Part I- Save Money on Electronic Bills
Part II – Save Money on General Utilities
Part III- Save Money on Groceries
Part IV- Save Money on Clothes

Save Money on General Utilities

In our previous post, we highlighted 5 ways you could save on your electronic bills and came up with an average savings of almost $150 a month. In this article, I will show you how to save money on your general utility bills.

I am going to highlight a few ideas from each utility because there are hundreds of ways to save, but only the best ways save the most money.

Save on Your Electric Bill

1) Turn off your electronics when you are not using them. Off means completely unplugged not the “standby” mode. Guess what? Turning your appliances and electronics completely off will reduce energy consumption by 65%. That’s a whopping figure for such a simple task.

I, personally, leave all my stuff on standby and will have to follow this rule more diligently. 2 computers, DVD, Wii, and microwave are on standby at all times.

2) If you’re in the market for a thermostat or if you’re thinking of the long term, a programmable thermostat is can do the trick. About 44% of every household’s electricity bill is from heating and cooling the house and a programmable thermostat can monitor temperature and reduce the cost of maintaining your favorite temperature by 20-30%.

3) My local newspaper always has advertisements about government giveaways for energy efficient light bulbs or lamps. All the light bulbs I have are energy efficient and cut light bulb consumption by 60- 80%.

4) Shop around for another energy provider. You’re not stuck with Edison. Sometimes, another provider in your area can give you a cheaper deal, sometimes for a saving of 15%.

Save on Your Gas Bill

1) Reduce the temperature on your water heater or insulate it to keep the temperature warm. Lowering the temperature to 120 degrees,For every 10 degrees you lower the temperature setting, you can reduce your bill 3% to 5%.

2) Most energy used for doing your laundry is for heating up the water. In order to reduce the amount of energy used for washing clothes, there are two alternatives: using less water (if you took chemistry, you should know that water has a very high heat capacity, so it takes a lot of energy to raise the temperature) or setting the temperature low.

3) Insulate efficiently and avoid drafts. Drafts are usually caused by unsealed ventilation ducts, so make sure you insulate them. Also, check for air leaks. I urge this step because stopping drafts can lower your energy bill drastically.

Save on Your Water Bill

The average American family of four uses over 250 gallons of water a day. Besides racking up costs on your water bill, its also good for the environment to save water. LA is actually doing a lot to save water and consumption has dipped 18% since last year to near 1980 levels.

1) Some people tell you to only wet your body in the shower and not to keep the water running all the time. I find this a little extreme. A better way is to use a low-flow shower head which can reduce water use during showers by 40%.

2) Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth or shaving. This can save up to 5 gallons of water each 2 minute cycle. For a family of four, this can save as much 20 gallons a day, or about an 8% reduction.

3) Install an aerator in kitchen water faucets to reduce flow of water through the faucets.

4) If you need to water your lawn, make sure you are not wasting water. If you need to water the lawn, use just a little water (grass doesn’t need buckets and buckets). For trees, use a bucket to water, not a hose.

5) When doing laundry, reduce the water level to the amount that is just right. No need to go large load every time. A regular laundry uses 40- 50 gallons a wash. Following this method can save you 10 – 15 gallons each time you do laundry.

6) Do you let the water run out until it becomes warm enough for use? If you are only going to need a little warm water, why not heat it in a kettle? It won’t take more than a few minutes and can save you a lot of money.

Conclusion

There are more ways to save money on all your utility ways, but just following these few tips will decrease your usage on all three utilities by at least 50% (and up to 80%)  - translating to a 50% reduction on your overall bills. Nationally, the average monthly cost for gas, water, and electricity is about $220. Cutting this cost by 50% will add another $110 bucks in your pocket a month.

My last article showed you how to save a total of $140 a month. Our current total savings is $250 a month.

Check back in soon for the next article in the series “Saving Money on Groceries.” I have a lot to say in the upcoming article and will show you how to save a few hundred more by shopping smart.

After several investing topics, I have decided to return to writing about saving money with a series about “Saving Money at Home.” As many of you know, I have been writing about saving money for over a year now, and believe this would be a great way to give great tips on building smarter spending habits where the most money is spent- at home.

The series will consist of 4 posts:

Part I- Save Money on Electronic Bills
Part II – Save Money on General Utilities
Part III- Save Money on Groceries
Part IV- Save Money on Clothes

——————————————————–

Part 1 – Save Money on Electronic Bills

With the first decade of the 21st century officially over, most households have subscriptions to technology that they mostly didn’t have twenty years ago- cell phones, Internet (DSL or Cable), and Cable TV. Nowadays, every kid that can walk has their own cell phone line with text messaging bundles.

