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I Figured Out How To Fix The Economy…But I Need Your Help

Grant — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 01:00:50 +0000

Have no fear, I know how to fix the economy. Better yet, I know who can fix the economy.

It’s not the President, Congress, or Oprah. And no it isn’t Superman, Wonder Woman, or even Chuck Norris (who of course is in a league of his own).

The person who is going to help fix the economy is….(wait for it)….(drum roll)…

YOU!

That’s not a typo. You can help the economy (and you can prevent forest fires as well just so you know).

Sure the economy is in rough shape because of a variety of different factors but if you and I each figured out how to handle our money better, maybe, just maybe, things would begin to improve. So where do you go to find the knowledge that you need?

Enter BrokePiggy.com.

We’re launching a brand new site to help students find the answers they’re looking for regarding savings, investing, personal finance, and all things money. Each day, we’ll be answering a different question submitted by a student on subjects such as budgets, scholarships, credit cards, debt, insurance, living on your own, taxes, and so much more.

So stop what you’re doing, do not pass GO, and head straight over to BrokePiggy.com. Browse around the site, check out the How To Use This Site page, and don’t forget to register for your chance to win $100!

I thank you. Chuck Norris thanks you. And so does MacGyver and MacGruber.

In Case You’re Bored This Weekend…Episode 9

Grant — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:57:55 +0000

Here’s your weekly dose of interesting websites, blog posts, and articles for you to check out…

Websites:

Beat My Price – Before you buy your next gadget or gizmo, look up the price online with this site. Touted as a new way to find low prices…
ING Compare Me – Ever wonder how your salary stacks up to your peers? This site will give you an idea of how you’re doing.
ScanMyPhotos.com – If you’ve got tons of old pictures you need to get digitized, check out this website.
MeritAid.com - Merit-based scholarship awards at individual colleges.

Blog Posts/Articles:

Velocity: The “Speed” of Money – Great post from FiveCentNickel about how money travels through the economy.
Three Competing Goals with Finances – Where do you focus when you need to build your emergency fund, pay off debt, and invest for retirement? Jeremy over at Gen X Finance gives some perspective.

In Case You’re Bored This Weekend…Episode 8

Grant — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:58:22 +0000

Here’s your weekly dose of interesting websites, blog posts, and articles for you to check out…

Websites:

20 Free Online Personal Finance Classes – Jeremy over at Gen X Finance has assembled a great list of free online classes on the subject of personal finance.

Blog Posts/Articles:

Seven Ways To Fund College Without A College Savings Fund – With a lot of college savings funds depleted and students starting school this fall, Frugal Dad provides some valuable ways to come up with the money.
20 Ways To Make More Money – We all would prefer to have more money than less, so here’s a list from FreeMoneyFinance to kick-start your increase in income.
The Latte Factor And Becoming A Millionaire – Becoming a millionaire is more than just giving up the occasional latte from Starbucks…good stuff from Money Ning.
Follow Through – No Credit Needed reminds us that “Perfection is the enemy of progress.”
Snake-Oil Snakesmen? Debating the Role of the Financial Media - This is a discussion on Get Rich Slowly that stems from the “debate” last week between John Stewart and Jim Crammer on Stewart’s “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central.

In Case You’re Bored This Weekend…Episode 7

Grant — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:05:30 +0000

Here’s your weekly dose of interesting websites, blog posts, and articles for you to check out…
Websites:

If you’re a college student on a tight budget, here are some websites for finding textbooks: Valore Books, Big Words, & Chegg. I came across this list in this month’s issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine.
Where’s George – If you haven’t seen this, you need to play with it sometime. You can basically track individual dollar bills by their serial number and see where money goes. Very fascinating how money travels…
GradeFund – Basically a community-based site where you can get people to sponsor you to get good grades. Interesting concept…

Blog Posts/Articles:

10 Things To Know When Buying Insurance Policies – Pretty self-explanatory…very helpful list of items to review if you have insurance.
Do You Want To Be Rich? – A good look at what defines someone being rich. Hint: The choice is yours…
In Order To Be Helped, Help First – In business and in life, look for ways to help others and you’ll be taken care of…

Sorry for the light load of links but with lots of travel right now, I haven’t caught up on all my blog reading…

In Case You’re Bored This Weekend…Episode 6

Grant — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:04:06 +0000

Here’s your weekly dose of interesting websites, blog posts, and articles for you to check out…

Websites:

Pandora - I may be late to the party on using this service, but it is a sweet internet radio program. You can basically create customized radio stations based on artists or songs you like. And best of all…it’s FREE! It doesn’t hurt that there is an iPhone app as well.
Fonolo – Ever had this experience…you need to call customer service about something but you play this game: Press 2…hold…Press 5….hold…Press 1….hold…ok, you get the idea. This service lets you not only bypass the “phone tree” of several major customer service 800 numbers, but they also get them on the phone for you.
Rescue Time – I just started using this, so I’m interested to see if it’s valuable. I spend the bulk of my day on my computer and occasionally my ADD creeps up, and I start drifting away to other programs or applications. This free service tracks what programs you spend your time on and gives you feedback about where you’re wasting time.
CreditKarma – This is the first actual free service that you can see a ballpark figure of your credit score. Most “free” services get you your credit score for free after you pay for their program. With CreditKarma, you don’t enter any credit card info, and it’s totally free. I knew my credit score and tried this for comparison, and it was actually pretty accurate.

