foreclosure investing

The country is in the grip of a home mortgage scandal, with big banks facing investigations, fines and penalties for playing fast and loose during the foreclosure process. There's no question that the banks will suffer, but will their stocks get hurt as a result?

One indication came on Oct. 18, when Citigroup (C) reported a third-quarter profit of $2.15 billion, easily beating analysts' expectations and sending the company's shares higher by 5%. That lifted all banks shares, which had lost $50 billion in valuation at the end of the previous week because of concerns about foreclosure losses.

But Citi indicated that it had managed to sidestep the problems facing banking rivals JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC), which have announced moratoriums on foreclosures while they study whether they acted improperly in the process of documenting foreclosures prior to sales. "We believe that our overall process is sound, and our reviews indicate that nothing is amiss," says John Gerspach, Citi's chief financial officer.

The current mortgage crisis could hurt bank earnings in several possible ways, not all of them directly related to the foreclosure problem.

Investors to Banks: Take It Back

The first is what the banks have termed "putbacks," but are really repurchases of mortgages. Most banks don't keep mortgages on their books any more. Instead, they pool home loans together and sell slices of those bundled securities to investors, who assume the credit and interest rate risk on the underlying loans.

When they sell the loans, the banks make "representations and warrants" to the investors that the borrowers meet certain loan criteria, such as the level of their FICO credit scores or their income. If it turns out later that this information is wrong, the investor can force the bank to repurchase the mortgage from the trust that holds them.

JPMorgan analysts said in a report released Oct. 18 that the putback risk to the industry as a whole might be as high as $55 billion to $120 billion. They said those losses would probably be realized over a period of about five years, so the annual total might run at $10 billion to $25 billion.

Squeezing Every Penny

The JPMorgan estimate was different for loans securitized by government-controlled agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. With Congress in an uproar about Fannie's and Freddie's losses, now estimated at $140 billion, the government will likely try to squeeze every penny out of the banks that it can, given that they're now making large profits after being bailed out by taxpayers.

The JPMorgan analysts said the agencies are likely to try to force the banks to take back about 25% of defaulted loans, with about 40% of those demands being successful.

With private sector securitization of mortgages, banks have less recourse to complain about fraud and other misstatements, so repurchases of mortgages would have only a 20% success rate, leading to an estimated 5% loss on defaulted loans.

JPMorgan itself acknowledged this last week when it released its own third-quarter earnings and disclosed that it had put aside an additional $622 million in reserves to cover losses from forced repurchases of mortgages. That didn't seem to have hurt JPMorgan's stock: It was up 2.5% on Oct. 18.

Potential Fines and Penalties

Al Savastano, banking analyst at Macquarie Securities in New York, says the repurchase problem is likely to fester for years and that it's hard to know how much each bank faces in losses. "We think it's going to be an earnings issue, not a capital issue," Savastano says. 'We are a lot more comfortable trying to estimate credit losses than this."

The National Lawyers Guild, founded 73 years ago, held its convention in New Orleans from September 22 to September 26, 2010 - five years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina - and months after the BP oil spill - in solidarity with the people of the Gulf Coast. The NLG shares the alarm felt across the country in the face of an economic crisis that has left millions of Americans without jobs and out of their homes or on the verge of foreclosure and facing bankruptcy. We are especially dismayed by the plight of our youth, including many young Guild members, who cannot find jobs after investing years of study and going tens of thousands of dollars into debt for college and professional educations.

Thus far, government efforts to create jobs have been indirect through aid to cities and tax breaks for business. Programs to address the foreclosure crisis have largely relied on the financial institutions that are the source of the problems. The government has not used the power of its controlling interests in Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to stop the foreclosures and evictions. It has abdicated student loan programs to private interests and refused to take steps to relieve the debt burdens young graduates face.

There is no greater responsibility that any government has than to secure the well-being of its citizens. The NLG rejects the view that these times call for less government action and declares that bold steps are necessary and long overdue to provide some relief to our suffering population. It therefore demands that President Obama:

1. Issue an Executive Order similar to that issued by President Roosevelt which established the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to create 12 million federal jobs at a living wage. These jobs would begin to rebuild the country's failing infrastructure and would fund arts and other areas where public jobs are needed. They would be paid for primarily from the repayments of TARP money loaned to the "too big to fail" institutions that bear the bulk of the responsibility for the crisis.



2. Issue an Executive Order requiring Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and holders of any other federally backed mortgages to stop all foreclosures and evictions for at least the next two years and to renegotiate mortgages with terms homeowners can meet.

3. Issue an Executive Order imposing a two year moratorium for repayment of all federally subsidized student loans.

Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Secrets

Pssst. We've got something important to tell you about a new tool that can totally transform your business. In terms of upfront investment, there is no cost,

ABC <b>News</b> airs big exposé on BMW N54 engine problems, lawsuits [w <b>...</b>

ABC News investigates BMW fuel pump problems – Click above to watch video after the jump ABC News has cottoned on to the story that BMW.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/27 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! There's some interesting Kansas City Chiefs news today. A great piece from Cory Greenwood's hometown newspaper, and more on Chambers' playing time start us off. Enjoy.

bench craft company complaints
bench craft company complaints

Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Secrets

Pssst. We've got something important to tell you about a new tool that can totally transform your business. In terms of upfront investment, there is no cost,

ABC <b>News</b> airs big exposé on BMW N54 engine problems, lawsuits [w <b>...</b>

ABC News investigates BMW fuel pump problems – Click above to watch video after the jump ABC News has cottoned on to the story that BMW.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/27 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! There's some interesting Kansas City Chiefs news today. A great piece from Cory Greenwood's hometown newspaper, and more on Chambers' playing time start us off. Enjoy.

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints


The country is in the grip of a home mortgage scandal, with big banks facing investigations, fines and penalties for playing fast and loose during the foreclosure process. There's no question that the banks will suffer, but will their stocks get hurt as a result?

One indication came on Oct. 18, when Citigroup (C) reported a third-quarter profit of $2.15 billion, easily beating analysts' expectations and sending the company's shares higher by 5%. That lifted all banks shares, which had lost $50 billion in valuation at the end of the previous week because of concerns about foreclosure losses.

But Citi indicated that it had managed to sidestep the problems facing banking rivals JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC), which have announced moratoriums on foreclosures while they study whether they acted improperly in the process of documenting foreclosures prior to sales. "We believe that our overall process is sound, and our reviews indicate that nothing is amiss," says John Gerspach, Citi's chief financial officer.

The current mortgage crisis could hurt bank earnings in several possible ways, not all of them directly related to the foreclosure problem.

Investors to Banks: Take It Back

The first is what the banks have termed "putbacks," but are really repurchases of mortgages. Most banks don't keep mortgages on their books any more. Instead, they pool home loans together and sell slices of those bundled securities to investors, who assume the credit and interest rate risk on the underlying loans.

When they sell the loans, the banks make "representations and warrants" to the investors that the borrowers meet certain loan criteria, such as the level of their FICO credit scores or their income. If it turns out later that this information is wrong, the investor can force the bank to repurchase the mortgage from the trust that holds them.

JPMorgan analysts said in a report released Oct. 18 that the putback risk to the industry as a whole might be as high as $55 billion to $120 billion. They said those losses would probably be realized over a period of about five years, so the annual total might run at $10 billion to $25 billion.

Squeezing Every Penny

The JPMorgan estimate was different for loans securitized by government-controlled agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. With Congress in an uproar about Fannie's and Freddie's losses, now estimated at $140 billion, the government will likely try to squeeze every penny out of the banks that it can, given that they're now making large profits after being bailed out by taxpayers.

The JPMorgan analysts said the agencies are likely to try to force the banks to take back about 25% of defaulted loans, with about 40% of those demands being successful.

With private sector securitization of mortgages, banks have less recourse to complain about fraud and other misstatements, so repurchases of mortgages would have only a 20% success rate, leading to an estimated 5% loss on defaulted loans.

JPMorgan itself acknowledged this last week when it released its own third-quarter earnings and disclosed that it had put aside an additional $622 million in reserves to cover losses from forced repurchases of mortgages. That didn't seem to have hurt JPMorgan's stock: It was up 2.5% on Oct. 18.

Potential Fines and Penalties

Al Savastano, banking analyst at Macquarie Securities in New York, says the repurchase problem is likely to fester for years and that it's hard to know how much each bank faces in losses. "We think it's going to be an earnings issue, not a capital issue," Savastano says. 'We are a lot more comfortable trying to estimate credit losses than this."

The National Lawyers Guild, founded 73 years ago, held its convention in New Orleans from September 22 to September 26, 2010 - five years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina - and months after the BP oil spill - in solidarity with the people of the Gulf Coast. The NLG shares the alarm felt across the country in the face of an economic crisis that has left millions of Americans without jobs and out of their homes or on the verge of foreclosure and facing bankruptcy. We are especially dismayed by the plight of our youth, including many young Guild members, who cannot find jobs after investing years of study and going tens of thousands of dollars into debt for college and professional educations.

Thus far, government efforts to create jobs have been indirect through aid to cities and tax breaks for business. Programs to address the foreclosure crisis have largely relied on the financial institutions that are the source of the problems. The government has not used the power of its controlling interests in Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to stop the foreclosures and evictions. It has abdicated student loan programs to private interests and refused to take steps to relieve the debt burdens young graduates face.

