Thursday, October 23, 2008

Are You Throwing Money Away?

Earlier this month I wrote about an article on one of my favorite blogs (getrichslowly.org).

Well, I'd like to bring your attention to another one of my favorites, thesimpledollar.com. Recently, this blog covered some nice ways to trim your household expenses. This was relevant information for me because I'm always looking for ways to save money. And these are ideas that you wouldn't normally think of. Kudos to Trent for passing these tips on! If you'd like to learn some easy ways to save a few bucks, read Stop Wasting Money on Disposable Things.



Monday, October 20, 2008

Favre Raises Middle Finger to Packer, Jets Fan

First he retired. Then he reportedly asked about coming back to the Packers. When he learned his former bosses were willing to make a trip to his home to work out his return, he decided he'd rather stay retired.

Later he leaked that he wanted to return to the game and his former team. When news broke and we was asked about unretiring, he told reporters that it was all "just rumours." A few days after that he made it known publicly that, indeed, he did have the itch to play again.

What followed is well documented. The Packers had moved on, Brett was upset, and now he's in NY playing for the Jets. He didn't exactly exit on good terms. For the weeks that followed his trade, he continuously bad mouthed the Packers, especially their GM Ted Thompson.

The latest turn of events has Brett Favre calling his former team's opponent to offer up tips on how to beat the Packers. It is reported, though unconfirmed, that Brett called the Detroit Lions and talked with their coaching staff at length and offered tips on the nuances of the Packers playbook. If true, this is a childish act of sabotage and, in my opinion, further tarnishes the legacy of Brett Favre.

I do believe the story. The reporter, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, is a credible reporter who has broken several stories related the Packers in the past. I also believe that Brett has hurt his own credibility with how he's handled the whole situation since his retirement press conference.

This latest incident is absurd. It has no place in professional sports. While there is no formal rule prohibiting it, it is an unwritten rule that this is not done. As Charles Woodson put it, there is "no honor" in what Brett did.

It would have been one thing if Detroit had called Brett. But they didn't. He called them, and while he was supposed to be concentrating on his new team, his new teammates, his new offensive system and his next opponent, he was spending time trying to sabotage his old team. He is an egotistical player who can't handle that the Packers moved on without him. It really is a slap in the face to his new team, his old team, and the fans that loved him so much for so long.

As a lifelong Packer fan, all I can say is....Go, Pack, Go. The team is doing just fine without him.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Is It Your Civic Duty to Vote?

The last few elections, there has been a lot of effort to convince people to vote. These efforts almost always target youthful voters. That is, those who have recently earned the right to vote by passing the legal age of 18 years.

While I applaud the basic principle behind these efforts, I can't help but wonder the kinds of people we are encouraging to vote. A recent 20/20 segment did a fine job of pointing out that not everyone who can vote, should vote.

It is my personal opinion that it is our civic duty to vote. I have some guidelines that go along with this.
  • Try to vote in every election. Presidential elections are important, but local and state races also impact your day to day life.
  • Know the candidates. Learn the candidates positions on issues that you feel are important. Candidate websites can be a great starting point.
  • Watch at least one debate. This rule really only applies to presidential elections, as most other debates just don't happen at convenient enough times to actually watch. Doesn't mean you can't read the highlights from an independant reviewer, however.
  • Don't be locked in to a particular party. Keep your mind open. Sometimes candidates get real close to the "other side." It really does make more sense to vote based on a candidates stance on specific issues.

I would also argue that while it is our civic duty to vote, it is also our civic duty to not vote if we don't take the time to learn about who we are voting for. This is the point John Stossel really hammers home in the above mentioned story by 20/20. People should not vote for a particular person simply because of race, age, or popularity (including celebrity, parental and friends' opinions).

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Gas Falls to $2.99

Gas in my home area fell today to $2.99 per gallon. It's been ages since I'd seen it this low, and I had to do a double take to make sure I'd seen the sign correctly. It was confirmed as I passed another gas station on my way to work that indeed, the price had actually dropped.

So, now that gas is "cheap" again, should Americans go out and go hog wild buying gas guzzlers and being inefficient with our cars? I vote no. In fact, I propose something that most political candidates would not because it would be unpopular. That is...raise the gas tax.

John McCain, who has earned my vote in this election for his stance on issues I deem most important, has suggested eliminating the gas tax during the summer season. Sarah Palin, in her home state of Alaska, has fought for and successfully implemented a similar measure.

Barack Obama has smartly avoided the issue for the most part. However, he did say that he thought John McCain's and Hillary Clinton's calls for gas tax suspension was simply a political move to try to gain votes. And I think on this he is right.

Americans are used to higher gas prices. We've begun the adjustment process. Demand has fallen. The market price has adjusted. But, with the price falling, I fear Americans will fall back into our old, comfortable pattern. This is not good for our well-being as a country, or as inhabitants of this Earth.

