Financial Industry

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Making Money Your

Mollie Vandor is the product manager for Ranker.com where she likes to make lists about reading, eating and bad-TV-watching. She’s also the media director for Girls in Tech LA. You can find her on Twitter @Mollierosev and on her blog.

Whether you’re looking to make a big change, or just tweak a few little things, the new year gives you the perfect opportunity to reflect on your behavior and resolve to do better going forward.

Of course, it’s one thing to say you want to tackle a typical resolution like get in better physical shape, get in better financial shape or — like many of us who work on the web — get your social media presence in order. It’s another thing to actually accomplish those big, broad goals.

So this year, instead of making your goals big and broad, why not take a page from the web world and use analytics to pinpoint the specific stuff you want to change? And, by that same token, why not use data tracking to hold yourself accountable for keeping all those resolutions too?

Read on for some tips on how to use social media to corral your New Year’s resolutions. Let us know in the comments below what tips worked for you, or share your own resolution advice.

Let’s Get Physical/>

There’s the freshman 15 everyone gains from collegiate pizza and beer, and then there’s the startup 15 many of us tech geeks gain from sodas and office snacks. Between the time spent sitting in front of a computer screen and the time spent networking over drinks and dinners, it’s easy to put on pounds when you work on the web. Of course, you can always try the startup diet, but that’s not necessarily going to work for everyone.

Keeping a food and exercise log might sound like a daunting task, but it turns out you may already be tracking some of that data without even knowing it. Foursquareclass="blippr-nobr">foursquare actually lets you see your entire checkin history and, if you do a quick search, you can find it so you can easily see whether you’ve really been going to the gym or frequenting your fast food runs.

Similarly, the Foursquare stats page lets you see your own checkin trends in handy graphs and lists. There’s even a site called weeplaces that lets you turn your Foursquare, Facebook Places and class='blippr-nobr'>Gowallaclass="blippr-nobr">Gowalla checkins into graphic visualizations. And, weeplaces will let you filter those visualizations by food-related checkins and parks and recreation checkins, so you can really get a handle on your history.

class='blippr-nobr'>Google Mapsclass="blippr-nobr">Google Maps also lets you search your own history, so can get a visual reminder of the places you’ve been searching for, and start picking up on trends in your own behavior. You just have to enable it. And, of course, there’s the age-old pedometer, made a lot easier and more fashionable via a host of iPhoneclass="blippr-nobr">iPhone and Androidclass="blippr-nobr">Android apps that let you easily track how much you’re walking without having to do anything more than a quick download.

Of course, once you establish the things you want to change about your eating and exercising habits, you still have to make those changes stick. class='blippr-nobr'>Appsclass="blippr-nobr">Apps like LoseIt, Weight Watchers and LiveStrong let you log calories you eat and calories you burn via your smartphone. Fitango prescribes personalized plans to help you get in shape, and gives you a forum for sharing milestones you meet with your friends. Similarly, Phitter is like a fitness-focused class='blippr-nobr'>Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter stream where people share weight loss trials, tribulations and tips to help keep each other going.

Or, you can try something like the Social Workout Challenge, which gives you fitness goals to meet and a community of people to keep you accountable for meeting them. If you really want to take your weight tracking to the next level, there’s even a scale that automatically tweets your weight to the world. While you’re at it, FixNixer and QuitMeter also give you similar tools for tracking your way out of a smoking habit, another great way to get yourself in better physical shape in the new year.

Money, Money, Money/>

For many people, the New Year is also a great time to get a fresh financial start. But again, it’s a lot easier to make changes going forward when you know how you’ve been behaving in the past. That’s where a site like Mint.com can be very handy. class='blippr-nobr'>Mintclass="blippr-nobr">Mint aggregates all of your various accounts, including credit cards, bank accounts and assets, and then turns your spending habits into easy-to-read charts and graphs that show you where you’re spending and where you could be saving. It even lets you compare your shopping and spending habits with other people in your area, so you can see how you stack up. Many credit cards, like American Express Blue and Visa Signature, also give you year-end spending summaries that show you how much you’ve spent, how much you’ve saved, how much interest you’ve accumulated and more.

Once you’ve nailed down how your money is going out the door, you can start figuring out ways to keep more of it in your wallet. Again, this is where tracking will be key to actually keeping those resolutions. First, you can establish your financial goals via an online calculator, which lets you figure out exactly how much to start saving. Once you’ve figured out your goals, there are more than 50 great, free mobile apps to help you track your spending. On Facebook, the BillMonk app will help you keep better track of those tricky situations where you’re sharing a bill with friends, and you need to make sure everyone knows what they owe. XPenser lets you record your expenses from any device, including via tweet and e-mail, and TweetWhatYouSpend gives you a forum for sharing your expenditures with everyone on Twitter, so your friends can help hold you accountable when you blow your budget shopping those post-holiday sales.

