Category: Business

The documentary “MAXED OUT” – a must see!

~ K ~ Leave a comment

“A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one.”
Benjamin Franklin

If you haven’t seen the documentary “Maxed Out”, I highly recommend that you take the time to watch it.  It is about credit, credit card companies, and how American’s love their plastic credit cards.  It is also about how the credit card companies make their money, how universities and colleges around the United States are selling out their students, and how you and I are becoming deeper in debt.

As you know, I always suggest one should take everything with a grain of salt when watching documentaries and mockumentaries, but there is always a lesson to be learned in everything whether you agree with it or not.  You have to have an open mind to actually see what is front of you.  You have common sense, use it!

One could argue that when you have credit you should be responsible with it and spend only what you can afford.  Yet, isn’t it easy to pull out that credit card to pay for a tank of gas?  How about a stop at the grocery store for a gallon of milk, some bread, and something for dinner?  Is your schedule too busy?  Are you too tired to cook?  Let’s go out to dinner.  Hmmm, a little short in the checking account?  Just put it on your credit card.  Everything will be ok…go ahead charge it…pay it off next month.

Do you want to really take control of your spending?  Switch to a debit card (money taken straight out of your checking account) and/or cash basis.  Is your car low on fuel?  Make sure you have enough money in your checking account or cash in your wallet.  All of the sudden, you become vividly aware of how much it really costs to fill up your car.  Want to stop at a fast food restaurant (which is usually unhealthy anyway), make sure you have cash in hand (or your pocketbook).  When you spend actually cash, you quickly become aware of your expenses.

Do you remember the days when you couldn’t use your credit card at McDonald’s or buy groceries with it at Safeway?

Some expenses you can’t get around.  Your children need shoes, you need to buy food, you need that latest Wii game.  Wait.  Do you really need to purchase the latest Wii game?  Maybe you could borrow from a friend…rent it at Redbox?  Recently, my wife rented a Wii game at Redbox.  She was glad she did because she hated it.  A Redbox rental of $2.50 versus a purchase price of $39.99 appeals to me and my pocketbook.

Personal responsibility is important in your finances.  “Maxed Out” touches on it but it really points out the predatory behavior of the credit card companies with low income borrowers.  Let’s not kid ourselves.  Credit card companies do prey on the low income and middle class.  Credit cards are issued to people in which the credit card companies know are a high credit risk.  High Credit Risk = higher interest rate they can charge and higher the late fees they can charge.

I’m no way a financial guru.  However, I do know that credit card debt and consumer debt is growing rapidly in this depression era.  This is a known fact.  Unemployment has been estimated at 17%.  This figure includes the official unemployment rate, discouraged workers (the people that have given up looking for full time employment), and people that have taken part time jobs to make one full time job.

Now is the time to get yourself and your family back on track.  I leave you with a quote that helps to keep us all on track for improving ourselves and our lives.

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
Benjamin Franklin

Making money online continues

~ K ~ Leave a comment

Making Money Online

A few weeks ago, I wrote a half-witted blog about making money online and how I was an anti-social nut job.  Well, that isn’t totally true….what I really wrote about was how I was an introvert in an extrovert’s career.  You can click over and read my original post here: https://khellriegel.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/making-money-on-the-internet/

In a quick summary, I wanted to sit home in my pajamas, make money, and not have to talk to anyone face to face in a job environment.

I mentioned this to my friend Russ and he also wants to start making money online as well.  I’ve discovered that I’m now reading about new business opportunities online and “How to make money online”.  Some of these business opportunities are about how to have an auto-pilot business where the money just rolls in while you sleep or eat your Pop Tarts in the morning.  Others take a more serious approach and tell you about how you need to blog, and post, and blog, and post, etc.  When you write and blog you need to build readership and sell ad space.

 Building a readership is very important as well as building an email newsletter list.  It is also helpful if you are SEO savvy as well.