Slashing bills on Internet, cell phones, and television can add a lot of money to your budget. I have compiled a list of the best ways to save money in this area.

1) Find the ideal cell phone Family Plan:
What do I mean by ideal? This: You can have 1,400 anytime minutes or 2,300 minutes for a family of four and still never talk more than 1,000. Find the lowest minutes your provider offers that is suffice for your family. Check your old phone bill statements – what’s the most you’ve talked in the last year? A little more than this should be your plan’s allowance of minutes.

Compare providers: Verizon offers Unlimited Talk & Text for 2 people at $150 and another $50 for each extra line ($250 for a family of four) while T-Mobile offers the same thing for only $140 for two and $35 for each additional ($210 for a family of four).

Total Savings: $40

2) Do you really need a home phone?
Paying for cell phones for a family of four makes land-lines obsolete, since everyone has their own phone. AT & T’’s second most basic home phone service costs $23.99. If you don’t drop them now, they will drop you later. AT&T has already contacted the FCC about discontinuing the service.

Total Savings: $24

3) Cable TV – A relic of the past.
Unless your a true sports fan who has to watch all sports games on a Plasma TV, Cable and Satellite TV are relics of the past. Check out my article on great websites where you can find streaming television, news, and sports for free.

With prices for such services ranging from $40- $60, why not pay $10 to get real streams online?

Total Savings: ~$40

4) Take advantage of competition between Internet providers

That’s right- The Government passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Law for a reason: To increase competition between large companies. In the 1910s and 1920s it was sugar, steel and petroleum. Now, its communications and media. Use this to your advantage… call your Internet provider and tell them about other offers from rival companies (e.g. Call to At & T: “Your 29.99 is too high for basic Internet, Verizon is offering the same service for 19.99, can you lower the price for me?”)… tell them you like them, but want to quit. They will give you a special promotion- I do this every six months and save about 15 bucks a month on my Internet.

Total Savings: $15

5) Inquire about Corporate, Government, and Student Volume Discounts

Another path I have taken using my T-mobile Service. UCLA offered a volume discount for T-mobile. Even the workers there didn’t know about it, but it saves me 15% or roughly $10 off my phone bill. There are larger discounts for larger corporations and groups and you can save a wad of cash if you apply it to a family plan for a cell phone bill.

Total Savings: $10- $25

The Big Picture

Overall Savings: $120- $160 a month.

Add it up and we save… $140 a Month just cutting bills on three popular subscriptions. Most of the money was saved by reducing waste. Even if you follow only a few of these tips, you can still save $100 bucks a month.. or $1,200 a year.  Think what you can do with that much money- a 7 day Cruise on Carnival lines is about $800 for two.

I hope you come back for the second part of my series – saving money on general utilities to add to your savings.

In this article, I highlighted some of my personal steps, but I know there are things out there that I’m not aware of. What do you guys do to save money on these bills? Do you think this article was useful? Let’s talk!

Last year, I gave you the best and worst housing markets for the 2009 year, with the average percent fall (and very rarely, gain) in selling prices.

This year, real estate prices seem to follow no pattern. In some areas, they are recovering from their 2008 price lows and in other areas, foreclosures keep piling up. Investors have it tough… speculators are everywhere, pointing to positive signs in the economy one day and then predicting doomsday the next.

We like real hard facts at SmarterSpend.com… so let’s go over some of the best and worst housing markets of this coming year, and predict what will happen to them in the long run.

Let’s hear the good news first.

Best Housing Markets of 2010

1) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Growth rate: 2.67%
Foreclosure Rate: Under 1%
Affordability (Median House price vs Median Salary): Very High
Tidbits: Pittsburgh was hit adversely by a manufacturing slump before the current crisis. This helped it avoid the current recession. The city is being revitalized with service jobs and is a great place for investors.
Prediction: Pittsburgh will remain stable, but I don’t see any possibility of double digit growth because of  a low economic base.

2) Louisville, Kentucky
Growth rate: 1.05%
Foreclosure Rate: 1.15%
Affordability (Median House price vs Median Salary): Very High
Tidbits: The city never had any growth in prices to begin with and was not severely affected by a fall in prices.
Prediction: Louisville will slowly become a large urban center, but not until there is some easing of the lending policies and business can thrive. Look for steady growth in the future, around 5%.

3) Houston, Texas
Growth rate: 11%
Foreclosure Rate: Under 4.5%
Affordability (Median House price vs Median Salary): High
Tidbits: Houston had a foreclosure panic in 2008, but quickly recovered due to job creation in the energy sector, which allowed median home prices to remain stable.
Predictions: I believe Houston has the best chance of double digit growth for any city in America. It has a booming metropolitan area, fueled by net population migration from other cities and lots of job creation.

