My Own MillionsMy Own MillionsA site that talks about my investment and trading strategies and how I build wealth Articles
Change Our Car Buying Behaviors and Save Tons of Money
2007-11-02 16:30:00 It dawned on me yesterday morning that I could be saving tons of money if I just plan my car purchases instead of buying them when I need/want to like most people. Some of us buy cars when our last one dies, while others buy when that new model looks so good we just couldn’t resist. How about buying cars when demand is low, when we have negotiating power, and when we can get a great deal? Many of us time purchases for something like a house or even stocks because the price of buying the asset fluctuates. However, a car is also the same way! The manufactured suggested price might not change from year to year, but the out the door price as well as a ton of other options can vary. This means that if we come from a position of strength (we are buying when no one is), we will get a good price. It is popular believe that consumer spending will be going down, especially for luxuries like cars. So why don’t we take advantage of it and buy a car in a year when no one would want to ... More About: Buying , Money , Change , Car Buying , Save
No One Touches My Chick-Fil-A Cow From Now On!
2007-11-02 05:24:00 I got one and it’s true! It is free! (Details of the chick-fil-a deal) ---Related Articles at Personal Finance Blog by Money Ning:Opportunities Are Everywhere, Even at Chick -Fil-ADebt is All Around You
Celebrating 500+ Subscribers and $200 To Give Away To My Loyal Readers
2007-11-01 16:31:00 November is going to be giveaway month over here at Personal Finance with Money Ning! To celebrate reaching a milestone of 500 subscribers, I plan to give away $200 dollars! The winners will be announced on November 30, 2007 and the gifts are broken into: 2 x $50 Amazon gift certificates 5 x $20 Barnes and Noble gift certificates For the rest of the month, I will be posting about extra ways to enter so remember to check often to see if there are additional ways to win. As you might know already, email subscribers automatically get one entry into every drawing! Subs cribing through email also means that the instructions to increase your chances to win the gift certificates will be delivered to your inbox! Don’t hesitate and subscribe now! ---Related Articles at Personal Finance Blog by Money Ning:Greetings from Taiwan Airport and Patience for the Market!My Magic Ball Told Me The HP SD Card Reader Winner Just Now…Reached Another Milestone And Other Great Articles Fr... More About: Readers , Give , Scribe
Feel Good About Turning Down $2500 by Deciding to Do the Right Thing
2007-10-31 16:30:00 My delayed bag gave me an opportunity to make very good money but I decided not to because it was the right thing to do. A few days ago, I wrote about having a delayed bag with United Airlines, making my golf trip not as fun as it could’ve been. Annoyingly, the airline delayed my bag on my flight back! For whatever reason, they must not like my bag. However, since I did not need the bag the next day the second time around, I was not extremely upset with this. I filed another claim and went home that night, but I had to fly to another city the very next day so as I was in the airport, I went to the baggage claim area and there my golf bag was, just sitting out in the open. Out of worry that my bag would get stolen and frustration that it was just in the middle of nowhere, I took my bag, went back to the parking garage and put in my trunk. At that point, I could just go on the plane, wait a few days while United tried to look for my bag and then claim a lost bag. This woul... More About: Good , Thing , Feel , Feel Good
Best Financial Advice From Experts
2007-10-30 16:30:00 An article on bankrate gives the best financial advice from 8 experts. Be afraid when people are greedy, and greedy when people are afraid. first, pay yourself By the time you see it or read it, it’s done; it’s happened (don’t buy stocks based on headlines) It’s about the meaning, not the money. (investments should be tied to your beliefs) There’s good debt and bad debt. Bad debt is debt you have to pay for and makes you poor. Housing prices have gone up — get a second mortgage and pay off your debt. Take every piece of advice you get from any investment adviser with a barrel of salt. Slow and steady wins the race, and consistency matters. Get-rich-quick never wins After reading this list, I was a little disappointed. With the exception of a few of these that I thought was good advice (the last one for example), the others were just bad, never mind that this is supposed ... More About: Advice , Financial , Experts , Pert
Why Aren’t We Taking Advantage of Free Offers?
