10 Reasons You Aren't Rich

10 Reasons You Aren't Rich covers some of the traps that people fall into that hold them back.

1.      You Care What Your Neighbors Think

This is huge! One of the reasons I'm leaving Washington, DC is that so many people around this area care about things like what you drive, where you work, etc. It gets old and really, the people worth knowing aren't the ones who care about what kind of car you drive or what kind of shoes you wear. Live your life in a way that makes you happy and comfortable and who cares what others think!

       

2.      You Aren't Patient

In today's world of easy credit and instant gratification it can be hard to wait to buy something until you have the cash. But, the advantages of waiting are: 1 - you save money in interest, 2 - you tend to appreciate things you have to work hard to get instead of those that come easily, 3 - waiting gives you time to decide if you *really* want something rather than just following your impulse, 4 - saving up gives you time to do your homework and find the best deal on whatever it is that you want.

       

3.      You Have Bad Habits

This includes your "Latte Factor." The three hardest things to give up are: coffee, alcohol and cigarettes. It's not a coincidence that they're also the most expensive and the worst for your health. Cutting back on those vices not only saves you money today but also in the future on health care costs.

       

4.      You Have No Goals

My Goal Setting 101 class is my least popular class but it's the one that I think people get the most from. The first question I ask is: "If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there?" The answer to that question is: You don't. Without goals you're just floating along rather than moving forward with a purpose. In my opinion, goal setting is the most important part of financial planning but is also the most overlooked.

       

5.      You Haven't Prepared

This is why you need an emergency fund. It's a fact of life: Stuff happens. No matter how prepared you are, you aren't prepared for everything. But, you can do your best. The easiest thing you can do is establish an emergency fund. This fund should be in a cash account (or equivalent) that can be accessed quickly and without penalty. You should aim to have at least 3 months worth of expenses in your account though some people like to keep much more. When you figure out how much you need, take an honest look at your life. Is your job steady? Do you have dependents? Do you own a house? Do you have adequate insurance? The answers to those questions will help you figure out how much (or how little) you need to have in your account to be secure.

       

6.      You Try to Make a Quick Buck

When people approach me about the best way to turn $1,000 into $10,000 in a week I have 2 standard responses: 1 - go to Vegas. At least there you get free drinks while you gamble with your money. 2 - Re-read The Tortise and the Hare <http://knowgramming.com/metaphors/metaphor_chapters/aesops_fable_tortoise_and_the_hare.htm>  but this time, learn the lesson. When it comes to investing, the vast majority of the time slow and steady will win over the long run. Set your investment up, make it automatic and then forget about it except for when you re-balance twice a year.

       

7.      You Rely on Others to Take Care of Your Money

I'm a huge proponent of DIY. It's why I started Personal Finance 101. I saw the aftereffects of too many people who had gotten screwed by investment advisors who sold them bad products. There is no reason why someone can't manage their own money, particularly now that Target Retirement Funds exist. If you're just starting out, there are 2 books I recommend that every newbie read <http://www.personalfinance101.org/personal-finance-books.html#MustReadPersonalFinanceBooks> . The biggest thing to keep in mind: You are the only person who cares about your money!

       

8.      You Invest in Things You Don't Understand

I did this when I first started investing. I started buying stocks without knowing what I was doing. I just listened to what others were buying and followed the herd. Not only did I lose a *ton* of money to transaction fees, I lost a ton in the investment itself. Since then, I've sold off the losers, held on to the winners (I did get a couple right) and have stuck to funds. I have realized that not only do I not have the knowledge to pick stocks, I don't have the desire to learn the skill so funds are the way to go.

       

9.      You're Financially Afraid

I see this all the time, especially in those who lost a lot of money in the dot bomb. So many people who lost money during that time are too scared to invest in stocks again. Every time I ask them about their experience, they were always almost 100% in tech stocks and freaked and sold when stocks went down. When I explain to them what would have happened had they A - been diversified and B - stuck to an investment plan instead of freaking out they start to calm down. For those who are worried about investing in anything risky I usually suggest starting with a balanced fund like the Vanguard STAR fund (mutual fund). That fund is 60/40 stocks/bonds so, while it earns more than bonds it's not as volatile as stocks. I then suggest they start adding small amounts into more agressive funds once they're used to being a bit more agressive. I also forbid them from checking their accounts more than once every 6 months. Frequent account reviews are the worst thing people who are risk averse can do. Any little dip will freak them out and trigger a panic reaction.

       

10.     You Ignore Your Finances

I'm a big supporter of a hands-off money management style. But, that's very different from ignoring your money. To have a hands-off style, you first have to have a plan. Then, you can implement that plan, make it automatic and just check back a few times a year to make sure you're on track. Find the balance that works for you - somewhere between checking every day and checking once a year is good.

Source: http://www.personalfinance101.org/Articles/2007/03/10-reasons-you-arent-rich.html

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

Indian boy born with 34 fingers entered Record Book

A one-year-old boy in India has broken a world record after being born with 34 fingers in total on hands and feet.

