In my mind, Ben Stein will always best be remembered as the teacher from the classic 80’s movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”.

But beyond his acting career, Ben Stein is a lawyer, economist and former presidential speech writer. He’s a smart guy and a good writer. I don’t always agree with his conclusions, but I think he nails it in his latest piece.

In his latest writing — an article in the New York Times — he asks, “Where Are the Grown-Ups When You Need Them?”

This is a great article which tells it like it is. Click here to read it.

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1. Bring your ads to the store. Many stores offer “lowest price” guarantees, but you need to bring proof to get your product for a lower price.

2. Ask for a gift receipt. If you’re buying somebody a present, this is a big deal. No gift receipt means people might get stuck with a gift they don’t want/need.

3. Early bird discounts. If you’re going to save “big” money, the only way you’re going to do it is to show up early. Usually stores have the huge deals 5am-11am or so.

4. Don’t feel obligated to buy something. If you get to the store too late and all the items you wanted are sold out, don’t feel the need to still buy something at a regular price. That’s the big “scam” of Black Friday. Stores have a handful of items at low prices, then want you to buy everything else at the regular price once they’ve got you in there.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

If you could save a lot of money on gas by trying something new would the hassle of learning a new system be worth the cost savings to you?  I imagine several years ago most people would have answered no but with the high price of fuel everyone is looking for tips on how to save money on gas.

Save Money with Public Transportation
I spent many years riding the bus as part of my daily commute during which time I saved thousands of dollars not just on gas but also on parking and wear and tear on my car.  Having lived in Europe for several years, where everyone rides the bus or the train, I was very comfortable taking public transportation.

In major urban areas in the US people are using to hopping on a bus but throughout suburbia many people are clueless about the ins and outs of public transport.  They’ve never had to use it and can be a bit intimidated by learning the system.  Sure it sounds simple, just catch the bus, but it’s a whole new experience and people tend to shy away from things they’re no familiar with.

I’m always amazed at how many questions people have about riding the bus.  I’ll try and address some of those here and give some tips for the best experience riding the bus.

Learn How to Read a Bus Schedule
Here’s an example of a bus schedule from Oklahoma City.  Let’s say you lived there and wanted to commute from your home at 22^nd. & Vine into work at 10th & Walnut every day. 

First off you’d notice that the schedule doesn’t list 10th & Walnut as a stop, not too worry.  Most schedules don’t list every stop, there simply wouldn’t be enough room, so they only publish the major stops.  The bus may go right by 10th & Walnut and even if it doesn’t, it will probably get you to within a few blocks of there.

Many bus schedules, such as this one, will include a map of the route on the back or at the bottom so can get a feel for where the bus travels.  If you don’t understand the map you can just call the local metro office and they’ll help you out. 

So in this example, lets say you need to be at work by 8 AM.  You could catch the bus at NE 20th & Vine at 7:32 and get off at NE 8^th & Lincoln at 7:52.  Notice you’d want the Inbound schedule, the Outbound schedule will list the times you can catch the bus in the evening on the way home. 

Also note that you want to look at the Weekday section of the schedule.  Most weekend routes are different, which can mean different pickup times and fewer trips.

Take a Trial Run
The best way to get comfortable with a bus route is to ride it on a day when you’re not in a hurry and there is no schedule breathing down your neck.  Most of us make a few mistakes the first time we try something, making a mistake is a big deal if you’re in a hurry but if you have time to spare a mistake isn’t such a big deal so take a trial run of the bus.

Get to the bus stop 10 minutes early the first time to get a feel whether the bus runs early, on time, or late.  Drivers try and meet the schedule but my experience has been that buses can come up to 5 minutes before or 5 minutes after the listed time due to traffic and other variables.  You can also ask the people waiting for the bus whether it runs early, late, or right on time.

Get on the Right Bus
Most buses will have the route number and the final destination displayed in the window.  Make sure you check it before you get on, don’t assume because a bus is stopping for you that it’s the one you want.  Different routes can share the same stops, just check with the driver the first time you get on.  Tell them where you’re headed and ask if it’s the right bus.

