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28 | Don't Waste Money on Furniture
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Let others do so.
Buying new furniture is worse than buying a new car: It depreciates faster the minute you take it out of the dealer. And, unlike the car, which you move from place to place easily, furniture costs money to move from place to place: a lot.
I like luxury. I am kind of a snob in many things including furniture. I am such a snob that I either have good stuff or have no stuff at all. And that is the key to saving on furniture: by waiting for an opportunity to have what you want a great price (preferably free or less) you can save and invest a lot of money in revenue producing assets. The estimated $20,000 that I have saved in furniture over the years will become $200,000 (yes, adjusted by inflation) by the time I am 55. Having less furniture than expected for a while, but hunting down for the right pieces, and acquiring a lot more than I could have afforded for the same amount of money has been exciting and rewarding.
Just yesterday I received a shipment from my mom: discarded furniture from a vacation rental house she had and sold recently. It completed some empty spaces in my home. I found this to be a great opportunity to illustrate my philosophy and experience with furniture.
24 34 | 401k: If I Where Employed by EMC
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If I became an EMC employee, first of all, I would be happy. I trust the company to do
well. It has a solid and expanding product suite that compensates
for a decline on basic storage. The need for massively large and
complex, highly available, and highly reliable storage systems will just
increase as people try to make more digital data available for business
applications as well as for the entertainment industry. This
company is benefiting from increased IT spending that was being held
back during the recession years. Although Earnings Per Share on
2000 and 2001 where nothing to write home about (unless it was to receive some family emotional support),
they have been steadily and dramatically increasing year over year
since 2002. Cash flow, Revenue, and Operating Income has
steadily increase over the years, since 2002. The fact that
Standard & Poor's believe on it (Strong Buy 5 star) helps me feel
better about it. I do hold 500 shares of it, and if I was an EMC
employee I would probably hold some stake in the company also: but not more than 10% of my total net worth! Most probably I would take advantage of Options and ESPP plans, and avoid investing too much more inside the 401k on EMC stock.
The question my EMC friends may have then is where should they invest
the money they put on the 401k. Given the fund options an EMC
employee and friend sent me, this article tells about my
approach. It may even be useful for non-EMC employees as
investment options may be similar among different companies 401k plans.
18 14 | Katahdin - At Last (5268 ft.)
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Five years ago we decided we wanted to do Mt. Katahdin in the Baxter
State Park in Maine. For multiple reasons including real estate
investing, travel, unplanned surgery and some lack of better planning
we had to postpone climbing it year, over year. On July the 16th,
2005 we finally did it, and it felt so good.
At 5,258 ft, Mt. Katahdin is the highest mountain in the state of
Maine. The fact that it jumps out of a mostly flat landscape to
form an spectacular view makes clibing it even more desirable.
The mountain is also the Northern Terminus of the 2,175 mile Appalachian
Trail that runs from Georgia to Maine.
22 23 | Katahdin Dreams
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Our outdoor goal for this year is to climb Mt. Katahdin.
To do so, we decided to train for it. During the Winter, this means going to the gym 3 times a week - something we weren't as disciplined as we wanted to be. And as soon as Memorial Day arrived, the goal was to perform 4 hikes to White Mountains 4K footers.
The summit ascents we performed during this training period where worth on their own, and will be well remembered. Read on for a description of the hikes we did.
22 39 | It Turned 100,000 !!
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My trusty old 96 Mazda Miata M Edition turned 100,000 miles last Sunday
while driving on the Masspike from Marlborough, MA to Pittsfield, MA
(in the heart of the Berkshires). Watching so many numbers turn
in unison on my odometer provoked many feelings, mostly positive.
The Miata and I have been together ever since June 25, 1996. It
was at that time that I arrived Massachusetts with little more than my
suitcase and enough money (in the form of a gift) for the down payment
of such car and some necessities. It has been a good companion and a
good teacher. I share some of its teachings on this article.
18 15 | White Mountains 4,000 Footer Scorecard
-- New Hampshire Highest Peaks
A simple entry to keep track of our progress in the White Mountains (New Hampshire) 4,000 Footers.
On the table in this posting you will find the 48 goal Mountains and the date on which they where accomplished as well as who was with us (keeping track of the climbs for them). Click on the date for more information about that day's adventure. Read More
36 26 | Personal Finance for Dummies
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Book Review: Personal Finance for Dummies, by Eric Tyson
This book covers almost every aspect of personal finance that a beginner
may need. Although it doesn't go into deep details on anything,
it does offers very specific recommendations for investment instruments,
publications, and tools -- something that most personal finance book
authors are too shy to mention. This book will certainly help
beginner investors get a general idea of
what is available to them. However, chances are the beginner will
need
to supplement this book with wisdom from external sources. The
book was recently updated to reflect new tax laws and to show examples
of real financial markets, including the stock market bubble of 2000
and the recent rapidly increasing home prices.
20 32 | CDC Says Smoking Hurts Productivity
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"CDC: Smoking hurt productivity
Early deaths caused by smoking cost the nation about $92 billion in lost productivity from 1997 to 2001... Smoking reduces life expectancy an average of about 14 years by way of lung cancer, heart disease, and other illness...." Found in USA Today, Friday 1st of July 2005.
Statistics are just that... statistics. But more,
and more frequently I do see this type of article on the news.
The reality is that less than perfect health habits are costing
ourselves and our nation dearly. I will leave economists the task
of figuring out how much it costs our economy, and I will concentrate
on how it affects us.
- I believe that if you do not have to worry about bad health you can
worry more about succeeding in your career or your financial
goals. Even if you do not care too much about those goals, you
may at least worry about you and your family's happiness more.
- I also believe that a physically fit person is more agile and gets
tired less. This means more time to conduct revenue generating
activities, or at least family fun and experience sharing with friends.
Being healthy must have some impact in your happiness and in your finances. I can think about a few (listed below), can you think about more?
Read More