Akshat Saxena had seven fingers on each hand and ten on each foot, according to a spokesman for Guinness World Records.

The child, from Uttar Pradesh in northern India, has since had a series of surgeries to amputate the excess digits. Akshat was born last year without thumbs so doctors are working to reconstruct these out of the fingers they have removed. 

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

No more cigarettes for smoking Malaysian orangutan

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A captive orangutan often spotted smoking cigarettes given to her by zoo visitors is being forced to kick the habit, a Malaysian wildlife official said Monday.

Government authorities seized the adult ape named Shirley from a state-run zoo in Malaysia's southern Johor state last week after she and several other animals there were deemed to be living in poor conditions.

Shirley is now being quarantined at another zoo in a neighboring state and is expected to be sent to a Malaysian wildlife center on Borneo island within weeks.

Melaka Zoo Director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed said Shirley is not being provided with any more cigarettes because "smoking is not normal behavior for orangutans."

"I would say she is not addicted ... but she might have formed a habit after mimicking human beings who were smoking around her," Ahmad told The Associated Press.

Shirley was so far displaying a regular appetite for food and no obvious signs of depression or illness, Ahmad said. Results from her blood tests and other detailed health examinations were not yet available.

Nature Alert, a British-based activist group, wrote to Malaysian officials about Shirley earlier this year, saying conservationists who visited the Johor zoo often saw people throwing lit cigarettes to her in a pit-like enclosure.

The group said Shirley seemed to suffer severe mood swings, sometimes looking drowsy and on other occasions appearing "very agitated" without a cigarette.

Authorities last week also reportedly seized a tiger and a baby elephant that was kept chained at the Johor zoo.

It is not clear when Shirley started smoking. Officials have estimated she is around 20 years old. Orangutans, which are native to rainforests in Borneo and Indonesia's Sumatra island, can live up to about 60 years in captivity.

Other countries such as South Africa and Russia have also reported cases of primates learning to smoke after zoo visitors ignored warnings and tossed cigarettes into the cages of chimpanzees.

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

Cambodian boy suckles from cow after parents leave

KOAK ROKA, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian man says his young grandson has lived partly on milk he suckles directly from a cow since the boy's parents left their rural village in search of work.

Um Oeung says 20-month-old Tha Sophat started suckling the cow in July after he saw a calf do the same.

Um Oeung told The Associated Press he pulled the boy away at first. He relented after his grandson protested loudly and the boy has suckled the cow's milk once or twice a day since then.

Tha Sophat has lived with his grandparents in Siem Reap province in northwest Cambodia since his parents moved to Thailand looking for work.

Um Oeung said Friday the cow doesn't mind the boy suckling but he is worried about his grandson's health if he continues.

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

15 unusual uses for your hair dryer

Handheld hair dryers were introduced for the domestic market in 1920, and since then countless hairdos have relied on that combination of heat and air to achieve their coiffed perfection.

But the humble blow dryer has plenty of other services to offer around the house -- here are a handful of them:

1. If you need to quickly set the icing on a cake, the air and heat of a hair dryer can quicken up the process.
2. If your cake won’t unstick from the cake pan, use your hair dryer on the bottom of the pan then invert it, it should drop right out.
3. Running an ice cream scoop under hot water helps, but you can also try using a hair dryer on the carton to soften ice cream for easy scooping.
4. Some people use pots of boiling water to quicken freezer defrosting, but a hot hair dryer works even more quickly. (Be careful of puddles of water and the dryer, though.)
5. Automatic ice-makers can get jammed with frozen ice; relieve that with a long blast of hot air to melt unwanted icebergs.
6. Remove contact paper from shelves by heating it with the hair dryer and gently working the edges up. Also works for bumper stickers and other rogue sticky things.
7. Use a hair dryer to dust hard-to-dust items; the air will blow the dust somewhere else, but hopefully somewhere else that is easier to dust.
8. Personally, I like my kids’ crayon marks on my walls, but for the rest of you: Heat the crayon marks until softened, then scrub with hot water and detergent.
9. Old photo albums with magnetic pages can get stuck -- unstick them with a blast from the hair dryer.
10. Spot-iron wrinkles by lightly dampening the area and then heating the wrinkles with your dryer.
11. Wet boots, shoes, and sneakers can take on a terrible odor if left to dry slowly -- alleviate that by drying them with your hair dryer.
12. Winter can bring frozen windows and locks -- thaw them with a hair dryer.
13. Window screens collecting dust and pollen? Blow it back to whence it came.
14. Removing bandages can hurt more than the wound, so soften the adhesive with a hair dryer first to ease the rip.
15. If you have trouble keeping a hot compress hot, keep your hair dryer by you and reheat as necessary.

Bonus: For wrinkled ribbons and fabric belts, employ a curling iron to straighten them out


Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

Iconic Pudu gets new name and new look

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, together with the help of the Malaysian citizens online, has decided on a new name for the refurbished iconic Puduraya bus terminal.

