Disqus - Latest Comments for WealthBoy

Re: Prosper Investing Tips and Testimonial

WealthBoy — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:13:51 -0000

I'm just reinvesting funds I already have there now that I'm able to once
again. I have nothing to lose but my initial investment.

Re: Prosper Investing Tips and Testimonial

WealthBoy — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:36:35 -0000

That seems about right. My net loss to date is $225.45 and my net
investment was $2,500.

Re: Last Day for Free FICO Score on Mint.com

WealthBoy — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:09:11 -0000

Sorry, this promotion was over quite some time ago.

Re: Having Trouble Refinancing? Borrow from a Rich Friend or Family Member

WealthBoy — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:17:14 -0000

Many banks are just simply unwilling to take on additional risk right now,
even with those that have above average credit.

Re: Prosper to Provide Secondary Lending Market

WealthBoy — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:21:24 -0000

According to Prosper, my account value is currently sitting at $2,725.77, which would be a bit over 7% ROI (on $2,550). My average loan age is 290 days, so annualized it's about 8.5%. Of course, I'm not that naive to believe that my ROI is going to be 8.5% since I currently have six loans that are over 15 days past due.

The six loans that are late, represent $280.55 of the account value and I would say most of that is at risk. The worst case would be if all six default and nothing is recovered. If that were to transpire, I would be at -4.1%, or about -5.2% annualized.

Re: Prosper Investing Tips and Testimonial

WealthBoy — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 11:16:13 -0000

Things certainly haven't gone as well as I've hoped. It will be interesting to see how things pan out once the secondary market on Prosper opens, if it receives SEC approval. I doubt if anything will come from the class action suit, as anyone (other than the attorneys) ever win anything from these. I (and other Prosper investors) accepted the risk of investing in Prosper and realized that incurring loss was a possibility.

Re: Prosper to Provide Secondary Lending Market

WealthBoy — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:52:38 -0000

I was well aware that when I funded my account it would be a very long time
before I would see my money again. In fact, I knew that if I invested
poorly that I would never see it again, so I have no regrets. Until the
quiet period, I had been reinvesting all of the principal and interest
payments I had received. My total time horizon before I get my money back
(if I make a positive return) is much longer than 36 months.

I intend to compound the payments for 36 months and then take a look at my
overall performance over that period of time. After 36 months I will see
where I stand and then decide whether or not Prosper will be a good place to
keep investing. I will not be putting up any loans for sale on the
secondary market before then. Ask me again 36 months from now whether I
have any regrets, and I might give you a different answer. ;)

I will probably purchase loans for sale on the secondary market, especially
if I am able to buy them at a discount. It may also be more convenient to
purchase loans on the secondary market rather than the primary market.
There will be no wait for loan approval, funding, and possible cancellation
if the loan is not approved. The secondary market will probably become my
market of choice when it comes to reinvesting principal and interest,
because it will be possible to redeploy the funds much quicker.

Re: a zero-sum worldview

WealthBoy — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:44:17 -0000

I agree that creating wealth is not a zero-sum game and I think you summed it up nicely (pun intended). Fundamentally speaking, wealth is not really about money, which is sometimes a difficult for people to understand. Wealth is about providing value. When you work for a living, you (hopefully) provide value to a customer (somewhere down the line). If you do not provide value, then you represent an inefficiency within the economy.

There are certainly many inefficiencies within the economy where people perform work that does not necessarily provide value. However, in the long-run these inefficiencies disappear, particularly when there is a downturn in the economy. That is when companies look for inefficiencies and and reduce them with layoffs. Many of those that are laid off might go on to start their own businesses which in turn creates more value for people in new ways. If they do not start their own businesses, they will eventually find new jobs where they are likely to provide value to customers.

Re: Media Does not Understand the Federal Reserve System

WealthBoy — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:31:42 -0000

Yes, I believe that was the same point that MD was making. You may be correct and that might be exactly what the authors meant.

Re: Media Does not Understand the Federal Reserve System

WealthBoy — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:23:49 -0000

Yes, I am aware of this, it is exactly what my point was. The bill is a government sponsored plan. Because it has gotten so much coverage in the press, reporters are quick to mention the actions of the Federal Reserve as actions of the U.S. government.

Re: Media Does not Understand the Federal Reserve System

WealthBoy — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:12:04 -0000

Could you please elaborate on what it is you believe I misstated?

Re: Media Does not Understand the Federal Reserve System

WealthBoy — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:10:13 -0000

Perhaps it is. Thanks for the correction and English lesson, I've updated the post accordingly.

Re: Media Does not Understand the Federal Reserve System

WealthBoy — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:07:54 -0000

You do make an interesting point in your analogy of inflation as a tax. It certainly has been evident for some time that the Fed has been quite intent on depreciating the dollar with its monetary policy.

Re: 7 mistakes not to make in a crisis

WealthBoy — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:07:02 -0000

I couldn't agree more with point #2. I've done the same as you and I recently doubled my contribution. If you have a company match, it's even more reason to continue contributing to your 401(k).

