There's only ___ days until Christmas!

Try and imagine coming out the other side of Christmas not having anything else to pay for. The meal was great, your friends and family loved your gifts and there was more than enough cheer to behold. Yet, there are no credit card statements reminding you that you probably enjoyed yourself a little too much.

Or, you can do it the same as last year and still be paying off your credit card in June.

The reason most of us - yes, we've all been there - find that Christmas ends up on the card is due to a lack of preparation. We put Christmas off in our minds hoping that a). It will go away, b). We might win the lottery and then splash out to our hearts content, c). Relegate ourselves to "Christmas = Credit Card", or d) All of the above. And before we know it, it's Christmas Eve and I still haven't bought anybody a present.

Abraham Lincoln said,

If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first hour sharpening the axe.

So, it's time to sharpen the axe. I've listed a heap of links to help get your creative juices inspired and leave your credt card in your wallet - for emergencies (not bad planning!).

Ways to save money on the Meal

• One of the current trends with Christmas meals is to prepay your food via a hamper plan.
• Organise for your visitors to share the expense and delegate who brings which food items to the meal.
• Help out at a charity Christmas Day lunch. There's usually heaps left over so you won't go hungry either but you get the privilege of helping those less fortunate.
• Make as much of the meal yourself rather than buy processed products.
• Be creative in which foods you use. Stay away from items that are seasonal and will attract the highest prices due to demand.

Ways to save money on Gifts

• A great list of 200 Stocking stuffers
• 63 gifts under $10 - not accounting for inflation!
• A few ideas for inexpensive gifts
• Make homemade gifts - use whatever you're talented at to produce some great memories. If you're an artist - paint a picture. Multimedia guru - make a DVD. Woodworker - build some photoframes.
• Put a limit on gift amounts - this makes a great challenge to buy for someone without breaking the limit.
• Donate what you would want to spend to a charity - this keeps the budget reasonable but blesses someone else.
• Some great frugal basket ideas here.
• Christmas gifts from the heart
• Or, if you want to go really alternative try the Buy Nothing Christmas

Ways to save money on Decorations

• Let the kids make their paper chains instead of tinsel.
• Use natural items like pine cones, ivy, gum nuts and spray paint them in gold or silver or bright red.
• Plant a container christmas tree. This way you can bring your tree inside every year and never have to buy another one again.
• Wrap match boxes with wrapping paper as tree ornaments
• For place settings, borrow an origami book from your local library and create some great decorations with coloured serviettes.
• More great christmas decoration ideas

Posted by Stuart at 6:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Put up your hand if you're not earning as much as you are worth?

Ok. That would be everyone in the room.

If you think your boss should pay you more, put up your hand. Again, the same people will eventually contract RSI - (Repetitive Snivelling Incredulousness)

And the boss-man (or woman, or negro, or hispanic..ya-da, ya-da) would look you in the eye and say, "Why?"

Hmmm...now that one I can't answer with a hand up. Perhaps if I batter my mascaraed eyelashes and show a littleflesh he may be more persuaded without wasting my negotiation skills?

Or not.

If you're going to approach your boss for a wage rise you need to be a little more prepared. Businesses never succeed by handing money to everyone who sticks out their hand. They're usually a little choosy when it comes to parting with fistfuls of dollars they could have spent elsewhere.

So, you want a bigger slice of the action. Let's start at the original question - Why?

Are you outperforming the business' expectations of your role? Have you been working more than what was originally expected? Has your performance increased the company's bottom line?

In essence, your boss wants to know why he/she should part with the money you're requesting?

If you've done a little homework before the final assault on your boss' office hopefully you have answered a few very pertinent questions. Big ones like;

Is a wage increase what I'm really after?

But then again, it could just be the money!

If they can be positively answered, then you need to remind your boss of some of your highlights. What have you done that's succeeded and progressed the company?

Or, maybe you really just need a promotion!

Never be afraid to ask but always be reasonable. Greedy employees rate as highly as a plague of mosquitoes on an uncovered arm.

Take the time to prepare your case and help your boss see the benefits for her (W.I.F.M - What's In For Me). If you're worth the extra raise and everything else is going well, then it's just a matter of convincing the powers that be.

Posted by Stuart at 9:50 PM | Permalink

With every new piece of technology it seems there's some shyster wanting to take advantage of the ignorant. Here's another example of a company cashing in on the unsuspecting.

Here's what they advertise as one of the key benefits of their insurance,

MP3 Player & music downloads - other insurers will cover the cost of a replacement MP3 player, but we'll even cover the music you've paid for and downloaded (subject to certain conditions). How's that for music to your ears?

Let's try and figure a scenario where this could ever apply.