2007-10-29 16:30:00 Especially in the United States, free offers are EVERYWHERE. Every so often, companies will give out free offers as promotion. If we include the mail-in rebates that let us make money, we can almost live without paying a dime on supplies. However, why is it that many of us don’t take advantage of this at all? For example, how many of us can say that we regularly take advantage of Walmart’s free sample offers? How about taking advantage of the wireless router deal that was would earn us $23 plus the free equipment? If you don’t really have good answers to those questions I just posed, you are just like the rest of us. All talk and no action. We talk and think about financial freedom, complain why we couldn’t be living on a beach and retiring early but we seldom do everything we can to improve our situation. A free sample here and there is not much, but that’s not the message here. The point is to realize that we need to work hard for things in life. Not... More About: Free , Offers , Taking , Offer , Advanta
Reached Another Milestone And Other Great Articles From Around The Internet
2007-10-28 17:30:00 I have 500+ subscribers! It’s been quite an exploding subscriber increase this month so I really need to thank you all subscribers for your interest in my articles! Those that haven’t done so yet should subscribe now to not miss any personal finance articles from Money Ning! Also, another milestone has reached and you know that this means another giveaway will be coming. I will need to think of something so stay tuned for a little something from me! Here’s some interesting articles from all over the internet! Money and Such has a good article on diversification and how to do it. My Two Dollars explains to us how to get organized without breaking our bank! Clever Dude lists 29 different 6-month 0% balance transfer credit cards for those that are interested those offers. I caution my readers though to be responsible for a sudden increase in cash flow and don’t overspend. The Sun’s Financial Diary taught me that the ETrade brokerage account has a 40 d... More About: Internet , Articles , Great , The Internet , Milestone
Poll - Would You Spend All Your Money If You Won 1 Million Dollars Today?
2007-10-27 18:30:00 I was thinking how much money people would spend if they just won 1 million dollars today. Remember that this is money that is totally unplanned and all of a sudden was at your disposal. The money includes charity, celebration, paying off mortgage and debt etc. Vote and also see the results of others! How Much Would You Spend Right Away If You Won 1 Million Dollars ? 100%! View Results Loading … ---Related Articles at Personal Finance Blog by Money Ning:I will spend a million dollars on gasDeal or No DealWould We Really Choose to Fulfill Our Dreams Once We Reach Our Goal?Money Tips: Spending or Saving Fortunes on HaircutsRun Your Own Starbucks More About: Today , Poll
Why Do Big Companies like United Airlines Get to Push Us Around?
2007-10-26 17:40:00 I’m in Virginia Beach right now, typing to you because my golf outing is canceled due to the fact that I do not have my golf clubs! I was supposed to arrive last night by plane with my golf clubs to meet some friends over here but Unit ed Airlines apparently routed my golf clubs to Newark, NJ instead of Norfolk, VA. When I didn’t see my golf clubs come out of the carrousel, I went to baggage services and they told me that my club was actually in another city due to human error. What’s more frustrating is that they don’t know when my clubs will arrive. The representative told me that they will do their best to have my clubs delivered the next day. However, my golf outing is supposed to be 9:00am today and they said they would not be able to make it on time. I asked about reimbursing me on club rentals and the representative said they could not because their policy is not to do anything unless the delay of the baggage is over 24 hours. This is complete nonsens... More About: Companies , Push
Woman Asks How She Can Marry Rich on NYC Craiglist
2007-10-25 17:04:00 The following is the original article that was posted in NYC Craiglist . This is such a classic story relating to money that I just had to put this up in case some of us have missed this one because the original question has been taken down. Enjoy! – The article has been changed to a PDF file. Please click this link to read the full story. – I guess she got what she deserved and the analysis was actually pretty well done. I wonder if rich people actually spend time to think this out in real life or if they just date pretty people instinctively but marry someone who has inner beauty. This also teaches us that if we want to marry rich, asking is probably not the right way to do it! ---Related Articles at Personal Finance Blog by Money Ning:I Could Use Someone Else’s Credit Card to Buy My GroceriesWhy Do We Read and Follow Money Tips But Never Become Rich ?New Place to Blow My Money After I Bought My Luxury CarBook review: The Automatic Millionaire by David BachHo... More About: Woman , Marry
Setting Up Multiple Stocks Portfolios to Shield It from Your Emotions
