My Virgin DIY Haircut Experience

by David@MoneyNing.com · 35 comments

My mom calls it the re-opening of Ning’s salon, my friends are laughing at the facebook comments, my wife is proud of her work and I’m just relieved that it’s over. Over the weekend, my first DIY Haircut officially concluded.

How the DIY Haircut Came About

It’s funny how working at home changes someone’s priorities. What was once an important activity like getting a haircut all of a sudden isn’t so critical. I remember reminding myself to get a haircut before my birthday. That was January.

I really didn’t think it was that bad, but my wife came up with an idea after she claims that it could potentially give her more nightmares if she had to suffer through my current “look” – How about I just give you a haircut myself?

First Virgin Haircut Experience

Without thinking, I said “SURE” but when it came down to the night that we were going to cut my hair, I was really nervous. She didn’t seem like she even researched how it’s done so what if she messes it up? Worst yet, what if she cut herself? What about me? I only have one head.

Haircut Trauma

I never knew that I could be so uptight because my shoulder muscles actually hurt the next morning from being so tense. While my wife was carefully constructing her masterpiece, I was frozen. I probably looked like a zombie, but my wife was patient the whole way.

DIY Results

After the intense experience (I thought it was anyway), I picked up my glasses and thought “Wow, I look cool.” My wife was so proud and so good. We should do it another time.

Benefits of a DIY Project

It might not be cutting your own hair, but I’m sure many of you have DIY projects that you want to start too. Here’s what my experience taught me that applies to any do-it-yourself project:

  1. Do it Yourself Projects are Scary the First Time
  2. You May Not Know Everything Before You Start
  3. DIY Gets Easier The More You Do It
  4. Eventually It Gets Completed
  5. The Experience is Always Memorable
  6. DIY Projects can Become the Talk of Your Social Circle
  7. DIY is For Sure a Cheaper Option
  8. Doing it Yourself Doesn’t Mean It’s Not as Good
  9. You Can Always Hire Someone to Finish It if It Gets Out of Hand
  10. You Always Have More Control and You Can Be as Picky as You Want

What’s the Progress of Your DIY Project

So don’t be lazy. Make the move. Start that project and see where it takes you. You might like to do it so much that it will become your hobby one day. For some, it might even turn into a business opportunity. Whatever project it is, you will be proud once it’s finished and you can save some cash along the way.

In this economy, who wouldn’t want that?

3 Big Tips To Save You the Money to Tame Those College Money Worries

by David@MoneyNing.com · 9 comments

This is a guest post from Bill Muhlenfeld, who runs a site that’s focused entirely on college money issues for parents.  Learn more at Money Launch My Kid.

No dollar tips or piggy banks here. We’re going to talk about the big numbers.

Are you trying to figure out how you’re going to pay for your kid’s college with your savings in the tank? Worried about your college graduate leaving with a degree and ten years of loan payments?
Robbing from your 401k or IRA to fund college are among the worst ideas, even more so now that the values of many of those investments are chopped in half due to the economic downturn. There are many sleepless nights in the homes of the college bound now that parents and kids are struggling with the difficulty of floating $200,000 in costs over the next four years without barrel-rolling the family finances over a Niagara of debt.

If you could save tens of thousands of dollars and maybe forgo borrowing altogether, would you? It is not only possible, it’s absolutely doable; and a reminder that the simplest solutions are often the best. Here are three mega-saving ideas for the new (and the old) student:

  1. Start your son or daughter out at a community college, transferring at the end of year one or two. This has become greatly popular during the current recession, and has driven applications up by double digits across the country. Why? It works. When I attended college I was entirely on my own and had a little bit less than no money. I went to a two year college (“junior” they called it then) and transferred in year three. My BA is from the University of Illinois. Nowhere does it mention that I only spent two years among the Fighting Illini. I left college with a degree and no debt.
  2. State schools are also experiencing a sudden, unexpected interest and upsurge of stay-at-home students, all in the interest of saving many thousands of dollars in tuition, fees and living expenses from more “desirable” out-of-state and private universities. Oregon State, for example has a 12 % increase of new applications, a number which seems to hold up across the country.
  3. Let’s not leave Oregon State quite yet, as it is the flip side of our final mega-buck college savings tip. While new applications are up 12%, student transfers are up an astounding 31%. Cash-strapped kids are returning home, where state-supported schools offer some of the best bargains in education.

Remember, you are not alone. Just make sure you get to the front of the line. Even the community colleges and state schools are starting to tighten up on admissions due to the increase in applications.