 One important key most people suggest you do is to write from your heart or write about what you know.  However, how many people want to know about me wasting hours of my time writing witty comments on Facebook?  Of course, I could write a blog about how to invest in real estate and see all your equity disappear in the great real estate meltdown.  Or I could write about how to fight depression through releasing your anger and frustration by blogging about it.  Or how to hide your true feelings through sarcasm?  (Now is Kevin joking or is he serious…..) J

 OK, the truth is I’ll keep researching about making money online and keep you updated on how things go.  In the mean time, I’ll continue to work on my photography and do a few real estate deals here and there.

 As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments!

Renton Honda, Extended Service Warranty Plans and why they both suck!

~ K ~ 16 Comments

Renton Honda sucks!

I would have to admit that this is one of my more passionate blogs because it deals with a very distasteful experience I had with Renton Honda (which sucks).  In fact, after reading about my experience I hope that you’ll become a wiser person from my mistake.  I would put this up as one of my Top Ten Stupid Car Mistakes.  So dear reader, please read, learn, and become a better consumer from the lesson I am about to share with you about Renton Honda (which sucks).

 Our car lease for our 2008 Honda Pilot VP was coming up at the end of February 2011.  My wife and I had discuss about keeping the car but decided against it.  We went out and purchased a used Toyota Highlander with cash and now have no payments.  Since our lease wasn’t due until February, we decided to ask Renton Honda (which sucks) if they’d be willing to take the Pilot back early.

 I met with the Used Sales Manager; he gave me the song and dance about the car being worth this much, etc, etc.  It really didn’t matter to me at this point because I was going to turn it in February anyway.  I was ready for them to jerk me around but if they didn’t and I could turn the Pilot in early, then that would be a good thing.  If I can save four months of lease payments, I’m happy!  If not, I’ll enjoy the car for a few more months.  We decide to take their offer, turn the car in early, and save the four months of lease payments and car insurance.

 Then my wife reminds me that we are going to get the extended warranty plan refunded back to us in full.  Or so we thought.  Yes, dear readers, this is where my Top Ten Stupid Car Mistakes comes in.  Back when we first leased this brand new 2008 Honda Pilot VP model from Renton Honda (which sucks), we were pressured into purchasing the extended service warranty for $1500.00.  What?  Are you crazy, Kevin?  You did what?  Is Kevin losing his ability to sniff out bullshit?  You must be asking yourself these questions, right?  Kevin the Eagle Scout, the University of Washington Business School graduate got sucked into an extended service warranty?  What has the world come to? 

Yes, I was the big sucker that day.  Actually, I did resist the pressure cooker sales tactics for a while.  The finance manager (aka The Closer) pressured us into this extend service warranty contract with the promise that if we never used it, we’d get it all back in full.  I clearly remember stating to him that Hondas are great cars, why would I need this?

 His answer, again, was that if we never used it, we’d get all of our money back at the end of our lease.  Then comes the scare tatics….but what if the transmission goes out or the brakes screw up…you are as the lessee have to cover that.  Hmmmm.  That’s not a bad deal then for the extended warranty now is it?  If I don’t use it, I get all of my $1500.00 back when I return the car after the three year lease is up.  Sure, I’m not earning interest on my $1500.00, however if something does go wrong, I’ll be covered.  It’s my wife’s car for work…I want her and her business clients to be safe…I’ll do it BECAUSE I’ll get all of my money back, right?  Yes, that is correct.  That is what I was told by the Renton Honda’s (which sucks) Finance Manager when I was signing the lease papers for a three year lease from Renton Honda (which sucks).  I was buying peace of mind and security for my family.

Flash forward to present day…we return the Pilot to Renton Honda (which sucks) and discuss with the new finance manager about getting our money back for the extended warranty.  Sure, we’ll get it back AFTER they pro-rate our plan.  Say what?  Excuse me?  You said pro-rate?  Why pro-rate?  Is it because we are turning in the car four months early?  Oh no.  The extended warranty plan is a five year plan and you need to keep the Honda Pilot for five years for you to get all of your money back.  What?  Are you serious? 

Why in the world would I purchase a five year warranty for a car I planned to keep for three years?  Does that make any sense at all?  Do I look like a complete moron and I can’t see that five years is longer than three years?  Is 5 years > 3 years?  Gee, I think it is.  So, three years ago, I was a complete idiot and couldn’t figure that out? 

