to everyone. I think the link at the bottom of this message should get you to the groups page. We encourage everyone to join and take a stand. Let it be heard that the Gov't has forgotten a very large and powerful group of people.
There's no doubt that working for money and then buying what you want will provide a higher standard of living. The thing is, standard of living is not the one true metric for happiness and satisfaction. Some people value quaintness for its own sake. Lots of people appreciate things that they make with their own hands (or the hands of friends or relatives) even if they could have bought one that was just as good or better.
I'm thinking that barter is the wave of the future as we spiral into Armageddon. With oil prices skyrocketing and the price of food going through the roof, rural self-sufficiency seems the most practical solution, not just for living but for the planet. Growing and raising your own food and trading for goods and service is looking mighty green, not to mention a good way to connect with your neighbors.
Thank you Thank you Thank you! As someone who sat down today to create her first ever budget (in my 40's - ouch) your BLS template reference has proved invaluable, if not somewhat shocking, in highlighting all the various items to include. Your advice on categories has made the task so much easier and more manageable than I anticipated, resulting in a far more detailed and realistic budget than I would otherwise have drawn up.
I am excited about this next step on my journey - so far have built an emergency fund, stopped using my credit cards (largely), consolidated my debt and accelerated the repayments. Now I am preparing to monitor my spending, adjust according to budget and set goals for financial freedom.
Thank you for your assistance at this crucial point.
For implementing GTD for college you might try out this web-based application:
Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A mobile version is available too.
As with the last update, now Gtdagenda has full Someday/Maybe functionality, you can easily move your tasks and projects between "Active", "Someday/Maybe" and "Archive". This will clear your mind, and will boost your school productivity.
Hope you like it.
Dude everyone needs to chill out about the whole liquid wood thing. Im pretty sure the person was just joking and making fun of the person talking about the liquid co2. Can someone please post some informative RESULTs not just replies and questions like this one?
you should showcase your container home, decorating tips and style on Radcribs.com http://hometour.radcribs.com
I don't think playing up good looks (or any other superficial attribute such as dress, weak health, or a foreign accent) is necessarily a bad thing. If you wouldn't hesitate to use, say, charisma or 'the gift of gab' to give yourself an advantage, why shouldn't you also use your looks?
It doesn't mean you _deserve_ better treatment than anyone else, and you shouldn't develop a sense of entitlement because of it. But if people are stupid enough to fall for it, it's a bonus. While it's sad that our society is so shallow, people do need to be realistic that it's unlikely society's going to be changing drastically any time soon.
I've seen people opting to do all sorts of things to put their best foot forward: wearing glasses to appear smarter, wearing tall shoes to be more physically imposing, or dressing nicely to get more attention. But it's not limited to physical things either. I've heard of people faking a British accent to seem more cultured, or a member of an ethnic minority using an English name to seem less "OMG foreign immigrant = terrorist," and so on.
Also, I thought this humourous anecdote was relevant. :) http://notalwaysright.com/fully-armed-and-operational-feminine-wiles/660
Avoid Streamload/MediaMax/The Linkup at all costs! These low-life bums have taken our money (sometimes even after we've cancelled service), lost our files (1/3 gone after changing to MediaMax, ALL gone after changing to The Linkup), and think that they can just continue doing it.
How can "the little guy" fight back against millionaire corporations that change their names repeatedly, in order to avoid fulfilling their contractual responsibilities?
Information.
Tell everyone you know NOT to use "The Linkup". And if you do a bit of online research on the near-criminal dealings of this company, you might decide to avoid dealings with the people who run the place: Steve Iverson, John Hood, Marty Wexler, Greg Bohdan, among others.
I find it interesting that I have 2 children and only got a $300 credit for one child I suppose that's because my daughter who is a senior in high school turned 18, but I heard someone at work saying that it even drops off for 17 year olds. I wouldn't have claimed my daughter if I had know she would be cut out of receiving some additional financial aid. She probably would have gotten a better financial aid package if I'd have put her out on her own like the government did...
