Recent comments

  • Cracking the Infamous McDonalds Monopoly Game   17 years 28 weeks ago

    BB doesn't stand for best buy, BBY does !!!

  • Cracking the Infamous McDonalds Monopoly Game   17 years 28 weeks ago

    I don't doubt that you won, but it cheats. I rolled a 6 and it moved me 7 spaces. If it would have moved me the correct spaces, i would have landed on boardwalk and I already had park place, so i wou7ld have won $100,000.00
    so it clearly ripped me off and I have spoken to others and it has done the same. I guess that maybe I need to video tape myself playing next time so I can send it to McDonalds and show them!!

  • The $40 Hidden Inside a 12V Battery   17 years 28 weeks ago

    Does the exact type matter, like does it have to be A23, because im contemplating doing it with a AA battery i have that isnt A23.

  • That Age-Old Conundrum: Time vs. Money   17 years 28 weeks ago

    When I went completely freelance 3 years ago I learned the value of time. I realized that having time and having the ability to choose how to spend that time was worth a great deal to me. I'm willing to earn a great deal less in order to have more time for myself. I need to pay the bills, of course, but no more 80 hour work weeks for me!

  • Life Without Television   17 years 28 weeks ago

    I don't have a TV, either. (Whenever I mention that, I think of this article from The Onion: Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television.)

    That's not to say that I don't watch TV shows. I have a Netflix subscription, and I watch DVDs on my computer (both movies and TV shows). I think if I had a TV, I would just sit there and watch whatever's on, but by watching DVDs, I watch only those shows I have actively decided are worth watching. Plus, I don't have to sit through all the commercials, and I don't have to wait a week to find out what happens in the next episode.

    I also think it's nice to be isolated from advertising. If I don't even know about the latest and greatest stuff available, I'm not going to want to buy it!

  • McCain or Obama? Who’ll be better for your wallet?   17 years 28 weeks ago

    jealousy and greed are the motivation's here.

    greed never being satiated.

    jealousy of those that have more than you.

    until you all realize this, you will be slaves to them.

  • Cracking the Infamous McDonalds Monopoly Game   17 years 28 weeks ago

    I won a 10000 American Express card in the 2007 game by landing on Free Parking. The game is real, its just up to you to play it. If u dont believe i won, check the winners list. My last name is Tullis and I live in Americus, GA

    If u decide to play have fun and good luck!

  • Eight Natural Ways to Make Water More Flavorful   17 years 28 weeks ago

    Sadly, I have always disliked the taste of water. Despite the view of many lucky people, water DOES have a taste. I think it may be the minerals that I taste, because it tastes sorta metallic. Also, I taste chemicals in tap water. It's terrible. I wish I liked water. It's so healthy for you. I hate having to add anything into it to make it taste okay. I've even had ice cold water shooting straight out of the ground and didn't like the taste; although it was much better than tap.

  • Make Your DVD Player Region-Free in Seconds   17 years 28 weeks ago

    does anyone know how to unlock this machine plz

    Norman

  • Cracking the Infamous McDonalds Monopoly Game   17 years 28 weeks ago

    Don't worry, I'm VEGAN and I play. I shouldn't even bee looking at a mcdonalds! I've been surviving on a diet of hash browns and coffee in the morning; soda and fries in the afternoon in hopes of winning. I must be the unhealthiest vegan out there.
    Good luck too you...

  • That Age-Old Conundrum: Time vs. Money   17 years 28 weeks ago

    It seems like all of life comes down to time vs. money...cutting coupons or reading to your kids, getting stains out of clothes (which takes me forever) or cleaning the house, hanging out with my husband or working. I guess to me that would be the ultimate definition of financial freedom: not worrying about which to choose.

    Love the article!

  • Root cause of the financial crisis   17 years 28 weeks ago

    An astrological prediction says: AMERICA WILL OVERCOME THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IN ANOTHER 7 MONTHS. Read: "Act now…Tomorrow will be too late" by John Walker published by JTS Books
    www.jtsbooks.com

  • 8 Nifty Tips for Getting the Most from an All-You-Can Eat Buffet   17 years 28 weeks ago

    I can see your point. 

    However, in most buffet restaurants (in my area, anyway) they only get server wages (i.e. $3-5 bucks an hour, tops.)  They also bring your rolls, napkins, refill coffee, clean up way more mess (a millions dishes, it seems) and check in on you in the same way a restaurant server would, so why not?  And if you're really saving big on the buffet (spending $20-30 to feed a family of 6), what's $2-3 dollars to tip the bare minimum of 10%?