Get Your Social Media in Shape/>

Whether or not you work on the web, if you’re reading class='blippr-nobr'>Mashableclass="blippr-nobr">Mashable, chances are you have a social media presence. And, just like your physical and financial identities, your social media self might be due for a little makeover in 2011 too. The good news is that the data is even easier to find when you’re talking about your personal tech habits. For example, you can use the Top Words app to figure out the topics you talk about most on class='blippr-nobr'>Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook. Klout tells you which topics you talk about the most on Twitter, and all sorts of other stats that will help you pinpoint what it is about your social media presence that you may want to change.

Similarly, BackType analyzes your Twitter profile and tells you what percentage of your tweets are replies, retweets, links, etc. Like Klout, it also tells you who you’re influencing and who your influencers are. And, it shows you your most shared sites. All of these are great data points for determining things you’d like to change about your social media presence. Finally, ViralHeat gives you in-depth analysis of the sentiment around your various social network profiles, which really lets you hone in on how your social media behavior is being received by your followers on Facebook, Twitter and across the web.

Once you’ve established what you want to change, you can set up ViralHeat to send alerts and updates directly to your inbox so you can track the impact of those changes on the fly. Similarly, since Klout and BackType both update regularly now, you can see your statistics change as your behavior does, which is a great way to keep yourself motivated. And, of course, make sure you set up Google Alerts to track all the activity around your various accounts.

If your resolution involves blogging more often, there are plenty of apps to help you do that on the go, right from your phone. Another way to remind yourself of things you want to blog, tweet or post about is by using a service like TwittRemind, which lets you tweet yourself reminders to do things throughout the day.

To make the most of your many profiles, consider setting up a hub page via a service like about.meclass="blippr-nobr">about.me, which lets you showcase all your profiles in one place. Or, sign up for a social network aggregation service to make it easier to make changes on all your profiles at once. You also might want to consider setting up a targeted Twitter list of friends and followers who can help you hold yourself accountable and focus your social media efforts so you can minimize the number of relationships you’re managing and maximize the return you’re getting from all these changes.

New Year, New You/>

Whether your New Year’s resolutions involve getting yourself in better physical, financial or social media shape, the web can help you figure out exactly what you want to change and how you’re going to keep yourself accountable for changing it. 2011 is a brand new year and a completely fresh start, and, breaking your New Year’s resolutions is so 2010.

More Social Media Resources from Mashable:

- 10 More Creative Uses of the New Facebook Profile [PICS]/> - 10 Cool Facebook Status Tips and Tricks/> - 6 Reasons Why Social Games Are the Next Advertising Frontier/> - 3 Things Brands Must Do to Reach Millennials Online/> - How Social Media Can Help With Your Long Distance Job Search

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, DNY59

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 Android, iPhone and iPad

Values, Value and Valuation — The money is all relative

Oh how timing sometimes works out to be funny. I was driving home tonight and started thinking about the value of products, the valuation of companies and how the values that a company portrays can change the rest. No sooner had I sat down to write this piece than the news of Goldman Sachs investing $500 million into Facebook broke and refreshed the entire thing in my mind. So let’s look at these three things, and try to see if one manages to sway the rest.

Values

Do you, like me, find yourself more inclined to use or purchase something that comes from a company that you can believe in? The ethos of a company can — for me at least — completely break me away from the product. That very fact, because I feel that I’m likely not alone in my actions (or lack thereof) can have a serious impact on the bottom line of a company.

Look at Facebook, for instance. When the Social Graph was announced and the new privacy changes went into effect, many people threw up their hands in disgust. But many others continued with life as usual, even if a bit annoyed. Why? Because Facebook has this outward appearance of a company that’s simply trying to do cool things, and it needs information in order to do them. The company’s values seem, for the most part, to be in line with the things that we Internet users want. As such, there was a lot more wagging and a lot less barking from the angry dogs crowd.

You’re starting a company? There’s likely something to be said for developing an ethos ahead of time, making it known and then sticking to it. Would Google be where it is today if not for the “don’t be evil” tag line? Even if you don’t fully believe that the company runs that way, you still remember it. Point made.