Worst Housing Markets of 2010

1) Las Vegas, Nevada
Growth rate: -33%
Foreclosure Rate: 12% (Five times the national Average)
Affordability (Median House price vs Median Salary): Average
Tidbits: Las Vegas is the prime example of housing bust. In fact, according to Forbes, the average mortgage on a house in Vegas is greater than how much an average house is worth.
Predictions: I feel like  a turnaround will eventually happen for one reason: There is so much investment value and money at stake in Vegas. I just can’t imagine Vegas losing in the long run.

2) Phoenix, Arizona

Growth rate: -25.9%
Foreclosure Rate: 12.5% (Five times the national Average)
Affordability (Median House price vs Median Salary): Average
Tidbits: In Phoenix the fallout from the financial crisis is deflating home prices rapidly due to the overabundance of homes in the city. Phoenix has been suffering through the housing depression in one of the worst crashes in the nation and has one of the highest foreclosure rate in the country.
Predictions: Phoenix will need a lot to recover and it will take almost a decade for home prices to be at their pre-2008 respectable levels. It seems that the worst is over, but there are so many homes for sale, its unbelievable. Again, this can only be achieved by allowing residents of Phoenix access to loans on a wider level.

3) Detroit, Michigan
Growth rate: -21.66% (average house price is $6,500.. yes… SIX thousand)
Foreclosure Rate: 6.6% (Five times the national Average, Delinquencies at 18%)
Affordability (Median House price vs Median Salary): For people that have a job, a home is virtually free.
Tidbits: Detroit’s median house price was close to $100,000 before the recession and the real estate bubble burst. It has been speculated that Detroit was actually what caused the recession. Although investors are buying houses by the dozen, will there be a Detroit as we know it in the future?
Predictions: I feel like Detroit needs government intervention to survive. What does this mean? The Fed’s should put up some companies and jobs there. If there is no job creation in the near future, this could mean an end to the city as an American metropolitan giant.

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How do the rest of you feel about the current real estate market? Will it turn around in 2010? What are the hottest cities to buy a house in? Join the discussion.

Ever since high school, I have been making great money without having a regular job. I have been resourceful, doing research on what kinds of jobs and services are in demand, and doing freestyle work.

I currently web design part -time and do some tutoring for most of my money.

Here are some easy ways for YOU to make extra cash.

1. Sell things on eBay – You can find lots of valuable things at local garage sales and swap meets. Focus on a particular thing so that you become an expert and know the prices. For example, I used to buy and sell mobile phones for about 7 months and made about 800 a month. I even had a website to sell by myself without paying extra to Ebay/Paypal but sold the domain on Sedo for $1100.
2. Paid Reviews – Paid reviews are becoming a big hit. You can easily make $50 a day by writing product reviews. Depending on your writing cells and readership, some companies are willing to pay hundreds for good reviews. PayPerPost is a great online service which acts as a middleman between writer and buyer.
3. Tutor- I tutor math and science because my degree is in Biochemistry, but you can make a bunch of money offering tutoring services around your community. Spread the word, make a website, and enjoy earning money while helping someone in need.
   I made this website: http://lasciencetutors.com for my tutoring.
4. Begin a Blog- Sure, for the first year or so, you will probably make a measly few bucks a day. But if you are a determined writer and can do some social networking espionage, you can build up a nice reader base and sell advertising spots to markets in your niche.
5. Write a Book – I recommend this step if you have a particular skill or interest along with some monetary cushion as publishing a book can take almost a year and a half. However, if you’re lucky and your book starts selling, you will quickly find yourself with enough money for a nice house down payment.
6. Sell Stock Photos- Are you a great photographer? You can make great stock photos and sell them to larger websites for extra money. Have some samples of your work ready.
7. Sell an eBook – You can make money faster making an eBook and selling it on a related blog or website (could be your blog or website). eBooks with tutorials and tips are good seller. You can also keep most of the profit and track your sales much easier than an actual book. Tons of websites are available to help you publish your eBook.
8. Become a Social Network Guru – Large companies are willing to dish out hundreds to savvy social networkers with lots of readers. For example, I have heard of offers in the ten thousands for the top Diggers to submit a link. Could that be you? Your credibility and status could take time to build up, but the market is there for sure.
9. Design Twitter backgrounds- Twitter is the next big social networking website. Celebrities, businesses, and bloggers are flocking to Twitter – most of them without any tech skills. You can design them a nice Twitter background and make some quick money. It took me like ten hours to design my Twitter page and I still think a redo is around the corner.
10. Social and Micro Lending- Got a few grand to invest? You can lend it out on social lending sites like Prosper.com or LendingClub. With default rates at a low 2.5%, you can spread your notes around and make substantial amounts on interest alone. Why not help people out and make some extra cash doing so?
11. Start an Online Store- You can sell everything and anything. I have male friends selling cosmetics and lady friends selling car equipment. Use Cafepress or start your own shopping site. Design unique products and make a ton of money.
12. Get a Job with The US Census- Thousands of jobs will be added this year to finish the 2010 Census. These great government jobs can bring in thousands a month if you have time. Census offices in my area are going to grow from ten to hundreds of workers by the time applications begin rolling in.
13. Sell Custom Designed Water Bottles at Events- Find local events in the newspaper or online and order custom designed water bottles. You can buy them very cheap and sell them for an extra dollar or two a bottle. Imagine how much money you could make at a big event?
14. Teach English classes at Adult Centers or Colleges- Does your city have a large immigrant population? There are almost always employers looking to pay a native speaker good money to teach a class. Here in Los Angeles, these classes pay $45-55 an hour for 8 hours a week – almost $1,200 a month.
15. Sell Homegrown Fruits and Vegetables- You don’t have to be a agribusiness to make money selling crops. Grow a few exotic fruit trees or vegetable patches and sell the harvest to locals. I guarantee you, not only will your food be better than what they are eating, but also less expensive. You can even use this to supplement your own purchases and save a bunch of money.

