Wow, it sure is hard to blog when you have a boring life. Everything is going smoothly, I am (currently) drama-free, and so, I just don't know what else there is to say?

I hope to have many more days like this.

You know, it's funny. I am starting to not remember the drowning, crushing sensation of being neck deep in debt and feeling hopeless in terms of my financial future. Don't get me wrong though. I still worry about money, but only as much as it makes sense to do so.

However, I am reminded of the despair earlier today when I was talking to a couple of co-workers of mine. One told me how the spouse likes to control all the money (even though this co-worker is interested in the budget, good with numbers, and is a conservative spender). The other co-worker is having serious issues about the spouse hiding debts from this co-worker because the spouse is afraid of a divorce due to money troubles after being recently laid off. And the debt amount is huge too....

Yes, I'm deliberately using gender-neutral terminology here. But that's because, believe me, it can happen both ways.

Both co-workers make reasonably more money than I do, but here's what kind of blows my mind. Relative to the level of money issues they have at home, and the amount of debt they have to deal with, they actually keep much, much less than I do! Nevermind that, it doesn't seem like they have any financial peace at all!

Wow. Of course, hearing their stories brought back a flood of memories about my own trials and tribulations, but then it occurred to me just how lucky I am right now. They're the past! I no longer have headaches and twitching eyes due to stress and depression over my financial future.

On a related note, I decided to check out payscale.com to see if I am indeed making as little as I am. Much to my shock, I am actually above the high range of my profession! Seriously, I think payscale.com might be shooting a bit low there.

Now, that doesn't mean I still make bank or anything like that, but I guess I can't really complain too much either.... For now, it would seem that I am doing better than my poor co-workers, who are really are good people and I feel bad about the position they are in.

I think it also shows that the recession is far from over. Certainly not on a personal level.

So, my parents stopped by again. This time, they wanted to set my dad's trading account password. (They forgot what it was and had to reset it with a temporary password.)

In the process, I also got a chance to see his two stock positions, Citigroup and Home Depot. Home Depot is -22% and Citigroup is -93%. Wow.

They've pulled the rest of their money out except for those two stocks, because they believe that so long as you don't sell, the loss is only on paper.

This is true. And this is often times what I've had to tell myself from selling when I shouldn't be selling.

But you know what? Sometimes, if you still need to sell according to your investing style and risk tolerance, you might as well sell. Because, even when a loss is on paper, it will still have that much more for your positions to recover, much less make a gain.

Again, that's only if your investment style and risk tolerance has changed. If not, then I say "full speed ahead". That said, theirs have clearly changed.

However, I didn't tell them anything. It was tough enough just to explain the Vanguard index funds to them, and to get their passwords reset.

Honestly, they should let me manage it. Oh well, whatever is going on, it's very clear that these two stocks are only a fraction of their entire portfolio. They certainly don't act worried. So, I'm sure their nest egg is bigger than what I am aware of.

Wow. My parents just stopped by to specifically ask me about retirement investing. I couldn't believe it, especially from my dad. He's never done that before, so he must be serious. He's been really disgusted with the way his Citigroup stock has performed so far.

He's even out-right stated that he's not really interested in researching stocks and keeping up with the market, so he's looking for something maintenance-free. I immediately steered them towards Vanguard's index funds. I really do think that it will suit them the best.

I wrote down some contact numbers for them so they can get their ID and password from their old investment company, along with Vanguard's contact numbers to do the fund transfers. They said they'll take care of it tomorrow.

I really feel good about all this. It's not just the fact that I've been worried about my parents' retirement nest eggs, but the fact that they're actually listening to me! Wow! You have to understand that, even though I am their son, my advice is essentially flying against the face of everything else that my dad's friends and even his brother (my uncle) has told them. So, for him to actually go with my idea... well, it's an amazing compliment. Of course, it also "helps" that they've already lost a substantial amount after listening to them....

But wow, yeah! My parents are moving (part of) their nest egg to Vanguard! Woohoo!

Woohoo! A combination of benign market performance and just crazy savings made this month a banner month! It even made up for last month's drop!

So, what's next? Well, August looks to be spendier. There may or may not be some major expenditures coming up. We'll have to see. I'm hoping not because I'd hate to have worked so hard one month, only to lose it all the next.

Oh yeah, I also keep track of my cellphone minutes, and I've had one of the busiest months so far. Total usage was about 127 minutes, or about $11.43 in cost. That's actually over-budget. But it's still dirt cheap for a cellphone.

Cellphone aside, if I can just have ten more months like this....

Just got rid of my Wells Fargo holding. I came out with only a tiny profit (due to my bad timing on the buy), but when it's time to sell, it's time to sell. Why did I sell?

I am skittish about the state of commercial real estate, which unlike residential real estate, has yet to "burst". Knock on wood, it will not because the ramifications to the entire market is huge. If that's not bad enough, Wells Fargo itself has a large holding in commercial real estate as well, which puts me at a much greater risk exposure than I am comfortable with. Plus, the stock has only been holding lately, and yet, the dividends have been cut. So... there was simply no reason for me to stay and all the reasons to leave.

