Personal Finance QuickTake: Yahoo talks to NewsCorp

According to a Yahoo news report (and they would hopefully know...), Yahoo is in talks with NewsCorp in attempts to stave off Microsoft's Hostile Bid.

Yahoo rebuffed Microsoft's advances on Monday, but given how the "No thanks" was worded it seemed as if Yahoo wasn't saying no, period, Just No at this price.

Microsoft seemed to initially have the field to itself with this high of an offer, but Yahoo being smart is trying to find the best deal possible. NewsCorp has been emphasizing its web portion of the business more and more culminating in a buyout of mySpace last year.

This is either a strong attempt out of Yahoo to raise the bid to the mid-40s or above, or they are so desperate not to be assimilated that they are running to whoever will off shelter.

Microsoft will see what comes out of this, but they don't have all the time in the world. To launch a proxy fight and dump Yahoo's board they would need to be prepared to fight by mid March.

It is gonna get interesting!

Listen While You Work

OK this a Bizaro-World post that fits into the "Random Acts of Silliness." As I was paying bills and getting ready to blog, I turned on iTunes as I do when I write, and I began to wonder if I am normal, well as normal as normal gets. I wondered, "What do others listen to when paying Bills or Blogging."

Now, I thought, that could be a fun Poll!

For me, I have always been tied to music as a student of music or Professional Musician (another oxymoron!) or like now am tied to music even in marketing, so I tend to have music playing all day as it helps me concentrate.

I also have the CD collection of a schizophrenic monkey...I know everyone says that, but I do. I have David Cassidy and then Danzig is the next artist!

So I looked at my Top 10 Songs played this month (artist then track):

1. Enuff Z'Nuff - New Thing
2. Beatles - Mean Mr Mustard
3. Beatles -I Me Mine
4. Blondie - Dreaming
5. B.W. Stevenson -My Maria (this is the Original version!)
6. Racer X -Heart of a Lion (Huge Paul Gilbert/Anime Fan! - Hence the nom de plume)
7. Weird Al - Canadian Idiot
8. Jerry Reed - She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)
9. Missing Persons - Words
10. Beach Boys - California Girls

So how about you? Listen to anything doing bills? Something happy to feel better, or blues to wallow in the sorrow or Alarming ARMS?

Budget by Beatles? Money Manage by Monkees? Saving by Santana?

Fill out the Poll and if you use other comment here to share!

Are you Getting a Tax Refund?

Come April 15th, or before are you getting a refund or do you have to pay?

If you are are rejoicing over you super-big refund of free government money...not so fast. All you are getting back is the principle from a no interest loan that you gave Uncle Sam.

Think of it this way, They pay you nothing extra if they give it back, not even a "Thank You Nice Lady!" Or...the charge you more then 10% if you are plus penalties! They will take everything you own to get at it.Pretty good business if you can get it!

With that sort of brute force behind you it is understandable that you would rather be safe than sorry. Or maybe it is just that you have a hard time saving and this is a great way to force you to do it.

Totally understandable. The real idea is not to recieve a lot or pay alot. It is to have the maximum available to you with out causing pain.

This is the time of the year when you should review your wthholdings. Here is a great calculator to look at this as well as some "what if" situations with your 401k. Now is the time to fix it now so you are getting your whole amount all year!

If you are havig a hard time budgeting savings, then see if your company does Direct Deposit, if so you are usually able to direct it to be paid into multiple accounts. Just pick an amout you want to save, divide it by how many times you are paid, then have that amount sent to a high-interest saving site such as E*Trade or ING. You will then get the same amount Plus Interest!

You'll get a smaller return next year, but you'll give yourself a raise!

(Picture from Freakingnews.com)

The Five Levels of Wealth

In the "Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Rich" the author Larry Waschka describes five separate levels of wealth.

This book grabbed my attention when I bought awhile ago, frankly because at the time I though, heck if an idiot can do it, I'll be a bajillionaire! Not so fast Wile E Coyote, there is the little issue of following that ACME plan!

Here are the paraphrased outlined levels:

1. Level 1 - You are able to maintain your standard of living while still saving your Target Saving Goal, which is the annual amount needed to fund your retirement.
2. Level 2 - Your Investment Portfolio (could be 401k too) is large enough on its own to deliver a return large enough to cover your TSG and keep up with inflation.
3. Level 3 - Your portfolio returns enough to cover your desired lifestyle and inflation.
4. Level 4 - You have enough assets to produce a return big enough to increase your lifestyle, now and in the future, while keeping up with inflation.
5. Level 5 - You have enough assets to produce a return well beyond what would could ever spend. You no longer have to work and can make large charitable gifts.

Quite a gap between Level One and Two, but this list makes sense from an investment focus. Once we are through Baby Step #2, paying off our consumer debt and Baby Step #3, saving 6-months worth of expenses we should be able to apply our snowball to reaching Level One.

Level Two is pretty tough. Given that we will try to deliver 8% returns we will need to have 12.5x our savings number to reach the goal. Say I wanted to save $20,000 per year, which means that I would need $250,000 saved. Not impossible, but like I said tough...