Gov’s $787 Billion Economic Stimulus Plan Breakdown

by David@MoneyNing.com · 10 comments

Now that it’s been a few weeks since our new president passed the $787 Billion Economic Stimulus Plan, it’s easier to get more details on exactly how it’s broken down. Did you know that $217 billion is allotted for state and local governments? Many of our president’s speeches touted the infrastructure and investments in efficient energy inventions but those only totaled $169.5 billion. Want to know the rest?

The Governments Economic Stimulus Plan Breakdown

Tax Cuts – $244 Billion

$99B – Payroll-Tax Holiday
$90B – Business Expenses Tax Breaks
$25B – Earned Income Tax Credit
$20B – Renewable Energy Tax Credit
$10B – Tuition Tax Credit

Aids For State and Local Gov – $217 Billion

$87B – Medicaid Cost Sharing
$79B – State Grants
$42B – State and Local Bond Tax Credit
$5B – Community Development
$4B – Rural Development

Relief – $120 Billion

$42B – Expanded Unemployment Insurance
$40B – Health Insurance for Unemployed
$20B – Expanded Food Stamps
$11B – Housing Assistance
$4B- Supplemental Social Security Income Payments
$3B – Welfare

Infrastructure – $101 Billion

$30B – Highways
$20B – School Renovation
$17B – Health Information Technology
$13B – Transportation Projects
$8B – Water Projects
$7B – Military and V.A. Construction
$6B – Accelerated Deployment of Broadband

Energy Efficiency – $59.5 Billion

$22B – Federal Energy Efficiency Grants
$19B – Other Energy Efficiency Grants
$11B – Smart Electric Grid
$8B – Renewable Energy Loan Guarantees

Human Capital – $45.5 Billion

$25B – Education Programs
$15B – Federal Pell Grants
$4B – Job Training
$2B – Scientific Research

What Do You Think of The Government’s Economic Stimulus Plan Breakdown

Do you think this is the correct allocation? Personally, I rather see us put more aid into the programs for future generations (like human capital for example) but that’s just me. What about you?

The Secret to Having More Time and Being More Organized

by David@MoneyNing.com · 16 comments

Just when you move along and think everything is going smoothly, you fall into a ditch. No, I’m not talking about the stock market, I am talking about being organized.

A few months ago, I had a demanding day job that required traveling every other week, my blog which I was writing everyday for and a pretty active social life all while being pretty much top of all my finances and to do lists. Actually, I had to.

Now that my blogs became my primary field of work and my friends and I don’t go out as much because everyone is trying to save more money, I’m less organized.

More Time Doesn’t Equal More Time To….

You would think that I should be more organized when I work at home and have a ton of more free time. After all, I don’t need to spend at least 9-10 hours at the office everyday (Note to old boss if you are reading: You should feel bad for not giving me the raise that I asked for back then) as well as many days of the month out of my house. But in reality, more time saved doesn’t mean more time to be organized. So how did I manage before?

Here’s how.

  1. I Didn’t Think About It – I never wasted too much time thinking about how much I needed to do since I never thought I had time for that. All I was thinking about was what I needed to do and how I could get it done.
  2. I Took Care of Things When It Presented Itself – Taxes? I filed them the first day I received all the information I needed. Bills? I paid them the minute they came into my mailbox (inbox). Again, I told myself that I couldn’t afford having them pile up.
  3. I Forced Myself to Have a Schedule – Everyday, I needed to get everything done. Everyday, I log my bills and everyday, I made sure I didn’t fall behind.
  4. I Was Focus – I was on a mission. The TV wasn’t on when I write, and the phone wasn’t ringing while I was paying my bills. No distractions, no productivity lost.

Learning Time Management from the Pass

Okay, this seems easy enough. In order to have more time, first you don’t tell yourself “I don’t have time”. Next:

  1. Just Do It
  2. Do It Immediately
  3. Keep a Schedule
  4. Put All Distractions on Silent

Got that? Yes (promising myself to be more organize at the same time now).

Zecco vs TradeKing – Online Stock Trading Comparison

by David@MoneyNing.com · 37 comments

Zecco vs Tradeking was not even a fair comparison before Zecco increased their minimum requirements for free trades recently.  However, now that Zecco decided to compete more in the paid trading arena, it’s finally appropriate to write a Zecco vs Tradeking comparison.

Doesn’t Zecco Trading Offer Free Trades?

zeccoZecco Trading no longer offers free trades. The old structure gave you free trades if you:

  • had a $25,000 minimum balance in your account
  • executed at least 25 trades a month

However, this is no longer the case.

So pricing wise, Zecco and is remarkably similar.

Zecco vs TradeKing Trading Commissions (as of Apr, 2011)

Assuming you don’t quality for the 10 free trades, the commissions are as follows:

Equity Trades

Zecco – $4.50 vs TradeKing – $4.95

Options Trades

Zecco – $4.50 + $0.50 per contract vs TradeKing – $4.95 + $0.65 per contract for up to 8 contracts. $8.95 + $0.15 per contract from 9 contracts and up.