Now, mind you, I still think Wells Fargo is a solid company. It's not that. It's just that, from a trading point of view, the bottom line is, "Are you going to make money with that or not?" And the answer that I am coming up with is, "Right now, I really doubt it." So, today, at a 9-month high, it seemed as good of a time to bail as any.

Now to search for my next buy... if any. I am leaning towards either REIT or select corporate bonds. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Haven't posted for a while because there is simply nothing to post about. My life is booooring. To give you an idea of how booooring it is, I recently reduced my Netflix plan from 2 DVDs at a time to just 1. It turns out that I just don't "consume" enough to need 2 DVDs at a time. I still like having Netflix around though, so I'm not canceling it.

But yeah, there's nothing going on in my financial life, but that's not surprising considering my plan for this entire month was to simply save like crazy. Fatten the piggy bank. And... that's what I'm doing.

Net worth update is coming up, and I think the numbers are going to look pretty good. We shall see.

Well, last night was a momentous night where I transitioned back to DSL! Yes, I am an internet junkie, and I must have my broadband!

My cable was doing just fine though, so why the switch? Well, basically I finally got dry loop DSL (which is a fancy term for DSL without them trying to sock it to me by requiring a land line bundle that adds nearly $20 more per month). Now, the DSL still ended up costing more than cable, but for basically $8 extra a month, I'm getting double the speed without having to share it with the neighbors.

Yeah, I know. Paying more seems counter-intuitive, but I really do think this is the best value deal for me. Even if it costs more. This is an especially big deal since I don't have cable TV, and rely on Hulu and Netflix.

And in my defense, there are speeds that are much faster than what I just got, but of course, they also cost more.

The amusing thing about this is that the cable jack is located on one side of the room, but the phone jack is located on the other side. So, I actually spent the entire night moving and rearranging the entire room so that my desk would be located next to the phone jack. And if I am doing that, I might as well clean, dust, and vacuum while I'm at it. So, that's what I did all day yesterday, but it sure is nice to have a clean room!

Again, because I am running a room AC this year instead of the central AC, I am keeping an eagle's eye on my electric bill.

The electric bill finally came in this morning, and the total was $69.75.

To me, that's really high, but 2008 cost $108.43, and 2007 cost $83.07. So, there has been some savings, but not as wide of a gap as last month's bill.

This, despite the fact that I also have a small home theater setup now, which means I've personally consumed more electricity than in the previous years. Apparently though, that's still not as demanding as running central AC.

I think context is a highly under-rated and extremely powerful concept. One that should be constantly studied and scrutinized to the best of our abilities.

To take it a step further, context helps us see the truth hidden in lies, and see the lies hidden in truths.

To give you a simple example, I've-- well, I don't want to say "chastised", but commented upon-- in more than one occasion for salting and peppering foods before I taste them.

They will share a rather interesting parable about how Henry Ford would take prospective managers out to dinner, and if he sees that they salt their foods before they taste it, he will not hire them.

The moral of the story, of course, is that it is wise to test something before changing it. That and don't salt foods before tasting when dining with Henry Ford.

I love this parable by the way. I agree with the general logic, and I have no problems with it... except the context in which it was given.

You see, in all the occasions that it was brought up, it was at dining places that I've frequented for years. In fact, the one place where this conversation came up was at Golden Corral, the big daddy of assembly line foods. Therefore, if you consider the context, you could say I've already "back-tested" there dozens upon dozens of times.

Perhaps it's still a bad idea to salt first, but come on, putting salt on my mushrooms shouldn't turn into an allegory questioning my managerial potential or even my ability to grasp simple cognitives.

If I was at a less familiar place, of course I would taste my food first before adding condiments. I'm crazy, but not that crazy!

Of course, it doesn't just relate to foods, but it also relates to everything else we do in life, including money. One example of this is our sense of financial savvy. It's just that, there are a lot of people in my real life anyway, that swagger and boast about how they "know money". But honestly? Their financial life seems like a mess to me.

Oh, I know I'm not one to talk, but at least I acknowledge that my own financial house is far from complete. And I honestly do worry about that....

On the other side, you have a lot of people on here for example, who are extraordinarily financially savvy, and yet, I don't even know if they realize that. It blows my mind that there are even some, whom I think are good enough to host seminars, would still ask questions!

Context really is an amazing thing. But more than anything, I hope that people will also consider not judging lest ye be judged? Because life is short, and I will salt my mushrooms any way I see fit!

* So, I'm planning to move back to DSL. Found Dry Loop (internet without landlines) for a competitive price. In fact, for roughly $7 a month more, it's basically twice the speed and not having to share with the neighborhood. It is worth it to me.

* I'm still having trouble with my darn personal finance software. There is one recurring transaction in PocketMoney up that for some reason I can not delete! And yes, I'm doing it right, hitting the big, red "delete" button. In fact, that works for other recurring transactions.