These are the legal and scam free ways to make money that I have thought of. Have you made money doing something else recently? Please share your tips and experiences with the rest of our readers.

Since we are all ambitious people, I am going to list you the best jobs that are in demand for the current year. In demand means “where employees are needed.”

Do you know any websites that show job demand or would like to add to the list? Please let me know.

Here is how this list is broken down- since yearly job growth is hard to predict due to fluctuations, we have included the number of jobs that will be opening from 2008- 2018 (one decade). The education factoid shown is not the required education, but the level needed for good job prospects. Finally, the earning range is from the 25%-75% percentile. If you have questions about any of these, please let me know.

I. Biomedical Engineers
Job Growth in Next Decade: 72% (#1 in all jobs)
Education: Master’s Degree
Earnings: $57,000 – $77,0000

Most of the growth seen in this field will be caused by the aging baby boomer population, which will rely heavily on medical devices and other equipment designed by biomedical engineers. This is especially true in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

II. Computer Systems Analyst
Job Growth in Next Decade: 53.4% (#2 in all jobs)
Education: Graduate Preferred, Bachelor’s with Experience also Preferred.
Earnings: $77,000 – $89,0000

As the Internet and IT becomes more common in many households and offices, the demand for CSA’s will increase heavily as experts are needed for computer networking and intranet responsibilities.

III. Physician Assistants
Job Growth in Next Decade: 39.0% (#7 in all jobs)
Education: PA degree required (2 years plus prerequisite coursework)
Earnings: $68,000 – $97,0000, average is $81,000

Doctor offices, hospitals and other institutions will employ more PA’s to provide care and to assist with medical and surgical procedures because PAs are cost-effective.

IV. Biochemists
Job Growth in Next Decade: 39.0% (#9 in all jobs)
Education: Graduate Preferred
Earnings: $59,000- $108,000

Growth in the field is due to continued development and reliance on newer biotechnological research. Positions are available in private science firms, academia, and federal laboratories.

V. Dental Hygienist
Job Growth in Next Decade: 36.1% (#11 in all jobs)
Education: Post- undergraduate (2 + 3 years) Dental Hygiene certificate
Earnings: $55,000- $78,000, average is $82,000

The projected growth of dental hygienists is the highest in the dental field in response to increasing demand for dental care and more use of cost effective hygienists, similar to PA’s for physicians.

VI. Computer Software Engineer

Job Growth in Next Decade: 34.0% (#14 in all jobs)
Education: Bachelor’s Degree
Earnings: $67,000- $104,000

New job growth is propelled by the need for rapidly evolving technologies and the increasing use of the world wide web for marketing and sales.

VII. Veterinarians

Job Growth in Next Decade: 33.3% (#17 in all jobs)
Education: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M) + Undergraduate Degree
Earnings: $61,000- $104,000

There are only 28 vet schools in the country and admission is very competitive. With the low number of graduates every year and increasing demand, vet’s are becoming one of the fastest growing jobs in the United States.

VIII. Environmental Engineers

Job Growth in Next Decade: 30.6% (#21 in all jobs)
Education: Graduate Preferred
Earnings: $56,000- $94,000

As public awareness for the environment increases, more environmental engineers will be needed to help companies comply with environmental regulations and to develop methods of cleaning up environmental hazards.

