Disqus - Latest Comments for Llama Money

Re: Whoo Hoo: Washington Mutual Next to Fail?

Llama Money — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:40:04 -0000

Amy: Your mortgage doesn't go away, nor do the terms change. It's doubtful that WAMU actually "owns" your mortgage anyway - they probably just service it. Another bank will purchase the rights to service your loan, and you will send your payments in to the new bank. Just a different name and address on your mortgage checks - no worries at all.

Re: Passive Income: Real Estate? Blogging? I Don’t Think So

Llama Money — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:18:55 -0000

I'm not a landlord yet, but from what I know, you're dead on about the real estate. As a blogger, I'd say you're half-on with that side. Blogging is very, very hard work - much more so than many jobs. And it's certainly not an easy path to riches. But I think when *most* people refer to blogging as "passive" income, they mean that you earn round the clock, whether you're at the computer or not. If I take a day or 3 off from blogging, my content is still on the internet, racking up advertising dollars and adsense clicks.

Granted, it would be making more ( probably ) if I was actively working on it. But I don't have to pound on the keyboard every minute of every day to keep that money coming in. It's "passive", in a sense.

Re: Chrysler’s $2.99 Gas Guarantee: A Bad Deal

Llama Money — Wed, 14 May 2008 11:24:06 -0000

Flexo - you might want to change the title to: Buying a Chrysler: A Bad Deal.

I've never met someone who purchased a Chrysler ( Dodge included ) who actually didn't regret the purchase. Horrid vehicles, terrible quality, generally terrible mileage, ridiculous resale value. Etc Etc. I don't care if they guarantee gas at $0.99 per gallon, I wouldn't buy a Chrysler.

Re: Personal Income Statement, April 2008 (Net Income: $717)

Llama Money — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:49:55 -0000

That's a $3k per month drop because Google got their panties in a bunch - YIKES!. Takes a strong hand to give that up, with the hope for long term growth.

I sure hope that it works out for you, as it's a really tough pill to swallow. That's $36k per year.

Re: Unintended Consequences and Money

Llama Money — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:01:43 -0000

Now if only we can get the government to remove those subsidies.. we'll be back in business. The farmers will have it tough for a bit until they get back to their regular crop production... but they'll manage as they always do. Ethanol is a failure, 100%, plain and simple. Way, way more harm than good...

Sometimes it's best to just admit your mistakes, take your blows, and move on.

Re: Question for Tax Day: How Would YOU Reform the Tax Code?

Llama Money — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:58:05 -0000

A flat tax would cripple the lower and middle income citizens, and is an awful idea. The fair tax is a very neat idea, though it may do bad things to our economy. A progressive system is probably the *best* system, even though it's flawed. What I would like to see is a vast simplification of the tax code. It's so ridiculously complicated today that one needs a college degree in economics to understand it.

I can't help but think that simplifying things, removing many deductions, while lowering the overall tax rate, would be a better system. Same net revenue ( roughly ) with MUCH less hassle and BS.

Re: Personal Income Statement, March 2008 (Net Income: $9,257)

Llama Money — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:44:09 -0000

With the amount of traffic you get here, and the # of subscribers you have, I don't see any reason why you couldn't write here full time. I understand the risk, but still - imagine the freedom of not having a day job. A site redesign / overhaul, more focused direct ads ( less Adsense, so as to not overwhelm readers with ads ), and some rss ads.... you could do well.

Re: Thrasher Funds’ GendeX Mutual Fund: You Know, For Kids

Llama Money — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 11:52:35 -0000

From a business standpoint, I guess this model has some merit... the fees are high enough to make the fund managers rich without controlling a large amount of money. But any semi-savvy investor, Gen X, Y, or Z ( is there a Z? ) will be smart enough to stay far away. There are simply much better choices out there that DON'T eat away my returns with massive fees.

Re: 15 Families Hit Hard Recently: Time to Adjust Expectations?

Llama Money — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:03:32 -0000

Like John, I think Billie and her private school tuition bills are frivilous. A good public school will do just fine, and children will learn a bit more about the "real world" along the way. Private schools *are* just for rich people, or at least they should be. No one "deserves" a private school education, any more than they "deserve" a Lexus or mansion.

Re: New $5 Bill Now in Circulation: Is it Time to Revalue the Dollar?

Llama Money — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:52:40 -0000

90% silver coins are a great way to build up a silver collection. Me, I only have Silver and Gold eagles so far... need to hunt down some old 90% coins one of these days. As for bills, meh. I rarely have more than a handful of bills at a time... any large purchases are made with a credit card. They could make the $5 bills purple and pink for all it matters to me.