There is no greater responsibility that any government has than to secure the well-being of its citizens. The NLG rejects the view that these times call for less government action and declares that bold steps are necessary and long overdue to provide some relief to our suffering population. It therefore demands that President Obama:

1. Issue an Executive Order similar to that issued by President Roosevelt which established the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to create 12 million federal jobs at a living wage. These jobs would begin to rebuild the country's failing infrastructure and would fund arts and other areas where public jobs are needed. They would be paid for primarily from the repayments of TARP money loaned to the "too big to fail" institutions that bear the bulk of the responsibility for the crisis.



2. Issue an Executive Order requiring Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and holders of any other federally backed mortgages to stop all foreclosures and evictions for at least the next two years and to renegotiate mortgages with terms homeowners can meet.

3. Issue an Executive Order imposing a two year moratorium for repayment of all federally subsidized student loans.

bench craft company complaints

Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Secrets

Pssst. We've got something important to tell you about a new tool that can totally transform your business. In terms of upfront investment, there is no cost,

ABC <b>News</b> airs big exposé on BMW N54 engine problems, lawsuits [w <b>...</b>

ABC News investigates BMW fuel pump problems – Click above to watch video after the jump ABC News has cottoned on to the story that BMW.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/27 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! There's some interesting Kansas City Chiefs news today. A great piece from Cory Greenwood's hometown newspaper, and more on Chambers' playing time start us off. Enjoy.

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Secrets

Pssst. We've got something important to tell you about a new tool that can totally transform your business. In terms of upfront investment, there is no cost,

ABC <b>News</b> airs big exposé on BMW N54 engine problems, lawsuits [w <b>...</b>

ABC News investigates BMW fuel pump problems – Click above to watch video after the jump ABC News has cottoned on to the story that BMW.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/27 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! There's some interesting Kansas City Chiefs news today. A great piece from Cory Greenwood's hometown newspaper, and more on Chambers' playing time start us off. Enjoy.

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Secrets

Pssst. We've got something important to tell you about a new tool that can totally transform your business. In terms of upfront investment, there is no cost,

ABC <b>News</b> airs big exposé on BMW N54 engine problems, lawsuits [w <b>...</b>

ABC News investigates BMW fuel pump problems – Click above to watch video after the jump ABC News has cottoned on to the story that BMW.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/27 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! There's some interesting Kansas City Chiefs news today. A great piece from Cory Greenwood's hometown newspaper, and more on Chambers' playing time start us off. Enjoy.

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Making Money With Options

[Editor's Note: The following article presents analysis and data excerpts from Inside Facebook Gold, our research and data membership service tracking Facebook's traffic growth and demographic landscape in global markets.]

When it comes to web payments, Facebook is unique, giving games and other apps a massive international reach of over 500 million people — and yet, only a single-digit percentage ever make any payment. While conversion rates in the low single digits are standard, and certainly still interesting at volume, dozens of startups have dedicated themselves to making the barriers to payment as low as possible and in doing so hope to get more people spending more money. Payment options now include credit cards, mobile phones, promotional offers, promissory notes and others, while Facebook is working to gain user recognition with its virtual currency, Facebook Credits.

What do users think of these many choices? We recently ran a survey as part of Inside Facebook Gold, our research and data service covering Facebook’s growing global audience, in order to better understand real users’ attitudes and behaviors toward payments. The survey included 384 Facebook users, nearly all of whom were active social game users, and was conducted throughout the month of September 2010.

Today, we’re looking at the first of the survey’s three sections, dealing with user perception of a dozen payment methods.

The first and most important element of perception is whether users recognize the brand at all. We offered a dozen choices based on payment options visible to users in the platform’s top social games. We asked survey takers to select all the services that they recognized:

It’s important to note that some of the payment methods listed above are made available to users at different stages of the payment selection process — Facebook Credits, for instance, is a virtual currency, while Visa is a payment method. A user might opt to top up on Facebook Credits to redeem in their favorite game, and then pay for the Credits with a Visa credit card.

Users are likely unaware of this distinction, however — the important question is which names they associate with making payments. Over 80 percent of respondents recognized the major credits cards, while almost 70 percent knew about PayPal. Following those two major payment methods, the recognition rates drop dramatically. It’s interesting to note that Amazon’s brand recognition is almost equal to Facebook’s — although it’s not clear whether survey respondents thought of it as a payment method, or simply recognized the name.

The most interesting data is on the smaller payment methods listed. Three — PayByCash, Ultimate Game Card and PayMo — were recognizable to over five percent of respondents. Note that PayByCash and Ultimate Game Card are in fact owned by the same company, PlaySpan, which has done a good job so far of creating an international brand.

Even Social Gold, which was used by dozens of Facebook games at its peak and is now owned by Google, was recognized by only 2.7 percent of our survey takers. This shows just how difficult building up brand recognition is for payment companies, and suggests that Google may do well to leverage its own brand recognition and rename the service or incorporate it into Google Checkout, if they continue to use it.

Our next chart helps illustrate just how important brand recognition is for payment options. Survey respondents chose which single option they would prefer to use if they planned to buy virtual currency:

User familiarity gave credit cards and Paypal a huge edge, with about 60 percent of the vote combined.

Very few users preferred a method other than these two (except for users who preferred not to pay at all, by using promotional offers). Facebook itself was a popular choice, although again, this will likely result in use of either a credit card or PayPal. PayByCash, Ultimate Game Card and Rixty all picked up small minorities — which, considering that all three are cash and gift card options, may mean that the users who picked them don’t have credit cards or a PayPal account.

Overall, the results of our survey don’t suggest that smaller options are failing — some are doing quite well — but they do have very low levels of brand recognition, especially when compared to competing options that have been on the market for decades. Over time, the success of the newer brands will depend on how far they can establish themselves as household names.

This survey was conducted as part of our Inside Facebook Gold research and data service that also provides regular data on Facebook’s growth and demographics around the world. Full survey results from all three sections of the survey are available at Inside Facebook Gold.

Today Y Combinator is holding its sixth Startup School, where a roster of Silicon Valley’s most experienced and successful founders and investors come together to lecture hundreds of eager entrepreneurs. The event is always extremely popular, and today is no exception — the lecture hall on Stanford’s campus is packed to the brim.

Today’s event will feature eleven talks, including lectures from the likes of Paul Graham, Mark Zuckerberg, and Ron Conway. The first session — which featured Andy Bechtolsheim, Paul Graham, and Andrew Mason — just ended. You can find my notes from each talk below, and we’ll be posting more later today on each cluster of speakers. You can also watch a live stream of the event right here.

Andy Bechtolsheim

Sun founder Andy Bechtolsheim’s talk revolved around innovation. He kicked off with a brief history of the incredible changes we’ve seen in the computer industry in a brief period of time, with the number of transistors on a chip increasing a million fold since 1970 and networking technology seeing similarly impressive gains.

Bechtolsheim says that there are a few key lessons from what’s gone on in terms of web innovation: first, the time from innovation to adoption can be remarkably short (see Google’s rapid adoption, for example). And the key to success isn’t to be first (after all, there were many search engines available before Google came out). Instead, it’s important to be the first to solve the right problem.

So why is there so much focus on web companies? Bechtolsheim says that it’s primarily because starting one is so cheap, relatively speaking. You no longer need to have your own infrastructure — with AWS, you can get up and running for cheap. It’s also cheaper than ever to raise awareness due to the proliferation of blogs, Twitter, etc.

Paul Graham

YC founder Paul Graham’s talk focused on one of the all-important problems facing budding startups: raising money. And he had good news, at least as far as entrepreneurs are concerned.

There’s an increasing tension between so-called Super Angels and Venture Capitalists (which manifested itself in AngelGate). Unlike traditional angel investors, Super Angels are investing other people’s money, which makes them similar to the VC camp. But, unlike VCs which have historically invested large sums of money (usually $1M+), Super Angels are happy to make many, much smaller investments.

This gives entrepreneurs more control — they can raise exactly how much they want instead of having to take a giant Series A round. It’s also led to larger VCs making small (~$100K) investments to compete more directly with the Super Angels.

This has another consequence: because VCs are mostly price-insensitive at this point (they view these seed investments as options to invest larger sums down the road), they don’t mind if the startup valuation grows higher than it would have. Which is great for the entrepreneur, but is bad for Super Angels who do care about the startup’s valuation. This, Graham says, could lead to what looks like another bubble with skyrocketing valuations, but hopefully without the pop at the end.

In the long term, this probably isn’t sustainable — Graham says that VCs and Super Angels will increasingly become one and the same, as the top VCs who add value are weeded out from the rest. But he thinks that process will take time, since the VC industry moves at a “glacially slow” pace. Until then, we’ll keep seeing those sky-high valuations for companies that appeal to both VCs (who think the company has a chance to IPO) and Super Angels (who think the company has a chance at an early, lucrative exit).

For more on this topic, see our post on The $4 Million Line. Graham will also be publishing an essay covering his talk, which we’ll post a link to as soon as it goes live.

Andrew Mason

Groupon founder Andrew Mason decided to take a different approach with his talk: he gave an old pitch for his original startup The Point, which eventually evolved into the wildly successful Groupon. The Point was a collective action platform that would let users take action together — for example, to raise money to build a dome around Chicago to block out the city’s frigid winter weather (yes, this was an actual initiative on the site).

But Mason’s (old) pitch wasn’t a good one, and The Point never really gained traction. So what went wrong? Mason pointed out some of the original company’s main flaws: it was about a vision more than making a tool that was actually useful. Mason was thinking of what the Point could become five, ten years down the road, without figuring out how to get people to actually use it.

