What am I going to do with my bonus/tax refund?

This is just a response post.

First off, I find it funny that people always ask a bunch of questions about what am I going to do with a refund or any type of money I happen to earn or recieve. It is not like these people are really entitled or are asking me for money. I think they are just curious. This is not an isolated incident; I was asked several questions simular to this last year by droves of people that cannot seem to manage their finances. When I tell them the same answer, they always give me the same look as they go into some form of cardiac arrest.

I always tell them, "I am going to save and/or reinvest it".

Then magically their blood pressure goes up about 40 points and their eyes buldge with disbelief. Hey I am not trying to do retail for the rest of my life. Neither should anyone there; unless of course they are shooting for management. Godspeed on that one. It's possible, but there are seriously more better paying jobs out there in other states or countries. I, for one, will not stand by and have my money totally devaluate itself. For that reason, I am trying to seek employment in Japan. If everything goes according to my plan, I should be able to become a full time freelancer in a few years.

If you really must know, the money will a) cover a flight to Japan and b) will cover apartment fees, key fees, etc. If there is a c option, it will be either saving or reinvesting  into some stocks that I have had my eye one since December. I will try to make the most of the situation, however there will definately be some unavoidable costs that I have to factor in. So that is my plan in a nutshell. I could have replied "none of your business", but since everyone are kind of curious as to what I would do with the extra money I would have to reply using the words of L.L. Cool J: "Just smile and accept the money".

As the first official CB tangent for the new decade, I have been approached to write some food comparison articles for a international magazine called Healthy Beginnings. No, I do not know how to cook per se, I just know a lot about different cusine from around the Pacific Rim. If you want to check out their magazine the  link is http://www.hbmag.com/. Maybe you can find some food that is cheap to make that is considered healthy. I would rant about how food is too processed, but I'll save that content for my actual articles should  I get published.

Chuckie's Blurbs Vlog Ep. 2: Sushi Pier #2

This is a video for the review Sushi Pier #2. I know that I did one in the past, but I do not think I really did the place justice by words alone. So, I made these videos. Enjoy the atmosphere and looking at the food!

Also I would like to add that all rights in this video are the property of  Sushi Pier #2 and their affliates.

Overall the rating is
Food 4.5/5
Service 5/5
Frugality 4.5/5 (For all you can eat sushi at dinner time, the price is pretty good.
Cleanliness 5/5

                                  For more info about Sushi, please check out the book The Sushi Ecnonomy, by Sasha Issenburg. It is a really good book!   

I also would like to thank the GM Chris and the waitress Chisato for being such good hosts. Me and my friends really put away the food. So overall I give them 4.75/5! Will be eating there again!

 

And part 2!

The Return Policy of 90 Days at Sam's Club Will Officially Be Enforced

To all of you that think that the LCDs are still "grand fathered in" I am just doing this response to let everyone know  that Sam's Club's old it is not. ALL electronic devises that are not related to software are not grandfathered in anymore. As of today, I get to reject whatever is not covered under the return policy of 90 days or the 1-3 year N.E.W. purchased survice agreement. So for better or for worse,  when you bring an electronic device back to the store make sure your reciept covers it prior to the 90 day purchase. The only exception to that rule is any device purchased before November 1st, 2009. Those items are still "grand fathered" in, but once they are returned, that's it. You cannot bring back anything after the 90 days. So if  you do not get a "service agreement" on the purchased item and it breaks down after 91 days, for better or worse it is yours to keep.

Apple Comes Out With Ipad

And now another company that tosses their hat in the e-reader wars. Apple already has tremendous popularity due to their Iphone and IPod, but  now they will take on the e-ready and net book market. Yes they have the Itouch, but seriously it really doesn't count. No this Ipad will be a site to behold. I say this because of its features, not because I think Apple products are really cool. Right now there is the Kindle, the Sony E-reader, and the Ipad as the main contestants. Hmm...kind of reminds me of the console wars between Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Yes, I have been playing games for at least a quater of a century so I can recall the console wars. So what is going to be the Ipad's asking price? $499.

So what does the new Ipad do? See for yourself. Check out this CBS news article and the demo video.





Apple is obviously trying to connect with four demographics of people.
1) Loyal Apple Customers
2) Netbook Users
3) E-reader Users
4) People who wish to save money on their electricty.

Believe it or not, Apple might have actually turned it up a notch in the netbook and e-reader markets. Netbooks, mainly being dominated by Acer, will now will have to make a product that has varius functions and is  affordable. Also Apple will definately get its cut in the e-reader market. That LED screen is a lot brighter and easier on the eyes than the old school LCD 1980s mesh. The companies out there try to make that stuff like it is new technology, but in reality it is  not. My electronic dictionary from Japan and the TI-83 calculators made by Texas Insturments is testament to that.

LED is in too. The LED screen is becoming more of a staple feature to add into the LCDs. This means that computers will be able to eventually run on a 12 to 14 hour battery life. Right  now, I see some laptops that can run on a 10 hour battery life. LED technology also does not run as hot as plasma and the weight of LED systems is significally reduced. Soon with the combination of nanotechnology with LED technology, you will probably be able to own a almost paper thin laptop (although I do not see much praticality there). People seems to misunderstand that their screens are LED LCDs and not stand alone LED or LCDs. LED stands for Light Emitting Diote or something really cool that brightens up your picture with 40 percent  less energy consumption than a traditional LCD and 60% less than a heavy hunk of headaches known as the plasma.