It's shame that we can send billions to countries and people that would just as soon blow us up than help our own. You rarely see anyone coming to our rescue when we need help. A better economic stimulus would have been to take all of the money they are spending on the war and divi it up to every legal American. Then anyone could afford to start a business, save it, spend it, or blow it. At least whatever happened, the money would be spend or saved in the US, stimulating our economy. We probably cause a lot of our own problems by contributing to everyone's economy except for ours causing an even bigger trade deficit. Think how much those billions of dollars would help our economy if they were spent in the US!
Agree 110%, you have it nailed! Gubment will deal with this by (1) means testing (2) inflation and...let's not forget...(3) increased taxes!
"Standard of living" is an economics term, but "standard of living" does not equal quality of life.
As Roland correctly points out, another benefit of keeping a sum of money in checking is fee avoidance. Many banks, particularly those that offer interest-bearing checking, require a minimum daily or average daily balance to avoid an account maintenance fee. We are fortunate our bank doesn't charge such a fee, but if we had such an account I would definitely consider making that the "floor" checking amount.
My checking account has a $2500 Ending Balance or a $1500 Average Daily Balance in order to avoid(Waive) the Monthly Maintenance and Per Item Charges.
So I keep at least $2500 in the account...avoiding $25 a month ($300 Year) plus in Fees IS THE SAME AS (note the emphasis!!!) as having $2500 invested in a CD that earns 12% Interest.
As long as the "Return" is high enough from using your money to Avoid Fees it can be considered a Prudent way to "Invest".
Oh Yes!...Its also Tax Free.
~ Roland
I haven't been keeping a budget. I probably should. I concentrate more on making money then where it is going.
http://www.stocks-simplified.com
It's true: if you go to class, read the required readings, study, attend tutoring sessions, etc you will do well in class.
I can say that because that is exactly what happened to me. As an undergraduate I studied my tail off and never missed a class my entire three years there. Yes, I graduated in 3 years with a BA in Management..4.0 gpa too.
Then the same thing happened in during my MBA/JD studies..three years, two degrees, one great GPA, 3.98 (f'ing torts class).
your post gives me a lot of hope! thank you. your approach is also very positive. life is quite unpredictable but still one can follow some general direction towards what we want to do. it is important to start. thanks again.
if you just set up an interest-earning checking account (my tiny local bank offers a "sky-high" interest of 4% on a regular checking account...or just use ING Direct), then you'll earn a decent return on that 1000 floor AND you'll never pay the "stupid tax" again. sounds like a win win!
I have, for year, paid bills weekly.. I take the average monthly bill and divide it by 4 and pay this amount every week via my banks autopayment feature.. Just love it..
Im in the same boat as you above...22 yrs old, working full time, paying taxes, going to school part time and living at home so i'm her dependent.
sure is NICE to get left out of something I was counting on to help me finish my BA.
And the best part of the story, of course I will have to help pay back this loan I was actually never given and the interest to wherever it was borrowed from, (Japan?) basically lumped in with the rest of the US's massive debt, because, being young, the chance that I will be one of the many taking the fall for the governments current choices is high.
so letter to congress en route? what can you do...
Ken, this isn't actually my office, but from the looks of it I'm ashamed to say it is fairly representative of mine!
Linsey, some people can pull off as little as $100 a month buffer in some cases. For us, I consider the $1,000 part of our emergency fund (as a local, easily accessible option).
I have been slowly implementing a 1-touch approach to everything in my house. (Clutter is our enemy.) The bills wasn't so much an issue for me, as we have been used to paying bills immediately so that I always have an accurate snapshot of our financial picture. The household decluttering wasn't as easy for me. It's hard to stop what you're doing when you find something that has to be dealt with and do it right away.
But I always find a reason to be distracted... so it's NOW or NEVER.
Thanks so much for simplifying this for others. I especially like your $1,000 "buffer" (as we call it.) We live in an area of our life where $500 worked just fine for us. But it's still the approach we have used successfully for over 3 years!
Thanks!
Good advice for all. (Should tidy up your office space tho!)