    When I save money, avoid having to do dishes, and leave with a full tummy, I can't justify not tipping.  (Then again, I was a server/bartender for many, many years.  I know what a hard job it is.)

    Thanks everyone for the comments!

    Linsey Knerl

    Wise Bread

  • 8 Nifty Tips for Getting the Most from an All-You-Can Eat Buffet   17 years 28 weeks ago

    Americans' impulse to tip is sometimes really dumb and completely baffling to me. A buffet is not a normal restaurant. Why in the world are you demanding that people tip there? I don't tip fast food employees and they do about as much work for me as the people who pick up my food at a buffet.
    If a buffet server is keeping my drink full, I might throw them a dollar or two. But ultimately I'm the server, the one bringing me my food, and I deserve the bulk of the tip. It stays in my wallet.

  • Cracking the Infamous McDonalds Monopoly Game   17 years 28 weeks ago

    Park Place (Stamp #273) & Boardwalk (Stamp #274). One (1) prize is available. The winner will receive a one million dollar ($1,000,000) annuity payable as $50,000 per year over 20 years with no interest. Odds of winning are approximately 1 in 591,287,650. (ARV: $1,000,000 at maturity)

    So there may be three Boardwalk tickets out there, but only the first one is a winner. And those odds are higher than most lotteries.

  • Book Review: Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth   17 years 28 weeks ago

    Personal Development for smart people really did hit home. It was great to see Steve Pavlina's writing in published form

  • Surviving a financial panic -- lessons from the past   17 years 28 weeks ago

    I just wanted to echo what everyone is saying. This post was one of the most informative I have read since this scare began.

    It always comes back to living within your means doesn't it?

    Thanks for writing this...

  • Please Pass the October Surprise   17 years 28 weeks ago

    This version of the credit default swap isn't what I understood it to mean, based on one of the latest episodes of "This American Life" (#365 Another Frightening Show About the Economy"). I thought it was more like the racetrack wager made by outside entities AGAINST the mortgage holders.

  • 8 Nifty Tips for Getting the Most from an All-You-Can Eat Buffet   17 years 28 weeks ago

    We have four kids, too, and find that buffets can be an affordable way to eat while we're traveling. Thanks for the article!

  • The Highest Yielding "Safe" Investment Now - Tax Exempt Money Market Funds   17 years 28 weeks ago

    Although Muni Bond Funds never made sense for a 401K or IRA, wondering if there would be any negatives in doing so now?

  • Surviving a financial panic -- lessons from the past   17 years 28 weeks ago

    Phillip,

    That article was amazing. I never really took the time to think about why a bank would fail. My expertise is engineering, and although I've been paying more attention than ever (if that means much from a 24 year old), I've never had the word "crisis" explained in such a way that I could understand. I also agree with a previous comment, that if the general public would just live normally, then allot of this crisis could be subsided. Linking that to a lack of understanding, I think that a true "bail-out" may just be that - more understanding.

    Caleb
    www.mefinanciallyfree.blogspot.com

  • 8 Nifty Tips for Getting the Most from an All-You-Can Eat Buffet   17 years 28 weeks ago

    there used to be a zine with the above title. we read it in a collection called the Book of Zines. Its 10-step program for "busting buffets" includes tips like:

     1) another reason to drink water, besides it being free, is that it won't fill you up.

    2) don't mix alcohol and buffets!

     

    I blog at www.shopliftingwithpermission.com.

  • Surviving a financial panic -- lessons from the past   17 years 28 weeks ago

    Phillip,

    Thanks for your great article. It is clear how well researched this is. It is interesting that the large number of banks in the US, while creating competition, also brings some of the instability; because like you said, you don't know which banks are solid and which are not. In Canada, where there are only a handful of banks, people have more trust in the long-term future of their banks. In fact no banks went out of business in Canada during the Great Depression.

    I like how you end your article with such great tips. I recently wrote an article about how to Simplify Your Budget that can help people to not depend on credit and to cut expenses. The article is: http://successprofessor.ca/2008/09/24/simplify-your-budget/

  • 8 Nifty Tips for Getting the Most from an All-You-Can Eat Buffet   17 years 28 weeks ago

    Thanks for the great tips.
    I have no kids to get free meals for them but sure like the idea of eating later in the day.
    Never thought of that myself.
    thanks again.
    Erma

  • Cracking the Infamous McDonalds Monopoly Game   17 years 28 weeks ago

    If you have trouble with the online game working, then use the faster coded entry link that is at the top of the page. You don't get the cute little board to watch your piece go around. But you probably also won't get hung up and lose your codes.