Why do I spend  so much time talking about the Ipad. It is perhaps something to consider in the stocks. Apple stocks will probably fall for a bit due to the who fear and readjusting to new technology, but once that phase is over, it will more than likely rise, especially when the technology becomes  more affordable and they can produce a  product for a higher margin. Did I mention that the who app. store land scape just got altered. And with a rising Asian population becoming increasingly interested in such a product there might be shortage on the first generation of Ipad. Meaning it could potentially flip for 2 or 3 times its normal price.

In frugality terms, perhaps getting a netbook would be a better avenue to travel for now. At the $200 starting range, it just seems more affordable, but if  you have the extra cash I would wait until the 2nd or 3rd generation of Ipad comes out. They will more than likely be cheaper and less prone to electronic defects. So holding off might be more prudent. Investment wise, I would keep an eye on Apple and the e-reader market find out when it company falls [in price] and then sale at the height of their popularity.

Beware of Aim Trust

This is one of the messages I received from another blogger. I was skeptical as usual and never take anything based on just face value. Although theoretically you could make that kind of money quickly, more than likely it's not likely unless it is something illicit, meaning illegal. Luckily no one ever has to worry about this poster ever again because I am about to debunk Aim Trust because obviously this/these blogger(s)  is/are affiliated with them. I have been approached by multiple "get rich quick schemes" which there will be more of these in this ailing economy. Now if they wanted to legitimately do something besides scam me they would have not left themselves be totally anonymous to me. It is just bad business to not introduce oneself. In case if you're wondering how I know this person is a scammer, feel free to go to the site and read the content. Looks like a bunch of testimonials directed at Aim Trust. Here is the post:




Hi!

You may probably be very curious to know how one can make real money on investments.
There is no need to invest much at first.
You may begin earning with a money that usually is spent
on daily food, that's 20-100 dollars.
I have been participating in one company's work for several years,
and I'm ready to share my secrets at my blog.
Please visit blog and send me private message to get the info.
P.S. I earn 1000-2000 per daily now.
http://theinvestblog.com/ [url=http://theinvestblog.com]Online Investment Blog[/url]



A good way to avoid scams outright is to type in the affiliates names into a search engine and see which keyword trends show up with their names. For example, if  I type in Wal-Mart the words associated with their departments show up along with the layoffs (which normally it wouldn't but I did a search on the layoff news) would appear. Another thing  is that a company that is looking to scam people focuses on getting "big gains" in a short time. And when its online it is usually under some euphemism like HYIP. What is all the HYPE about HYIP? This stands for High Yeild Investment Program. Sounds familiar? Remember Madoff and the boys on Wall Street? They took many a high profile client to the cleaners using a HYIP similar to this. No stock out there has ever had a continual upward arc on their graphs in profitability. Note: if there is a person that is boasting about earning 1,000-2,000 a day using only one affiliate, either they had some pheomenal luck or they are scammers. This is reeks of a scam if you know the laws of marketing and how to measure the success of online marketing.

Here are a few simple steps to find out if Aim Trust is "legit".

 1. ) Go to www.whois.com and put their official website in their search engine and it is a "proxy".

 2.)  There is this insistent need to include Aim Trust in every other sentence. No true investor would  be earning money from using  just one source of income. That is just dangerous. Depending on just one source of income is like depending on a job. For example: I work, sell used stuff at home, invest in stocks and I have gone through a real estate deal years back with gives me a small amount of income for a "finder's fee". I am about to invest in more stocks this year along with opening up a Roth IRA in a few months. No true investor, and I mean no true investor has all of his money coming from one source which it advocates on the site. This is risky and you should not invest in that way. At the same time you should not diversify too much and buy 30-40 different stocks. Most successful stock analysts usually recommend only a few stocks which have nothing to do with mutual funds although there are some who do like them. I am not one of them, but I will say that they are more legit than anything Aim Trust will try to sell you.


3.) Since the website is so good at SEO optimizing their branding Aim Trust. I  thought I would "help" them out by doing some of my own. Aim Trust is a scam. Aim Trust has random people trying to spam my blog. Aim Trust and all the lackeys under it are probably scammers too. If you invest with Aim Trust you will get taken to the cleaners. If you want a High Yeild program besides Aim Trust, it will take some serious research. Aim Trust can only offer you promises which they cannot keep. I have yet to meet an investor near the level of George Soros, Warren Buffett, and Andrew Yanyi give high praise about Aim Trust. Aim Trust is a power level scheme corporation who leaves their identity a secret. You cannot get accurate numbers on Aim Trust's  research. You can only get scammed by Aim Trust. Aim Trust only wants to see you become broke. Aim Trust is like a magical unicorn out in the forest which people chase after. So elusive yet it must be real...not!

I think I am driving home the point about Aim Trust so I will conclude here. If you have stories about being scammed by companies similar to this, I would  love to hear from you. Real comments are appreciated.