Wed 28 Feb 2007 – 17.11
I knew they were a waste of time, but according to science, they actually make us think worse. An article from MSNBC reveals the study that produced the strange findings.
“When a group gets together, they can miss out on good options,” study team member H. Shanker Krishnan told LiveScience. This could mean ordering from a pizza place advertised on television even if there’s a better option, or making a poor decision in the boardroom. “Whether it’s with family or a group of co-workers, we could very quickly fixate on things and all come up with the same options.”
Yea, what he said.
posted by Scott in careers, health & fitness.
Episode 027: The Cost of Living
Tue 13 Feb 2007 – 17.31
Scott sits down with Lindsay Campbell and Aaron Nauta of WallStrip to talk about stock culture and the business of money in New York. Listen up for tips and tricks on how to survive in the City.
WallStrip is a daily video podcast that has fun with stocks at all-time highs. It was created by Howard Lindzon, Adam Eland and Jeff Marks. Money guy meets video geeks. The rest is video podcast history.
Useful Resources
Money Girl Podcast
PFAdvice.com
TalkingRetirement.com
Stuff Mentioned
Men’s Vogue
Swiss Bank Accounts
Hedge Funds
James Simmons earned $1.5bn in 2005
Bill Gates‘ fortune
The Story of Microsoft
The Dream Job
How to Survive on $12,000/year
New York Magazine’s Money Issue
Listen Now
Download Episode 027 (.m4a, 1:00:00, 28.4 MB)
posted by Scott in podcasts.
8 Things to do if your Identity is Stolen
– 12.43
Go ahead, plunder my savings. You’ll get, what, a new pair of shoes? Well, actually that happened to me and someone ganked about $1600 from my checking account. That was back in 2002 and while the whole thing blew over, it could have been a lot worse.
Here are 8 Steps you can take to ensure that if your identity is stolen, things don’t go completely pear-shaped. Constant vigilance, dear friends.
And no, this is not turning into a personal finance blog. But you should be looking forward to the next episode, which should be out withing 24 hours.
posted by Scott in life, personal finance.
Mon 12 Feb 2007 – 13.12
Now, I went to University, so I know a thing or two about free pizzas - but this story makes me look like one of those Egyptian Pharaohs sitting around feasting on grapes.
From The Simple Dollar comes a list of tips on how to feed yourself on next-to-nothing. Some of these are thrifty tips for savvy shoppers, but some are just bloody absurd. Then again, there’s no shame in saving a dime.
My favourite:
9. Join a church. Quite often, congregations will have a free meal right after church and then another meal on a weeknight, usually Wednesdays. Even if you’re not a believer, you can get away with two free meals a week. If you attend two churches, you can sometimes score as many as four a week (Sunday breakfast and lunch and two weeknight dinners).
…kinda makes my $5 lunch look a bit lavish, doesn’t it.
posted by Scott in health & fitness, personal finance.
Sun 11 Feb 2007 – 15.49
A study has concluded that women are drinking much as the fellas do, thanks to games like Beer Pong and other rituals.
During the 90 days of the study, the female students participated in 915 drinking events with 187 involving drinking games. Male students participated in 469 events with 84 involving games. About 64 percent of women and 57 percent of men participated in at least one drinking game, the study revealed.
Tragic, if you ask me. In fact, this trends has been popping up all over the UK and Europe as well. No word yet if the rise in female drinking is tied to the increased popularity of partygirls Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie.
posted by Scott in health & fitness, relationships.
Wed 07 Feb 2007 – 9.37
Now, I know we as twenty-somethings have money problems, but thank the gods I don’t have to live on $12,000. Considering this is approximately minimum wage, it’s really scary to think of how many folks are making a living on this chump change.
But apparently, someone did it. A woman called Donna Freedman decided to change her life and took a vow of poverty. Something about college and divorce, read the article.
In a related story, OSA Watch has a post which includes some tips on how exactly to live on $12k a year. Common sense really for saving money, but I suppose depending on where you live, it’s possible.
By the way, I pay $13,200 a year in rent. New York, people. New York.
posted by Scott in personal finance, real estate.