how to budget personal finances

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Many of us will remember 2009 as the year of change. Unemployment, foreclosures, reduction in payroll, layoffs and a weak economy have affected most of us with our spending habits. With 2010, quickly approaching, it may be time for us to sit down, examine our personal finances, and set goals that may better prepare us for the unknown road ahead. Here are some suggestions to help you map out your financial future.

Reduce Expenses: Without the reduction in debt, it is almost impossible to save money. Most financial advisor's will tell you this is a necessity. Knowing where your money is going each month is the first step. Grab a pad and pencil and start writing down what your expenses are. Look at your credit card statements, bank statements and receipts to tally up items you may not remember. Most people who do this are surprised to see exactly how their income is expensed. After writing down the items examine the ones that are reoccurring. Are these expenses a necessity or luxury item? Buying five dollar coffee is not a necessity, especially when the total amount spent in one month can exceed $100 dollars. If the items are a luxury, see which can be changed or eliminated. If they are a necessity, such as utilities, examine how these items can be reduced.

Eliminate Credit Card Debt: Credit cards are great consumers of your income. Especially if you are paying the minimum balances. With the current economy, many credit card users are finding their interest rates skyrocketing, which in turn, increases the amount of payment due. If you want to know how long it will take to pay off a credit card, go to www.bankrate.com. They offer a credit card calculator. You can enter the information, and based on your minimum payment, it will tell you the length of time for payoff. Make it a goal to eliminate your cards balances, one at a time. For many, that plan may not be achieved in one year, it may take several. But rest assure, once the payments are gone, you will be on the path to financial freedom and available disposable income.

Start Saving: Do you remember when you were a kid and you saved money in a jar? In the beginning, the few coins didn't amount to a lot, but over time, the coins grew and grew into a large enough sum to have real buying power. It is the same with saving. The in ital amount doesn't have to be big, but as the balance grows, so will your desire to see it get even bigger. "Saving" has now become a key word with this new economy. Just two years ago, Americans were spending more than they saved, today the opposite is true. Saving for a unexpected event or retirement, must become part of your personal financial goal for the New Year of 2010.

Create a Budget: In the past, with the convenience of equity lines, refinances and credit cards, most of us didn't give much concern to how much we spent. If we wanted it, we got it. Today, the world is much different. All of us are facing returning back to a budget. When you create a budget, you set a certain dollar amount that is applied to purchases or expenses. This means that before you buy a item, you consider how much you are willing to pay for it. Once this is decided upon, you do not deviate from it. One of easiest ways to help stick to a budget is by only using cash for purchases. The temptation to overspend is more easily eliminated when you know you are depleting your cash supply each time you buy. If needed, there are many great programs and websites that offer budget spreadsheets and advice such as, www.christianpf.com, which offers 10 free budget spreadsheet, or www.docs.google.com.

Delaying Major Purchases: Many people ask me about buying a new car, home, or other expensive items. The answer is that you need to examine whether it makes sense to take on the additional expense. If buying a new car, is being done for no other reason than to update your vehicle, that purchase should be delayed. If your current vehicle needs repairs, it is better to fix the car than to incur a debt of a monthly payment that can last up to 6 years. The purchase may make sense if it is strictly on a cash basis for a amazing deal. With many foreclosures on the market, you may be tempted to jump in and buy a home. Make sure that you have a sustainable down payment. This will help to reduce the monthly payment, making it more affordable. Owning a home comes with more expenses than renting. There are repairs, maintenance, taxes, insurance and those unexpected emergency items. Consider the possibility of these items when looking into the mortgage payment of home ownership. With the uncertainty in the job and housing market, it is important to decide if acquiring debt is a wise decision.

With the New Year of 2010 around the corner, its time to take seriously your personal financial goals and what you want for the future. The goals can be short or long term. By examining your spending habits and expenses, you will become aware of where your hard earned money is going and how to gain a understanding of how it is spent. By taking control of your finances you reduce the stress of dealing with the uncertainty of a volatile economic environment. No one can predict if 2010 will be a better year, but by setting goals and attaining them you can assure yourself, that for you, it will could be.





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Animated Taiwanese <b>News</b> On “Evil” Steve Jobs, Now With Subtitles <b>...</b>

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managing your personal finance

As you’ll read tomorrow (or Monday), I’ve entered a new phase in my life. After years of hard work and long hours building this blog (time that I’ve enjoyed), I’ve been shifting things around so that I have more free time. As a result, I’m going to have more time to devote to creating quality blog posts, instead of rushing around at the last minute looking for something to write about.

Because of this, it’s time yet again to take requests. I do this about once a year, and it’s a great way to get a feel for what GRS readers are interested in. I’d be grateful if you’d take the time to leave a comment below with topic suggestions or article requests. It doesn’t matter if we’ve covered the subject in the past. If you’d like me (or one of the other GRS staff) to write about it, let me know.

Have there been too many articles about credit cards? Too few articles about credit cards? Would you like to know more about individual savings accounts? Do you like the articles about the psychology of spending? Would it be helpful to have somebody come in to explain insurance concepts in plain English? Should I try to persuade my wife to share more of her recipes now and then? Let me know what you’d like to read about!

While you’re all providing feedback about the site, here are a few recent articles of note:

Over at The Simple Dollar, Trent and his readers had a thoughtful discussion about the obligations of wealth. “I think there is some inherent distrust of the rich in the mainstream of American society,” Trent writes as he describes how a wealthy person can keep from alienating his friends. There’s so much to say about this topic; I’m tempted to write an entire article about it.

GRS reader Steven writes a blog called Hundred Goals, which is about achieving your goals while managing your finances. After Sierra’s post this morning about travel, he dropped me a line to let me know that he has a recent article about how to have a great vacation.

