My brother in-law mentioned to me that he was going to sell his two cars in order to upgrade to a bigger car for his growing family. His plan was to go to a dealer and off-load his two, older cars on them, take the cash and use that to buy the new car.
Without asking my advice, I told him he should reconsider his options. I suggested that he should find someone to do an excellent job at detailing both cars. Clean them inside and out and use all of those car-cleaning products you find in Auto stores. After that, take the cars down to a dealer and ask them how much they would give him. After getting a quote, he could go to a mechanic to have them do an inspection and write up any problems the cars have. Then he should try and sell them privately.
Having them cleaned and a mechanic having inspected the cars, my in-law should be able to sell the cars privately for more than if he had traded them in. When a dealer takes a trade in, he's trying to make money and realizes that he'll have to raise the price over what he bought the car for to do that. Because people generally don't trust used cars, even though enough buy them. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 44 million used cars were sold in 2005. That's 72% of all car sales in one year! In the United States, this sub-industry is worth $367 billion a year.
What he has to weigh is whether the hassle of cleaning and inspecting and marketing the car is worth the extra money he could make by selling it himself. Two sites I found offer very valuable tips on selling a car: Carsguide and Autotrader. Both sites are biased toward selling privately, but offer tips on turning the car into a dealer, too.
Good luck!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
10 Most-Demanded Jobs
I saw this article on MSN about the 10 most demanded careers in the U.S. Why are these careers in such high demand? Mostly because they exist in industries that are being phased-out or they require high qualifications. Of course, because we live in a free-market system, incentives are being offered in some companies in order to attract employees. This cause and effect relationship shouldn't be a surprise and I would expect incentives to increase in any job, as long as it remains unfilled and necessary to a company's success.
Some examples of in-demand jobs are:
Sales Representatives
Teachers
Management Executives
Mechanics
Construction Workers
Machine Operators
The article does a good job of giving you an idea of what qualifications you would need to succeed in a position as well as average starting salary for the position. So, if you are looking for a career change or just looking for job in general, check out the article!
Some examples of in-demand jobs are:
Sales Representatives
Teachers
Management Executives
Mechanics
Construction Workers
Machine Operators
The article does a good job of giving you an idea of what qualifications you would need to succeed in a position as well as average starting salary for the position. So, if you are looking for a career change or just looking for job in general, check out the article!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Weird New Invention
I saw this article and while not directly related to personal money matters or economics, the writer of the article believes that this invention will change the world.
Who knows, maybe you can invest in a company that brings this to the public?
Who knows, maybe you can invest in a company that brings this to the public?
Friday, August 17, 2007
U.S. GDP Compared to the Rest of the World
I was reading a weekly news magazine, and one of the opinion writers pointed out an interesting site called Strange Maps. It has hundreds of strange maps from around the world. There are maps about insane asylum districts in Pennsylvania, the retreat of the Cornish language in England, the potential carving up of Europe had Germany and her allies won World War I and the mocking of Britain's invasion of Afghanistan by naming their provinces after locations in England. The owner just loves maps.
One map in particular is interesting from an economic standpoint and compares each state in the U.S. with a country in the world with an equivalent GDP. California's GDP is about the same size as France. New Jersey is equivalent to Russia. Nevada is Ireland. Etc, etc. Here is a list of GDP's of each state and the list. Here is the map that renames every state in the U.S. with its equivalent country.
It is very interesting to see how the U.S. GDP stacks up to the rest of the world and puts into perspective what other countries produce compared to the United States.
One map in particular is interesting from an economic standpoint and compares each state in the U.S. with a country in the world with an equivalent GDP. California's GDP is about the same size as France. New Jersey is equivalent to Russia. Nevada is Ireland. Etc, etc. Here is a list of GDP's of each state and the list. Here is the map that renames every state in the U.S. with its equivalent country.
It is very interesting to see how the U.S. GDP stacks up to the rest of the world and puts into perspective what other countries produce compared to the United States.
Everything You Need to Know from an MBA Education
When I graduated from the MBA program at the University of Iowa, I told some of my friends that I wanted to write down as much of the theories, equations, buzzwords and business knowledge someplace where I could look it up in the future. Preferably in HTML or in a Word document. Unfortunately, work and other life pursuits pushed this lofty ambition to the back of the line of things I'd like to do.