• If the music has been downloaded illegally then regardless of how many songs you had none of them will be covered.
  


• If you copied them from your own original CD's then the CD's would be covered if lost in a fire or they were stolen, but this has no effect on the downloaded music.
  


• If you purchased the downloaded music from a reputable online music store such as Apple's iTunes then these would all still be available by logging in via your computer or another computer connected to the internet.
  


• If you didn't purchase the downloaded music from a reputable online music store you probably couldn't prove that you had it anyway, therefore a claim would be disallowed.
  

In reality, there is no circumstance where this feature would ever be of benefit and you would never be able to successfully make claim for it.

A tip for young players: Weigh each insurance policy up evenly by removing features that are unrealistic.

Source: Kwik-Fit Insurance

Posted by Stuart at 8:03 AM | Permalink

Every year Forbes magazine compiles a list of the world's richest people, the only pre-requisite being that they're net worth is more than US$1 billion. This year's list contained 793 billionaires throughout the world, up from three year's ago when the list had only 476.

But what does it take to compile a list this thorough and so global? An incredible amount of luck it would seem. Forbes explain it in this article as a behind-the-scenes view of their journalistic endeavours. For every billionaire who agrees to be interviewed four others reject the offer.

Not surprising though, I think if I were a billionaire I'd prefer to be fairly closed about my private life and business dealings too. Still, thanks to the Forbes team we're all allowed a little window into some of these amazing people's lives.

Posted by Stuart at 8:15 AM | Permalink

Balancing the decision to register your house with a local real estate agent or try and sell your own home can be a very daunting proposition. While you will reap the rewards of not paying out commissions if the house sells, the flipside is the wasted advertising and time and effort that accumulates if you can't sell your own home.

Not to mention the many charlatans and con artists who will try to sell you a plethora of resources and tools to help sell your house. Finding objective advice can be just as difficult.

So what are the pitfalls and what strategies can the average person use to sell their own home and pocket the best return? Keep reading for some easy tips to get you moving - literally...

1. Prepare the Contract - Your initial step would be to contact a reputable conveyancer, solicitor, escrow officer etc to organise a written contract for the sale of your home. Having this in place prior to advertising your private real estate sale will smooth the transition from a buyer making an offer to seeing the cash in your bank account.

   Regardless of whether you sell your own home or you employ the services of a traditional real estate agent, the cost for this conveyancing will be incurred. It's not an additional cost just to those who offer their home as a "For Sale By Owner."
   



2. Spruce up your property - aesthetics is the key here. Before embarking on this project put yourself in your prospective buyers shoes and ask the question, "What would stop me from buying this house?" Obviously changing your 3x1 to a 4x2 is more than an aesthetic change but there are many little things that if corrected can not only add value but also increase your chances of selling you property quickly.
   
   
   
   • Clean up the garden. Mow the lawns and weed any garden beds. If the beds are looking a little tired add some instant potted colour to them and provide a layer of mulch. Remove any rubbish and debris that may lay around the house.
     
   
   
   • Complete any minor repairs. Patch holes in the walls, fix dripping taps and touch-up peeling paint.
     
   
   
   • Clean the house. Clean windows, kitchen appliances, marks on walls and ceilings keep bathrooms and toilets clean and tidy.
     
   
   
   • Minimise any clutter. There are two extremes here. The first is to totally de-clutter and the house results in a clinical feel, while the second is to leave everything as is and the home can feel junky and too personal. Remove as much as you can while keeping the house with a homey ambience.
     
   
   
   
   


3. Begin advertising your home - There are two ways to achieve this and depending on the market and you ability to advertise your own home will depend on which way pursue.
   
   
   
   1. The first option is to advertise it yourself by organising signage, newspaper adverts, flyers and other paraphernalia that might get your house noticed by the prospective buying public. This can be a very hit-and-miss affair and may prove quite costly but it is a possible alternative to help sell your own home.
      
   
   
   2. The other option, and the one that I would recommend, is to find a "For Sale By Owner" website that offers listing your property for a fee. The benefit of employing one of these services is that they have, and continue to do, spent money on advertising their site to attract the buying public. So buyers are already the audience for the site and you don't have to go looking for them.

      Here are some prospective sites and minimum charges if you live in these countries;

      Australia - No Agent Property A$240 until sold.
      USA - For Sale By Owner.com Starts from US$89.95 per month or US$199 until sold up to their US$899 platinum deal that includes a homepage featured listing.
      UK - Homes On Sale. This site requires membership before seeing prices.
      

   
   
   
   
4. Maintain you home - Once you've done the big cleanup the next challenge is to maintain that level during the advertising period and even through settlement. It would be devastating to have a prospective buyer phone and ask if they could drop over in the next 20 minutes and your house now looks nothing like the advert you worked so hard to procure.

