Good Reading for The Weekend #1

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Have you ever tried to sell a diamond? A classic from Atlantic Monthly. Quite an eye opener in how diamonds were manipulated in the public eye.

I like the pages that I discovered courtesy of 2million – My Journey to Financial Freedom. The blog links to some great reports courtesy of IDB on the Dow Jones 30. Should be good reading. I already checked out several.

Matt looks at why Blog Posts matter on his blog. There’s also an article at the WashingtonPost about ‘word of mouth marketing.’

Rich Dad Poor Dad’s author has been the focus of controversy for quite some time, this article provides a criticism and links to both Robert K.’s response and John Reed’s original criticism.

Oh, and this is a good quote from John Maudlin’s newsletter this weekend.

But what does it matter if we sell assets to finance spending if the total value of the assets in our portfolio keeps rising? We are back to 1999. It really does look like Goldilocks this time. Oh, there are some rumblings here and there, but overall, Mr. and Mrs. Consumer Investor are quite happy to party on. Equity markets are going for new highs. Credit spreads are tighter than ever (except for sub-prime debt). Mergers, buyouts, and new debt issuance are at all-time highs. What’s not to like? Michael Hewitt of Harch Capital Markets has the best line: “Goldilocks has been left in the dust. We are now gettin’ down with Dreamgirls.

This is a term I came across from the website linked below. It’s well worth reading, too! Financial Pornography Is Not Sexy

I’ll be adding more as I find them!

Great PlugIns I have used #1: Adhesive 3.2

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I am a great fan of the Adhesive (or Sticky) plug-in that adds a ‘sticky’ function to your blog in the “Post Status” Area. The sticky can work on your frontpage or on the categories only. The option to configure it is in the “Plugins > Adhesive” Menu.
It’s a great plug-in for WordPress, unfortunately, Owen Winkler lost the server that it was hosted on. Seems he has not restored it yet, so you have to get the download here or here. As a result, I guess development work on it has stopped! Wishing Owen the best in getting his server working again. Also, I noted that some people are saying it doesn’t necessarily work with Wordpress 2.0.5 yet. So you will need to check your version.

I’ve requested permission to host the file here for Owen, but I’m still waiting for his okay.

In the meantime, I’ll host the zip file here for download.

Christmas Loans – do they bring New Year’s Hangovers?

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Christmas is upon us, as is the seasonal spending splurge. Many people will be using various kinds of loans and/or credit cards. You may choose from a Personal Loan or a Secured Loan.

Whatever kind of loan that you need to see you over the holidays, you need to make sure that your loan has the following:

1. a competitive interest rate – be prepared to shop around to find a good interest rate, don’t just jump at the first offer that comes in the mail.

2. a suitable period – do you still want to be paying this year’s Christmas holiday expenses in 36 months or even longer? What happens when next year comes along?

3. make sure there are no early repayment penalties on your loan. Should you opt for a 36 month loan, you don’t want to find out your out of pocket if you repay early! Some policies include a penalty.

4. read the loan documents and make sure your payments don’t attract loan penalties.

Secured loans generally offer a better interest rate than an unsecured loan, as it is secured against an asset, and represents a lower risk to the lender. If you choose such a loan, make sure that you understand that the secured loan is secured against something you OWN, ie. a house.
Whichever route you decide on, you need to do a little homework on the loan before you can go shopping!