IX. Survey Researchers

Job Growth in Next Decade: 30.4% (#25 in all jobs)
Education: Bachelor’s
Earnings: $43,000- $85,100

People with backgrounds in science or math related fields have the highest pay and overall better job prospects. Private research firms are the best employers for survey researchers.

X. Physical Therapists

Job Growth in Next Decade: 30.3% (#27 in all jobs)
Education: Prerequisite coursework followed by 2- 2.5 year PT program
Earnings: $50,000- $104,000

The rapidly increasing elderly population will require a need for PT’s and need for cardiac and physical rehabilitation.

This concludes my top ten list for most demanding jobs, if you are thinking about a career change, look more into these jobs to see if they fit you. The US Department of Labor website, http://www.bls.gov , is a vast resource that you can look for more jobs.

What do you think will happen with the job market in the upcoming years, join in the conversation…

I have searched the Internet and local magazines for the ten best fast food promotions (and coupons) that will surely save you money.  If you know some more, please let me know and I will incorporate them into a future article.

1) Wienerschnitzel – Special Offer Coupon: Free Medium Drink

URL: http://wienerschnitzel.com/email/coupon.html

Click Here for Printable Coupon

2 ) Carl’s Jr. – Special Offer Coupon: Grilled Cheese Bacon

URL: http://www.carlsjr.com/promotions/coupon/one-dollar-off-gcbb-combo/

3 ) KFC. – Special Offer Coupons: Several Coupons

URL: http://kfccoupons.cre8.com

Enter your zip code and enjoy 6 free coupons.

Planet Hollywood USA

URL: http://www.planethollywood.com/partners/entertainment_coupon2.htm

5 ) El Pollo Loco. – Special Offer Coupons: FREE Steak & 3-Cheese Quesadilla with Any 9 or 14 Piece Feast

FREE-Quesadilla-Feast-Promo

URL: http://www.elpolloloco.com/whatsnew/promotions.html
6 ) Donut Connection – Various Printable Coupons (Small Free Coffee with any purchase, Buy one coffee get another free, etc)

URL: http://www.donutconnection.com/NewFiles/coup.html

7 ) Godfather’s Pizza – Various Printable Coupons – Buy One Medium Pizza Get another free and MORE

Godfather Free Medium Pizza with Purchase of Large

URL: http://www.godfathers.com/coupons/

Boston Market – Catering Special- $10 off a $60 or more purchase

Boston Market Catering Special

URL: http://www.bostonmarket.com/specials?page=coupons

9) Jack in the Box- Printable Coupon – $1 off Grilled Sandwiches

Jack in the Box $1 off Coupon

URL: http://www.jackinthebox.com/coupon/grilled-sandwiches_20100201.php

10) Panda Express – Printable Coupon – Free Firecracker Chicken with Purchase

Free Firecracker Chicken

In the Summer Olympics, the United States Olympics Committee committee spend half a billion. Similar heavy spending has allowed the US to rank number one in the overall medal count in the last 4 Olympics.

As a website geared around finance, we like to see things in terms of monetary efficiency. Of course, countries with more resources, population, and money will do better as more funding is available. It has been proven as a country modernizes, they will win more medals. In fact, Colorado College Professor Dan Johnson uses pure economics to predict the number of medals countries will win with a stunning rate of accuracy in the 90s (although neglecting numerous Post-Soviet countries which combined for almost 80 medals).

However, we collected a list of countries that performed the best and worst compared to their GDP? Our findings are amazing and we can attribute significant patterns to the rankings.

2008 Summer Olympics by GDP ranking:

1) Zimbabwe – 4 medals. 2008 GDP: $4.2 billion
GDP per Medal: $1.05 billion per medal

Before the economic destabilization of the country in the second half of the decade, the country had a GDP of about $32 billion.

2) Mongolia – 4 medals. 2008 GDP: $5 billion.
GDP per Medal: $1.25 billion per medal (Former Communist Country)

Armenia at the 2010 Olympics

3) Jamaica- 11 medals. 2008 GDP: $15 billion.
GDP per Medal: $1.4 billion per medal (Former Communist Country)

Democratic Socialist / Communist from 1972 – 1983.
All in track and field.

4) Armenia- 6 medals. 2008 GDP: $11 billion.
GDP per Medal: $1.83 billion per medal (Former Communist Country)

5) Georgia- 6 medals. 2008 GDP: $13 billion.
GDP per Medal: $2.16 billion per medal (Former Communist Country)

During the Soviet Period, Armenia and Georgia combined for over 60 medals.

6 and 7) Kyrgyztan and Tajikistan. Each had two medals and a 2008 GDP of 4.5 Billion
GDP per Medals: $2.25 billion per medal (Former Communist countries)

Kyrgyztan still practices seasonal semi-nomadism and its largest city has 750,000 people.

