Sunday, November 29, 2009

TMZ says Tiger's Wife Caused Accident

I know this is not personal finance related. But, pulled this article from one of my favorite fantasy sports websites (Rotoworld).
TMZ.com is reporting that Tiger Woods' wife, Elin Nordegren, caused his SUV accident when she distracted him by hitting the vehicle with a golf club as he was driving away after an argument regarding another woman.

TMZ says that Elin confronted him after seeing a report about him seeing another woman and then went after him and the SUV when he bolted from the house around 2:30 a.m. on Friday morning. Oh, the drama. TMZ has become a fairly reliable source about these kind of reports, but we'll have to see what the police say after interviewing him over the weekend." (TMZ)

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Recommended Personal Finance Articles From: The Digerati Life, Free Money Finance, My Two Dollars, My Good Cents

Here's several recommended articles from those sites that share links with Plugged in Finance. I hope they are of use to you.

The Digerati Life. "Why Lottery Winners Go Broke: Prospect Theory at Work"

Free Money Finance. "What Real Millionaires Do."

My Two Dollars. "Using Twitter To Get Better Customer Service."

My Good Cents. Free Taco Del Mar chicken taco with purchase of chicken taco.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

IIHS Announcement of "Top Safety Picks" is Out to Lunch

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) announced this week its "top safety picks" amongst 2010 autos. IIHS performs an invaluable task in identifying cars that are safe for consumers. You can read their list of selectees here. Motortrend also has a good pictorial.

What I cannot accept though is IIHS' use of the word "top" in its selection. "Top" in no way describes the selectees. 52 cars were tested and 27 were selected as "Top Safety Picks." This huge number of selectees yields a fifty-two percent selection rate. Hey IIHS: Let me recommend you call your selectess "Top Half Safety Picks." If that doesn't sound good it's because it's not.

You hardly ever hear college-bound students brag about scoring a 21 on their ACT because this is the average.

I suspect you rarely hear somebody brag about having an IQ of 100 because this is the average IQ score.

General Electric has always prescribed to a philosophy that if it can't be either number one or two in an industry, it has no business of being in it.

IIHS: Do us all a favor and award the "top safety picks" to those that are truly top in safety. We the consumer should not be considered dumb. Unemployment rates are at all time highs and many 401ks have been reduced to 201ks. Consumers value the money in their car budget. Do us the favor of restricting your "top safety picks" to the top two of each car segment. Those that don't finish in the top two of their category but meet minimum criteria can be given a "Pass." Those that fail to meet minimum criteria can be referred to as a "Fail." It's that simple. If you want to have a larger listing, you can also rank the tested cars from best to worst regardless of generic "pass" or "fail" score.

Keep up the great work IIHS, but remember you can do a better job.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Recommended Personal Finance Articles From: Free Money Finance, My Two Dollars, Fund My Mutual Fund, Mighty Bargain Hunter, Financial Armageddon...

Here's several recommended articles from those sites that share links with Plugged in Finance. I hope they are of use to you.

Free Money Finance. "How to Become a Billionaire"

My Two Dollars. "35 Ways to Watch Television Without Cable or Satellite"

Fund My Mutual Fund. "Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Mumbai to join New York, London, Paris as World's Dominant Cities by 2025"

Money Smart Life. "52 Extra Ways to Make Money." Money Smart Life actually posts a link to another site's article (PT Money).

Mighty Bargain Hunter. "Here’s a great comeback when negotiating to buy a property"

Financial Armageddon. "The Financial Body Count." Article that discusses the federal government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).

Darwin's Finance. "Why Do People Pay More Money for the top of the Line Model? Incremental Value Analysis"

Everyday Finance. "Launch of a Risky and Perhaps Very Profitable Emerging Markets ETF"

Dual Income No Kids. "Rumor: Fake Morgan Dollars Being Made in China." As recently as 2007 I noticed fake Morgans being sold in Afghanistan Bazaars. Perhaps these were coming in from China.

Go Banking Rates. "Where are the Jobs? An Infographic"

Dividends4Life. "Stock Analysis: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)"

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Recommended Personal Finance Articles From: Free Money Finance, Fund My Mutual Fund, Financial Armageddon, Everyday Finance, Master Your Card

Here's several recommended articles from those sites that share links with Plugged in Finance. I hope they are of use to you.

Free Money Finance. "Americans Not Ready For Retirement."

Fund My Mutual Fund. "Wells Fargo (WFC) Kicks the Can by Transforming Option ARM Mortgages into Interest Only." Aside: I'm completely out of bank investments.

Financial Armageddon. "My Latest Market Observation." Closer review of US productivity.

Everyday Finance. "The Best Wisdom From Consumer Reports December 2009 Edition."

Master Your Card. "Don't Pay the Geek Squad: Extended Warranty is Free Through Visa."

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Recommended Personal Finance Articles From: The Digerati Life, MoneyNing, Free Money Finance, Financial Armageddon, Dual Income No Kids

Just having a lazy Sunday watching the NFL and my fantasy football leagues.

Here's several recommended articles from those sites that share links with Plugged in Finance. I hope they are of use to you.

The Digerati Life. "New Credit Card Rules, Opting Out of Interest Rate Increases"

MoneyNing. "Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Early?"

Free Money Finance. "A Great Way to Get a Degree Without Paying For It"

Fund My Mutual Fund. "Barron's: A Scare That Can Last Beyond Halloween (Technical Analysis)."

Financial Armageddon. "An Artificial High."

Dual Income No Kids. "Apartment Shopping? Three Tips for Rent Negotiation."