Thursday, December 30, 2010

Women Making Money


The last time she hooked up, she said, it was because “his personality put me at ease. He was straight to the point. He asked me the same questions I was asking him.” Plus, she liked that his real name matched his email address. From there, she was able to find his Facebook page, with numerous photographs. When Ashley (not her real name) finally had her rendezvous, she took down his license plate number and texted it to herself on a second cellphone, which she’d left on her kitchen table along with a note for friends and family, just in case she didn’t return. And then she collected her $500 an hour.


Welcome to prostitution in the Internet era.


Fifteen years ago, it was hard to find hookers on the Web. Now they are all over the place. The Internet has given rise to a new generation of sex workers who have more autonomy than ever before, and by and large enjoy a level of safety not shared by their street-walking sisters. Nonetheless, Internet prostitution is a risky business, and those hazards were underscored this month when the bodies of four women were found decomposing on the side of the road near Jones Beach on Long Island. Attention quickly turned to two missing call girls who’d been using Craigslist as their primary means of making connections. It turned out that neither woman was among the victims, but the grisly discovery put an unwanted spotlight back on Craigslist, which in September took down its U.S. erotic-services directory under pressure from law enforcement and human-rights groups. Last week, it pulled its worldwide adult-services ads. (Though Craigslist has managed to get most sex solicitation off its site, it hasn’t completely succeeded, as Ashley can tell you.)


David Henry Sterry has numerous stories about how the lives of prostitutes have changed in the past decade. Last year, he edited Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, and Rent Boys: Prostitutes Writing on Life, Love, Work, Sex, and Money, an anthology that received a stamp of approval from The New York Times. He’s also a former sex worker himself, a rare example of a man who earned his living pleasing older women. (The only common thread connecting his clients, he said, was that they all had money and “most felt powerless because they were housewives, bored, and rich.”)


One of the women who appeared in his book called herself Kat, worked on Craigslist, and had an elaborate screening process in which she would force potential johns to drive up to the location of the assignations, get out of their cars, and stand there while she examined them from a nearby window with a pair of binoculars. Kat refused to talk to anyone with a blocked number. She also chose not to text. If you sent her a photo of your genitalia, a common mistake among potential johns, you were out of contention. “She had developed what she called a ‘hooker’s radar,’” Sterry said. “The tone of the guy’s voice, his walk, she had learned how to instantly size someone up. And if the guy looked sketchy or too much like a toad, she would stop returning his phone calls.”


“People who think they’re going to eliminate prostitution or violence in prostitution by shutting down Craigslist are wildly deluded,” said David Henry Sterry.








Another Internet-era phenomenon that’s friendly to business and helps boost security for prostitutes and johns alike is “the mixer.” This is a cocktail party-like event at which “hobbyists”—the current euphemism of choice for high-spending porn aficionados obsessed with bonking their favorite screen stars—get to meet potential dates. No sex typically takes place on site, explained Daily Beast contributor Richard Abowitz, a chronicler of life in Las Vegas, where the parties frequently occur. “It’s more like a job fair,” he said.








We’ve provided you with nearly 300 in-depth features, galleries and how-tos in the past year to help you navigate the social media world.

Here you’ll find a comprehensive list of all of those posts, covering everything from how to enhance your class='blippr-nobr'>Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook profile, find videos and music, contribute to a charity and just about any other topic you can think of.

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About Social Media

  • How Social Media Has Changed Us
  • 5 Insightful TED Talks on Social Media
  • 5 Levels of Effective Communication in the Social Media Age
  • Why Social Media Means Big Opportunities for Women
  • The Science of Building Trust With Social Media
  • How Companies Are Using Your Social Media Data
  • Why User Competency Matters in Social Design
  • 10 Essential Design Tools for Social Media Pros
  • Why Content Curation Is Here to Stay
  • Inside Gatorade’s Social Media Command Center
  • Why Feedback and Filters are Necessary in Social Media
  • 9 Universal Principles of Viral Media Sites
  • Why Social Experience is the Future of Online Content
  • 10 Beautiful Social Media Infographics
  • A Look Back at the Last 5 Years in Social Media
  • 5 Huge Trends in Social Media Right Now
  • 5 Trends Affecting How We Connect Through Social Media
  • The Next 5 Years in Social Media

Facebook

  • Why Facebook’s Privacy Changes are Detrimental to Users
  • How Facebook Can Become a Money Making Machine
  • HOW TO: Keep Your Facebook Updates Private
  • HOW TO: Block FarmVille on Facebook
  • 4 Easy Ways to Engage Your Facebook Fans
  • Facebook vs. Google: The Billion Dollar Battle to Be Your Default Social Profile
  • How a Facebook Group Helped Reunite a Band for Charity
  • HOW TO: Clean Up Your Facebook Profile
  • 5 Ways Facebook Changed Dating (For the Worse)
  • HOW TO: Disable Facebook’s “Instant Personalization” [PRIVACY]
  • 5 Ways Facebook’s Open Graph Will Impact E-commerce
  • HOW TO: Find Long Lost Friends on Facebook
  • In Defense of Facebook
  • How Facebook Makes Edgy Concepts Mainstream
  • Why Facebook Must Get Serious About Privacy
  • HOW TO: Send a Real Gift on Facebook
  • How Does Facebook View the World?
  • Why Facebook Can’t Genuinely Connect People
  • 3 Things Facebook Does Very Well
  • 10 Cool Facebook Status Tips and Tricks
  • My Facebook Story: An Inside Look at Facebook’s First Privacy Fiasco
  • 10 Fascinating Facebook Facts
  • HOW TO: Put Facebook’s “Like” Button on Any Website
  • 5 Ways Facebook Questions Can Be Improved
  • A Closer Look at the Privacy Features of Facebook Places [PICS]
  • A Field Guide to Using Facebook Places
  • 5 Useful Facebook Trend and Search Services
  • Facebook Privacy: 6 Years of Controversy [INFOGRAPHIC]
  • 5 Fun FarmVille Accessories
  • 3 Tips for Maximizing Engagement With Facebook “Likes” and Shares
  • Facebook vs. Google and the Battle for Identity on the Web [OP-ED]
  • The Biggest Brands on Facebook [INFOGRAPHIC]
  • The New Facebook Messages: A Walkthrough [SCREENSHOTS]
  • 5 Facebook Profile Photos to Avoid
  • 10 Creative Uses of the New Facebook Profile [PICS]
  • Videos and Pics

    • HOW TO: Add Captions To Your YouTube Videos
    • 10 Amazing Magic Trick Videos on YouTube
    • Exclusive: Inside YouTube’s War Room
    • HOW TO: Boost Your SEO with a YouTube Channel
    • EXCLUSIVE: Behind the Scenes at the “Married on MySpace” Wedding [VIDEO]
    • HOW TO: Make a Great How-To Video
    • 4 Tips for Producing Quality Web Videos
    • 10 Best World Cup Goals on YouTube
    • 5 Ways to Build a Loyal Audience on YouTube
    • 6 Tips For Experimenting with Web Video
    • 15 Fab Flash Mob Videos on YouTube
    • 5 Handy YouTube Channels for DIY and Home Improvement
    • Why Hulu’s New Dance Show is a Game-Changer
    • How Social Media has Changed the Game for Documentary Filmmaking
    • 5 Inspiring Celebrity Videos Tell Gay Teens “It Gets Better”
    • 3 Things Any Video Needs to Go Viral
    • 5 Ways to Get a Job Through YouTube
    • HOW TO: Become a YouTube Sensation
    • 5 Fresh Places to Find Great Online Video
    • How To Make Your Music Video Go Viral: 10 Tips From Cee-Lo, OK Go & More
    • Music

