frugal zeitgeist

Rent Subsidy Program

Forest — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:57:51 +0000

Since the great depression the USA Federal Government have had a rent subsidy program in place more commonly known as Section 8 housing or just Section 8. Section 8 in it’s essence was a way to help low income families in a time of crisis to find affordable housing to rent. Obviously they could not force land lords to bring down rental prices so the program aims to cover a portion of the rent and allow the renter to afford a reasonable place to live by only typically paying around 30% of their total rent. Section 8 is still going and is pretty much the same deal, In some places State rent subsidy programs have also been introduced as variations of section 8 or complimentary schemes. Over the years it has had the reputation of placing many a young family in low quality neighborhoods amongst high drug use and low employment rates. Many people even relate the quality of a neighborhood by the amount of Section 8 tenents believing that it is the low class tenants themselves that have destroyed the neighborhood.

While the fact of who is on section 8 and why they are on it could be debated, I think it is fair to say that any young family of any moral integrity could end up needing help from a federal rent subsidy program in the current economic climate. I don’t think being poor is something you should be made to feel bad about so it hurts me to think that so many people make an instant judgment about people getting help from section 8 or any related schemes. However the tough economic times have produced an interesting climate for section 8 housing…..

Why the Rent Subsidy Program is Making Many People Happy and Many Irate!

The housing market as we all know is a complete and utter mess right now. Just before the latest recession there was a housing high point with a boom in new builds, renovations and people buying left, right and center. That has left to an unbelievable amount of high quality housing to be sitting gathering dust. For housing market bottom feeders this also means that high quality housing can be picked up at dirt cheap prices.

Section 8 can be a great program for a property owner with an empty place. The government pay the land lord electronically and they don’t have to deal direct with the tenant so no problems there! For the renter they just need to pay a portion of the rent and it allows them to afford a place to live, as mentioned before in the past these affordable places were often the lowest of the low. Cockroach infested holes in what looked like war torn neighborhoods.

But will this abundance of properties owners are turning to Section 8 and allowing low priced rent to bring in at least some income back on the property. For the bottom feeders they may even be turning a heft profit!

Hard hit places like Las Vegas are reportedly renting mini mansions to many poor families under the section 8 rent subsidy program. Families that could previously barely afford a 1 bed apartment are finding themselves with walk in wardrobes and double sitting rooms!

From the POV of the low income renter this is a dream come true. The opportunity to live in a nice neighborhood with many complexes boasting pools and gyms and such luxuries. However for the opposite end of the scale, the owners who live there and the non-section 8 renters animosity and anger could be building with the ideas that low class could be seeping into their neighborhood and it could even affect house prices to bring them lower than they already are!

It will be very interesting to see what happens to these new mixed communities and how the image of Section 8 will continue to change over the next few years and through a hopeful economic recovery. Maybe something great can be proved and as Majora Carter says, (paraphrased) If you treat people with dignity then they will often surprise you in the way they treat you back. (You should watch Majora Carter’s excellent TED speech on Urban Renewal).

A slew of amazing high quality Section 8 housing can be found on GoSection8.com

Now over to you……. Let me know your thoughts on the rent subsidy program and it’s current state!

Fall Home Repairs

Forest — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:20:44 +0000

Fall is almost here and that means that winter prep of your home is in order. There are many fall home repairs around the house to consider to save energy and ultimately money this year and for years to come. Many fixes are cheap and easy.

Your home gets quite a hammering when the weather gets colder and more adverse. The spring and summer are the easy months and most of us live a lot of it outside. I am sure you have a routine you do every year to fix up your home and ready it for the coming months but this year be a little more thorougher and really get your house in ship shape.

1. Weather Stripping.

I just published a post about weather stripping your doors. I make sense to that you need to put some kind of protection around your doors as this is often a big energy leak and could be costing you money. It’s also a way to stop moisture getting in during heavy rainfall. Your windows may also need weather stripping too.

2. Insulate ceilings, walls and floors

Insulating can be costly but for the amount is saves over the years it’s worth while. Go speak to someone about options for insulation materials at your local DIY store but basically you want to at very least line your roof in the attic and if possible line the insides of all walls and floors too (exterior facing most important).

3. Clean and fix the gutters

This may need to be done multiple times during the fall. Get up on a ladder and clean the gutters as well as you can. Do this once every few weeks and makes sure you also fix any leaks or broken guttering. Water going to unintended places (like dripping down exterior walls) can cause all sorts of issues later on such as leaks, rotting walls and more.

