It's Just Money

Are you on MySpace?

I am.  I am also on Friendster, LinkedIn, and the one from my college.  I was never part of Xanga, Tribe or Bebo.  I was on one called sixdegrees a while ago.  But I don't think they're around anymore.

Somehow in the maze of social networking websites, myspace has become the clear leader.  The cool one.  I have a personal page with my real name, pictures of my friends, and their silly comments.  I'm not on it very much, unlike some of my younger co-workers, who seem to live on the site.  There's an entire subculture of language, links, music, and connections that I don't think I will ever understand.  I feel like my Dad does about the entire Internet.

Before I forget here's my myspace page.  There's nothing on it, but why should there be.  It's my "LA Money Guy" page.  Anything I have to say, I say here.

If you have a myspace page, do you know how easy it is for someone to find you?  They can search by name or email address.  If they know where you went to school, they can search your graduating class for either high school or college.  I found some old classmates on myspace.  It's wild stuff.

Sounds pretty cool right?  Well, that's the dangerous part.  Taking a random glance at myspace pages you will likely find high school or college students discussing their loves, whether that is members of the opposite sex or same sex, whether it is alcohol and drugs, or the latest rock band sensation.  They discuss American Idol, Desperate Housewives and their favorite team.  So what's so dangerous?

Well, first of all, you never know who is reading.  The first thought is some crazy stalker or molester.  Especially when you consider that you have high school kids naming the high school that they attend, the teacher they hate and the mall they hang out at.  Yikes, scary thought.  If you have teenage kids, I hope you are aware of this stuff.

The other concern is business related.  Employers now use myspace as a secondary background check to ask the questions that they cannot legally ask in an interview.  Are you married?  Do you have kids?  How old are you?  Are you gay?  No, they can't ask that.  But chances are you have answered it for them.

A friend of mine recently got ripped off by an eBay seller.  The guy promised some goods and intentionally did not deliver.  Took the money and ran.  Did this to over a dozen people simultaneously, and shut down his eBay account.  My friend finds the guy on myspace, knows where he works, lives, and his favorite song.  Doesn't do anything with it.  But think about what he could do.

Like I said earlier, Yikes.

I bought an Engagement Ring!

I bought an Engagement Ring!

Wow!  This is big on so many levels.  Since this is a money site, I'll talk about the money implications first.   Maybe I was inspired by Him and Her from Make Love, Not Debt .  Some advice to those also considering this step, this is a big purchase, just accept it and get over that part.  Now that being said, there’s one major exception.  If you have any sort of family heirloom, like a grandmother’s ring, you can cut down or virtually eliminate this expense.  While that is seriously attractive, the most important thing here is KNOW YOUR GIRLFRIEND (or soon to be fiancée)!!!  Some girls will love the sentimental aspect to this.  Remember that 1.5 carat engagement rings were rare during WWII, so your grandma’s ring probably doesn’t have as big a rock as your lady’s best friend’s.  So, if she’s into the sentimental stuff, and you have the family ring to give, go for it.  Otherwise, get your butt shopping!

Welcome Friends

If this is your first time to my blog, I would like to welcome you and thank you for stopping by.  Let me give you an idea of what to expect here, and get you started in the right direction.

About me:  I am in my early thirties, recently engaged and work in the financial planning/money management industry.  Nothing on this site, however, is advice in any way, shape or form.  Read more about me and my disclaimer.  I don't consider myself to be highly frugal, but love saving money.  I am probably more interested in the economics, psychology, and other weird "what makes us tick" sort of things than I am in tax brackets, expense ratios, and whole life.  I try to give a little of both.

Where to start.  These are the posts for which I have received the most attention:

What if we weren't so private about our personal financial lives?
Psychology Behind Income Tax Refunds
I Bought an Engagement Ring!
Why is it so dang hard to sell stocks?
Why do you blog?

I can get serious too.  Here are some posts that breakdown a financial topic or product:

ABCs of Mutual Fund Loads
Keep The Change
Do You Have Whole Life?
How to Become a CFP

And, lastly, I am a proud owner of Tivo.  Perhaps I use it too much, as I have quite a few posts that delve into the world of the catho ray tube:

Bad Decisions on Deal or No Deal
Oprah's Debt Diet IV
"We pulled up to Craig and Cindi's mansion, and compared to ours... I felt so inadequate."

Every Sunday I do a feature called "Random Blog Sundays" where I feature a Personal Finance Blog chosen at random.  Every Thursday I do a top 10 list that I somehow tie in with the topic of money.  And near the beginning of every month I update my net worth.  Also, check out the categories on the right side for anything that strikes your fancy.

I appreciate any comments on any of the posts, good or bad.  You can email me at lamoneyguy (at) gmail.com.