Fortunately, AgentDisco sent me a link to someone who has done just what I had hoped to do myself, expect they did a far better job. Valuebasedmanagement.net is an ugly page and is basically a list of hundreds of hyperlinked words and descriptions of everything I've learned in the MBA program. When you click on something like, "Cashflow from Operations" or "Theory of Constraints" or "SWOT Analysis" it gives you a simple definition of what that is, as well as a picture or two if applicable. There are also links at the bottom of each page to other areas of the internet for further reading.
I've added this site to the list of links so that if you read this page, you'll have easy access to this site in the future. Check out the site and many thanks to Agent Disco!
Fortunately, AgentDisco sent me a link to someone who has done just what I had hoped to do myself, expect they did a far better job. Valuebasedmanagement.net is an ugly page and is basically a list of hundreds of hyperlinked words and descriptions of everything I've learned in the MBA program. When you click on something like, "Cashflow from Operations" or "Theory of Constraints" or "SWOT Analysis" it gives you a simple definition of what that is, as well as a picture or two if applicable. There are also links at the bottom of each page to other areas of the internet for further reading.
I've added this site to the list of links so that if you read this page, you'll have easy access to this site in the future. Check out the site and many thanks to Agent Disco!
Stocks Still on Sale
The Federal Reserve has continued to add liquidity to the financial system which seems to be buoying the stock market. You can still buy stocks cheap and I recommend this being the perfect time.
If you had bought a $100 worth of stock in a diversified portfolio the day after the 1929 crash, today it would be worth millions, if not more.
If you had bought a $100 worth of stock in a diversified portfolio the day after the 1929 crash, today it would be worth millions, if not more.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Stocks are on Sale
You may have heard that the stock market has gone down recently due to worries about obtaining credit related to a French bank closing down some of it's lending options.
Both the European Central bank and the Federal Reserve will release more money into the system to ensure that there is enough to do business. This will cause a little inflation, but it will also allow businesses to use that currency to conduct their operations.
What does this mean? Stocks are on sale and now is a great time to buy!
Both the European Central bank and the Federal Reserve will release more money into the system to ensure that there is enough to do business. This will cause a little inflation, but it will also allow businesses to use that currency to conduct their operations.
What does this mean? Stocks are on sale and now is a great time to buy!
China to Devalue Dollar: Let Them!
Through "unofficial" think tanks sponsored by the Chinese government, "intellectuals" have suggested China begin a massive campaign to dump dollars on the international market, which would cause the real value of a dollar to drop.
The reason they are doing this is because the U.S. has insisted that China un-peg the value of their currency, the Yuan, to the dollar. This artificially low value of the Yuan makes Chinese goods cheaper in America and makes American goods more expensive in China. This naturally causes the much ballyhooed trade deficit between us and China.
But what would the devaluation do to the U.S. Well, when a flood of dollars is released on the market, this causes interest rates to rise on Treasury Bonds. The reason is that the U.S. wants to control the amount of money in circulation, so they would raise rates, to encourage more people to buy bonds, which would absorb a lot of the cash. The article mentioned above predicts that this would kill the housing industry, as commercial loans are linked to the Treasury bond yield.
What the article doesn't mention, is that people invested in Bonds would be doing quite well. Banks who issue the bonds would be doing well, too. Moreover, China would be shooting themselves in the foot by eliminating the main customer for their goods (30% of goods exported from China are bought in America). It would also hurt other countries in Europe and Japan that keep a large portion of U.S. dollars in reserve. This would, in turn, decrease those market's demand for imported goods.
So, I say, call the bluff. Let them do whatever they want. Sure it will hurt us a little (housing and corporate borrowing), but it would hurt the fledging economy of China much more.
President Bush agrees and made a statement today calling the idea "foolhardy."
The reason they are doing this is because the U.S. has insisted that China un-peg the value of their currency, the Yuan, to the dollar. This artificially low value of the Yuan makes Chinese goods cheaper in America and makes American goods more expensive in China. This naturally causes the much ballyhooed trade deficit between us and China.
But what would the devaluation do to the U.S. Well, when a flood of dollars is released on the market, this causes interest rates to rise on Treasury Bonds. The reason is that the U.S. wants to control the amount of money in circulation, so they would raise rates, to encourage more people to buy bonds, which would absorb a lot of the cash. The article mentioned above predicts that this would kill the housing industry, as commercial loans are linked to the Treasury bond yield.
What the article doesn't mention, is that people invested in Bonds would be doing quite well. Banks who issue the bonds would be doing well, too. Moreover, China would be shooting themselves in the foot by eliminating the main customer for their goods (30% of goods exported from China are bought in America). It would also hurt other countries in Europe and Japan that keep a large portion of U.S. dollars in reserve. This would, in turn, decrease those market's demand for imported goods.
