EL

Brands that I Hate

I usually start a post with some investing idea I have or debt repayment idea, but this post is completely different. In my experience with all the brand name products that I come in contact with some have been positive and others have been downright negative. So why am I rambling about negative brands and not talking about something more positive and with less intensity of hate? Because it will help all of us decide in the future if a particular brand is worth spending money on. I do not know about you, but I hate to throw good money into a garbage product. Yeah you can call it being very extreme or stubborn, but at least I am making smart decisions based on experience with my money and I can only speak for myself.

Because I have been scorn a few times by these terrible brands, I made a very helpful list to remind me of their filth in the future. Granted you might not agree with me and it is up to you to voice your opinion here in this forum. All I ask is for all of you to respect my decision in this hate post and debate if you must in a respectful manner. If I can save somebody a few hundred dollars by avoiding a certain brand that is a win situation for that person. On the flip side of the coin if more people voiced out their opinions on these shady companies then people will not make the same mistake other folks previously made. Also these companies now a day get away with everything, and only a few older opinionated people who actually take the time to write a letter to companies’ complaints department are the ones getting results. The complaint is based on the principle behind companies actually giving consumers what we pay for, products with value.

Brands that are on my hate list:

Nun Bush (Shoes)

Fuji (Camcorder)

Canon (Camcorder- SLR’s are Ok)
Fossil Watches

Volkswagen (Jetta)

Bose CD Players (Speakers are OK)

Seiko Kinetic (Watches)

Panasonic (Home Phones-TV’s are OK)

For each and every one of these brands I had to endure subpar products and bad service by mostly all the companies. The car brand mentioned in the list was constantly in the shop and that is just unacceptable for a brand new car to constantly have a check engine light on and almost every service call was about 300+ dollars. A new car should last you a good 3 or so years without any issues in my opinion. The Seiko watch actually lasted a good amount of time without any issues, but the premise behind the movement as per the marketing department is that the watch should continue to work for 99 plus years as long as I wear the watch. It is powered by the movement of my body aka no battery. Why advertise this, if after a few years it turns out to be far from the truth. As far as Canon goes I only had issues with the camcorder side of the business, but the digital SLR cameras I hear are really good products.

I will stay true in my stance to never buy any of these product brands again in my entire life. Just not worth it for me to invest any more time and resources on them.

OK so in conclusion please comment if you want to add a product name to the brand list or if you ever had a bad experience with any of the brand names mentioned above. Word of mouth is a powerful tool we can all use effectively to actually make change in our consumer society.

Being fully aware of the brands that do not hold up to their promise is another way to watch your money.

How to avoid a Ponzi Scheme or financial mistake.

This post came to me while speaking with the Misses and it basically is a set of rules on how to avoid a ponzi scheme or a financial set back:

-If the rate of return promised on any investment is too good to be true then it usually is.
-If anybody is attempting to sell a financial product without you approaching them first, 90% of the time they will take advantage of you.
-Do not trust what they say as being true, always investigate and research any investment on your own.
-Make sure the company is a know by more than just the person selling it-Ask for business references/referrals.
-If you are offered a job that will generate future income from a company, but first you have to put up your own money prior to getting a paycheck. (That is considered as MLM Marketing scheme aka another version of a Ponzi scheme)
-If you attend a financial seminar at a major hotel or an urban exhibition center-90% of the time they are looking to sell you some get rich scheme which never works.
-If you are looking at buying term life insurance, but the agent is pressuring you to do whole life- politely walk away as this person does not have your best intentions in mind. (Whole life is set up to rob you of your hard earned money)

I hope you now are more prepared to avoid a major financial disaster and can avoid the fake mombo jombo that a lot of the so called financial gurus try to pull on regular folks by stealing our money and making more money off of us. Every year these fake professionals go out to different cities attempting to lure people to give up their hard earned cash, selling you a quick get rich software or a set of financial books and ultimately their goal is just to make another dollar off of you.

Be informed. Ask questions. Trust your gut feeling. If too good to be true-walk away.

Financial Quote of the Day- A big part of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about the what-ifs of life.
Suze Orman

Another smart way to avoid a disaster while watching your money.