      • HOW TO: Create Free Music Playlists Online
      • Why MySpace Can Still Win as a Music Destination
      • Musicians Can Help Each Other Get Famous with New Site
      • How Rdio Makes Your Music Mix Social
      • 7 Superb Podcasts for Summer Listening
      • 8 YouTube Channels for Unique Music Performances
      • 10 Ways Touring Bands Can Leverage Location Apps
      • Exclusive: Trent Reznor on “The Social Network” [INTERVIEW]
      • 4 Ways to Find Legal Music for Your YouTube Videos
      • Twitter

        • Zen and the Art of Twitter: 4 Tips for Productive Tweeting
        • 5 Big Twitter Trends to Follow Right Now
        • 4 Tips for Tapping Into Twitter Conversations
        • HOW TO: Spring Clean Your Twitter Account
        • 5 Free Services for Pre-Scheduling Your Twitter Updates
        • How Twitter’s New Media Blog Aims To Teach By Example
        • HOW TO: Make the Most of Your Twitter Profile Page
        • Why Twitter Needs to Do More to Save Trending Topics
        • 5 Terrific Tools for Keeping Tabs on Twitter Trends
        • HOW TO: Help New Users Stay Engaged on Twitter
        • The Rise of Comedy on Twitter
        • Top 20 Sites to Improve Your Twitter Experience
        • The Origin of Twitter’s “Fail Whale”
        • 5 Free Ways to Never Miss a Twitter @Reply
        • 10 Free and Fun Twitter Bird Icons for your Website
        • 5 Fab Twitter Follower Visualization Tools
        • 5 Useful Tools to Track Twitter Unfollowers
        • 5 Tips for Dealing with Complaints on Twitter
        • 7 Cool Chrome Extensions for Twitter
        • 20 Cool Twitter Accounts for Daily Fun and Inspiration [PICS]
        • TwitPic Founder Talks About the Future of Twitter Photo Sharing [VIDEO]
        • Top 10 Twitter Tips for Bands, By Bands
        • The New Twitter: The Web is Back
        • How NPR Is Leveraging the Twitter Generation [STATS]
        • Why Twitter Influences Cross-Cultural Engagement
        • HOW TO: Gain Twitter Influence
        • HOW TO: Use Twitter’s Advanced Search [VIDEO]
        • Geo-location

          • The History of Location Technology [INFOGRAPHIC]
          • Dear Foursquare: This Is Not the Right Time to Sell
          • Gowalla CEO Talks About the Future of Social Media [INTERVIEW]
          • Why the Fashion Industry Loves Foursquare
          • Why Hasn’t Location Reached the Mainstream Yet?
          • Beyond the Checkin: Where Location-Based Social Networks Should Go Next
          • Top 16 Unusual Foursquare Badges
          • Why Entertainment Will Drive the Next Checkin Craze
          • Why Location-Based Social Media Needs to Get “Passive” Aggressive
          • The State of the GeoSocial Universe [INFOGRAPHIC]
          • Mayor Wars: A Battle For Foursquare Supremacy [VIDEO]
          • Social Media Grammar: The “Checkin” Conundrum
          • HOW TO: Become a Foursquare Power User
          • A Glimpse at the Future of Foursquare

          Education

          • 3 Ways Educators Are Embracing Social Technology
          • How Twitter in the Classroom is Boosting Student Engagement
          • 4 Tips for Integrating Social Media Into the Classroom
          • Why Online Education Needs to Get Social
          • The Case for Social Media in Schools
          • 7 Fantastic Free Social Media Tools for Teachers
          • How Online Classrooms Are Helping Haiti Rebuild Its Education System
          • 10 Free Online Resources for Science Teachers

          Privacy and Safety

          • HOW TO: Erase Your Online Past [HUMOR]
          • Privacy: Managing the New Currency of the Social Web
          • Why Banning Social Media Often Backfires
          • HOW TO: Prevent and Report Online Stalking
          • Social Media Parenting: Raising the Digital Generation
          • HOW TO: Get Notified When Someone Hacks Your Facebook
          • 5 Essential Facebook Privacy Tips
          • HOW TO: Deal with a Cyberstalker
          • 5 Fun and Safe Social Networks for Children
          • 4 Effective Tools for Monitoring Your Child’s Online Safety

          Digg

          • New Digg Is Live: What It Means For Digg and For You
          • A Brief History of Digg
          • What Digg Must Do to Survive

          Crowdsourcing

          • HOW TO: Crowdsource Funds for Causes, Creativity and Startups
          • 5 Creative Uses for Crowdsourcing
          • 10 Cool Crowdsourced Music Video Projects
          • 4 Real Challenges to Crowdsourcing for Social Good
          • 4 People Who Let the Crowd Control Their Destiny

          Social Good, Activism and Government

          • 5 Ways Mega Charity Events Can Harness the Power of Social Media
          • 9 Ways to Do Good With 5 Minutes or $25
          • How Social Media Can Effect Real Social and Governmental Change
          • 4 Ways One Non-Profit Uses Location to Increase Engagement
          • 5 Ways to Support World Malaria Day Online
          • How Non-Profits are Using Social Media for Real Results
          • How Does Twitter’s New Social Good Initiative Stack Up?
          • 5 Ways Government Works Better With Social Media
          • 8 Tips for a Successful Social Media Cause Campaign
          • HOW TO: Turn Slacktivists into Activists with Social Media
          • How the U.S. Engages the World with Social Media
          • How Social Media is Changing Government Agencies
          • 5 Things the Library of Congress is Archiving Online
          • 6 Websites for Remembering and Honoring Veterans
          • How Political Campaigns Are Using Social Media for Real Results
          • How Social Media is Helping Veterans Connect
          • How the Gulf Coast Benefit is Using Social Media to Rally Support
          • How Social Media is Changing the Way Government Does Business
          • How You Can Do Good with Small Actions: Try Bolder
          • How CrisisCommons Is Helping the Tech Community Help Others
          • 5 Social Fundraising Alternatives to Facebook Causes
          • Why Social Media Is a Game-Changer for Causes
          • How the Web Can be Harnessed for Social Good
          • How Social Media Helped 174 Million People Get the Message About Malaria
          • 5 Easy Ways to Support a Cause Through Your Social Network
          • Social Media: The New Battleground for Politics
          • 3 Small Cause Campaigns That Won Big With Social Media
          • How and Why PepsiCo Engages in Social Good [VIDEO]
          • 9 Creative Social Good Campaigns Worth Recognizing [Mashable Awards]
          • 5 YouTube Projects That Are Making a Difference
          • Why Social Media Is Reinventing Activism
          • 3 Creative Social Good Campaigns that Will Make You Smile
          • HOW TO: Help Solve the Global Water Crisis with Social Media
          • The Future of Social Media and Politics
          • 5 Must-Follow Non-Profits Making a Difference With Social Media [Mashable Awards]
          • 10 Inspiring “Buy One Give One” Projects
          • How Social Media Is Making Veteran Service Organizations Better
          • Checkins for Charity: The Rise of Geo-Social Good
          • HOW TO: Help Feed the Hungry With Online Donations
          • Facebook Co-Founder Launches Social Network for Social Good, Jumo [IMAGE]
          • 5 Ways Cities Are Using Social Media to Reverse Economic Downturn
          • The Holiday Survival Guide for Social Media Professionals

