Comments on: Reader Mailbag #30

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:59:22 +0000

I have a question about mutual funds and whether or not I should be taking anything out of them for a financial emergency.
It’s a long story but essentially the major point is that I am a 60 year old woman who entered the work force later in life, have not accumlulated a lot in an IRA, recently divorced ( no alimony), prior job ended in Dec due to company being sold, now working retail as a supervisor ( which I enjoy )but at a reduced income. In a bit of a financial crisis until
A-I find a better paying job
B-my alternate income selling books online increases and/or
c-I find another part-time job.
Any suggestions, comments, ideas?

By: Robin

Robin — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:23:19 +0000

I have a question – Now that Wachovia has been bought, should I keep my checking account there? Is there any way to know how things will change with the purchase?

By: Mol

Mol — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:29:18 +0000

Trent, is this the appropriate place to request a visual guide on checking, cleaning, and replacing an air filter in the car?

By: Moh

Moh — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:28:10 +0000

Hey,

Some time ago you mentioned a website which would make suggestions for similar books to the ones user inputs as favourites. Can you please let me know the website? Thanks!

Moh

By: Savvy Frugality

Savvy Frugality — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:27:09 +0000

Ha…I actually like that “Big Spender” show, although I can personally attest that not all Oklahomans talk like Larry Wingett.

Trent, perhaps you could get your feet wet with a video blog?

By: Jake

Jake — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:38:09 +0000

To Mary,

There is a great program called evernote, that you can download to your computer, access via the internet, and even has an iphone app. It allows you to write notes, take picture notes, clip off the internet etc. Then you can search your notes later. Not great for developing ideas, but there are different ways you can tag them, and even the pictures are text searchable. It’s pretty cool. More info found here: http://evernote.com/

By: Sally

Sally — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:21:33 +0000

I just wanted to say that Spoon and Fiona Apple are awesome!

By: plonkee

plonkee — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:15:14 +0000

@David:
Don’t forget to factor in inflation.

By: David

David — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:33:16 +0000

@Allen: The jackpots are paid out as annuities…current Powerball is $15 million, or $500k each year for 30 years. Are you suggesting taking portions of each annual installment and purchasing an annuity with that? If you think it “makes sense” to take the lump sum, run the numbers in Excel or some other spreadsheet program. Make sure you take the taxes out, not just on the initial payout, but on the earnings/ interest/ yield for each year thereafter. You may be surprised which decision puts more after-tax money in your pocket year-after-year.

By: Biblioteca Chica

Biblioteca Chica — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:57:22 +0000

I’m a librarian, so I really liked Mary’s question about some sort of a “system” for creative ideas, ramblings, etc. I, too, like to have a place to save good quotes, decorating ideas, etc, but when I tried to file them “library-style,” it became tedious and counter-productive to the creative process. I use a “Flotsam Jetsam Journal” (my own term. It is a simple, hardcover, spiral book. I paste, tape, write, jot, sketch whatever strikes my fancy. There is no order; there are recipes, party ideas, clothing styles, everything in there!

And I cannot concur enough about people heading into their local public libraries during these rough financial times! We’re here for you and we have so much more to offer than just wonderful book resources

By: LisaB

LisaB — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:49:03 +0000

I concur in Michael’s (Comment 26)encouragement to read older and more complex works. There are many lists of “great books” out there. I found the Great Books program which has a comprehensive four-year reading list:
http://www.greatbooksprogram.org/readinglist.htm

Many college and public libraries have Encyclopaedia Britannica’s “Great Books of the Western World” series. I’m currently reading The Iliad and it was more captivating than I thought it would be.

Thank you Trent, for renewing my interest in the Public Library. I’ll truly converted!