According to their website, it most likely has something to do with OS 3.0 not playing nice with the application. Seriously, this is turning out to be a huge headache.

* Have you guys noticed that the VIX is dropping? Even "stable stocks" are starting to behave like... stable stocks.



Oh, but I think this recession is far from over. In fact, the weather has worsened a bit since May. Still, at this point, I'll take whatever I can get.

* Completely non-financially related, but do you dream in sound as well? I do. It's weird. When I am deep enough in sleep, I also hear music. And it doesn't sound like gibberish either. Usually, it's pretty catchy, and they're all original works. The range varies too, anywhere from elevator music to full symphonies, all the way to deep jazz. Did I mention that they're all original works?

What is seriously interesting is the "quality" of the music since I have upgraded my speakers a little while back. Now my dream music sounds like that too! Very wild. I wish there was some way of recording that music.

Ever do something that you just know crosses the line between frugal and cheap?

A few days ago, there was a vendor show at work, and they brought us a bunch of yummy delicious sandwiches. I stuffed myself silly!

So, yeah, this is a bad habit of mine. Often times, I would gorge myself so I would not have to spend more money on food later. Or if I do eat, it tends to be unhealthy junk food. And when it comes to buffet restaurants, it's actually not as hard to do as it sounds.

I don't know, I'm going to try to space out smaller meals throughout the day, even if it ends up costing a bit more. So, care to fess up anything you do that you know is cheap as well?

I am often times amused at just how "knowledgeable" people in real life are about the aspects of money, particularly with frugality. Everyone knows that you should "spend less than you earn". Yes. It's true that frugality isn't conceptually difficult to understand.

And so, it's very easy for many, especially in this hard economic times, to say, "Well, I know what to do." But, like so many things in life, it always seem that to actually DO it is the hard part.

Oh, but I am no holier than thou when I talk about this. True, I do exercise frugality, but I'm not as frugal as I could be. I am also just as guilty when it comes to diet and exercise. I KNOW I should eat better, but I don't. I KNOW I should exercise, but I don't.

What I wanted to point out is that I think there is a danger when people fool themselves into thinking that they are able to do something, or that they're even doing it, but in reality, little to nothing is actually being accomplished. These types are much more dangerous than even the wide-eyed doey types that AT LEAST acknowledge they may not be doing anything. You know what I mean?

For example, I remember a co-worker once that can go into the technical minutiae of dieting and carb counting, but in the end? He doesn't do anything about it. For that matter, I can talk all day long about money matters, and even post blog entries, engage in forums, pull up charts and whatnot, but if I am not actually saving and investing, then even if I manage to fool everybody, including myself, I will still be no better off tomorrow.

My point is, whenever we face an issue, the first place we should check for problems is in the mirror. We have to make sure that we are not lying to ourselves about our situation. We have to make sure that we are genuinely and honestly making a difference in our lives. Otherwise, we will only wake up older, but not any better off, and wishing we could do things differently.

I am writing this to remind myself more than anything, but I hope that you too will choose to lead an examined life. It may not be the easiest path, but I believe it is the surest way towards a better, more fulfilling life.

I'm off the soap box now.

It originally started out as quickies, but ended up not so quick....

My ex
I don't want to get too much into this, partly because it's been nothing but a well of negativity, and partly because I don't think this the end of it, but rather, it's only the beginning. Suffice to say, she was extremely nasty to me over the weekend....

Seriously, she'll say something like, "Oh, you just don't like people changing something on you." and I'm like, "No, I'm only upset because I don't like being lied to." And she'll keep going, "No really, come on, you're just upset because you don't like to change." Huh? I'm standing there telling her the truth about me, why won't she believe me? Change happens, and it had nothing to do with why I was upset.

And she even insulted my parents this time! Calling them (including me) "a bunch of money grubbers"! The honest truth? My parents helped pay for her college tuitions and even our mortgage when we were struggling! Yes, it's embarrassing for me to say that, but it's true. We were really bad with money once upon a time. My parents only demanded money back for a loan they gave her a long time ago for her upside-down car, but that's only because they found out that she was cheating on me. And for that, they're called money-grubbers?

And when I later confronted her about why she was being so nasty, rather than an actual apology, her excuse was, "I was really stressed out." I said that I understand, and hope that things went well with her family. But seriously, still no apology? And why the hypocrisy where I am blamed for all eternity for things I've said or done out of stress, stuff that I've already repeatedly apologized for, but is still used as the reason why I am such a terrible person that she had no choice but to... commit adultery?

I used to just gripe about her, but then let it go, but honestly, she really has gone too far this time. Especially about the remark about my parents.

I think she has finally decided that rather than ignoring me, she wants to fight now. Good. I'm tired of trying to work with her. I really am sorry that my heart has to blacken like this, but from here on out, I will not stop fighting until she stops treating me like dirt.