          Holidays & Major Events

          • 10 Fabulous Valentine’s Day Gifts for Your Beloved Geek
          • 5 More Ways to Go Green for Earth Day
          • How Social Media Helped Travelers During the Iceland Volcano Eruption
          • 5 Ways to Go Green for Earth Day with Social Media
          • 4 Social Media Efforts to Aid the Gulf Coast
          • 8 Ways to Follow Internet Week New York Online
          • HOW TO: Follow the 2010 World Cup on Twitter
          • The World Cup’s Social Media Evolution
          • World Cup 2010: Mashable’s Complete Coverage
          • HOW TO: Follow the US Open with Social Media
          • HOW TO: Follow New York Fashion Week Online
          • HOW TO: Get the Most from Fashion’s Night Out with Social Media
          • How Social Media Has Changed Fashion Week
          • 17 Web Resources to Help You Decide on Election Day
          • How the “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear” Nailed Social Media
          • 5 Free Halloween Music Playlists for Your Monster Bash
          • 4 Ways to Visualize Voter Sentiment for the Midterm Elections
          • HOW TO: Plan the Perfect Thanksgiving With the Help of Social Media
          • HOW TO: Use Social Media to Enhance Your Event

          Managing Your Social Media Time & Presence

          • 4 Essential Traits for Social Media Success in Your Career
          • 4 Steps for Managing Social Media Attention
          • 5 Simple Social Design Tips From the Masters
          • 3 Tips for Managing Your Online Reputation
          • 5 Tips for Creating the Perfect Profile Pic
          • 5 Ways to Reduce Social Media Distractions and Be More Productive
          • Tim Ferriss: 7 Great Principles for Dealing with Haters
          • 21 Rules for Social Media Engagement
          • HOW TO: Send Digital Invites Without Being Obnoxious
          • Are You a Comments Troll?
          • 5 Ways to Clean Up Your Social Media Identity
          • HOW TO: Deal with a Real-Life Breakup Online
          • HOW TO: Enhance Your Online Presence with Video
          • 11 Free Services for Scheduling Social Media Updates
          • HOW TO/NOT TO: Ask Someone Out Online
          • 7 Services to Find and Reserve Your Name Across the Web
          • HOW TO: Gracefully Promote Yourself Online
          • HOW TO: Win the Search Rank Race for Your Name
          • 7 Resources for Handling Digital Life After Death
          • 11 Essential Apps for Managing Your Real Life Social Networks

          Blogging

          • HOW TO: Integrate Google Buzz Into Your WordPress Blog
          • HOW TO: Create a Successful Company Blog
          • 10 Beautiful Free Blogger Templates
          • HOW TO: Maximize Your Content’s Reach on the Social Web
          • HOW TO: Rescue Your Blog From Social Isolation
          • A Look Back at the Last 5 Years in Blogging
          • A Brief History of 9 Popular Blogging Platforms
          • 7 Perfect Posterous Themes for Multimedia Blogs
          • HOW TO: Use Tweet Buttons as a Blogger or Site Owner
          • 21 Creative Blogger Bio Pages
          • HOW TO: Help Your Child Set Up a Blog

          Google

          • HOW TO: Integrate Facebook, Twitter and Buzz into Your Gmail
          • HOW TO: Make a Google Buzz Desktop App
          • 4 Ways Non-Profits Can Use Google Buzz
          • 12 Fresh Web Tools for Getting the Most Out of Google Buzz
          • Google’s Long History of Social Media Attempts [INFOGRAPHIC]
          • Why Google Wave’s Demise Is Good News for Facebook
          • Which Words Does Google Instant Blacklist?

          Industry-Specific Resources

          • How the Fashion Industry is Embracing Social Media
          • How the Resort Industry is Using Social Media
          • How Musicians Are Using Social Media to Connect with Fans
          • 6 Ways Law Enforcement Uses Social Media to Fight Crime
          • The Future Newsroom: Lean, Open and Social Media-Savvy
          • 6 Ways Brands are Using Social Media For Real-World Action
          • How Journalists are Using Social Media for Real Results
          • How Freelancers are Using Social Media for Real Results
          • Social Enterprise: 5 Tips for Getting Execs on Board
          • How Lawyers Are Using Social Media for Real Results
          • Why Social Media is the New Source of Hollywood Talent
          • How Salespeople Are Using Social Media for Real Results
          • Why Food Bloggers Are Here to Stay
          • 6 Crucial Social Media Tips for Traditional Media
          • 5 Tips for Aspiring Social Media Marketers
          • Why WikiLeaks and the Mainstream Media Still Need Each Other
          • How Freelancers Might Use Social Media in the Future
          • The Future of Public Relations and Social Media
          • How Social Data Built a Better Health Care App
          • The Future of Social Media in Journalism
          • The Future of the Hotel Industry and Social Media
          • How Lawyers May Use Social Media in the Future
          • The Future of Human Resources and Social Media
          • How Investigative Journalism Is Prospering in the Age of Social Media
          • How Social Media Is Changing the Way Movies are Promoted
          • Why More Health Experts Are Embracing the Social Web
          • Sports and Social Media: Why the Best Is Yet to Come

          Other

          • The Birth of the Virtual Assistant
          • The Ultimate March Madness Social Media Guide
          • 5 Stellar Ways to Explore Space Using Social Media
          • 6 Easy Ways to Score the Best Deals with Social Media
          • 5 Free Ways to Identify that Song Stuck in Your Head
          • Why Chatroulette Is More Than Just Penises
          • 3 Ways Live Events Improve Online Communities
          • 12 Chatroulette Clones You Should Try
          • Top 10 Online Mascots
          • HOW TO: Rent Anything Online
          • HOW TO: Get the Most Out of Q&A Sites
          • 13 Internet Slangs with Unexpected Alternate Meanings
          • 5 Ways Social Media Helps Promote Good Health
          • For Women, Social Media is More Than “Girl Talk”
          • Inside Street Food’s Social Media Revolution [VIDEO]
          • 10 Great Geek Tees For Kids
          • 7 Days on Craigslist’s Casual Encounters
          • HOW TO: Follow Mashable Staff Online
          • The WikiLeaks Debate: Journalists Weigh In
          • 7 Services That Will Suggest Things You Like
          • 7 Questions With AOL Co-Founder Steve Case
          • 5 Online Community Killers to Avoid at All Costs

          Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, morozena

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          Keith Olbermann is anything but hesitant when it comes to a battle with Fox News, and the MSNBC anchor took to Twitter Wednesday to share his views on the TV network he probably wouldn't even call a rival.


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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Business Making Money

The result is a bunch of excess inventory and poorly thought-out construction projects which have no means of recouping the initial investment needed to repay the bank loans.

This practice is similar to Spain`s situation now where they have entire uninhabited building complexes that have yet to be marked to market, and will probably ultimately be demolished. But at least in Spain, even though it was a construction boom, it was engineered by developers in Spain, and not by some manufacturing outfits like those in China.

So, multiply the bad business project factor by ten and you get an understanding of the magnitude of bad loans on the books of Chinese banks. The problem is being further exacerbated by the practice similar to Spain`s of banks making additional loans to the businesses just so that they can then turnaround and pay back the interest owed on the original loans.