Blog Posts/Articles:

The Cost of Psychology of New – We all like new things but Trent over at The Simple Dollar gives a good idea of what you’re really paying for when you buy new.
15 Things We Overpay For – Pretty self-explanatory…how many items that you purchase are on this list?
Don’t Let Advertised Savings Trick You Into Spending – This is a great post that I fully agree with. Nice work by Milk Your Money.
15 Real Simple Ways To Save Thousands of Dollars – Several little things that collectively add up to make a real difference in personal finances.
Top 100+ Personal Finance Blogs – Great list of great resources put together by Wise Bread.
The Credit Crisis – Visualized – This is a short, animated video that does a great job walking through why we’re in the economic situation that we’re in.

In Case You’re Bored This Weekend…Episode 5

Grant — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:16:58 +0000

Here’s your weekly dose of interesting websites, blog posts, and articles for you to check out…

Websites:

Online Money Management Tools – There are a ton of free online money management tools out there and in this post, Gather Little By Little, gives you a summary of some of the bigger ones.
Meet-O-Matic - Ever tried to get a meeting scheduled with several people who all have hectic lives? Try this tool out.

Blog Posts/Articles:

How I Look At My Money In Big Picture Fashion – Good post from Money Ning that talks some about putting financial emergencies in perspective.
The Paradox of the Paradox of Thrift – Interesting thoughts from Consumerism Commentary about the recession and our role as individuals in the spending vs savings debate.
9 Things To Think About BEFORE You Start A Business - A self-explanatory list from Score.org on the blog All Financial Matters.
How To Manage Job Burnout – We all have ups and downs at work, but this is a very solid overview of how to handle that potential burnout from the blog, The Digerati Life.
9 Excuses For Why You Haven’t Started A Budget Yet - If you don’t have a budget, you need to read this post. Solid work by Free From Broke.
Tax Prep Checklist – If you haven’t started your taxes yet, here is a good checklist of all the paperwork you need to gather up (from Prime Time Money).
Top 5 Ways To Save Money Every Week – We could all use a little extra money these days, so this is a good list from Young Money to get you started.
What I Think of my Health Savings Account – I personally use an HSA for my health insurance, and I think this is a great pros vs cons summary on the product from Free Money Finance.
Stick It To The Man: 15 Things You Should Never Pay For – Good list with more ways to save money from Prime Time Money.

In Case You’re Bored This Weekend…Episode 4

Grant — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:34:12 +0000

Here’s your weekly dose of interesting websites, blog posts, and articles for you to check out…

Websites:

HeyJosh.com – This site is from a speaker friend of mine, Josh Shipp. Josh is the “Dear Abby” of the digital generation, so if you’re a student looking for advice, go check out this site right now. Do not pass go. And if you collect $200, give it to me.
OwnerIQ.net – You know those stacks of old user’s manuals you have for every product under the sun. This site catalogs and categorizes user manuals for just about any product.

Blog Posts/Articles:

Shifting Your Attitudes – Good post from Clever Dude about experiencing a paradigm shift in life.
8 Free Online Virus and Spyware Scanners – One of the best ways to save money is by finding something free you would normally pay for….thanks Gen X Finance for the links.
Taking Apart The Stimulus Package – This is a break down from the Washington Post of the original $819 Billion stimulus package (although it has since been modified) and how the money will be spent.
Most Consumers Fall Behind On Paying Credit Cards – Article from USA Today on how credit card delinquencies and charge-offs have hit record highs lately.

Sorry for a light load of links this week but preparation for vacation with my wife was more important than finding more links!

In Case You’re Bored This Weekend…Episode 3

Grant — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:45:43 +0000

Here’s your weekly dose of interesting websites, blog posts, and articles for you to check out…

Websites:

Google Earth 5.0 – If you haven’t fiddled with Google Earth before, you’re missing out. But a few weeks ago, they came out with the latest edition, which has some incredible features such as historical imagery from around the globe, ocean floor images, and audio touring of various locations.
LeechBlock – This is a Firefox add-on that helps block you from distracting websites while you’re trying to work. If you’re even remotely ADD (like me), this will help you stay focused.
KeepMeOut – Same idea as the Firefox add-on above.
Carbonite – This is the online tool I use to backup all my computer files. I know there are plenty of choices out there but this is my program of choice.