Frugal meetup
Oh, I keep forgetting about posting this, but there is a local frugal meetup that seems to come and go. It went, then came back with a new organizer, and now, she's gone as well and the group is probably going to be disbanded again.

They had one meet, which from what I understand, included an actual SA member! (Not a regular, but I've seen her post once in a while.)

So, why didn't I go? I completely forgot about it. Yeah, sad. Oh well, they were just swapping coupons anyway....

Annual fee
I just checked my credit card account, and I can't believe that only NOW did they finally charge me the annual fee on my credit card.

This is July! I don't remember them charging me this late before. I also like the way they tack it on the very end of my statement, so it's harder for you to see it.

I checked my previous statements to see if I got double charged, but as far as I can tell, I haven't. Hmm....

No Spend Day
Yesterday was a NSD for me because a few vendors showed up at work, and they brought a lot of sandwiches. So, I stuffed myself silly and didn't have to eat for the rest of the day.

Ah, I know this is unhealthy, as I tend to gorge myself and then not really eating the rest of the day. Yeah, I kinda do this on a regular basis.... Or, if I do eat later, it's junk food and that's not good either.

I don't know if anyone else here have those certain places where they actually cross the line into the land of the cheap, but that's definitely my flaw here. Whenever I see foods, especially buffets, I have a tendency of eating as much as I can so I don't have to pay more for food later.

Yeah, I know it's not healthy.... So, does anyone else have any unhealthy money habits they want to confess?

* Google recently announced Chrome OS. Oh my, talk about fighting back at Microsoft. Anyways, it's based on the idea of "cloud computing" or that most of the stuff you want to do can be done online, and the OS itself should be more like a lightweight shell. Unfortunately, it's not slated to come out until late next year. However, it should be free!

* Speaking of tech, I've been staring at tech stocks. From well-known names like MSFT to lesser-known ones like FDS. You know what though? Tech is just... too volatile for me. Even AAPL, which is suppose to be Wall Street's tech darling, it's all just too much for me.

* Speaking of stocks, I've been looking over Berkshire's 13F (Q1 2009 holdings), and I have to say, for a stock picker, he's actually very diversified. I mean, he's holding 40 or so companies.

But what about industries?

The bottom that got cut off is suppose to say, "Consumer (non-cyclical)". Anyways, I find it interesting that I thought he had a bigger stake in financials than this.

Of course, it isn't just what he holds, but when he bought it as well. As a value investor, most of his capital is coming from stuff he bought when it was still cheap.

* By the way, I'm also looking at Medtronics (MDT) as my next buy. Anybody want to comment on this? It seems like a great company, and most are complaining that it is greatly under-valued. In fact, here's a reuters article where the CEO is complaining it's under-valued, and yet, he has to defend why he is giving low guidance. I'm sorry, what? Isn't it usually the other way around? Wow. What is the opposite of "hype"? "Buy"?

This entry is probably going to sound like gibberish, but this is the issue-of-the-moment that's confounding me right now....

Anyways, you'd think that I would have my personal financing software nailed down by now, but wow, no, I guess not.

I don't want to bore you guys with a laundry list of gripes, but suffice to say, Pocketmoney's budget view turned out to be wonky looking, Spend doesn't do transaction tracking (not really), Checkbook's transfers doesn't work quite right, and I still have Splashmoney, which is what I had weird glitches in the first place.

I'm not asking for much, but what I do ask for is admittedly very exacting! But it has to be because it's also how I track my entire personal finances so....

Basically, I'm down to two options. Either I hack my own budget into Pocketmoney (by turning some accounts into budget line items), or I split certain budget items into certain accounts. I've decided to do both and let time tell me what ends up working better....

Please skip if you're not into this.

So, I've been trying to make sense of Robert's Schiller's PE theory. The basic, layman gist that I am currently understanding is that if the market always regresses to the mean, then it's a matter of calculating how far the market is currently off from the mean right?

Now, Schiller is a smart guy. I don't deny that. It's just that... well, there's a lot of controversy surrounding the question of HOW effective this sort of back-testing is. Could 10 years, or 20 years, or 30 years of historical market performance give us an insight as to whether the current market is over-bought or over-sold? (Remember me talking about a serious investment troll? Yeah, that's what this is about, and I hope he doesn't find me here.)

Ignoring the issue of what exactly does "predictiveness" mean for a second, I came across a study that suggests that while PE/10 (/20, /30) has some predictiveness, there is another measure, Tobin's q, that is much more predictive.

Now, if you do buy into this, both Schiller's PE and Tobin's q suggest that the market is supposedly, as of the month of June, over-valued at somewhere around 15%. Not exactly beaming news for traders. (I'm still buying and holding though.)

Anyways,

here's the link to the PDF, so please feel free to peruse it and tell me what you think. I myself will try to sit down and read it over the weekend, if I get a chance.

-----

On the lighter side of the investing news, I just found out that there is an index that measures the consumer sentiment of millionaires and the "affluent" (those with net worth greater than $500k). Known as the Spectrem Millionaire Investor Index (SMII) and Spectrem Affluent Investor Index (SAII). You can find their June graph here.