Speaking of vacation, my pal Jason over at No Credit Needed spent time compiling day-use fees and free days for state parks across the United States. Handy page to bookmark!

And here’s more travel! At The Art of Non-Conformity, my good friend Chris Guillebeau has posted a beginner’s guide to travel hacking. I’ve been asking him to share this info for a long time; now I’ve got to take responsibility to use the knowledge he’s shared.

Finally, I’ve been giving a lot of interviews lately. I’m much more comfortable with these than I used to be. (They used to scare me to death!) Some examples:

• Colleen from The Frisky interviewed me about how to save money even when you’re living paycheck to paycheck. This is a tough quandary, something I’m asked about a lot.




• In an interview with BeFrugal, I discuss frugality, happiness, and conscious spending. (Note: “the ballot” should be “the balance” — I must have mumbled.)




• Jeff Rose at Good Financial Cents also interviewed me. This interview is very much about the process of writing a book, which may or may not interest you.




• I also spoke with Beverly Harzog from Card Ratings. We chatted about credit cards, of course, but also about other aspects of personal finance.




• Finally, USA Weekend has a short piece on how to give your 401(k) a midyear check, for which author Richard Eisenberg interviewed me back in May. This is a perfect example of how much work goes into even a small newspaper article. Eisenberg spent 20-30 minutes on the phone with me, and I’m sure he did the same with the other folks he quotes. Plus, I’ll bet he spent a lot of time writing. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 4-6 hours in this small piece.

Okay, one last thing before I go. Tim pointed me to a two-year-old New York Times series about the debt trap, which includes an interactive infographic showing average household debt loads over the past century.

That’s enough links for today. Please do leave a comment with topic requests or other feedback. Meanwhile, it’s time for me to go do some yardwork…

As you’ll read tomorrow (or Monday), I’ve entered a new phase in my life. After years of hard work and long hours building this blog (time that I’ve enjoyed), I’ve been shifting things around so that I have more free time. As a result, I’m going to have more time to devote to creating quality blog posts, instead of rushing around at the last minute looking for something to write about.

Because of this, it’s time yet again to take requests. I do this about once a year, and it’s a great way to get a feel for what GRS readers are interested in. I’d be grateful if you’d take the time to leave a comment below with topic suggestions or article requests. It doesn’t matter if we’ve covered the subject in the past. If you’d like me (or one of the other GRS staff) to write about it, let me know.

Have there been too many articles about credit cards? Too few articles about credit cards? Would you like to know more about individual savings accounts? Do you like the articles about the psychology of spending? Would it be helpful to have somebody come in to explain insurance concepts in plain English? Should I try to persuade my wife to share more of her recipes now and then? Let me know what you’d like to read about!

While you’re all providing feedback about the site, here are a few recent articles of note:

Over at The Simple Dollar, Trent and his readers had a thoughtful discussion about the obligations of wealth. “I think there is some inherent distrust of the rich in the mainstream of American society,” Trent writes as he describes how a wealthy person can keep from alienating his friends. There’s so much to say about this topic; I’m tempted to write an entire article about it.

GRS reader Steven writes a blog called Hundred Goals, which is about achieving your goals while managing your finances. After Sierra’s post this morning about travel, he dropped me a line to let me know that he has a recent article about how to have a great vacation.

Speaking of vacation, my pal Jason over at No Credit Needed spent time compiling day-use fees and free days for state parks across the United States. Handy page to bookmark!

And here’s more travel! At The Art of Non-Conformity, my good friend Chris Guillebeau has posted a beginner’s guide to travel hacking. I’ve been asking him to share this info for a long time; now I’ve got to take responsibility to use the knowledge he’s shared.

Finally, I’ve been giving a lot of interviews lately. I’m much more comfortable with these than I used to be. (They used to scare me to death!) Some examples:

• Colleen from The Frisky interviewed me about how to save money even when you’re living paycheck to paycheck. This is a tough quandary, something I’m asked about a lot.




• In an interview with BeFrugal, I discuss frugality, happiness, and conscious spending. (Note: “the ballot” should be “the balance” — I must have mumbled.)




• Jeff Rose at Good Financial Cents also interviewed me. This interview is very much about the process of writing a book, which may or may not interest you.




• I also spoke with Beverly Harzog from Card Ratings. We chatted about credit cards, of course, but also about other aspects of personal finance.




• Finally, USA Weekend has a short piece on how to give your 401(k) a midyear check, for which author Richard Eisenberg interviewed me back in May. This is a perfect example of how much work goes into even a small newspaper article. Eisenberg spent 20-30 minutes on the phone with me, and I’m sure he did the same with the other folks he quotes. Plus, I’ll bet he spent a lot of time writing. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 4-6 hours in this small piece.

Okay, one last thing before I go. Tim pointed me to a two-year-old New York Times series about the debt trap, which includes an interactive infographic showing average household debt loads over the past century.

That’s enough links for today. Please do leave a comment with topic requests or other feedback. Meanwhile, it’s time for me to go do some yardwork…

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Exclusive: A 2nd Christmas Attack, In NYC? « Liveshots

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foreclosure homes

RealtyTrac, as reported on Housing Wire, gave a gloomy update on the US housing market. RealtyTrac does granular collection of data on foreclosures, capturing every filing. One of the shortcomings of this approach is that processes vary by state (as in some state require more court filings over the course of a foreclosure than others). In addition, homes can go in and out of foreclosure (an owner gets the first notice, contacts the servicer and works out a catch-up plan, and later falls behind again). So the commentary of RealtyTrac and other market participants is essential in interpreting the data.

The key takeaway:

James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, said at the current pace, more than 3m properties will receive a foreclosure filing by the end of the year, and lenders will repossess more than 1m of them. According to a report from the Toronto-based Capital Economics, the weight of the shadow inventory may contribute to a double dip in the housing market. The report found that for every home currently on the market, two homes are waiting to be sold.

