This video will give you something to think about as you scramble to make those last minute donations to non-profits for the tax write-off:
I really like the video’s tip on how to easily use Google to pull up a non-profit CEO’s salary! I’m going to make a point of playing around with that.
I don’t necessarily begrudge some of these CEOs making big bucks (considering the size of their organizations) but I can understand why someone who donates would be put off by the fact. When a a organization can’t do as much as it hopes to because the CEO makes 100 or 200 times the salray of it’s average employee or paid-volunteer, well, something just doesn’t seem right.
Long story short:
Long road trip. Drive speed limit and pay for an overnight stay in a motel or drive a little faster and complete the trip in one day.
“No, Officer. How fast was I going?”
I contest the assertion that I was going 20 miles over the speed limit but that’s what the ticket said. Wait, 20 miles over the speed limit? That’s a first class criminal misdemeanor for reckless driving in that state. UH-OH! Not only does that mean a criminal record if I’m found guilty but just imagine what that will mean for my auto insurance rates. How will I defend myself in court when I live half a continent away from the jurisdiction which issued the ticket?
$500! For a traffic lawyer?
Oh, yeah, $500. I haven’t had a ticket or accident in over a decade! Doesn’t matter. This state is known for it’s draconian traffic law enforcement. No mercy. Court date set for 3 months from date of ticket.
Court Calendar
Original court date: Continuance, my lawyer couldn’t make it
2nd court date, 90 days later: Continuance, state trooper couldn’t make it
3rd court date, 30 days later: Guilty. Appeal filed
Appellate court date, 20 days later: Sentence reduced to 9 miles over the speed limit upon completion of driving course. $45 fine plus court costs.
Why pay for college when you can take college courses for free?
WeLl, there is one good reason. Universities may be willing to give away courses but not degrees. You want the piece of paper, that’ll cost you. But, that doesn’t negate the real benefit that can be had from all the free courses that are available.
So, what kind of courses are available?
Far more than we can list here and more than you can imagine, from hard science like Computational Mathematics for Aeronautical Engineering to business and finance classes to history and philosophy. Some are full college courses and some are more like short seminars.
Which universities offer the free class?
Thanks in large part to (but not entirely) the OpenCourseWare Consortium, there are a number of prestigious schools offering their courses for free including: Carnegie Mellon University
If you’re interested in courses from schools outside the U.S.A., check out the list of OpenCourseWare Consortium members. There are universities from well over a dozen nations from all over the world that participate.
WAYS TO BENEFIT FROM FREE ONLINE COURSES:
1. Brush up on skills or knowledge you already have
2. College jump-start for high school students
3. Certification preparation
4. Pre-enrollment taste of major or minor courses
5. Between semesters education
6. Preparation for job advancement or lateral move
7. Impress your friends with your incredible knowledge
8. Keep your mind sharp after retirement
9. Explore career change
When you consider the things you usually do with your free-time, there are few things that can be doing that are as potentially advantageous as taking a free online course.
1. There’s no definition of “financially fit” so what it means is completely subjective.
2. The results came from 1002 online respondents (a small sample limited to those with Internet access)
So what’s the point of this thing?
PR. The survey was done on behalf of Countrywide Bank to generate a littel publicity. Make up a survey with “interesting” results comparing “financial fitness” and physical fitness and maybe some media outlets like, um say, CNN, pick up on the survey and Countrywide Bank gets some easy media.
I’m picking on this survey but it’s hardly unique. These sorts of goofy publicity/marketing surveys and polls pop up all the time. Unfortunately, news outlets run these types of survey results as if they’re authoritative and many people view them as such because they trust the media to not mislead them. Political candidates will use survey results to bolster their economic stances.
Before you let the results of some money-related survey affect your financial decision-making or your perception of the economy, check out the source, look at the wording of the questions, and ask yourself what is the real motivation of the survey sponsor and check out the survey methodology. You might find some of your trusted sources aren’t so trustworthy after all.
While I’m glad there are some hig-profile guys like these two questioning the Fed’s authority, I don’t think any of the presidential front-runners from either party give a damn about the issue because I don’t think most Americans understand the Fed or its impact on them.
I’m not sure either of them is doing much more than preaching to the choir but at least they’re trying.
Psychology plays a major role in the performance of an economy.
A recent CNN poll showed 46% of Americans think we’re in a recession despite the fact that we technically are not. The definition of recession I was taught in school was 2 or more quarters of negative growth. The The National Bureau of Economic Research defines it this way:
“a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP (Gross Domestic Product), real income, employment, industrial production and wholesale-retail sales.”
That has not happened yet.
So let’s look at the state of our economy.
THE GOOD: low unemployment, increasing exports, markets only off 5% from all-time highs
THE BAD: mortgage crisis, weak dollar, creeping inflation
Maybe it’s just my imagination but it seems like there are some elements of the media that actually want us to go into recession. Ali Velshi even admitted that CNN had received criticism for for it’s frequent mention of recession. Politically, a recession would probably be great for the Democrats on election day.
It seems to me things could go either way at this point depending on the mindset of the average American. If we want to avoid a recession then someone had damn-well better get out there and start cheerleading. Where’s the leadership from either political party?
If we’re to avoid any further slide, we need someone to step-up and convince the American public the economy’s glass is half full, not half empty.
Luckily I’ve never had need of a credit counseling agency but I have had friends who did. I remember one couple I knew that some very bad experiences with a credit couseling agency. They just assumed that the credit couseling agency they chose was on the up-and-up and had their best interests in mind but that was far from the case. Can you imagine being in serious financial trouble and then find that the agency that you’ve turned to is trying to exploit you?
Maybe this video will help someone avoid making the wrong choice in an agency.
