Pro- Capitalist & Personally Frugal

Recycling Toilet Paper and Delivering Pizzas is NOT the Solution!

2008-05-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

I started this blog because of the irrational "personal finance" advice being offered/peddled everywhere. It's bad enough that many people choose to attend the Church Of Dave Ramsey ( who did NOT get rich by being debt free, but that's another story). Now we also have thousands of personal finance blogs, many with thousands of readers, who preach extreme frugality and credit aversion.

The hallmark of these bloggers is projecting their own failures and insecurities onto others and packaging it as advice. It is like the recovering alcoholic who chastises family members who have a glass of wine at dinner. Hey buddy, just because YOU ruined your life and became an irresponsible drunk doesn't mean I can't exercise my own freedoms. The typical personal finance blogger is just like that alcoholic- someone who could not "handle credit" and racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt. They will tell you that if you so much as accept a credit card or student loan, your life will soon spiral out of control. The debt spending is addictive. Today you are using it to buy groceries or finance a college education. If you continue down this path you will soon find yourself spending your days at seedy strip bars snorting coke off strippers, using your American Express to pay for lap dances while taking cash advances to buy 8balls and pay your bookie. Your family will disown you, your teeth and hair will fall out, and God will cast you out of his kingdom.

And god forbid you "waste" your money on things like shoes that fit or double ply toilet tissue. Everyone knows that the best way to live is working 2 ( or more) minimum wage jobs while clipping coupons and holding your clothes together with duct tape.

If it seems like you don't earn enough money, you have 2 choices. Either cut your spending more or get a second job delivering pizzas. How can you save more money? Considering making your own soap and avoid using or drinking clean water. Turn your thermostat up or down. You may save 17 cents on your electric bill to put towards CFL bulb replacement. Force yourself to only eat ramen. Do not consume anything with nutritional value. It's your money or your life! This stuff is way more important than your physical health.

Once you but back to top ramen twice a day and have your water turned off, it is time to make some more money. How? There is only one answer here. Deliver pizzas, of course! Pizza places are always hiring for these jobs and it is an easy way to make a couple extra bucks. You will make lots of money and you will not put much wear on your car. It is extremely safe and you will never have to worry about being mugged or anything like that. Everyone who orders pizza has a lot of free cash and will give you at least a $5 tip for every pie you deliver. The money will add up in no time. While some people are wasting their time doing things like going to school or spending time with their families, you will save enough money to buy a used Hyundai with cash. Some people will even take out LOANS to advance their careers. Can you imagine spending $200 a month on loan payments to get a job making $50,000 a year? No thanks. If you stick with your minimum wage career and deliver pizzas on the side, you can easily make 19 or even 20 thousand dollars, with NO DEBT. And while those people are spending an extra $3 a year to buy toilet paper that doesn't hurt when they wipe, you have switched to leaves. And you even use the compost from your outhouse to help grow your garden. A couple times a year you can have some peppers with your ramen!

If you are having trouble making enough money or keeping your expenses down, that is the perfect 2 part plan. Obvious isn't it?

Voting is a waste of Time- So I Probably Won't

2008-02-14T07:18:00.000-08:00

Previously I mentioned that there was a candidate for President of The United States who could be described as a "frugal capitalist." For what it's worth, I was thinking of Ron Paul. Here is a guy who has been a proffessional doctor and made a very good living there and in Congress. By all appearances he is also pretty frugal. He believes in low taxes and low spending. He doesn't just say it.

Now there are a few things I do not like about Ron Paul, but I won't get into that. On the economic side, let's say I agree with him 70-80% of the time.

As far as the broader picture, concerning electoral politics, I probably will not vote. I am of the school that believes voting is pretty much worthless, and there are a lot of economists who will back me up on that. I DID vote in 2000,2002,and 2004. I couldn't be bothered in 2006 and probably won't in 2008.

The (sad?) reality is it just doesn't matter. Electoral politics is raw sewage. It just is. Why waste time wading in the waste products of our society.

The most important thing you can do as an individual is TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. This means supporting yourself and your family financially. If there are specific issues or positions that you hold dear, then by all means go out and support them. On your own dime. Make a shitload of money and then you can support anything you want. But please don't use force to make others do it for you.

The reality is politics is a game mostly run by leeches- people who want politicians to GIVE them something. It's "what have you done for me lately?" and "What are you going to give me if I vote for you?" Guess what? Society does not owe you a goddamned thing.

Politics will always be ruled by The Looting Class. The solution? Pay your "taxes" and go on with your life and ignore all the bullshit.

Test Post for something

2008-01-29T00:53:00.001-08:00

I just needed a text post..