Value

When value exceeds cost, even by a single cent, the purchase will be made – Grant Cardone

That quote is one that has stuck with me for some time now. A few years ago I was making my living selling cars and it is sometimes exceedingly difficult to overcome the objection of price. In the technology world, we’re constantly being offered products for “free”. The only cost? A bit of information, a slice of our privacy or somethings similar. But then, after using those “free” products, we start to build our own value for them.

Don’t believe me? Just look at some of the things that you likely use every day. Gmail? You’d pay for that. Twitter? You don’t want to admit it, but it’s likely become a valuable asset to your daily Internet life. The same can be said for so many things and yet we get them for “free”. But there’s a down side to this issue as well — it becomes very difficult for a maker to charge for a product when there are free alternatives. Don’t believe that? When was the last time that a box office movie didn’t get a torrent version?

And yet, even as companies try to build value in their products, still others think that the economy allows for them to set their own values and tell us what something is worth. TV networks are probably the most well-known perpetrators of this heresy. Apple TV launched, ABC and Fox decided to jump on board and see what would happen. Some of the rest? They decided that $.99 was devaluing the product and yet as the provider of the product, there is no one entity that is more unqualified to name the value.

Consider it a lesson in business, I suppose. The potential buyer will determine the value of your product. Always.

Valuation

Now here’s a sticky one. Valuation is one of those strange things because it means so many different things to different people. To the potential investors, it’s a measure of how much money can be made. To the business owner it’s a gauge of how well the business has done. To the end user? It’s…honestly not much.

As a case in point, around TNW we love Twitter. We want to see it succeed and we are sure that it will. The valuation continues to climb prior to any IPO and yet, as users of the service, it really doesn’t matter much to us. Sure, it would matter if the site closed its doors, but beyond that there simply isn’t anything about the valuation number that matters.

And so, as an entrepreneur you have to ask yourself where the balance lies. Do your company values allow you to build value in your product? If so, then the chances are that your valuation will end up right where it needs to be. There’s a fair amount of truth in the thought that, if you handle the small stuff, the big stuff will fall into place.

So with that, I offer you a thought going into the new year — start with your values. The rest will fall into place.

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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Making Money Scams

If you're having a problem with a business, Consumer Ally can help. Write us at HelpMe@WalletPop.com.

Q. I was charged $1,200 by Debt Solutions of America with the promise that they would lower my house payment. Well they did -- It was $823 a month. Now it's $817. And I'm out $1,200. Is there anything I can to do to recoup my money?

Pamela StaheliA. Pamela, I really hate to hear about cases like yours. With all of the trouble in the housing market, companies like this are popping up more and more. They often call themselves foreclosure rescue or foreclosure relief services, and they promise big things: Lower your mortgage payments, cut them in half, save you thousands of dollars a year.

What they actually do is exactly what you could do on your own, or with the help of a good not-for-profit housing counselor: They help you gather and submit the paperwork needed to complete a loan modification as part of the Making Home Affordable program.

When we received your email, I did a search for the company so I could get in touch and see if we could recoup any of what you lost. What I found, unfortunately, is that this company is already out of business. I did manage to track down Chris Stover, the owner, and he was less than helpful. He said that in order to work with his company, you had to sign a contract that said, essentially, that there are no guarantees.

I know you've acknowledged that you did, in fact, sign this contract. Because the company is out of business -- Stover tells me it "just wasn't a profitable business to be in," although I'm sure you'd disagree -- going after a refund would probably be throwing good money after bad, according to Gerri Detweiler, a credit adviser for Credit.com.

Instead, she thinks you should file a complaint with your state attorney general's office and the Federal Trade Commission (you can do that here). I'd also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, which already has a file started on this company, with 10 complaints registered. You can add yours to the list here.

Now, if you're still struggling with your mortgage payments, and it sounds like you are, you should get in touch with a HUD-approved housing counselor. It's completely free, and they'll be able to outline what options are available to you at this point.

Finally, for others out there who are considering one of these services: It's not worth it. There are no quick fixes, and if someone asks you to pay for this kind of counseling service or help with a home modification or a delinquent mortgage, it's more than likely a scam. (As a side note, there are legitimate credit counseling services, which charge a small fee to help you pay down credit card and other debt. If that's what you're looking for, keep your search limited to members of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.) Whenever you're considering paying for a service of any kind -- debt settlement, credit counseling, even a new cell phone or cable plan -- you should thoroughly research the company, including verifying its rating and accreditation with the BBB.

Consumer Ally problem-solver Jean Chatzky is the "Today Show" financial adviser, a longtime financial journalist and best-selling author.