No, I was lied to and cheated by Renton Honda (which sucks) because they used a classic scam (their extended service warranty plan) and they told me was such a great deal.  If I don’t use it, I’ll get all of my money back.  That is what I was told.  Well, that is not the case, is it?  I’m not getting all of money back, am I?  Nope.  Instead I’m getting cheated out of my full $1500.00 because I was lied to by Renton Honda (which sucks).  They are giving me back $646 because of the mileage on my car (it has 33,873 miles and we were allowed 12,000 miles per year).  We are right on target for the lease agreement so why am I not getting all of my money back? 

I lived up to my end of the agreement.  I fully insured the car, I did the oil changes, I kept the mileage on target for the lease agreement and I’m getting screwed over by Renton Honda (which sucks).

Did I mention that Renton Honda sucks?

Am I upset?  YES!  I’m very upset that I was lied to and taken advantage of.  I was told to my face that if I didn’t use the extended warranty service plan I would get it all back at the end of my lease.  Why would anyone with any decent ethics sell me a service product that had a five year requirement when they fully knew ahead of time I’d be returning the car in three years?  It is because they are dishonest and have no ethics.  Renton Honda (which sucks) is full of liars, cheats, and thieves.  I will never do business with them and hope you learn from my lesson.

Kauai Weddings

~ K ~ Leave a comment

It has been a long time since I’ve been back home to visit my parents on Kauai.  They run a small wedding service that specializes with helping you prepare your wedding on Kauai.  Their website is www.kauaiweddings.com

As you can imagine, the economy on Kauai (and the State of Hawaii) isn’t the best right now.  Tourism is down and the County of Kauai is attempting to put the small Mom and Pop vacation rentals out of business.  They seem to think that all tourists should stay in a large hotel complex.  This is killing the small, independent owner operators that run cute guest cottages and bed and breakfast units.

If you are thinking of a vacation trip to Kauai (or perhaps you are thinking of getting married on Kauai), then take the time to visit www.kauaiweddings.com

As always….mahalo (thank you) for reading my post!

Washington State Unemployment 9%…how to cut costs if it happens to you?

~ K ~ Leave a comment

Man, oh man, are we for some rough times in this country of ours.  The Seattle economy is probably doing better than most areas of the United States, however, it is still pretty bad.  According to the United States Department of Labor, Washington State has a 9.0 percent unemployment rate in October, 2010.  The national average is 9.6%.

http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=usunemployment&met=unemployment_rate&tdim=true&dl=en&hl=en&q=unemployment

 How does a 9% unemployment rate translate into everyday life?  Everyone knows someone that is out of work, struggling to make ends meet.  You just need to look at the recent data on the economy and it is enough to make you jump back into bed, pull the covers over your head, and call it a day.  I was getting depressed reading about this stuff.  I’ve put in a few links that I pulled data from several websites about unemployment and the economy.

 Now, being self-employed for close to 18 years, I really don’t know about being unemployed.  Back in the early 1990’s, I did get laid off from AMR (the parent company of American Airlines).  That was the last time I had a “real job”.  I haven’t worked a 9-to-5 job in a very long time (since the AMR job).

Do I miss having a 9-to-5 job?  Yes and No.  Yes, I miss having a company pay my health insurance.  No, I don’t miss the ability to choose my own hours and my vacation time.  Yes, I miss having the chance to leave work and leave my work at the office.  Being self-employed, you always think about work.  You think about stuff you should be doing and thing you ought to do.  You are always thinking about your business.

 However, I’d love to have a business where I don’t have to get dressed up and go to work to make money.  I want the freedom to sit in my office in my pajamas and make money.  Yes, I’m back to my rant about making money online with a killer blog and enhanced website that practically prints money while I sleep.  Hey, who wouldn’t want that?

 How am I weathering this recent economic depression?  I have cut spending in both my personal and business life.  I have looked at all my expenses and cut everything I can. I trimmed my cell phone plan costs down by using a cheaper plan and by cutting off text messaging.  I’ve paid more attention to where we have the thermostat adjusted to as well.  Another simple change we have done is to switch out old light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (and I got those FREE from a friend!).

