July 2010
2 posts
4 tags
Money, money, money, money...
John Carlton of The Marketing Rebel Rant blog has posted one of the most profound articles on the subject of money that I have read in a long time.
In fact, there is so much wisdom in this article that I’m having a hard time finding a suitable quote for this post. I really want to share the whole thing right here. But, as a matter of courtesy, I will refrain from doing so.
...
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Every Life Has A Story If We Only Bother To Read...
Every Life Has A Story - Chick-fil-A from Dan T. Cathy on Vimeo.
As if we needed another reason to love Chick-fil-A, this video was called to my attention yesterday. According to Dan T Cathy, President and COO of Chick-fil-A, this video was created to remind us that everyone we interact with is a chance to create a remarkable experience.
May 2010
7 posts
4 tags
May 21, 1980: The Greatest Day In Geek History
This is belated, but Happy 30th Birthday to both Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Pac-Man! I can’t think of a single day that had more impact on geek culture for my generation than May 21, 1980.
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The Budget Geek’s Week In Geek - May 23, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
The Big Bang Theory - Monday, May 24, 9:31pm CBS “The Lunar Excitation” Season 3, Episode 23 Episode Synopsis: In the third-season finale, Wolowitz and Koothrappali play matchmaker for Sheldon by setting up an online-dating profile for him. Meanwhile, Penny thinks that her...
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The Budget Geek’s Week In Geek - May 16, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
The Big Bang Theory - Monday, May 17, 9:31pm CBS “The Staircase Implementation” Season 3, Episode 22 Episode Synopsis: Leonard tells Penny the story of how he met Sheldon.
The Office - Thursday, May 20, 9:00pm NBC “Whistleblower” Season 6, Episode 24 Episode Synopsis: In the Season 6...
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Seth Godin: Consumer Debt Is Not Your Friend
I rarely repost an entire blog entry from another site, but I am making an exception here. Seth Godin is perhaps the most brilliant marketer in the world today and his blog is the most read blog on the Internet.
On May 5th, Seth posted the article below that hits home with my personal philosophy on debt. In fact, in the article, Seth cites another article by Dave Ramsey, so how could it not...
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The Budget Geek’s Week In Geek - May 9, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
The Big Bang Theory - Monday, May 10, 9:31pm CBS “The Plimpton Simulation” Season 3, Episode 21 Episode Synopsis: The arrival of a famous physicist (Judy Greer), has Sheldon and Leonard competing for her attention.
The Office - Thursday, May 13, 9:00pm NBC “The Chump” Season 6, Episode 23 Episode...
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Are You On Track To Becoming Wealthy?
In their book The Millionaire Next Door, Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. and William D. Danko, Ph.D. detail their study of over one thousand millionaires and write about the personal, ethical, and business traits that most have in common. If you have not read The Millionaire Next Door, it is a must-read if you ever intend to become financially independent.
I have spoken with many people about money...
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The Budget Geek’s Week In Geek - May 2, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
The Big Bang Theory - Monday, May 3, 9:31pm CBS “The Spaghetti Catalyst” Season 3, Episode 20 Episode Synopsis: Sheldon tells a lie to appease Penny and Leonard, who aren’t speaking to each other, but then he gets caught.
The Office - Thursday, May 6, 9:00pm NBC “The Cover-Up” Season 6, Episode...
April 2010
9 posts
3 tags
Star Wars Celebration V Exclusive T-Shirts
I know what my wife and I are going to be wearing when we attend Star Wars Celebration V in August!
Another good design sports the logo of the Hoth Blue Milk Brewing Company.
Only 107 days to go…
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The Budget Geek’s Week In Geek - April 25, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
The Office - Thursday, April 29, 9:00pm NBC “Body Language” Season 6, Episode 21 Episode Synopsis: Pam and Jim team up for their first sales pitch together. They deliver it to the manager of a regional hot spot, resulting in mix-ups when Michael has difficulty deciphering body language. Meanwhile, Dwight ...
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Generation Y Needs To Grow Up And Get A Clue About...
In a recent article from USA Today entitled Generation Y’s Steep Financial Hurdles: Huge Debt, No Savings, Christine Dugas writes:
Even before the recession, those in Generation Y — the latest products of a get-it-now, pay-for-it-later mind-set that has permeated the nation’s economy — faced a range of financial pitfalls as they embraced expensive high-tech gadgets and added credit...
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The Budget Geek’s Week In Geek - April 18, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
The Office - Thursday, April 22, 9:00pm NBC “Secretary’s Day” Season 6, Episode 20 Episode Synopsis: Andy goes to extremes to make sure Erin has a very special Secretary’s Day. But it all could backfire thanks to Michael, who informs Erin about Andy’s past relationship with Angela. Meanwhile,...
8 tags
The Budget Geek’s Week In Geek - April 11, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
The Big Bang Theory - Monday, April 12, 9:31pm CBS “The Wheaton Recurrence” Season 3, Episode 19 Episode Synopsis: Wil Wheaton returns and once again battles with Sheldon, this time in a bowling match; and Penny and Leonard have a fight that threatens their relationship.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars -...