8 Tips to Knock Down Debt

Debt is rising for the U.S. government at an alarming rate, but for the citizens of our country average debt is slowly being eliminated as reported in CNN. Back in 2008 the average per person debt was about 8 thousand, fast forward to 2011 and the average debt is unknown as some reports claim that the debt is between 6-9 thousand and others claim between 10-15 thousand dollars. In my opinon I believe that the first figure is broken down by the total house holds who have debt and those without debt in America. The second larger figure is broken down by the households that only hold debt. So why report false hope in the eyes of the average person reading the article, because the credit card industry’s main purpose is for us to keep spending and continue fueling their revenue stream.

If the average person feels that the economy is doing better overall then they will go to the mall and shop thus fueling all aspects of our economy. But why set up a system to indebt the average person for years at the sake of our government’s GDP and corporate greed. I will provide a few tips to knock down debt and release all of us from the curse of the plastic gods.

Tips:

1. Always pay more than the minimum even if its 20 dollars more per month.
2. Begin to live a cash and debit card system, leave the credit cards at home. (emergenices only)
3. Call the companies you owe and negotiate a reduced rate on your cards.
4. If you have a car loan refinance it. (Lower rate and decreased time frame)
5. Use any additional income and tax return to pay off loans. (70% of tax return for debt reduction)
6. Use Balance Transfers only if they come with No transfer FEE option. (Chase has this often)
7. Read Dave Ramsey’s Books for the proper way to roll away debt. (Debt Snowball)
8. Debt: 1.Schools loan(Pay minimum), 2. Car Loan,(Pay minimum) 3. CC Debt (Pay maximum)

Now you can see what you need to do to get rid of debt in your household. After getting rid of the CC debt, begin paying the maximum to car loans until that is paid off. The secret is to not add on new debt while paying down debt or the downward cycle will never end for you. I have put togeather a poem for your reading pleasure:

Debt eats at your thoughts,

It makes your mind have reoccurring nightmarish afterthoughts,

It puts your mind in a trance and makes you think you can dance the rich dance,

When in reality you’re walking down the poor man’s trail, with a leaky pail.

Then the platinum clients are misled, down the path on judgment’s sled.

Bankruptcy is the next step, right before your untimely death.

Sorrow here and Sorrow there, But Amex and Discover didn’t care.

To all the naysayers who think debt is fair, just ask the poor soul laying there!

RichUncle EL

401 K Calculations

OK here is another great example based on the importance of starting early and staying on track with your 401K finances. I will show three examples of 401k calculations to see the net effect of how much your money can grow given similar rate of return scenarios but different time frames. I stumbled on this calculator and it is one of the best 401K calculators I have ever seen on the Internet. All of the examples will have a rate of return of 5% and a retirement age of 65. Also the annual salary increase is 3% and the employer match is the standard 50% on the first 6%. I do this to show all my readers a simple step anybody can make today like increasing your contribution to help you reap major rewards in the future. Not many people care to run the numbers for themselves or do not bother to get the info on where to find such a great calculator. The leg work is done for you and all you have to do is plug in your specific figures from your employers 401k, 401A, 457b plans, etc.

First Example:

-Age: 25
-Income : 40K
-Contribution #: 10%
-Magic #: 1,008,672

Second Example:

-Age: 30
-Income: 40K
-Contribution # 10%
-Magic #: 721,445

Third Example:
-Age: 35
Income: 40K
-Contribution # 10%
-Magic #: 505,859

Wow what a huge difference those first 10 years make in your magic number. If you start at 25 and do not mess up your plan you will have doubled the money compared to the 35 year old. The proof is in the numbers people and I can not stress this enough. Imagine how great it would be if you could do 20% of your pay from day one. I’m guessing about 2 million bucks. If you start early you will not miss that money as it becomes a part of your pay routine. Also the difference between 8% of pay check contributions and 10% contributions will not effect your net pay as much because it is pretax money.

Once again this is only for informational purposes only so please run your own numbers to see what your magic # will be at retirement age.

LINK To- 401 K Calculator

401K funds might be the only plan you have for your future as Social Security is not guaranteed.

Watch your Money !

February Calendar Update

Every month I will send this list out so that we all can be financially smart shoppers in this media overloaded society. Some of the products will be repeated from last month and my assumption is that those products are based on seasonal buying patterns.

February Calendar Update:

-Houses/Condos
-Humidifiers

-Indoor Furniture

-Treadmills/ Ellipticals

This list is so small, I guess Feburary is a stay at home month since it’s usually freezing out, but this year the weather has been awesome. This month I am not purchasing anything on this list and I am also banning the malls for the entire month and only spending my money on food / necessities. If your up to the challenge, please join me in the month long ban as you will see that you do not need any more junk in your closets. LOL.