Hehe, I guess there is an index for everything.

I update my net worth on a monthly basis, and unfortunately, this month has not been kind. My net worth noticeably went down, largely because of the choppy market, and to a smaller extent, the fact that I haven't been as frugal as I can be....

But I suppose that's an important rite of passage or something eh? Like some kind of tipping point to experience the market affecting me as much as my own income does.... It's been said that, one day, your portfolio's performance will be much more important than your contributions, but... we'll see.

On the personal front, I am slowly but surely rebuilding my emergency fund. I really do hate it when it runs low. July is slated to be the Month of the Emergency Fund. I'm going to stuff it with as much cash as I can... and use as little power to stay cool as I can.

Back before I even arrived and started a blog here at SA, I kept in touch with a friend of my ex-wife, who at the time was worried about how my ex-wife is neglecting the children in order to run off to the ski slopes with her boyfriend whom she had an affair with.

Before I continue, I just want to say up front that, ex's friend, if you are reading this, I am not upset with you guys. Thank you for doing what you can to help my kids and trying to somehow keep my ex and I together.... While I'm at it, I do not bare ANY ill will towards you guys. I hope the family is doing fine, and in an ideal world, we could all still be friends....

Anyways I confronted my ex about leaving the children alone, obviously, because this sort of negligence clearly could not be allowed. Besides, I would hate to have law enforcement and social services find out. Yikes!

But instead of her being seen as a negligent mother, she wanted all of them to see what an awful and abusive man that I am. And that's why she had "no choice" but to leave me... and they need to stop associating with me.

Now, am I a wonderful human being who is without sin and who has done no wrong? No. Far from it. In fact, I've gone into much detail privately with some of you about just how bad I was. And I've been sorry and paying for those mistakes ever since. EVER SINCE.

But despite the fact that, I was in reality, provoked each and every time, and despite my apologies, and despite my sincerest efforts to work things out, my ex's only objective was to push all the wrong buttons at the wrong time in order to get me upset enough to record it on the phone, and show it to all of her friends what a bad person that I am. Thus proving her case about her being an abuse victim and me the evil monster.

And she got it. One night, she got me so mad that I said, "Damn you, Angel! I'm going to kill you!" over the phone. Of course, I didn't mean any of it, and certainly not literally. I was just so tired and agitated by her poking at me for nearly a week that the outburst finally came out. She knew that. I knew that. But no one else did. All they heard was me making a threat, because that's all she played.

That really, really hurt me, by the way. Because despite my terrible outburst, I thought the entire time, we were arguing because we were trying to sort our issues out and patch things up. At least, I really was trying....

But when I learned what had happened instead, I was so... heart-broken. I literally broke into tiny pieces. I had to stop talking to her, and except for work, I laid in the bed the entire time, in my depression and confusion, wondering what's going on and what I am suppose to do now....

And that's when I had to swallow that large, bitter pill of reality... that NO, my ex doesn't want to work things out. And that I had no choice but to prepare for divorce, because that's where she was taking it whether I liked it or not.

Now, I realize that every story has two sides, but assuming that I am telling the truth-- and I am telling the truth-- can you see the sort of personality I have to deal with? A woman that isn't interested in the truth, or what's right or wrong. Rather, like her own mother, she is convinced that she is always the victim, and if the world can't see that, it's only because they don't understand her position yet, and therefore, she has to try harder to explain or manipulate it until we all see her side.

So, why am I mentioning all this now? Because she hasn't changed... at all. She still does this! And it's difficult for me to talk about it here because she and many on her side knows my blog here. And sadly, that gives her an insight into me to work with.

And now you know the real reason why I deleted my blog earlier. Because, among other things, I was sick and tired of her doing that. Plus, because I know of this, I could never be completely free and open with what kind of information I share on here, because I always have to wonder just how she is going to use it against me. That's also why I've contemplated leaving this community before, even though you guys have been extremely supportive and understanding....

But all of this shenanigance gets tiring, you know? And not only that, if things don't work out in her favor, she'll just pretend none of it exists and wait a while... so that it can be forgotten. Somehow that makes it OK for her to lie to me and screw me. Repeatedly. And if I ever bring it up, it's because "Oh, it's Tim's anger thing again. That's why he can't let it go." Ugh.

I'm sorry, but my ex really bugs me. Not all women are like this, are they? Please tell me they're not, or should I just give up and be a monk for the rest of my life?

Just wanted to make a quick blurb about the software PocketMoney for the iPod Touch.

There are plenty of personal finance software out there, even for mobile devices. However, most only one of two things: Track transactions or Budgeting. Very few actually do both (without some kind of workaround), and in my opinion, none does it as seamlessly as PocketMoney.

A picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say, so here's a screenshot of PocketMoney's budget section:

Maybe I'm just easy to amuse, but what you are seeing here is a very big deal! In just one screen, you can see your entire budget in detail with the numerical form, and at the same time, you can also quick glance it with the graphical form! A little busy? Yeah, but it's not so bad.

