linklings, opportunities abound edition

Point 1: Neither presidential candidate is willing to admit that there’s a monster in the room with them.  The monster is a $10 trillion debt that’s going to require tax hikes, benefit cuts, spending cuts, withdrawals from our military actions around the world, cutbacks on sacred cows like student financial aid and more inattention to our crumbling infrastructure and health care crisis.  I want someone to utter the phrase “the debt must be paid down and it’s going to hurt, bad – but it’s going to happen sooner or later.”

Point 2: I believe this next point sincerely:  despite the terrible news these days, the psychotic market and the uncertainty of the future, now is the time when fortunes are created.  Wachovia was at $0.01 a week or so ago.  Today?  $6.45.  How would you like to turn $1,000 to $645,000?  Now is the time that companies will be looking harder than ever for innovative solutions to their problems.  Alternative energy is going to be the next economic explosion:  the desire for cheap, renewable energy is going to create jobs, save the climate and liberate the West from dependence on the oil dictatorships of the world.  I really believe that the opportunities right now are incredible.  Can you identify a need, and propose a solution to that need?  I think people will be lining up at your door.

I’m just happy to be free of my Wall Street train wreck of a client for a few days (I’m taking a long weekend).

Some links from my fellow Money Writers, and others:

Did You Know That Some People in Washington Are Trying to Take The Tax Benefits Away From Your 401k Plan?: It’s going to happen sooner or later, people. That $10 trillion debt is going to need one massive snowflaking program to whittle it down…

Six Reasons to Love This Economy (Really. I’m Serious!): In a philosophical sense, I love this economy, too – it’s going to give all of us who preached frugality and wealth-building and risk-taking a chance to apply our theories in a hostile environment. All ships showed equal mastery in floating when seas were calm, eh?

Selling Stock Short – Who Sells Short and How they Profit From It: If you wonder about how short selling works, wonder no more…

Frugal Tip: Give Yourself an Allowance: I think this is a good idea, and something Bubelah and I need to do. Even if it’s $50 a month, you should probably set aside some “free money” that you can spend on whatever you want to (if you aren’t in debt).

What Is Your Definition of Rich?: I agree with most of this post, with one exception: you don’t need to be rich to be happy, possibly, but being rich is no impediment to being happy, either. I always feel that there’s a slight prejudice in the personal finance blogosphere against an aspiration to wealth past what you need for financial freedom. I don’t think wealth grants happiness (study after study has shown that) but I also don’t think wealth impedes happiness. I want to be rich enough to be free from the NEED to work, and to secure my family’s future, but I would also like to be wealthy enough to travel, get high-speed internet, get an Asus EEE, etc.

A Billionaire Tells How to Get Rich: Mark Cuban sure does have a lot of gritty advice for someone who lucked out selling a company at the exact right moment in time to a company (Yahoo) that made more bad decisions about acquisitions than almost any company in the dot-comverse not named AOL. My advice to be rich? Figure out something people need and fill that need. Eating mac and cheese instead of going to McDonald’s? How about eating a salad instead of either. I’ll buy points 2 and 3 but #1 sounds a little fake to me.

This Stock Market Better Not Crash While I’m Gone: Er, I think it’s already crashing, isn’t it?

15 Must Do Fall Finance Tips: All of them except #5: think long and hard before dumping loser stocks. I own a certain financial sector stock that’s been beaten down pretty badly, but I’m thinking long term – I’m not bailing this year.

How Safe Are My Banks?: I think it’s a sad sign of the times that we’re going to be asking this question a lot in the near future.

Tip’d – A community for financial news, ideas, and tips / Published News: Another interesting personal-finance site, with a vibe similar to Digg. Tip my articles if you like the way they have things set up!

Stop Complaining for 7 Days

Why Only Thinking About Affordability Makes You Poor: Yes! Just because you CAN afford something doesn’t mean you NEED it. Think about the long-term needs for an item, not short-term affordability. Example: can you afford a new toaster right now? Yes. Do you need it? Question: do you own a toaster now? Then no. Is your toaster broken or you don’t have a toaster – and you love toasted bread? Then yes, maybe you should get a toaster (terrible analogy, I know).

Silver Lining Watch: Thank God my corporate job went belly-up; now I’m going to be forced to do what I wanted to do. People sure do rationalize…

I was honored to be selected as an editor’s pick over at Greener Pastures, who hosted the 174th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance – thanks for the honor!

I’d like to ask again if anyone’s interested in DebtGoal.  Here’s their blurb – there’s money in it for you if you’re interested:

Consumer debt is the biggest social challenge of our time: over 45% of Americans have recurring consumer debt balances that they’d like to pay off. At DebtGoal.com, we’re building a product to make paying down debt as easy and efficient as possible. We help users understand the “true cost” of any purchase, show them how interest rates effect them over time, help them negotiate effectively with their creditors, and help them create a plan that can save them thousands of dollars in interest.

We need help designing our product and are willing to pay up to $30 for your feedback if you fit fit our target profile of having debt that you’d like to pay off.  You’ll get the money within 3 days via PayPal. That’s it–no gimmicks and nothing to buy.  We just want your opinion. We have two surveys that we’re willing to pay people to participate in:

• Feature prioritization: (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=D8bx6ddALi1KlZI2zULkoA_3d_3d). We will pay the $10 to the first 100 respondents who complete the survey.
• DebtGoal.com user experience survey: Go to www.debtgoal.com, walk through the product and give us feedback through the survey link (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=kN4lmoeyE0Yg1XgSte_2bfWw_3d_3d) or the on-page feedback link. If you fill out the survey and we call you for follow-up feedback, we will pay $30.

photo credit: woodleywonderworks