People blaming the government:

As all of us know that India is a democratic country. Democracy, in simple words, means Government by the people and for the people. This gives every Indian citizen to practice his/her rights and also to select the government by casting their votes. But here the main problem is that majority of people don’t cast their votes and when the government goes into the wrong people’s hands they start blaming the government. This is the main reason for the rising scams, prices and also the reason for the rich becoming richer and poor becoming poorer. May be one day will come when we have to buy a license to take birth in India!

These are the reasons which are favoring corruption in India. The youth has seen it all and wants to change the current situation of India. India is a really good country but as you may have heard that one rotten mango rotten the others in the basket too! The corrupt politicians are those rotten mangoes which are less in quantity but can cause destruction to the majority. This is called as misuse of power and authority. One of my very good friends gave me the idea to write on this topic. So, all credit goes to her for this article. I wish her all the best for life and being a big inspiration in my personal life. We both were discussing on the same topic and decided to work hard and change the face of India. I hope this article makes some difference. One day we, the energetic youth of India, WILL turn India into a golden country!

Jai Hind!

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If you're having a problem with a business, Consumer Ally can help. Write us at HelpMe@WalletPop.com.

Q. I was charged $1,200 by Debt Solutions of America with the promise that they would lower my house payment. Well they did -- It was $823 a month. Now it's $817. And I'm out $1,200. Is there anything I can to do to recoup my money?

Pamela StaheliA. Pamela, I really hate to hear about cases like yours. With all of the trouble in the housing market, companies like this are popping up more and more. They often call themselves foreclosure rescue or foreclosure relief services, and they promise big things: Lower your mortgage payments, cut them in half, save you thousands of dollars a year.

What they actually do is exactly what you could do on your own, or with the help of a good not-for-profit housing counselor: They help you gather and submit the paperwork needed to complete a loan modification as part of the Making Home Affordable program.

When we received your email, I did a search for the company so I could get in touch and see if we could recoup any of what you lost. What I found, unfortunately, is that this company is already out of business. I did manage to track down Chris Stover, the owner, and he was less than helpful. He said that in order to work with his company, you had to sign a contract that said, essentially, that there are no guarantees.

I know you've acknowledged that you did, in fact, sign this contract. Because the company is out of business -- Stover tells me it "just wasn't a profitable business to be in," although I'm sure you'd disagree -- going after a refund would probably be throwing good money after bad, according to Gerri Detweiler, a credit adviser for Credit.com.

Instead, she thinks you should file a complaint with your state attorney general's office and the Federal Trade Commission (you can do that here). I'd also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, which already has a file started on this company, with 10 complaints registered. You can add yours to the list here.

Now, if you're still struggling with your mortgage payments, and it sounds like you are, you should get in touch with a HUD-approved housing counselor. It's completely free, and they'll be able to outline what options are available to you at this point.

Finally, for others out there who are considering one of these services: It's not worth it. There are no quick fixes, and if someone asks you to pay for this kind of counseling service or help with a home modification or a delinquent mortgage, it's more than likely a scam. (As a side note, there are legitimate credit counseling services, which charge a small fee to help you pay down credit card and other debt. If that's what you're looking for, keep your search limited to members of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.) Whenever you're considering paying for a service of any kind -- debt settlement, credit counseling, even a new cell phone or cable plan -- you should thoroughly research the company, including verifying its rating and accreditation with the BBB.

Consumer Ally problem-solver Jean Chatzky is the "Today Show" financial adviser, a longtime financial journalist and best-selling author.

People blaming the government:

Jai Hind!

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robert shumake

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

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Weirdest Finding of 2010? Balmain Hair Extensions – Fashionista ...

robert shumake detroit

No matter what anyone says, making money takes a lot of work. If you search online you will find a lot of claims on how you can make thousands of dollars overnight and how you do not have to spend a lot of time doing it. Now here is one flag that should alert you. Making money will take time, a lot of time at that, it's just like working at a regular job. When you are trying to sell something online, or even if you are just promoting it, it will take time to reach the amount of money that you want to make, and there is no way around it.

Second, there is never a guarantee that you will make a certain amount of money in a certain amount of time, anyone who can promise that something can happened overnight is just pulling your leg, or they just want your money, point blank. Starting a business or promoting a product will take some type of investment. Think about it for a second, if you were to own an online business, you will need to pay for a good website, and a good domain name, and maybe some advertising as well, it will not be for free, no matter what anyone tells you.