4. Caulk any cracks

Buy yourself some caulking and a caulking gun and go around the interior and exterior of your home to caulk any cracks you can find. Try and do this before any rain comes as you don’t want moisture getting inside the home and building up inside walls.

5. Get carbon monoxide detectors

Carbon monoxide can come from faulty boilers and is a silent killer. A detector in the form of an actual alarm or a strip to detect levels can be a lifesaver, literally! I advise you go and get them now even before you finish reading this post!

6. Check and fix heating apparatus

Make sure all your heating equipment is in working order. Check thermostats and replaces as neccesary. Check any portable hating devices and change fuses, plugs or whatever to get them all ready and in working order. You may find stuff on sale in the next few weeks before the big winter rush hits.

7. Pipes and leaks

This is something that should be maintained all year long but it’s important in the winter to have good plumbing. First you can easily fix all leaky taps. Mostly they require new washers. Then check your pipes that you can find for leaks too and if any sinks or drains are slow draining borrow a snake to get them unblocked and flushing properly.

What other fall home repairs do you suggest and do every year?

2010 Highest Paid CEOs

Forest — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:55:28 +0000

I have never never been rich. I have earned a very high wage and had money but not like luxury riches that many people aspire to. Quite honestly I don’t aspire to that level but it does fascinate me that some people can just have so much money. Seriously what could be done with all that cash?

2010 Highest Paid CEOs, the list

The numbers in this list are actually 2009 take home (2010 can’t be run until 2011) but its the current list according to this article on CNN Money.

Larry Ellison – $84.5 million – The Oracle
Ray Elliott – $33.4 million – Boston Scientific
Ray Irani – $31.4 million – Occidental Petroleum
Mark Hurd – $24.2 million – Hewlett Packard
James Hackett – $23.5 million – Anadarko Petroleum
A.G. Lafley – $23.5 million – Procter & Gamble
William Weldon – $22.8 million – Johnson & Johnson
Miles White – $21.9 million – Abbott Laboratories
Bob Iger – $21.6 million – Walt Disney
Samuel Palmisano – $21.2 million – IBM
Robert J. Stevens – $20.5 million – Lockheed Martin
Randall L. Stephenson – $20.3 million – AT&T
Jay S. Fishman – $20.1 million – Travelers Companies
Jeffrey L. Bewkes – $19.4 million – Time Warner
John G. Stumpf – $18.8 million – Wells Fargo
James M. Cracchiolo – $18.2 million – Ameriprise Financial
K. Rupert Murdoch – $18.0 million – News Corp
Ronald D. Sugar – $17.9 million – Northrop Grumman
Alan Mulally – $17.9 million – Ford Motor Company
Louis Chenevert – $17.9 million – United Technologies

Assumptions from the 2010 Highest Paid CEOs list

Assumption is said to be the mother of all f**k ups but hey what the hell!

We still live in an extremely sexist patriarchal society. Not one woman is in the top 20 and that makes me very very sad.
If your names starts with R or J you have a better chance of being one of the highest paid CEO’s!
Larry Ellison earns almost as much as the 3 people below him. Yikes!
Disney and Warner are in the list. It shows what kind of grip they have over the industry.
Petroleum and Oil is still mega business!

What did you think of the list?

Retirement Myths and Realities

Forest — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:21:09 +0000

I’ll be honest, I have been a little irresponsible about thinking about my retirement. However as my earnings and debt stabilize I am looking more into retirement myths and realities trying to make sense of the whole thing and working out what will be needed to sustain a reasonable lifestyle when I hit old age.

Retirement is so debated though, it’s a huge problem for anyone trying to run the numbers. Comprehensive articles like this one from Yahoo hint that you will have to save around $1000000 for a 25 year retirement and if starting late around 30% of your income. However other articles like this one put the figures at around 6% only, a huge difference in opinions!

The reality is that if you want to continue a relative lifestyle in your current situation you do need a lot of money. Some people are forfeiting so much in life now for a future they may never have. Being rich in old age is all about comfort but retirement can quite easily bring time for regret. Regret that you did not see the world when you was young enough and fit enough to run around an explore instead of sitting on a bud of old fogey’s slowly following a guided tour. Of course old age does not have to be that way but it could be!

Social security in USA is rumored to be something that the current young generation will not benefit from. A rising old population due to increasing medical health is putting huge strain on the system and although the rumors may not be 100% true many reports think that the social security pensions may only be covering 25-40% of a traditional income.