 While cost cutting is good, other expenses have risen.  Case in point, my health insurance rose $154 a month!  Now, I just received a new notice that my plan is being phased out.  I now have the choice of paying more for a lesser coverage plan.  Lucky me!

 http://www.esd.wa.gov/

http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.wa.htm

http://www.workforceexplorer.com/cgi/databrowsing/localAreaProfileQSMoreResult.asp?viewAll=yes&viewAllUS=&currentPage=&currentPageUS=&sortUp=&sortDown=&criteria=Unemployment+Rate&categoryType=employment&geogArea=5301000000&timeseries=&more=More+Areas&menuChoice=localAreaPro&printerFriendly=&BackHistory=-1&goTOPageText=&ID=45531

http://www.workforceexplorer.com/cgi/dataanalysis/?PAGEID=148

Making Money on the Internet?

~ K ~ 1 Comment

Truth be told…I’d prefer to be not talk to anyone during the whole day of work.  I’d like to sit in my comfortable little office, surf the internet, do some work, and not see anyone.  You can safely say I am an introvert in an extrovert’s career.  All of my “jobs” have me taking control and interacting with people to create a livable income.

The deal is…every job I do is that way.  My school photography business is me interacting with a vast amount of people everyday.  Look at my real estate business, again, I must interact with people and sell myself.

Jeez, I much rather sit at home and not have to see anyone.  Email is such a good alterative to seeing people face to face and having to deal with them.

Yet, I enjoy people!  I enjoy my friends and family (to a point).  I like to create a nice family portrait or make a preschool student laugh.  I love to show my real estate clients new properties and tour houses with them.

 What a conflicted individual I am!

So what does this have to do with making money on the internet?

 Well, considering I’d like to be a home body and do projects around the house.  I was wondering if I could have an internet business that produces some income where I make money without having to leave my home.

At this moment, I’m open to suggestions (serious and humorous suggestions are welcome) about possible internet businesses.  I don’t know anyone that makes a decent living or part time living as an internet marketer or entrepreneur so this is a new challenge for me. 

Ideally, I’d like to have an internet business that I can be making money wherever I am located.  If I’m on vacation to Kauai, I want to make some money.  Perhaps I’m in Florida visiting some UW college friends; I want to be making some money off my internet business during my visit.  Let’s face it; I want an auto-pilot business where I don’t have to be there to make the money.

If you know of a real internet business that fits these business goals of mine, please let me know!

Motivational Quotes to get you thru the Day!

~ K ~ Leave a comment

Defeat – For Every Winner, there are dozens of losers…Odds are you are one of them!

Cream Cheese

~ K ~ Leave a comment

On a recent trip to Costco, I purchase a 3 pound block of cream cheese.  My kids love to have a toasted bagel in the morning with a good dose of cream cheese spread across it, melting slightly.

Hmm, I can almost taste the cream cheese now…in fact, I could do what I did earlier today.  I got the toaster out, sliced a bagel in half, inserted the bagel into the toaster, pushed the lever down, watched the heating elements start and made my way to the refrigerator.  I stood before the  refrigerator, opened the door, and looked for the brand new 3 pound block of cream cheese….only to discover it wasn’t in the spot I left it.

Hmmm.

I started looking on each shelf (making a mental note that the fridge is a bit bare) and I can’t find it.  I open the drawers…no cream cheese in the vegetable drawer…no cream cheese in the meat drawer….hmmm…where the heck did it go?

Then it occurs to me that I must have put it somewhere stupid like in the pantry or perhaps in the cabinet above the coffee maker.  I mean, that has happened before, where you misplace a bag of chips or place a can of corn in the wrong spot…so I continue to look for the missing cream cheese.  It is a 3 pound block of cheese; it doesn’t fit just anywhere.  It has to be here somewhere!

After about five minutes of searching, I still can’t find the cream cheese.  Then I remember we had a visitor earlier that day….KOTS!