Najib said during a walkabout at the 35-year old facility on 27th August that the decision to rebrand the bus terminal as Pudu Sentral was to reflect its new and modern image.

The Prime Minister said the renovation and redesign of the bus terminal resulted in an airport-like facility that all Malaysians can be proud of.

Najib had garnered public feedback and personally directed for improvements to be made for a more comfortable experience for the commuters.

The terminal has walkalators, a bubble lift, fully air-conditioned waiting area and closed-circuit TV cameras for security.

Commuters gave their approval for the upgraded landmark which also included improved services.

Pudu Sentral’s upgrade is an initiative under the GTP’s Urban Public Transport NKRA to provide an improved commuting experience to the public.

Maid saves boss from naked man

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

AMPANG JAYA: Seeing a naked man pounce and rain blows on her employer, a petite Indonesian maid lunged at the much bigger assailant without a second thought.

The maid who only wished to be known as Ika, 35, had been living withProf Dr Catherine Yule, in her 50s, a professor at a private university in the Klang Valley, for five years at Taman TAR, near here.

She often accompanies Dr Catherine and her two dogs on hikes up the Bukit Belacan hill located just behind their house.

Terror struck on Sept 9 at about 3pm.

Everything will be all right: Ika calming Dr Catherine at the site of the attack at Taman Tun Abdul Razak, Ampang, Sunday.

“It happened so quickly. The naked man ran up to my ma'am (Dr Catherine) before he pounced on her and both of them fell into a ditch.

“He punched her head and face. I grabbed a fallen bamboo stick and hit his back.

“The impact caused the stick to snap into half and he winced in pain. He became furious and turned to attack me,” Ika said yesterday.

Despite the pain and disorientation, Dr Catherine climbed out of the ditch, only to see the man had thrown Ika into a 1m-deep hole just a couple of metres away and was hitting her.

“I saw the man pick up a rock and hit Ika's head with it. But, she put up a brave fight and that was when my maid's handphone slipped out of her pocket and the man grabbed it before running away,” she said.

The ordeal, which lasted about five minutes, left Dr Catherine bruised, with scratches on her leg and arms as well as a black left eye.

“I am not too bad, Ika suffered worse as she had stitches for a cut at the back of her head, multiple cuts and bruises on her legs, hands and head,” said the Australian who has been living in Malaysia for 15 years and can speak fluent Bahasa Malaysia.

“I owe it to her for rescuing me and am very thankful that nothing worse happened,” she said.

Dr Catherine said she had been hiking in the area since three years ago and no untoward incident had taken place in the area before.

“I actually met the man on two separate occasions during my hike just a couple of days before the attack. He looked like a decent man who did not speak much but was quite friendly with my dogs,” Dr Catherine noted.

The attack shocked the regular hikers in the area and they hoped police would nab the suspect in his 30s soon.

A police spokesman said they were investigating the case.

The Simple Dollar: “They”

Article

---

They Posted: 06 Sep 2011 01:00 PM PDT You would have much greater personal wealth if only they would get things in order in their political decisions. You would have received raises and promotions if only they would see your value at work. You would have a job if only they would actually read your incredible resume. You would be able to save money if only they didn’t manipulate you into buying stuff. No matter what is going on in your life, you can probably find a reason why someone else’s actions is keeping you from what you want. There are many elements of life that are outside of our direct control, and when the people who are incontrol of those elements make choices that don’t benefit us, it can be incredibly frustrating. However, it is in that moment of frustration that you decide whether or not you’re going to succeed. Do you simply say that the powers that be are holding you down and accept that fate? Do you blame them for the problems in your life? Do you choose the path of least resistance and let the forces around you tell you where to go? Do you give in to the desire to wallow in self-pity and blame? Or do you choose to try a different path? If you don’t have the wealth you want, what actions can you take right now to start building it? Don’t worry about what other people are doing. Focus on what you can control. Can you spend a little less? Can you invest and diversify a little more? If you don’t have the career path you want, what actions can you take right now to start building it? Don’t worry about what other people are doing. Focus on what you can control. Can you take control of a key project at work and make it shine? Can you take additional classes to bolster your skill set? If you don’t have the job you want, what actions can you take right now to start acquiring it? Don’t worry about what other people are doing. Focus on what you can control. Can you jazz up that resume? Can you find ways to communicate with and network with people in your field? If you don’t have the savings you want, what actions can you take right now to start building it? Don’t worry about what other people are doing. Focus on what you can control. Can you take control of your spending and, more importantly, seriously evaluate the spending that you consider “untouchable”? Can you find new ways to be frugal in your day-to-day actions? It is incredibly easy to fall into the trap of blaming “them” for our problems.Yes, some of the time, others do make choices that limit our own options. It’s when that happens that the successful separate themselves from the pack. Do they waste energy blaming others or do they figure out what they can do from their current situation?

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian