It's Just Money

Just my opinion, but...

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"Whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed." -Elle Woods

The writers at Financial Sense Online have come up with a list of the "new" expressions, as in "40 is the new 30" and Elle Woods gem above.

• Cisco is the new Radio Corp.
• Buybacks are the new dividends.
• A P/E of 20 is the new 10.
• The iPod is the new Walkman, is the new 8-track is the new reel to reel.
• Middle class is the new poor.
• The corporate-owned press is the new independent press.
• Greenspan is the new John Law.
• Bernanke is the new Greenspan.
• Regarding dividends, 1.5% is the new 3%.
• Speculation is the new investment.
• Debt is the new savings (so is home equity)
• Wal-Mart is the new Woolworths.
• General Motors is the new Chrysler.
• Toyota is the new General Motors. (The Camry is the new Impala.)
• Economic statistics are the new lies.
• Financial engineering is the new research and development.
• ……………. is the new Enron.
• World domination is the new world peace.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

It's a classic interview question.  Not the most creative question ever, but you may still get it.  Do you have a response prepared?  Whether or not you are in the process of interviewing for a new job, it's a question you should be asking yourself on a regular basis.  The intent behind the question is very different from the interviewer's perspective than it should be from your own.

The interviewer is trying to understand a couple of things about you. 

100 Things about LAMoneyGuy

100 things about me...

1.  I was born and raised in the South Bay of Los Angeles County
2.  I am engaged to be married
3.  My Fiancee sometimes reads this blog
4.  I have seen every episode of Friends at least twice (some maybe twenty)
5.  My current favorite subject is the state of the housing market (bubble?)

LAMoneyGuy's Question of the

I totally feel left out.  I missed out on JLP's Question of the Day Marathon.  So, I'm just going to crash the party and ask my own question.  But like any good party crasher, I can't just blend in.  What fun would that be?  So, my question is not personal finance.  But totally random.

Here's the question...

If you could have any superpower what would it be and why?

Best Telemarketing Call Ever

My phone rings at work.  I pick up the reciever.

Me:  "This is LAMoneyguy"

Telemarketer:  "HI CAN I SPEAK TO [LAMoneyGuy's Dad's name]"
I'm serious.  The guy called my office phone and asked for my Dad.  By name.  What the F?

Me:  "How did you get this number?"

Telemarketer:  "I have no idea."
Is this guy serious?

Me:  "Okay then.  Bye."

I'm not usually rude to telemarketers.  Their job sucks, and they're annoying, but that doesn't mean that they are suddenly sub-human and should be stepped on.  But that was too silly.  Yea, I hung up on the guy.  But I said "bye" and he knew it was coming. 

How do you treat telemarketers?  Do you have any good stories?

Have you ever been mistaken for an employee?

Have you ever been out shopping, at the mall, a grocery store, maybe Target, and some Yahoo comes up to you and asks, "Excuse me.  Can you tell me where I can find Peanut Butter?"

This happened to me the other day.  I was out and about seeing clients, and decided to stop at a Ralph's grocery store (Kroger to you folks in the East) to grab a bite to eat.  I was wearing suit pants, a light blue long sleeve collared shirt with a red tie.

"Excuse me," I hear from right behind me.  I only turn enough to look over my shoulder at her, not sure if she was talking to me.  "Is there anyone working in the seafood department?"

"I'm sorry Ma'am," I replied, "let me go get someone for you."

Do you recycle?

The first money I ever earned was through recycling.  Our cans and bottles would go directly to a separate large trash can, and every few weeks I would rinse out the cans, and crush them down to size.  I was probably 7 or 8 years old, and crushing involved no small feat of stomping.  The cans would go back into plastic bags and in the back of my dad's truck.  He would drive me over to the recycling center, probably spending more in gas than the couple of bucks that I would earn.  But whatever amount the cans yielded would be all mine.

Today, in California, we have something called CRV, or California Redemption Value.  You pay a small amount on every single plastic or glass bottle and can that you buy at grocery stores, liquor stores or warehouse stores.  Most Californians do not even know how much they are paying in CRV, and just assume it is part of the cost of buying their beer, wine or coke.  Actually, it is not a cost at all, but a deposit.  The hope is that you will return the container to a recycling center and get your money back.

How aggressively does your alma mater solicit you for donations?

I gotta admit, this one caught my eye.  I typically get the corporate looking letters on 8 1/2 x 11 stationery with business letter layout.  They remind me how great the school is, and how much the contributions of alumni have helped the current students and the school ranking.  The implication is twofold.  First, the school is even better now than when you attended.  Second, as the school improves, so does the value of your diploma.  Maybe third, be glad you're not applying today.  You wouldn't get in!

The latest solicitation that I received was unique, well thought out, and I guess I'll send a few bucks.

Would you give up a year of your life to not be fat?

According to a recent study by Marlene B. Schwartz, Phd., of Yale, 46% of you would.  But what else would you do to avoid obesity?  Ten years?  A limb?

A year of your life?  Well, that's easy isn't it?  We can easily assume that the last year is not one of the more pleasant ones.  After all, what's the difference between 86 and 87?  How about the difference between 43 and 44?  Between seeing your kid graduate from high school or not?  Walking your daughter down the aisle or not?

There is no doubt that America a little bit of what we would call a body image problem.  Despite, or perhaps because of, a ballooning obesity problem, America has become obsessed with their waistlines.  The size of the weight loss industry in America was estimated to be $46.3 billion in 2004, and expected to grow to $61 billion by 2008.

So, what else would those surveyed to in order to avoid obesity?