“The roller coaster pattern of foreclosure activity over the past 12 months demonstrates that while the foreclosure problem is being managed on the surface, a massive number of distressed properties and underwater loans continues to sit just below the surface, threatening the fragile stability of the housing market,” Saccacio said.

Yves here. The scary part here is this estimate of market overhang refers only to foreclosed and distressed property. There is another category of hidden inventory, people who would like to sell but aren’t even listing their houses. These would include people who want to relocate, aging individuals who’d like to downsize and had hoped to be able to liberate some equity.

More detail from HousingWire:

Foreclosure filings decreased 3% in June after another 3% drop in April. It’s the third straight month of declines. Foreclosure filings were down 7% from June 2009. Despite the recent downward swing, June marked the 16th straight month of more than 300,000 filings.

For the second quarter of 2010, foreclosures dropped 4% from Q110 and remained 1% above Q209. As default and auction notices fell, REOs increased 5% from the last quarter and 38% from Q209. It’s the most REOs measured in a quarter since RealtyTrac began publishing the reports in January 2005.

“The second quarter was a tale of two trends,” Saccacio said. “The pace of properties entering foreclosure slowed as lenders pre-empted or delayed foreclosure proceedings on delinquent properties with more aggressive short sale and loan modification initiatives. Meanwhile the pace of properties completing the foreclosure process through bank repossession quickened as lenders cleared out a backlog of distressed inventory delayed by foreclosure prevention efforts in 2009.”

Energy-efficient homes
have significantly lower default and delinquency rates than typical homes, according
to an internal analysis conducted for a major financial institution last
year. Here's yet another reason why it
makes no sense that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have effectively killed Property
Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), a financing tool that has helped make
efficiency improvements affordable for thousands of American homeowners.

Homes built to federal Energy Star
standards for efficiency had default and delinquency rates 11 percent lower
than other homes, the 2009 analysis found, according to two people familiar
with the document. The analysis accounted for variables including income and
location, since many new homes are built in sprawling areas (where high transportation costs
contribute to foreclosure rates).

"It was a robust
statistical analysis that found, with a 99-percent confidence interval, that
energy-efficient homes had significantly lower default and delinquency rates," said
one person. Both sources asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships
with finance institutions.

Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac have effectively
shut down PACE programs around the nation.
The programs let homeowners tack the cost of insulation, furnaces, and
other efficiency improvements onto their property tax bills, letting them gradually
pay off the cost over 10 to 20 years. The tax assessments are "senior" to
mortgages, meaning they get paid off first in a foreclosure, which concerns Fannie
and Freddie, the government-sponsored mortgage-finance corporations that
guarantee more than half of the nation's mortgages.

A letter from the Federal
Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates Fannie and Freddie, claims PACE
programs "pose unusual and difficult risk management challenges" for lenders. But
the internal analysis supports what PACE defenders have been claiming -- that
energy-efficiency improvements, when done correctly, make borrowers more financially stable, not less.

"If you're Fannie or
Freddie, in many ways PACE should be the best tax or assessment you've ever
seen, because it improves cash flow," said Cisco
DeVries, president of Renewable Funding, a company that sets up PACE
programs for cities and counties. "Homeowners are reducing their energy bills.
No other assessment does that. For a sewer system [a common use of tax
assessments], you have access to sewers, which is great, but it's not like your
cash flow improves."

The research in the
internal analysis does not focus on PACE or other financing methods, but it
addresses the core focus of PACE: the energy use of buildings. Most PACE
programs require an energy audit and efficiency improvements before funding
rooftop solar or wind (since it's a waste to put solar panels on a leaky
building). Buildings account for 38
percent of the nation's carbon dioxide emissions, so retrofitting them is a
crucial near-term step in addressing climate change -- with the added bonuses
of creating local jobs and cutting utility bills for property owners.

The nation's largest
PACE program, in Sonoma County, Calif., has also found that energy-saving
improvements tend to make homeowners more financially secure. The property-tax
delinquency rate for the county's 900-some PACE participants was 1.2 percent,
compared with 3.5 percent for the county as a whole, according to deputy county
counsel Kathy Larocque.

"The people in our
program are better taxpayers than the general public," she said.

Sonoma County residents
have jumped at the chance to make home improvements through the program since
it launched last spring. The county expected investments to reach $7 million or
so in the first year; instead they reached $30 million as of last month,
according to county Treasurer/Tax Collector Rod Dole.

Another year-old
program in Boulder County, Colo., proved popular with residents, helping them
make more than $10 million in home and business energy improvements. Middle-school
teacher Kayla Thomason wanted to join in; she applied for $11,000 in
funding to fix up her leaky house, had a home-energy audit performed, and had
contractors bidding on the work -- and then Fannie and Freddie forced
the program to shut down.

Boulder County
commissioner Will Toor says local residents are anxious for the program to get
back up and running. "The reactions that we're getting from people are
primarily anger at Fannie and Freddie, as opposed to people feeling like
there's something wrong with the program," he said. "If we can get the federal
issues resolved and clearly state to people that we're able to move forward, I
think that we will see people still participate. I don't think it will be a
long-term blow to the program, once we get the issue resolved."

Dozens of members of
Congress, governors, and mayors have spoken up in support of PACE. Rep. Steve
Israel (D-N.Y.) said he plans to introduce legislation addressing Fannie and
Freddie's concerns, but there's no sign that the bill would move quickly
through Congress. The Department of Energy, which invested $150 million in stimulus
money in PACE programs, urged
Fannie and Freddie to let the programs proceed, without success. It even
offered FHFA a two-year reserve fund to guarantee against losses, an
offer that was refused, according to The
New York Times.