Also, functionally, PocketMoney updates both the transactions AND budgeting, at the same time, and you only have to enter the information once! It's hard to explain what a delight this is unless you yourself have struggled through half a dozen other financial software out there....

However, PocketMoney isn't the most intuitive software out there. I suppose that's the downside to having a software with so many features. That and I am crossing my fingers that it doesn't have any serious bugs. You see, for years, I've used the Palm version of PocketMoney, and I've never had any crashes or bugs with it!

When I transitioned to the iPod Touch, I decided to give Splashmoney a try. It worked for a while, but eventually ran into bugs and crashes. I don't know if it's the hardware, the OS, or the application that's causing it, but that's what got me returning to PocketMoney.

Best of all, PocketMoney is on sale right now! 60% off! I don't remember how much that is. I think it's about $3-4 dollars, and that to me is a ridiculously cheap price for what it's capable of doing for your financial life.

Anyways, I'm rambling, but if you have an iPod Touch, and you're looking for a powerful piece of software to manage your money, give PocketMoney a try.

Anybody ever been to a Mongolian grill? They usually have a gong you can ring if want to.

I rang the gong once. Let me repeat this again so everybody is clear on this for later: I rang the gong once. I only did it because I've never rang it before.

Truth to tell, it wasn't all that exciting for me. No balloons or party favors. No flashy models coming out with large, glossy printout of a check for obscene sums that I can squander in conspicuous consumption. No magical revelations on a higher sense of purpose or finding inner peace. It was good for a cheap laugh, and that was it.

Fast forward to the last time I was at the Mongolian grill, and while waiting for my food to cook, a guy standing next to me asked, "You going to ring the gong?"

"No", I replied.

"Why not?", he inquired.

"Why not?", I repeated in cock-eyed bewilderment, wondering why he feels the need to ask why, "Because I don't want to?"

"Why don't you want to? You can ring it for any reason."

Now I'm wide-eyed flabbergasted.

"Uh look. I just don't want to, ok? I don't see the big deal."

"I'm going to ring it.", he retorted, "You gotta live a little you know? It may not seem like a big deal, but sometimes... it's like what these signs they've hung up say. You've got to go out and ring that gong in life."

Ok, now I'm irritated. Maybe he's drunk or just trying to have a friendly banter. Maybe I'm taking it too personally. I don't know, but by this point I was most definitely NOT going to ring the gong, just because I think he implied that I am a less of a man because I refused to go out and grab life by the mallet or something.

I turned around and silently waited for my food to finish cooking. His finished before mine, and he rang the gong before he left. He rang it, all the while intently staring at me, as if to say, "See? You are going to live a sad little gongless life, but I am a big, virile man who is going to live a life full of purpose, and gongs, and prosperity, and women, and gongs. Because I rang the gong and you didn't."

Now, I can't say that he doesn't have a point. Sometimes, you do have to get out there and experience life so to speak. But that's not what bugs me about all this. What bugs me is that:

1. He assumed I never rang the gong.
2. He assumed that ringing the gong is inherently better than not ringing the gong.
3. I think he assumed that my refusal to ring the gong is an outer confirmation of my refusal or perhaps even inability to go out and experience life to the fullest.

Again, here is why I didn't ring the gong:

1. He irritated me.
2. I've rang the gong before. It's over-rated.
3. The gong itself is not a life lesson. Sometimes? It's just a gong. Or, maybe it is. Maybe it illustrates the fallacy of reading too much into a percussion instrument. Maybe it illustrates the fallacy of passing judgment. Maybe it even illustrates the fallacy of a superiority complex.

Life isn't just about what you say and do, but it's also about what you don't say and don't do as well. There is wisdom in saying what needs to be said and doing what needs to be done, but there is also wisdom in not saying what should not be said, and not doing what should not be done. There is also wisdom in knowing which is which.

Frugality is actually a perfect example of this. We don't go out and spend our time, energy, and money doing everything. But that's because we are selective about what matters to us. We go without on so many things that ultimately doesn't matter to us so that we can focus on the things that do. To me, that's the true essence of a gongful er meaningful life.

Hmm what? No, I do not have little gong syndrome thankyouverymuch.

So uh, I suppose there are more singles here than I previously imagined.

Benny was lamenting about being single, and the truth is, I'm right there with him.

But, while there obvious downsides to being single, I thought I'd focus on the upsides of being single today. Because... having been married once, I can tell you there are some definite upsides.

The biggest thing is cost, especially if you are with someone who is spendy. Even worse if you are with someone who is a shallow gold-digger. Need I say more?

Another huge advantage is that you don't have to argue about money. Do I need to put in that bold? Because, that is a really big deal.

The other thing is that all of your money is focused on you. Yeah, maybe that sounds shallow, but then, we are also single. Someday, we may find that special someone that is well-worth every penny, but until then, it sure is nice to be able to spend it mostly on yourself.

