Steadfast Finances
A Personal Finance & Investing 101 blog that delves into current events, consumer education, and techniques to improve your bottom line.
Investing in a Timeshare – Is It Worth It?
Exclusive membership, unique settings, beautiful resorts, fabulous locations, great marketing pitch, and access to above ordinary amenities. These are just some of the things that may encourage an individual to invest in a timeshare. You may already know the wonderful perks included in timeshare offers, and since it’s been made obvious from day one by agents with great marketing schemes, there is one question you need to consider before putting your hard earned money in this arrangement. With all the wonderful amenities that you will receive, is it all worth it? Will you get your money’s worth? Timeshares are not cheap because you have to pay for exclusivity, but is it a good investment in the long run.
Credit Cards: The Culprit of the Modern World Debt
Have you ever been in a situation where you find something you really want to buy but cannot afford it just yet? If it were the old days, you probably will save up for it first then go back and buy it as soon as you racked up enough cash. But that’s not the way things happen anymore. Now, many people given that same situation will pay for it using a credit card instantly, thinking they have at least a month to save for it.
What You Need to Know About Mobile Payments
While some cell phone credit card processing methods, like those associated with the Smart reader, raise the potential for fraud due to a lack of encryption, charge card terminals tied to the Apple iPhone are offering a low cost processing solution for some merchants. The combination of comparable security in a more mobile package at an entry price point of $80 to $150 is certainly attention getting, in both a positive and negative sense. There are just as many people who look askance at the iPhone terminals as those who are intrigued by them. So what’s the real story?
Why the Recession was a Good Thing
What comes to mind for most people, when they think of the recession, is not something pleasant. The recession is often associated with loss of a job, separation from family, significant lifestyle changes, foreclosure, etc. None of these are positive images. Yet, there are many reasons why I love the recession. What the Recession Meant [...]
The Downside to ‘Trust Us, We Can Regulate Ourselves’
One of the better pieces I’ve seen on CNN since, well, the first Gulf War coverage. Goldman Sachs was the number one private campaign contributor to Barack Obama’s presidential election campaign. It’s one of the single biggest contributors to both parties in Congress. So it’s a rare event when a establishment politician like Carl Levin [...]
Ex-Tax Collectors Turned Corporate Tax Dodging Heroes
Many years ago, John Madden once gave a memorable quote about the necessity for speed at the skill positions in the NFL: Speed: can’t teach it, can’t coach it, better draft it! It would appear that General Electric, a “too big to fail” corporation, has a similar philosophy in paying their corporate taxes… if you [...]
U.S. Leading World in GM Farming, By Far
I’m probably a little biased in this debate having worked as a gene jockey in my undergrad days, but it’s quite disturbing to see the growing number of U.S. farmland being converted to genetically modified food production. For the mathematically lazy, 1 hectare equals 10,000 m². So 66,800,000 hectares of U.S. farmland equates to 6,680,000,000,000 [...]
Consumers Focusing on Research, Not Marketing
This has to be a brand advertiser’s worst nightmare… “Be afraid … be very afraid.” AMP Agency, a Boston-based branding firm, has just completed a study of consumers, “Inside the Buy,” that suggests that actually very few consumers between the ages of 25 and 49 are moved to purchase by habit, or sentimental considerations for [...]
Overstated Home Sales Data: Housing Crash Worse than Expected?
As if we needed more reason question the National Association of Realtor’s financial advice, who profited greatly from the credit bubble and resulting real estate bubble, now we learn they may have been fudging the numbers using the wrong economic model once the housing crash began in 2007. The housing crash may have been more [...]
Monopoly Without the Paper Money?
Not quite sure how I feel about a Monopoly game where a computer does all of the financial math for you since my grandfather taught me the basics of financial transactions, and in a very elementary respect (for a 5-10 year old mind), the basics of personal finance and money management with a paper money [...]
Empire State Building Saving $4 Million with Windows Upgrade
Love to see stories like these. Buildings in New York City represent 80% of the energy consumed there. The total renovation project [replacing aging windows with energy star rated windows] at the Empire State Building is going to save over four million dollars a year. — Planet Forward What many people fail to realize is [...]
Let’s Go Grocery Shopping… at Wal-Mart?
Here’s a first for me… I actually found myself saying “I should shop more at Wal-Mart” while reading this NYT article on the mega-retailer pushing for cost reductions on healthier foods. The plan, similar to efforts by other companies and to public health initiatives by New York City, sets specific targets for lowering sodium, trans [...]