Things are looking bleak for retirement!

I don’t think it has to be looked at this way. I don’t live on much money right now and I have met many older retired people living here in Cairo. I wouldn’t choose Cairo in my old age but there are and will always be cheaper paradises to retire to. Right now many people are retiring to places like Belize and surviving just on their social security checks.

It makes sense to max out your 401k’s every year and keep extra savings but be careful not to make life too much hell in the present. Memories and a good life will be very important in your older years. As I said before the time given by retirement gives plenty of time for regret! Planning is essential but if like me you are heading into your 30′s and you have not started saving then you don’t have to have a break down over the whole thing.

Retirement Myths and Realities, what I think….

It will be great to not have to work anymore! – You know I love working. I work full time online and hope to partially fund retirement through my websites and passive income as well as actively running websites. I can’t even imagine to begin to think what the blogging world will look like before my retirement but you can be sure that if I keep up to date I will be expert enough by that stage to keep going. I am not stopping working ever!

Healthcare gets more expensive in old age: - Ok this is partially true but if it is really scaring you then you can do things about it. Obviously keep yourself very healthy, reading regularly about health, alternative medicine and super foods. Don’t fall for the hype but do keep up with what the doctors are saying. I know a lot of older people who have near perfect health. Like saving for retirement they paid attention at a young age. There will always be some things out of our control but they could happen to anyone at any age. Just stay insured!

Early retirement is good for you! – I think early retirement can be dangerous. When purpose is lost from your life and you feel retired it’s easy to slip into a monotonous routine and an unhealthy lifestyle. You really could end up dying early! Personally I would always opt for a partial retirement or leave the corporate run to pursue a passion that still requires a large amount of work-like involvement.

There is so much more to think about but this is just an idea of the things that cross my mind. Many fellow Yakezie network members have been writing on retirement and have an array of interesting perspectives. I think you should read their perspectives so I have linked a few of their articles.

Well Heeled Blog discusses Balancing your retirement with short term goals, Len Penzo takes a look at why his children may not be getting inheritance, Daniel at Sweating the Big Stuff wants to know how much you need for retirement and runs the numbers. Redeeming Riches looks at some of the benefits of using a retirement calculator whilst Early Retirement Extremes shares an early retirement story, 20 Something Money looks at poor retirement planning and early withdrawal, Consumerism Commentary gets down to the benefits of target retirement funds, Monevator looks at an extreme methods of retiring, Wealth Pilgrim looks at the best investments for retirement and Bucksome Boomer asks is phased retirement for you?

Wow that is a lot of info!

As always I would love to know your thoughts on this whole matter!

Have a great day.

America’s greatest entrepreneurs: Success breeds success

Forest — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:27:26 +0000

I was just looking at some interesting slides over at MSN talking about America’s greatest entrepreneurs and how their Success breeds success. Basically it means that even long after their original companies have disbanded or they have died child business has managed to thrive and the classic entrepreneurs are at the roots to many of the World’s biggest companies.

It talks about how John D. Rockefeller Sr revolutionized the il industry and his legacy lives on through highly succesful companies like Exxon Mobil. How Andre Carnigie gave away his fortunes and became a timeless leaver, Edison lived on through General Electric and many other energy related companies and Henry Ford….. Well we all know about Ford!

Th point here is that through genius and the spirit to carry it out your legacy can thrive rebirth for many years after you are gone. America’s greatest entrepreneurs continue to this day to inspire and breed new success in the modern and future entrepreneurs of this world.

My biggest problem with the past examples is that their success almost always led into big business and in many ways I think the future entrepreneurs may be better not setting sites on monopolies or money making as such. Innovation and ideas should come in the areas of advancement for the good of all without a dollar sign in their eyes!

The MSN Slides can be found here: America’s greatest entrepreneurs: Success breeds success

I see myself as an entrepreneur but will likely never be a great. However I can look up to people and draw strength from what they have achieved.

AutoPacific new vehicle satisfaction survey

Forest — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:19:35 +0000

I’m not in the market for a car right now but I find the industry quite interesting. If you buy a car you want something economical and reliable (if you are a frugal being like myself!). So the AutoPacific new vehicle satisfaction survey is something that I thought might be interesting to talk about and link to.

AutoPacific are a company that conducts market research in the auto industry. They are based in California and have quite a few studies such ideal vehicle awards, motorist choice award and such things. The new vehicle satisfaction survey is very intriguing as it could be used as a base for you choosing a decent reliable vehicle for yourself.