2007-10-24 17:14:00 Yesterday, one of the stocks I own (Diamond Offshore – DO) had a really pop after it announced its special and regular dividend. This stock has been on fire for the last several months and is mainly the reason why I hung onto the stock for so long. On the contrary, if it was going down, it would be very hard for me to hang on even if I am very convinced that the stock price will go back up. I look at my portfolio daily, and seeing a red number (meaning a lower stock price) does not help me feel confident about the stock. However, some of these stocks may just be beaten down unjustifiably. For example, for the last several weeks, another stock that I own (Etrade – ETFC) has seen more down days and up. Even though I’m pretty convinced that this stock will go back up, seeing it go down a couple percentages every day will not make me feel better about owning it. What if I sell the stock because the pressure of losing too much money gets to me? If someone tells me that it wi... More About: Stocks , Emotions , Shield , Portfolios
What to Do Immediately After We Become Debt Free
2007-10-23 17:07:00 We should do nothing, absolutely nothing. Don’t get me wrong, it is an important point in our lives et al. It also means a big difference in terms of our cash flow, but we really should not wait till the day we are debt free to act. Becoming debt free does not happen without us noticing it, so we should know months ahead of time when our last payment is due. Therefore, we should plan for the money that will be freed up when we don’t have to put that towards paying off our debt. Here are some places to consider putting your money at work 401k/IRAs – Chances are that you haven’t maxed out your 401k or IRAs yet. You should consider doing this right away to maximum the tax-advantages with the extra money Emergency Fund – Some will argue that most people that are debt free already has an emergency fund in place but I believe most people don’t. I’m not talking about the money that we have in a safe stock. I’m talking about money that we can take out at anytime witho... More About: Free , Debt , To Do
New Place to Blow My Money After I Bought My Luxury Car
2007-10-22 17:03:00 Care to know what rich people do with their money? Look no further than Luxury on Main – Elegant Housing for the World’s Finest Automobiles! This facility caught my eye because it will be built in Orange County (where I live) so I will be able to go jealous admire at the people who can afford a place inside such a building.It will be built close to the John Wayne Airport in Irvine, CA which means that if I get one, I will be saving on parking when I fly! Prices start at $200,000+, just a little more than what my piggy bank of coins are worth.It will also have its own car detail shop within the facility, so maybe I can save money on car washes since we spent $0.75 each time we go currently. Seriously though, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that we won’t be able to afford these types of facilities by being frugal and saving money. These are for the rich, and the rich make money. Money could be made with having money in the first place, or in general hav... More About: Place , Luxury Car
Blogsphere Articles While Dow was Tumbling
2007-10-21 22:06:00 This week is very interesting for most people that care about personal finance because the stock market has lost 500+ points during the last few days. Tomorrow is going to be interesting but the long term outlook should be great so do not worry if you are like most of us that buy into low cost index funds. My Two Dollars talks about ten reasons we should quit our job today. (I can’t today since it is Sunday but maybe tomorrow!). This could be a huge money saver! Check out Lazy Man’s article on making your own beer! Modern Worker talks a little about his experience upgrading to Wordpress 2.3. Even though he didn’t mention exactly what the errors were, it was save to say that it wasn’t a smooth ride. Those that plan to upgrade should be careful! The Wild Investor comments on the incredible performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 20 years ago when the index dropped 20% in one day. Those that are scared now should go read the article and ... More About: Articles , Blogsphere
Review - Debt Consolidation Care
2007-10-21 00:58:00 I ran across the site Debt Consolidation Care recently and was quite impressed by the service that they provide. Unlike other debt consolidation services, they’ve added a community (aka forum) on their site where members can discuss and share anything and everything about debt. With 94,000 members, there’s bound to be someone who can help answer your question. The forum includes topics such as Debt Consolidation and Settlement, Payday Loan Help, Dealing with Collection Agencies all neatly separated into its own section. Each section has its own members that are very active and helpful about discussing with you about the section’s subject. For example, the collection agency forum not only has discussions from people who are dealing with collection agencies but also information about the industry so you can learn about how these companies work. Of course they would like to help you by offering their services to you. They claim that you can lower your monthly payments, reduc... More About: Review , Dati
My Magic Ball Told Me The HP SD Card Reader Winner Just Now…
2007-10-20 22:48:00 Okay my magic 8-ball is actually a computer program but it picked the winner of the HP SD Card Reader nonetheless. I feel good this month because we managed to give away free software to help you manage your finance, free investment books to teach you personal finance and now a HP SD Card Reader to help you save your budget files! I plan to give away lots more stuff so just stay tuned by being an email subscriber. Enough babbling since many of you probably want to know about whether you won the sd card reader first! The winner of the HP SD Card Reader has the email address that has the pattern: a_ _ng@ae_ _p_a_ _ _ _i_ _d_ _en_ _e_n.com. This person probably wins the longest domain contest too! If this is you, look for my email asking for your address so I can send the package to you. Those that didn’t win do not need to feel sad because I will continue to give away prizes! Just subscribe to my feed and you will know how to enter. The other way is to become an email sub... More About: Magic , Winner , Ball