"Every single issue
raised by FHFA was raised previously and resolved, from almost everybody's
perspective, with excellent answers," said DeVries of Renewable Funding. "It's
clear they didn't want to take 'yes' for an answer."

Spokespersons for
Fannie Mae and FHFA did not respond to requests for comment.

Do you have more information on Fannie, Freddie, and the PACE dispute? If
so, we'd like to hear from you (jhiskes grist org).

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Bungie.net : Bungie Weekly Update: 07.09.10 : 7/9/2010 2:53 PM PDT

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Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: July 15, 2010 (Audio)

TWITTER: @GreenNewsReport The 'GNR' is also now available on your cell phone via Stitcher Radio's mobile app!

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Today we acknowledge and celebrate the revolution of media becoming social. A day that honors the technological and societal advancements that have allowed us to have a dialogue, to connect and to engage not only the creators of media, but perhaps more importantly, one another.

It’s a day to celebrate the changes in media that have empowered us to stay connected to information in real time, the tools that have enabled us to communicate from miles apart, and the platforms that have given a voice to the voiceless and victims of protest injustice. It’s a revolution worth celebrating. Today, we celebrate Social Media Day and we hope you’ll join us.

So how do you participate? Being social, of course. You can do this online by tracking the social updates in various ways as listed below, or you can make some connections offline by attending an event near you. There are more than 600+ meetups in 93 countries today with thousands of attendees. As far as we know, there is no official holiday dedicated to social media. We think it deserves a day of it’s own, and what better way to celebrate than to connect with your local social media community?

There are lot’s creative events planned from panels, to charity fundraisers and even sporting tournaments. Below is a message from our very own Pete Cashmore explaining the idea, reasons for and goals behind Social Media Day:

A Message From Mashable’s Founder and CEO Pete Cashmore

So what’s next? As Pete mentions, we want this to be a launching point for you to build a lasting relationship with your social media community by continuing to host Monthly Mashable Meetups using our Meetup Everywhere page, or more frequently if you think it works better for your community.

Perhaps today’s local meetup was a place for you to network, but now you can take it one step further by organizing panels, demos and more — or maybe you can just keep it simple with monthly social networking meetups. The point is, let’s keep this social community connected, online and off. And next year, watch for the second annual Social Media Day, as we hope to continue to build on this celebration. The next date of the meetups will be July 27th, class='blippr-nobr'>Mashable’sclass="blippr-nobr">Mashable 5th birthday. Stay tuned and stay social!

How To Participate in Social Media Day

• Meetup Everywhere Mashable: Sign up to attend an event on the Meetup Everywhere Mashable.
• Watch the live streams worldwide: We’ll be updating throughout the day.
• Tweet: Use the #smday hashtag on class='blippr-nobr'>Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter. With so many participating, we should be a trending topic on Twitter on June 30. Also, we’ll soon be announcing a prize for those that tweet or post to class='blippr-nobr'>Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook.
• Add the Social Media Day Twitter theme from TweetyGotBack to your account in support of the day.
• Follow @mashSMday: Follow @mashSMday on Twitter for updates and developments on the celebration.
• Comment via Facebook: Go to Smday.com and leave a comment either promoting your meetup or tell us what you’re doing for your event.
• Upload to class='blippr-nobr'>Flickrclass="blippr-nobr">Flickr: Upload photos to Flickr and tag them with #smday.

Winner of Sony Dash Giveaway

Last week we announced a Sony Dash giveaway that would be awarded to an attendee of a Social Media Day meetup in the U.S. and had fanned us on Facebook. The winner is Heather Spring, an Internet Marketing Manager at Accenture in Chicago, and is attending the Wheaton, Illinois meetup today with a crowd of about 40. Spring, who prior to entering the web world worked as a nuclear engineer, heard about the local meetup through the Mashable e-mail newsletter. She thinks meetups are a great way to socialize in real life with other social media professionals.

“Hopefully we can have conversations longer than 140-character tweets,” Spring said. Why is social media day worth celebrating? She said because “social media has become such a force that allows anyone to be heard – no matter where they are or who they are or what they have to say. And there’s always someone willing to listen.” Congrats to Heather on the prize!

Top 10 Meetups (Based on Attendance)

1. New York, NY/> 2. Sao Paulo, Brazil/> 3. Barcelona, Spain/> 4. Santa Ana, CA/> 5. Antwerp, Belgium/> 6. Buenos Aires, Argentina/> 7. Atlanta, GA/> 8. Boston, MA/> 9. Philadelphia, PA/> 9. Chicago, IL/> 10. San Francisco, CA

Social Media Day Tweets

/>

See the Closest Meetup to Your City

We’d also love to hear what you’re doing for Social Media Day in the comments below or in the Facebook comments section on Smday.com.

For more Social Media coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Mediaclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Media channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

By Tess Alps: Why is TV-dissing such a big part of internet orthodoxy? Clay Shirky has been out promoting his new book, Cognitive Surplus, which states that internet activity is displacing TV among the young and that this is a good thing. There have been newspaper reviews like this and yesterday he was interviewed on Radio 4’s Today programme.

To be fair to Shirky, he doesn’t say that all TV is “bad”, but he believes that being online is better – connecting, creating, sharing. I would have to be a philistine not to recognise the many positive benefits that the internet has brought us, and I share Shirky’s idealistic hope that it will promote democracy, knowledge, peace, love etc.

My problems with his book are three-fold: I dispute some of his facts, some of the distinctions that he draws and some of the science that he employs.

Facts first: is TV viewing declininTo be fair to Shirky, he doesn’t say that all TV is “bad”, but he believes that being online is better – connecting, creating, sharing. I would have to be a philistine not to recognise the many positive benefits that the internet has brought us, and I share Shirky’s idealistic hope that it will promote democracy, knowledge, peace, love etc.

My problems with his book are three-fold: I dispute some of his facts, some of the distinctions that he draws and some of the science that he employs.g for the first time ever among the young? Not in the UK or Europe, and TV catch-up services online are extra. TV viewing is booming in developing markets. Anyone who has watched the World Cup coverage will have been moved to see young African children joyfully watching their first TV football match.

Secondly, to position the internet as an alternative to TV is meaningless – and I don’t say that lightly, because Clay Shirky is clearly a very intelligent person. The internet is a vast and transformational technology, but it is not a homogenous medium.

Many human activities that once took place offline can now be conducted online, including watching TV. A growing percentage of young people’s time online is spent watching TV and video – and then talking about it, as a quick glance at Twitter will prove. Sadly, there is about a 1:99 ratio between people who create things online and those who just consume them, much as in the real world; and TV inspires online creativity.

Finally, a bit of science. The word “passive” is often used to denigrate TV viewing. There might be less physical movement than twitching with a mouse but the brain is deeply engaged watching TV. The brain is a complex organism; the very title of Shirky’s book indicates he overvalues rational and cognitive processes over emotional intelligence and education; action over feelings.

We have just finished some neuroscientific research looking at the difference in the brain activity between watching TV and browsing websites (largely text based) and the differences are marked. TV is much stronger in areas such as emotion and long-term memory encoding and web browsing is stronger for visual attention. So they are different – but complementary.

Watching TV is a mostly shared experience; the real-life conversations within families that TV provokes are enormously valuable. Entertaining people and promoting happiness is a noble pursuit; TV is the master. But we should also recognise TV’s vast role as an informer, educator and promoter of democracy every bit as important as the internet.

Most of the time, the ease that the internet brings to human endeavour is brilliant, but I can think of areas where it has casualised and arguably cheapened some things. What’s the exchange rate between an online click on a petition and a Jarrow marcher? Birthday wishes on Facebook take a mere two seconds.

I could reverse what Shirky does and make unfair comparisons between the best of TV and the worst of the internet: is it better to watch Survival and Dispatches or to play to World of Warcraft and poke a friend? But I’d rather value both these massive cultural treasures for all the good they can do, separately and together.

Tess Alps is chief executive of Thinkbox, the marketing body for UK commercial TV

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Buying stocks Online

Hey, what's up with gold, supposedly the bullet-proof investment when things look like they're going to hell (like now)? Somehow, the script got screwed up. Instead of roaring, gold is crawling, and not only that, it's going backwards to boot.

After tripling since 2001 and steadily ballooning in recent years to an all-time high a couple of weeks ago of $1,250.40 an ounce -- about a 50% jump from its 2007 close of $833 and nearly a 15% gain from last year's wrapup of $1,098.60 -- the yellow metal is starting to tarnish. Last week alone, it dropped $54.40 or 4.4%.

Granted, nothing goes up forever, but the sudden retreat by the investment darling of the flight-to- safety crowd into the $1,100s -- coupled with growing predictions of more erosion ahead -- seems totally out of line, given a slew of gold-buying catalysts. These include:

--Europe's worsening sovereign debt crisis.

--A growing number of forecasts that Greece will default.

--Swelling currency concerns, led by the collapsing Euro.

--French President Sarkozy's threat to pull France out of the Euro.

--Burgeoning money printing world-wide, a sure harbinger of future inflation.

--Fears that the European debt crisis will lead to a faltering global recovery, maybe even a recession.

--Our exploding debt and deficit.

--A warning by former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill that the U.S. could go the way of Greece, that "if we don't change course, we could become a basket case ourself."

--Increasing worries about bonds, including long-term U.S. Treasuries.

--An increasingly erratic U.S. stock market, characterized by growing daily triple-digit losses in the Dow Industrials and the recent nasty one-day decline in the Dow of nearly 1,000 points.

Actually, given world-wide financial turmoil and no indication of any let-up in sight, some gold traders think the metal should already be commanding a price tag of around $2,000. But even some bulls see additional weakness, with the metal, currently around $1,192, seen falling over the near term to $1,120 and perhaps even retesting $1,000.

One concern, as a number of gold experts see it, is a worrisome contrary indicator, namely there are way too many bulls. "It's a crowded trade on the upside," says Larry Edelson, who monitors precious metals trends for Weiss Research in Jupiter, Fla. and notes that sentiment readings show 98% of investors are bullish on gold. "Near term, it's putting in a little top, says Edelson, who thinks the metal could drop to the $1,130-$1,150 range.

One reason, he believes, that gold is being negatively impacted short term is stepped-up overseas demand for the U.S. dollar for safety purposes, although Edelson views such buying as tantamount "to jumping from the frying pan into the fire."

Although concerned about the near term outlook for gold, the analyst takes a far more positive view beyond that, arguing that it's surely headed higher. Pointing in particular to the collapsing Euro and growing financial distress in the U.S., Edelson sees gold subsequently rising to $1,500 this year and on to $2,300 in 2011. As another positive for the metal, he notes that gold, before its recent spell of weakness, has been climbing even in the face of a rising greenback. "That's proof positive of a crisis in the fiat currency system," says Edelson.

Taking a longer term view, he thinks gold should be part of every investor's portfolio. His favorite is the physical gold itself, which can be purchased from such well known outfits as Monex; Manfra, Tordello and Brookes, a New York bullion dealer, and Kitco.com., an online dealer. As for individual stocks, he goes for the biggies, notably Barrick Gold., Goldcorp., and Newmont Mining.

A fella who has made some excellent up and down calls on the direction of gold prices -- in fact, he accurately predicted the recent weakness -- is Mark Leibovit, editor of the VR Gold Letter in Sedona, Ariz.