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Which Presidential Candidate is a Frugal Capitalist?

2008-01-29T00:38:00.000-08:00

The economy may become a huge issue in the 2008 US Presidential Race. This is unfortunate for some candidates who planned on running on "9/11, 9/11!", The War on "Terra," immigration, and other issues. This may turn out to be rather fortunate for decent people who care about real issues rather than the "hot topic" diversions.

While I do not support any candidate 100%, I can think of at least one in particular who supports capitalism and appears to be personally frugal.

Any Guesses?

Tim Ferriss Four-Hour Workweek Review

2007-10-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

Some visitors have been looking for my review of "The 4 Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferriss. I decided not to do one.

For a review of this book I recommend:
Book Review: The 4-Hour Workweek

Prosper is My Gambling Account

2007-05-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

I commented on a popular personal finance blog that my Prosper account is "like gambling." Let me clarify. I started on Prosper because someone I knew needed a small loan. I offered to help him write his request and fund a small percentage of it ( a few hundred bucks). I think that any loan to family or friends should probably be considered lost money. I hope they pay it back, but at the same time I wouldn't lend any money I couldn't live without.

So I invested a few hundred bucks I could live without. So far this person has made timely payments and I expect he will pay on time for 36 months. I then reinvest all proceeds into new loans. If all the loans default, I will not be that upset. If am skilled at picking good loans then I will be rewarded with a very small residual income stream. Either way, I will be fine.

I am not much of a gambler or a splurger. However, I certainly know people who have lost a couple hundred bucks at casinos or betting on the Superbowl. There are probably millions more who waste money ( on what I consider "stupid stuff") on an almost daily basis.

I highly doubt I will lose any money on Prosper. At worst I expect to break even. To me it's a fun and interesting use of time and relatively cheap. I probably will not be investing any more except the funds already in the account.

Tim Ferris Book- Four Hour Work Week

2007-05-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

A lot of bloggers have been writing about and interviewing Tim Ferris about his new book " The Four Hour Week." Honestly, it sounded like a lot of hype to me, and the Amazon Reviews seemed a little "fishy." His PR firm probably hired some people to write perfect score reviews. This is common and is one of various methods ( including sending out mass cross-promotional emails offering incentives,etc) of "creating" an Amazon "Best-Seller." I suppose the hype machine works in the same way that Soundscan inflation ( and for singles, payola) works for music. Once something becomes a "hit" everyone takes notice. No one wants to be left out, and more people buy it.

Well, I decided to read the book. Someone else sent me a copy. How bad can a free book be? Actually, so far it seems pretty good. I am only about 1/4 of the way through, but a lot of the ideas are things I already think about or have been coming around to recently.

When I am done with this book, I hope to write a review. I am going to try to have it published on a more popular blog that I frequent.

Credit Cards: Universal Default and Rate-Jacking

2007-03-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

I got a "change in terms" notice from one of my credit cards today. I am being Rate-Jacked! In other words, the card issuer is raising my interest rate ( APR) based on a periodic credit review. It must be based on something that happened BEFORE I ever got the card. I hit a rough patch in 2001, and my credit suffered. I got this card as a sort of "rebuilder" account in 2003. They pulled my credit then ( which showed all my current negatives and then some) and approved me. After 4 years of regular use and timely payments, this is how they reward me.

Unfortunately this is pretty common with credit cards. Most cardholder agreements have a provision for Universal Default. This means they will do periodic account reviews and change terms due to any activity they don't like. This includes activity on all your accounts with other issuers. If you are late or miss a payment on any account, you can expect your other cards to be "rate-jacked." Some cards will do this even if you never miss a payment or have any other negatives. Some issuers will get nervous if you make a large purchase or utilize a high percentage of your credit limits.

The good news is: Once you understand this concept you can utilize your accounts in a way that does not provoke negative action. For example, try not to max out any credit cards. Using less than 50% of your limits might be a good guideline. I don't think I need to mention the importance of paying all your bills on time.

I'm not too worried about my account. The negative action was based old defaults that I can't do anything about now. They will fall-off due to age soon. Actually, the increased rate will not cost me a penny. I just won't carry a balance on that card. It will be a monthly PIF ( Pay In Full- Use it and pay it of every month) card.

The Intersection of Frugal Living and Capitalism

2007-03-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

I have been spending a lot of time reading Personal Finance blogs. So I decided to start my own. I consider myself a frugal capitalist. I believe in saving money, but you also have to Make Money!

I have also spent a lot of time answering questions from friends about general finance topics. For example I have helped with building credit, tax preparation, and internet marketing.

This blog will be a combination of general personal finance discussion and my own philosophical viewpoints on money and economics.