Have the males of the human species outlived their usefulness? A bit of a scary thought, I suppose. But a break from the the scandals that have filled the newsfeeds this past week.

written by Joe

I stopped to pick up a bottle of Malibu Rum, it’s coconut flavored and an ingredient in a punch we like to make now and then. I saw two sizes, 750ml and 1.75ml.

You can see in the picture, it was $20 vs $32 (I round up a cent). The small bottle cost $26.67 per liter and the larger bottle, $18.29 per liter, or nearly 1/3 less. The other way I’m looking at this is that I get a full liter more for $12 more when bumping to the next size. Sort of like if there were a sale, buy one for $20 get a second one for $9.

• Do you pay close attention to the cost difference between two sizes of the same item?
• Would you have stuck with the smaller bottle in this situation?
• Where do you draw the line? Is it by price or the utility of the item? (Ask me about the gallon of mustard I once bought)
• If it’s a perishable, how long do you stand there and calculate whether you’ll finish it before it spoils?

written by Joe \\ tags: Frugal, rum

The Boston Consulting Group recently issued a report on global wealth, Global Wealth 2013, Maintaining Momentum in a Complex World.

A few of the statistics from this report caught my attention:

• Global Wealth ended 2012 at $135.5 trillion.
• 39% of this wealth was held by 1% of all households.
• The number of millionaire households rose to 13.8 million

Let’s look at the implication of doing a bit of math on these numbers.

• The remaining 61% of wealth is $82.6 trillion
• Divided over a world population, this is an average $12,000 per person for the rest of us.
• Mean Wealth in the world is about $3600.
• Total US wealth is $43 trillion, 32% of global wealth, with less than 5% of the population.
• This divides down to an average $136K for each person in the US, but even this is concentrated at the top so most have much less.

An interesting report to me. It helps put into perspective how rich the US is when compared to the rest of the world, and within the US how wealth is concentrated among the select few. How you pondered these numbers? Were you surprised, or was it what you’d expect?

written by Joe \\ tags: income, wealth

Today’s guest post is from Noreen Ruth -

Warning signs are everywhere with some so downright hilarious that the seriousness of the issue is lost in the hilarity. For example, “Not intended for human consumption” was a warning on a bottle of bubble bath. Or this one found on the packaging for a set of earplugs, “These ear plugs are nontoxic but may interfere with breathing, if caught in windpipe.” Or this warning on a hairdryer, “Warning: Do not use while taking a shower.” Well, duh!

While we may get a little chuckle from these seemingly silly warnings, their intent to protect is serious business. Consider the consequences of simply ignoring any of these warnings. In the same way, signs that point to poorly managed finances have dire consequences, if you don’t take them seriously.

Ignoring the Wisdom of Others
One reason some people are surprised to find themselves in financial trouble is that they were indifferent to the clues that were clearly on display. Inexperience and arrogance often go hand-in-hand when troubles are left unresolved. Wise advice is considered irrelevant or out-dated for the situation. Those who step up to point out clues to trouble ahead might include family and friends who have more experience to draw from. They offer their help so that you might avoid pitfalls that they may have gone through – perhaps because they ignored the signs.

The right attitude about money is vital to establishing and maintaining excellent financial management skills. If you still rely on parents or friends to support your way of living, you need to resolve your dependency or miss wonderful opportunities for growth and personal success. Money is a means to an end and should be thought of as a tool to be used to build and live a sustainable life.

To write about all of the warning signs of a poorly managed financial lifestyle would fill a book. For our purposes and with word count restraints in place, the most common warning signs are included in this checklist.

