M.P. Dunleavey adds this commentary on MSN Money. She talks about “luxury” products that draw the attention of middle-class individuals to help them feel like they have a wealthy lifestyle. One of her points is that the premium paid for a high end item very rarely justifies the price difference. Dunleavey includes examples of various types of products with a luxury equivalent that draws people who can’t afford them, such as watches, chocolate, sneakers, and baby products.
She quotes a psychologist who calls the cause “miswanting” — what people want (a life of wealth) can’t be satisfied by acquiring luxury items.
Jason Kottke is leaving his full-time job to devote himself completely to his blog. He won’t be making money through advertising, he’ll be relying on the goodwill of visitors to pitch in. His basic donation is $30 and I’m sure he won’t have a problem finding 1,000 people to donate that much money. Is it sustainable year after year?
It would be nice to quit the corporate world withe a product so popular people will support me via donations. However, it doesn’t seem like a good long-term stragey.
On a personal note, I received my bonus last week and it was a bit lower than I expected. I’m in a non-management position, so I get paid for overtime but I generaly expect a non-impressive bonus compared to most. I have to consider that I wasn’t at the company for a while last year while I was teaching, and that probably had some effect on the calculation.
In any event, the bonus will help pay for my car insurance. I wish it could have been used for something more interesting.
This article from MSN Money is warning the readers of those sweet-sounding credit card offers, such as 0% interest for the life of a transferred balance. Their tips:
Clarify the deal. You may have to make a purchase every month, and if you do, your payments go towards the transferred balance first.
Be suspicious of the letter. Just because it says you’ve been pre-approved, it doesn’t mean that the rates and credit line advertised are what you’ll receive.
Watch your steps. Everyone lift your feet one at a time.
Be punctual. One late payment and the sweet 0% deal goes away. Sometimes they’ll charge you interest for the original balance even if you’ve made payments at 0% already.
Chuck Schumer, the senator from New York, put up a fancy Social Security benefits calculator on his website. This calculator shows how much today’s workers will likely receive for their annual benefits if Bush’s proposed plan is pushed through. Here’s a hint: your combined benefit of both the government and private portion will be lower than what has been promised under the current system. Be sure to see the calculator’s assumptions which seem reasonable to me. Don’t forget that the message is coming from a partial point of view; Chuck is against Bush’s proposal. But that fact shouldn’t affect the numbers… or does it?
It’s annual review and bonus time at my company. I have my performance review meeting with my boss in about in hour, and luckilly this article caught my attention beforehand. Now I’m in a good mood, which is more than what could be said after finding out my bonus number this morning. Perhaps I’ll have an update later this evening after the meeting.
Update: No update tonight, meeting rescheduled for tomorrow.
According to a new survey commissioned by Visa, high income earners, those with a household income of more than $125,000, are more likely to clip coupons and shop at discount stores than the general population.
Also, ninety percent of those households think of themselves as middle-class or upper-middle-class rather than affluent. If being in the top 7 percent of wage earners throughout the country and earning more than three times the national median household income ($43,000) is considered “middle-class” I wouldn’t even know how to classify myself.
CNN profiled Holly Ordway, creator of SpendingWisely.com. Basically, she saves as much money as possible without a strict budget. She and her husband manage to live on only $30,000 of their six-figure household income.
It’s easy for people with a high income to tell others how simple it is to save money and spend wisely. What’s harder is trying to save money while taking in significantly less income. The article doesn’t say where she lives but I’m willing to bet it’s not the New York Metropolitan area.
I like one of her ideas: Diligent saving allows you to splurge on some times you really want. For her and her husband it’s the home theater and 200-plus DVDs. (She opted for a rewards credit card rather than cash back.)
She says, “Being frugal is all about making good choices with your money.” The problem with that is that there are so many people who can’t save money from paycheck to paycheck with just the basic expenses to take care of. What’s the advice for them?
The answer must be, “Find a better-paying job.” Good luck with that.
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