Another problem: you need to recognize and embrace your constraints, and figure out what’s practical. You also need to realize that you’ll probably fail. Many people who are thinking of launching startups are very smart — they’ve succeeded in the past and the notion of failure isn’t really conceivable to them (Mason fell into this camp when he was working on The Point). Now, at Groupon, he constantly reminds himself of ways he could fail — the company has a bunch of magazine covers hanging on the wall near the entrance featuring companies that have gone downhill after massive success, like MySpace and AOL.

Image by Robert Scoble/Scobleizer on Flickr

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

Nevada Voters Complain Of Problems At Polls - Las Vegas <b>News</b> Story <b>...</b>

LAS VEGAS -- Some voters in Boulder City complained on Monday that their ballot had been cast before they went to the polls, raising questions about Clark County's electronic voting machines. Tuesday, October 26, 2010.

Google donates $5 million for <b>news</b> innovation to Knight Foundation <b>...</b>

Google and news organizations have had a rocky time of it. To overdramatize the situation only slightly: Google insists that it cares about journalism as a.

bench craft company complaints
bench craft company complaints

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

Nevada Voters Complain Of Problems At Polls - Las Vegas <b>News</b> Story <b>...</b>

LAS VEGAS -- Some voters in Boulder City complained on Monday that their ballot had been cast before they went to the polls, raising questions about Clark County's electronic voting machines. Tuesday, October 26, 2010.

Google donates $5 million for <b>news</b> innovation to Knight Foundation <b>...</b>

Google and news organizations have had a rocky time of it. To overdramatize the situation only slightly: Google insists that it cares about journalism as a.

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

[Editor's Note: The following article presents analysis and data excerpts from Inside Facebook Gold, our research and data membership service tracking Facebook's traffic growth and demographic landscape in global markets.]

When it comes to web payments, Facebook is unique, giving games and other apps a massive international reach of over 500 million people — and yet, only a single-digit percentage ever make any payment. While conversion rates in the low single digits are standard, and certainly still interesting at volume, dozens of startups have dedicated themselves to making the barriers to payment as low as possible and in doing so hope to get more people spending more money. Payment options now include credit cards, mobile phones, promotional offers, promissory notes and others, while Facebook is working to gain user recognition with its virtual currency, Facebook Credits.

What do users think of these many choices? We recently ran a survey as part of Inside Facebook Gold, our research and data service covering Facebook’s growing global audience, in order to better understand real users’ attitudes and behaviors toward payments. The survey included 384 Facebook users, nearly all of whom were active social game users, and was conducted throughout the month of September 2010.

Today, we’re looking at the first of the survey’s three sections, dealing with user perception of a dozen payment methods.

The first and most important element of perception is whether users recognize the brand at all. We offered a dozen choices based on payment options visible to users in the platform’s top social games. We asked survey takers to select all the services that they recognized:

It’s important to note that some of the payment methods listed above are made available to users at different stages of the payment selection process — Facebook Credits, for instance, is a virtual currency, while Visa is a payment method. A user might opt to top up on Facebook Credits to redeem in their favorite game, and then pay for the Credits with a Visa credit card.

Users are likely unaware of this distinction, however — the important question is which names they associate with making payments. Over 80 percent of respondents recognized the major credits cards, while almost 70 percent knew about PayPal. Following those two major payment methods, the recognition rates drop dramatically. It’s interesting to note that Amazon’s brand recognition is almost equal to Facebook’s — although it’s not clear whether survey respondents thought of it as a payment method, or simply recognized the name.

The most interesting data is on the smaller payment methods listed. Three — PayByCash, Ultimate Game Card and PayMo — were recognizable to over five percent of respondents. Note that PayByCash and Ultimate Game Card are in fact owned by the same company, PlaySpan, which has done a good job so far of creating an international brand.

Even Social Gold, which was used by dozens of Facebook games at its peak and is now owned by Google, was recognized by only 2.7 percent of our survey takers. This shows just how difficult building up brand recognition is for payment companies, and suggests that Google may do well to leverage its own brand recognition and rename the service or incorporate it into Google Checkout, if they continue to use it.

Our next chart helps illustrate just how important brand recognition is for payment options. Survey respondents chose which single option they would prefer to use if they planned to buy virtual currency:

User familiarity gave credit cards and Paypal a huge edge, with about 60 percent of the vote combined.

Very few users preferred a method other than these two (except for users who preferred not to pay at all, by using promotional offers). Facebook itself was a popular choice, although again, this will likely result in use of either a credit card or PayPal. PayByCash, Ultimate Game Card and Rixty all picked up small minorities — which, considering that all three are cash and gift card options, may mean that the users who picked them don’t have credit cards or a PayPal account.

Overall, the results of our survey don’t suggest that smaller options are failing — some are doing quite well — but they do have very low levels of brand recognition, especially when compared to competing options that have been on the market for decades. Over time, the success of the newer brands will depend on how far they can establish themselves as household names.

This survey was conducted as part of our Inside Facebook Gold research and data service that also provides regular data on Facebook’s growth and demographics around the world. Full survey results from all three sections of the survey are available at Inside Facebook Gold.

Today Y Combinator is holding its sixth Startup School, where a roster of Silicon Valley’s most experienced and successful founders and investors come together to lecture hundreds of eager entrepreneurs. The event is always extremely popular, and today is no exception — the lecture hall on Stanford’s campus is packed to the brim.

Today’s event will feature eleven talks, including lectures from the likes of Paul Graham, Mark Zuckerberg, and Ron Conway. The first session — which featured Andy Bechtolsheim, Paul Graham, and Andrew Mason — just ended. You can find my notes from each talk below, and we’ll be posting more later today on each cluster of speakers. You can also watch a live stream of the event right here.

Andy Bechtolsheim

Sun founder Andy Bechtolsheim’s talk revolved around innovation. He kicked off with a brief history of the incredible changes we’ve seen in the computer industry in a brief period of time, with the number of transistors on a chip increasing a million fold since 1970 and networking technology seeing similarly impressive gains.

Bechtolsheim says that there are a few key lessons from what’s gone on in terms of web innovation: first, the time from innovation to adoption can be remarkably short (see Google’s rapid adoption, for example). And the key to success isn’t to be first (after all, there were many search engines available before Google came out). Instead, it’s important to be the first to solve the right problem.

So why is there so much focus on web companies? Bechtolsheim says that it’s primarily because starting one is so cheap, relatively speaking. You no longer need to have your own infrastructure — with AWS, you can get up and running for cheap. It’s also cheaper than ever to raise awareness due to the proliferation of blogs, Twitter, etc.

Paul Graham

YC founder Paul Graham’s talk focused on one of the all-important problems facing budding startups: raising money. And he had good news, at least as far as entrepreneurs are concerned.

There’s an increasing tension between so-called Super Angels and Venture Capitalists (which manifested itself in AngelGate). Unlike traditional angel investors, Super Angels are investing other people’s money, which makes them similar to the VC camp. But, unlike VCs which have historically invested large sums of money (usually $1M+), Super Angels are happy to make many, much smaller investments.

This gives entrepreneurs more control — they can raise exactly how much they want instead of having to take a giant Series A round. It’s also led to larger VCs making small (~$100K) investments to compete more directly with the Super Angels.

This has another consequence: because VCs are mostly price-insensitive at this point (they view these seed investments as options to invest larger sums down the road), they don’t mind if the startup valuation grows higher than it would have. Which is great for the entrepreneur, but is bad for Super Angels who do care about the startup’s valuation. This, Graham says, could lead to what looks like another bubble with skyrocketing valuations, but hopefully without the pop at the end.

In the long term, this probably isn’t sustainable — Graham says that VCs and Super Angels will increasingly become one and the same, as the top VCs who add value are weeded out from the rest. But he thinks that process will take time, since the VC industry moves at a “glacially slow” pace. Until then, we’ll keep seeing those sky-high valuations for companies that appeal to both VCs (who think the company has a chance to IPO) and Super Angels (who think the company has a chance at an early, lucrative exit).

For more on this topic, see our post on The $4 Million Line. Graham will also be publishing an essay covering his talk, which we’ll post a link to as soon as it goes live.

Andrew Mason

Groupon founder Andrew Mason decided to take a different approach with his talk: he gave an old pitch for his original startup The Point, which eventually evolved into the wildly successful Groupon. The Point was a collective action platform that would let users take action together — for example, to raise money to build a dome around Chicago to block out the city’s frigid winter weather (yes, this was an actual initiative on the site).

But Mason’s (old) pitch wasn’t a good one, and The Point never really gained traction. So what went wrong? Mason pointed out some of the original company’s main flaws: it was about a vision more than making a tool that was actually useful. Mason was thinking of what the Point could become five, ten years down the road, without figuring out how to get people to actually use it.

Another problem: you need to recognize and embrace your constraints, and figure out what’s practical. You also need to realize that you’ll probably fail. Many people who are thinking of launching startups are very smart — they’ve succeeded in the past and the notion of failure isn’t really conceivable to them (Mason fell into this camp when he was working on The Point). Now, at Groupon, he constantly reminds himself of ways he could fail — the company has a bunch of magazine covers hanging on the wall near the entrance featuring companies that have gone downhill after massive success, like MySpace and AOL.

Image by Robert Scoble/Scobleizer on Flickr

bench craft company complaints

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

Nevada Voters Complain Of Problems At Polls - Las Vegas <b>News</b> Story <b>...</b>

LAS VEGAS -- Some voters in Boulder City complained on Monday that their ballot had been cast before they went to the polls, raising questions about Clark County's electronic voting machines. Tuesday, October 26, 2010.