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“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get...”
– Zig Ziglar
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You Can't Earn A 12% Rate Of Return In Mutual...
When Dave Ramsey teaches about investing, he always bases his mutual fund returns on the average rate of return of the entire stock market since inception. Over its entire history, the stock market as a whole has averaged an annual rate of return of around 11.9%. Some years have done a lot better and others have done a lot worse, but on average the return has been 11.9%. Dave rounds that to...
The Budget Geek’s Week In Geek - April 4, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Friday, April 9, 9:00pm CARTOON NETWORK “The Zillo Beast” Episode Synopsis: The Jedi must find a way to contain the deadly Zillo Beast, which was roused by a weapon created by the Republic.
Additional Star Wars: The Clone Wars Links:
Check out the spectacular trailer for the Clone...
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The Budget Geek - #1 Search Result In Topeka
3 tags
Never Pay More Than $10 For An HDMI Cable
Budget Planner – Mint.com
March 2010
19 posts
10 tags
The Budget Geek’s Week In Geek - March 28, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Friday, April 2, 9:00pm CARTOON NETWORK “Bounty Hunters” Episode Synopsis: Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka hesitantly join forces with bounty hunters to guard a spice farmer from pirates led by Hondo Onaka.
Additional Star Wars: The Clone Wars Links:
According to a USA Today article, Boba...
4 tags
Star Wars Celebration V is Coming
StarWars.com has posted an exciting preview video of what you can expect to see and do at Star Wars Celebration V. Using a montage of clips from the previous United States Celebrations, as well as Celebration Japan and Celebration Europe, this is just the ticket to get your blood pumping in anticipation of Star Wars Celebration V, August 12-15 in Orlando, Florida.
As a reminder, The Budget...
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Baby Step 6: Pay Off Your Home Early
Baby Step 6 of Dave Ramsey’s Plan is to pay off your home mortgage early and be completely DEBT FREE.
Similar to Baby Step 2, where you pay off all of your debts except for your home, you should use focused intensity and throw a good portion of your discretionary income (above your 15% retirement contribution and kid’s college funds) toward extra principal payments on your mortgage...
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The Budget Geek’s Week In Geek - March 21, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
The Big Bang Theory - Monday, March 22, 9:31pm CBS “The Pants Alternative” Season 3, Episode 18 Episode Synopsis: The friends try to help Sheldon overcome his fear of speaking in public.
The Office - Thursday, March 25, 9:00pm NBC “Happy Hour” Season 6, Episode 19 Episode Synopsis: The staffers raise spirits at a...
7 tags
Toy Story and Toy Story 2 Blu-ray Coupons and...
This week, I plan to purchase the Toy Story and Toy Story 2 Blu-ray Special Editions at Target.
Target’s price on each Toy Story film is $22.99. However, if you buy both, you save $10 instantly.
Additionally, if you are a member of Disney Movie Rewards and you own previous DVD or VHS copies of either film, click here for details about how you can print coupons good for $10 off of each...
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Mortgages By The Numbers: 15 Year vs 30 Year
As followers of Dave Ramsey’s plan, the only mortgage that we would ever take out is a 15 year fixed rate mortgage where the payment is no more than 25% of our monthly household take home pay.
Using those guidelines, let’s say that we wanted to purchase a $150,000 home and the interest rate is 5%. The numbers would be:
Monthly Payment: $1,186.19 Total Interest Paid: $63,519.19
...
The Budget Geek’s Week In Geek - March 14, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
The Office - Thursday, March 18, 9:00pm NBC “New Leads” Season 6, Episode 18 Episode Synopsis: The sales staffers try to seal the deal with spiel when Sabre’s newly minted “sales is king” policy energizes them but balloons their egos. Cut to Michael, who isn’t above hiding all the new,...
4 tags
Monoprice Reports Compromised Credit Card...
According to Blu-ray.com, popular audio/video cable retailer Monoprice has temporarily closed its website until March 15 while it performs “maintenance.” The website doesn’t go into further detail, but it allegedly shuttered after receiving several emails and phone calls from customers complaining about “odd” charges on the credit and debit cards they had used...
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Tron Legacy Theatrical Trailer #1 Released
The first full trailer for Tron Legacy has been released. Click on any of the images above to view it. Tron Legacy opens in theaters December 17, 2010.
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Use Sinking Funds To Save For Large Expenses
Prior to finding Dave Ramsey and getting our finances in order, we used to be blind-sided by our semi-annual auto insurance bill. It seemed to us that we had just paid our auto insurance and here it would come again and smack us in the face. Fortunately, we no longer have that problem because we started a sinking fund that we contribute to weekly to cover our auto insurance bill when it comes...
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The Budget Geek's Week In Geek - March 7, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
The Big Bang Theory - Monday, March 8, 9:31pm CBS “The Precious Fragmentation” Season 3, Episode 17 Episode Synopsis: The guys go to a garage sale and find a ring from “The Lord of the Rings” film, and the rare find threatens their friendship.
The Office - Thursday, March 11, 9:00pm NBC “St....