8 ) Cuba- 24 medals. GDP: $55 billion
GDP per Medals: $2.30 billion per medal (Current Communist country)

Fidel’s country has always outperformed expectations in the Olympics.
9) Belarus – 19 medals. 2008 GDP: $60 billion

Cuba Gold Winner

GDP per Medal: $3.05 billion per medal (Former Communisty country)

Belarus is the second largest country in terms of GDP in the top ten of the rankings.

10) North Korea- 6 medals. GDP: $26 billion
GDP per Medals: $4.33 billion per medal (Current Communist country)

Many people claim that North Korea’s only strong suit is its army…however the athletics program must also be pretty good, as a top ten ranking in the world only attests to success.

The Bottom:

- India is last, with one medal for $400 billion dollars.
- Venezuela had one medal total, and a GDP of $332 billion.
- Japan had a lot of medals (25) but a GDP of 5 trillion, for a GDP per medal of $200 billion per medal.
- The United States had the most medals (110) but a GDP of 14 trillion. GDP per medals for United States: $129 billion
- Israel, Austria, Mexico, South Africa and Egypt rounded out the bottom, ranging from 130 billion to 300 billion per medal.
Surely, something interesting is going on here. Why do nine of the top ten countries have communist backgrounds? Why are the bottom countries the most capitalist ?

From those failures, a few stood out as disasters. Leading healthy corporations, they disappointed investors, shareholders, and the economy. Thousands of large businesses have failed, thousands taken over by more powerful and better managed competitors.

In an attempt to differentiate the bad from the worse, Smarter Spend has dug into the past and brought you the Worst CEOs of the 2000s Decade.

I. Robert B. Willumstad
Company: AIG
Tenure: June to September 2008

Robert Willumstad

In a short three months, Willumstad guaranteed the failure of AIG and the necessary government intervention which cost taxpayers $180 billion dollars. During his short tenure, AIG shares dropped 97% and the world economy was shaken.

II. Robert “Bob” Nardelli
Company: Home Depot and Chrysler
Tenure: Home Depot, 2000- 2007. Chrysler, 2007 – 2009

Robert Nardelli

During Nardelli’s reign with Home Depot, Lowe’s nearly doubled in size while Home Depot sales remained steady. He was forced to resign, with a severance of $210 million dollars and total earnings of $400 million with the company. Shortly after his failure with Home Depot, he became a failure with Chrysler. The company declared bankruptcy in 2009, received almost a billion dollar loan from the US government, and was forced to close down most of its dealerships.

III. Richard S. Fuld, Jr.

Company: Lehmann Brothers
Tenure: 1994 – 2008

Richard Fuld

Fuld received nearly half a billion dollars of compensation during his fifteen year tenure. He sold his 13 million dollar house to his wife for $100 to avoid seizure and currently has an active lawsuit against him by the state of New Jersey. In 2008, Lehmann Brothers declared bankruptcy with $630 billion in assets and a quarter trillion dollars of debt – the largest ever bankruptcy by an investment bank.

IV. Rick Wagoner
Company: General Motors, Inc.
Tenure: 2000- 2009

Rick Wagoner, the look of failure.

In his 9 year tenure, GM cut jobs, reduced production and tarnished its image, as Wagoner focused on profitable fuel guzzling cars. $20 billion was not enough to save GM from declaring bankruptcy and Wagoner was forced to resign by the federal government in exchange for a short term loan and restructuring promise.

V. Alan Fishman
Company: Washington Mutual (WaMu)
Tenure: September 8 to September 26 , 2008

Alan Fishman

During one of the shortest CEO tenures in recent history of only 18 days, Fishman received $19 million dollars in pay while WaMu’s shares tumbled from as high as $45 in 2007 to pennies in 2009. Washington Mutuals bank failure was the largest in American history and the near-trillion dollar company was sold to JP Morgan and Chase for close to $10 billion. Fishman’s approval rating of 7% was the second lowest in 2008.

VI. Angelo Mozilo
Company: Countrywide Financial
Tenure: 1997 – 2008, 11 years

Angelo Mozilo

Rated as one of the worst CEO’s of corporate America and in the list of CEOs blamed for the Great Recession now haunting our country, Mozilo earned over half a billion dollars from Countrywide while the country fell into the subprime mortgage crisis.

There are several advantages to franchising: benefiting from an already successful or tested businesses model, sharing risks with a larger amount of people, technical support for problems, marketing and brand names are already well known, and finally, you are your own boss. These advantages have helped a franchise boom since the 1960s, with the ubiquitous McDonald’s the clear-cut leader in world wide franchises.