Re: Smart Women Marry for Money, and Here’s Why

Llama Money — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:17:31 -0000

Heh, I read the opening point. But further down you state:
"When smart women meet a partner, they aren't wooed by good looks and the smooth talk, after all those come a dime a dozen. These women are looking at how their potential partners spend money."

That sort of points you back in the other direction - money is more important than chemistry and physical attraction. Money matters, but being attracted to, and "clicking with" someone is more important.

Re: Smart Women Marry for Money, and Here’s Why

Llama Money — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:40:23 -0000

Perhaps the title is misleading then? The title suggests that money be the main focus of courtship, while the article tries to get away from that.

Curiosity makes me ask, why, in today's world, is it still expected that the man be the primary breadwinner / financial expert? Do you suggest that men also only seek women who are financially secure and have their financial future all planned out?

Not to sound sexist ( though this probably will sound that way ), but if men only married women who were financially secure and great with money, there would be a whole lot more single people in the world today.

Re: Smart Women Marry for Money, and Here’s Why

Llama Money — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:05:50 -0000

I'm going to side with the other commentators here... Focusing on a man's financial savvy isn't really what you should be looking for when dating. Sure, having money is great, and having money skills is important to. But marriage is most certainly not a business, and those who view it that way will either be unhappy, or end up in divorce court.

Take control of finances together, and you'll (both) be much happier in the long run.

Re: Increased 401(k) Contribution Rate

Llama Money — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:11:42 -0000

At first I was astounded to see that you upped your contribution to 33% - that's way more than most folks can afford. But of course I forgot that you make a good bit outside of your day job. Kudos for being smart and tucking away that much for retirement. Still takes a lot of discipline.

Re: Profile Pictures (Avatars) in the Comments

Llama Money — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:52:41 -0000

I noticed that today actually, and I have to say the addition of some small llama icons on your site is welcome ;)

Re: How the Future U.S. President Wants to Tax You

Llama Money — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:46:21 -0000

DF:
I'm no economic genius or analyst, or anything of the sort. As a regular guy, I have trouble following your logic. Perhaps there's a big portion I'm missing ( probably ) but here's how I look at it. Say the new president cuts taxes, and Joe Consumer pays $1,000 less in taxes for the year. He takes said $1,000 and buys himself a new computer at Best Buy - he deserves it after all. Profit margins being slim on computers, let's say BB's profit is just $200 on that computer. Since a business pays taxes on profit rather than gross revenue, they only pay taxes on that $200.

Even if their tax rate is 50% ( impossible? I don't know. Sounds high ), they would pay $100 in taxes. So how does the government make that balance? They forgo $1,000 in tax revenue to receive $100 in tax revenue. That's a $900 net loss.

I understand that tax cuts can help the economy, but I don't understand how they can actually increase tax revenue. Please help me shed some light on this.

Re: How the Future U.S. President Wants to Tax You

Llama Money — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:51:32 -0000

Yup, I'd much rather hear about candidates plans to cut the fat from the budget. Naturally folks like us don't really see what gets spent on what, but I'm sure they're PLENTY of fat to be cut. Let's start there, and then we'll see about more tax cuts.

Re: How the Future U.S. President Wants to Tax You

Llama Money — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:55:05 -0000

All this talk about tax cuts, and no talk about how in the world we would pay for it. The federal government runs a deficit every year, and the total nation debt is incomprehensible by regular folks like you and I.

I like paying less taxes as much as the next guy, but let's get real - we're going to have to pay for it one day, one way or another.

Re: Ken Jennings’ Quote of the Day and What Would You Do With $1.5 Million?

Llama Money — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:50:37 -0000

With a cool $1.5 million check, life would instantly become very very easy. Blow a hundred grand on, well, "crap". Fancy electronics, toys, clothes, vacation, etc. Keep about $100k around for a super-emergency fund, and fully invest the rest in a fancy diversified mix of stocks / funds. 10% average return nets me a cool $130k / year. Live on $90k pre-tax ( only 15% cap gains tax = the win ).. should be set for life.

My wife and I would quit working full-time, of course, and I could pursue my side business full-time to supplement the investment income.

Re: Presidential Dollar Coins: New Designs in 2008 and Future Changes

Llama Money — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:40:59 -0000

From what I understand ( not much really ), it's usually the Proof coins that *can* gain value. Those are the really nice ones, usually cased in plastic or glass to keep fingerprints and such away.

Re: Personal Income Statement, December 2007 (Net Income: $4,252)

Llama Money — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:18:54 -0000

$77 grand for the side business? Fantastic job. If the first half of 08 continues to trend that way, then you really may need to consider going full-time for yourself. Nearly $80 grand in part-time hours ( even if you're putting in another 40 in addition to your 40 at your day job ) is insane... imagine what you could do with 100% focus.

