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Professor Richard Wolff Says Capitalism Is To Blame … for Everything

August 21, 2010 By 1 Comment
Richard Wolff on Capitalism

Amherst professor Richard Wolff, is arguing that capitalism is a failure because events like the housing crisis keep occurring with some regularity.  Evil banks are "forcing debt" on more Americans who are downing under their bills.  He proposes that we should create low cost "community owned" housing for everyone. Yes, Richard, because American Express and Discover showed up at your house, put a gun to your head and made you pick up a pen, place the tip of the pen on the cardholder … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

How to Avoid Financial Stress

August 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
How to Avoid Financial Stress

I was reading through the comments on an article about investing over at Yahoo Finance and a lot of people were whining about the fact that it is impossible to save money.  Only those who inherit their money can be rich (which you all already know is false based on the evidence). A gentleman named Frank replied to the commentators: It is absolutely, positively true.  Pay cash.  Eliminate all debt.  No mortgage.  Save as much as you can.  For a vast majority of people, that is the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Debt Management, Saving Money Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Does Geographic Location Influence Success?

August 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I was speaking to a relative of mine when this person (who shall remain nameless) expressed horror that after living near New York for so long, I would buy a house near my parents in the Midwest.  "I thought you were going places!" they basically decried in exasperation. It was then that I realized how truly stupid most people are when it comes to making money.  They have no idea how capital allocation works.  I started to get irritated and then I realized: If they knew how wrong they … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Making Money Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Here Is One of My Secrets to Making Money (Or, How I Once Bribed Women to Code for Me with Diamonds, Rubies, and Chanel)

July 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Diamond and Ruby Bracelet with Bottle of Coco Chanel Mademoiselle Perfume

The Secret: Strike Deals Where Everyone Has Limited Downside and Harness the Super Power of Incentive Some of you have been writing to me privately and asking about the early days when we started out and were trying to build our companies.  I thought it would be useful to share some of the things we did during that time that worked out well ... and maybe I'll even talk about those things that didn't work out so favorably.  I hope you find it useful in your own endeavors. When Aaron and I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Making Money, Psychology Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The 5 Levels of Building Wealth

March 2, 2010 By 5 Comments
Scrooge McDuck Carl Barks Money Bin

Early in life, I developed a theory that there were five levels of building wealth that most self-made men (and women) go through to reach financial independence.  It was started by my love for Carl Barks Scrooge McDuck comics.  When I started reading the Federal Reserve reports of consumer wealth, empirical studies, and other sources of data, and discovered that 90% of those in the United States who are millionaires made the money on their own - that is, they did not inherit it - I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Making Money Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What The Rich Really Collect

February 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Rich Collect Dividends Rents and Royalties

… [Read more...]

Filed Under: Making Money Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Douwe Egberts Coffee Machine at Headquarters

August 19, 2009 By 12 Comments
The Douwe Egberts Cafitesse C60 coffee system machine allows us to brew coffee, cappuccino, espresso, and other beverages in a matter of seconds. It was something I had wanted for years and when the original company became successful, it was brought in immediately.

One of the first things I did when my original company became successful was to order a Douwe Egberts coffee machine for the breakroom.  For the uninitiated, Douwe Egberts coffee is the best in the world.  There are no exceptions.  In fact, I was visiting someone in a town called Branson, Missouri several years ago and there was a restaurant that had the perfect cup of coffee.  The waitress took time to go in the back, write down the name of the machine, open it and find the precise blend of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gourmet Food Tagged With: , , , , , , ,