Re: Improving Cash Flow vs. Accumulating Wealth

WealthBoy — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:37:38 -0000

For many, improved cash flow indeed does provide a sense of security even when it is to the detriment of net worth. I think it helps to be informed when making such decisions by realizing the long-term cost and developing a good view of the big picture. In the grand scheme of things, 20 months isn't a long time to finish paying off an auto loan and in month 21 cash flow would improve by $670 vs. $600.

Re: the common thread in your bad jobs is YOU

WealthBoy — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:32:52 -0000

I agree that the best way to improve your career is to move into doing something different. If you can afford to make a drastic change and start an entirely new career, I say go for it. This is relatively easy to do if you're single or married without children and both of you working. However, for someone who is is the sole provider for their family, it may not be possible to start from ground zero.

It is still possible to get into a new career if you are in such a situation. The change needs to be a slow progression, moving from something slightly different and taking small steps. Networking and creating work for yourself in different areas are good ways to get into other areas. Who you know is just as important as what you know, if not more so. Ultimately it is always possible to make career changes no matter what your situation is.

Re: when does intellectual curiousity stop?

WealthBoy — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:36:10 -0000

I'm not so sure that intellectual curiosity begins to wane as one gets older. I think that modern day media has taken a big bite out of the market share that books once had. I believe that engaging in intelligent, interactive discussions with others online is just as healthy for stimulating intellectual curiosity as reading a book.

Re: Introducing the New DISQUS

WealthBoy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:36:29 -0000

You bet. It would probably be best to give users the option to either automatically claim imported comments or receive notification in order to "manually claim" imported comments on other blogs. I foresee the import notifications becoming a nuisance as more bloggers make the switch (as I'm certain you hope they do), so giving users the option to automatically claim imported comments would be another good feature.

Perhaps a viewable log can be kept of automatically and manually claimed comments. This will allow the user to review anything that was automatically claimed and unclaim, delete, or edit the comments. This would allow the user to handle rare cases where someone else has acted as an impostor with the user's email address.

I'm sure there are a lot of Disqus users that are quite active commenting in the blogosphere (as I try to be) in non-Disqus commenting systems that may eventually switch over. I have posted comments on probably over a dozen different blogs, and if any one of them switch to Disqus, unless it is a blog I frequent I will have no idea that the switch was made. It would be nice to just have Disqus automatically claim the comments for me.

Re: Introducing the New DISQUS

WealthBoy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:26:21 -0000

Ok good, I'm glad I was wrong. :-D That makes sense, thanks for clearing it up.

Re: Introducing the New DISQUS

WealthBoy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:19:08 -0000

Agreed. I'm saying that you would only notify existing Disqus users. For example, joeshmoe.com decides to install the Disqus WordPress plugin on his blog and import comments. Last week I had commented on his blog with my Disqus email address. When he runs the import I get an email. You also commented on joeshmoe.com, however, you do not have a Disqus account so you do not get an email when he runs the import.

Re: Introducing the New DISQUS

WealthBoy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:51:38 -0000

So does one need to periodically visit the comment claim URL (http://disqus.com/claim) in order to claim comments from other blogs, as other bloggers import WordPress comments into Disqus with the new plugin? I think some sort of notification system should be implmented to inform Disqus users that an import has taken place. Disqus already has user email addresses in the system. As long as it is a unique field (i.e. no other users are using the same email address) it should be simple enough to identify matches within the system as the import takes place and send a notification to the imported comment author.

Re: Introducing the New DISQUS

WealthBoy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:39:39 -0000

When you claim comments, Disqus sends a verification link to the email address claimed (i.e. the email address you used to post comments on the blog from which someone has imported comments). A verification URL is sent to that email address. I believe that the only way that someone else could claim your comments, would be if someone else used your email address to claim comments and then you open the email and click the verification link. If you do happen to get a comment claim verification you didn't ask for, someone else could indeed claim your comments if you click the verification link.

Re: All Your Produce for $20

WealthBoy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:14:22 -0000

Yeah, I'm sure North Florida is probably a bit cheaper than pretty much anywhere in California. With $20 we were able to get squash, zucchini, tomatoes, grapes, lemons, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting to mention. I was truly shocked at how inexpensive the farmer's market can be.

Re: Customize CSS

WealthBoy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:25:43 -0000

Dan, I found a workaround from this thread:

http://disqus.disqus.com/custom_css_background_...

Basically I just edited the comments.php file directly (I'm running the WordPress plugin) and added inline css for the containers. Unfortunately, this means that when a newer version of the WordPress DISQUS plugin comes out, I'll have to manually edit the comments.php once again.

Re: Customize CSS

WealthBoy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:11:19 -0000

I'm having the same problem. Dan, were you able to get this working or get any answers? I went to your site and noticed you weren't running Disqus, so I suspect you were never able to resolve the issue. I have my blog set up the exact same way, with the disqus_iframe_css variable assignment in the HEAD section, but it doesn't work for me either. Can someone please offer some help here?