When Is Debt OK? 4 Times It’s OK to Take on Debt

  Creative Commons The worst four-letter word in finance, especially since, let’s say, 2008 is “debt.”Personal debt.National debt.Sovereign debt.They all have nasty connotations.But, is debt always bad, without exception?I think there are a few wise ways to use debt as a tool, not as a weapon of mass self-destruction. Here are four reasons not to be afraid of debt.Use Debt for Things That Increase in ValueOne use for debt is to purchase major items that have a better chance to go up in value. For instance, technically a home will go up in value, so taking a mortgage out for a house is a good idea.Now, a car probably isn’t a good idea for debt. The second you drive the car off the lot, you’re losing money. But, an $18,000 or so price tag...

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Posted in: Times

Top 5 Kindle Steals: Great eBooks for Business and Self-Improvement

Each month, you can get deals on Kindle books at Amazon.Typically, Amazon prices the books at around $3.99, but some are a lot less. The books cover a range of subjects and topics, but usually they have a few titles in the business and self-improvement section, two subjects that this blog is concerned with.Here are some good ones that I discovered in the list.Check them out.Make a Real Living as a Freelance WriterBy Jenna Glatzer“Step-by-step instructions on how writers can earn top dollar writing for magazines are provided in this book. Secrets are revealed about what the high-paying magazines really want, how to build relationships with editors, how to ascertain which sections of a magazine are open to freelancers, what kinds of stories are...

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Posted in: Business,eBooks,Great,Kindle,SelfImprovement,Steals

Weekend Wisdom: Signs of Hope?

  CC Credit - Atilla1000What’s this?Good economic news?Come on. That can’t be right.Well, the U.S. unemployment rate has taken some steps in the right direction and economic growth appears to be creeping back.I wouldn’t say that the road to economic recovery is paved for us, but any signs of improvement are appreciated. It could be that irrational optimism that led to irrational pessimism is now on its inexorable pendulum swing back to the other side.It may be that bloggers and writers are more hopeful in the new year, but hopeful writers have made it into my regular reading.Here are a few of my faves for this week:Forbes — MIT Gamechanger: Free Online Education for AllInvestor Junkie — What Makes Debt Socially AcceptableThe Digerati Life...

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Posted in: Signs,Weekend,Wisdom

Weekend Wisdom–The Revolution Will Be Wikied

  Creative Commons: rui guerraIt only took Wikipedia one day to teach the world that it will take a lot more than government bureaucrats to stop information and knowledge from circulating on the web.The act of protest–shutting down the site–chilled the forces who were trying to push the anti-piracy legislation. Several other sites joined in.Is there a compromise position? I think everyone’s entitled to the rights of their works. But this didn’t appear to be the right legislation.What I think this week taught us — or maybe just me, I can’t speak for everyone — is that the real government is truly outside of the bureaucracy now. If we can influence decisions this way, could we begin to grab other powers away from the government, back...

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Posted in: Revolution,Weekend,Wikied,WisdomThe

How to Brainstorm Ways to Make Residual Income

  Creative CommonsJ. Paul Getty said to become rich you need to make money in your sleep.Easy for him to say, he had oil gushing out of wells 24-7.Unless you have an oil derrick in your backyard, a solid modern, non-gusher alternative is to earn residual income from any number of business opportunities–from blogging to real estate. Residual income is a set-it and pretty much forget-it system to earn money on a regular basis, whether that’s daily, weekly, monthly, etc.(Note: I said, “pretty much.”)The thing is, there are a lot of ways to attain residual income strands, but not all of the methods appeal to all people. In the next few steps, you’ll learn how to brainstorm ways to make residual income.Your first step is to ask yourself some...

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Posted in: Brainstorm,Income,Residual

Weekend Wisdom: Facebook IPO… Like? Or Not?

  Creative Commons--FlickrA few major financial bits of news hit this week.Ben Bernanke announced the possibility of more quantitative easing, or as I like to refer to it, The Fed’s Multi-Billion Dollar Obama Reelection Campaign Fund.That wasn’t exactly unpredictable.The other bombshell — for me, at least — was the announcement about a Facebook initial public offering, or IPO. I knew it was in the works, but thought it was still being debated by the social network’s executives.IPOs can be more than just a way to value a company, or to turn virtual billionaires into real billionaires. They can signal increased health in the market and even indicate a new investment climate. Is this the start of another Tech Boom driven by maturing Web 2.0...

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Posted in: Facebook,Weekend,Wisdom

6 Reasons to be Wildly Optimistic About the Future

Creative CommonsIt’s always hipper to be a pessimist. As a pessimist, your ability to make jokes is much easier, too. You can be snarky.When have you ever heard a comedian tell an optimistic joke?Plus, let’s face it, the material’s there. The past decade was the decade of the pessimist.Wars. Recessions. Depressions. Incessant and continual political in-fighting. Environmental problems. The Kardashians.Could things get bleaker?Actually, besides the Kardashian thing, there are signs that life is getting better and will get exponentially better. In fact, many of the problems — like violence and war — are statistically not getting worse. The global economy pretty much doubled in this last horrible decade. And technology is pointing toward an amazing...

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Posted in: About,Future,Optimistic,Reasons,Wildly

Black Swans, New Normals and Why History Matters to the Investor

'>You hear these statements a lot from investors:“I’m going to be ready for the next black swan.”Or…“Past performance is not indicative of future results.I’ve even said them myself.But, as cool as it sounds and as much as the media wants to taut these as official catchphrases for investors, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, according to Ken Fisher. In fact, Fisher teaches quite the opposite in his book ' target="_blank">Markets Never Forget. But People Do.We’ll start with the slam on past performance one first.Most people think that past performance means the future price movement is absolutely unpredictable. But that’s not absolutely true and it leads to rash investment decisions, according to Fisher.Fisher quotes investor John Templeton’s...

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Posted in: Black,History,Investor,Matters,Normals,Swans

Weekend Wisdom — New News for a New Year

Well, financially speaking, 2011 was a hum-dinger.Hum-dinger is a technical term, of course, which means bat sh*t crazy.We’ve had more economic news in 2011 than we typically endure in a decade–crashes, recovery, more crashes and more recovery.Can we expect more of the same in 2012?I think I’ll leave this to the dozens of other bloggers who are offering their predictions for the coming year.I’ll just provide some good reading material that will help you make up your own mind.Here’s to a great 2012 for all of you!MSNBC Cosmic Log — Weird News for 2011 RecapDarwin’s Money — Social Security 2012 Deal ExplainedBudgets Are Sexy — It’s New Year’s Resolution Time. Whattya Got?Wisebread — 5 Things What Angry Birds Taught MeFive Cent Nickle — Tips for...

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Posted in: Weekend,Wisdom

Weekend Wisdom–Make Your Own Good Luck

  CC -- Visual ParadoxWell, my brothers and sisters, if you made it through Friday the 13th, 2012, you can weather any apocalypse or tribulation, if you ask me.And if you weathered the past few years of investment hell and churn, I think you’re ready to prosper in the upcoming months and years.(I never say… “it can’t get worse, right?” Because that’s been somewhat of a jinx.)Here are two secrets to preparing yourself for any investment condition:1)  Maintain discipline. It’s easy to let emotions carry you away–either to euphoria or to despair. But, over the long term, what this does is make you bail when you should be joining, and make you join when you should bail.2) The next secret I call my ABE theory: Always Be Educated. Keep...

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Posted in: Weekend,WisdomMake