February = No Shopping Month

Just a reminder please make sure to only shop for items that you need not want. This makes all the difference with people going on emotional shopping binges. Also only pay cash or debit as credit should never be used unless you want to be a slave to the banks. If you can not control your shopping and you have a desire to always spend every last penny, just avoid the malls or shopping centers. This alone will help you make strides in curbing your spending.

OK now it’s your turn to comment back and let me know if you need or want anything on this list or something not on the list.

PS: Don’t forget to download GEOQpons App on your smart phone and check if they have any coupons before purchasing your products. This would qualify as another smart way to watch your money!

Just For Fun

Imagine if you had a great income and could amass savings easily, and let’s make believe you already did this for many years. This project is to show you how easy it would be to live off of your assets. Assets are made specifically to provide you with more cash flow, more assets on top of the initial investment or a better net worth amount. I wanted to propose a make believe scenario for all of us here reading this blog. Let’s say you have saved 500 thousand dollars after the many-many years and you invested it in dividend paying stocks and bonds. The break down will be listed below for you to get the full effect of the numbers. I am showing you 9 real dividend stocks and a bond example with an average return of 5%. I divided the total amount by 50,000 for each investment as to stay diversified. So what do the numbers show?

1. You will get about 8,000 per Quarter from these investments.

2. You will get about 33,000 every year as dividend and bond interest income. ( Minus any taxes of 15-25% )

3. The cheaper the price the more shares you own and the greater your income per stock will be.

4. The riskiest stocks usually have the highest dividends so be careful.

5. The more sectors you choose the better diversified you will be.

6. 500, 000 will net you about 25-28 thousand after taxes with a 6% shared dividend/bond rate. (Annually)

7. 500, 000 in two savings accounts earning 3% will net you 10-12 thousand after taxes. (safest option)

8. Dividend investing always beats parking your money in a regular savings account.

9. 500K is a huge amount but with consistent investing and compounding interest it can be done.

10. Coca Cola was removed because it was over the $50 dollar maximum limit.

Stocks	Ticker	Price	Dollar Amount	Shares	Dividends	Per Quarter	QDR Cash Flow
							Bond is Semi Annual
Bond Example			$50,000.00		5%	$2,500.00	$1,250.00

Coca Cola	KO	61		0	1.76	0.44	$0.000

Ent Prop.	EPR	35	$50,000.00	1428.571429	2.6	0.65	$928.571

Winstream	WIN	11.5	$50,000.00	4347.826087	1	0.25	$1,086.957

Con Edison	ED	50	$50,000.00	1000	2.4	0.6	$600.000

PSEG	PEG	28	$50,000.00	1785.714286	1.37	0.3425	$611.607

General Elect	GE	15.09	$50,000.00	3313.452618	0.6	0.15	$497.018

Verizon	VZ	35	$50,000.00	1428.571429	1.9	0.475	$678.571

SDRL	SDRL	31	$50,000.00	1612.903226	3	0.75	$1,209.677

ATT	T	25	$50,000.00	2000	1.68	0.42	$840.000

Plum Creek Timber	PCL	35.76	$50,000.00	1398.210291	1.68	0.42	$587.248

Total		$327.35	$450,000.00	$18,315.25			$7,039.650

			$500,000.00				$8,289.650

Given that this is a playful example to show moneywatch101 readers how important it is to save early and often. (It may take you 20-30 years to save this) Also to show the difference between dividend investing and regular savings accounts. Now it’s your choice where you want to save your dollars but the proof really is in the numbers. If I amassed this amount I would place my money in stocks like the ones mentioned here, but I would diversify to other sectors like healthcare and consumer staples. For this example Con Edison, PSEG, Plum Creek, and General Electric are on the safer side, while the rest are on the riskier side of investments.

If you don’t believe me – see this article from Seeking Alpha, they are known to give expert advice on financial matters. Dividend Article

Comment back on how you perceived the numbers and if you were shocked at how easy it is to get a good income with dividends. (33K a year is pretty good income for doing nothing.)

Watch your money grow and get a good income in the process.

Thanks,

Laptop Search 2011

In doing a search for the best laptops in 2011, I have researched a myriad of options and brands that are tailored to what I want and need. At the top of the every list (Cnet Research) except for budget categories is the mighty apple products, unfortunately I do not foresee using my laptop for editing or any of those advanced features they all come with, so that is a no-go. Also they are completely out of the range I want to spend on a laptop. The $ range I am looking for is $399 – $799, which has led me to two categories of budget based and mid-range based laptops. So far the leader with techie features, innovation, and with a flare of style is Toshiba. In the past more than once I have heard that they are great laptops, but I haven’t really heard anything recently to solidify a purchase. The best priced brand in the lower end of the technology curve is Dell; but they don’t even come with windows 7 unless you pay extra. That brand is out -# Losers! In between those two brands, I am still considering Asus, Lenovo, and Acer. Granted we all have heard you get what you pay for, but does that mean you have to dole out $1400 dollars for a computer that will be obsolete in 3 years. Value vs. Cost does not add up for me. Some of the features I am drooling over are listed below, and I will probably not get all of them at the end of the day, because of the game these companies play in picking and choosing which features are standard and what not.

Features:

i7 or i5 2^nd generation quad processor (Sandy Bridge)

6g Ram

500-750 Gigs Storage

Blu –Ray Drive or DVD Burner

5-7 Hours of battery life or more

5 pounds or less in weight

13 – 16 inch screen size

Windows 7 already included

Capability to connect laptop to TV

Good Keyboard for easier typing (Back lit option preferred)

I guess once I put all of these on paper, it does seem like a long demanding list. LOL! Oh well I want what I want. What’s also perfect is that this is the right time to buy as computers should be on sale based on my monthly calendar post. (See Link Here-Jan Calendar Post

*Please comment back and let me know what computer brand you currently have and if you are happy with it. Also if you’re current model has all of these options as well. I guess more comparison shopping for me in the near future. Uncertainty always finds its way into my mind when spending over a certain amount for something. Given all the options I am still leaning on getting a Toshiba laptop when the time comes.

Getting a well-priced laptop to last you at least 5+ years is another way to watch your money!

Update Miss Rich Uncle El wants to actually get the Apple laptop as she feels it will last longer. What a dilemma now. Advice needed a sap.

Thanks,

Night Life Costs Broken Down

Go Barack Teach her how to do the Salsa!

I wanted to find out what the average person spends on drinks and night clubs/entertainment and share it with my readers. Obviously this would be an average for someone in their 20-30s who goes out about 3-4 times a month. One thing to consider is where you live and how the prices of drinks vary by location. For example a drink in Paterson, NJ will cost you about 7-8 dollars while a drink in Las Vegas will cost you about 21 dollars. So you will have to run your specific calculations based on your actual location and prices.

Scenario 1 – NJ Night Club

Pre-Game Bottle at home $40 / 2 split it with a buddy= $20 Dollars each.

Night Club Entrance= $20 Dollars

Drinks while Clubbing = 3*7 = $21 Dollars

Total for 1 night of entertainment = 61 round it down to= $60

Total for the month 4 nights out is – 4 * 60 = $ 240

Total for the year 12 months – 12 * 240 = 2,880 Round this up to – $3000 for other expenses like – Haircuts, Gas, clothes, Etc.

This scenario is obviously on the low end of the spectrum because the prices are low estimates. The point I am trying to make is that if a young person spends this much on just night life then the possibility to save $$ gets eliminated or vastly reduced. Many people do not have an extra 250-500 a month after all expenses to splurge on night life and still be able to save adequately for future goals/retirement. That’s why most usually fall under either savers or spenders. I also understand that every situation is different and that some younger individuals may be living rent free in good ol’ mom and dad’s house. If this is the case then those folks can maybe get away with it in for the time being. But as soon as rent/mortgage payment gets thrown into the equation saving $$ should take priority over the expensive night life option. For the sake of being fair I will run the calculation on someone that goes out 2 times a month and saves the other half in a mutual fund for 10 years.

Scenario 2- Half Fun / Half Save

Total for month is = $120 night life round this up to 150

Total for year is = $1,800 Night life expense and 1800 Saved in Mutual fund. = $ 3,600

Go to the calculator at the bottom of the page and plug in $150 a month X 10 years to save.

The Grand total with a 4% savings rate is about $22,000 dollars.

In conclusion if you cut your night life spending in half and save the rest you can have a good foundation for a better life in the future. Everybody always makes regrets later in life, but those who take action will never be caught off guard financially. We all can find the right balance between fun and saving for the future. The problem some people have is that they do all fun and not one penny to save. If you’re in a situation where you don’t have money left over at the end of the month to allocate to savings, then just increase your income or do the half fun/half savings strategy I mentioned in the example above.

Make a plan, stick to it and watch how your savings grow.

Another excellent way to watch your money!