Archive for December, 2011

Here’s My Financial Plan For 2012

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December 30th, 2011

This is going to be my ‘rainy-day’ day year

Ever since that recession started back in 2008 causing the values of securities tied to U.S. real estate pricing to crash, damaging financial institutions globally and sinking my little portfolio into the mud, I have been living frugally, rather like Old Scrooge. First I stopped spending on things I didn’t need and than I stopped spending on things I did need. 4 years later I am still scrimping and saving like mad, not spending a penny if I can help it. I mean I even walk the mile to work and back every day to save the train fare! Yes, in winter too!

Good luck

But good luck was with me all the way. Firstly I never had a single emergency in all that time that would have forced me to break open my savings. Secondly and most importantly, my income remained stable so with all my holding back on cash, my savings flourished. Now, 4 years later, I have built up a nice pile of money and I have decided that 2012 will be “The Year of the Big Spender”.

My running hobby

I am going to spend on my hobbies. I am a jogger and a marathon runner. This year I will start by buying myself a new running outfit, maybe even two. They will include the latest expensive running shoes. After that shorts, vests, headbands, towels and all the other paraphernalia that I have done without for the past 5 years. I will also enter for the London, New York and Paris marathons, something I never did before because of the cost of getting to these cities. And while I am in them, I will stay an extra 2 or 3 weeks and enjoy the sights.

My painting hobby

I painted in Italy years ago, in the good old days. I am going back to paint there again. Maybe even twice, once in Venice and again in Tuscany. I may make a third trip to France and paint in the footsteps of Monet, my impressionist hero. I will start in Paris at the museums where his art hangs and then go down to Giverny where he lived and worked. I will also buy Monet prints.

My cooking hobby

I want to spice up my life in 2012 by attending a couple of cooking courses in Italy. I am busy researching the subject at the moment and deciding which ‘tastes’ I think I will enjoy the most. Italian food varies dramatically from the south to the north.

My opera hobby

I have been to many operas. I love the sights and the sounds of a well performed opera. I have also seen opera in most of the world great opera houses, La Scala,

Covent Garden, Paris, the Metropolitan in New York and many others. It’s time to see the Sydney Opera House. So that’s my destination for my first flight. My ticket is booked for the January 15. And on January 21st I will see Mozart’s Magic Flute!

Plan B

Maybe I should work for another couple of years to boost my savings? Nah, I’m spending it!

Tags: Money, Opera, Painting, spending, Traveling
Posted in Business, Economy, Employment, Finance, Personal / Internet | No Comments »

Some Intrastate Online Gambling May Be Going Legal

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December 29th, 2011

Online poker may be back!

Legal experts say that a new opinion from the Justice Department opens the door for states to allow various forms of online gambling operated by lotteries and other gambling interests.

The country gains

Proponents of legalized online gambling say the online gambling industry could provide new sources of revenue for state coffers. But others, including large casino interests that prefer a national system limited to online poker, say that the free-flowing nature of the Internet is ill-suited for state gambling plans, which would attempt to limit online gambling to within a given state’s borders.

The 1961 Wire Act

The opinion from the Justice Department reverses a policy which held that most forms of online gambling were illegal under the Federal Wire Act; the 1961 act prohibits bets from passing through communications lines that cross state borders.

In a sweeping reversal, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel said that such gambling within a state would no longer be considered illegal because the Wire Act, a law with contradictory language that has long been the subject of debate, doesn’t apply to any forms of gambling other than sports betting.

Indian tribes and casinos.

Online gambling experts said the change essentially gives states the green light to allow gambling within their borders. That is a victory for advocates of state-regulated online gambling, which include companies hoping to provide technology for online gambling and in some cases lotteries and others that operate gambling in states, such as Indian tribes or casinos.

Online poker

Washington, D.C., voted this year to allow its lottery to operate online poker, but the law hasn’t yet been implemented. Several state lotteries, meanwhile, already have been offering subscription services for lotteries online for the past few years.

Online gambling

Online gambling became a major industry some years back. It was the advent of the internet that grew that market and many people were quick to understand the money-making possibilities that online gambling offered. Online casinos mushroomed on the World Wide Web and the casinos flourished. There were money-making spin-offs as well. In order to gamble for money you had to establish a credit account in an online casino. To do this you had to transfer money into your account. The US tried to halt the gambling but found it impossible. What they did do was to stop the use of credit cards to transfer money and this led to the overnight birth of money transfer systems.

Other industries

Other industries benefited from the online gambling industry as well; for example the bottle shops where gamblers bought their drinks to keep them going at home while they gambled. Then came the home computer stores who sold PCs and Macs to would-be gamblers.

The downside

And there was a downside: Addiction was the worst of these. Solitary gamblers sat at home and gambled away their life’s savings in an attempt to hit the big one, the jackpot that would bring them millions. And then there were the kids who sat at home gambling their parent’s money while they were away at work.

Now it’s all coming back!

Tags: addiction, Internet gambling, Online gambling, Underage gambling
Posted in Business, Credit Cards, Economy, Employment, Lottery, Money, Personal / Internet, Technology | No Comments »

Looks Like We’ll Have To Save Money In 2012 As Well…

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December 28th, 2011

Stay away from grocery brands

You don’t have to give up on all your favorite grocery brands and go totally generic. Learn how to use coupons so you can buy your favorite name-brand items for pennies on the dollar by combining coupons with sales. Base your purchases on price rather than brand and you will be saving.

Buy marked-down groceries

Marked-down groceries are typically soon-to-be-expiring items (dairy products, meat, and produce). Not all stores offer markdowns, and store policies can vary widely. The best way to find out is to ask the produce manager what they do with produce, dairy, or meat products that are nearing their sell-by dates.

Shop at the Dollar Store

Dollar stores often have great prices on spices as well as plastic bags. You can buy Nature’s Own sandwich bread and hamburger buns for just $1 each at the Dollar Store, more than 50 percent off what you would pay at the grocery store. Check their prices from time to time.

Buying in bulk

Buying grains, dried beans, as well as many other basic ingredients with long storage lives in large quantities will usually save you at least 20 percent, if not more. Call up a few friends and neighbors, buy in bulk and split the costs if you don’t have enough storage space or if there’s no money in the budget. It is normally much more cost- effective to purchase meat and staple ingredients in bulk.

Use a crock pot

A crock pot is a great tool in your moneysaving campaign. You can pop ingredients for dinner in it in the morning and have a hot meal all ready by 5:00 p.m. Many of the newer crock pots even have time-delay features on them so that you can set them to turn on later in the day.

Meatless meals

Meatless doesn’t have to mean calorie-free or tasteless! When my husband and I were living on a beans-and-rice budget while he was in law school, we couldn’t afford to buy a lot of meat. We often served breakfast foods for dinner. Or we’d have soup and a roll.

Bake it in your bread machine

Why buy bread and buns when you can bake them yourself? Check out the pros and cons of owning your own bread machine. But borrow one to make sure it will work for you before you go out and invest in one.

Use smaller amounts

Train yourself to use two-thirds of the amount you usually do and you’ll save 33 percent. Use half the amount of washing soaps, detergents, condiments, etc. and you start saving instantly!

Stay away from the grocery store

Eat all your own stocks of food before you go shopping. Learn to make meals out of items you already have on hand.

Walmart and Target offer to match prices

Walmart and Target both match competitors’ prices. Just bring the competitor’s ad in to verify the price. So if you see a great deal on grapes or bread at a grocery store miles away and Walmart is just two blocks away, bring the grocery store’s ad to Walmart and get the same deals.

Tags: Buying in bulk, Coupons, Household budget, saving money
Posted in Economy, Employment, Finance, Money, Personal / Internet | No Comments »

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