2010 presents a unique set of problems for franchises- decline in consumer demand, artificial raising of prices to cut losses, and overall investor fear. Many people are searching for an honest, neutral article on best franchises to open. This list, which shows important statistics for opening a franchise, provides you with non-biased findings that will help you make your decision. We will assign an overall “SmarterSpend investment rating” to each franchise.

Pinkberry:

A Scoop of Pinkberry

The Tidbits: Pinkberry now has 50+ stores in Los Angeles and New York. It has a strong cult following and is considered a healthy desert alternative, with medium sized alternatives around the 200 calorie range.  Store designs are trendy and modern, with comfortable seating.
Industry: Frozen Yogurts
Industry Outlook: $35 billion a year in 2009, predicted to increase by another $3 billion (~9%) by 2012.
Financials: $45,000 licensing fee + $600,000 assets ($200,000 liquid needed per store)
Royalties: 2% marketing fee, 6% general revenue fee
Positives: Affordable franchise, trendy stores and management, just received $9 million for second round of investments
Negatives: Relatively new franchise, competition from Yogurtland, SpoonMe, and other similar brands, class action lawsuit for ingredients (not really Yogurt).
SmarterSpend Investment Rating: 7.0 / 10

7- Eleven

7- Eleven Brand Marketing

The Tidbits: Seven-Eleven Japan Co.,Ltd., primarily operating as a franchise. It is the largest chain store with more than 36,842 outlets operating around the world and has surpassed the previous record-holder McDonald’s Corporation in 2007 by approximately 1,000 retail stores. It is found all over the world and is very prominent in Asia. They offer training in local training centers. At the moment, there are almost 7,000 franchises in the United States, and 30,000 worldwide.
Industry: Convenience Stores
Industry Outlook: 20% of all retail sales and 8% overall growth in 2008.
Financials: Net worth requirement: $127,000, with a range of total investments of $100,000 to $700,000, initial franchise fee of $25,000
Royalties: Ongoing Merchandise Gross Profit royalty of 25%
Positives: One of the fastest growing franchises, old and successful history, worldwide corporation, training centers, revenue on profits
Negatives: Most large metropolitan areas are saturated with 7-Eleven’s, Competition from other convenience stores, requires 7-10 employees
SmarterSpend Investment Rating: 9.0/ 10

Hampton Inn/ Hampton Inn & Suites

Hampton Inn and Suites

The Tidbits: The first Hampton Inn opened in Memphis, Tennessee in 1984. Hampton Inn was the first mid-price national hotel chain to begin offering a free continental breakfast and free local phone calls. In 1995, the Hampton brand introduced Hampton Inn & Suites, which consisted of two-room suite hotel rooms with living rooms and kitchen areas. As of March 2009, the chain comprises more than 1,700 hotels. It was acquired by Hilton in 1999.
Industry: Hotels
Industry Outlook: 8.8% drop in hotel occupancy in 2009.
Financials: Total investment: $3,716,000 – $13,148,800, $50,000 franchise fee
Royalties: Ongoing 5% fee
Positives: Top American franchise, one of the fastest growing franchise, International company, Training, Marketing and Ongoing Franchisee Support Available
Negatives: Higher than regular hotel vacancies due to economy, very expensive franchise, long (22) years terms of agreement
SmarterSpend Investment Rating: 7.5 / 10

Subway

Subway Franchise Numbers Increasing

The Tidbits: Subway was founded in 1965 and began franchising in 1975. Offering a fresh, healthy alternative to fast-food restaurants, Subway has franchises throughout the United States and in several countries, with locations in traditional and nontraditional sites alike. There are currently over 22,000 franchises in the United States and 8,000 around the world. It was rated by Entrepreneur as the best franchise to open for 14 straight years, before it was beaten by 7-11 in 2008.
Industry: Food (Sandwiches)
Industry Outlook: Increasing revenue and profits; Subway hopes to open 2,000 more stores by 2014.
Financials: Total investment: $84,300 – $258,300, $15,000 franchise fee
Royalties: Ongoing 8% fee
Positives: Rapid expansion plans, increasing market, good media coverage, 65% of all franchisees own more than one Subway, affordable products
Negatives: Saturated in larger cities, long term of agreement
SmarterSpend Investment Rating: 9.5 / 10

H & R Block

The Tidbits: H & R Block is a tax preparation company in the United States, claiming more than 22 million customers worldwide, with offices in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. The Kansas City-based company also offers banking, personal finance and business consulting services. They have over 22 million customers and a large number of new franchises opening.
Industry: Tax Preparation
Industry Outlook: Increasing revenue, but decreasing net income ( lost 300 million in 2008).
Financials: Total investment: $84,300 – $258,300, No Initial Fee, No additional costs for advertising
Royalties: Varies
Positives: Very low franchise costs, old brand with lots of clients, lots of company owned stores
Negatives: Competitive industry, net income loss in 2008, lots of stores currently being sold
SmarterSpend Investment Rating: 8.5 / 10

In this blog, I will analyze the statistics behind budget inequality and its ramifications. I promise you will find this amusing.