So, I say, call the bluff. Let them do whatever they want. Sure it will hurt us a little (housing and corporate borrowing), but it would hurt the fledging economy of China much more.
President Bush agrees and made a statement today calling the idea "foolhardy."
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Fastest Growing Suburbs in America
A recent report from Forbes lists the top growth suburbs in the U.S. Suburbs in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Sacramento are growing quickly. Why? The article cites a study by the Brookings Institution pointing out that cities with restrictive policies on growth or expansion, are artificially raising the overall value of homes and land values in that particular city. This forces people to seek more affordable locations further away (far suburbs or exurbs).
It's ironic that policies that are trying to prevent urban-sprawl are actually encouraging it.
Guess what the highest household expense for people living in Houston is? That's right, transportation.
Another interesting fact from the article is that Boston is considered to have more sprawl than Las Vegas, because Las Vegas has more densely populated land.
I wrote about this before back in 2005, when mentioning a great article by Thomas Sowell, pointing out the restrictions of cities in San Mateo county, California.
The best way to eliminate sprawl and keep people near the jobs that are demanded by the economy, is to eliminate building restrictions, and especially height restrictions. My own city has been struggling with this in regard to their local airport. Values in my county are among the highest in Iowa, and in my opinion, it is because of restrictions on re-zoning downtown areas and placing artificial height restrictions on commercial and residential properties.
You see, people want to live downtown or where there are jobs, or maybe where the air is clean or the view is great. Some of us want to prevent that great view from being soiled by more people. This, however, is selfish and begins to put strain on the fragile relationship of supply and demand.
Cities with higher land values should allow developers to build up. Skyscrapers or tall buildings allow more people to co-habit the more expensive land. They are happy, because they are close to the jobs downtown, or the nightlife, or whatever. The only people not happy are elitists that often feel that they know better than thou and try to control growth through edicts, laws and popular issues and buzzwords, like sprawl.
However, there is a dilemma in wanting people to abide by the most basic forces of supply and demand. I, as a homeowner, should be in favor of building restrictions. It raises the value of my home (closer to the city center than those new ones being built 15 miles away). But my selfishness aside, it is better for the city to allow people (developers) to build where the demand is screaming for more homes or more dense dwellings. With a University, multiple hospitals, banks and other professional businesses downtown, having more people have the ability to live there (wherever "there" is) is the best for everyone.
It's ironic that policies that are trying to prevent urban-sprawl are actually encouraging it.
Guess what the highest household expense for people living in Houston is? That's right, transportation.
Another interesting fact from the article is that Boston is considered to have more sprawl than Las Vegas, because Las Vegas has more densely populated land.
I wrote about this before back in 2005, when mentioning a great article by Thomas Sowell, pointing out the restrictions of cities in San Mateo county, California.
The best way to eliminate sprawl and keep people near the jobs that are demanded by the economy, is to eliminate building restrictions, and especially height restrictions. My own city has been struggling with this in regard to their local airport. Values in my county are among the highest in Iowa, and in my opinion, it is because of restrictions on re-zoning downtown areas and placing artificial height restrictions on commercial and residential properties.
You see, people want to live downtown or where there are jobs, or maybe where the air is clean or the view is great. Some of us want to prevent that great view from being soiled by more people. This, however, is selfish and begins to put strain on the fragile relationship of supply and demand.
Cities with higher land values should allow developers to build up. Skyscrapers or tall buildings allow more people to co-habit the more expensive land. They are happy, because they are close to the jobs downtown, or the nightlife, or whatever. The only people not happy are elitists that often feel that they know better than thou and try to control growth through edicts, laws and popular issues and buzzwords, like sprawl.
However, there is a dilemma in wanting people to abide by the most basic forces of supply and demand. I, as a homeowner, should be in favor of building restrictions. It raises the value of my home (closer to the city center than those new ones being built 15 miles away). But my selfishness aside, it is better for the city to allow people (developers) to build where the demand is screaming for more homes or more dense dwellings. With a University, multiple hospitals, banks and other professional businesses downtown, having more people have the ability to live there (wherever "there" is) is the best for everyone.
How Much Should You Be Paid?
There probably comes a time in most people's professional careers when they ask the question, "How much should I be paid?"