Re: ING Direct Lowered Commissions for ShareBuilder Accounts

Llama Money — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:13:34 -0000

Even at $9.95 it's tough to swallow unless you're placing large orders. Like Eden said - investing $100 or $200 at a time doesn't make any sense if 5-10% of your money is instantly eaten by commissions. And of course you get to pay again when it's time to sell - making it even tougher to swallow.

no-load Mutual funds are the way to go for small investors, I think. At least until you have enough to buy larger amounts of individual stock.

Re: Compact Fluorescent to Become Mainstream

Llama Money — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 16:09:42 -0000

Rory - Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. However, it's hard to write off an entire line of products because one person had a bad experience. I'm sure someone somewhere has had a bad experience with a hybrid car, does that mean we should write them off completely?

Re: Compact Fluorescent to Become Mainstream

Llama Money — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:08:20 -0000

There is now a very wide range of light "colors" for CFL's. They don't all give off that cold ugly harsh light anymore - many look identical to incandescent bulbs. You'll just need to try a few different color ratings ( on the box ) and figure out what you like best.

Re: Overspending for the Kids

Llama Money — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:33:09 -0000

I admit spending too much on my one child ( it's hard, no doubt about it. ). But $300 cell phone, $60 / day summer camp? You've got to be kidding. That's $180 PER DAY all summer long. Assuming 5 days per week and 8 weeks long, that's $7200 on summer camp - absurd. No reason they should be spending that much.

These folks simply need to learn to say no - they're going broke and teaching their kids horrible habits.

Re: Monthly Reminder: Subscribe to Consumerism Commentary

Llama Money — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 22:08:57 -0000

6k? Dang. I've been a subscriber since the dawn of time ( at least it seems that way ). Great job and keep it up! I'm only 5,998 subscribers behind you, by the way - you better watch out!

Re: Time to Run and Hide From Stocks?

Llama Money — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 10:09:23 -0000

The author hit on a very important part - knowing when to get back in. If you're going to jump ship every time things look shaky, then you need to be prepared with the knowledge of what to look for, and when it's time to get back in. If you're not prepared for that, then just stay the course and keep your money invested intelligently.

Re: Higher Health Insurance Premiums for Overweight: Discrimination?

Llama Money — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:00:15 -0000

I'm carrying around an extra 25 pounds more than I should, so I'd likely get hit with higher premiums too if my company worked this way. I still agree with it though,even if I hate the idea of insurance companies making MORE money. If anything, it's an added incentive to stay fit and in shape. I would hate the first few months of paying extra, but in the end, I'd be in better shape and healthier because of it.

Re: Higher Health Insurance Premiums for Overweight: Discrimination?

Llama Money — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:58:51 -0000

Medical conditions don't cause obesity. Poor lifestyle habits do. Many medical conditions can cause a person to become obese more easily - but that's not to say it can't be prevented. It just requires self-control and discipline, much like managing one's finances.

Re: Fund 2007 Roth IRA in One Lump Sum?

Llama Money — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:10:28 -0000

I say jump in, the water's fine. DCA does lower risk, but it also lowers potential return. Since you're investing in stocks ( through the mutual fund ), and you're investing long term, I say bite the bullet and do it. A little risk for a lot of reward.

Re: Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Trust

Llama Money — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:26:49 -0000

What is meant by "trust in his riches"? I don't really understand what is being said there.

Re: Let's Celebrate - 100 Subscribers!

Llama Money — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:16:59 -0000

Congrats - that's a heck of a lot of progress in two months. I'd take half those numbers and I've been in business for longer!

BTW off topic, but your layout breaks in firefox. The sidebars are below the content instead of next to it.

Re: College Expenses: Should parents pay for their children's tuition?

Llama Money — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:44:21 -0000

Help is good, no doubt - just not a free ride. I think you and I have similar outlooks on kid's college costs. If school is free, and they don't have to work, how hard will they really try, and what will they really learn?

Re: Please pray for my wife

Llama Money — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:15:01 -0000

I am praying for your wife. Please stay with her and keep us updated on when she gets better. Doctors can do some pretty amazing things these days, so don't worry.

Re: Guest Post: Concentrate On Savings

Llama Money — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:41:19 -0000

True, but if Trader Tim managed to up his savings just a little, I'd imagine that his superior returns would have done some pretty amazing things and crushed ol' Saver Bob.

Focus on saving, sure, but definitely don't ignore investing choices. It rarely takes more time to make some simple choices that almost always turn out for the better.

Re: Drive Free Cars and Retire Rich!