Level Three is gonna require some extra muscle. To replace $140K salary we would need the 12.5x again or $1.75 Million! To hit this I need to save $70K per year. Now compounding really helps here so it won't be actual salary savings used to do that, but it won't be easy at all.

Level Four is kind of based on your lifestyle choice, so if you have a high three reaching four is probably off. It is just you definition of what big is. For sake of comparison say I would like $200k. To pull that off I need a cool $2.5MM

Pipedream time. Level Five. Time to open the RacerX PF Memorial Library and Grille (the 'E' makes it Classy). I am saying...$100MM.

That is a fun exercise, but it really doesn't meet my personal goals. My goal is simple. Make sure that my family is taken care of and that we can spend our twilight years in comfort but not ostentatiously.

The only way we are gonna get there is to have that plan that is always a few steps ahead of us! It takes planning, budgeting, money management and most importantly...patience.

Great new Carnivals for the Week!

Must be the bitter cold here today that make it feel good to write about some great Carnivals that are happening around ye olde Blogsphere.

First up The 38th Carnival of Debt Management is rockin' over at Credit Card Lowdown. There are featuring our recent post on "Be Treated like a Credit Card Superstar!". They have brought together a collection of posts to really help you pare down your debt!

Next Up My Dollar Plan is running the Valentine Edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. The tie-in is great and they make our heart fuller by reading! :) This one features our "Learning Finance from the "Smartest Guys in the Room." This discusses lessons that can be learned from the Enron scandal.

Last but not least - Don't Mess with Taxes (what a great name BTW!) - is running a great Tax Carnival

Lots of reading to get caught up on if I ever get through my work!

Debt Chain Freedom

Have you ever thought about quitting you job and doing something else, like writing or gardening or even working with the less fortunate? Why don't you?

Probably for two reasons: one, you have debts; two, you don't have the money to do that.

Those are the physical manifestations of having debt. Real life debt chains. The only way to free yourself is to break those chains.

To break the chains first you must Visualize your Debt. Think of every dollar owed as a link in the chain, every different debt is a chain each holding you down like a staked balloon. So if you have four credit cards to pay off, imagine four chains tying you to the ground.

I personally like to look at each of my debts that way. For example, I received my bill for my CitiBank Platinum Card. I continue to make the minimum payment on this as it is not my top snowball debt, yet! My bill showed I owed $9119. If i think of every dollar a 1 inch link, that is 759 ft of chain! But today I paid off $313, or 26 feet! so after I paid this I literally imagine cutting off that 26 feet of heavy rusty chain that was holding me down!

OK, I know it sounds weird, but for me I like to feel the following:

1. Progress - Thinking about cutting of the 26' of chain feels like real progress to me.
2. Value - I am freeing myself inch by inch! I am buying my freedom at $1/inch!
3. Keeps me in Check - I don't want to add another inch to these heavy oppressive chains do I? So why would I take on extra debt?

For me this has really helped, just paying off dinners that I had 5-years ago doesn't make feel better. But every time I retire $1 I really do feel lighter!

Last whacky tip. Actually go to Home Depot or your local hardware store where they sell chain by the foot. Find the heaviest chain you can and buy one link. They will look at you a bit strange, but then keep that heavy piece of chain on your desk or wherever you do your bills. Every time you pay off even $1, pick up the link and feel the weight and think about that manifestation falling off of you. If you are tempted to spend, do the opposite, image all the extra feet of that chain tying you down.

This is a quick visual and sensory piece of conditioning that can help you stay on budget and manage your money better.

Personal Finance QuickTake: Ten Filthy Rich Traits

The Street.com via Yahoo Finance ran a piece this morning about the "Ten Traits that Make You Filthy Rich." Just like in the book, "The Millionaire Next Door" they make the case that personal finance and living within your means is none of the best determining factors on whether or not you will be financially successful.

Their Top Ten list:

1. Patience - Being able to wait to make purchases, ride out stock dips and save for the long term
2. Satisfaction - Being happy with what you have. In Dave Ramsey's speak...avoiding Stuffitis!
3. Organization - Being as productive as possible. Avoiding Stupid Taxes such as late fees!
4. Discipline - "Personal finance isn't a way to get rich quick, but is a disciplined execution of your lifetime plans." Perfect!
5. Reflectiveness - Learning from you mistakes
6. Creativity - Doing whatever it takes to get out of debt, avoid picking up new ones and being agile in all things!
7. Curiosity - Learn, Study and Improve yourself. I like to always look at Constant and Never-Ending Improvement to quote the tall one!
8. Risk Taker - Doesn't mean betting it all on black, but understanding that there is a risk=reward balance and not being over-conservative.
9. Goal Oriented - A favorite of mine. If you are working a Success Plan you are just working!
10. Working Hard and Smart - Are you willing to put in the time? If not you are going to have a tough time getting truly ahead.

More then any other time in our history we have the ability to reach some pretty lofty financial heights in we plan for success, budget, live within our means, manage our money and invest wisely!