Excellent post, the advice is great.
@Bill. The sense of unity is partly for "patriotic" reasons, but also to build political support for the program. Once you introduce means testing, you set up the political situation for opposition to the program from people who aren't included in it -- meaning the workers and investors with the most money. The people who benefit most from SS, who are the poor, mentally disabled, and people working in low-skill jobs, are less likely to vote, and do not contribute to political campaigns. Over time, SS would become an underfunded welfare program resented by the middle class.
As for eliminating poverty - frankly, your argument is hollow. You can't be Milton Friedman, Ron Paul, LBJ, and FDR at the same time.
Then again, if I read between your lines correctly, you don't want to eliminate poverty. (You say if "we" want to eliminate poverty.) You just want an argument against Social Security.
Because, frankly, a good way to eliminate poverty would be to expand Social Security, and also create some quasi-mandatory savings plans along the lines of FSAs or education IRAs. Explanation below.
@xin lu. My mom was basically a poor person who saved money. She did it when the market for financial instruments was more regulated than it is today, and she did manage to save money for retirement, and not lose out too much to inflation. So, my personal experience is that it's possible.
However, I also see my low-income peers cannot save money, and some high-income peers who will only be rescued by the fact that their job has a solid pension (because they cannot save money due to lack of fiscal wisdom).
Today, due to the growth in choices, it's simultaneously easier and harder to invest. It's easier to set up online accounts, move retirement money into different instruments, and so forth. At the same time, returns on "safe" investments seem to be lower compared to inflation, so, to stay afloat, you have to research to invest. Due to deregulation, there's pressure on banks and investment firms to sell riskier products.
It seems this growth in choices, and the erosion of pensions, puts the fiscally unwise at a severe disadvantage. I think it even depresses wages for poor people.
Wages in the working class are set by the cost of living -- that is, when they feel the pain of inflation, they're more likely to seek other work or ask for a raise, so the employer might respond by raising wages. In the absence of labor unions who negotiate more favorable contracts (by trying to negotiate a wage based on profit margins and by establishing pensions), or a very poor local economy where the minimum wage is the wage floor, it's the cost of living that determines wages for the poor.
The fiscally unwise tend to spend all the money they can put into their pockets (or bank account), saving little or nothing for the future, or, going into debt. By putting retirement decisions in the hands of these poor workers, within which there's a large population of fiscally unwise individuals, you will tend to depress wages because you delay the day when they must try to seek more work or ask for a raise.
A facebook group has been created to gather and impower the millions of people forgotten by the government. This group is named "Not Getting An Economic Simulus Check?" and is open to everyone. I think the link at the bottom of this message should get you to the groups page. We encourage everyone to join and take a stand. Let it be heard that the Gov't has forgotten a very large and powerful group of people.
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=22919780&k=ZZFY45WSQYXM51AAVBX4W3
There's no doubt that working for money and then buying what you want will provide a higher standard of living. The thing is, standard of living is not the one true metric for happiness and satisfaction. Some people value quaintness for its own sake. Lots of people appreciate things that they make with their own hands (or the hands of friends or relatives) even if they could have bought one that was just as good or better.
I'm thinking that barter is the wave of the future as we spiral into Armageddon. With oil prices skyrocketing and the price of food going through the roof, rural self-sufficiency seems the most practical solution, not just for living but for the planet. Growing and raising your own food and trading for goods and service is looking mighty green, not to mention a good way to connect with your neighbors.
Thank you Thank you Thank you! As someone who sat down today to create her first ever budget (in my 40's - ouch) your BLS template reference has proved invaluable, if not somewhat shocking, in highlighting all the various items to include. Your advice on categories has made the task so much easier and more manageable than I anticipated, resulting in a far more detailed and realistic budget than I would otherwise have drawn up.
I am excited about this next step on my journey - so far have built an emergency fund, stopped using my credit cards (largely), consolidated my debt and accelerated the repayments. Now I am preparing to monitor my spending, adjust according to budget and set goals for financial freedom.
Thank you for your assistance at this crucial point.