Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Simple Dollar

I was compelled to leave the following comment on a blog called "the simple dollar." I used to listen to the Dave Ramsey show pretty regularly until it was taken of the air on our local AM station. I found the callers' stories interesting and his philosophy refreshing. It helped me to remember not to spend more than I can afford and try to save, pay down any debt, and plan for a better tomorrow. The one issue that the "simple dollar" brought up was about credit cards versus cash. I added my two sense, and here they are:

"Dave’s philosophy on cash only makes perfect sense. It’s the psychology of parting with cash versus swiping a credit card. I think it’s probably even easier to spend money with a debit card than to actually, physically hand over cash.

The one area that I don’t think Dave gives enough attention to is people who already curbed their spending habits and want to take advantage of rewards that credit cards give. My american express card gives me 5% cash back on gas, groceries and some other items (which make up most of my budget) and 1% on everything else. In September, I’ll be getting something like $300 cash back for buying things that I already would have bought. The question is whether I would have spent $300 less on gas and groceries if I’d been paying with cash. Good question, but I don’t think Dave just dismisses it out of hand because he’s so convinced that credit cards are evil, which is pretty accurate. The one other argument I heard him make to a caller on his show was that all it takes is one late payment and/or having to pay the crazy interest because you can’t pay the balance at some point, and all those “rewards” are wiped out.

I’m curious what others think about this. Is it better to just avoid the whole credit card realm and stick to cash, or take advantage of the rewards they offer?"


Here's the actual website:

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1831751517771451841

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Interesting Website

I just found a website that has some very astute observations:

http://www.hussmanfunds.com/wmc/wmc090608.htm

I will add it to the list of links on the sidebar of this blog.

I intend to spend a little more time writing tidbits on this blog. I will share some of my writing as well as some ideas I have about the economy.

One idea I had just a couple of days ago was to begin accumulating more shares of Aqua America (symbol: WTR). Since then it has come up a little. I really like the business and the 3% dividend is nice, too.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Second Guessing

I began blogging because I enjoyed reading several other peoples' blogs and thought it was something I could do. I had no idea the time commitment and the difficulty of being dedicated to something that you have no idea who (or for that matter if anyone at all) is reading it. Also, I've had some reservations about whether I'm truly interested in blogging about the topics I chose to put together. I still think there is an undeniable relationship between the two subjects, but I am no longer sure that they should be written about in the same blog. Perhaps they ought to be mutually exclusive. Anyway, I'm still trying to find time to write and still finding that money (and its pursuit) is one of the main reasons I can't find the time to do much of it. Of course, parenting is no small obstacle. That being said, I enjoy being a father more than anything else I've ever experienced, so it is a small price to pay.

Someday....someday.

I do think there will be more posts to come if you're a reader. I hope to get back to some of the topics that go me going in the first place. Stay tuned...