The only way this would work out is if these projects magically develop revenue streams. Unfortunately, in the case of Spain, a 20% unemployment rate, coupled with a still overvalued housing market in which prices still need to come down significantly, would suggest that by the time the Spanish economy recovers enough to support the excess inventory, the abandoned projects are run down and uninhabitable.

A similar scenario could play out in China as well.

True Smart Money Wary of the Write-off Domino 

Furthermore, China`s practice of overbuilding at the height of real estate valuations makes even haircuts on loan write-offs an untenable practice for banks, and by further throwing good money after bad, the ultimate mark- to-market effect could be catastrophic for Chinese Banks.

This is the main reason all the major Chinese banks have gone to the market in 2010 to raise more capital before investors wise up to the underlying deficits these banks face, as these bad loans eventually would need to be written off the books.

Victor Shih, a Northwestern University professor estimates that Chinese local governments borrowed some 11.4 trillion renminbi at the end of 2009, and that local government financing loans to be roughly one-third of China's 2009 GDP. 

Shih reckons the most likely scenario over the next few years is that there would be increases of non-performing loans ratio from local governments. This would require a large scale of recapitalization of the Chinese banking system, which would eat up a large share of China's foreign exchange reserves and possibly slow down growth.

I do believe Beijing is quite capable of  a few bailouts and surviving a widespread banking crisis, but this most definitely will not bode well for the financial markets.  That's most likely why you see insiders removing capital from direct exposure to the inevitable re-pricing that will happen throughout Chinese markets from real estate to the stock market. 

This can be seen at this early stage by the underperformance of the Chinese stock market compared to other global markets. Remember, foreigners cannot invest directly in these markets, so these capital outflows are truly the smart money.

Logistic Gridlock Crimping the Middle Class

Next let`s look at the recent news regarding a severe cutback in automobile registrations in Beijing to 240,000 in 2011 from 700,000 registered in 2010 by the municipal government. Other large cities in China are bound to follow. This is most likely related to the reported 9-day traffic jam on the Beijing-Tibet expressway in August, and other extended traffic jams throughout China in 2010.

China is trying to build infrastructure projects after the fact; whereas with proper central planning these should have been established far ahead of the massive transition from a rural, agricultural based populous to that of a modern, large city based business and manufacturing concentration.

Simply put, it is impossible for all the Chinese citizens who want and can afford automobiles to be able to own and utilize this form of transport without a total breakdown in the transportation system. We are seeing the early stages of complete and counterproductive gridlock in the transportation system of China, and it is only going to get worse over the next decade.

No Jobs for College Grads

For all the talk about how China graduates more engineers each year, and other college educated young people who have strong backgrounds in the hard sciences than most developed nations combined, this is actually another sign of problems to come over the next decade in China.

China`s wealth and emergence into the second largest business economy hasn`t been built around the need for these types of mind and skill set. So literally you have a large mismatch between the types of available jobs in China, that are supported by the heavy manufacturing and construction intensive focus of the past twenty years, to that of the recently educated pool of graduates who have grown in sizable numbers over the past five years.

The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste

This results in a large human asset class that China is currently wasting, as most of the newly educated workforce is working in jobs which require little or no advanced education at the university level. So you have highly educated university graduates in areas like engineering and accounting working low level service and sales jobs that pay less than many manufacturing jobs.

In short, there are too many highly educated Chinese citizens graduating each year for the number of jobs available needing their skill set because China`s economic model isn`t built around these type of jobs. This type of misaligned employment outcomes never ends well; it usually manifests itself in increased civil and social unrest.

8% Inflation in 2011

The next major challenge for China is a skyrocketing inflation, which at its root is the fact that there are too many people chasing too few resources. This fundamental flaw in population dynamics underpins many of the problems that China faces going forward.

Recent CPI data for November illustrates the inflation problem in China with a reading of 5.1% from a year ago comparison, this is up from a 4.4% reading for the previous month. Couple this with the latest 4% hike in fuel prices in China because of rising oil prices, you could expect future CPI and PPI reports to reflect even higher rates of inflation.

For now, most of the year over year spike has revolved around higher food prices as energy has mainly been flat for 2010 thanks mostly to government subsidies. Now that energy prices have entered the picture, China will start to experience even more inflation pressures in 2011. 

Furthermore, with the undervalued yuan pegged to the dollar, it is only getting worse for China in 2011 due to Fed's QE2 pressures on the dollar.  The real inflation rate for Chinese citizens for 2011 will probably approach 8% next year.

An Asian Contagion by China?

This escalating inflation concern is further compounded by Beijing's lack of decisive action to combat the problem by delaying a much needed currency appreciation, and hiking interest rates in a timely fashion. There is no getting around the fact that these two things need to occur as soon as possible.

By the time the Chinese government is forced to implement these tightening tools, the damage to the economy is most likely already done. The longer China delays the inevitable serious tightening measures, the harder the economic crash that will occur in the aftermath of these policy changes. And it is unlikely to end well. The resultant impact will probably take the rest of the Asian economies down with it – an Asian Contagion scenario.

History Repeats Itself

Eventually central planners and finance ministers around the world might start to understand that policies which lead to bubbles being formed in the first place are counterproductive in the long run. But until that lesson is learned, it seems like we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Right now, there are more and more signs coming out of China that all is not well with its economy, and the likelihood of a more severe downturn in the future is a distinct possibility, unless its policy makers take decisive and prudent actions to minimize the damage of a hard landing.    


Dian L. Chu, Dec. 25, 2010 | Mobile Reader, Website | Google Profile


...hopelessly outgunned presidential campaign as if it was a business, not even spending more money than he had in hand. C'mon now, how laughable is that in this day and age in modern America that someone who wants to run the federal government should live within his own campaign means? Just like normal people who live on a real budget with no ability to vote themselves a pay raise and a higher debt ceiling when no one is watching C-SPAN!


When the ultimate Democratic winner, in league with the extraordinary gentleman Harry Reid and the tough-talking San Francisco grandma who's House speaker, has decided to spend a gazillion more dollars than any non-federal calculator has digits to display.


These people, for Nancy's sake, are already spending the income taxes of the unborn grandchildren of those 4,000 babies that Paul delivered. A shocking realization that may be helping to fuel the recent re-examination of Ron Paul, who never met a federal dollar that needed spending -- unless it was going back to his district near Houston.


Ron Paul came within something like 1,000 delegates of catching John McCain for the Republican nomination in St. Paul. But when he finally gave up, Paul still had about $5 million left over. He's been investing it traveling around the country to speak and helping like-minded RFR's (Republicans For Real) organize all over. And, who knows, maybe sell a few books.


But now, just as his fierce supporters fearlessly predicted all along, many in American politics are coming around to think that maybe RP's crazy ideas, for example, of auditing and controlling the Federal Reserve, are maybe not quite so crazy.


Our news colleague in Washington, Don Lee, details the sea-change in opinion in a comprehensive look at the old guy's rebirth for weekend print editions, which we're sharing here this morning as a distinguished guest post for Ticket readers around the world.


And for any surviving Ron Paulites, who won't dare leave their typically snippy comments below because that would require them acknowledging that their favorite fiction about a MSM conspiracy to ignore the old guy is fiction.


-- Andrew Malcolm


Because no federal funds are involved, Ron Paul would want you to click here for Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot. Or join us over here on The Ticket's new Facebook FAN page.


