Quiz:Are You Ready To Become An Entrepreneur?
December 28, 2012 Leave a comment
Take the quiz below to figure out if you are ready to quit your job and become a full time entrepreneur.
An Interesting Take On Donating
December 28, 2012 2 Comments
Would you donate your last penny?
I can honestly say that I would not …
Which brings me to a related topic: it seems that many people who come into money take a chunk of it to donate. Perhaps to have the wing of a school named after them, or to do some other ‘good works’.
Whether the sum is $1,000,000 or $100,000 or $10,000, when donating what you consider to be a large sum, think about what you are really donating; you are not merely donating $1,000,000 (or $100,000 or $10,000), you are donating the future value of $1,000,000:
Let’s say that you plan on living for another 40 years, and you can invest your money at 5% above inflation, then the real value of your donation is not $1,000,000 but more than $6.7 million!
When thinking about donating that $1 million [AJC: The Cartwood Family Wing does sound tempting], I’m not really thinking too much about that $6.7 million [AJC: or, $28.8 million … ounch!], I’m actually asking myself:
Would I donate my last $1 million? Read more of this post
Life-Style Design
December 28, 2012 Leave a comment
Timothy Ferriss ,an entrepreneur and angel investor,in his bestseller The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich talks about “lifestyle design”.He repudiates the traditional “deferred” life plan in which people work grueling hours and take few vacations for decades and save money in order to relax after retirement.He advocates mini retirements instead.His ideas make sense because the present is our only reality.While it is great to provide for the future, what about those of us who will not be round in the future or might not be as fit and able tomorrow to do the things we really want?Also happiness is as transitory as time and neither can be saved up for the future.
He advocates the acronym DEAL .It stands for Definition, Elimination, Automation, and Liberation.
Definition means figuring out what you want, getting over your fears, seeing past society’s “expectations”, and figuring out what it will really cost to get where a person wants to go.And he shows us how it doesn’t cost so much to have and do the the things we want as long as we think flexibly.As he puts it:The rules of reality can be bent. It just requires thinking in different terms. Read more of this post
Hostile Takeovers
December 28, 2012 Leave a comment
WHAT IS A HOSTILE TAKEOVER? WHY IS IT CALLED SO?
The acquisition of a company by another by directly approaching the company’s shareholders and not reaching an agreement with the management of the target company is called a hostile takeover or a forced takeover bid. Many a time, the acquirer will try to replace the target company management or tender an offer to get a takeover done. The key characteristic of a hostile takeover is that the target co’s management doesn’t want the deal to go through.
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM A NORMAL TAKEOVER OR ACQUISITION?
In a normal takeover or acquisition, the buyer as well as the seller reaches an agreement on the pricing, the sale and the nature of the merged entity. But in a hostile takeover, the management of the company does not support the unsolicited offer and reject it. In such a case, the offer is made against the will of the management to the shareholders by the acquirer based on which a decision is taken. Read more of this post
Liz Pulliam Weston On Planning For Emergencies
December 28, 2012 6 Comments
I like to emphasize financial flexibility, rather than dictate a set dollar amount. I think you should look at all your available resources, including cash in the bank, available credit and your “Plan B” options. Is there another earner in your household? How secure are his/her job prospects? Do you have friends or family who could help you out if your back was really up against the wall?
You also need to look at your overhead and how easily you could cut back if necessary. If you’ve got huge mortgage and car payments, for example, you have less flexibility than if you would if your “must have” expenses-shelter, food, utilities, insurance, child care, minimum loan payments-total 50% or less of your after tax income.
The people who are most vulnerable right now are the ones who spend every dime they make on their overhead and who really don’t have a Plan B. There’s just no wiggle room. If you’re a dual-income household and both work in the same troubled industry, or for the same firm, heaven forbid, you’re really on the edge unless you have a fat wad of cash in the bank.
Personally, I’m most comfortable when I have access to cash and credit that equals at least a year’s worth of must-have expenses. I think most people should try to shoot for at least three months’ expenses in cash alone, but unless you’ve already lost your job I wouldn’t stop saving for retirement or paying down credit card debt just to boost that emergency fund.
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