It might sound silly but don’t be afraid to ask.  I’ve seen people who are obviously riding the bus for the first time, too intimidated by the new environment to ask questions.  They end up getting on the wrong bus and going to the wrong place simply because they didn’t take 30 seconds to ask before getting on.

Paying Your Bus Fare
If you’re going to commute regularly I’d recommend buying a buss pass.  You almost always save money with a pass as opposed to paying for each trip individually.  You might also be able to get cheaper fares through your job.  It’s also easier, you just get on and swipe your buss pass rather than having to fumble around with putting in money every time.  If you are going to pay with cash be aware many buses have automated ticket booths that only accept exact change.

Getting Off the Bus
Obviously you’ll want to take a schedule along with you the first time you ride the bus.  As you get closer to your destination start to pay attention to where you’re stopping and how close you are to where you want to get off.  One way to do it is tell another rider where you want to get off and ask them to let you know when its coming up.  The bus will either have a button to push or a cord to pull to let the driver know you want to get off at the next stop. Make sure you signal before you get to your stop or the driver might just drive on by.

If you have to switch busses as part of your commute, make sure to ask the bus driver for a transfer.  Most metro systems allow you to travel across multiple bus routes for one fare if they’re all part of one trip.  If you forget to ask for a transfer the driver of the next bus you get on will ask you to pay again.  If the whole reason you’re riding the bus is to save money you don’t want to have to pay twice for the ride.

Combining Driving and Riding
Of course riding the bus won’t eliminate the need for spending money on gas.  Some days you’ll have to drive in because you need to get there early, leave late, or maybe run errands after work.  Depending on where you live you may also have to drive partway into town to a park and ride, parking your car in a lot designed for commuters then catching the bus from there.

Even though you won’t eliminate your gas bill completely, riding public transportation can drastically cut the amount you spend on gas.  Combine that with strategies such as getting cashback with one of the best gas credit cards and gas rebates from grocery stores and the prices at the pump won’t take quite the same bite out of your paycheck.

Funny stuff by the folks over at Salon.com:

Well, funny if it weren't so true!

I’m really excited for my wife.  She showed some of her quilt patterns to the owner of a local quilt store, and the owner has decided to give a trial run to ten of her patterns!  She loves designing quilts so this is a big deal.  She’s also gearing up for a craft show.  A few of her patterns are here, and she blogs about quilting as well.

Here are some posts I pieced together from the great blogs in my reader:

• Mrs. Micah talks about anchoring as it applies to credit card minimum payments.
• Get Rich Slowly shares almost three dozen make-it-yourself gift ideas from his readers and other sources.
• Paid Twice gives five concrete tips for paying yourself first.
• Money Ning combines financial and physical well-being with this post.
• Green Panda Treehouse saved money with her own cable-phone-internet bundle.
• Smart Spending lists a number of Black Friday deal sites.
• Wisdom Journal offers some sound advice for weathering the dark economic cloud.
• Think Your Way to Wealth considers whether $2 gas is good or bad.
• Five Cent Nickel reports on the 2009 tax brackets.
• Don’t Mess with Taxes celebrates three years of tax blogging.
• All Financial Matters picked up on the guaranteed retirement account movement.  (Also known as Social Security 2.0.)
• Free Money Finance has a guest post on giving generously during hard times.
• The Simple Dollar posts on investing in skills for the slippery slope down.
• Chief Family Officer is very thankful for her family’s emergency fund.

Mighty Bargain Hunter’s Carnival participation:

• The Digerati Life included my income streams post in last week’s Carnival of Personal Finance.
• Money Ning included my forget the lolcats post in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance.
• Simply Forties chose my basics of debt reduction post as an Editor’s Pick for this week’s Carnival of Debt Reduction.  Thank you!

Have a great week!

The gaffe of the week goes to John McCain, when in an interview with Politico.com he was unable to remember how many houses he has.