So who won the AutoPacific new vehicle satisfaction survey?

The survey is probably one of the most useful of their based on real world reliability and satisfaction gathered from real drivers. The respondents had to answer questions on 48 attributes based on deciding to purchase and after sales satisfaction.

In 2010 awards have gone to Cadillac as the overall best premium brand, Buick as the most popular band and the Suzuki Kizashi as the best rated car. The Lincoln MKT is the top rated truck.

You can find more info here: AutoPacific new vehicle satisfaction survey

Worries about such a survery

It’s easy to look at a survery like this and just act on their findings. However surveys normally show averages or can be affected by where they were taken and who decided to participate. It’s also not unknown for some intervention from the big industries being surveyed themselfs! For example who pays for or sponsors such awards?

What do you think about the choices and this kind of survey?

Goats For Rent!

Forest — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:34:32 +0000

Awesome baby goats I snapped in Quebec a few years ago!

A slew of new businesses are popping up offering goats for rent. Yep you can rent a few goats or an entire herd now to come round and mow your lawn, provide high quality fertilizer and generally brighten up your day.

Goats are ferocious eaters and could clear a lawn pretty fast and be happy doing so. I personally love the idea and so do some pretty big name players such as the US National Parks Service, Google and Yahoo.

There is also talk of using goats to clear areas of brush susceptible to forest fires. So many uses!

Most people seem to reporting that the costs are similar to paying a business for mowing or less but much less dangerous and less hard work. I had even heard of a

How to go about finding goats for rent

As I mentioned above this is a growing industry so it’s likely there is already someone near you. Rent a Ruminant is one such company offering herds all over the USA but a quick search for renting goats in your area should also help you find someone local if you prefer.

Another alternative is directly speaking to local farms that have goats. It’s possible that if they have transportation they could bring the goats and a shepherd at an affordable price. The only problem is the goats will likely need 24 hour monitoring. The companies that offer the service use low level electric fencing to keep the goats in place.

Things to consider when renting goats….

Unlike an old weed whacker or push mower you can’t throw a goat in the shed when you are done with it. It’s a sensitive animal and it needs a good supply of water and enough vegetation to keep it healthy at all times. They are also herd animals so I believe they would prefer to stay a few together at a time. If you have a small patch of land then 2 goats may be sufficient and you may even just be able to borrow them. There are a few plants that goats can be poisoned by so you must always make sure these are not in the area you want to have trimmed. Fias Co Farm has a great list of what a goat can and can’t eat.

Maybe Consider buying a few goats!

Goats unlike lawn mowers have more than one use. They can be extremely friendly and great company (the babies are unbelievably cute, especially the boys!), they also provide a very healthy milk and as mentioned before they also provide free fertilizer as a bonus! They take a bit of TLC but if you have the time then it could be very worth while.

Sadly my balcony and apartment here in Cairo is not in need of a goat right now!

You may be interested in MSN’s latest article on the subject: Goat Powered Weed Whacking.

What do you think of the idea of having goats for rent, would you consider it for your land?

How To Find Free e-Books

Forest — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 14:56:43 +0000

With the advancement of technology reading is taking on new forms and e-books are now extremely popular. Buying e-books can get as expensive as buying real printed books so knowing how to find free e-books is a good thing to keep your digital reading on a budget.

This isn’t going to be a post about stealing digital copies of the newest New York Times Bestseller’s but that does not mean that the e-books that you can fully legally obtain for free are of poor quality in the slightest. I’m going to share some of the best resources for picking up ebooks of many types for free.

How To Find Free e-Books, My Resources

There are a few formats of ebook but the most common is PDF or Kindle. Most mobile devices (phones, ipads, laptops and digital ebook readers) can be equipped to read pretty much every format of ebook so there is no worries there. if you need any help with formats and reading just ask in the comments and I will help you out.

Best overall resource, Project Gutenberg – No matter what kind of ebook you are trying to download Project Gutenberg is a great place to start. They supply the ebooks as download for most major ebook formats, no registration is required and it’s just an awesome resource. They say they have over 330k ebooks so you are unlikely to run out of books to read!

The classics – Most classic books are out of copyright. That means that pretty much every classic you can remember from the works of Shakespeare to Bronte are available to download from around the web. Planet ebook has a great range and currenly have 84 classics including Wuthering Heights and 1984.