He drew my attention to several recent negative technical signs that suggest gold could continue its recent drop to around $1,060 an ounce, which would be equivalent to an overall retreat of say 15%. which Leibovit contends would represent a buying opportunity. One of those signs was what he calls a reversal pattern, which occurred when gold rose to higher highs during one recent trading session and then reversed to lower lows the following day. Another red flag was the failure of a couple of gold indexes -- the Gold Bugs Index and the Philadelphia Gold Index -- to accompany and confirm the metal's recent rise to record highs.

Leibovit cited the possibility of a strengthening Euro, which could hurt gold, maybe even lead to a retesting of the $1,000 price tag, but he thought a more likely course was the fear that the European debt crisis might expand, leading instead to a higher gold price. In any event, he thinks the wind is at gold's back and views $2,000 or $3,000 as only a matter of time.

He also points out that despite his near-term conerns, gold stil has the wherewithall to rebound sharply at any given moment.

A HuffPost reader in Brisbane, Australia, Cornel Campeanu, a chartist at Techpro.au.Com, e-mailed me with an entirely different scenario. Based on his work, he believes we are a short time away from a meltdown of biblical proportions in mining stocks, with such names as BH Billiton and Rio Tinto leading the charge. As for gold, he sees a potential drop of hundreds of dollars an ounce, preceded by a possible near term drop to $1,120.

Campeanu, it should be duly noted, is spouting contrarian views. Most market pros I talk to overwhelmingly feel that long term, the outlook for gold remains golden.

What do you think? E-mail me at Dandordan@aol.com

We've all heard, ad nauseam, the traditional commands to save paper: recycle, print double-sided, don't use more than you need. And so on. By now, I'm going to assume, you're looking for a fresh stock of ideas for your green-living arsenal.

With that in mind, I've compiled four new tips about how to cut down on paper use. There are many reasons to, perhaps the foremost of which is that much of climate change is caused by deforestation. Also, paper production consumes a lot of energy, paper mills are big polluters, and thrown-away sheets clog landfills. So here's what you can do:

1. Post a Reminder

We know you wouldn't use more paper towels or napkins than you need - but what about everyone else? Engage in some minor guerrilla tactics by ordering a stash of these wonderful stickers, which you can post on paper-towel dispensers in public restrooms, or anywhere else paper products are dispensed, to remind people that, as the stickers say, "These come from trees." Each of these little pieces of positive propaganda, say its creators, saves 100 pounds of paper per year. Plus, profits are donated to the Sierra Club. Want to start combating mindless napkin-pulling right away? Get creative and make your own reminder signs to post.

2. Opt for Hemp

It's Hemp History Week, and while hemp has a controversial history in the U.S., buying paper made of hemp instead of trees isn't illegal. And it's certainly a lot more environmental, considering that as a crop, hemp needs no pesticides, grows back quickly, and preserves the soil it's in better than most commercially grown plants do. No trees need to be killed for a hemp-paper product such as this one or this one.

3. Cure "Bagnesia"

It happened again: You were in line at the grocery store, satisfied with your organic, vegetarian, not-too-packaged purchases. Then it hit you: A vision of your reusable grocery bags -- collecting dust in your car's trunk or kitchen cupboard. You sighed and lugged home your loot in bags of paper or plastic, swearing to remember better next time.

To help you, consider getting Bagnesia's Reusable Bag Solution Kit ($20), which includes two reusable bags, plus two ways to remind yourself to bring 'em along: a doorknob hanger that instructs, "Grab your bags," and a steering-wheel wrap with the same imperative. To save the cash, you can develop your own reminder system -- as long as it works.

4. Go Electronic

The rise of e-mail has saved forests' worth of trees. Which is great -- but perhaps it's time to take the paper-saving up another notch. Are you willing to rethink social graces traditionally carried out with paper? If you're planning a wedding, say, would you consider making your save-the-dates electronic? How about the actual invitations? Can thank-you cards be e-mailed instead of produced, bought, and delivered? How do you feel about sending electronic special-occasion cards, like for this upcoming Father's Day? A Google search turns up plenty of services for sending online greetings; a high-quality choice is Pingg, which stocks stunning nature imagery.

Please comment: What are your innovative tips to save paper?

[via The Green Life]

Mike Fuljenz Mike Fuljenz

foreclosure agents

Cash-strapped homeowners who are forced to sell their homes would gain some relief under a bill approved Monday by the state Senate.

Homeowners who are losing their homes to foreclosure will no longer be forced to pay the municipal portion of the conveyance tax. Currently, the municipal portion amounts to $420 on a $300,000 home.

The exemption was sought by the state's Realtors in a radio commercial that played in recent days and asked listeners to call their legislators in order to pass the exemption.

The foreclosure provision was part of a larger bill that extended the municipal portion of the state's tax on real estate transfers for one year.

Without the extension, the portion of the tax that is directed to cities and towns would expire as of July 1. The issue had prompted a battle over the past seven years between real estate agents and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, which represents most cities and towns. CCM strongly favors the tax because it generates about $25 million annually for cities and towns.

The Senate voted, 32 to 4, before 3 p.m. for the one-year extension. Four Republicans - Senators Dan Debicella of Shelton, L. Scott Frantz of Greenwich, Toni Boucher of Wilton, and Anthony Guglielmo of Stafford Springs - voted against the measure. 

"People have seen the prices of their homes drop 10, 20, 30 percent since they purchased them, and now we're going to be hitting them with an additional tax,'' said Debicella, who is running for Congress in the Fourth Congressional District against Democratic incumbent Jim Himes. "I cannot do this to the homeowners of Connecticut.''

Guglielmo said the leaders of the 13 towns that he represents have worked hard to control spending.

"I think it's a very unfair tax - the conveyance tax,'' Guglielmo said on the Senate floor. "Most people don't expect it when they go to a closing. ... Then we whack them with a pretty heavy burden.''

