Author Archive
Investing at the speed of light
Okay, so we all know about Einstein’s theory of relativity, right? One of the results of relativity is that time slows down as speed approaches the speed of light. But how can we use this to improve our returns when investing?
I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I think I have [...]
H1Enron
Apparently there is a new flu strain to watch out for. The CDC announced several cases of H1Enron have been confirmed in Houston.
Symptoms include:
• Fever
• Off balance sheet liabilities
• Runny nose
• Special Purpose Vehicles
• Sore throat
• Over-leveraged capital structure
• Headache
• 401(k) declines
• Fatigue
• Poor corporate governance
Those who are at risk for infection should wash their hands frequently and consult with their local auditor.
Okay, so [...]
Grocery Store Gift Cards
A few weeks ago I mentioned a local grocery store that lets you save money on your gas budget by buying your groceries there.
This store has just upped the ante a little bit. The gas program is still going on, but they have also added a gift card program. Here’s how it works:
If [...]
What is a “risk-free” investment, anyway?
Have you ever heard someone say that an investment was “risk-free?” What does this mean?
The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) considers a Treasury bill to be risk-free. A T-bill is a short term investment in the U. S. Government, and since the government has never reneged on its debt, this investment is supposed [...]
The logic of gift card rebates
In my last post on credit cards, I discussed using them for the rewards and rebates.
This brings up an interesting question, which I have often wondered about. Why do rewards cards offer you a choice between, say, a $25 check and a $25 gift card to various stores?
Isn’t a $25 check always more useful [...]
What is the next date in this series?
A few weeks ago, on March 3, everyone was excited about the date being a math problem. 3/3/2009 is the same as 3/3/09 if you ignore the first two digits of the year, and 3*3=9. Pretty cool, huh?
But here is a more interesting series:
October 3, 1000
February 10, 1024
April 5, 1024
June 4, 1296
November 3, [...]
Are credit card rebates worth it?
We use our credit card for everything. We have a rewards card that pays us 1% cash back for all purchases, so we pay everything we can with our card just to get the rewards.
However, this brings up some important issues that I would like to explore.
First, is earning rewards worth carrying [...]
Saving on gas by buying groceries?
One of our local grocery stores has started a new affiliate program with Sunoco. For every $10 you spend on groceries, you get $.01 per gallon off on your next gas purchase. In addition, they have specials every week that generate larger savings. For example, a gallon of milk saves you $.15 [...]
Is Manhattan worth more than $24 in beads?
Yesterday I promised you an amazing example of the power of compound interest. Today, in my first post on investing, I will fulfill that promise. It is important to note that I did not create this example; I believe I first read about in one of John Paulos’ books, but it might have [...]
How much is interest on a trillion dollars, anyway?
Yesterday I did some number freaking on the subject of one trillion dollars.
Today I want to expand that a little further, to show how truly massive that number is.
One of the things we discussed yesterday was that you could have spent $1 million every single day since Jesus was born, and still not have spent [...]