Here's Lee's reported news item:


For three decades, Texas congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul's extreme brand of libertarian economics consigned him to the far fringes even among conservatives. Not a few times, his views put him on the losing end of 434-1 votes on Capitol Hill.


No longer. With the economy still struggling and political divisions deepening, Paul's ideas not only are gaining a wider audience but also are helping to shape a potentially historic battle over economic policy -- a struggle that will affect everything including jobs, growth and the nation's place in the global economy.

Already, Paul's long-derided proposal to give Congress supervisory power over the traditionally independent Federal Reserve appears to be on its way to becoming law.

His warnings on deficits and inflation are now Republican mantras.

And with this year's congressional election campaign looming, the Texas congressman's deep-seated distrust of activist government has helped fuel protests such as the tea-party movement, harden partisan divisions in Washington and stoke public fears about federal spending and the deficit.

"People are wondering what went wrong. And they're not happy with what the....



....government is offering up," said James Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, offering an explanation for why seemingly wonkish arguments over interest rate policy and the money supply are spilling over onto ordinary Americans.

Some of Paul's most extreme views are still beyond the pale for most economists. Despite the eroding value of the dollar, no one expects the U.S. to return to the gold standard, as Paul advocates; most economists think that could wreck the economy.

In their less drastic forms, however, Paul's ideas are being welcomed by conservatives and viewed with foreboding by liberals. For conservatives, runaway inflation constitutes the biggest potential threat to the nation's future. Liberals worry that cutting back stimulus efforts too soon could slow or even halt the current recovery.

The debate over that question -- what the basic thrust of U.S. economic policy should be -- is likely to dominate the coming elections and Washington policymaking.

And so far, Paul and his fellow conservatives are on the offensive. President Obama and congressional Democrats are repeatedly pledging not to increase the deficit and to begin cutting back soon.

"I think we're going to be in for more revival of fiscal responsibility," said William Niskanen of the Cato Institute, who headed the Council of Economic Advisors under President Reagan.

Niskanen sees the Texas Republican's increasing influence as stemming from the continued economic weakness. "To this extent, Ron Paul gains voice," he said.

Paul would go a lot further in cutting back the government's role than even free-marketers like Niskanen support. If Paul had it his way, for instance, he would do away with the Fed entirely. In his bestselling book "End the Fed," he lambasted the central bank as an "immoral, unconstitutional . . . tool of tyrannical government."

Such rhetoric might once have been dismissed as extremism.


But Paul's anti-Fed message has drawn broad support because of the central bank's failure to restrain the flood of cheap money and excessive risk-taking in the years leading up to the financial crisis.

It has stirred rallies on college campuses and supportive commentaries from Wall Street pundits. More than 300 representatives in Congress have embraced Paul's ideas for reining in the Fed.

The response "is even more than I ever dreamed," Paul said in an interview, reminiscing about one evening during his 2008 White House run when University of Michigan students chanted "End the Fed" and burned dollar bills.

Paul, a skinny 74-year-old with a hangdog expression, understands that historical circumstances have thrust his ideas to the fore. "An intellectual fight is going on," he said.

Paul traces his economic views to his frugal upbringing in Pittsburgh at the tail end of the Depression. He saved pennies from delivering newspapers and helping out his father's small dairy business.

And his first economics class at Gettysburg College was an eye-opener, Paul said. When a professor explained how banks keep only a tiny part of their deposits on hand and earn money by lending out the rest, Paul discovered one of the "tricks" of the financial system.

Beyond that, Paul's ideas are grounded in the work of economic thinkers from an earlier era who focused on problems similar to those besetting the U.S. today.

In particular, Paul is a disciple of Ludwig von Mises, an Austrian theorist born at the end of the 19th century who contended that government intervention in an economy would fail because free markets were better at allocating resources and fueling growth.

Having lived through Germany's devastating hyperinflation in the early 1920s, which helped pave the way for Hitler, Mises wrote long before the Great Depression that over-generous credit policies would encourage excessive borrowing, creating a boom and then a bust.

Mises' ideas became central to what is known as the Austrian School of economics, which emphasized tight controls on credit and money supply, a strategy that discouraged financial ups and downs but tended to slow growth.

By 1940, when Mises arrived in America, most Western economists had embraced the competing theories of Britain's John Maynard Keynes, who called for government to stimulate the economy by spending on infrastructure and cutting interest rates.

Obama has largely followed the Keynesian script, as President George W. Bush did when the economic crisis broke.

Paul's once-lonely espousal of the Austrian School's ideas has gotten new impetus from conservative economists and Republican political strategists.

"A lot of good ideas were shoved aside because of the Depression and the rise of the Keynesian view of the world," said George Selgin, an economics professor at the University of Georgia.

Paul contends that Austrian economics explains the most recent financial meltdown: "It says if you inflate too much, if you have no restraint on monetary authorities, you're going to bring on a crisis." Now, Paul says, administration policies are leading the country toward disaster.

Selgin and many mainstream economists agree that pumping too much money into the economy can lead to trouble, but they say Paul goes too far.

In the 1930s, say Selgin and many other economists, including Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the U.S. economy began pulling out of the Depression thanks to federal easing of monetary policy.

The economy tipped back into depression after the reins were tightened too soon.

"In this aspect of the monetary system, he's just blown it," Selgin said of Paul.

However, like Mises, whose portrait hangs on his Washington office wall, Paul is intransigent, and that has earned him an ardent following.


"His views are strong and hardheaded, but you've got to stand firm or you'll get blown over in this world," said Mark Skousen, editor of the newsletter Forecasts & Strategies and a former economics professor at Columbia University.


-- Don Lee


Photo: Larry Downing / Reuters; Orlin Wagner / Associated Press; Associated Press (Paul argues with Mike Huckabee in a GOP primary debate).


 



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Cable <b>News</b> Ratings 2010: Top 30 Programs Of The Year (PHOTOS)

2010 is almost done, and the cable news ratings for the entire year are in. As always, Fox News came out on top, thoroughly dominating the competition and taking the top 12 slots on the ratings list.

Fox Utterly Destroys Cable <b>News</b> Ratings Competition in 2010 <b>...</b>

The blowout comes on the heels on Fox News' surging 2009, when the News Corp.-owned channel posted its highest-rated year in the network's 13-year history. (Overall, cable news audiences were down across the board -- though FNC's ...

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A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


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Cable <b>News</b> Ratings 2010: Top 30 Programs Of The Year (PHOTOS)

2010 is almost done, and the cable news ratings for the entire year are in. As always, Fox News came out on top, thoroughly dominating the competition and taking the top 12 slots on the ratings list.

Fox Utterly Destroys Cable <b>News</b> Ratings Competition in 2010 <b>...</b>

The blowout comes on the heels on Fox News' surging 2009, when the News Corp.-owned channel posted its highest-rated year in the network's 13-year history. (Overall, cable news audiences were down across the board -- though FNC's ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


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Cable <b>News</b> Ratings 2010: Top 30 Programs Of The Year (PHOTOS)

2010 is almost done, and the cable news ratings for the entire year are in. As always, Fox News came out on top, thoroughly dominating the competition and taking the top 12 slots on the ratings list.