One of the most tragic consequences of the subprime mortgage crisis has been the toll minorities have paid. Republicans point to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and ACORN as the mortgage Satans of the 21st century, but the truth is something else entirely.

Here's one example:

For two decades, Tyrone Banks was one of many African-Americans who saw his economic prospects brightening in this Mississippi River city.

A single father, he worked for FedEx and also as a custodian, built a handsome brick home, had a retirement account and put his eldest daughter through college.

Then the Great Recession rolled in like a fog bank. He refinanced his mortgage at a rate that adjusted sharply upward, and afterward he lost one of his jobs. Now Mr. Banks faces bankruptcy and foreclosure.

“I’m going to tell you the deal, plain-spoken: I’m a black man from the projects and I clean toilets and mop up for a living,” said Mr. Banks, a trim man who looks at least a decade younger than his 50 years. “I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. But my whole life is backfiring.”

Like so many, Mr. Banks was lured by the promises made by the big banks like Wells Fargo and others: Refinance your home, take out some money for yourself, and hey, the interest rate will be low...for awhile, anyway.

The squeeze came for him when the interest rates on that variable rate mortgage rose and his income dropped. While it's not limited to minority borrowers, the impact on minority communities has been deeper than on white communities, largely because the unemployment rate is much higher.

Black middle-class neighborhoods are hollowed out, with prices plummeting and homes standing vacant in places like Orange Mound, White Haven and Cordova. As job losses mount — black unemployment here, mirroring national trends, has risen to 16.9 percent from 9 percent two years ago; it stands at 5.3 percent for whites — many blacks speak of draining savings and retirement accounts in an effort to hold onto their homes. The overall local foreclosure rate is roughly twice the national average.

It appears that the higher foreclosure rate is no accident. In fact, it seems that Wells Fargo targeted minorities to market higher-risk loans. At least, that's the accusation causing federal authorities to take a closer look at their lending practices there.

Camille Thomas, a 40-year-old African-American, loved working for Wells Fargo. “I felt like I could help people,” she recalled over coffee.

As the subprime market heated up, she said, the bank pressure to move more loans — for autos, for furniture, for houses — edged into mania. “It was all about selling your units and getting your bonus,” she said.

What follows next is a story told across the country, but when the scam is played on a community just beginning to get a toehold on forward economic progress, the setback is one that may take more than a generation to overcome.

She described tricks of the trade, several of dubious legality. She said supervisors had told employees to white out incomes on loan applications and substitute higher numbers. Agents went “fishing” for customers, mailing live checks to leads. When a homeowner deposited the check, it became a high-interest loan, with a rate of 20 to 29 percent. Then bank agents tried to talk the customer into refinancing, using the house as collateral.

Ask a conservative and they'll tell you those people shouldn't have believed they'd get something for nothing. Well, I beg to differ. In the subprime heyday, phone calls rolled in here at record pace, promising us we could refinance our home and pull out enough cash to retire. When our middle son graduated from high school we were inundated with offers to refinance to send him to college. We had already been stung during the S&L crisis, so we knew it was a scam. But to the uninitiated, it seemed like a step up.

But then, look what happens:

Two years ago, his doorbell rang, and two men from Wells Fargo offered to consolidate his consumer loans into a low-cost mortgage.

“I thought, ‘This is great! ’ ” Mr. Banks says. “When you have four kids, college expenses, you look for any savings.”

What those men did not tell Mr. Banks, he says (and Ms. Thomas, who studied his case, confirms), is that his new mortgage had an adjustable rate. When it reset last year, his payment jumped to $1,700 from $1,200.

We've heard all of these stories before, but in Memphis the result is deep, dire and depressing.

“We’re wiping out whatever wealth blacks have accumulated — it assures racial economic inequality for the next generation,” said Thomas M. Shapiro, director of the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University.

natural penis enlargement

managing personal finances

Last week, VentureBeat reported that Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk personally running low on cash, a fact he disclosed in court papers as part of his divorce proceedings. We asked if the company, which is seeking to go public, should have included those facts in its filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Now, the company has responded, by way of a revised S-1 form filed today.

In an article crediting VentureBeat’s reporting with prompting the newly amended filing, the Wall Street Journal points to language added to address Musk’s finances:

“While Mr. Musk has historically provided a significant amount of the funds required for our operations, we have not received any funding from Mr. Musk in the past 12 months and are no longer dependent on the financial resources of Mr. Musk to fund our expected growth given the funds available under DOE Loan Facility [the $465 million in low-interest loan provided via the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program] and the expected proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement with Toyota. We do not believe that Mr. Musk’s personal financial situation has any impact on us.”

In that same section, the S-1 delves into Musk’s divorce proceedings, which, as we have previously reported, could potentially reduce his holdings in Tesla as well as his other ventures, SpaceX and SolarCity:

“Mr. Musk is currently engaged in divorce proceedings and previously entered into a post-nuptial agreement which provides that the holdings of the trust, including Mr. Musk’s shares of our capital stock, shall remain solely his property. This post-nuptial agreement has been upheld by the Superior Court of Los Angeles though such decision may be subject to an appeal. However, we do not believe that Mr. Musk would have to liquidate a significant percentage of his holdings in order to satisfy any settlement reached in connection with such proceedings.”

The company’s “we do not believe” statement might not be a strong enough assurance for shareholders. Right now, Tesla’s success appears to hinge on the $465 million loan it received from the U.S Department of Energy. Drawing down that loan is how the company plans to buy the NUMMI automotive plant in Fremont, Calif., needed to manufacture both its Model S sedan and future vehicles it may build in tandem with Toyota, one of the plant’s current owners. But this loan is dependent on Musk being able to retain at least 65 percent of his current stake in Tesla. If he doesn’t, the company defaults on the loan.