Blog Posts/Articles:

5 Mistakes You Can’t Afford To Make When Buying A Car – Great blog post from Generation X Finance about…well the title says it all.
College Degress with the Highest ROI – This is an article from Yahoo that gives you the top 5 college degrees that will get you the most bang for your buck.
Don’t Buy Stuff You Can’t Afford – A great SNL sketch from a few years ago…very common sense advice in classic SNL fashion! Thanks to Milk Your Money for the reminder!
Social Network Usage – A list of the top 25 social networking sites. Not surprisingly, Facebook is #1, but Twitter jumped from #22 to #3 in one month.
How To Choose An Online Savings Account - Solid blog post from FiveCentNickel.
7 Tips For A Frugal Valentine’s Day – You don’t have to drop hundreds of dollars you don’t have to impress your significant other. Keep it simple. (From Consumerism Commentary).

In Case You’re Bored This Weekend…Episode 2

Grant — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:02:11 +0000

Here’s your weekly dose of interesting websites, blog posts, and articles for you to check out…

Websites:

• PayScale.com – Get salary reports based on your location, job, and experience…are you getting paid what you’re worth?
Mint.com – I’ve played some in the past with this site but just started using it again. It is considered one of the best online personal money management tools on the internet. Best part…it’s FREE!
Picasa – This is Google’s digital photo tool. I used it this week to back up all the digital pictures on my computer. Like most Google products, it’s simple to use, easy to figure out, and free.

Blog Posts/Articles:

• Top 10 Social Networks for Gen-Y – Interesting list that doesn’t show the typical sites you would think of like Facebook or MySpace. More individual sites where Gen-Y is meeting at…
The Best Colleges For Making Money – Article from Smart Money…good comparison of public vs private schools. I referenced this article in my post this week, “3 Things You Must Know About Your College Tuition Investment…”
Finding Balance – This was an article in the FFA Horizons magazines where they interviewed me about students and life balance. Pretty cool!
Speed Reading Successfully – One of the things on my CHANGES list for 2009 is to learn to speed read. I read a lot so I figure: Learn to speed read = More books I can get through.
7 Hours For Healthier Finances – We’re just over a month into the new year so stop now and get your finances in order. Good place to start…
The Key To Success: Define Your Strengths – I think it’s critically important for people to take the time to determine where they excel and also figure out where they suck.
The 20 Worst Supermarket Foods – My mom got us a book from this series for Christmas, and it is really fascinating. These books identify actual products in stores/restaurants and not some generic category of food you should eat or avoid.
Bigger Numbers Trick Your Mind Into Buying – A summary of a study for why we would buy something at $.99 but our brain isn’t interested if it’s $1.00. Interesting…

Have a great weekend!

How To Organize Blogs With An RSS Reader…

Grant — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:57:52 +0000

Writing, reading, and following blogs has quickly become one of the best ways to get information and content not only from the internet, but through all forms of media.

Blogs give everyone the opportunity to be an expert, and we all have the chance to display that expertise to a virtual audience on the world wide web.

So first of all, if you’re not reading blogs, you’re really missing out on some valuable content that may exist for your industry or your interests. But for the sake of today’s post, I’m going to assume you already know what a blog is and that you keep tabs on a handful of the ones that exist out there.

You’re probably finding that going back to those sites on a regular basis, just to see if they have any new posts can get a little old and tedious. So I want to walk you through how to organize your blogs with an RSS Reader.

A what? (Is that similar to a bird feeder?)

RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” and is a way to gather new content from blogs or other websites without having to continue checking that site for updates. You’ve probably seen the symbol at the top of this post before which is the RSS logo. If you see this on a website, it is telling you…”if you want to know when we add anything new to this site, we can keep you updated so you don’t have to keep coming here.”

That’s my interpretation of course.

In order to do that, you need some kind of RSS Reader, of which there are several. I just converted to Google Reader from Bloglines, but there are also sites like Yahoo, AOL, MSN, or NewsGator.

Once you set up an account with one of these services (all free), you can go around to the blogs that you’re interested in (such as this one – wink, wink), click the RSS logo and add the blog feed into your RSS reader. Then instead of going to each individual blog on a daily basis, you go to one site (your RSS Reader) which will automatically collect anything new and have it ready for you to read.

One of the cool things about RSS is more and more types of websites provide an RSS feed, so you can keep up on updates as they happen. For example, my wife and I have a little field trip to Maui coming up, so we’ve been on the look out for bargains and deals for while we’re out there. I have an RSS feed on Craiglist-Maui-Tickets, so that any time anyone posts anything new in that category, I know about it immediately.

So what do you need to do now? Follow these 3 simple steps…

Set up a free account with an RSS Reader (I recommend Google Reader)
Add the links/feeds of your favorite blogs and websites to your Reader.

3. Add in Grant Baldwin’s Blog. At the top of the right column, you can subscribe to this blog with one click or you can receive email updates for the blog (sorry I couldn’t help myself).