Google donates $5 million for <b>news</b> innovation to Knight Foundation <b>...</b>

Google and news organizations have had a rocky time of it. To overdramatize the situation only slightly: Google insists that it cares about journalism as a.

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

Nevada Voters Complain Of Problems At Polls - Las Vegas <b>News</b> Story <b>...</b>

LAS VEGAS -- Some voters in Boulder City complained on Monday that their ballot had been cast before they went to the polls, raising questions about Clark County's electronic voting machines. Tuesday, October 26, 2010.

Google donates $5 million for <b>news</b> innovation to Knight Foundation <b>...</b>

Google and news organizations have had a rocky time of it. To overdramatize the situation only slightly: Google insists that it cares about journalism as a.

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/26 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! We have a full day of Kansas City Chiefs news. O-line love and praise for the running game and a shout out to DJ are ahead. There are also a few articles on the Buffalo offense and how productive they've been recently.

Nevada Voters Complain Of Problems At Polls - Las Vegas <b>News</b> Story <b>...</b>

LAS VEGAS -- Some voters in Boulder City complained on Monday that their ballot had been cast before they went to the polls, raising questions about Clark County's electronic voting machines. Tuesday, October 26, 2010.

Google donates $5 million for <b>news</b> innovation to Knight Foundation <b>...</b>

Google and news organizations have had a rocky time of it. To overdramatize the situation only slightly: Google insists that it cares about journalism as a.

bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

Making Money Now

Weezer Responds To Fan Fundraising Attempt To Get Them To Stop Making Crappy Albums

from the connecting-with-anti-fans? dept

There are so many "fan-funding" platforms, like Kickstarter, out there that involve trying to raise a certain amount via a bunch of fan pledges, where they only have to pay if they reach the goal. Usually, we see projects on those sites used for things like funding a new album or a book or something. But what about an anti- funding project? Hypebot points us to the fact that some "fans" (and perhaps I should use that word loosely) of the band Weezer are using one of those platforms to try to raise $10 million dollars to get the band Weezer to break up. The organizer is apparently upset that the band doesn't make good albums any more:

I have never been a fan of this band. I think that they are pretty much horrible, and always have been. Even in the early 90's.



But this isn't about me. This is about the Weezer fans. They are our brothers and sisters, our friends, our lovers.



Every year, Rivers Cuomo swears that he's changed, and that their new album is the best thing that he's done since "Pinkerton," and what happens? Another pile of crap like "Beverly Hills" or "I'm Your Daddy."



This is an abusive relationship, and it needs to stop now.



I am tired of my friends being disappointed year after year.



I am tired of endless whimsical cutesy album covers and music videos.



I'm sick of hearing about whatever this terrible (and yes, even if you like the early stuff, you should be able to admit that they are wretched now) excuse for a band is up to these days.



If all 852,000 of you (really?) who bought "Pinkerton" pitch in $12, we will meet our al.



I beg you, Weezer. Take our money and disappear.

Amusingly, one of the band members responded via Twitter saying:

if they can make it 20, we'll do the "deluxe breakup"!

Nicely done. Of course, now that it's gotten attention, the guy who originally posted it is taking it down, saying that he did it (of course) for the lulz (as if anyone thought he was serious?). Anyway, perhaps we should have tried this for our $100 million offer to have us silence Techdirt.

8 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Being her parents means you need to give her a curfew and stop her -- an underage girl -- from going to bars for 21 year-olds and up, and partying till all hours of the morning, like she did this past Thursday night, Sept.30, at Hollywood celeb hotspot, Voyeur.

Do the words -- Lindsay Lohan -- mean anything to you? Do you want your daughter to end up in jail and rehab with her career in the ruins?

Relatives of yours, who prefer to remain name-less, are already worried that Miley will become a trainwreak. "No one tells Miley no," the source told HollywoodLife.com. "We're concerned for her. She's 17-years-old, but is the one who makes the money ($25 million in 2009) and she calls all the shots in the family," the relative explained.

Now wonder they're concerned --Miley behaves like she's a woman in her 20's, not an underage teen. Aside from the partying at clubs and bars in LA, Paris and Detroit, in the past month or so -- she already has a long history of walking around flashing her bra and putting on PDA-filled live shows, including simulating a girl-on-girl kiss.

Would YOU want your 17-year-old -- a junior in high school -- to behave like this?

Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus shouldn't want their daughter to be growing up and out of their control, either?

Billy Ray and Tish -- you're "making a tremendous mistake. Everyone needs boundaries, whether they are young or old. Young people need boundaries to set themselves up for the future -- what's ok and not ok," points out relationship expert and author of Don't Bet On The Prince Dr. Gilda Carle. "She thinks she can do anything because she is Miley Cyrus but no one can get away with anything. It caught up with Britney and Lindsay and it will catch up with her."



Here's what the Cyrus family need to do!

--Bonnie Fuller



Scantily Clad 17-Year-Old Miley Cyrus Stops By 21+ Nightclub Voyeur In LA!

EXCLUSIVE: Cyrus Family Insider Tells All "No One Says No To Her, Even Her Parents!"

Photos: September's 10 Biggest Celebrity TMI Moments!

--

BillBoard - Blogs - The Buffalo <b>News</b>

The Buffalo News updated every day with news from Buffalo, New York. Links to national and business news, entertainment listings, recipes, sports teams, classified ads, death notices.

Lindsay Lohan Photos &amp; Pics | BREAKING <b>NEWS</b> - Lindsay Lohan Avoids <b>...</b>

Lindsay Lohan appeared before Judge Elden Fox at the Beverly Hills Courthouse this morning for her latest probation violation hearing, and it appears as though spending the last month at the Betty Ford Center helped convince the judge ...

Scripting <b>News</b>: The Juan Williams controversy

I always thought he was pretty liberal, but then also shows up on Fox News. When he's on Fox, it's as if he's a different person. Very odd. Permanent link to this item in the archive. He said something on Fox that caused NPR to fire him ...

eric seiger eric seiger

Weezer Responds To Fan Fundraising Attempt To Get Them To Stop Making Crappy Albums

from the connecting-with-anti-fans? dept

There are so many "fan-funding" platforms, like Kickstarter, out there that involve trying to raise a certain amount via a bunch of fan pledges, where they only have to pay if they reach the goal. Usually, we see projects on those sites used for things like funding a new album or a book or something. But what about an anti- funding project? Hypebot points us to the fact that some "fans" (and perhaps I should use that word loosely) of the band Weezer are using one of those platforms to try to raise $10 million dollars to get the band Weezer to break up. The organizer is apparently upset that the band doesn't make good albums any more:

I have never been a fan of this band. I think that they are pretty much horrible, and always have been. Even in the early 90's.



But this isn't about me. This is about the Weezer fans. They are our brothers and sisters, our friends, our lovers.



Every year, Rivers Cuomo swears that he's changed, and that their new album is the best thing that he's done since "Pinkerton," and what happens? Another pile of crap like "Beverly Hills" or "I'm Your Daddy."



This is an abusive relationship, and it needs to stop now.



I am tired of my friends being disappointed year after year.



I am tired of endless whimsical cutesy album covers and music videos.



I'm sick of hearing about whatever this terrible (and yes, even if you like the early stuff, you should be able to admit that they are wretched now) excuse for a band is up to these days.



If all 852,000 of you (really?) who bought "Pinkerton" pitch in $12, we will meet our al.



I beg you, Weezer. Take our money and disappear.

Amusingly, one of the band members responded via Twitter saying:

if they can make it 20, we'll do the "deluxe breakup"!

Nicely done. Of course, now that it's gotten attention, the guy who originally posted it is taking it down, saying that he did it (of course) for the lulz (as if anyone thought he was serious?). Anyway, perhaps we should have tried this for our $100 million offer to have us silence Techdirt.

8 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Being her parents means you need to give her a curfew and stop her -- an underage girl -- from going to bars for 21 year-olds and up, and partying till all hours of the morning, like she did this past Thursday night, Sept.30, at Hollywood celeb hotspot, Voyeur.

Do the words -- Lindsay Lohan -- mean anything to you? Do you want your daughter to end up in jail and rehab with her career in the ruins?

Relatives of yours, who prefer to remain name-less, are already worried that Miley will become a trainwreak. "No one tells Miley no," the source told HollywoodLife.com. "We're concerned for her. She's 17-years-old, but is the one who makes the money ($25 million in 2009) and she calls all the shots in the family," the relative explained.

Now wonder they're concerned --Miley behaves like she's a woman in her 20's, not an underage teen. Aside from the partying at clubs and bars in LA, Paris and Detroit, in the past month or so -- she already has a long history of walking around flashing her bra and putting on PDA-filled live shows, including simulating a girl-on-girl kiss.

Would YOU want your 17-year-old -- a junior in high school -- to behave like this?

Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus shouldn't want their daughter to be growing up and out of their control, either?

Billy Ray and Tish -- you're "making a tremendous mistake. Everyone needs boundaries, whether they are young or old. Young people need boundaries to set themselves up for the future -- what's ok and not ok," points out relationship expert and author of Don't Bet On The Prince Dr. Gilda Carle. "She thinks she can do anything because she is Miley Cyrus but no one can get away with anything. It caught up with Britney and Lindsay and it will catch up with her."



Here's what the Cyrus family need to do!

--Bonnie Fuller



Scantily Clad 17-Year-Old Miley Cyrus Stops By 21+ Nightclub Voyeur In LA!

EXCLUSIVE: Cyrus Family Insider Tells All "No One Says No To Her, Even Her Parents!"

Photos: September's 10 Biggest Celebrity TMI Moments!

