Share Subway Rides with Stray Dogs?

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Jul 30, 2010: These days, in Moscow, subway commuters share their rides with stray dogs! We are not kidding :(.

In the capital of Russia, stray dogs curled up on empty seats, roaming around in subway stations and getting on and off subway cars at their own sweet pace are a common sight. Check out the video to see for yourself. (Video Link)

Reference(s):

1. Mark Schoofs - "In Moscow's Metro, a Stray Dog's Life Is Pretty Cushy, and Zoologists Notice" - The Wall Street Journal

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Top 10 DMV Secrets!

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Jul 28, 2010: It's that time of the year when we are needed to renew our cars' registrations and our driving licenses. We were trying to figure out how to go about doing the tasks online. At DMV's website we found that the rules vary from state to state. So we had to dig on a little further.

In the process we came across an interesting article at MSN SmartMoney which was an eyeopener for us. It presented some of the sneaky stuff that is prevalent at DMV. Looks like the credit card companies are not the only ones who pull off all the sneaky tricks eh!

10 Things the DMV Won't Tell You

Image Source(s): iStockPhoto

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Restaurant.com - Special Discount 80% OFF!

Jul 26, 2010: Today we came across a great deal from Restaurant.com. Since we are frugal diners this special discount on their dining gift certificates is a welcome break for us. Hope it helps in saving some dining dollars.

• Beginning now, Restaurant.com is offering 80% OFF on their dining certificates

• This means that their $25 dining gift certificates that normally sell for $10 have been reduced to $2 ONLY.

• Promo Code: Enter PLATE at checkout.

• Hurry! This offer is valid through July 31, 2010.
  

Their website provides detailed information about a restaurant, its menus and wine lists along with the ability to make free online reservations. Enjoy!




[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

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Improve Your Financial Luck by Incorporating

Jul 26, 2010: One of the best things a person can do to get on the path toward financial independence and early retirement is to start a business. There is simply no limit to what you can do as an entrepreneur. Whether you are an inventor of a product or the creator of a service, entrepreneurship is one path to enormous wealth. One of the most important steps to take in the early phases of starting a business is to form your business entity.Don’t panic.This step is not as daunting as it sounds.

Although the media is fond of using the word “corporation” to describe pinstriped, cheating fat cats, I'd like to point out that not all corporations are morally-bankrupt behemoths. I run a corporation, myself. I created it to pursue all my little entrepreneurial projects, as part of my FIRE plan. The formation of a corporation helps me keep my business and personal lives separate. And it's not that hard. In fact, if you own anything of value, you may want to consider incorporating.

A corporation is a company that exists as a separate entity from its owner. Basically, this means that a business owner is personally protected from the liabilities of his company. All the assets and liabilities associated with doing business are sheltered inside your corporation – effectively isolating you from any bad luck that might befall your little company.

In case you do not have an advanced business degree, you can hire an accountant to do the filing for you. With the Internet, though, it is so easy to research exactly what bases you must cover in the formation of your entity. Different entities provide different benefits (and different drawbacks), so it is important to be clear about your goals. Do you want to improve the credibility of your business? Are you trying to lower your self-employment tax bill? Are you forming alone or with partners? Do you intend to sell stock? In what industry will you be working? In which state (or country) will you be conducting the majority of your business?

I would recommend doing a little independent research to choose the best entity for your particular case.Here are some basic points to consider:

• Sole proprietorships and partnerships are businesses that have chosen not to legally form and entity. There are no filing requirements for them. I do not recommend using either of these structures, because neither offers a corporate veil to protect its owners from company liabilities.
• “C” corporations and “S” corporations require the most clerical work, including separate tax filings for the individual and for the entity.
• Limited liability companies (LLCs) are entities that share many of the advantages of corporations (i.e. limited personal liability) with the personal tax benefits of sole proprietorships.
• Non-profits are separate from all others, but can only be used in certain limited cases.

I am not an accountant or an attorney, and my professional recommendation is that you contact both to assist you in the formation of an entity. If you choose to move forward without professional advice, you might consider using incorporation services provided by companies like The Company Corporation or Legal Zoom. Although their fees are added on top of state and federal filings, their expertise will save you time and effort at an expense far lower than those of your local attorney’s office.

In my experience, you can expect to spend between $500 and $1,000 forming a business entity, depending on your state and other variables. I recognize that this is a significant outlay for most people, but it is tiny compared to a lawsuit. The tax benefits and liability protection are worth the expense. I wish you luck in your new business!

About the Author

This post has been written for FIRE Finance by Skyler Reep.