There are a few sites online that may be able answer that question, by comparing the data of the job you enter with hundreds of similar jobs around the country and in your city or area. Most of the sites require you to pay extra for a detailed report, but the free reports give enough info to determine whether you are at the top, the bottom, or somewhere in between all of the other people with a job similar to yours.
Salary.com is the biggest site and incorporates into the job search site, Monster.com. I'm not really impressed with this service. They keep a lot of information hidden, so your free report doesn't have as much information as it could. The one thing they do well is allow you to compare your current job's salary with that of someone similar to you, but living in a different part of the country or city. You can see how much the cost of living would compare to your current city and how much you would need to make in order to maintain the same lifestyle.
I really like payscale.com, as it reveals a lot more information about your salary for free. Another great feature is that it literally compares your information with that of more than 7 million people. It asks you what you were doing 5 years ago. Then it asks what you are doing now, and let's you see what people who had your job 5 years ago are doing now. It's a neat way to see what might happen in the future. Of course with our dynamic economy and the way that you have to constantly adapt with new skills and network connections, you'll have to take the results with a grain of salt!
Check out the sites and see what you should be paid and what you might be paid in the future!
There are a few sites online that may be able answer that question, by comparing the data of the job you enter with hundreds of similar jobs around the country and in your city or area. Most of the sites require you to pay extra for a detailed report, but the free reports give enough info to determine whether you are at the top, the bottom, or somewhere in between all of the other people with a job similar to yours.
Salary.com is the biggest site and incorporates into the job search site, Monster.com. I'm not really impressed with this service. They keep a lot of information hidden, so your free report doesn't have as much information as it could. The one thing they do well is allow you to compare your current job's salary with that of someone similar to you, but living in a different part of the country or city. You can see how much the cost of living would compare to your current city and how much you would need to make in order to maintain the same lifestyle.
I really like payscale.com, as it reveals a lot more information about your salary for free. Another great feature is that it literally compares your information with that of more than 7 million people. It asks you what you were doing 5 years ago. Then it asks what you are doing now, and let's you see what people who had your job 5 years ago are doing now. It's a neat way to see what might happen in the future. Of course with our dynamic economy and the way that you have to constantly adapt with new skills and network connections, you'll have to take the results with a grain of salt!
Check out the sites and see what you should be paid and what you might be paid in the future!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The Index of Economic Freedom
Every year the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal produce the Index of Economic Freedom. They rate 232 countries on how well they allow people to be free regarding money, property rights, and corruption, among others. The United States is ranked 4th, right behind Australia.
The thing I found interesting was the ranking of Hong Kong (1st) and Singapore (2nd). Both have authoritarian governments, but allow a remarkable degree of personal freedom for their citizens. They are also two economies in Asia that are quite strong.
One area the US rates low in compared to other countries in the top 10, is "Freedom from Government." This is how much the government requires paperwork, bureaucracy and invasive taxes. The US also rates lower in the "Freedom from Corruption" area. This is surprising to me as well, as I haven't encountered corruption personally.
Check out the index to see how the US compares to other countries here.
The thing I found interesting was the ranking of Hong Kong (1st) and Singapore (2nd). Both have authoritarian governments, but allow a remarkable degree of personal freedom for their citizens. They are also two economies in Asia that are quite strong.
One area the US rates low in compared to other countries in the top 10, is "Freedom from Government." This is how much the government requires paperwork, bureaucracy and invasive taxes. The US also rates lower in the "Freedom from Corruption" area. This is surprising to me as well, as I haven't encountered corruption personally.
Check out the index to see how the US compares to other countries here.
Norwegians Angry at Higher Taxes
"Norwegians are among the most heavily taxed people in the world." Not only do they pay income taxes, but property and net worth! A glass of wine at a typical restaurant costs the equivalent of $16 and gas costs $9 a gallon!
Norway has traditionally had a comprehensive welfare state fueled by these taxes and others, but they have also been quite independent, with regards to the rest of the world, as evidenced from their refusal to join the EU or adopt the Euro.
Read more about Norway's taxes0 here and Norway itself here.
Norway has traditionally had a comprehensive welfare state fueled by these taxes and others, but they have also been quite independent, with regards to the rest of the world, as evidenced from their refusal to join the EU or adopt the Euro.
Read more about Norway's taxes0 here and Norway itself here.
Risky Housing Market?
An article from MSN rates housing markets across the country and what the perceived risk that the market in that region will decline in the next year. The riskiest markets are San Bernardino-Ontario-Riverside (65.2% chance of decline), Phoenix-Scottsdale-Mesa (64.6%), and Las Vegas (61.4%).
