5 Things to Do in the New Year (or at least think about it)

Woohoo!  It looks like I will be receiving Money Magazine for another year.  If you have been reading my blog, you will know that my previous issue had Dec10 on it which usually means that my subscription will expire, but the most recent one has Dec11 on it.

One of the articles lists five things to do in the New Year.  They are as follows:

• Shop for a no-fee checking account
• Save your raise
• Go for a checkup
• Score a better rewards card
• Use your vacation days

For more details, click here to read: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/pf/1101/gallery.Things_to_do_in_2011.moneymag/index.html

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Kids are just messy. They are not hoarders.

I ran across this article in a recent Los Angeles Times paper called "They're messy, not hoarders" which can also be found on their website (link is below). It is written by Alexandra Abramian-Mott and has some interesting points.

With four kids, it seems like we do have a lot of stuff (read toys) for the kids, and it seems like there are things out all the time.  We keep on telling ourselves to decrease bringing things into the house, but things sneak in one way or another.

Click here for the article:  http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-kid-hoard-20110129,0,1785505.story

Visit? Snow Play in the San Bernardino Mountains

We went to the Big Bear Snow Play earlier this month.  It looks like there are at least three that are in the San Bernardino Mountains.  You can view pictures from our trip by clicking here.

• Big Bear Snow Play. $25 for the day. Bring cash. http://www.bigbearsnowplay.com/
• Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain. $25 for the day.  Bring cash.  http://www.alpineslidebigbear.com/
• Snowdrift Park.  $12 per hour.  This looks like you need to walk up to the top.  http://www.snowdrift.net/index.html

Visit? Santa Rosa Plateau

This looks like a nice place to visit for a walk and relax.  It is located in the Murrieta area and consists of 8,300 acres of mixed-use terrain.

To get more information, click here: http://www.riversidecountyparks.org/locations/nature-historic-centers/santa-rosa-plateau/

Download David Bach's "Debt-Free For Life" only today

I guess there are several websites where you can download David Bach's book for free. It is listed for a retail price of $9.99 but can be downloaded for free.

One of them is called WalletPop.com where David posted a blog entry on December 27, 2010.  Click here to go to that website: http://www.walletpop.com/david-bach

Be sure to come back and shop through my Amazon or Upromise links to do any online purchasing.   The following is the book that you can download only for 24 hours on January 5, 2011.

















To View All results with David Bach on Amazon.com click here: Search Amazon.com for David Bach

Fortune Magazine - Bruce Berkowitz - The Megamind of Miami

I am receiving Fortune at no cost (except my time to read it) and there was an article about Bruce Berkowitz, The Megamind of Miami.  It was a little long, but interesting.

I like the picture of him home office.  LPs, books, older-type of stereo equipment on the bookcases.

Click here to read it. 

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Gift Cards - The Perfect Present?

This last season, while contemplating what to get for relatives who live out-of-state, we settled on some gift cards.  It seemed convenient at the time and we wondered whether we should have been doing this sooner and maybe more often in the future.  Specifically for presents during the holiday season, it was inconvenient and actually quite costly to wrap, pack, and ship presents.

It is interesting that the December 6, 2010 Fortune Magazine has a feature on Gift Cards and what all the costs are.  They estimate that the total value of cards to be about $73 billion with 10 percent of that coming from kiosks at non-related stores.  Six percent of the cards go unused which is more than $4 billion.

Click here for the post on Gift Cards on Fortune.CNN.com and details as to Where the money goes and where the cards are used.

Amazon.com is throwing around an idea that may even make the Gift Card obsolete.  If you purchased a gift item (not a gift card), they would contact the recipient (presumably via e-mail) and notify them that someone purchased that item for them.  Amazon.com would then give the receiver an option to accept the present or exchange it (store credit) for something else that Amazon.com sells.  The article says that it is a patented process.

Click here for the Associated Press article that explains more about their idea.

Pros and Cons (off the the top of my head) of giving gift cards include:

• The time a giver spends looking for, buying, wrapping, and shipping presents is saved
• Amounts are disclosed and pre-determined
• Gift cards are easy to ship/mail and gift because of compact size
• Decreases environmental waste that occurs with packing, wrapping and shipping presents
• Items in the mail can get lost unless you spend extra cost it takes to send via Certified mail and/or Insure the items
• Limited to the specific store (I would not get a Visa or MasterCard gift card because of the huge fees)
• Fairly liquid market on eBay but usually do not get 100 percent value
• Receivers can take advantage of holiday sales to "stretch" their dollar
• Multiple gift cards from the same retailer can be lumped together to buy an item of larger value
• The receiver shifts their time from waiting in the return line, to picking out their item 
• Recipients may have been contemplating what they want anyway

Click here to subscribe to Fortune Magazine:

Forbes - Investment Guide for 2011

I just recently posted a guide from Money Magazine and to be fair, I am now posting the Investment Guide from Forbes Magazine.  This is another magazine that I am currently receiving for free.  Here are the key components:

• Rethinking Your Risk:  Career (potentially your biggest investment), Dollar, Real estate, and Spending
• Estate Planning On the Cheap: Use software or hire someone?
• Being a Smart Client of a Financial advisor: Trust them (or take a hike), Take the long view, Let the pros decide, and It's a business
• Tracking Vital Signs: Quicken Health Expense, Microsoft HealthVault, and Google Health.  All of which have limitations which you will need to read about. 
• Global Attraction
• Get Naked for Income: Sell calls and puts to gain an additional 1.5% per month?
• Tax-Smart Energy Investing:  for good or bad, the tax rate roll-backs were delayed for another two years.  This portion discusses the use of Master Limited Partnerships
• The Secret Housing Boom:  How to invest in apartment REITs
• High Fliers: Investing in aerospace stocks
• Cashing in on the Comeuppance of Hedge Funds: Why the heydey of hedge funds is over.
• Staying On Target.  How to make target-date funds work for you
• Dividend Stocks for Bond Investors: with interest rates and inflation rising, shift from bonds (which face values go down when rates go up) to stocks with a good dividend yield
• Crash Course: tips for buying car insurance such as raise your deductibles, get uninsured motorist coverage, carry an umbrella, look for obscure discounts, don't buy your teen their own car, avoid limited tort insurance, and insure for a total wreck.
• How to give like Mark Zuckerberg:  like public stock, private equity, liquidation fund, collectibles, and real estate, but look out for the IRS.
• Protection Racket:  look out for indexed annuities
• Florida Fire Sale: how to evaluate buying housing in Florida
• Folk Hero: use your money to fulfill your dreams (and hopefully make money too)

There's a lot of reading (and maybe some skimming), but the information is dense and useful if you want to simply get an overview.

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Welcome to Zombieland - A foreclosure reminder

Here is another article in the December Money Magazine that covers specifically Ladera Ranch in Orange County, California.

Just another reminder that housing should remain a "need" and not a "want."  Make sure you can easily afford it based on monthly cash flow.

Click here for the article.

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Money Magazine - Make Money in 2011

Yes, I am still trying to catch up for 2010.  If you have been reading my posts, you will know that I am getting Money Magazine for free.  If I read the label correctly, the December 2010 issue will be my last (unless they renew for me).

They had a couple of quick blurbs that comprised "Make Money in 2011."  They have each individual piece online that you can find by clicking on the following links:

• Your Savings: Spread amounts over short terms from savings to five-year CDs, Increase your credit score to 750 or higher, and Don't settle for low interest rates on savings accounts
• Your Investments: Tilt towards stocks, Go big (dividend yields), Venture overseas, Stay Short (as far as bond terms), and Take a calculated risk.
• Your Home:  If buying, don't try to time the market perfectly and if selling, hang on a few more years until the market recovers (or try to unload fast).  If you already own, refinance if you are able.  If you are an investor and want to buy, wait until foreclosure numbers ramp up again.
• Your Job: Angle for that promotion, Toot your own horn, Raise your visibility in-house, and Nurture your network.
• The Economy  

For more details click on each link above.  To subscribe to Money Magazine, click the link below: