Black Coffee: My Favorite Blogs, Money News & Opinions #17

It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe...

Blogs I’ve Been Following This Week

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance. Here’s what caught my attention over the past week…

I’ve been watching my Dodgers take on the Phillies for the National League pennant, so this week time has been a bit tight for me.  Luckily, the series is currently tied 1-1, after the Dodgers 2-1 victory on Friday.  Because of the time constraints this week, I’m going straight to the lightning round for my favorite blogger highlights!  Just the facts today, folks.  No quips, and no pithy commentary – okay, maybe a couple quick quips.   So somebody give me 60 seconds on the clock, and here we go…

The Digerati Life – If you happen to be looking for an on-line stock broker that focuses its support on the more advanced aspects of investing and trading, then check out this nice review of OptionsXpress.   SVB did a nice job – as usual!  And would somebody tell Logo Girl I picked up a little something for her today? – just don’t tell the Honeybee! 

Bret Frohlich – Like me, Bret participated in Blog Action Day 2009 on Thursday where the topic was “Climate Change.”   Thousands of bloggers all over the world put in their two cents on the topic.   Why isn’t renewable energy ruling the day right now?  I thought Bret did a great job answering that question with this his article on the economics of energy.

Budgets Are Sexy – Ever wonder how much your pet costs?  J shows us first-year and annual pet costs according to a list from Kiplinger and The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. See if those numbers jive with what you’re spending.

Fiscal Geek – Those of you who use personal finance software will be very interested in reading a very thorough review of Quicken 2010, which was released this past week.  Paul has done a bang-up analysis of Quicken 2010 that you don’t want to miss.

Spend On Life – Thinking of getting a loan soon?  This week Spend on Life featured an interview with a Wells Fargo lending specialist who offers some insight on things such as the 20/10 rule, and other factors lenders look at beyond your credit score when determining whether or not you qualify.

The Canadian Finance Blog – If you’re expecting a new arrival soon, hop on over and check out these ten money management tips for expectant parents.  Then see if you can say “rubber baby buggy bumpers” three times real fast…

Fiscal Fizzle -  For those of you that are thinking of buying a new car, Wojo maps out the financial life of a new car over four distinct stages, highlights the characteristics of each stage and instructs you on how to optimize the experience.   Great post!

Wisebread – Not getting a flu shot this year?  Then check out this article on 7 cheap and natural ways to fight colds and flu.  And stay far away from me while you’re at it!  

Credits and Debits

Credit: On Wednesday the Dow topped 10,000 for the first time since October 2008.   As MSNBC reported, the milestone caps a stunning 53 percent comeback for the Dow since early March, when stocks were at their lowest levels in more than a decade.  But before you put your party hats on, keep this in mind: the economy is still a mess, with unemployment hovering in double-digit territory.  Officially, the unemployment rate is near 10%, but if you count people that have stopped looking, it is estimated to be closer to 17%.  Even though unemployment is a lagging indicator, it is tough to believe business earnings can continue to improve to any appreciable degree when so many people are out of work.   That is why I believe the recent run-up is a classic bear trap that will catch a lot of investors who may have been late to the party.

Credit: What was that about unemployment, Len?  The Labor Department said first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped for the fifth time in six weeks.  Economists said the decline in jobless claims shows companies are cutting fewer workers, though the drop isn’t yet steep enough to signal new hiring.   I’m still not impressed.

Debit: Police say a woman being driven around in a rented limousine pulled up at an Ohio coat store and announced she’d won the lottery and would pay for everyone’s purchases, but she ended up causing a riot when customers realized it was a hoax. By the time employees realized the lady didn’t have any cash to pay, she already had taken off in the limo. According to police, that’s when angry customers, realizing they weren’t getting free coats, began throwing merchandise on the floor and grabbing clothes without paying for them.   “Everybody was like, ‘I still want my free stuff,’ and that started the riot,” said Detective Steven Nace. “It looks like (Hurricane) Katrina went through the store.”  Now you know why politicians rarely take back entitlements they give to the public – they want to avoid similar riots from their constituents.  Don’t think any of the latest costly entitlement programs being handed out and/or pushed by the current administration will be any different.

Credit: Good news from Sweden.  Households that may be fearing high heating bills this winter may want to latch on to a novel, but money saving, heating alternative recently adopted by government officials in the city of Stockholm: burning bunnies.  Yep.  The city shoots thousands of wild rabbits within the Swedish capital and sends their bodies to be burned as heating fuel.  It turns out that the rabbit cadavers contain a lot of fat, and fat has exactly the same energy content as normal heating oil.  In case you’re interested, keep in mind the best way to catch a rabbit is to hide in the bushes and make carrot noises. 

Debit: Low inflation during 2009 means that Social Security recipients won’t get a cost-of-living increase next year for the first time in more than a third of a century, and that could boost President Barack Obama’s plan to send seniors another round of $250 payments before the congressional elections.  The White House says the proposed stimulus payments will cost $13 billion.  Hey, what’s another $13 billion when well over $1 trillion in debt has been run up since President Obama took office in January?

Credit: Did you hear about the new Mazda CX-7 that runs on urine?  Actually, it uses a special man-made liquid similar to human urine to reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx).   As an added benefit, the new CX-7 also decreases drive-times over long distances by eliminating the need for car passengers to “hold it” until the proper rest room facilities are located.  Hey, why wait for a proper pit stop when you can go right into the tank? 

Credit: Was anybody else happy to see that Dave beat Kevin in the season finale of Hell’s Kitchen?

Other Useless News

I wanted to thank Mr. Credit Card for asking me to guest post on his blog at Ask Mr. Credit Card.  I had a lot of fun writing about my worst case of buyer’s remorse ever – it also includes five tips on how to avoid it.  Mr. CC will be returning the favor with a guest post at my site this coming Sunday, so be sure to check it out!

Traffic here continues to grow by leaps and bounds.  This week traffic spiked again when my article on why rechargeable batteries are rarely cost effective was picked up by Time Magazine.   Hooray!   I am honored and very humbled.  Thank you to everyone who has chosen to follow me on a regular basis. 

As always, if you happen to enjoy what you’re reading please feel free to follow me on Twitter – and don’t forget to subscribe to my RSS feed too! 

The Way-Back Machine: Past Posts You May Have Missed

From March 2009:

What It Really Feels Like to be a Millionaire – This post was inspired by a trip my family and I took to Arizona earlier this year to watch the Dodgers play a spring-training game.  It’s kind of interesting, with the Dodgers a step away from the World Series, to see my prediction regarding the team.  In any case, this post plays some fun numbers games to help explain what the average person would experience if their modest wages gave them the buying-power equivalent to that which Dodger superstar Manny Ramirez currently enjoys with his $25 million annual salary.

Carnival News

This week I had articles featured at the following carnivals:

- Carnival of Economic Fun at This Young Economist

- Yes, Al Gore, There Is Such A Thing as Global Warming at Blog Action Day 2009

- Dodgers Play Like A Bunch of Circus Clowns at Dodger Stadium

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