Self published books - The internet has basically opened up publishing for everyone. No longer do you need to get a book deal or be hired as a journalist to write. Aspiring authors are offering some of their finest work up for your scrutiny for free in the hope of eventually getting a deal. In the meantime you can find a star author in the making. How cool is that? Smashwords has a great selection of free and low priced self published books for download in many genres from fiction to self help.

Car Manuals – Who knew it! You can find a manual for many cars online as an ebook for free! OnlineFreeBooks.net has links to many manuals for many models.

Internet Marketing - I won’t provide a link here. All I can say is that if you visit any known (and many unknown) marketers websites they are giving away free material on all aspects of internet marketing and earning money online. Of course the fill the books with affiliate links and sometimes just provide teasers of full services but heay if you are aware of this you can find some priceless free content.

I would love to know what tips you have for how to find free e-books and if you have any other comments.

As always, thanks for reading.

Double Dip Recession Defined

Forest — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:57:05 +0000

The term double dip recession is floating around recently and it’s a bit vague to be honest but basically the double dip recession defined seems to be a recession that hits twice in secession. The problem with the term is that it’s not specific and the time scale between the dips is, I guess, the analysts opinion.

Is USA going through a double dip recession?

I’m not sure about this one but I am far from expert. Basically there seems to have been quite a bad dip that we are all aware of but then markets started to rise, big business perked up and things from a big wig point of view started looking better. This could have been massively from stimulus spending so a kind of force recovery that could easily lead to another full on dip again. After all most people on the ground have not really seen a recovery at all, no matter what good news the media brings it’s still very hard to get a job. New loans for the average person are almost non-existent and generally people are feeling poorer than ever. In some ways a recovery may have never happened!

I would rather say this will be a yo-yo recession and I am staying low to not get too badly hit. If you ride the waves then you will peak and trough with them. I prefer to swim smoothly underwater.

What do you think? I know most readers are better versed in financial analytics so I am sure you have better more well informed opinions that me …

Auto Loan Dealer Tricks 2010

Forest — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 11:55:46 +0000

It’s been a very tough year for Auto Loan Dealers but in some ways it’s been a good test to stream line the industry and get some of the shadier operations run out of business and the more caring customer friendly dealers a chance to survive. No matter how friendly, how good after sales service is or what amazing deals they stock any auto dealer has tricks up their sleeves to get you to buy that shiny new dream machine.

I know an auto dealer very well and I can honestly say he is one of the most well meaning, giving and loving people I know. Obviously he always tries to upsell you to more but I don’t believe he is trying to be deceitful and he believes in his products.

Often when you buy a car you need a loan and that’s not too difficult to get if you earn well and have a decent credit record. Personally I would avoid loans but if you are going for one be careful not to get upsold too much.

Here are some of the auto loan dealer tricks you may experience this year when buying a new car

Do you drink Coffee? – You are in the car lot, you see a shiny 2007 Audi A8 and want it bad. However it’s just out of the agreed rate that you have budgeted in for a loan. Car dealers watch you like hawks. That old Camry in your budget is nice, it works and it’s reliable but the dealer knows that’s not what you want. Sitting down to talk about the cars they ask you “Do you drink coffee?”. Of course it could be any other item here but coffee is a common one. The dealer will then work out your starbucks habit costs and say something like “Well you spend $60 a month on coffee, cut the habit and you can afford another $55 a month on loan payments, get the Audi and save yourself $5 per month”. How could you refuse! Well the lesson from this is drop the coffee habit and buy a cheaper car until you can save up for the Audi in hard cash…. Just my 2 cents .

That car isn’t right for you – Like I said before the dealer is like a hawk. However hawks are not as well versed in psychology. I am convinced some dealers could out psyche any quack! If you are really eying over a car but express concerns about price then you may have this trick pulled on you. The dealer will come over and let you know that they think the car of choice may be too much for you anyway. Not in cost but in style. They will take you to a boring alternative and even start running the numbers and seem like they really believe in the lesser car. Later in the workings they may drop a sly comment or two like “Well I suppose the would only cost an extra $75 a month” here and there. A fellow blogger had an excellent example of this in action but I can’t find the post anymore… If anyone has the link I would love to link it here!

Why pay cash? Get it cheaper with a loan – The dealer gets all sorts of perks for getting you to sign to a loan. Even if you are standing there with a suitcase full of cash, ready to buy the dealer may still want to steer you towards a loan. Even with the cash on the table, calculator in hand and negotiations in full swing you may find the dealer saying that they can offer a huge discount if you buy the car on finance. Of course they will earn more than any discount they give you by signing you up. Be very careful!