By: Allen

Allen — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:46:59 +0000

Trent (and everybody else),
It’s my understanding that one of the conditions for accepting lottery money is the permission to use the winner’s picture without further compensation. So it would be very difficult to hide for the first few months. That said, I would do what most of the people here said, pay off my house, fund the kids education, invest. One thing I would do differently is, I would go to several different LARGE insurance companies and buy immediate lifetime annuitites from each. The reason is, the large insurance companies have survived MANY, MANY ups and downs in the economy and still payed their annuities regularly.

By: Georgia

Georgia — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:56:33 +0000

Trent – I read an article, don’t remember where, but it said that the idea that most lottery winners waste their money is a myth. That the majority of them do find ways to invest, use it well, hide from the public, etc. and that the big winners, losers who waste it all are just the ones who get the notoriety.

By: Outlaw Punk

Outlaw Punk — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:42:40 +0000

Since you seem to like the AltCountry kind of music how about a podcast? Get y’r fill of Ya’llternative Twangtastic Countrypolitian. Enjoy.

http://www.outlawpunk.com

By: former welfare child

former welfare child — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:24:52 +0000

Hi Trent,
I’ve been educating myself about money, tackling my debt and keeping a record of my finances now for about 9 months. This month I get paid three times. In some of the finance books/blogs/articles I’ve read, they say that the third paycheck is “bonus”. Since I’ve been really tackling my debt I didn’t feel like I got a “bonus” back in May when I was paid thrice and I really want to put more away in my emergency fund. Please help me understand the math.
Former Welfare Child

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:23:12 +0000

To Mary on orgainizing ideas, I too use a notebook system. I have one notebook with clear plastic page sleeves that I slip an article, etc. into and label sections. When a section gets too big it may get it’s own notebook. For example we have a Home binder for when we build a home. I have many Craft binders for my kids divided into season/holidays. Then I just have a mixed binder for things that don’t require their own binder, but maybe a few pages each with the stick on divider labels that separate. I can find things so easily. Good luck!

By: S

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:36:25 +0000

“while european heritage isn’t very interesting unless your ancestors emigrated in recent generations.”
Personally, I know my European heritage down to the fractions. But no, it isn’t very interesting.

By: Shevy

Shevy — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:56:34 +0000

If Trent won the lottery he`d be giving something like one third of it to Uncle Sam, because lottery winnings in the US are taxable income.

If I won a lottery here in Canada I`d get all the money because it *isn`t* taxable. Briefly, lotteries are a form of voluntary taxation that you pay after tax dollars into, which is why they aren`t considered income. The interest you earn once you invest them *is* taxable.

If I won, I`d give tzedakah (charity) off the top, buy a new car, buy my land, build my house, plant lavender and grapes and put enough money into a *cough, cough* secure investment that`s going to return at least 5% interest. One million dollars invested returns $50,000 in interest, so 4 million would provide an income of $200,000 per year or about $100,000 after the government takes its share. I`d buy all my kids houses and cars, take care of fully funding my youngest daughter`s post-secondary education and then the rest of the money could also go to charity, assuming that my hubby was okay with that. I probably should ask him first….

Considering that tomorrow night`s lottery is $35 million and I don`t even have a ticket (they cost $2) I`m thinking that my chances of winning aren`t so hot. Oh, well.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:27:12 +0000

I agree that one should read challenging books, but:
1. Your definition of “challenging” should include old books and syntactically complex books.
2. Sam Harris isn’t challenging at all. Why don’t you instead recommend people like Voltaire, Thomas Jefferson or John Stuart Mills? And while you are revising your answer, for Christianity recommend people like Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Blaise Pascal?

By: Roger

Roger — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:19:34 +0000

@ Elizabeth (Comment #11):

Depending on how much he won (purely hypothetically, of course), there could be more than enough in winnings to buy land, build a house, invest a substantial portion and still give 80-90% to charity. If we use the $100 million figure cited in Trent’s original answer, he could easily accomplish all his stated goals on $10 million, let’s say, and have more than enough money to slowly give out over the rest of his life.

Excellent and insightful answers as always, Trent.