Category Archives: Reference

Credit Averages

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While reviewing my credit report, I found some interesting numbers on the national credit averages. I found some of them surprising. The average American consumer has 5 open credit accounts and 1 late payment on their credit report. The average mortgage balance is $106,782 with an average payment of $1,020. The average auto balance $12,141 with an average payment of $416. Meanwhile, the average total debt in America is $79,884. Uh, do that math… (yeah, I know)

Those numbers don’t seem too out of line to me. What struck me is that the average credit card debt is $1,006. A GRAND! A grand? I don’t know anyone that has a credit card balance of $1K. People I know either DON’T carry a balance on their cards or they owe ten, twenty, THIRTY thousand dollars to Mr. Visa. I guess that just shows how averages can be deceiving. Still these averages can give you a hint as to how enslaved you are to “the man” or your stuff at least.

Want To Be A Millionaire? Hurricanes Can Help

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So Katrina caused a huge amount of economic destruction… people just can’t seem to agree on how MUCH economic destruction. Louisiana asked for $250 BILLION! Mississppi was a little surprised to learn this, since they’ve only asked for $33 Billion. So here’s a little math based on Census data. Louisiana’s $250 Billion translates into

  • $533,012 for every person in that lived in New Orleans
  • $55,361 per person in Louisiana
  • Seven times the total retail sales for the entire state of LA in 1997 (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/22000.html)Mississippi’s $33 Billion translates into
  • $86,118 per person in Mississippi
  • Twelve times the total retail sales for the entire state of MI in 1997 (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/28000.html)It looks like both states are going to be disappointed since the current aid bill working it’s way through Washington has been moving between $25 and $30 billion. Total.
  • Louisiana’s funding request created shockwaves

    • Housing Bubble?

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    Yeah interest rates are on the rise and house flipping shows are all the rage. Come join the investors in real estate and get rich. Quick, before the whole thing implodes… or at least that is what some nay-sayers claim. Most likely, a slowdown in the housing market will most likely manifest as a plateauing of prices instead of a “crash”. Now that, of course, is in general: condos, commercial real estate, and select areas could all experience a reversal, but we’re talking in general here. Usually the places where a reversal would occur is where the pricing has gotten out of control and grown to quickly. Take these areas for instance:

    Metro Housing Increase (vs last year)
    Phoenix 47.0%
    Cape Coral, Fla. 45.2%
    Palm Bay, Fla. 40.0%
    Orlando 36.5%
    Sarasota, Fla. 34.3%
    Reno 32.1%
    Miami 31.7%
    Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla. 31.2%
    Durham, N.C. 30.9%
    Sources: National Association of Realtors, Commerce Department
    Continue reading →

    Anti-Marketing

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    Warning these are not approved or endorsed, but they can be a fun way to get back at the man…

    Tips for Tele-Marketers

    (1) If you don’t have a lot of time or if you’re not -uh- assertive, try this: Just say “Hold on, Please…” Say this while putting your phone down (to keep from getting hooked into a conversation) and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) will increase the Telemarketers average handle time. Longer calls mean fewer calls per worker and therefore increased costs for the Telemarketers. Then when you eventually hear the phone company’s “beep-beep-beep” tone, you know it’s time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task.

    (2)If you DO have a lot of free time and some hutspah try this: When the telemarketer asks if you are the man/woman in charge of the house/phone bill/whatever say “yes.” Then let them go through their entire spiel until they finally give you a real chance to talk again — this is typically when they are wanting you to give the green light for whatever product they’re selling. Continue reading →

    Size Does Matter

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    If you’re like me, then size really does matter. I think my affliction started through my biking habit. Once you’ve gotten into biking — i mean real into it so that you spend more money than any normal person would ever spend on a bike (which for most people is probably in the $100-$400 range) — it is easy to get sucked into a world where grams matter. Yes that’s right: smaller, faster, lighter is the biker’s mantra. Shave a gram here and ounce there and soon you will flying down the road faster… unencumbered!

    Now the funny thing with us bikers is that we often overlook the heaviest thing on the bike in our search for weight savings: the big guy riding it. Trust me, you quickly get to a point where it is cheaper and easier to lose the next ounce yourself… hmm poly-carbon alloy upgrade: $5000… eating less donuts: free… looking less chunky in those biker shorts: priceless.

    Two other biker oversights while I’m on a roll. i have to shake my head at the people that trade in a comfortable bike seat to get the lighter weight “racing” seats (read sitting on a hollow metal pole). Then these same people trade in their normal/spandex shorts for special biking shorts with a gel seat. Ah, HELLO, all you did was move the weight to your butt — and most people consider that a bad thing! No offence J Lo. The other thing that I’ve seen on many an expensive bike is 3 or 4 water bottles. Yes that’s right water which weighs 2.2 pounds for every liter or an ounce for every extra 28ml of H20. Trust me 2.2 pounds can equal 2.2 GRAND on some bikes.

    Needless to say this is a rant about size not bikes and so i will get to the point. Below is quick reference to the size of some of my products of choice. With dimensions and weight for easy comparison to new products as they come out and attempt to de-throne these as the smallest, the lightest, the best!