Fox Utterly Destroys Cable <b>News</b> Ratings Competition in 2010 <b>...</b>

The blowout comes on the heels on Fox News' surging 2009, when the News Corp.-owned channel posted its highest-rated year in the network's 13-year history. (Overall, cable news audiences were down across the board -- though FNC's ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


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Cable <b>News</b> Ratings 2010: Top 30 Programs Of The Year (PHOTOS)

2010 is almost done, and the cable news ratings for the entire year are in. As always, Fox News came out on top, thoroughly dominating the competition and taking the top 12 slots on the ratings list.

Fox Utterly Destroys Cable <b>News</b> Ratings Competition in 2010 <b>...</b>

The blowout comes on the heels on Fox News' surging 2009, when the News Corp.-owned channel posted its highest-rated year in the network's 13-year history. (Overall, cable news audiences were down across the board -- though FNC's ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


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Cable <b>News</b> Ratings 2010: Top 30 Programs Of The Year (PHOTOS)

2010 is almost done, and the cable news ratings for the entire year are in. As always, Fox News came out on top, thoroughly dominating the competition and taking the top 12 slots on the ratings list.

Fox Utterly Destroys Cable <b>News</b> Ratings Competition in 2010 <b>...</b>

The blowout comes on the heels on Fox News' surging 2009, when the News Corp.-owned channel posted its highest-rated year in the network's 13-year history. (Overall, cable news audiences were down across the board -- though FNC's ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


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Cable <b>News</b> Ratings 2010: Top 30 Programs Of The Year (PHOTOS)

2010 is almost done, and the cable news ratings for the entire year are in. As always, Fox News came out on top, thoroughly dominating the competition and taking the top 12 slots on the ratings list.

Fox Utterly Destroys Cable <b>News</b> Ratings Competition in 2010 <b>...</b>

The blowout comes on the heels on Fox News' surging 2009, when the News Corp.-owned channel posted its highest-rated year in the network's 13-year history. (Overall, cable news audiences were down across the board -- though FNC's ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


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Cable <b>News</b> Ratings 2010: Top 30 Programs Of The Year (PHOTOS)

2010 is almost done, and the cable news ratings for the entire year are in. As always, Fox News came out on top, thoroughly dominating the competition and taking the top 12 slots on the ratings list.

Fox Utterly Destroys Cable <b>News</b> Ratings Competition in 2010 <b>...</b>

The blowout comes on the heels on Fox News' surging 2009, when the News Corp.-owned channel posted its highest-rated year in the network's 13-year history. (Overall, cable news audiences were down across the board -- though FNC's ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


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Cable <b>News</b> Ratings 2010: Top 30 Programs Of The Year (PHOTOS)

2010 is almost done, and the cable news ratings for the entire year are in. As always, Fox News came out on top, thoroughly dominating the competition and taking the top 12 slots on the ratings list.

Fox Utterly Destroys Cable <b>News</b> Ratings Competition in 2010 <b>...</b>

The blowout comes on the heels on Fox News' surging 2009, when the News Corp.-owned channel posted its highest-rated year in the network's 13-year history. (Overall, cable news audiences were down across the board -- though FNC's ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


bench craft company scam

Cable <b>News</b> Ratings 2010: Top 30 Programs Of The Year (PHOTOS)

2010 is almost done, and the cable news ratings for the entire year are in. As always, Fox News came out on top, thoroughly dominating the competition and taking the top 12 slots on the ratings list.

Fox Utterly Destroys Cable <b>News</b> Ratings Competition in 2010 <b>...</b>

The blowout comes on the heels on Fox News' surging 2009, when the News Corp.-owned channel posted its highest-rated year in the network's 13-year history. (Overall, cable news audiences were down across the board -- though FNC's ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


bench craft company scam

Cable <b>News</b> Ratings 2010: Top 30 Programs Of The Year (PHOTOS)

2010 is almost done, and the cable news ratings for the entire year are in. As always, Fox News came out on top, thoroughly dominating the competition and taking the top 12 slots on the ratings list.

Fox Utterly Destroys Cable <b>News</b> Ratings Competition in 2010 <b>...</b>

The blowout comes on the heels on Fox News' surging 2009, when the News Corp.-owned channel posted its highest-rated year in the network's 13-year history. (Overall, cable news audiences were down across the board -- though FNC's ...

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A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


bench craft company scam

Cable <b>News</b> Ratings 2010: Top 30 Programs Of The Year (PHOTOS)

2010 is almost done, and the cable news ratings for the entire year are in. As always, Fox News came out on top, thoroughly dominating the competition and taking the top 12 slots on the ratings list.

Fox Utterly Destroys Cable <b>News</b> Ratings Competition in 2010 <b>...</b>

The blowout comes on the heels on Fox News' surging 2009, when the News Corp.-owned channel posted its highest-rated year in the network's 13-year history. (Overall, cable news audiences were down across the board -- though FNC's ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


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Thursday, December 23, 2010

personal finance budgeting

Sean Park is so excited about Betterment that he bought a stake in the company:


Betterment allows anyone to quickly, easily and without mystery manage asset allocation and risk budgeting using a simple, multi-asset class portfolio. No hassle, no time wasted, no blizzard of trade confirmations. The first time I saw it, I immediately wanted to be able to manage all my cash balances using their platform.


Except Sean Park is a sophisticated venture capitalist, and Betterment doesn’t manage cash balances. Instead, it manages investments. Basically, it provides an easy way of sweeping money out of your checking account and into your Betterment account, where it’s then invested across eight different ETFs. Betterment does most of the asset allocation; you just tell the company how much you want invested in Treasuries and how much in stocks, and they will do the rest.


This is a handy little service — but the amount that Betterment charges — 0.9% per year — is way too much, especially since it comes on top of the expense ratios of the underlying ETFs, which net out at 18.2bp for stocks and 17.5bp for bonds. In these days of ultra-low interest rates, buying a bond fund and then paying out 107.5bp per year in expenses is likely to leave you with a negative real return, and quite possibly could leave you with a negative nominal return as well. Or, to put it another way, right now it makes very little sense to have Betterment manage your bond funds and charge you a 90bp fee for the privilege: you might well be better off just keeping your money in a savings account, where there’s no risk of a nominal decline.


The idea behind Betterment — that investing should be very easy and simple at the front end, even if there’s lots of complicated stuff going on at the back end — is a good one. And I look forward to the time when banks offer Betterment-style services to their depositors, making it easy and painless to save money. I’m sure those banks could learn a lot from what Betterment is doing, and even maybe license some of their technology. But it only really becomes attractive when it’s free. And when, at the very least, it gives some kind of an option to invest internationally and in credit — two enormous asset classes that Betterment completely ignores. I’m pretty sure that Sean Park, for one, would never find it genuinely attractive in its current incarnation.


Update: Betterment’s CEO, Jon Stein, responds in the comments, and he sure knows the way to a blogger’s heart — by referencing an old blog entry which even I’d forgotten about:


I agree with you that we should offer our customers exposure to international stocks. Our users are all US-based, and so are naturally overweight US. We plan to add international exposure soon, and perhaps a real-estate component or credit component, as well. All of these asset classes are components of the “market portfolio” – and would be represented in the “everything bagel” that you talked about in a previous post. It’s that everything bagel that we’re working toward – it takes time to make it just right.


Do you find that when you try to use a budgeting system, the more complicated it is, the more overwhelmed you become; and eventually you stop using it? If that’s the case, Sprouty brings a simplified budgeting system that makes it easy to create a monthly budget, and more importantly, stick to it.