I also think that single life is more "productive". Well, maybe this point is arguable, but my financial progress has advanced much, much more quickly since I've been single. Then again, I was also with someone who was spendy. Perhaps this is an issue of finding someone who is on the same financial page as yourself, but being single, the issue is also moot. We get to move as fast as we want, without anyone else to slow us down.

This one may be a guy thing, but guys are... typically reluctant to settle down. Some prefer the um freedom of bachelor life. So, if you're a guy and you're single, maybe that's a good thing.

Speaking of the bachelor life, a friend of mine sometimes use the escort service and go to strip clubs. Now, while I look down on such things and personally avoid them like the plague, we calculated all the money he has ever spent on it... and found out that it was still considerbly cheaper than me getting married! Even if he increased this habit to every weekend, it was still cheaper! By far!

Let me say this again: I don't believe in strip clubs and escort services. Not just in terms of cost, because they're still expensive, but in principle as well. Still, from a numbers point of view, I find it deeply ironic that this friend of mine came out financially "ahead" compared to me when I was married.

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Can you think of any other upsides? Yeah, I know being single sucks sometimes. But... if we must live it, we might as well make the best of it.

I don't believe that ignorance is bliss, but sometimes, I do believe there is danger in knowing too much.

In this particular case, oil prices is finally falling, and I am SO tempted to sell off my one energy stock (Conoco Philips).

The only problem is that it is being held in my buy-and-hold account, not the trading account. And what are we suppose to do in our buy-and-hold account? That's right, buy-and-hold. Besides, I don't really know what will happen to oil prices into the future.

But that's not the problem. The problem is I know the stock performance on a daily basis. And that's dangerous, because watching it fall, it tempts me to sell. So, from this point forward, I'm going to hide my buy-and-hold account tickers so I don't see it regularly anymore.

Welcome to my exciting world.

Netflix
I finally signed up for Netflix. I knew that this on-demand viewing was the "wave of the future", but I had no idea that it was as sophisticated as it is! Seriously, Netflix has made at least 5 seemingly good recommendations to me!

The downside is that it does add an extra monthly expense to my budget. That alone has been the reason why I've delayed Netflix for so long. The upside is that it helps me keep me off the streets, and not roll with the bad crowds. That's good right?

Heat
The heat is ridiculous. The room AC, so far, has only been able to cool off half of my room, but frankly, that's enough for me... because that's the side where I sit. Hopefully, the energy savings will be significant for the next billing cycle.

FireCalc
This is my current FireCalc projection.



Of course, FireCalc is just a rudimentary Monte Carlo Simulator, and it's based on my current numbers, like... if I am attempting to retire right now, instead of some made-up projected number that I am expecting later on. I know that's not using it quite right, but I wanted to know where I stand right now, and that's as good of an answer as any.

On the upside, there's still plenty of time for things to improve (or muck up), so I'm not reading too much into it.

Blah
This may not be entirely financially-related, but although I am "only" 35, I am beginning to have those... thoughts. You know, the ones about, "Where I am? How did I get here? Where am I going?" thoughts. And I have to say, I'm honestly not all that happy with the answers to any of those kinds of questions.

Well, whatever happens to me, all I can do is the best that I can right? I also think that I'm going to be single for the rest of my life. I shouldn't say that because, when I was single, I never thought that I'd actually get married, and when I was married, I never thought that I'd actually get divorced. So, life is full of surprises, I suppose, but I don't know... I'm getting older. And I am beginning to wonder why anybody would want to put up with a guy like me.

Sorry to sound so down, but that's how I feel right now anyways.

And to be perfectly honest? I'm not sure if it would be an entirely bad thing to stay single. Yeah, I mean, secretly, everybody wants to find their "soulmate", but for all practical purposes, I don't have it that bad at all. So, I really can't complain....

I don't know, just rambling.

Although I don't have the details on this one, another popular Samurai lore is that a Samurai with a stick would hide behind a doorway, and strike other passing Samurais to quickly test their abilities.

An unskilled Samurai would be struck by the surprise attack. A skilled Samurai would be able to successfully deflect such an attack. But a Samurai who displays mastery in their skills... should be able to "sense it" and not step through the door at all.

The lore is so popular, it was even shown in Akira Kurosawa's famous movie, "The Seven Samurai".



In any case, the point of this illustration is that a skilled swordsman is able to anticipate in advance, not just respond, much less become a victim of a surprise attack.

The moral of the story is,"Foresight and preparation are the keys to the gate of success."

...I should get a job writing fortune cookies. Anyway, it's the eastern equivalent of "An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure."

And this is exactly why it's so important to have a sense of personal finance. Not just because it's to live life now, but also to be able to anticipate and prepare for future needs and potential problems ahead.

And this is also why I get funny looks from my friends when I tell them that I currently don't have enough (money). Because, from their point of view, they think I have it made. In the context of only the present, yes, I suppose I am doing well... for now. However, in the context of anticipating future needs, I am FAR from ready.