Broker Assisted Trades

Zecco – $19.99 vs TradeKing – $4.95

Margin Rates

Zecco -$0 – $49,999 (7.20%), $50,000 – $499,999 (6.70%), $500,000+ (4.70%)

TradeKing – $0 – $49,999 (6.50%), $50,000 – $249,999 (5.50%), $250,000+ (4.50%)

Thoughts on the Rates

Looks like Zecco still wins on rates even if you don’t qualify for free trades by $0.45 per trade and $0.15 per contract.  However, TradeKing kills Zecco in the broker assist department as TradeKing does not charge extra for broker assisted trades.  It almost sounds too good to be true.

Also, the margin rates of TradeKing is much better than Zecco.  While I don’t recommend using margin to buy stocks, it is common practice and the difference is huge.

Customer Service of Zecco vs TradeKing

Instead of writing a long winded version of this, consider the 2008 Smart Money’s annual broker survey in this category:

Best:
Worst: Zecco

Zecco or TradeKing?

  • The Case for Zecco Trading – $0.45 is $0.45.  For those that trade many times per month, any difference in price adds up.  Also, once you start hitting the 25 trades per month mark, you get 10 free trades per month (that’s $45 every month).  Sure, the customer service might not be very good but how many times do you actually need to call them?  Also, for those that don’t have $25,000, make more money in the stock market and you will get to the threshold in no time (that’s the whole point of having a trading account anyway right?)  By going with Zecco, you now have an added incentive to make more money.
  • The Case for TradeKing – For only $0.45 per trade and $0.15 per contract more than Zecco, TradeKing actually offers customer service that is best in the industry in case you need to call. It also offers unbeatable commission rates on broker assisted trades and awesome margin rates. If you borrow money to trade at all, then there is no comparison. Go with .

Resources:

How a Taoist Would Deal with the Recession

by David@MoneyNing.com · 9 comments

Growing up in an Asian culture, I was influenced by the traditions and concepts of Taoism (check out wikipedia’s page for more on the subject). With the outlook of our jobs and economy so grim, I’d like to talk about natural forces and balance, one of the central concepts of this philosophy that have influenced many for over two thousand years.

Taoist believe strongly that nature will always find its equilibrium. Relating that to more scientific and modern terms, it’s nothing more than:
1. What goes up must come down
2. When there’s darkness, light always follows

So Why Does This Matter David?

Look, job security means nothing these days and anything you own is basically depreciating in value like never before. However, it doesn’t mean that the economy will keep worsening forever. As fast as this downturn has come because we overextended ourselves in the past decade, there will be a time in the not too far future when the outlook will be rosy again. We have gone through tough times before and we’ve come out of it every single time. When there’s darkness, light always follows – it’s just nature at work.

Example of Taoism at Work

Taoist also believe that the universe works in its natural way and all should live within it without disrupting the harmony that exists. In simple terms, everyone should learn the dynamics and go with the flow instead of working against it. Knowingly or not, here are a few examples of people practicing this.

Gary, the Adaptable IT Executive

Money magazine had a great story of a IT Manager, Gary, who turned a downturn into a blessing in disguise. After working at Ford for 30 years, the automaker offered Gary half his salary as pension to retire. At age 55, Gary knew he probably wouldn’t be able to find a comparable job anytime quick, but he took the offer anyway thinking that the next one might not be nearly as good. Instead, he found a part time job scouting new businesses for a staffing agency to supplement his income. Result of him going with the flow? Similar income levels as his full time job and much more time for his family.

Learn from the Taoist

Taoism or not, going against the flow is always difficult. If you want to stop being the rock that is trying to remain stationary in a flowing river stream, here are a few suggestions:

  1. Don’t be stubborn – Be flexible and you just might be able to make your own “Gary, the IT Executive story”. Bottom line – don’t always say no.
  2. Don’t be Afraid to try New Things – Look at the opportunities in front of you and don’t believe one bit that you have to stay in the same industry for the rest of your life. When the opportunity presents itself, be ready to move on. Just because you have a MBA in Finance doesn’t mean you can’t be a great project manager.
  3. Think Positively – Do you realize that your colleges aren’t complaining about their company and supervisors as much these days? How about all those coworkers who are much more cooperative with you? Not everything is so bad isn’t it?

When there’s Darkness, Light Always Follows

The next morning will come. Be rested and wake up when the sun is beaming on your face, be prepared with groceries so you can make your breakfast and most importantly, be ready for your job that still needs you.

Happy Monday.

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