Last Day to Get a Free HP SD Card Reader
2007-10-20 00:45:00 Just a quick reminder that this is the last day to enter for a chance to win the HP SD Card Reader that I’m giving away. All you need to do is become an email subscriber and you will get the articles automatically plus have a chance to win something free! I also see that my subscriber count is almost reaching 500 so when that happens another giveaway will be announced so stay tuned! Lastly, remember to donate to the conservation fund! The matching from fivecentnickel is going to end today!!! ---Related Articles at Personal Finance Blog by Money Ning:Links Sunday and Reminder For HP SD Card Reader GiveawayOver 400 Subscribers Giveaway - HP USB SD Card ReaderNow Is The Time To Donate to The Conservation FundLook Me Up Under Loyalty Card CollectorsI Could Use Someone Else’s Credit Card to Buy My Groceries More About: Free
Opportunities Are Everywhere, Even at Chick-Fil-A
2007-10-19 17:05:00 The title sounds more like an advertisement for careers at Chick -Fil-A or something but I assure you that this is not! I went to the fast food restaurant today and I saw a sign that says “Thursday Appreciation, buy the cow for $4.99 and bring it in Thursdays for a free Original Chicken Sandwich”. At first, I ignored the offer but after buying my meal and eating at the place, I noticed that EVERYBODY had a few cows with them. I went back to the cashier and chatted with her a bit and found out that they have sold a ton of those cows because of the promotion and that they are really giving away free original sandwiches. This really sounds like a great deal because I can get one chicken sandwich per week for a one time fee of $4.99. Heck, I can probably go there twice a day to get 2. Maybe I can even just walk out the door and come back in to get my second one (and third and so on). I didn’t really ask if this was possible or allowed but I’m sure there ... More About: Opportunities , Unit
Oh My God I Own Shares of ETrade (ETFC)
2007-10-18 17:17:00 Some of you know that I’m a very happy ETrade customer and some know that I have bought ETrade’s stock (ETFC) during the last month. Here’s my buying history and the extended hour price after it reported a net loss of $56 million. 09/06/2007 @ $15.1675 09/25/2007 @ $12.1999 10/12/2007 @ $13.30 After hour price on 10/17: $11.75 After adjusting for different quantities bought at different times, I’m down 12% as of this point. Who knows what tomorrow will bring for the stock price but no matter how you look at it, this has been a bad investment for me so far. I can do three things at this point: buy more shares, sell my shares, or do nothing. 1) Buy more ETFC – The stock is beaten down so bad that it cannot go much further because most people already expected the company to report a pretty bad quarter. The fact that it is only down 5.85% in after hours trading after such a bad quarter confirms that most people who will sell the stock has already sold (the stock was in the... More About: Shares , Etrade , Ares
Now Is The Time To Donate to The Conservation Fund
2007-10-17 17:14:00 I ran across FiveCentNickel’s fund raiser for The Conservation Fund and I thought the idea was so good I’m going to help support it. Basically, he is going to match 100% of your contribution up to $1000 so those of us that have been thinking of donating should give this fund a serious look. Sure, there is tax refunds for donations made by you but the most important part of donating is about helping a cause. With your donation, the fund will 1) acquire and conserve land across the country to protect its wildlife habitat, working landscapes, recreation areas etc 2) apply innovative research and technology to create solutions to sustain complex natural resource issues 3) offer courses, workshops and seminars for people to learn and constructively address conservation objectives 4) provides real estate, strategic conservation, mitigation and land advisory services to the public and private sector 5) award and grant individuals and corporations to encourage conservation On ... More About: Time , Donate , Nate
The Tomato Garden Inspirates to Save Money
2007-10-16 17:22:00 I ran across this article, and as always everything can be related to personal finance for me so I want to share this with you! An elderly Italian man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his tomato garden but it was very hard work and he was old and tired. His only son, Vincenzo, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament Dear Vincenzo, Ima feela pretty bad ‘causa looks like I wona be able to planta my tomato garden dis year. Ima getting old. Ifa you were here, my troubles, she woulda be over. I know you woulda diga da garden fo me. Love, U Papa A few days later he received a letter from his son. Dear Papa, I’d do anything for you Papa, except dig up that garden. That’s where I buried the bodies. Love, Vinnie At 4:00 am the next morning, FBI and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. The same day the old man receive... More About: Garden , Money , Save Money , Tomato , Save
Why Do We Read and Follow Money Tips But Never Become Rich?
2007-10-15 17:12:00 Like you, I read many articles about personal finance. More often than not, there will be tips embedded in these paragraphs that talk about how we can save and earn more money. The article will say something like “do this and you will become rich.” Some of this article may be from someone you trust; while others make so much sense that you ought to try them. Some of these articles are so persuasive that you might even dream about becoming rich after you read them. So far so good, but what happens after a week? Half of the time, we forget about the tips all together; while the other half of the time, we either try the money tip and assume it doesn’t work because we didn’t see any results, or remind ourselves that we will never have time to try it. Forgetting About the Money Tip All Together Don’t worry; you are not alone since we are all like this. We are busy and don’t have time to debrief after reading personal articles. After all, most of us read personal financ... More About: Rich , Tips , Read
Bangkok People’s Great Use of Space For Their Market
2007-10-15 01:32:00 This video really caught my eye because different cultures really does things differently. Those of us that whine about having no space or living in a small area really need to think how lucky we are being able to be online whenever we want and read blogs like this one. (Those that don’t have flash can click here for the link) ---Related Articles at Personal Finance Blog by Money Ning:Buy On The Market Dip and Buy At The Market TopPaycheck FrequencyGreetings from Taiwan Airport and Patience for the Market!Be careful when the stock market seems to be on fireDeclining Market Mentality for Personal Finance Blog Readers More About: Space , Bangkok , Great
Links Sunday and Reminder For HP SD Card Reader Giveaway
2007-10-14 20:46:00 Those that missed the HP SD Card Reader Giveaway should remember to join now! Since you only need to be an email subscriber to be eligible, it should be very easy so remember to go check out the details above! This week has again seen some very good activity in terms of RSS subscriber and traffic increases. This is all due to your support so thank you very much! Here are some very interesting articles for your weekend enjoyment! My Two Dollars lists out some free software for Windows. Great list if you are always looking to save money! Frugal in the Fruitlands have an interesting article about why luxury and frugality can be mixed in the same sentence! Modern Worker shows us how we can be concise and professional with our emails. Lately, ‘m happy if the email isn’t a spam so anything from a real person will do Adventures in Money Making discusses the housing market and not to ever ask the real estate agents on when to buy a house. Carnivals of this week: Car... More About: Links , Sunday , Reminder
Seven Random Things About Money Ning
2007-10-13 19:15:00 A few days ago, Money and Such tagged me on the blog-meme started by plonkee on seven random things about me so here are a few things that you might or might not know about me: 1. I have a bachelor and masters degree in computer engineering but I’m now in Sales. Many people think I’m a little nuts changing to a career that basically don’t need any education but so far I’m happy with this job! 2. Chicken wings are my favorite food but I refused to try it numerous times while I was young. I was picky back then, okay? 3. My brain must be wired differently. I can recite lines from some movies after watching it once but will always forget to call my friend for important issues. 4. I’m getting married in February 9th, 2008 and I am in the middle of all the chaos trying to prepare for every little detail. 5. I have never had a cigarette or even tried to light one for that matter even though my dad smokes. I just didn’t see a point in it and having second hand smoke is all t... More About: Random , Things
Does Always Thinking About Money Really Make Me Happy?
