As featured in The Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, and more!

2004

Looking Forward to Raises

by Luke Landes

Raises next year will supposedly be higher than this year, but not by much. Employees who aren’t entitled to overtime pay will see their salary increase an average odf 3.6 percent, and those who are entitled to overtime pay will see an increase of 3.5 percent. Executives, on the other hand, will see an increase ... Continue reading this article…

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Popular Day

by Luke Landes

There were many interesting articles on CNN/Money today. Here are a few summaries. The majority of Americans claim they would continue working if they were to suddenly come into lottery winnings of $10,000,000. 59 percent of people under the age of 50 said they would continue along their career path. If this statistic is ever ... Continue reading this article…

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5 Cent Piece Designs

by Luke Landes

The designs for the 2005 nickel have been released to the public, and here they are. You can click on the thumbnail to view a close-up of each design. Obverse Reverse 1 Reverse 2 It’s interesting to note that the quotation from William Clark’s journal on the discovery of the Pacific Ocean on the second ... Continue reading this article…

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Options for Pulling In a Six-Figure Salary

by Luke Landes

Jeanne Sahadi introducers her readers to some interesting career options if you want to nab that six-figure salary. First off is a general manager of a casino. There is a ton of money in Vegas (or Atlantic City, or even Connecticut) as long as you’re on the right side of the card table. Don’t gamble ... Continue reading this article…

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More Changes for the Nickel

by Luke Landes

You may remember my entry from last November announcing the 2004 reverse designs for the five cent piece. On Thursday, the U.S. Mint will reveal a new design for the obverse of the nickel. Jefferson is getting a makeover. If I get a chance, I’ll post an update as soon as possible after the release ... Continue reading this article…

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How To Excessively Spoil Your Kids

by Luke Landes

F.A.O. Schwarz (website, like the company, being restructured) is a children’s toy retailer. Perhaps you have heard about their bankrupcy. The company’s new strategy is to market toys to the children of the superrich. This item on the right is a toy Mercedes, with the price tag of $15,000. My Honda Civic didn’t cost much ... Continue reading this article…

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Making Money in Real Estate

by Luke Landes

“Get an education and buy real estate.” That was the advice given to Stan Taflaw. He is one of CNN’s Tycoons in the Making. With his high salary as a nurse and hospital administrator, and help from his rental properties and real estate sales, he’s been able to put three of his daughters through college ... Continue reading this article…

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Live Well But Spend Less

by Luke Landes

Donna Dratch reminds us to pay more attention to the way we spend and save. More importantly, the author reminds me to start getting back on track. It’s been a crazy summer of dating, going to shows, and just spending more money than I should have. I even “upped” the available minutes on my cell ... Continue reading this article…

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Where You Stand

by Luke Landes

As this article from CNN/Money points out, you can’t plan your trip without knowing where you are at the moment. That relates to your financial plan, as well. Every once in a while, take a look and estimate your net worth. That will help you figure out what you need to do to get to ... Continue reading this article…

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Collect on Interest

by Luke Landes

The Federal Reserve (“the Fed”) raised interest rates yesterday. That usually means that banks follow suit, raising interest rates in the loans they offer and some investment products, like CDs. I’m going to use this opportunity to change some of my cash investments into CDs at ING Direct. This bank already raised its interest rates ... Continue reading this article…

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Active Trading?

by Luke Landes

I added a link in my sidebar to an Exceptional Blog called The Kirk Report. The author, Charles Kirk, appears to be an accomplished investor. For the last few years, the amount of time I’ve spent thinking about wealth expansion and making a comfortable living, I’ve been following the theory of passive investing, that is ... Continue reading this article…

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Unimaginable Material Wealth and Worshipping the Idle

by Luke Landes

Here is an article that discusses American materialism. The comments that follow the article are just as interesting. If guilt and materialism are two sides of a single very American coin, it’s a coin that has achieved new currency in recent years, as hand-wringing and McMansions vie for our souls like the angels and devils ... Continue reading this article…

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New Nickel

by Luke Landes

As reported here last November, 2004 would see two new nickel designs. The second of these designs has just been released into circulation.

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Danger Likely Ahead

by Luke Landes

I could count on five pairs of hands the people who have told me that there is no way to lose when it comes to investing in real estate. The most emphatic are those individuals who for whatever reason have had very little formal education, and yet some bright people also tend to think this ... Continue reading this article…

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Financial Update – July

by Luke Landes

I’ve been through many changes in the past few months. As you might have read below, I stopped working at my former corporate job and began working as a high school teacher, hence the pause in my 401(k) increases. During the summer, I am working part time at my old job and considering whether I ... Continue reading this article…

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Lack of Updates

by Luke Landes

Yes, it certainly has been a while since I’ve updated here. Since my last posting, I switched careers, albeit only for a few months. I started working as a teacher, which necessitated the purchase of a car. Over the summer, I’ve been working at the job I had prior to teaching, but only part-time. In ... Continue reading this article…

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Financial Update – February

by Luke Landes

Now it’s what you’ve all been waiting for. Here is my financial update for the month. I’ve been a bad spender, and I’m waiting for a tuition reimbursement check as well as my tax refund, a bonus, and a raise. Let’s see how we did. Remember, the credit card gets paid off every month. I ... Continue reading this article…

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Are You Saving?

by Luke Landes

MSN Money – 7 reasons Americans save so little This article makes us aware that Americans do not save enough money and throws us some statistics. Psychology, miseducation, and no consequences for being in debt seem to be the reasons offered. How much of your income (as a percentage) do you save?

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The Power of Residual Value

by Luke Landes

MSN Money – 10 cars that lose value fastest – Save on a Car Do you own a car that retains a good portion of its value over time or does your car depreciate fast? This article gives some insight and informs the reader about situations where depreciation doesn’t matter as much. An additional article ... Continue reading this article…

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Millionaires Revisited

by Luke Landes

An update on our Millionaires in the Making – Jan. 20, 2004 CNN/Money’s “Millionaire in the Making” feature is a favorite of mine. In this article, the columnist follows up with four previously-featured couples to see how they’ve progressed and to find out how many times they’ve been invited to be on Oprah.

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