Now, as you are sitting and reading this, you may be nodding, "Yes BA. I get what you're saying, but... isn't this kind of obvious?" Funny, I thought so too. And yet, from other people's perspective, they think I'm being paranoid or greedy or some other negative connotation.

To me, to be able to foresee the future need of a house downpayment some day, for example, doesn't exactly qualify as paranoia or greed.

In all things in life, I strive to be that smart Samurai. The one who sees two steps ahead, and doesn't have a giant bruise on their forehead. Because... bruises hurt. And so do financial pitfalls.

I just got referred to a

BBC documentary that shows what could be the harbinger of American consumerism.

Truth to the tell, the documentary is a little slow, but it's interesting nonetheless. In a nutshell, it shows the transition between appealing to the intellect and selling on need, to appealing to the emotions and selling on want.

Now, I'll be honest with you. I'm no different. My sense of want and my emotions still factor into some of my purchases. However, I suppose recognizing the problem is the first step to recovery, and that first big step is to realize exactly how they are selling to you.

But maybe not in a good way....

So, a commentator from an earlier post got me thinking about what could possibly be done about my living situation, which is without a doubt, the biggest expense I will be facing into the near future.

Short of finding a livable closet from an eccentric landlord for a low monthly rent, I'm guessing buying is the next option.

You know, the internet really is an endless source of fascination. For example, Bargaineering muses upon the question of "

How much house can $10,000 buy?"

While we're at it, Tiny House Blog is a good stop for all things tiny and quasi-livable. I say that because some entries are nothing more than over-sized sheds, although some don't seem half bad. For example, what do you think of this one? Here's another interesting one.

And yes, I've looked into trailers, RVs, and houseboats. For the price they want, I might as well be looking at a small, fixed, land-based dwelling. That said, I must say that the idea of a houseboat is not without its appeals.

Still, the exercise comes down to finding a way to keep my future housing cost down, and realistically, it still looks like a condo for a $100k.

Well, OK, there is one other option: The DIY path. I wonder if there is a blue-print I can buy for this little number?

Finally got my electric bill for last month. This month is of particular interest to me because I am running mostly on my room air conditioner rather than central cooling.

To recap, I spend most of my time at home in basically one room, and it seems like a waste to cool an entire house that includes the dining room, living room, kitchen, two other bedrooms, and two other bathrooms that I am not using. (Except the kitchen, but you know what I mean.)

Plus, the central AC has been on the fritz. It's good thing that I know an HVAC guy whom I have a good rapport with. He did patch it up, but he also said that, ultimately, that unit needs to be replaced, or it's going to keep failing. Hence my decision to go with a room AC.

So, how much did last month's electric bill cost me? $42.85!

That's actually pretty amazing compared to last year, which was $71.13, and the year before, which was $60.83!

This is despite the fact that my electric usage has increased because I am also running a new, power-hungry PC and speakers now.

So, was the room AC a good investment in the end? I guess it depends on how you look at it. If this was to replace a working central AC, my quick napkin calculation shows that it would take roughly 5 years before I can break even from the upfront cost of the buying the room air conditioner.

However, because the central AC unit is failing, and replacing that would cost roughly $3000, I think this really is the best investment for me.

And that's far better than the alternatives that I may have um entertained....

Once in a long while, you run into someone who is an "internet troll". Someone who will post things that are inflammatory, whether they realize it or not. Trolls love provoking people. It's what they do. It's what helps them sleep at night, and it's what gives them that morning glow when they wake up.

Well, in the past few days, I just realized that I ran into one of the most infamous trolls in the internet world of investing. I'm not going to mention any names or relevant details because, to be honest, I don't want him to Google this stuff and find me here.

Perhaps it sounds like a cop out, but seriously, this guy has been AROUND. Morningstar, Diehards, Motley Fools, you name it. Anywhere and everywhere, he'll pick fights about how his position is right and no one else is, and when he gets banned, he'll gripe about it on his website, about how everybody would rather enjoy their ignorant bliss rather than hear his prophetic truth.

So, what do you do when you are directly confronted and provoked by a world class celebrity internet troll?

After carefully considering the situation, I've decided that I'm going to literally bite my tongue and stick my head in the sand. Yep! I never thought there would ever an occasion where sticking your head in the sand is a good idea, but here it is!



So! Let's, uh, talk about something else, eh? Right, sooo, who here has Netflix? Because I'm beginning to think that maybe I should subscribe to it. In particular, does anyone use Netflix's Blu-ray? Do they cost the same as DVD rentals?

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's Round Table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated in an algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, "You stay here, I'll go on a head."
14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said, "Keep off the Grass."
16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, "No change yet."
17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
19. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
20. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
21 A backward poet writes inverse.
22. In a democracy, it's your vote that counts. In feudalism, it's your count that votes.
23. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
24. Don't join dangerous cults, practice safe sects!

(Courtesy of

Pioneer Woman)