• Has Little or No Savings: The target to shoot for is a minimum of six months worth of savings to cover any unexpected job loss or emergency. Without this safety net, you’ll be inviting disaster. A recent survey shows that nearly half of Americans have less than $500 in the bank.
• Doesn’t follow a Budget: Anything well managed incorporates a plan to reach their goals; and so it goes with finances. Without one there’s no direction and will be easy to get off track.
• Insufficient Income/Poor Job Performance/Outdated Job Skills: These issues are interrelated with one impacting the other two and vise versa. Begin by learning a new skill and being more responsible on the job and the income will resolve over time with a new job or a pay raise.
• Uses Payday Loans: Using one of these is an act of self-imposed desperation. Not only are you borrowing on your own future income, you’ll be paying interest to someone else to borrow your own money.
• 5+ Year Car Loan: Pushing an auto loan beyond 60 months is a warning sign that the loan is too much to handle in your current situation.
• Denied a Loan or a Credit Card: If lenders consider you too high risk to approve additional credit, this is a warning sign that you already have too much debt in relation to your income.
• Uncontrolled Credit Card Spending: Credit cards should never be used as supplementary income. Never use one to purchase everyday necessities – do without until cash is available. Eventually it all needs to be paid back to the lenders, a bumpy road for sure when you’re overwhelmed by credit card debt on multiple accounts.
• Agreeing to Debt Consolidation while Continuing to Use Credit: This strategy will backfire, as you will basically be standing still while incorporating a plan that would normally help lower debt. Consolidating all your debt into one account can be a great way to dig your way out of debt, but not if you keep using your available credit.

Personal reasons unrelated to finance that may be triggers to future financial problems, include a lack of or insufficient insurance coverage on your health, car and home. Disputes and disagreements between couples about money are the most common relationship problem. Sometimes one partner lies or hides the truth about how they’re spending the couple’s money. Issues like these need to be addressed and worked on until a joint agreement has been reached.

By keeping alert to the warning signs of poor financial management and correcting your course when one crops up will free up funds to invest in college for the kids or to pad your investments set aside to secure a carefree financial future for your retirement years.

Identifying the warning signs is the first step; the second is equally important. You need to take action to resolve the issues to protect your financial integrity and future in the best interest of yourself and your loved ones.

About The Author: Noreen Ruth is a staff writer for www.asapcreditcard.com, a site that provides credit tips, news, credit card comparisons and reviews. She is interested in educating consumers about using credit responsibly and taking actions that will affect their ability to borrow the money they may need in the future.

written by Joe \\ tags: Finance, saving

Let’s start this week with Andy Hough’s My Retirement Blog. Andy wrote why you should Take Advantage of a Stretch IRA, along with excellent examples of the kind of withdrawals required at various ages. The difference between taking the money and running and taking the deposits over the years can be huge. As long as the tax code still permits, consider the stretch if you are fortunate enough to inherit an IRA account.

Still on the IRA topic, at 20 Something Finance, G.E. Miller wrote Roth vs. Traditional Retirement Accounts: Why Roths are Not Always the Clear Winner. You see, there’s a bit of forecasting required, what bracket are you in now, and what might it be in the future? Those who retire with all their money in a Roth IRA have left money on the table, or worse, in Uncle Sam’s pocket.

Barb Friedberg asked (and answered) What Happens When Fed Exits From Stimulus? Yes, that’s the million dollar question. No, I’m not going to give you the punchline, just tell you that Barb offers a great discussion on the topic, tell her I sent you.

The discussion surround Apple and its offshore cash hoard seems to be fading in the news. One last article on the topic from Robert D Flach, the Wandering Tax Pro. Robert says Don’t Blame Apple, and agrees that they are simply following good business practice. If you have a congressman who is your friend, neighbor, or just in your pocket, why not tell them to suggest that the fault isn’t with Apple, but with our tax code, It’s congress’ job to fix this.

Andy Hough also guest posted at Tight Fisted Miser. He was still stretching, but this time he wrote How to Stretch your 5% cash back. A clever strategy to get 5% on more than just the select categories your card offers that quarter.

We’ll close this week’s roundup with William Cowie’s guest post at Five Cent Nickel – What do you do with your windfalls? A great question, as I often observe how people will treat their tax refund as a windfall, yet, it’s money out of their check every pay period. Check out Will’s thoughts on windfalls.

I’ve been tinkering a bit with a PB blogger feed. A page of the last couple posts that bloggers I follow have written. So far My Favorite PF Bloggers  is how I follow the PF bloggers I like best.

written by Joe \\ tags: federal reserve, Finance, IRA, Savings