The Rule of 72 and More Simple Financial Ideas
Today I finished a financial class called Surviving Financial Meltdown - Confident Decisions in an Uncertain World. The primary author of the class, Ron Blue, is a very good teacher. He's explanations are calm, thoughtful, funny and financially sound. Ron has a "keep it simple" approach, and supports his ideas with verses from the Bible and his personal experiences.
Here is Ron's basic approach to financial management:
1) Think long-term with goals and investing
2) Spend less than you earn
3) Maintain liquidity (or emergency savings)
4) Minimize the use of debt
Continue reading Comments (3) Feb.03.2010.
The .LY in Link Shrinking (A Closer Look at Bit.ly and Ow.ly)
Hundreds of link shortening services are available today, but I believe some research and consideration is a must before embracing two of the more popular services. Let me explain. Bit.ly and ow.ly are two link shrinking services that are trending toward greater acceptance. A NY Times article from this summer estimated that bit.ly accounted for 46 percent of all links shortened.
Bit.ly’s recent success is a derivative of Twitter’s integration with bit.ly as their default link shortening service. Unlike the hundreds of other services, bit.ly has focused on reliability and basic analytics.
Continue reading Comments (0) Dec.10.2009.
Winston Churchill on Health Care
"The discoveries of healing science must be the inheritance of all. That is clear. Disease must be attacked, whether it occurs in the poorest or the richest man or woman simply on the ground that it is the enemy; and it must be attacked just in the same way as the fire brigade will give its full assistance to the humblest cottage as readily as to the most important mansion. Our policy is to create a national health service in order to ensure that everybody in the country, irrespective of means, age, sex, or occupation, shall have equal opportunities to benefit from the best and most up-to-date medical and allied services available."
Winston Churchill
March 2, 1944
Winston Churchill was very much a conservative member of the British Tory Party, but he nevertheless seems to have supported some kind of national health care system for the British people.
Continue reading Comments (1) Aug.16.2009.
The Moved and Shaken
I had the opportunity to attend an event this evening and John Quinones of ABC News was the keynote speaker. John's latest news show "What Would You Do?" is an ethical test for the common American. John's show has had an impact on us. Fans of the show helped a sometimes homeless woman, Linda Hamilton, get back on her feet after America witnessed her willingness to help a man when others simply passed over him.
John Quinones has an interesting story and his journalism is "shedding light on the dark corners of the world," as he so eloquently stated.
In addition to his well delivered speech and interesting work, I wrote this blog post to capture a quote John recounted from a phone call he had with the late news anchor Peter Jennings. During the call Jennings mentored a frustrated and young Quinones by saying, "It's not the movers and shakers we need to hear from. It's the moved and shaken." I want to remember that.
Continue reading Comments (1) May.26.2009.