Skyler Reep is the 25-year-old entrepreneur behind PEER Enterprises, LLC. Early projects included web services and widgets like his cash dimensions calculator, but most of his recent effort has gone into the research and writing of his first book, Luck-Struck: How to Take Control & Create Your Own Luck. He is lucky enough to live and work in the shadow of the Tetons in beautiful Jackson, Wyoming.

Image Source(s): iStockPhoto

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Can Dogs Look Like People?

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Jul 23, 2010: We live in an apartment community that has several dogs. During our regular evening walk we sometimes observe the traits of pet dogs. Often we feel that they emulate humans or reflect the mannerisms of their owners.

In that line of thought we'd love to share this photo which reflects the truth of our observations. And if you want to see more photos check out this site dedicated to dogs that look like people ......

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6 Basic Keys for Setting Up A Successful Business

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Jul 21, 2010: No matter what our professional domains are, we often face these two obstacles when we start out: inexperience and credibility. As rookies we have to work hard to overcome them. Whether it is setting up a new personal finance blog, or a web design firm or an advertising company or some other business, we need to put in sweat equity to learn the ropes of the trade to overcome our inexperience (and possible lack of working knowledge in real life scenarios). And it is a given that we have to offer quality goods or services to build our credibility.

For beginners, the road ahead is never easy. More so, for young entrepreneurs who have limited or no work experience, minimal financial resources, fledgling credit histories and no startup experience. In such scenarios it is often very hard to convince people to take our business ideas seriously.

Kiplinger has presented an interesting case study of a successful young entrepreneur named Max Durovic who founded the inventive street-advertising company Aarrow Advertising at an age of 18 years. By taking the right steps, he built a booming business before he even graduated from college. Now at age 25, he has about 350 employees in ten cities, expects sales of about $4.5 million in 2008, and plans to expand overseas this year. Using this real life case, Kiplinger has provided six basic keys for setting up a successful business. If you are an entrepreneur at heart, check it out before creating your own business empire.

Six Steps to Starting Your Own Business

Business Announcement: The best online MBA can help you understand business models so you can start your own.

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$6000! Save Your Hard Earned Money

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Jul 19, 2010: We have all heard the saying "Tiny drops of water make an ocean". Over years, life has taught us that tiny savings can go a long way in making us wealthy. Many of our friends say that small daily expenses do not matter as long as we are earning a lot of money.
But we have always felt that high salaries are only one side of the story. The main issue that makes a difference on how early we retire is how much we are able to save every month. And often the next step comprises of investing our savings in a careful and knowledgeable way to create a healthy nest egg.

We provide a small example of how often "little" expenses which are overlooked add up. This exercise has served us in good stead to cut down many of our unnecessary expenses thereby freeing the flow of funds towards our nest egg.

Item	Price $	Frequency	Annual Cost $
Snacks	$3	1 / week	$156
1 bag of potato chips	$2	1 / week	$104
1 litre soda	$1	1 / day	$365
1 gourmet coffee	$3	1 / day	$1095
Pizza + Tip	$18	1 / week	$936
1-6 pack soda	$2	1 / week	$104
Lunch	$10 / 2 persons	5 days / week	$2600
Eating Out (Family of 2)	$25	1 / week	$1300
Total	-	-	$6660

When we did this exercise we were shocked to see that more than $6000 of our hard earned money could have been saved! This is just the tip of the iceberg. A look at its long term impact on our nest egg had left us gaping!

Suppose we worked hard and saved the above mentioned $6000 every year. To keep things simple, say:

• We invested $500 a month which compounded monthly with a modest APY of 4.00%
• Now we keep investing diligently for the next 20 years after which we shall retire
  
• The total amount that would accrue after 20 years is a whopping $183,387!

For our calculations we used one of Bankrate's savings calculators.

This real life scenario demonstrates the power of the simple principle of compounding. The earlier we tap it the faster we can rid ourselves of the 9 to 5 shackle (aka job) and retire early.

We would advocate that you set aside a few minutes and jot down your daily "little" expenses which are often over looked. Then add up the daily sums to reflect the annual figures. Pause for a while, and reflect what you would do if you had that money at the end of one year.

Now visualize how you would feel if you paid off a great part of your debt with these savings or started investing seriously towards your nest egg and watch it grow. We know we would feel proud of such achievements! Financial independence is a worthwhile pursuit which frees us to do what our hearts wish for the rest of our lives. In our opinion every soul should follow it in a creative and unique manner which suits them best.

We are looking forward towards hearing your opinions on cutting down little expenses which drain away our savings. Each and every story is unique and we savor them.

Image Source(s): iStockPhoto

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Do You Love Bear Markets?

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Jul 16, 2010: Some people love bear markets so much that they go out of the way to show case it. Here is a beautiful lady displaying a "bear" hair do.