3 tags
"Weird Al" Yankovic's Ode To Everyone Whose Lives...
Here is the video to “Weird Al” Yankovic’s catchy tune, Skipper Dan.
Skipper Dan from waymoby on Vimeo.
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“A church debt is the devil’s salary.”
– Henry Ward Beecher
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Baby Step 5: Save For Your Child’s College...
Baby Step 5 of Dave Ramsey’s Plan is to set aside some money for your child’s college education. After Baby Step 4 is underway (saving 15% for retirement), you should set aside some money to help send your child to college.
If you have 5 years or longer until your child will be starting college, then you should invest the money in a good mutual fund inside of an ESA (Educational...
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“Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level.”
– Quentin Crisp
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Keeping Up With "The Joneses"... In Quicktime
One of the main reasons that so many Americans find themselves in credit card debt is because they feel the need to keep up with The Joneses. They see their neighbors driving fancy new cars and watching HDTV and they feel that they must own the same, or better, products. They would prefer to act rich to impress the neighbors now instead of sacrificing for a short period of time to actually be...
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Wil Wheaton Blogs and Tweets About Appearance On...
Recently, on his blog and Twitter feed, Wil Wheaton has been writing about an upcoming appearance on the hit TV show, The Big Bang Theory.
In a February 25th blog post, he snapped a photo of Leonard and Sheldon’s coffee table from the set to show the attention to detail that the producers and set designers pour into every aspect of the show, even though it will likely never get camera...
February 2010
26 posts
6 tags
The Budget Geek's Week In Geek - February 28, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
The Big Bang Theory - Monday, March 1, 9:31pm CBS “The Excelsior Acquisition” Season 3, Episode 16 Episode Synopsis: Sheldon misses an opportunity to meet comics mogul Stan Lee, who appears in a cameo, when he has to go to traffic court after getting a ticket because of Penny.
The Office - Thursday, March 4, 9:00pm...
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Dave Ramsey Profiled on ABC's Nightline
The ABC News program Nightline aired a segment on Dave Ramsey last night. Be sure to check it out by clicking the video above.
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“If your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall.”
– Bill Earle
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Baby Step 4: Invest 15% of Your Household Income...
Baby Step 4 of Dave Ramsey’s Plan is to invest 15% of your household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement plans. At this point, because you have your Emergency Fund in place and are out of debt except for your home mortgage, you should easily be able to put away 15% for retirement. Do not, however, put more than 15% into retirement at this Baby Step because there are still other...
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Keeping A Mortgage For The Tax Deduction Is A Bad...
Some Financial Advisers recommend that their clients not pay off their mortgage early because the mortgage interest creates a tax deduction. This is bad advice and the example below that Dave Ramsey uses illustrates why: Let’s suppose that you have a $200,000 mortgage with a 5% interest rate. This means that you would pay roughly $10,000 in interest this year ($200,000 x .05). Now, lets...
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The Budget Geek's Week In Geek - February 21, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide):
Caprica - Friday, February 26, 9:00pm Syfy “There is Another Sky” Episode Synopsis: Tamara befriends gamers while haunting the virtual world; Joseph and Will go on an emotionally revealing fishing trip; Daniel feels compelled to fight for his professional life.
The Budget Geek’s Podcast Pick of the Week:
The...
2 tags
"Weird Al" Yankovic - File Sharing Hurts Everyone!
Don’t Download This Song from waymoby on Vimeo.
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Baby Step 3(b): Take a Short Breather and Replace...
Baby Step 3(b) is an official part of Dave Ramsey’s Plan, but it is never included in Dave’s list of Baby Steps. If you listen to the Dave Ramsey Show, people call in all the time who are working the plan and they ask questions like, “When is it OK to purchase another car?” or “Our washing machine is on it’s last legs, when can I purchase another one?”...
3 tags
“There’s a great place to go when you’re broke… TO WORK.”
– Dave Ramsey’s Grandma
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Fight Identity Theft: Pull Each of Your Credit...
Identity theft is rampant, but one way that you can help protect yourself is to pull each of your credit bureau reports once a year.
AnnualCreditReport.com is the central site that allows you to request a free copy of your credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, once a year. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only place...
1 tag
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5 tags
30 Years Later: A Promise Fulfilled
A little over 30 years ago, children and adults alike were gearing up for the 2nd film in the Star Wars saga, The Empire Strikes Back. Kenner, the maker of Star Wars action figures and toys, was also ramping up for the release by offering a free action figure of a brand new character from Empire, the bounty hunter Boba Fett.
The Boba Fett action figure was to have a play feature that would set...
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The Budget Geek's Week In Geek - February 14, 2010
The Budget Geek’s TV Shows of the Week (descriptions courtesy TV Guide): Caprica - Friday, February 19, 9:00pm Syfy “Gravedancing” Episode Synopsis: Daniel appears on a talk show, but his intentions alienate Amanda; Joseph has a change of heart and tries to stop Sam from killing Amanda; Agent Duram homes in on Clarice.
Additional Caprica Links:
Follow Serge, the Graystone’s...