Sometimes keeping it simple is a lot more useful and that’s exactly what Sprouty aims to do. Unlike Mint and other popular money management systems, your personal bank account information does not even come into play; making it a secure option that can be used no matter where in the world you live.

id="more-59875">/> After signing up for a free account, Sprouty will prompt you to enter your monthly income, and will attempt to create a budget for you, based on minimum recommended amounts for each budget item.

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Of course, the budget will most probably not reflect your own personal spending habits, and you can modify it to suit your lifestyle.

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You can add additional budget items by clicking on the ‘Create a Budget’ button, determine the amount allocated to that category, and add tags. Using the same method, you can add additional sources of income, which is particularly useful for a family in which there are several breadwinners.

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Existing budget items can also be edited or deleted by clicking on any given item, adding or removing tags of your choice, and adjusting the amount. This will be one of the very first steps you take when using Sprouty, in order to adjust the budget to suit your personal needs.

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Once you have your budget in place, you can begin to add the actual transactions as they occur. New transactions are accompanied by the date, tags or description, and the amount.

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As you add tags, Sprouty will also suggest tags that are commonly used.

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If you add a transaction by mistake, it can easily be edited or deleted by clicking on any part of the transaction’s information.

Sprouty’s best feature is undoubtedly the overview it provides of your spending. Once you have your budget in place and have added your transactions, you can see a monthly overview of your budget, and see exactly where your money is being spent, and what remains.

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This is especially useful because you are able to visualise the areas in which you spend the most, and this could make for an easier way to understand where you need to cutback on your spending.

Sprouty is as no-frills a budget system as they come, but sometimes that is all that you need. It is extremely user-friendly, with barely any learning curve at all.

The website can be accessed from mobile browsers, making it possible to add transactions on the go. That said, it is not optimised for a mobile browser, and that would be one of the first welcome changes to the site. Adding transactions while you’re out and about is an integral part of the success of any budget system, so that payments don’t fall between the cracks. Whether it is a mobile website, adding transactions by email, or any other method, it will definitely improve Sprouty’s user friendly service.

How do you keep track of your spending habits? Let us know in the comments.


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Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Julian Assange | Sarah Palin | Fox <b>News</b> | Mike Huckabee | Mediaite

In an exclusive interview with Cenk Uygur on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, Julian Assange described criticism in Washington and elsewhere of WikiLeaks as nothing short of attacks on journalism and the first amendment.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...


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Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Julian Assange | Sarah Palin | Fox <b>News</b> | Mike Huckabee | Mediaite

In an exclusive interview with Cenk Uygur on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, Julian Assange described criticism in Washington and elsewhere of WikiLeaks as nothing short of attacks on journalism and the first amendment.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...


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Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Julian Assange | Sarah Palin | Fox <b>News</b> | Mike Huckabee | Mediaite

In an exclusive interview with Cenk Uygur on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, Julian Assange described criticism in Washington and elsewhere of WikiLeaks as nothing short of attacks on journalism and the first amendment.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...


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Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Julian Assange | Sarah Palin | Fox <b>News</b> | Mike Huckabee | Mediaite

In an exclusive interview with Cenk Uygur on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, Julian Assange described criticism in Washington and elsewhere of WikiLeaks as nothing short of attacks on journalism and the first amendment.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...


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Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Julian Assange | Sarah Palin | Fox <b>News</b> | Mike Huckabee | Mediaite

In an exclusive interview with Cenk Uygur on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, Julian Assange described criticism in Washington and elsewhere of WikiLeaks as nothing short of attacks on journalism and the first amendment.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...


bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Julian Assange | Sarah Palin | Fox <b>News</b> | Mike Huckabee | Mediaite

In an exclusive interview with Cenk Uygur on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, Julian Assange described criticism in Washington and elsewhere of WikiLeaks as nothing short of attacks on journalism and the first amendment.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...


bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Julian Assange | Sarah Palin | Fox <b>News</b> | Mike Huckabee | Mediaite

In an exclusive interview with Cenk Uygur on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, Julian Assange described criticism in Washington and elsewhere of WikiLeaks as nothing short of attacks on journalism and the first amendment.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...


bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Julian Assange | Sarah Palin | Fox <b>News</b> | Mike Huckabee | Mediaite

In an exclusive interview with Cenk Uygur on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, Julian Assange described criticism in Washington and elsewhere of WikiLeaks as nothing short of attacks on journalism and the first amendment.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...


bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Julian Assange | Sarah Palin | Fox <b>News</b> | Mike Huckabee | Mediaite

In an exclusive interview with Cenk Uygur on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, Julian Assange described criticism in Washington and elsewhere of WikiLeaks as nothing short of attacks on journalism and the first amendment.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...


bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Julian Assange | Sarah Palin | Fox <b>News</b> | Mike Huckabee | Mediaite

In an exclusive interview with Cenk Uygur on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, Julian Assange described criticism in Washington and elsewhere of WikiLeaks as nothing short of attacks on journalism and the first amendment.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...


bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Julian Assange | Sarah Palin | Fox <b>News</b> | Mike Huckabee | Mediaite

In an exclusive interview with Cenk Uygur on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, Julian Assange described criticism in Washington and elsewhere of WikiLeaks as nothing short of attacks on journalism and the first amendment.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

how to budget personal finances




Automate Your Finances to Spend Less Time Managing Your Accounts





Despite how simple the process can be, most of us are terrible at saving and paying bills. Here's a strategy to effectively automate most of your finances to keep you saving and out of late fee trouble.

Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich.com has put together a system for managing your personal finances that only takes about an hour of your time each week. The video above fully explains the process in detail, but here's the gist. First, you want to set up your bills and other payments so they're all happening on the day you get your first paycheck of the month (the first of the month for most people). Once you have that in place, you want to set up automatic savings plans (Sethi suggests using Ing Direct) with sub-savings accounts that let you organize your savings into specific categories (vacation, wedding, etc.). You'll also want to send a percentage of your paycheck to your 401k, and have all of this happen immediately so that the money you see when you get paid is the money left when everything has already been saved. From there, you automatically pay as many bills as you can with your credit card (and then pay the credit card bill on pay day). For the bills you can't pay with your credit card (like rent, in most cases), you can use your online banking to automatically issue a check. This will leave a little money leftover in your checking account that you can use to budget for guilt-free spending and cash withdrawals.


As someone who's often fallen victim to the faults of automatic payments systems (despite frequently using them), definitely do not forget to stay on top of your bills nonetheless. Make sure you set some time aside at least once a month to do a little maintenance and make sure there are no bugs causing your automated finance system to break down. Sethi isn't suggesting a set-it-and-forget-it automated finance system by any means, but as someone who hates paying bills I know how easy it can be to procrastinate and ignore the task. If you set up a good automated system like this one, you'll be at a point where all you have to do is watch and fix the occasional problem as the most important things are being taken care of for you.


In the digital age, nobody likes carrying a lot of cash around – I know I don’t, anyway. This can be especially frustrating when you go to keep track of your expenses, who you owe money to, who you lent some to and just where it all goes over the month.

As always, there are a lot of apps out there to help you do various things with your money. There are apps to figure out how to manage your money, oversee expenses, send money to people, keep track of who owes you, and more.

In this article, I’ll show you some of the applications you can take advantage of to do everything I’ve mentioned here, leaving you free to pick and choose the apps that will make your life easier.

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How to Manage Your Money

I’m beginning to learn just how difficult managing your expenses can be. For the most part, I use my debit card tied to my checking account to make purchases. I use it at the grocery store, when I go out to lunch with my coworkers and on the weekend when I’m out exploring the city.