You will want good training starting out, right? Then honestly I would suggest a good marketing school, such as a community college or something, why? Because you will get months and months of good training from a school and actually earning a degree while you are at it.

Lastly, there is a lot of free marketing information online, I really dislike those websites where they have people pay a fee for their information where they can get it online for free. If you do a search on google or on yahoo, it will bring you a lot of articles, and a lot of free ebooks on marketing tips. Scams are far and wide but it can be really easy to spot, just look for these signs:

1. There is no such thing as overnight riches, nobody can promise that, and any business will take time.

2. It will not be free, you will need to invest something, anyone telling you otherwise is a scam.

3. It takes work, not just an "Hour a Day" like most of these sites claim.

So be very careful on where your money is spent, oh and keep your day job until your business really start to kick off.

robert shumake

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

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robert shumake detroit

robert shumake

If you're having a problem with a business, Consumer Ally can help. Write us at HelpMe@WalletPop.com.

Q. I was charged $1,200 by Debt Solutions of America with the promise that they would lower my house payment. Well they did -- It was $823 a month. Now it's $817. And I'm out $1,200. Is there anything I can to do to recoup my money?

Pamela StaheliA. Pamela, I really hate to hear about cases like yours. With all of the trouble in the housing market, companies like this are popping up more and more. They often call themselves foreclosure rescue or foreclosure relief services, and they promise big things: Lower your mortgage payments, cut them in half, save you thousands of dollars a year.

What they actually do is exactly what you could do on your own, or with the help of a good not-for-profit housing counselor: They help you gather and submit the paperwork needed to complete a loan modification as part of the Making Home Affordable program.

When we received your email, I did a search for the company so I could get in touch and see if we could recoup any of what you lost. What I found, unfortunately, is that this company is already out of business. I did manage to track down Chris Stover, the owner, and he was less than helpful. He said that in order to work with his company, you had to sign a contract that said, essentially, that there are no guarantees.

I know you've acknowledged that you did, in fact, sign this contract. Because the company is out of business -- Stover tells me it "just wasn't a profitable business to be in," although I'm sure you'd disagree -- going after a refund would probably be throwing good money after bad, according to Gerri Detweiler, a credit adviser for Credit.com.

Instead, she thinks you should file a complaint with your state attorney general's office and the Federal Trade Commission (you can do that here). I'd also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, which already has a file started on this company, with 10 complaints registered. You can add yours to the list here.

Now, if you're still struggling with your mortgage payments, and it sounds like you are, you should get in touch with a HUD-approved housing counselor. It's completely free, and they'll be able to outline what options are available to you at this point.

Finally, for others out there who are considering one of these services: It's not worth it. There are no quick fixes, and if someone asks you to pay for this kind of counseling service or help with a home modification or a delinquent mortgage, it's more than likely a scam. (As a side note, there are legitimate credit counseling services, which charge a small fee to help you pay down credit card and other debt. If that's what you're looking for, keep your search limited to members of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.) Whenever you're considering paying for a service of any kind -- debt settlement, credit counseling, even a new cell phone or cable plan -- you should thoroughly research the company, including verifying its rating and accreditation with the BBB.

Consumer Ally problem-solver Jean Chatzky is the "Today Show" financial adviser, a longtime financial journalist and best-selling author.

People blaming the government:

Jai Hind!

robert shumake detroit

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

News Corp. Online Gaming Head Sean Ryan to Head Facebook's Social ...

Weirdest Finding of 2010? Balmain Hair Extensions – Fashionista ...

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robert shumake detroit

Thursday, December 30, 2010

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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

personal finances help

Antoine Walker plays in the D-League, and he’s happy.

by Jason Chatraw

BOISE, ID – Long after his teammates hit the showers following the morning shoot around, Antoine Walker lingers on the court, draining threes to the applause of no one. But that’s OK with Toine. He’s not playing in the NBA’s D-League for the Idaho Stampede because he wants to give fans something to cheer about. He’s playing for himself, a chance to prove he did indeed leave the Association a tad early, as he claims. Yet, it’s a peculiar proving ground for a former NBA All-Star.

When news of Walker’s signing to the Stampede broke last week, local news media blew up. After all, this is Idaho. It’s where former NFL quarterback Jake Plummer remains in hiding after his Into the Wild moment transitioned to a life choice. It’s where you go to disappear, not be discovered.

Truth be told, Walker has plenty of reasons to disappear: bankruptcy, gambling debts, $1 million in fines levied by the city of Chicago for failure to properly keep up his properties. Since retiring from the NBA at the end of the ‘07-08 season, Walker traded in the adulation of adoring fans for a relentless assault on his character and an endless list of allegations.