2007-10-12 17:18:00 Today, the golf trophy that I won for placing 2nd on my flight was shipped to me. I was so excited because I have never won anything other than getting certificates and ribbons before so it made me really happy to say the least. My credit card balance, my next paycheck, the stock market tumbling today all did not matter. Being a person that always thinking about money – how to save more, how to earn more, how to accumulate more, this prompted the question “does always thinking about money really make me happy?” The answer to this question is probably pretty complicated. On the one hand, it stresses me out unnecessarily. I’m certainly not worried about survival since I have a good paying job and have very little expenses so far, creating a sizable positive cash flow every month. If I project my savings rate and investment performance, I will be way ahead of my goal. However, because it seems like I’m very far from my retirement goal (as I’m still young and ... More About: Money , Happy , Make , Thinking , Ally
Reduce Your Taxes Forever
2007-10-11 17:22:00 I just found out today from a comment at one of Blueprint’s article that you can deduct state taxes from your federal taxes! I just don’t think this make sense because that makes the state tax useless as the governments should figure this out amongst themselves. Without getting into a debate on that though, I want to ask everyone whether they knew this or not. This is probably written somewhere in those thick booklets that has all those tax forms, but who understands and keeps up with all the tax laws? Everyone knows the general rules, but I bet we miss out on many of the possible ways to deduct our taxes because we just didn’t know it could be done. Here are a couple of ways that can help us in this regard. Tax advisors – They seem a little expensive because they charge quite a bit to do your tax. However, they have the potential to help you save more money than they charge because they know all the tax rules and changes and can get you the maximum tax benefits. Tax so... More About: Taxes , Reduce , Forever
Do You Also Have The Statistics Syndrome?
2007-10-10 17:14:00 I’m one of those people that love to know how I am doing every second of the day. This means that if there are some statistics that I can get my hands on, I will go check it. I’m so addicted in knowing that I will check everything multiple times a day, lowering my productivity. It is quite bad right now and I should not let this get worst! Just off the top of my head, I can think of these statistics that I check multiple times each day Website • RSS subscribers • Daily visitors by the hour • Referring site hit count • Search engine referrals • Blog rush stats (when they are working) Investments • Taxable stock and fund prices • Roth IRA account performance • 401k stats (I don’t know why I check this more than once a day because it only updates once a day on weekdays!) • Stock prices of several stocks that I’m interested in • Major index performances (Dow Jones Industrial, Nasdaq, and S&P 500) As you can see, I’m happy to say that life is good b... More About: Statistics , Syndrome
What is Considered a Low Cost Index Fund?
2007-10-09 17:20:00 A reader asked in my article (why we always recommend buying low cost index funds) what is considered a low cost index fund and I decided to share this on a separate post to give it more visibility as I’m sure more than one person will benefit from this. Basically, I look at all the cost of owning an index fund vs buying all the stock the index holds without commission. These include – Load – There are some funds that require a front end or back end load (essentially a fee for buying or selling the fund). If there is a load, I would not consider this as a low cost fund. Expense Ratio – Every fund will need to have a team to maintain the paperwork, do the actual buying and selling of stocks if people cash in and out of the fund etc so there is always a fee the fund company charges to maintain the fund. Anything under 1% I would consider low cost but it will depend on the index. The best thing to do is to compare these with others that track the same index. Commission ... More About: Cost , Fund , Index , Low cost , Consider
Decided to Not Pick Up My Lucky Penny and Nickel
More articles from this author:2007-10-08 17:20:00 I came out of the grocery store yesterday and walked right pass a nickel that was on the ground – a lucky nickel. A split second afterwards, I wanted to turn back to pick it up but it was in the middle of the street and there were cars everywhere so I continued my path to my car. When I got home last night, I thought to myself some possible reasons of why my first reaction after seeing the nickel was to ignore it. It’s very tough to say if these are the reasons or not but it provides some food for thought so here they are. 1. I don’t care too much about a nickel anymore - As my income and net worth increases, any fix amount of money becomes less and less important on a relative basis (especially small amounts like a nickel). This is definitely one area I should look into because although I’m still quite frugal on small amounts of money in my daily purchases, I’m very lose about ups and downs of my taxable account (I wouldn’t notice any monetary change in my account fo... More About: Pick , Lucky , Cide , Penny , Nickel 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
 |
|
 |