At the end of the month, my bank statement looks pretty ridiculous. All of these small transactions make it difficult to sift through. I still know what everything is, but if I wanted to see where I could be saving some money I wouldn’t know the first place to look.

Sounds like you? Even if it doesn’t, you could still reap the benefits of visually being able to manage your money. These apps make the process a lot easier.

Mint

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Mint has been on our radar since back in 2007 when Karl wrote about it. Plain and simple, if there is one app I want you to keep in mind it’s this one.

Mint is a free personal finance application that can help you compare your bank accounts, credit cards, CDs, brokerage and 401(k) to the best products out there. It offers a visual representation of your finances and is very easy to set up. Use it to manage your budget, get credit card advice and understand investing.

Here’s a great video showcasing an overview of Mint’s features:

For some helpful tips on how to use Mint, check out Bakari’s article on How To Use Mint To Manage Your Budget & Spendings Online.

Thrive

Thrive (directory app) is also a great application if you’re looking for a simple way to keep track of your spending. With Thrive, you get an overall Financial Health score, which is one number that shows you how financially fit you are. It also shows you scores in other areas and offers you advice on how to make improvements.

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Thrive breaks down your spending for you and shows you where you can save. Compare your current budget to last month’s, as well as view a six month average and target budgets to follow.

Texthog

Looking for an even simpler way to track expenses? Texthog (directory app) lets you easily store, organize and access your receipts, expense reports and more via text message, the web, your email, iPhone and even Twitter.

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A Texthog free account gives one user the ability to track expenses, view unlimited reports and get budget/bill reminders. Take a photo of your receipts and utilize tags and categories to keep track of everything.

To check out Texthog on your iPhone, you can find the application on iTunes.

Venmo

Speaking of text messages, have you heard of Venmo? Venmo (directory app) is a nice little app that lets you pay and charge friends with your phone. Send and receive secure payments by linking your card to your account. This allows you to settle small loans you give/get by eliminating paper transactions for small amounts of money.

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To use Venmo, all you do is create an account. You can then send and receive money to other accounts simply by using text commands in SMS. Accept a “trust” request from your friends and make transactions without having to authorize them by texting a 3 digit code.

This is a pretty solid application that I have been using a lot lately with my friends/coworkers. It’s great for when a bunch of you are out to lunch and not everyone has cash on them. “I’ll just put it on my card and Venmo you all afterwards.”

Owe Me Cash

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Owe Me Cash is a nice app I found recently that is also very easy to use. If someone owes you money, you just sign into Owe Me Cash with your Twitter, Facebook, OpenID, or regular account and tell the app about the debt. The app will send automatic reminders to those that owe you money by phone, text and email, so you can get paid!

This app is more fun than serious, but it doubles as an easy way to keep track of who owes you what. Let the app bug your friends to pay you so you don’t have to do it yourself – it’s a win-win.

Conclusion

With these applications, your finances will never look better. Say goodbye to paper money and change.

What do you think of these money-managing applications? Will you be using any of them?

Image Credit: marema


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bench craft company scam

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bench craft company scam

Pryor to support ending &#39;&#39;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&#39; | Arkansas <b>News</b>

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bench craft company scam

Pryor to support ending &#39;&#39;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&#39; | Arkansas <b>News</b>

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bench craft company scam

Pryor to support ending &#39;&#39;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&#39; | Arkansas <b>News</b>

By Peter Urban Stephens Washington Bureau. WASHINGTON – Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor today said he has reversed his position and will now support repeal of the Pentagon's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy that has kept gays and lesbians from ...

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.


bench craft company scam

Pryor to support ending &#39;&#39;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&#39; | Arkansas <b>News</b>

By Peter Urban Stephens Washington Bureau. WASHINGTON – Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor today said he has reversed his position and will now support repeal of the Pentagon's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy that has kept gays and lesbians from ...

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President Obama, as usual, saved his most powerful words for the end of his press conference on taxes and economic policy.

Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.


bench craft company scam

Pryor to support ending &#39;&#39;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&#39; | Arkansas <b>News</b>

By Peter Urban Stephens Washington Bureau. WASHINGTON – Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor today said he has reversed his position and will now support repeal of the Pentagon's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy that has kept gays and lesbians from ...

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President Obama, as usual, saved his most powerful words for the end of his press conference on taxes and economic policy.

Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.


bench craft company scam

Pryor to support ending &#39;&#39;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&#39; | Arkansas <b>News</b>

By Peter Urban Stephens Washington Bureau. WASHINGTON – Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor today said he has reversed his position and will now support repeal of the Pentagon's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy that has kept gays and lesbians from ...

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President Obama, as usual, saved his most powerful words for the end of his press conference on taxes and economic policy.

Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.


bench craft company scam

Pryor to support ending &#39;&#39;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&#39; | Arkansas <b>News</b>

By Peter Urban Stephens Washington Bureau. WASHINGTON – Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor today said he has reversed his position and will now support repeal of the Pentagon's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy that has kept gays and lesbians from ...

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President Obama, as usual, saved his most powerful words for the end of his press conference on taxes and economic policy.

Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.


bench craft company scam

Pryor to support ending &#39;&#39;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&#39; | Arkansas <b>News</b>

By Peter Urban Stephens Washington Bureau. WASHINGTON – Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor today said he has reversed his position and will now support repeal of the Pentagon's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy that has kept gays and lesbians from ...

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President Obama, as usual, saved his most powerful words for the end of his press conference on taxes and economic policy.

Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.


bench craft company scam

Pryor to support ending &#39;&#39;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&#39; | Arkansas <b>News</b>

By Peter Urban Stephens Washington Bureau. WASHINGTON – Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor today said he has reversed his position and will now support repeal of the Pentagon's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy that has kept gays and lesbians from ...

In <b>News</b> Conferences, Obama Shoots at the Buzzer - NYTimes.com

President Obama, as usual, saved his most powerful words for the end of his press conference on taxes and economic policy.

Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.


bench craft company scam

Pryor to support ending &#39;&#39;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&#39; | Arkansas <b>News</b>

By Peter Urban Stephens Washington Bureau. WASHINGTON – Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor today said he has reversed his position and will now support repeal of the Pentagon's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy that has kept gays and lesbians from ...

In <b>News</b> Conferences, Obama Shoots at the Buzzer - NYTimes.com

President Obama, as usual, saved his most powerful words for the end of his press conference on taxes and economic policy.

Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.


bench craft company scam

Pryor to support ending &#39;&#39;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&#39; | Arkansas <b>News</b>

By Peter Urban Stephens Washington Bureau. WASHINGTON – Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor today said he has reversed his position and will now support repeal of the Pentagon's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy that has kept gays and lesbians from ...

In <b>News</b> Conferences, Obama Shoots at the Buzzer - NYTimes.com

President Obama, as usual, saved his most powerful words for the end of his press conference on taxes and economic policy.

Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.


bench craft company scam

Pryor to support ending &#39;&#39;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&#39; | Arkansas <b>News</b>

By Peter Urban Stephens Washington Bureau. WASHINGTON – Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor today said he has reversed his position and will now support repeal of the Pentagon's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy that has kept gays and lesbians from ...

In <b>News</b> Conferences, Obama Shoots at the Buzzer - NYTimes.com

President Obama, as usual, saved his most powerful words for the end of his press conference on taxes and economic policy.

Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.