--

BillBoard - Blogs - The Buffalo <b>News</b>

The Buffalo News updated every day with news from Buffalo, New York. Links to national and business news, entertainment listings, recipes, sports teams, classified ads, death notices.

Lindsay Lohan Photos &amp; Pics | BREAKING <b>NEWS</b> - Lindsay Lohan Avoids <b>...</b>

Lindsay Lohan appeared before Judge Elden Fox at the Beverly Hills Courthouse this morning for her latest probation violation hearing, and it appears as though spending the last month at the Betty Ford Center helped convince the judge ...

Scripting <b>News</b>: The Juan Williams controversy

I always thought he was pretty liberal, but then also shows up on Fox News. When he's on Fox, it's as if he's a different person. Very odd. Permanent link to this item in the archive. He said something on Fox that caused NPR to fire him ...

eric seiger eric seiger

managing your personal finances

Having a hard time managing credit card debt problems? Try using Creditable, a web app that can help you tackle your debt head-on by tracking your progress, generating suggested achievable goals based on your situation, and by allowing you to interact with other people that can help you.

The best part about Creditable is that it is free and anonymous, thus it can still generate your personalized goals even without submitting a credit report.

Creditable requires users to sign up before being able to use it, but the registration only requires an email address so you don’t have to divulge your identity. You do not have to be worried about security issues when using the site since you won’t have to reveal any personal information.

Creditable will also produce goals that are particular for your situation which can serve as your guide that can help you out of your current credit issues.

Creditable also fosters an online community where people can ask about credit related issues and receive advice from other people, who may have gone through your current situation. In addition, you can easily find other users that have the same goals as yours, for more social support.

Features:

• Manage your credits without revealing your identity.
• Track the progress of your credit, works with multiple accounts.
• Suggests achievable goals based on your particular situation.
• Connects you with other people that have similar credit issues.
• Provides personalized credit card suggestions when re-establishing credit.
• Similar Tools: Mint, Paystr, Accpal, TripLittle.

Check out Creditable @ http://getcreditable.com

Having a hard time managing credit card debt problems? Try using Creditable, a web app that can help you tackle your debt head-on by tracking your progress, generating suggested achievable goals based on your situation, and by allowing you to interact with other people that can help you.

The best part about Creditable is that it is free and anonymous, thus it can still generate your personalized goals even without submitting a credit report.

Creditable requires users to sign up before being able to use it, but the registration only requires an email address so you don’t have to divulge your identity. You do not have to be worried about security issues when using the site since you won’t have to reveal any personal information.

Creditable will also produce goals that are particular for your situation which can serve as your guide that can help you out of your current credit issues.

Creditable also fosters an online community where people can ask about credit related issues and receive advice from other people, who may have gone through your current situation. In addition, you can easily find other users that have the same goals as yours, for more social support.

Features:

• Manage your credits without revealing your identity.
• Track the progress of your credit, works with multiple accounts.
• Suggests achievable goals based on your particular situation.
• Connects you with other people that have similar credit issues.
• Provides personalized credit card suggestions when re-establishing credit.
• Similar Tools: Mint, Paystr, Accpal, TripLittle.

Check out Creditable @ http://getcreditable.com

robert shumake hall of shame

<b>News</b> - Source: Beyonce Is Pregnant! - Moms &amp; Babies - UsMagazine.com

She and Jay-Z will welcome their first child next spring, the new Us Weekly reports.

TRENDING: Bad <b>news</b> for Dems: New low for Pelosi in Gallup poll <b>...</b>

(CNN) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorability rating has reached a new low in Gallup polling, an ominous sign for House Democrats who can't help but be associated with the California Democrat two weeks ahead of the midterm ...

Unemployment Extension <b>News</b>

Unemployment Extension News.

robert shumake twitter

Having a hard time managing credit card debt problems? Try using Creditable, a web app that can help you tackle your debt head-on by tracking your progress, generating suggested achievable goals based on your situation, and by allowing you to interact with other people that can help you.

The best part about Creditable is that it is free and anonymous, thus it can still generate your personalized goals even without submitting a credit report.

Creditable requires users to sign up before being able to use it, but the registration only requires an email address so you don’t have to divulge your identity. You do not have to be worried about security issues when using the site since you won’t have to reveal any personal information.

Creditable will also produce goals that are particular for your situation which can serve as your guide that can help you out of your current credit issues.

Creditable also fosters an online community where people can ask about credit related issues and receive advice from other people, who may have gone through your current situation. In addition, you can easily find other users that have the same goals as yours, for more social support.

Features:

• Manage your credits without revealing your identity.
• Track the progress of your credit, works with multiple accounts.
• Suggests achievable goals based on your particular situation.
• Connects you with other people that have similar credit issues.
• Provides personalized credit card suggestions when re-establishing credit.
• Similar Tools: Mint, Paystr, Accpal, TripLittle.

Check out Creditable @ http://getcreditable.com

Having a hard time managing credit card debt problems? Try using Creditable, a web app that can help you tackle your debt head-on by tracking your progress, generating suggested achievable goals based on your situation, and by allowing you to interact with other people that can help you.

The best part about Creditable is that it is free and anonymous, thus it can still generate your personalized goals even without submitting a credit report.

Creditable requires users to sign up before being able to use it, but the registration only requires an email address so you don’t have to divulge your identity. You do not have to be worried about security issues when using the site since you won’t have to reveal any personal information.

Creditable will also produce goals that are particular for your situation which can serve as your guide that can help you out of your current credit issues.

Creditable also fosters an online community where people can ask about credit related issues and receive advice from other people, who may have gone through your current situation. In addition, you can easily find other users that have the same goals as yours, for more social support.

Features:

• Manage your credits without revealing your identity.
• Track the progress of your credit, works with multiple accounts.
• Suggests achievable goals based on your particular situation.
• Connects you with other people that have similar credit issues.
• Provides personalized credit card suggestions when re-establishing credit.
• Similar Tools: Mint, Paystr, Accpal, TripLittle.

Check out Creditable @ http://getcreditable.com

benchcraft company scam

<b>News</b> - Source: Beyonce Is Pregnant! - Moms &amp; Babies - UsMagazine.com

She and Jay-Z will welcome their first child next spring, the new Us Weekly reports.

TRENDING: Bad <b>news</b> for Dems: New low for Pelosi in Gallup poll <b>...</b>

(CNN) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorability rating has reached a new low in Gallup polling, an ominous sign for House Democrats who can't help but be associated with the California Democrat two weeks ahead of the midterm ...

Unemployment Extension <b>News</b>

Unemployment Extension News.

robert shumake hall of shame

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake twitter

<b>News</b> - Source: Beyonce Is Pregnant! - Moms &amp; Babies - UsMagazine.com

She and Jay-Z will welcome their first child next spring, the new Us Weekly reports.

TRENDING: Bad <b>news</b> for Dems: New low for Pelosi in Gallup poll <b>...</b>

(CNN) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorability rating has reached a new low in Gallup polling, an ominous sign for House Democrats who can't help but be associated with the California Democrat two weeks ahead of the midterm ...

Unemployment Extension <b>News</b>

Unemployment Extension News.

robert shumake detroit

Having a hard time managing credit card debt problems? Try using Creditable, a web app that can help you tackle your debt head-on by tracking your progress, generating suggested achievable goals based on your situation, and by allowing you to interact with other people that can help you.

The best part about Creditable is that it is free and anonymous, thus it can still generate your personalized goals even without submitting a credit report.

Creditable requires users to sign up before being able to use it, but the registration only requires an email address so you don’t have to divulge your identity. You do not have to be worried about security issues when using the site since you won’t have to reveal any personal information.

Creditable will also produce goals that are particular for your situation which can serve as your guide that can help you out of your current credit issues.

Creditable also fosters an online community where people can ask about credit related issues and receive advice from other people, who may have gone through your current situation. In addition, you can easily find other users that have the same goals as yours, for more social support.

Features:

• Manage your credits without revealing your identity.
• Track the progress of your credit, works with multiple accounts.
• Suggests achievable goals based on your particular situation.
• Connects you with other people that have similar credit issues.
• Provides personalized credit card suggestions when re-establishing credit.
• Similar Tools: Mint, Paystr, Accpal, TripLittle.

Check out Creditable @ http://getcreditable.com

Having a hard time managing credit card debt problems? Try using Creditable, a web app that can help you tackle your debt head-on by tracking your progress, generating suggested achievable goals based on your situation, and by allowing you to interact with other people that can help you.

The best part about Creditable is that it is free and anonymous, thus it can still generate your personalized goals even without submitting a credit report.

Creditable requires users to sign up before being able to use it, but the registration only requires an email address so you don’t have to divulge your identity. You do not have to be worried about security issues when using the site since you won’t have to reveal any personal information.

Creditable will also produce goals that are particular for your situation which can serve as your guide that can help you out of your current credit issues.

Creditable also fosters an online community where people can ask about credit related issues and receive advice from other people, who may have gone through your current situation. In addition, you can easily find other users that have the same goals as yours, for more social support.

Features:

• Manage your credits without revealing your identity.
• Track the progress of your credit, works with multiple accounts.
• Suggests achievable goals based on your particular situation.
• Connects you with other people that have similar credit issues.
• Provides personalized credit card suggestions when re-establishing credit.
• Similar Tools: Mint, Paystr, Accpal, TripLittle.

Check out Creditable @ http://getcreditable.com

robert shumake twitter

robert shumake detroit

<b>News</b> - Source: Beyonce Is Pregnant! - Moms &amp; Babies - UsMagazine.com

She and Jay-Z will welcome their first child next spring, the new Us Weekly reports.

