I was surfing through youtube the other day and came across the savingandinvesting channel of Michael Fischer. A former Goldman and Sachs man, Michael has made financial literacy his personal advocacy and seeks to demystify various financial concepts for the man on the street.
He writes:
“This subject is not about greed, short-cuts, opinions or speculation – it is about being informed, and about being rewarded for participating in our financial system in order to provide better lives for ourselves and others that we care about.”
View one video a day and increase your financial knowledge bank.
Ryan of In the Money is offering a free copy of his special report: 10 Mistakes Every Investor Makes and How to Avoid Them to all subscribers to his newletter. Click on this link for more details.
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Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. ~Meryl Streep
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“Congratulations, you have won a free stay at _____. Please come to our office at ____ to collect your voucher. We would like to introduce our exciting new travel offers through a short presentation. No obligation to buy.”
How many times has this happened to you? The come-on many vary but the intent is the same – at the end of 60 minutes, you will purchase a vacation timeshare. Depending on the audience, the hook may also vary – international vacations on the cheap ; potential money-making investment etc. The presentations are glitzy and there is quite a bit of time pressure to commit. I have to admit, I was very attracted to the idea to being able to go to Boracay / Bohol every year. But when I asked myself “Is this a good investment?” the answer at the time was no.
Today’s paper had this headline: “Timeshare owners see assets turn into never-ending liabilities”.
Some take-aways:
Many buyers believe that owning a timeshare is like owning real estate which many hope will increase in value. Wrong! They do not have ownership of the underlying property but rather the right to use it. Timeshare is a prepaid vacation, not an investment.
The timeshare resale market is a buyer’s market. Sellers are lucky to get 10% of the original price. Case in point: Go to Ebay. Timeshares are routinely offered at a starting bid price of 1 cent. Some people are even trying to give their timeshares away in order to get out from paying the annual maintenance fee.
Research the places being offered for timesharing. If some cases, they are located away from the “happening” places so you might actually have to spend more on transportation.
So is ownership in a timeshare a good investment? I’d have to give a qualified yes. With a bit of patience and prudent research, you can get great bargains.
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Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. ~Meryl Streep
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In one of the sites I regulary visit, there was a post about the 5 Investments Everyone Should Make. All of the suggestions were non-traditional: “your name” domain; exercise; something you’ve always wanted to try and time to think.It was the last item that caught my attention.
Invest in someone else. And by that, it doesn’t necessarily mean family. Be a mentor. Share your hard-learned lessons with someone else. Help them become a better person so that they too can mentor another person in the future.
I read this great article at www.pfadvice.com which listed a few items which more than pay for themselves in the savings they provide.* Water Filter: Some people feel their home tap water is not good to drink. If you are concerned about the quality of your tap water and regularly buy bottled water, purchasing a water filter will save you hundreds of dollars over time. A quality water filter will make your water just as pure as most bottled water and pay for itself within months in most cases.* Faucet Aerator: Faucet aerators are small devices you can place on your faucets in your house. They reduce the water flow coming out of the faucet by about half. Even with half the water flow, the water stream from the faucet will often feel stronger than the normal flow due to the way they work. Using faucet aerators will save a typical family of four about 280 gallons of water a month and pay for themselves in less than a year.
* Low Flow Shower Heads: Much in the same way that faucet aerators reduce the amount of water used from your faucets, replacing regular shower heads with low-flow shower heads can reduce your hot-water consumption while showering by as much as 30%. Due to the way they are manufactured, they will provide a strong, invigorating spray. The low-flow shower heads save money in two ways: a reduction in water consumption and a lowering of the energy costs needed to heat the hot water for the showers. An added benefit for those with larger families is low-flow shower heads will make the hot water last longer for multiple showers.
* Compact Fluorescent and LED Lights: While compact fluorescent (CF) light bulbs cost more than regular incandescent light bulbs, they use about two-thirds less energy and last years longer.
* Things You Use When They Go On Sale: Anything that you use on a regular basis that goes on sale is worth buying and stockpiling. As long as you know that you are going to eventually use it and won’t end up throwing out a large portion of it due to it expiring in some way, then it is worth purchasing it ahead of time. So the next time a 3 day midnight madness sale is advertised, make a shopping list of must have items (and I’m not talking about the red shoes or frilly blouse that you like in the window display).
* Rechargeable Batteries: Batteries can cost a small fortune, especially if you have a large number of electronic equipment that are “high drain” devices. While initially more expensive than regular alkaline batteries, purchasing Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) rechargeable batteries can save you a lot of money in the long run. These replaced old-style NiCad rechargeable batteries and have a much higher capacity than NiCad’s do. Best of all, they don’t suffer from memory effect that could quickly shorten their life.
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Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. ~Meryl Streep
Subscribe to my feed or subscribe via email to get notified of my next post.
Work to live. Live to love. That is the aspiration of most parents as we work to give our children a brighter future. Like most mommies, I struggle to balance the checkbook while at the same time trying to bring up my son in the best way I know how. Come join me on the journey for financial security and family happiness.