Folks of all political stripes who read this blog will probably be willing to give Senator McCain a little slack on this one. We’re real estate investors and we buy and sell properties. We might not have married a $100 million heiress like Senator McCain (or made $4 million off a lucrative book deal like Senator Obama, for that matter) but we can understand how LLC’s and partnership purchases might turn a seemingly simple question into one that can be a little more tricky.

So my concern is not that Senator McCain was unable to rattle off the right answer. My concern was his startled, confused reaction. His rambling, mumbling response: "I think -- I'll have my staff get to you -- um -- its condominiums where -- I'll have them get to you.” In today’s complex world the ability to think on your feet and stay on message is an important prerequisite to being the President of the United States of America. The fact that Senator McCain was so visibly unhinged by this question will worry some voters.

I don’t’ think that the average American begrudges Senator McCain family their $100 million fortune; Americans don’t resent wealth – we aspire to it. But folks who are struggling to make ends meet want to feel that the President understands their challenges, and those who have invested in the ownership society want a leader who will get the economy back on the rails. When Senator McCain facetiously quipped last week that $5 million per year is the cutoff for being wealthy, a lot of folks felt left out of the joke.

I feel that we facing an immediate future of complex economic challenges – one in which prudent real estate investors will be comparatively well positioned. But in the end the returns that we realize will be linked closely to the fortunes of our fragile economy, which in turn will be heavily impacted by gas prices and – ultimately - oil.

Oil is an international fungible commodity, and therefore oil prices – the single more important driver in our economy – will be largely outside of our control. The biggest factor in what will happen with oil prices lies in direction of international stability, or lack thereof. Neither party talks much about this particular elephant in the room – the reason being that both parties realize, rightly, that there isn’t much that we can do about it. Our recent adventure to send our Armed Forces to the Middle East to spread freedom and democracy isn’t entirely to blame, but it has been an exacerbating factor that has undoubtably made things worse and weakened our influence, both politically and militarily.

In the future there will be a link between what we do overseas and our economic fate here at home – and it’s a new relationship that will be strikingly different from what we’ve seen in the past. As retired Army Colonel and Niebuhr scholar Andrew Bacevich writes in his excellent book The Limits of Power, our economy can no longer be sustained by expansion abroad enforced by our military. As a former military officer myself this is a new way of thinking. I now tend to put less of a premium on “experience” as traditionally defined; I want a leader who can see the new patterns as the world continuously rewrites the rules.

So while I can forgive Senator McCain the fact that he doesn’t know how many houses he has, I am more concerned about the prospect that having spent decades as a fabulously wealthy United States Senator has dulled his ability to identify the shifting currents of the new world economy.

There is so much bad news floating around, so much to be worried or angry or upset about in the world. However there is a lot to be grateful for as well, so I thought I would take a moment and count a few blessings. This may be a bit late, considering Thanksgiving was a week ago, but I suppose it is never a bad time to be grateful.

A few quotes on the subject I have read recently:

“Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.” - Unknown (to me)

“To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us-and He has given us everything.”-Thomas Merton

Now you may not be religious, but that last quote really struck me when I read it. It reminds me to take the bad with the good, and to appreciate it. It might seem wrong or even stupid to try to appreciate what seems unfair, bad, or even evil, but it is possible - and important. We can learn and grow and change for the better as a result of every experience - be it sickness, recession, job loss, or even death.

I once overheard my mother say that having cancer was a huge blessing. I recoiled, but she explained that it brought our family closer together and made her realize her inner strength. Remembering that comment has always kept me in check when I find myself whining or self-pitying.

Things for which I am grateful:

• Having a job and a regular paycheck; not everyone does right now.
• Not having to worry about where I’ll get my next meal or bath.
• Having the means and time to give to others who need support.
• A large family which supports and uplifts me.
• The freedom and ability to learn and pursue whatever I choose.

Many in our country are struggling, some for the first time, as our economy sags and companies lay people off and wages stagnate. Of course we are all still much better off than many in the world, but is still natural and easy to worry, to complain, to be angry and even scared.

But struggles can bring us together, and they can encourage us remember what’s really important - what matters a lot more than the 401k balance or the big bonus check. I hope as this volatile year comes to an end that we can all find some things to be truly grateful for.

More from Meg at The World of Wealth

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Those who run real estate investment clubs have a big challenge in lining up speakers for each meeting.  Clubs do not usually have the kind of budget that would allow them to pay for speakers, therefore they need to do their best to locate those that will speak for free.  This invariably results in the talk being given by someone who has a specific agenda or something to sell.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, you just need to keep the speakers ultimate motivation in mind when you listen to the spiel.

Some of these speakers are quite good and their knowledge is obvious.  On the other hand, some of the speakers leave you scratching your head and wondering if they have ever owned an investment property.  Investing veterans have little difficulty in separating the fakes from those who are the real deal.  Novice investors may mistakenly assume that if someone is speaking to a group he must know something.  Hopefully they will learn before they are burned by one of these phonies. 

 My primary purpose for attending monthly club meetings is for the networking and resulting connections ( see: Getting the Most From Your Real Estate Club ), however I do enjoy hearing from good presenters. My local real estate club had two very well qualified speakers at a couple of recent meetings.  While both were very obviously qualified to speak about real estate investing, their styles and agendas were a world apart.  

 Guru #1

At our May 2008 club meeting we had a speaker who specialized in foreclosures.  Certainly a timely topic and on that I was looking to learn more about.  I had seen this speaker once before and knew that he was a good presenter and very knowledgeable.  After introducing himself and providing his background, he openly stated his agenda.  He was not there to sell books, tapes or home-study courses, in fact he didn’t have any of that.  The business model for his company was to purchase bank REO (foreclosures) properties in bulk.  He then sold these properties as-is or after light rehab to investors at wholesale prices.  To do that he needed two things, properties to buy from banks and investors to sell them to.

What he was pitching was a two day seminar on how to locate, buy and finance the acquisition of these properties.  He was charging $1800 for the seminar with the guarantee that he would refund your money after the first day if you didn’t feel it was worth it.  He then proceeded to spend the next hour sharing some of his knowledge of the subject.  He was truly impressive and it was a great example of what you would get in his workshop.  He had over twenty people sign up and most of them were veteran investors who are not easily impressed.

 Guru #2

At our most recent club meeting we had another speaker with impressive credentials.  He is currently featured on one the house flipping shows and has a real estate company on the east coast.  The club heavily promoted the meeting because they do not usually have a name speaker and the resulting attendance was much larger than normal.  Many of the regular meeting segments were cut short to allow this speaker to have as much time as possible.

This speaker had an array of tapes and course material displayed, so his agenda was obvious to anyone who was paying attention.  He began his talk with his background in real estate and talked about all of the mistakes he made when he began.  He kept telling us that he was going to teach us how to do this, that, and the other thing during his talk.  I kept waiting for him to actually “teach” something but all he really did was talk about what he was going to tell us.

As the talk progressed it was laced with sales pitches for a computer program, home-study courses and his five-day boot camp.  Some of the pitches were very subtle while others were blatant commercials.  After 90 minutes he closed with a final pitch for his boot camp.  The regular price was $5,000, but is you signed up now it was only $2,497.  But wait, there’s more! He would include a $500 credit for your travel expenses and the first few people to sign up would receive the $2,000 computer program for $1!

A handful of people did sign up.  From what I saw they were newcomers to the club or novice investors.  None of the veterans were impressed enough to part with their cash. 

The Bottom Line

Both of the gurus were qualified to speak about real estate.  However their value was very different.  One was geared to marketing courses and boot camps to novice investors.  Those who sign up would most likely gain valuable knowledge, but would it really be worth the price?  The second guru was targeting experienced investors with a desire to participate in the foreclosure market.  I spoke to several of the attendees who agreed that there was definite value, but it was not for everyone.

If you are ever inclined to sign up for some gurus course, do so with your eyes wide open.  Is the course geared to someone with your level of experience?  What do you hope to gain from the seminar or boot camp?  Will you be able to implement what you learn or are you just falling for a sales pitch from a smooth-talking speaker? Buyer beware.

