February 8, 2012

Escaping the Credit Card Debt Prison

Paying Off Credit Card Debt to Escape Financial Prison

When you find yourself in credit card debt it can feel like a financial prison.  Suddenly, you can't go out to eat, pick up a new shirt, or even go to a movie without worrying about the fact that you are increasing your debt or using cash that could have gone to paying down your credit card balances. Before you can figure out how to get out of credit card debt, you have to understand the reason you are in your current position.  As most financial articles and planners can tell you, there … [Read more...]

New Wardrobe Additions for the Wedding

Kelsey and Tyler's Wedding Gift

Aaron and I went shopping today for my sister and soon-to-be-brother-in-law's wedding gifts.  We also decided we wanted to wear something new that wasn't parked in our respective closets so we headed to Nordstrom and a few other stores. I ended up going with a modern cut lavender white stripe dress shirt with mother-of-pearl buttons and a silk bow tie in the same color family, which I will wear with a charcoal gray suit with white and faint blue pinstripes.  I took a picture so I could send … [Read more...]

I Finally Understand Buffett’s Comment …

Joshua Kennon reading and investing

When I was a kid, I recall watching a recording of a speech Warren Buffett gave to a college group and he said it would be incredibly boring to watch him work if you had the opportunity to observe Berkshire Hathaway for a day.  When I began building my company, Aaron and I wanted a system put in place so that we could do nothing but read, study, invest, and play video games as we earned ever-increasing sums of cash from our holdings.  That was the mandate. A few minutes ago, I was having an … [Read more...]

An Evening in the J.C. Penney’s Men’s Department

Stafford Dress Shirts from J.C. Penny's

As promised in Department Store Sales Make Me Really Happy, Aaron and I headed out to J.C. Penney to follow up on the stuff I had mentioned and, sure enough, the sales were spectacular.  It's clearly a different feel from the regular Nordstrom, Charles Tyrwhitt, and Thomas Pink shopping experiences from my New York days, but the amazing thing is I was able to get 1 pair of blue jeans, 2 t-shirts, 3 polo shirts, 5 dress shirts, and 5 ties.  Before the sale, the total would have cost $540.74.  … [Read more...]

Department Store Sales Make Me Really Happy

JC Penny Ties and Dress Shirts

Although I'm normally a Nordstrom's guy myself, I have to say that after reading an article a few years ago (The Wall Street Journal or The Financial Times maybe?) about the vastly improved quality of department stores suits such as the J.C. Penny brand thanks to the use of expert tailors in Hong Kong for a fraction of the price and trying out the difference for myself, I have been genuinely shocked at how good the improvement is.  I waited until a 50% off sale and bought a couple of suits for … [Read more...]