In order to dis-incentivize that from happening, I propose that the gas tax be tripled from its current figure of 18.4 cents per gallon to 55 cents per gallon. I would place one strong caveat on this, though, and that is that all money raised via this tax would go to research to find sustainable forms of energy to displace gasoline as the primary fuel for our cars. Well, that and for the maintenance of roads, as less money has been coming it for that purpose as less fuel has been purchased.

I'm not the only person who feels this way. The NY Times opined back in 2005 to raise the tax. And as recently as March 2008, the Boston Globe ran a story calling for higher gas taxes, though for different but still valid arguments than I've made.

What ultimately matters, though, is what our elected politicians think. They won't act unless it is necessary, and even then they would really like to see a call for it from the public. They know that if the public isn't behind it, they won't get re-elected.

What do you think?

Monday, October 13, 2008

How To Invest Now

In my last post, I ended with a note saying it would be silly to stop contributions to retirement plans based solely on current market conditions.

Maybe silly isn't the right word, as every one's personal finance situation is different. But let me tell you, if I had the available money, I'd be buying up as much as I could right now. The best alternative to that, though, is continuing to buy in as I've done for a few years now. I will not stop buying unless some personal emergency forces me to. Buy low, sell high; that is the rule. Prices are low right now. It seems pretty straight-forward to me.

I'm no expert on personal finance. And neither is J.D. over at GetRichSlowly.org. But he is an excellent self-educated personal finance blogger, and is the author of one of my favorite blogs. He is well-informed, and writes a lot of relevant material on his site.

Today, he writes about Investing in a Bear Market. This expands on my theories for why now is a great time to buy. If you are on the fence about buying in or waiting the storm out, it's worth a read.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Market in Free Fall

The Dow Jones index dropped another 128 points on Friday, closing at 8,451. It actually dipped under 8,000 during the day, before rallying back. It's 52 week low (7,882) is only 55% of its 52 week high (14,279).

How low do you think it will go? Are you worried? Does it feel like a recession to you, even though we aren't technically in one? Will the economy's problems alter your plans for saving for retirement or other goals? These are all questions I'm curious to learn answers to.

I don't really know where the bottom is. I sure hope it's not too much lower. I am worried. A slow down in the economy greatly impacts my job security. It hasn't felt like a recession to me until very recently. It seems there has been much more focus on it lately, and people are actually starting to pay attention to what's going on around them. The silver lining here is that this may help bring us back to being a nation of savers, rather than free spenders on imaginary money. A basic rule of thumb my single income family tries to live on- spend less than you earn and save the rest.

And no, I'm not worried enough about the economy to stop contributing to my retirement accounts. At prices this low, it'd be silly for someone my age to do that.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Fox 11, LIN TV Seeking Payment From Time Warner Cable

Based on what I've been hearing on the news lately, Fox 11 has withdrawn their consent for Time Warner Cable to rebroadcast their signal across their network. That means about 150,000 households across NE WI missed the Packer game on TV last weekend, and will suffer the same fate again this weekend.

Sure, both companies are just trying to make a buck. Fox 11 thinks they have compelling enough content that people would be willing to pay extra for it. TWC believes it is their right to rebroadcast the signal without paying a fee to do so. The signal is freely accessible OTA (over-the-air) thanks to the FCC.

My personal opinion is government has no role in this. And to their credit, I haven't heard that they have stepped in to help mediate - yet. The market should decide this. I don't have a dog in this fight, as I've been using an antenna combined with my TiVo for quite some time and I've been very happy with it. However, I come down on the side of TWC in this case.

If TWC subscribers tell TWC that it's content they are willing to pay extra for, they should do so. I'm not so sure they do. Yeah, they have Packer games and MLB playoffs. Their news programming is pretty bad, and there are plenty of other places to go for that. Their top show is American Idol, which is neither on the air right now, nor is it quality programming (I'm no fan of the reality genre).

What do you think about this issue?

Friday, October 10, 2008

My First Blog Post

This is my first blog post. Congratulations to me for finally getting around to setting this up. It has long been a goal of mine to do this.

Let me share my plan for this blog
I plan to provide my viewpoints on a wide range of topics. There are several topics I find interesting, and those things will probably find their way into my posts. Some of those topics include personal finance, politics, new technology and family values. I hope that my posts will encourage readers to leave their feedback, and get people to share ideas with each other. As long as this is done in a civil manner, I think this is both healthy, educational and entertaining all at the same time. I'll be keeping an eye out for offensive comments, and will respond accordingly to those.

Who the heck am I?
I am a guy. For now, we'll just call me the stupid pickle (tsp for short, if you must). I'm in my early thirties, and live in a small city in northeast Wisconsin. I have enjoyed computers my whole life. I have a full time, first shift job doing web development for a local company with global reach. I enjoy my work. I have a family that I love dearly. That includes my beautiful wife and two very young little boys. It also includes an extended family that is pretty scattered across the state and the world.

Next Steps
Now that I've written an introduction, I need to write some articles. I'll do that over time. Please come back and check them out. If you have ideas for posts, or would like to submit a guest post, please let me know.

Thanks for stopping by!