Llama Money — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:37:28 -0000

Then there's also the not small problem of selling a car a year later, for the same price you paid for it. If you get a great deal on the car, maybe. You'll also need to have some serious car knowledge, as well as some good selling shoes.

I think this is one of those ideas that sounds great in a magazine. When you crunch the numbers and try to apply it in real life, meh not so much.

Re: Lies and Money: What are you keeping from your spouse?

Llama Money — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:46:34 -0000

Nearly all of my friends and coworkers have some "shedont" money laying around. That is, money "she dont" know about. They use it on beer, poker, strippers, whatever.

I won't lie - I've *considered* underestimating my income to my wife, so that I could sock some more away. And undoubtedly we'd have much more money in savings if I did so. If she doesn't know about it, she sure can't spend it. But I refuse to do anything of the sort. I don't lie to my wife about anything ( it's non-negotiable to me ), and I won't start with money. Even if I had the greater good in mind ( more financial security for us ), I won't lie to her. If you have to lie to your spouse, then you shouldn't be married.

Re: Revisit the Paper Trading Concept

Llama Money — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:48:26 -0000

I'm on board with paper trading to learn the ropes - for a short period. After a few months of executing trades and watching the effects of your decisions, then it should be time to start trading with real money.

Just jumping in with cold hard cash without any idea of what you are doing... not so good. Paper trading ( using one of the virtual trading websites ) shows you the jist of how to execute a market or limit order, what the difference is, and how it affects your portfolio.

Re: Crude Above $115 per Barrel, Short Oil Stocks?

Llama Money — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:07:21 -0000

Keep in my my knowledge of chart voodoo is exactly zero, but I'd say it takes some mighty big cajones to short any stock having anything to do with oil these days.

Llama Money's last blog post..Don’t invest to save the world

Re: How Much Is Our Blog Worth?

Llama Money — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:31:23 -0000

Damn Cow that's some really strong revenue for 1k uniques per day. Perhaps I have more to learn from you and your bovine ways.

Llama Money's last blog post..Fast Food Kills Your Wallet

Re: John Cow dot Com called out Garry Conn dot Com

Llama Money — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:59:58 -0000

I can't wait to see who comes away the winner - I've been a reader of the Cow and Garry for awhile. If I had to place a bet, I'd put it on the Cow. Sorry Garry! Maybe you'll prove me wrong.

Llama Moneys last blog post..Carnival of Net Worth #3

Re: GM Volt Milestone: First Prototype Running on Lithium Ion Battery

Llama Money — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:58:52 -0000

40 mile EV range is more than enough for most - especially considering it does have a gas engine for long trips. Nearly everyone's work communite is

Will I buy one? Probably not. I have an 07 Civic Hybrid that does just fine for me. But when it finally keels over ( should be many, many years ), hopefully the Volt's offspring will be attractive.

Re: Be Different. Be Unique. Be Creative. Be RICH!!!

Llama Money — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:31:46 -0000

Just curious - are you really into aircraft or are the CPC's just awesome? I've never researched it, nor have I ever heard anything about that niche.

Re: Terrible Luck With WordPress Themes

Llama Money — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:59:02 -0000

It's always hell trying to get one theme to look perfect in FF and IE. If only IE understood CSS the right way, we wouldn't have all these problems! Instead we spend years learning how to write incorrectly so that IE understands it, only to have FF hate it!

Re: Make Money Online With DriverLoans.com

Llama Money — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 08:53:11 -0000

I like how you showed the use of MNF pretty thoroughly in this video. It made me head out and search for some more reviews on it to see if it might be something I want.

So far it looks like it might be - if nothing else, it will keep you from wasting your time on pointless posts / keywords.

Re: Which Is Better: GIMP Versus Photoshop?

Llama Money — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:38:44 -0000

GIMP is only acceptable IF money is a huge problem. Since it isn't for you, buy Photoshop. GIMP has such an awkward interface... especially if you come from a photoshop background. I hate GIMP with a passion... just because nothing is where it's supposed to be...

Functionally it's a fine alternative for most people. But from an interface standpoint, ugh. In your case though, I'd say stick with version 6. No real reason to upgrade in my eyes.

Re: Be Different. Be Unique. Be Creative. Be RICH!!!

Llama Money — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:31:46 -0000

Just curious - are you really into aircraft or are the CPC's just awesome? I've never researched it, nor have I ever heard anything about that niche.

Re: Terrible Luck With WordPress Themes

Llama Money — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:59:02 -0000

Re: Make Money Online With DriverLoans.com

Llama Money — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 08:53:11 -0000

Re: Which Is Better: GIMP Versus Photoshop?

Llama Money — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:38:44 -0000