Did you like the hair do? Let us know how you felt about it by dropping a comment.

Enjoy your weekend with your loved ones and leave the bears & bulls in the market or perhaps the jungles :).

Image Source(s): Wicked Report

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Dilbert's Personal Finance

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Jul 14, 2010: We found a very pithy article (at fool.com) by Robert Brokamp about Dilbert's views on personal finance. The essence of the article is quoted as:

In his book Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel, Adams offered his one-page personal finance book. Here it is:

1. Make a will.

2. Pay off your credit cards.

3. Get term life insurance if you have a family to support.

4. Fund your 401(k) to the maximum.

5. Fund your IRA to the maximum.

6. Buy a house if you want to live in a house and can afford it.

7. Put six months expenses in a money market account.

8. Take whatever money is left over and invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund through any discount broker and never touch it until retirement.

9. If any of this confuses you, or you have something special going on (retirement, college planning, a tax issue), hire a fee-based financial planner, not one who charges a percentage of your portfolio."

Scott Adams earned a MBA from Berkeley, worked at a bank (got held up twice at gunpoint), and is worth millions. So we presume he knows a thing or two about money.

In an interview with the Akron Beacon Journal, Adams says he read about a dozen personal finance books and began working on one himself. However, he found it all boiled down to the above nine points and he "couldn't figure out how to fluff it up."

We do acquiesce with Scott. How about yourself? Please leave your comments and opinions about our intelligent simpleton Dilbert.

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Three Good Habits of Successful Retirees

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Jul 12, 2010: Vanguard's chairman and CEO Jack Brennan has nearly three decades of valuable experience in investing at this great firm. He has observed that successful long term investors share some common traits. Here is our spin to his observations.

1. Plan Ahead: Successful retirees planned well ahead of time to meet their retirement's financial needs and they walked the talk triumphantly. This planning process helped them to figure out the amount of money they would need to retire. Most of them also had a good idea about their location of retirement and a target portfolio size that would complement any other guaranteed income stream.
   
   
   
2. Relatively Low Overhead Expenses: Another good habit that helped people to retire successfully was their ability to keep retirement expenses in check. Most of them were either debt free or minimally indebted on their real estate properties when they retired. That meant no new fancy homes at the age of 65 which would've implied new mortgage and fresh debt! A low overhead gives us greater financial flexibility since there are lot of uncertainties once we're retired.
   
   
3. Diversified yet Growing Portfolios: Retirees who triumphed had very diversified portfolios which minimized its volatility. One of the greatest challenges for a retiree is to beat inflation. A 3% inflation can double the cost of living in approximately 25 years.
   
   Brennan mentions a straightforward way of dealing with inflation in retirement is to keep the portfolio growing. He says that retirees should hope to earn a real return which is above the inflation rate to keep their real purchasing power intact over time. And to make a retirement successful one should have the discipline to consume only that much of a portfolio's returns which is above inflation.
   
   For example, if the inflation is 3% and a portfolio's annual returns is 6%, then a retiree should spend only 6% - 3% = 3%. This is extremely important since a retiree's ability to beat inflation is much less than that of someone who is employed.
   
   Having a growing portfolio during our retirement is a big change from theoretical practices which advocates a predominantly bonds dominated portfolio. Brennan thinks that such a portfolio will no longer be sufficient to meet a retirees needs today. Our life span has increased and if we want a good return on our assets after we spend some of them we've got to take some risks. In short, during retirement taking too little risk is a big risk!
   

To have a carefree retirement in addition to the above traits, it is important to have a periodic check up of our portfolio. If we love personal finance and are knowledgeable we can do it ourselves else we've got to seek professional advice. Brennan advises that while looking for a financial adviser, knowledge and experience in retirement planning are not enough. Two most important qualities that we should keep in our minds while deciding on an adviser are trust and shared values. If we can totally trust the person and he/she shares our outlook and core values then we'd be fine.

We acquiesce with Brennan :). Please let us know your view points and experiences about good habits that would lead us to successful retirement.

Image Source(s): iStockPhoto

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Let Your Smile Travel Around The World

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Jul 09, 2010: Yesterday when we went to do our laundry at our apartment's laundromat, we spied upon a bunch of kids playing with crayons. When one of them looked up at us, we spontaneously smiled. Well she liked it and smiled back. Soon the other kids were smiling at us. Before we realized, we were already engaged in a conversation about their crayons' colors and the importance of their drawings. Kids are so spontaneous and beautiful, they selflessly passed their hearts' joy to us. That's when we realized the power of an innocent smile ...

Have a wonderful weekend filled with innocent smiles and joy :).

Image Source(s): Friend's email

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