GoogleTrends: Uptick in Searches for Deflation
Interest in deflation has picked up since I started reading about it, asking about it, rambling about it.
However, deflation doesn’t have the mindshare like inflation.
Although maybe some people don’t know deflation by name?
i.e. "negative inflation" ???
In related news, Hyundai Sonata was $16K OTD, now $15K OTD…
update - deflation makes an appearance on The Simple Dollar?!?
On Twitter, I Think…
I’m decluttering the little random pieces of my financial mind…
news, research, quotes, predictions, dreams, etc.
What It Felt Like To Buy Stocks In October 2008
Reflections on last month, as I (belatedly) get ready for November.
When you look at old stock charts, you see the dips and say, “wow, it would have been cool to buy at that time.” In reality, it does not feel cool. At least not for me, not yet.
I’m working on it.
Financial stuff is abstract, so I try and find the nearest physical parallel.
October 10th - felt like I let a a guy in a hockey mask rent out our guest bedroom. Seriously. And the dude was bloodstained. But he had a fist full of Benjamins and promised he would behave.
Late October - felt like running into a burning building to retrieve valuables. The fire engines are still at the station. Speed is everything, and be careful of the weak floors.
In November, I feel like we’re still on the analogy of the burning building. Wealth is still evaporating. The fire engines are still on the way. Either that or at some level the fire starts to burn itself out. It still feels like crap, but I’m preparing to buy on a mixture of fear and valuation. Or is it the valuation of fear?
waiting for… disorderly selling
“The stock market is a no-called-strike game. You don’t have to swing at everything–you can wait for your pitch.” - Warren Buffet
Hiding Out From The Personal Finance Fun Police
SingleGuyMoney had an interesting post about how he wanted to take his teenage sister to the mall for possible “splurging” shopping. Particularly interesting quote:
“I know alot of personal finance bloggers will disagree with me but I think it is okay to splurge (within reason) every now and then.”
SGM is taking care of business. He’s saved ~$9,000 in the past half year and planned to spend up to $200 on this trip. At what point do those ratios become right or wrong? For the record, I’m not a mall person, but I’m not judging. I’m more interested in the risks of extreme personal finance.
- Is this sort of splurging looked down on by a lot of personal finance bloggers?
- Or is splurging a key benefit of budgeting: guilt-free (or less-guilty) spending?
- Do personalfinance-types become too mechanical?
- Do we leave enough room for spontaneity?
If the pfblogosphere got together in 30 years for a reunion, as a group, would we find that we got more out of life by meticulously managing our money? Or would we be the grumpiest group of curmudgeons the world has ever seen?
This week, I’ll follow SGM’s lead and prepare for splurging. (He ended up not spending, btw.) DW’s parents are in town from Tokyo and we might eat a car payment’s worth of sushi. I’m not sure what else. We’ll try and find some neat things for them to take home, but that can be hit-or-miss. The main thing is… I’m going to think about money less this week than I do during the other 51 weeks.
Wish me luck on splurging. Like SGM, I might need it! 
The One Financially Appealing Thing About Buying A New Car
The first rule of fight club personal finance blogs: don’t buy a new car.
Ever.
After extensively shopping for used cars, I’m less than 100% convinced.
The new cars might have one thing on their side: base model, no frills.
For example, I think I can find a base 2009 Hyundai Sonata for around $16,000 OTD. Now, if I’m being honest with myself, it satisfies my requirements: low cost, high mpg, four doors, four wheels, long warranty, good reliability. Just as importantly, it does not have all the things I don’t need or want. The things I could pay more for… but why?
I see people prefer used cars because they can get more luxury or options, but if these things have no value to me, they cost too much even if they are halfway depreciated. If “don’t buy something you don’t need just because it is on sale” applies everywhere else in personal finance, why not with cars?
Unwelcome Shocks To The Local Used Car Market?
You should never be in a hurry to buy a depreciating asset, right?
I dunno.
The used car market looks pretty picked-over vs. earlier this year.
- More people holding on to anything reliable.
- More people looking for anything affordable.
- Less people putting new cars in circulation.
Now this… uncertainty in the funding of our mass transit system.
result: many one-car families thinking about getting another car.
note to self - good luck finding that used Hyundai!
This Stock Market Is Wearing Me Out… In A Good Way
photo credit: Martini Captures
Every time I try and get out to cash, the stock market pulls me back in.
Okay, they have not pulled me back in yet, but we are back below where I sold last time. Considering how much money I left on the table (10%+) that is no small feat. Hopefully, we can avoid a violent upswing just for today. I need to think through some things here this weekend.
I’ve made some major frugality progress this week, too, but first thing’s first.
Getting Ready For End-Of-Year Stock Market Predictions
No, I’m not getting ready to make them, I’m getting ready to ignore them!
Thinking back to January, IIRC, the bulls were saying Q1 would suck, Q2 would be flat, Q3 would be better… and Q4 would be the greatest quarter in the history of civilization. It sounded funny then. Now it is more tragicomic. Anyway, just as it is a good idea to brace oneself for economic realities in advance, I think it’s also a good idea to brace ourselves for a wave of economic predictions, so they do no sneak past the B.S. filter.
The Most Beautiful Way To Save Money While Heating Your House
Sometimes, a tip makes it into a lot of “Top Ten Tips” lists, but never gets featured in a post of its own.
Today, I want to pay tribute to my #1 heating tip: open the blinds to your windows.
To one group of people, it sounds obvious.
To another group of people, it sounds trivial.
I think there is more to it than meets the eye. Unfortunately, I have not seen estimates of how much money this can save per month. What I have seen are estimates of adding 3 to 7 degrees F. In months where it is only mildly chilly, 3 to 7 extra degrees can be the whole difference!
You may be thinking… I’m no hermit. I open windows. What’s this guy talking about?
I’m talking about being in the mindset of maximizing sunlight. It is one thing to say around noon-ish, hey it is a nice day, maybe I should open more windows. It is quite another to “turn on” the sun-producing windows first thing in the morning and let the heat build up during the day.
For techies like myself, it is easy to see every problem in terms of flipping a switch. Mindlessly wait until cold and flip the switch on the thermostat. For people like us, maybe it helps to think of the window blinds as a really cool electronic appliance.
I’ve been getting better at this and it makes a difference. Sometimes we overshoot and get too much heat by the afternoon. But when we get it right it gives us a head start on night time heating.
Try it.
Besides, how many frugal tips can brighten your mood as much as this one?
Quote: “The Happiest People Are Frugal…”
from Making of a Miser: Nature vs. Nurture @ WSJ.com
“(researchers) say the happiest people are frugal, which they define as people who are able to spend without suffering but take pleasure in saving.”
The last two paragraphs in that article offer food for thought. It says how cheapskates are constantly anxious about money, while spendthrifts cause stress in their lives and marriages. Maybe it is time to revisit the pfblogger question of which is more important: making money or saving money. Maybe the answer is neither… and the most important thing is defining our relationship with money.