Yet, it’s hard to imagine him as some lawless monster while his 34-year-old body rests rather uncomfortably on a wooden locker room bench against a sterile white cinder block wall within the bowels of a D-League arena. With ice packs strapped to both of his knees, Toine — the oldest of six kids to a single-parent mother — tells his side of the story.

“It was a blessing for me to make it in the NBA,” Walker tells SLAMonline. “And I felt like it was my job to help my family and friends and put them in better life situations. But I think there’s a misconception out there of what happened.

“I went into the real estate market and I got caught in the recession. I’m not a Fortune 500 company and I’m not able to withstand a recession. I put my own personal finances up against it and got caught in that. I owned a lot of real estate in Chicago through my companies and then the market went bad. There’s nothing I could do about it.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed because I’ve had to change my lifestyle so much, but at the same time, I don’t feel bad. There were a couple of years in there where I reaped a lot of benefits. Would I do things differently? Yeah, but only small things, nothing major.

“If you would’ve told me the market was good and I could make a ton of money in it, I probably would’ve done the same thing, but at the same time the one thing that I wish I could do differently—and I would tell anybody else this—would be to wait until my career was over before I started investing. You have to be able to watch your own money. I wasn’t able to watch it.”

What Walker has left these days, he’s able to watch just fine. Taking bus rides from Boise to Bakersfield or Reno or Bismarck gives you plenty of time to watch anything and think. After some soul searching and deep reflection, Walker realized he needed to watch who he hangs around. These days his “entourage” amounts to a coaching staff and his close-knit teammates, who live together in a team-subsidized apartment complex. He’s already realizing what it’s like to have people in your life who truly care about you for who you are, not because you have an NBA ring or three All-Star Game appearances or even a dozen years in the League.

“Without question it was difficult to tell who your real friends were,” Walker says. “Everybody—starting with families to friends to girl friends or people you dated. When I was growing up, I tried to judge people for their character, not really trying to see if they had a hidden agenda behind our friendship.

“But now I know who my real friends are. As I’ve been going through this stuff over the last couple of years, I’ve been able to find out who my real friends are because they’ve stuck with me. What people don’t realize is that it’s not always about money. Sometimes, it’s just picking up the phone and calling to see how you’re doing. People don’t have to give you money. It’s nice to have someone show they care about you.

“When you go through trials and tribulations, most people will just sit back and watch. They want to see you down fall or go under, but I come from too strong of a background to do that. I have two beautiful girls, therefore I have two people to live for. I have a mom who taught me how to be tough. I was raised without money, so I can deal with this.”

This is a far cry from the glitzy NBA lifestyle that Toine lived with somewhat legendary flair, and an entourage that rolled so deep it had its own entourage. His mother estimated that one point, Walker was supporting up to 70 people, which would more than double the population of nearby Atlanta, ID.

Seven thousand a day. That's the rate at which the first wave of baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) will turn 65 years old in 2011. Reuters reports that a survey of 801 people turning 65 next year was conducted by Woelfel Research Inc. for the AARP recently. They discovered that of those surveyed, 54 percent have already retired. Another interesting finding was that of those surveyed, 44 percent, said they plan to take classes or learn something new, while 61 percent said they want to travel more.

Sounds like the baby boomers are going to redefine retirement and that rocking chair sales will be declining. “The 'tune in, turn on, drop out' crowd never got around to that last part." said Steve Cone, AARP executive vice president. Martha Madden certainly hasn't dropped out. Her latest project is a book designed to help the millions of baby boomers deal with what she has labeled as “gap-time.

No doubt Ms. Madden will be pleased with another finding from the previously mentioned research; 78 percent of those questioned said that they were “satisfied with the way things are going in their lives.” It sounds like those folks are happy with their financial situations and that makes them great candidates for Wake Up, It’s Gap-Time — A Guided Tour to Transitioning and Planning for Your Retirement Dreams.

Author Madden has put together an amazing career in education, consultancy, and local, state, and federal government experience (marked with envious achievements and awards). Rarely does an author come along with the experience, education, and integrity as Martha A. Madden. Take her advice. She explains, “If your wish is to do more than take back-to-back cruises or hang out at Disney World with the grandkids, you're in the right place. Gap-time is NOT financial planning: it is 'you' planning.” She defines “gap-time” as a twelve year period beginning six years before retirement and involves planning for almost every aspect of your life except finances.

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