First, I would like to share with you a simplified version of the US Budget:

Budget 2009 Proposed Discretionary 02102009

Yes, thats 58% of the 3.1 TRILLION Federal Budget on Defense.

If a family spent over half its money on defense, it would be starving, illiterate, and without shelter, and broke.
Sound familiar? It should.

In this article we will compare spending on these vital areas: Education, Health, Defense, Social Security, and finally: Natural Resource and Conservation

I. Education
“The whole object of education is…to develop the mind. The mind should be a thing that works” – S. Anderson

Countries with Highest % Of GDP Spent on Education:
1. Cuba – 18.7 % – Literacy Rate: 100% (Unicef) – 1st in the world
2. Yemen – 9.5% Literacy Rate: 67% (UN) Note: Yemen has recently made education its top priority.
3. Mongolia – 9%  Literacy Rate: 97.8% (Unicef)
4. Denmark – 8.5% Literacy Rate: 99.0% (Unicef)
5. Guyana – 8.4%  Literacy Rate: 98.8% (CIA.gov)
37. United States 5.7% – Literacy Rate: 86% – US Department of Education

The United States ranks far behind most developed countries and several second-world countries. Post-Soviet nations such as Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia have literacy rates over 99.5%.

II. Health
“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” – Gandhi

Life Expectancy VS Spending

1. United States – 16.0% – Life Expectancy: 78 Years
2. France – 11.0 % – Life Expectancy: 81Years
3. Switzerland – 10.8 % – Life Expectancy: 81.7 Years
4. Germany – 10.4 % – Life Expectancy: 79.7 Years
5. Belgium – 10.2 % – Life Expectancy: 80.2  Years

Amazingly, the US Spends 2 trillion dollars in both public and private sectors, but the leading cause of bankruptcy is medical and our spending is far less efficient that countries like Cuba, Singapore, and Japan. In Japan, the life expectancy of 82.6 years is the highest in the world. Yet, most Japanese live in industrialized areas, such as Tokyo.

III. Defense Spending
Army: A body of men assembled to rectify the mistakes of the diplomats. - J. Daniels

WorldWwde Military Spending

1. United States (19.2 %) – 41.5 % of the World Defense Spending. 96th on Global Peace ranking.
2. Oman – 22nd on Global Peace ranking
3. Qatar- 30th on Global Peace ranking
4. Saudi Arabia – 90th on Global Peace ranking
5. Iraq – Last on Global Peace Ranking

With the exception of Oman and Qatar, both peaceful Arabian peninsula states, countries with high defense spending usually are the least peaceful. Least peaceful countries have more deaths due to war, economic instability, and less focus on social services.

IV. Social Security
One of the most urgent orders of business at this time is the enactment of hospital insurance for the aged through Social Security to help older people meet the high costs of illness without jeopardizing their economic independence.” – President Lyndon Johnson

1. Sweden – 20.9 % (7th Happiest country in the world)

Performance of Social Security Portfolios

2. Finland – 20.3 % (5th Happiest country in the world)
3. Netherlands – 20% (15h Happiest country in the world)
4. Denmark – 19.1% (Happiest country in the world)
5. Austria – 18.8 % (3rd happiest country in the world)
13. United States (12.6%)  - 17th happiest in the world.

The correlation cannot be rejected. If one looks at the list of happy countries, most of them stress social services above all forms of government expenditure. Happiness also leads to longer lives (Sweden is third in life expectancy).

V. Environmental Spending
“Your descendants shall gather your fruits.”— Virgil

1 Netherlands: 1.8 % of GDP
2   Austria: 1.7 % of GDP
3   Japan: 1.6 % of GDP
4.   United States: 1.6 % of GDP
5.    Switzerland 1.6% of GDP

Natural resource conservation has been growing all around the world as global warming fears heighten. It is also used as a political tool for both Democrats and Republicans.

Growing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Budget

The point of this article is one. The current fiscal crisis and federal deficit is going to have to be paid somehow. Already, $250 Billion a year is spent just paying the interest on the national debt and with trillions more being tacked on, where is the funding going to come from? It’s simple: the feds will cut back on vital funding for education, slash social services and health care, and increase taxes. What we need is someone in charge that can manage the debt, and although a surplus looks like a very bleak possibility, and balance the ballooning budget without compromising the necessary expenditures.