TRENDING: Bad <b>news</b> for Dems: New low for Pelosi in Gallup poll <b>...</b>

(CNN) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorability rating has reached a new low in Gallup polling, an ominous sign for House Democrats who can't help but be associated with the California Democrat two weeks ahead of the midterm ...

Unemployment Extension <b>News</b>

Unemployment Extension News.

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake twitter

<b>News</b> - Source: Beyonce Is Pregnant! - Moms &amp; Babies - UsMagazine.com

She and Jay-Z will welcome their first child next spring, the new Us Weekly reports.

TRENDING: Bad <b>news</b> for Dems: New low for Pelosi in Gallup poll <b>...</b>

(CNN) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorability rating has reached a new low in Gallup polling, an ominous sign for House Democrats who can't help but be associated with the California Democrat two weeks ahead of the midterm ...

Unemployment Extension <b>News</b>

Unemployment Extension News.

robert shumake detroit

<b>News</b> - Source: Beyonce Is Pregnant! - Moms &amp; Babies - UsMagazine.com

She and Jay-Z will welcome their first child next spring, the new Us Weekly reports.

TRENDING: Bad <b>news</b> for Dems: New low for Pelosi in Gallup poll <b>...</b>

(CNN) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorability rating has reached a new low in Gallup polling, an ominous sign for House Democrats who can't help but be associated with the California Democrat two weeks ahead of the midterm ...

Unemployment Extension <b>News</b>

Unemployment Extension News.

robert shumake twitter

<b>News</b> - Source: Beyonce Is Pregnant! - Moms &amp; Babies - UsMagazine.com

She and Jay-Z will welcome their first child next spring, the new Us Weekly reports.

TRENDING: Bad <b>news</b> for Dems: New low for Pelosi in Gallup poll <b>...</b>

(CNN) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorability rating has reached a new low in Gallup polling, an ominous sign for House Democrats who can't help but be associated with the California Democrat two weeks ahead of the midterm ...

Unemployment Extension <b>News</b>

Unemployment Extension News.

how to lose weight fast robert shumake detroit
robert shumake twitter

robert shumake hall of shame
robert shumake twitter

<b>News</b> - Source: Beyonce Is Pregnant! - Moms &amp; Babies - UsMagazine.com

She and Jay-Z will welcome their first child next spring, the new Us Weekly reports.

TRENDING: Bad <b>news</b> for Dems: New low for Pelosi in Gallup poll <b>...</b>

(CNN) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorability rating has reached a new low in Gallup polling, an ominous sign for House Democrats who can't help but be associated with the California Democrat two weeks ahead of the midterm ...

Unemployment Extension <b>News</b>

Unemployment Extension News.

robert shumake detroit

Managing your finances while you are between jobs is tough. You have to consider the overall economy, the reason for your unemployment, your skill set, and estimated length of unemployment. The economy is a determining factor since you may apply for unemployment benefits via your state. The estimated time frame is 24 weeks with the possibility of extension for an additional 24 weeks but if the economy has a high unemployment the probability for an extension is limited.

The reason for your unemployment is important. For example, if your company was part of a well-known, massive layoff/acquisition you may have received a generous severance package. You would be able to maintain fixed expenses such as rent/mortgage, property taxes, and insurance using your severance while keeping your unemployment separate for postponed/variable expenses such as dining out, entertainment, and travel.

On the other hand, it is rare to obtain a generous package so your unemployment may be your only income for both fixed and variable expenses. Remember, it will run out. While searching for a new job, check with an unemployment expert to see if you can go back to school for a short-term certificate in a promising field such as computers, technology, education, and medicine. Also, check with your state to determine if you can start a homebased business for minimal costs instead of searching for a traditional job.

Your skill set is critical. For instance, if you are a registered nurse who lost her job because of a merger you will obtain a job offer sooner because of the national shortage of good nurses and you may receive better pay/benefits/work-life options. You may still choose to enjoy an expensive two week vacation. However, a low-skilled clerical worker who has enormous competition needs to forego a vacation and hit the books.

Managing your household income will be a challenge and it may take time to establish a new budget. However, you can change your unemployment budget based on your personal needs.


robert shumake hall of shame

<b>News</b> - Source: Beyonce Is Pregnant! - Moms &amp; Babies - UsMagazine.com

She and Jay-Z will welcome their first child next spring, the new Us Weekly reports.

TRENDING: Bad <b>news</b> for Dems: New low for Pelosi in Gallup poll <b>...</b>

(CNN) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorability rating has reached a new low in Gallup polling, an ominous sign for House Democrats who can't help but be associated with the California Democrat two weeks ahead of the midterm ...

Unemployment Extension <b>News</b>

Unemployment Extension News.

robert shumake hall of shame

<b>News</b> - Source: Beyonce Is Pregnant! - Moms &amp; Babies - UsMagazine.com

She and Jay-Z will welcome their first child next spring, the new Us Weekly reports.

TRENDING: Bad <b>news</b> for Dems: New low for Pelosi in Gallup poll <b>...</b>

(CNN) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorability rating has reached a new low in Gallup polling, an ominous sign for House Democrats who can't help but be associated with the California Democrat two weeks ahead of the midterm ...

Unemployment Extension <b>News</b>

Unemployment Extension News.

personal finance budgets

One of the reasons Aaron Patzer founded personal finance site Mint.com was because of his frustrations with Intuit’s financial management software Quicken. Quicken, says Patzer wasn’t user-friendly, and in Patzer’s own words “felt like a product from 1996.” Flash forward two years, and Patzer’s Mint.com (which was also a TechCrunch50 winner) was bought by Intuit for $170 million in the Fall of 2009. Clearly, Intuit perhaps agreed with Patzer, who is now vice president and general manager of Intuit’s personal finance group, that its own financial products needed a a makeover. Today, Quicken 2011 is debuting its software for Windows that includes more features from Mint.com.

This is the first version of Quicken to reflect the collaboration of the Quicken Desktop and Mint.com product and engineering teams since last fall. The new version for Windows users includes 360-degree financial view that brings together all accounts, including bank, credit card, investment and retirement. Intuit has also added support for 7,000 more banks and now lists 12,000 banks and credit union in the U.S.

Quicken’s new automated engine categorizes transactions (i.e. business, clothes, groceries, etc.) Credit card payments are automatically matched to transfers from checking or savings, to ensure they’re not double-counted. You can also create budgets within the software based on an individual’s historical spending and the software will include expense alerts and a graph to project cash flow help users avoid late fees and penalties. Pricing for Quicken 2011 ranges from $29.99 to $89.99.

Patzer says of the new version: “It combines the best of Quicken with what we built into Mint.com to help ease the burden on people trying to manage their money…The product is customizable and intuitive, two things that people have come to expect from modern software.”

One feature that is clearly lacking between Quicken and Mint is the ability to sync your Quicken desktop software with your Mint.com web account, and integrate the data (Quicken Online users are being merged to Mint.com). But Patzer says that this will soon be added to the suite of products. His goal is for Quicken and Mint to work seamlessly across all platforms, including mobile.

On another note, the Intuit acquisition doesn’t seem to have stunted Mint.com’s growth. Patzer says that the platform has grown from 1.7 million users in September of 2009 to 4.2 million users currently.

It's almost impossible to have good saving habits without first having good spending habits. That's the problem that Burning Money, a new program from FoolProof aimed at teens, hopes to solve. Like the rest of the FoolProof series, Burning Money is an engaging series of real life issues that teens face, challenging them to complete a spending journal that will help them identify poor spending habits.



The free program is designed to be used in classrooms by teachers tasked with teaching personal finance, but Burning Money can also teach adults a thing or two about being a better spender – so that you can be a better saver. The program is distributed nationwide through credit unions and provides teachers with free tools and resources to teach students about personal finance in a real world manner.



Here's a look at one of the videos you'll find in Burning Money that helps teens understand how spending smarter translates into having more fun and doing more with their money.







As students work through Burning Money they'll be introduced to potential ways that they will "burn money" while making bad decisions that can come back to hurt them later in life. In the first section students get a first hand look at how late payments can hurt their credit score and what that means when they want to buy a job, get an apartment and more.



The program quickly jumps off into a reality game which tasks students with living on their own for one month complete with budgeting, writing checks and buying a car. The program walks students through the decisions and provides tips about how to write a check correctly as well as showing them the affect of their decisions on their bank account.



The first lesson students learn is that their car payment is $15 more a month because they have a bad credit score -- and so is their insurance premium; all because they didn't pay their bills on time. At the end of just the first month students are shown how their credit score, combined with some bad decisions have already cost them over $2,000 for the year in higher payments.



Since it's not just the big items that go into making smart spending decisions students will also face everyday choices like buying new jeans, that can be a money burning experience. The video below shows one way that Burning Money uses humor and video to get the point across.







FoolProof continues to be one of the most engaging and honest methods for teaching teens about money and best of all it is completely free. For the past several years we have seen a focus on preparing our kids for the new economy and as a college professor who speaks to graduates about personal finance the importance of learning good money habits early is illustrated to me every year.



I've seen everything from a student who had already been sent to collections numerous times for bad credit decisions which stemmed from the fact that all she knew about credit cards came from the companies offering them to her. On the other end of the spectrum I have three students right now who are some of the smartest spenders I have encountered with more in their investment portfolios than I do! These aren't "rich" kids, just students who know how to spend and how to save.