“If the DOE loan is dependent on Musk retaining a certain percentage of Tesla, there is no guarantee that this won’t happen due to the divorce settlement,” says Dallas Kachan, managing partner of cleantech consultancy Kachan & Co. “Investors should bear that in mind.”

This is the type of information that could impact potential shareholders’ decisionmaking, Kachan says. And this type of personal disclosure isn’t all that uncommon in SEC filings, when potentially relevant to shareholders.

What may concern shareholders more than whether Musk can continue to personally keep Tesla afloat is that he is currently actively running two companies, Tesla and SpaceX, while also remaining involved in SolarCity, dealing with a personal cash crunch and navigating a rocky divorce. That’s a lot to be juggling at any one time.

Incidentally, the S-1 notes that under Tesla’s agreement with Daimler, a major Tesla investor and partner, if Musk decides to step down from his post at Tesla — an event that seems unlikely for now, then Daimler will have veto power over the company’s selection of a successor as Tesla CEO.

Tesla Motors couldn’t comment directly on its decisions to update its filings, due to SEC rules for companies planning an initial public offering. In the meantime, however, it’s to the company’s credit that it decided to clarify all of these issues in writing.

Next Story: Facebook promotes Bret Taylor to CTO less than a year after FriendFeed acquisition Previous Story: Swingvine launches location-enabled photo app

Women are becoming more knowledgeable about finances, becoming more confident managing their own investments and talking more openly about moneywith their kids, colleagues and peers. This, according to new research conducted by Citi's Women & Company.



I recently chatted with Lisa Caputo, president and CEO of Women & Co, and she says that it's about the recession and its aftermath. "Women are ushering in this new era of responsibility. They're stepping into the role of 'Chief Financial Officer' and building quality lives for themselves and their families."



They're going to graduate school. Starting companies. Becoming breadwinners. Even outgrowing the number of men in the workforce -- for the first time in American history. "We're taking the financial lead," says Caputo, "and becoming more empowered."



Here's how you can do it -- at any age:







In Your 20s

Time is on your side - use it to build a solid financial foundation.Start living on a budget, identifying financial goals and putting a plan in motion, and most importantly, setting aside income, says Caputo. Ideally, aim to set aside 15% of your gross salary. Not possible? This money doesn't have to come out of your pocket so it's not be as painful as it seems. For example, say you're single, and making $50,000 a year. If you have just $250 a month of pretax dollars automatically deducted from your paycheck, and deposited in your company's 401K plan, and if your company matches those contributions (50 cents on the dollar up to 6% of your salary), you're already more than halfway there!



In your 30s

Set up an emergency fund (ideally, 6 months worth of living expenses), max out the contributions, and "define your investment strategy and structure a well diversified portfolio," says Caputo.That may require your working with a financial advisor, particularly since you're probably having a tough time budgeting given your new status (married? kids?). You can find one through napfa.org.



In your 40s

You may be juggling the needs of a growing family and aging parents, but don't take a break from retirement savings. And think about protecting your legacy, says Caputo. "We're talking wills, naming guardians for small children, and getting life insurance if you have dependents."



In Your 50s

This is when you want to get serious about crunching the numbers -- specifically, estimating your retirement expenses and your projected income.There are calculators on the web to help you do this. Once you're age 50, you can add an extra $5,500 in catch-up contributions to your 401(k); IRA savers can throw in another $1,000. Take advantage of this. Caputo says you should also rebalance your portfolio, and review your life insurance coverage at this age.



In Your 60s

You're eligible to collect Social Security benefits beginning at age 62 -- the median retirement age -- but if you can wait a few years the payouts will be bigger. In fact, every year you delay drawing Social Security between age 62 and 70 increases your eventual payout by about 8% a year. Just something to think about, says Caputo, who also suggests you go back to budgeting basics as you learn to live on a fixed income, and that you additionally update your estate plans.
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Most people find the administrative function of personal financial health a burden, and tend to put off the tasks until things pile up and demand attention. Here are four easy admin tasks you can perform that will help you feel more confident about your finances.

Arrange your bill payment. Have all of the dates, amounts and bills or payments that are due in one easy to find file. Place them in your calendar in your email program or on your cell phone so you know when bills are due.

This makes budgeting your cash flow a lot easier and helps you pay your bills on time to avoid unnecessary late fees and penalties.

Have your payments coincide with your pay check. Call each company, service or utility, credit card company etc. and negotiate for your payment of these bills to coincide a day or two after your pay check arrives. In this way you can manage your finances easier and resist the urge to over spend before your bills are paid.

Read Your Credit Card Statements. This is worth repeating. Read Your Credit Card Statements. Credit card companies often place erroneous charges that can be deleted if you call them and insist they remove.

Consolidate Everything. Cancel unused credit cards or credit cards you can't make the minimum payment plus and extra $100 payment each month. Consolidate all your debts as much as possible into one. It is costing you money!

You can also improve your credit score by having your personal finances organized in this way.

Having a good personal financial foundation can help with just about everything from managing cash flow, saving your money, getting on top of debt as well as planning for a successful financial future. It might take you a day to organize but it could also save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars that could be put to better use. Besides, feeling on top of your personal finances is a great way to boost your morale.

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The bias remains up in crude oil and news out of China that the country plans to allow more flexibility in its exchange rate is just more fuel for an already.

Little Paper, Big <b>News</b> « Digital First

My plan for that was simple. For three days, I would take on all the pagination of the daily paper. (We only have about 13 news pages for The Middletown Press on an average day, then a tab twice a week, plus a 28-page weekly newspaper). ...

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Adams, on his first voyage to sea, told Stabroek News from his hospital bed that he was asleep in the hull of the vessel around 9 am on Saturday when he was awakened by an intense heat. The young man said “when I open me eyes, ...