The least risky areas are Pittsburgh, FortWorth-Arlington, TX, and Dallas-Plano-Irvington, TX.
The article talks about tips on both buying and selling houses in these types of markets, too.
The least risky areas are Pittsburgh, FortWorth-Arlington, TX, and Dallas-Plano-Irvington, TX.
The article talks about tips on both buying and selling houses in these types of markets, too.
Monday, June 25, 2007
The Truth About Income Taxes
In New Hampshire right now, there is a standoff between the Federal Government and some private citizens who have not paid income taxes and don't believe that they should ever have to pay income taxes.
While most of us don't like paying taxes, the 16th Amendment to the United States constitution, allows congress to levy taxes on income. It was ratified by 3/4 of the states in 1913.
The IRS website has created a shortlist of responses to the claims that we don't need to pay taxes. You can check it out here.
While most of us don't like paying taxes, the 16th Amendment to the United States constitution, allows congress to levy taxes on income. It was ratified by 3/4 of the states in 1913.
The IRS website has created a shortlist of responses to the claims that we don't need to pay taxes. You can check it out here.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Farecast Gives You the Best Prices on Airplane Tickets
All I can say is, "wow!" This article at Webware talks about a great website that will help you save money the next time you want to take a trip. The website it called Farecast and provides powerful tools for searching a range of dates, times and airlines in order to find the cheapest acceptable fares.
You can also set a price between two places and it will tell you when the price gets that low. It will also tell you how the price of the ticket will be affected if you change the range of dates by shortening or lengthening your stay. I know I'll be using Farecast in the future!
You can also set a price between two places and it will tell you when the price gets that low. It will also tell you how the price of the ticket will be affected if you change the range of dates by shortening or lengthening your stay. I know I'll be using Farecast in the future!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Zillow: How Much is Your Home Worth?
I have a stack of things I want to post here at Cashtalk, but I've been quite busy with other commitments. One of the oldest that has been staring me in the face from the cover of "Fortune."
The story is about a neat program that I had looked at a couple of months ago called Zillow. Not only can you search for homes that are for sale, but it offers some unconventional tools as well.
Zillow allows you to virtually look at houses in your area and find out their "zestimate." This is an estimated price based on surrounding sales and closures on houses. You can see what your house is worth, or what price the people you know may have paid for their home or could sell their home for.
There is also an interesting feature called "make me move," which allows you to post the amount you would accept for your house today even though it isn't technically for sale.
You can upload your own data to improve the database. According to the article I read, most of the East and West coast are populated with zestimates. The Midwest and South are slowly catching up, but there isn't as much of a real estate craze there to drive the demand.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
The story is about a neat program that I had looked at a couple of months ago called Zillow. Not only can you search for homes that are for sale, but it offers some unconventional tools as well.
Zillow allows you to virtually look at houses in your area and find out their "zestimate." This is an estimated price based on surrounding sales and closures on houses. You can see what your house is worth, or what price the people you know may have paid for their home or could sell their home for.
There is also an interesting feature called "make me move," which allows you to post the amount you would accept for your house today even though it isn't technically for sale.
You can upload your own data to improve the database. According to the article I read, most of the East and West coast are populated with zestimates. The Midwest and South are slowly catching up, but there isn't as much of a real estate craze there to drive the demand.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Iowa City One of the 10 Best; Affordable Places to Live
This is a long overdue post, but hopefully it will be the jump-starting of a more regular postings.
This article sent to me by Chiara, talks about 10 locales around the country that offer a low cost of living, good prospects for work and a high quality of life.
Iowa City has made the list and I found the statistics about it quite interesting. It seems around here, everybody is trying to figure out how to revitalize downtown or find out new ways to get people to come work here.
According to the article, we have a 2.7% unemployment rate (4.6% is the national average) and 5-year job growth has been 12.33% compared to 4.9% across the rest of the country.
Read the article and find out if your locale made it to the list!
This article sent to me by Chiara, talks about 10 locales around the country that offer a low cost of living, good prospects for work and a high quality of life.
Iowa City has made the list and I found the statistics about it quite interesting. It seems around here, everybody is trying to figure out how to revitalize downtown or find out new ways to get people to come work here.
According to the article, we have a 2.7% unemployment rate (4.6% is the national average) and 5-year job growth has been 12.33% compared to 4.9% across the rest of the country.
Read the article and find out if your locale made it to the list!
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