The best part about Burning Money and the FoolProof series is that it enables teachers and parents to teach teens how to make the right money decisions and good personal finance habits even if they aren't an expert. If you want to help your teens make smarter money choices, send this article to your teachers and let them know about this free resource for teaching teens about money.
benchcraft company portland or

<b>News</b> - Angelina Jolie to Critics: &quot;Hold Judgment&quot; Until You Have <b>...</b>

She fires back at reports that her directorial debut centers on a rape victim who falls for her captor.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/15 - Arrowhead Pride

Welcome to Friday boys and girls. Enjoy today's Kansas City Chiefs news!

Mine Coverage Taxes BBC <b>News</b> Budget - NYTimes.com

The BBC will cut back on some of its coverage plans for the rest of the year because of the high cost of covering the mine rescue in Chile.

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One of the reasons Aaron Patzer founded personal finance site Mint.com was because of his frustrations with Intuit’s financial management software Quicken. Quicken, says Patzer wasn’t user-friendly, and in Patzer’s own words “felt like a product from 1996.” Flash forward two years, and Patzer’s Mint.com (which was also a TechCrunch50 winner) was bought by Intuit for $170 million in the Fall of 2009. Clearly, Intuit perhaps agreed with Patzer, who is now vice president and general manager of Intuit’s personal finance group, that its own financial products needed a a makeover. Today, Quicken 2011 is debuting its software for Windows that includes more features from Mint.com.

This is the first version of Quicken to reflect the collaboration of the Quicken Desktop and Mint.com product and engineering teams since last fall. The new version for Windows users includes 360-degree financial view that brings together all accounts, including bank, credit card, investment and retirement. Intuit has also added support for 7,000 more banks and now lists 12,000 banks and credit union in the U.S.

Quicken’s new automated engine categorizes transactions (i.e. business, clothes, groceries, etc.) Credit card payments are automatically matched to transfers from checking or savings, to ensure they’re not double-counted. You can also create budgets within the software based on an individual’s historical spending and the software will include expense alerts and a graph to project cash flow help users avoid late fees and penalties. Pricing for Quicken 2011 ranges from $29.99 to $89.99.

Patzer says of the new version: “It combines the best of Quicken with what we built into Mint.com to help ease the burden on people trying to manage their money…The product is customizable and intuitive, two things that people have come to expect from modern software.”

One feature that is clearly lacking between Quicken and Mint is the ability to sync your Quicken desktop software with your Mint.com web account, and integrate the data (Quicken Online users are being merged to Mint.com). But Patzer says that this will soon be added to the suite of products. His goal is for Quicken and Mint to work seamlessly across all platforms, including mobile.

On another note, the Intuit acquisition doesn’t seem to have stunted Mint.com’s growth. Patzer says that the platform has grown from 1.7 million users in September of 2009 to 4.2 million users currently.

It's almost impossible to have good saving habits without first having good spending habits. That's the problem that Burning Money, a new program from FoolProof aimed at teens, hopes to solve. Like the rest of the FoolProof series, Burning Money is an engaging series of real life issues that teens face, challenging them to complete a spending journal that will help them identify poor spending habits.



The free program is designed to be used in classrooms by teachers tasked with teaching personal finance, but Burning Money can also teach adults a thing or two about being a better spender – so that you can be a better saver. The program is distributed nationwide through credit unions and provides teachers with free tools and resources to teach students about personal finance in a real world manner.



Here's a look at one of the videos you'll find in Burning Money that helps teens understand how spending smarter translates into having more fun and doing more with their money.







As students work through Burning Money they'll be introduced to potential ways that they will "burn money" while making bad decisions that can come back to hurt them later in life. In the first section students get a first hand look at how late payments can hurt their credit score and what that means when they want to buy a job, get an apartment and more.



The program quickly jumps off into a reality game which tasks students with living on their own for one month complete with budgeting, writing checks and buying a car. The program walks students through the decisions and provides tips about how to write a check correctly as well as showing them the affect of their decisions on their bank account.



The first lesson students learn is that their car payment is $15 more a month because they have a bad credit score -- and so is their insurance premium; all because they didn't pay their bills on time. At the end of just the first month students are shown how their credit score, combined with some bad decisions have already cost them over $2,000 for the year in higher payments.



Since it's not just the big items that go into making smart spending decisions students will also face everyday choices like buying new jeans, that can be a money burning experience. The video below shows one way that Burning Money uses humor and video to get the point across.







FoolProof continues to be one of the most engaging and honest methods for teaching teens about money and best of all it is completely free. For the past several years we have seen a focus on preparing our kids for the new economy and as a college professor who speaks to graduates about personal finance the importance of learning good money habits early is illustrated to me every year.



I've seen everything from a student who had already been sent to collections numerous times for bad credit decisions which stemmed from the fact that all she knew about credit cards came from the companies offering them to her. On the other end of the spectrum I have three students right now who are some of the smartest spenders I have encountered with more in their investment portfolios than I do! These aren't "rich" kids, just students who know how to spend and how to save.



The best part about Burning Money and the FoolProof series is that it enables teachers and parents to teach teens how to make the right money decisions and good personal finance habits even if they aren't an expert. If you want to help your teens make smarter money choices, send this article to your teachers and let them know about this free resource for teaching teens about money.
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<b>News</b> - Angelina Jolie to Critics: &quot;Hold Judgment&quot; Until You Have <b>...</b>

She fires back at reports that her directorial debut centers on a rape victim who falls for her captor.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/15 - Arrowhead Pride

Welcome to Friday boys and girls. Enjoy today's Kansas City Chiefs news!

Mine Coverage Taxes BBC <b>News</b> Budget - NYTimes.com

The BBC will cut back on some of its coverage plans for the rest of the year because of the high cost of covering the mine rescue in Chile.

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benchcraft company portland or

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<b>News</b> - Angelina Jolie to Critics: &quot;Hold Judgment&quot; Until You Have <b>...</b>

She fires back at reports that her directorial debut centers on a rape victim who falls for her captor.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/15 - Arrowhead Pride

Welcome to Friday boys and girls. Enjoy today's Kansas City Chiefs news!

Mine Coverage Taxes BBC <b>News</b> Budget - NYTimes.com

The BBC will cut back on some of its coverage plans for the rest of the year because of the high cost of covering the mine rescue in Chile.

benchcraft company portland or

One of the reasons Aaron Patzer founded personal finance site Mint.com was because of his frustrations with Intuit’s financial management software Quicken. Quicken, says Patzer wasn’t user-friendly, and in Patzer’s own words “felt like a product from 1996.” Flash forward two years, and Patzer’s Mint.com (which was also a TechCrunch50 winner) was bought by Intuit for $170 million in the Fall of 2009. Clearly, Intuit perhaps agreed with Patzer, who is now vice president and general manager of Intuit’s personal finance group, that its own financial products needed a a makeover. Today, Quicken 2011 is debuting its software for Windows that includes more features from Mint.com.

This is the first version of Quicken to reflect the collaboration of the Quicken Desktop and Mint.com product and engineering teams since last fall. The new version for Windows users includes 360-degree financial view that brings together all accounts, including bank, credit card, investment and retirement. Intuit has also added support for 7,000 more banks and now lists 12,000 banks and credit union in the U.S.

Quicken’s new automated engine categorizes transactions (i.e. business, clothes, groceries, etc.) Credit card payments are automatically matched to transfers from checking or savings, to ensure they’re not double-counted. You can also create budgets within the software based on an individual’s historical spending and the software will include expense alerts and a graph to project cash flow help users avoid late fees and penalties. Pricing for Quicken 2011 ranges from $29.99 to $89.99.

Patzer says of the new version: “It combines the best of Quicken with what we built into Mint.com to help ease the burden on people trying to manage their money…The product is customizable and intuitive, two things that people have come to expect from modern software.”

One feature that is clearly lacking between Quicken and Mint is the ability to sync your Quicken desktop software with your Mint.com web account, and integrate the data (Quicken Online users are being merged to Mint.com). But Patzer says that this will soon be added to the suite of products. His goal is for Quicken and Mint to work seamlessly across all platforms, including mobile.

On another note, the Intuit acquisition doesn’t seem to have stunted Mint.com’s growth. Patzer says that the platform has grown from 1.7 million users in September of 2009 to 4.2 million users currently.

It's almost impossible to have good saving habits without first having good spending habits. That's the problem that Burning Money, a new program from FoolProof aimed at teens, hopes to solve. Like the rest of the FoolProof series, Burning Money is an engaging series of real life issues that teens face, challenging them to complete a spending journal that will help them identify poor spending habits.



The free program is designed to be used in classrooms by teachers tasked with teaching personal finance, but Burning Money can also teach adults a thing or two about being a better spender – so that you can be a better saver. The program is distributed nationwide through credit unions and provides teachers with free tools and resources to teach students about personal finance in a real world manner.



Here's a look at one of the videos you'll find in Burning Money that helps teens understand how spending smarter translates into having more fun and doing more with their money.







As students work through Burning Money they'll be introduced to potential ways that they will "burn money" while making bad decisions that can come back to hurt them later in life. In the first section students get a first hand look at how late payments can hurt their credit score and what that means when they want to buy a job, get an apartment and more.



The program quickly jumps off into a reality game which tasks students with living on their own for one month complete with budgeting, writing checks and buying a car. The program walks students through the decisions and provides tips about how to write a check correctly as well as showing them the affect of their decisions on their bank account.



The first lesson students learn is that their car payment is $15 more a month because they have a bad credit score -- and so is their insurance premium; all because they didn't pay their bills on time. At the end of just the first month students are shown how their credit score, combined with some bad decisions have already cost them over $2,000 for the year in higher payments.



Since it's not just the big items that go into making smart spending decisions students will also face everyday choices like buying new jeans, that can be a money burning experience. The video below shows one way that Burning Money uses humor and video to get the point across.







FoolProof continues to be one of the most engaging and honest methods for teaching teens about money and best of all it is completely free. For the past several years we have seen a focus on preparing our kids for the new economy and as a college professor who speaks to graduates about personal finance the importance of learning good money habits early is illustrated to me every year.



I've seen everything from a student who had already been sent to collections numerous times for bad credit decisions which stemmed from the fact that all she knew about credit cards came from the companies offering them to her. On the other end of the spectrum I have three students right now who are some of the smartest spenders I have encountered with more in their investment portfolios than I do! These aren't "rich" kids, just students who know how to spend and how to save.



The best part about Burning Money and the FoolProof series is that it enables teachers and parents to teach teens how to make the right money decisions and good personal finance habits even if they aren't an expert. If you want to help your teens make smarter money choices, send this article to your teachers and let them know about this free resource for teaching teens about money.
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<b>News</b> - Angelina Jolie to Critics: &quot;Hold Judgment&quot; Until You Have <b>...</b>

She fires back at reports that her directorial debut centers on a rape victim who falls for her captor.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/15 - Arrowhead Pride

Welcome to Friday boys and girls. Enjoy today's Kansas City Chiefs news!

Mine Coverage Taxes BBC <b>News</b> Budget - NYTimes.com

The BBC will cut back on some of its coverage plans for the rest of the year because of the high cost of covering the mine rescue in Chile.

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benchcraft company portland or

<b>News</b> - Angelina Jolie to Critics: &quot;Hold Judgment&quot; Until You Have <b>...</b>

She fires back at reports that her directorial debut centers on a rape victim who falls for her captor.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/15 - Arrowhead Pride

Welcome to Friday boys and girls. Enjoy today's Kansas City Chiefs news!

Mine Coverage Taxes BBC <b>News</b> Budget - NYTimes.com

The BBC will cut back on some of its coverage plans for the rest of the year because of the high cost of covering the mine rescue in Chile.

benchcraft company portland or

<b>News</b> - Angelina Jolie to Critics: &quot;Hold Judgment&quot; Until You Have <b>...</b>

She fires back at reports that her directorial debut centers on a rape victim who falls for her captor.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/15 - Arrowhead Pride

Welcome to Friday boys and girls. Enjoy today's Kansas City Chiefs news!

Mine Coverage Taxes BBC <b>News</b> Budget - NYTimes.com

The BBC will cut back on some of its coverage plans for the rest of the year because of the high cost of covering the mine rescue in Chile.

benchcraft company portland or

<b>News</b> - Angelina Jolie to Critics: &quot;Hold Judgment&quot; Until You Have <b>...</b>

She fires back at reports that her directorial debut centers on a rape victim who falls for her captor.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/15 - Arrowhead Pride

Welcome to Friday boys and girls. Enjoy today's Kansas City Chiefs news!

Mine Coverage Taxes BBC <b>News</b> Budget - NYTimes.com

The BBC will cut back on some of its coverage plans for the rest of the year because of the high cost of covering the mine rescue in Chile.

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<b>News</b> - Angelina Jolie to Critics: &quot;Hold Judgment&quot; Until You Have <b>...</b>

She fires back at reports that her directorial debut centers on a rape victim who falls for her captor.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/15 - Arrowhead Pride

Welcome to Friday boys and girls. Enjoy today's Kansas City Chiefs news!

Mine Coverage Taxes BBC <b>News</b> Budget - NYTimes.com

The BBC will cut back on some of its coverage plans for the rest of the year because of the high cost of covering the mine rescue in Chile.

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If you are like many people, the word budget is associated with prison and an embarrassing admission that you are irresponsible or immature when it comes to personal finance. Forget the fact that every corporation has a balance sheet and annual budget within which they operate their business. The fact that you are even entertaining the idea of setting a budget could be seen as the ultimate sign of failure.

Personal finance will make you feel that way when you are spending the last few days of every pay period waiting on your next check to arrive. Before it even arrives you have already spent half of it trying to catch checks you have written before they hit the bank or called and made post-dated checks to pay bills automatically. But you realize that something has to give. You cannot continue to nickel and dime your way through life, pinching small loans off friends and family members to meet a deadline and give the money back a few days later. At what point will you decide that getting a handle on your finances is the most important thing you can do?

In fact, if you are reading this article, chances are that you are already at that point. You have already reached the point of knowing life is not going to get any better until you handle more responsibly, what you have right now. You know that if you got a promotion and a salary increase things would not change much because your financial situation has little to do with how much money is coming in. It is all about how much and to what the money is coming in, is going out to. When you face that reality you reach the point of beginning the process of practicing budgeting in your personal finances.

There are many misconceptions when it comes to budgeting. You have some budgets that are restrictive in nature whereas others are less stern. You have some budgets that pool every nickel you spend. And then you have budgets that only try to gauge how the real money is leaving your bank account. Here is a lesson you can apply today to solve this problem. You need a budget that will help you track you. If you visit the vending machines, convenience stores and the like every day, chances are you will need to watch every dime that you spend. If on the other hand, ninety percent of your purchases are big ticket items then a broader picture is necessary.

The picture is your budget. It is how you capture what you are doing. When it comes to personal finance your budget will operate like a compass letting you know where you are in reference to where you said you want to be. A budget does not begin with the end in mind though. In financial planning as a whole, the big picture is about where you want to end up. But when it comes to budgeting, where you are is the most important piece of information you need to capture.

Where you are is an accurate depiction of how much real money you have coming in on a consistent basis and where that money is going. It is not how much you think but a real accounting of your last four or five pay stubs. Now that you see how much money you have coming in, try to gather to as certain a degree as possible, the amount of money you have spent in the same period of time. This will include bills, food, and entertainment. Try to be as honest as possible in remembering how much money you have spent.

Track Your Spending

Now, against the advice of many financial planners, the first thing you need to do is track your spending for the next two weeks. Begin with the day you receive your next paycheck and track yourself the next fourteen days, keep a receipt or accurate amount of every dollar, quarter, and penny your spend. What this does is help to get a better, more accurate picture of where your money has gone.

Software

While this is going on, take some time to find a financial software package that will help you get things under control with your budget. Microsoft with its Money package and Intuit with its Quicken program are great tools to use. If you bank at a national institution chances are they have integrated software. So when you log in they have already tracked your spending and deposits in real-time.

You may find your bank's program the one of choice. The decision is yours and based on your own preferences. Now that you have the software and have spent fourteen days tracking your spending habits, what does the picture say about you? Have your bills eaten up the lion's share of your income? Have you spent a sizable sum of money on snacks at the office? You would be surprised how much money you spend when you add up two or three dollars a day.

Prioritize

After you have completed your tracking make a priority list of all your expenditures. Your expenditures are every store or vending machine you used to spend money. Each of these should have a dedicated line item attached to them so that you can assign them monies in your budget. Your priorities are somewhat of an inexact science. Of course, your mortgage and car loans are important, as are your light bills and if you are like me, wireless bills as well. These should be the highest on your priority list. This says if nothing else gets paid, these get paid. And scale it down all the way to the vending machine.

Discipline

What you must now do is make some decisions based on the information you have available. Budgeting is all about discipline. If you commit to doing something, following through on it becomes your top job. Now that you have prioritized how much money you need to spend versus how much you have been spending you may see that things are not as bad as they have been but you may be guilty of a lot of careless spending or bad personal financial decisions.

Identify Your Waste

Now that you have this snapshot of your finances what do you see about your spending habits? Do you see a lot of wasteful spending? Are late fees and penalties, stopping every day at Wal-Mart or Target, making a difficult situation a lot worse. No financial planner would allow you to put a plan in place and not force you to rid yourself of your poorest habits. The absolute worst of which is wasteful spending. When you buy what you do not need you dig your hole a little deeper for yourself. When you send money out on late fees and penalties you are losing money that could have paid for a romantic dinner for your spouse.

Now comes the plan, the budget. Your budget will include everything you have already read. Your budget is your analysis of where your money is doing. It also tells you how much is coming. Lastly, it helps you spend your money more effectively. Your budget is your commitment to discipline and your departure from excess. Keep the picture in mind and do not stray away from it. It is worth it in the end when you have bought the house you want and live in the area that you want to live in. For most, that only happens because of a budget, a disciplined approach to personal finance.


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<b>News</b> - Angelina Jolie to Critics: &quot;Hold Judgment&quot; Until You Have <b>...</b>

She fires back at reports that her directorial debut centers on a rape victim who falls for her captor.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/15 - Arrowhead Pride

Welcome to Friday boys and girls. Enjoy today's Kansas City Chiefs news!

Mine Coverage Taxes BBC <b>News</b> Budget - NYTimes.com

The BBC will cut back on some of its coverage plans for the rest of the year because of the high cost of covering the mine rescue in Chile.

big seminar 14

<b>News</b> - Angelina Jolie to Critics: &quot;Hold Judgment&quot; Until You Have <b>...</b>

She fires back at reports that her directorial debut centers on a rape victim who falls for her captor.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/15 - Arrowhead Pride

Welcome to Friday boys and girls. Enjoy today's Kansas City Chiefs news!

Mine Coverage Taxes BBC <b>News</b> Budget - NYTimes.com

The BBC will cut back on some of its coverage plans for the rest of the year because of the high cost of covering the mine rescue in Chile.

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