   This is an area where many owners fail to sell their own home because they do the initial clean well but forget to maintain it.
   



5. Prepare for an open house - With a traditional real estate they would host the prospective buyer while you and your family make yourselves scarce. Unfortunately, you don't have the option to do this so greeting, hosting and answering the buyers questions will all need to be done by you.

   Think again how you would want to be treated if you were looking through a house you were thinking of buying. Give the visitor space to discuss their thoughts without you listening in or adding your opinions. Be available to answer their queries by telling them where you will be waiting after their tour but resist the temptation to guide them through every area.
   



6. Negotiate - don't feel you have to accept the first offer that's thrown your way. If the buyer forwards an offer lower than your requested price then make a counter-offer. Continue this process until you have achieved a suitable price for both you and the buyer.

   Also, you can walk away from an offer. If the buyer isn't going to budge or the offer is unrealistic then feel free to say your not willing to sell at that price. If the buyer wants it and the market is strong don't settle for a price you know you will regret.
   



7. Settle well - The contract that was created at the start of the process should cover all the necessary terms and dates of payment etc. Make sure that you follow through on the things that you and the buyer have agreed upon making the transition as smooth as possible.

   Some buyers may request as part of the sale for consultants to check some areas of your house. Be accomodating with these requests, provided they are part of the sale agreement, and hospitable to these consultants inspections.
   

If you follow these steps your chances of selling your own home are greatly increased and the process shouldn't be overly stressful.

Posted by Stuart at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Blue is definitely not the new black. In fact, according to this article, your blue car is the most likely to be broken into than other coloured cars. Red comes in a close second, followed by silver and white.

And the colour that car thieves break into the least is ...drum roll please....none other than YELLOW! Maybe the colour makes them feel happy about themselves and less likely to impinge on another person's property.

Or maybe, it's just that there are less than yellow cars on the road?

Posted by Stuart at 7:53 AM | Permalink

I wrote previously on the cost of raising children but didn't really touch on the cost of raising teenagers. And as the family grows so it seems does the expenses, seemingly disproportionate to your income levels.

But it can be done on a tight budget, apparently. Nigel Lane gives 7 tips for raising teens in our current consumerist society and it's all based on being open and honest with them, especially about the limited family budget.

Lane states;

The way to control some or all of these costs is to train and teach your son/daughter to see things from your point of view and help them understand. Often they also need to be aware that owning ‘things’ and conforming to everyone else’s worldview [that, for example, brand names are best] are not the driving forces behind our choices.

Armed with information, teenagers will be in a better position to understand the pressure upon the family should their demands be met. And this is a great way to help them be more considerate of others and the choices that they make.

Posted by Stuart at 8:11 AM | Permalink

Ramit, from I Will Teach You To Be Rich fame, has posted an interesting article on "What is Value?" He's toying with the idea of podcasting and the possibility of charging for it. When he mentioned this via a chat forum, his audience flew off the handle and came up with inane reasons why this was a bad thing.

Needless to say, Ramit then dialogued his thoughts on young people who don't value investments well. I get Ramit's point but I'm a little bamboozled as to why he searched the masses for an opinion on this.

Value is a very intangible commodity. If people think that Ramit's podcasts are value for money and they can get some great inspiration from them, then they will pay the dollars. If they're not they won't.

If Alan Greenspan decided to podcast on a regular basis and charge for them I'm sure he would get a very receptive uptake. However, now that he's no longer in the top job his advice may not be as useful to some as it previously may have been. Therefore, the perceived value for those listeners would not be there and they would no longer pay.

That's basic economics. Demand and supply.

Here's a tip Ramit. If you're wanting to make money from them and also keep your audience produce two podcasts. One for the cheap masses that is a cut down version of the one you plan to charge for. That way you keep everybody happy.

Posted by Stuart at 6:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Just when you thought everybody was falling backwards over themselves, and everybody else, just to court Beijing's growing economy, someone decides enough is enough!

For those who don't know who Jimmy Wales is, he's the guy who founded Wikipedia (if you haven't heard of Wiki then upgrading your dial-up to DSL was probably a waste of money). It seems that in another round of censoring everything that has the word "China" in it, Jimmy Wales has decided not to back down. He's stood his ground while Google, Yahoo and every fragile humanitarian organisation have fled.

The result; the Chinese seem to be back-pedalling. Their lust for competitiveness requires knowledge and who holds the Wiki-key - you guessed it, Jimmy Wales...attaboy!!

Posted by Stuart at 11:29 PM | Permalink

I love it when the average Joe can beat manufacturers at their own game by producing a similar product for much cheaper. This was the case for Shaunna Privratsky who found that bought odour-free kitty litter could be made for much cheaper than the price being retailed.

She bought the cheapest home-brand cat litter and added a box of baking soda to it, which is basically all the manufacturer was doing anyway. The difference was that her mix cost less than $6 while the shop bought item was $14.

But the story doesn't end here. Shaunna's not a one-hit frugal wonder. She's had to skimp and save ever since her husband suffered brain-damage and has now found incredible ways to keep the family going.

Posted by Stuart at 8:14 AM | Permalink

Markus Frind, creator of Plenty Of Fish has thrown his hat into the ecommerce ring. Frind currently runs a very lucrative online dating service financed predominantly through Google's Adsense program.

In a post on his Wordpress blog, Frind claims that opportunities exist in monetizing whole online communities. While his methods may seem new and exciting commenters have already pointed out several existing programs.

I, like some of the other commenters, would say to Frind that it's no use just talking about it and slamming those who diss you. Entrepreneurs, real entrepreneurs, don't cry on shoulders but find ways to make their dreams happen. There is always more than one way to skin the proverbial cat and a entrepreneur the size of Frind should have no trouble trying to make these possibilities into a reality.

Less talk - more action Markus.

Posted by Stuart at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

How often have you been frustrated by the lack of a properly working product and said, "One day I'm going to create a better ...?" only to leave it in the ideas department.

Well here's one woman who got so frustrated withher toddlers shoes that kept falling off that she took it from the ideas department and created a multi-million dollar company. $30.5 million to be exact. That's the reported figure from the sale of Robeez Footwear Ltd, a business that generates nearly $15 million in annual turnover and employs 400 staff.

Oh...if only...

Posted by Stuart at 7:50 AM | Permalink

I had a conversation over the backyard fence yesterday with a neighbour kicking himself for not buying 4 or 5 blocks along our street when the price was only A$50K each. Three years later each block is now in high demand and could easily command A$200K+.

How easy it is to talk about what might have been. The only problem is that hindsight is just that - seeing behind. It's a great teacher because we can learn from what has happened in the past, analyse and extrapolate patterns and trends that can help us invest in the future. But as an investor, hindsight can fool us into thinking that what happened once will definitely happen again. If you think this is a wise investment strategy then I would refer you to the disclaimer found on every managed fund prospectus, "Past performance does not indicate future performance".

My neighbour rues his lack of investment nouse three years ago when now it appears that one could have taken a huge risk and it would have paid off. If he was so savvy with financial hindsight then I question why he hasn't already purchased those 4-5 blocks at their current price for surely they will be at least A$800K+ by 2009!

That's just the point. If we had all knowledge and could eliminate risk from every investment then it would be pure sailing. However, everyone else in the market would have the same knowledge and lack of risk also meaning that the investment would be rendered useless.

To my neighbour I would say, "Stop talking about what might have been. Learn from the past and look for investments that are possible for your own risk levels. Christmas only comes but once per year. The other 364 days we need to live out what doesn't make news headlines."

Posted by Stuart at 7:30 AM | Permalink

Cliff Darcy sets about to test his budgeting willpower for a whole month every year. This challenge has been likened to a financial detox as he trims and scrapes the excess fat that has crept into his budget over a period of months.

I like this challenge because it's not impossible and it empowers people to make money their slave not their master. We all surrender, like the proverbial frog in the slowly warming water, to our insatiable, spontaneous desires that are fuelled by the hunger for more. But where does all this end? Usually by living beyond your means.

It's kind of like a financial fast. Depriving yourself of the wanton purchase as you seek to minimalise and control your spending habits. Have others tried this before or would you be willing to give it a go?

Posted by Stuart at 8:06 AM | Permalink

My last post was on the resident evil payday loan but it seems my focus should have been a little broader after reading Boing Boing's post on Exotic debt-trap mortgages.

This post was in relation to ARM's (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) that allow mortgagees to select a repayment scheme that suits them. The problem occurs when customers opt for the minimum repayment scheme that pays 0% of the principal and less than 100% of the interest component. The unpaid interest is then added on to the mortgage and compounds increasingly over time.

Do the math and you'll soon figure that these become reverse mortgages and rely solely on a booming property market to be of any benefit (to the home-owner, that is!). Banks will undoubtedly make a killing but if property prices bust and present negative returns in an economy where interest rates increase one would assume that this could also be the screw on banks as well.

Is this not the worst case of banks going berserk in their lending frenzy? In a world where debt continues to spiral can there be any good that can come from these options? And, why are authorities allowing this practice to continue?

Posted by Stuart at 8:14 AM | Permalink