The great difficulty in education is to get experience out of ideas.
George Santayana

This Post is from the BiggerPockets Real Estate Blog. Copyright © 2008 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

A Tale of Two Real Estate Gurus

I read somewhere over the weekend a letter to the editor of some newspaper (I can’t for the life of me remember where I read the comment) by a guy who was lamenting the fact that investors get screwed no matter who is president. His letter mentioned that some stocks do well when a Republican is in office and other stocks do well when a Democrat is in office—he just didn’t know which ones.

I have a suggestion:

Buy the index and don’t worry about it.

Yes, we can make more money IF we know which stocks are going to outperform the market. The problem is either WE DON’T KNOW or it’s hard to know. Therefore, buying the index is the prudent way to go because you don’t have to worry about picking stocks (unless that’s something you love doing).

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I’m thankful to be able to write this blog and that I have you as readers.  (And of course I’m thankful for many other things.)

The four articles that Gary North published today on his website are free for anyone to read today.  You’ll find them in the Recent Articles section.  These four articles are centered around the topic of Thanksgiving.  These articles are good advice for anyone.  I don’t know how long they’ll be free, so even if you don’t read them today, just go over and print them out.  Gary North is a big influence on how I think about the economy, investment, and a host of other things.  So, there you go.

Have a great day filled with thankfulness.

After a little over a year of constant downturns in the economy and stock markets, some discussion is coming to light in terms of people reconsidering what retirement means, and how they are going to get there. I know I’ve seen this in my practice, as I’m encountering many more people who are approaching retirement in 10 years or less and they are seriously thinking about extending how long they work, or even changing their retirement plans.

It’s understandable that if you’re just a few years from retirement and you had a large stake in the stock market, the losses experienced this year are enough to rattle even investors who are typically risk adverse. But, what about the younger generation that typically reads this site? The bulk of readers here are in the 25-45 year old range, which puts a typical retirement at anywhere from 20-40 years away. With a longer time horizon, I wonder if the recent economic climate has forced younger people to begin thinking more critically about their retirement expectations.

Is retirement still too far off to really worry about at this point? Are you reconsidering how your investments for retirement are structured after what’s happened? Do you plan on working longer, or change your retirement goals?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Poll: Have Recent Economic Conditions Changed Your Expectations for Retirement?

I bet this whole financial mess has made everyone of you open your eyes and question your wants, question your income, question your money management (or the lack of it), question your expenses, question your investment strategies, question your job security, question your $10-per-workday lunches, question your credit card statements, question your insurance coverages ….. sort of made you question your attitude towards money.

For those of you who still have your jobs, I bet you feel fortunate (and generally crib less about being less paid, etc.) - and I bet you are putting in extra efforts to make sure that someone higher up notices your hard work before you get into the to-be-laid-off list.

It has made people question their governments, and governments question their respective policies.

On my part, I have convinced at least half a dozen young people (close friends and relatives) to open their minds about saving more and/or investing in the stock market (on the argument that it’s a good time to buy stocks, develop good money saving habits, etc.). It’s a happy feeling (almost a proud feeling) when these guys and gals discuss interest rates, stocks, ETFs, and portfolio diversification over lunches and other casual meetings.

Of course there is much suffering and stress, but hopefully most of us will come out of it with several lessons for life. Hopefully, adversity will bring out the best of our efficiency and adaptability.

As it is, we have to read/hear bad news everyday … just thought I should throw in a pinch of positive out there.

If you’re covered by a health plan, you’ve probably encountered the words deductible, co-pay, and co-insurance a number of times when examining your bills, paying your doctor for a visit, or simply looking at the benefits package from your employer. These terms can be a bit confusing, and with all of the limits, maximums, and different coverage options, it is important to understand what they mean so you can obtain the best coverage for the right price.

When looking at your health insurance options, it’s important to go beyond the premium. The premium is the amount you pay each paycheck or month just to have the coverage. Obviously, you want the lowest premium you can get for the coverage you want, but you really need to look beyond that. Saving $20 a month on your insurance premium may end up costing you hundreds of dollars in co-pays or out-of-pocket expenses. So, let’s take a look at how you can make sense of all these terms.

Defining the Terms

Deductible

This is probably the most straightforward, and easiest ways to change the premium on your policy. The deductible is the amount that you need to pay for a claim before the insurance kicks in. If you have a $50 deductible and you are billed for $500 in services, you’d need to pay $50 out of pocket before the remainder is sent off to the insurance company.

Obviously, the higher the deductible you choose, the lower your premium will be since you’ll be covering more of the expenses out of pocket. So, you have to be careful. If you choose a high deductible in an effort to keep premium costs down, a period of poor health or unexpected medical treatments could add up quickly.

Don’t forget the maximums. Deductibles usually have an annual maximum, for both individuals and families. When comparing plans or options within your plan, determine how likely it would be that you’d reach those maximums, and if two plans have different maximums, think about which one provides the best cost-to-benefit ratio.

Co-pay and Co-insurance

The co-pay is probably another common term you’ve heard, and have probably paid a number of times without thinking much of it. Co-pay and co-insurance are basically the same thing, but cover different items. In either case, this is the amount of money you have to pay for a claim or service rendered. The difference is that a co-pay is typically a flat dollar amount for a specific item such as an office visit, exam, or prescription. Co-insurance is typically based on a percentage. This means that you’re responsible for a certain percentage of a claim, and the insurance provider is responsible for the rest.

Again, when comparing plans, the co-pay amount or co-insurance percentage can play a big role in how much your premium is. A plan with an 80/20 co-insurance (insurance company pays 80%, you pay 20%) will have a higher premium than a 50/50 plan, and so on.

Compare All the Numbers

So, when you’re exploring your health insurance options, it pays to look at more than the premium. While the premium directly affects your bottom line, saving a few dollars on the premium could cost you much more in the long run, and paying a higher premium for coverage you might not need may also cost an unnecessary bundle.

This is especially important if you have a certain condition that requires specific tests or drugs, or if you are planning on having a baby, as the amount of coverage provided for these items may require digging a little deeper than glancing at your premium. So, take the time to completely understand your health benefits, and you can be sure that you’re getting as much coverage as you need, and paying no more than you have to.

Comparing Deductible, Co-Pay, and Co-insurance When Looking at Your Health Insurance Benefit Options

I guess by now nobody cares if I am around … so this would be just to motivate myself to write a little more.

Looks like the site was down for a couple of months after some screwup with Wordpress/Hostmonster/Upgrade/That-Kind-of-Crap; so it took quite some efforts to get it back on track. Now, it looks all messed up so it will be a while before it looks pretty again.

Hoping to see some old friends again.

As I mentioned on Monday, May brought the highest numbers of visitors this site has seen so far.  I decided to take a look at what people were most interested in over the course of the month.

Tracking your stimulus check was the most popular article, there must be a lot of people waiting to get their rebate money.

Gas prices are obviously on everyone’s mind, the topics of riding the bus to save gas money, different ways to save gas money commuting to work, and the best gas credit cards were popular with readers as well.

The series on personal finance issues for college graduates has garnered alot of interest from former college students entering the working world for the first time this summer.

People are getting ready for their summer trips and have found the saving money on vacation series useful in making their preparations.  This one is only partially complete with several more articles on the topic coming up soon.

With high gas prices, people must be looking for more in home entertainment. Saving money on online movie rentals with a free trial of Blockbuster Total Access was another popular one for the month.

Here are some of the more popular articles from The Money Writers during the month of May:

• Investing in the Stock Market Over the Past 10 Years: How Did Dollar-Cost Averaging Fare?
• how to make money without a job and why you should
• Frugal Tips I Can’t (or Won’t) Do
• Save Money on Gas Tips from Consumer Reports
• The Future of Personal Finance Tools
• Is Investing In Rental Property A Good Move?
• Why your Retirement Account is NOT an Emergency Fund