KOTS has decided to take the cream cheese home with him.  What is he going to do with three pounds of cream cheese?  Spread it over himself?  This isn’t the first time I’ve noticed things “missing” from the house.  At first I thought I just had misplaced some food items or perhaps I just didn’t buy it at the grocery store.  No, I wasn’t losing them or misplacing them.  KOTS had decided that our pantry and fridge was his own private grocery store to raid and take what he likes.  It is very annoying to put it mildly.  I wanted to make a lasagna the other day…gone.  A huge box of  36 pudding cups for the kids’ school lunches…gone.  A nice steak for dinner?  Nope…it’s gone…instead you can have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!  Yum!  Yum!  Eat up kids!

Luckily, our food situation has stabilized and we now have food in the fridge for the time being.  Now, if I could just find those missing chocolate truffles…..

Your own worst bathroom nightmare!

~ K ~ Leave a comment

Ok, it has been way too long that I’ve submitted my two fans to my blog and I’m sorry about that.  I could give you all the stupid excuses…I’m busy at work, my kids are taking up all my time, I really like watching Tosh.0 on Comedy Central, etc.

A few of you have been asking about KOTS.  I don’t know if I have mentioned this before but KOTS was asked to leave the house by my dear wife.  Sadly, this was very tough for her to do but it was understandable.  KOTS brought it on himself with his lack of respect and his lying.

So my lack of writing about KOTS has been caused by two reasons: 1) It’s a sad situation and 2) He isn’t around to do stupid things to report.  However, this doesn’t mean he still doesn’t do a tremendous amount of things to generate numerous funny, life teaching situations for all of us to read about.

KOTS enjoys visiting our house for a number of reasons.

We have food, we have heat, we have a working washer & dryer, and we have a nice warm shower with clean towels available.  A visit from KOTS will more or less involve the above items.

We all like warm, comfortable showers and KOTS likes to use ours as long as he possibly can.  Since KOTS has moved out, the bathroom downstairs is clean, has toilet paper, the toilet is always flushed, and there are clean towels available.  KOTS likes to come back to our home and use it as a hotel.  He takes an extremely long shower (without turning on the exhaust fan…flipping a switch is just too tough for him), he doesn’t flush the toilet (ah, that just brings back so many fond memories), and his visit wouldn’t be complete without leaving his wet towel on the ground instead of placing it in the large empty hamper that is located right there in the actual bathroom.  As you can see, we have done an excellent job of making him a responsible adult!

I must admit that my parenting skills do come into question when I write about KOTS and his lifestyle.  It also brings into the “nurture v. nature” debate.  Is one a product of his enviroment or a product of nature (genetics)?  In the case of KOTS, I’m fully going to argue that it is a genetics thing!

Got too much debt? Try these sarcastic debt relief tips!

~ K ~ 1 Comment

Man, talk about a downer topic for my sarcastic sense of humor.  However, I know I have to help others out there with humor and wit.

Debt Relief Tips:

Stop spending money!  Seriously, do you really need to have that latte?  Try drip coffee out of the coffee pot in your kitchen.  Better yet, stop by  and drink his coffee and eat his donuts.

Speaking of breakfast: skip it!  Or see the example above for a free breakfast.

Ditch one of your many phone lines.  Do you need a cell phone and a home phone?  No one calls you anyway…maybe you should get rid of both.

Stop buying new clothes every week!  Seriously, if you are a married women, your husband could care less about what you are wearing.  He married you and he’s stuck with you.  You aren’t impressing him anymore.  Are you dressing up for that special guy at work?  Stop it!  You’re not a whore!

Haircuts, getting a haircut or a new hairstyle every 6-7 weeks instead of 3-4 weeks.  Again, your husband or boyfriend doesn’t even notice when you get it cut or get a new hairstyle, so why bother anyway?  Put it in a ponytail and call it good.

For guys, you know you are a moron anyway since you are spending $30 (plus tip) for a haircut every month.  I’m bald and I’m happy because I’m not wasting $360 a year on haircuts.  Who’s laughing now about being bald?

Don’t buy any new furniture just because your spouse wants to.  The kids are going to ruin it anyway by spilling soda pop and chips on your couch.  And in 12 months your wife will complain that your furniture is now “outdated”.  See, if you follow my advice you won’t be wasting money on a new furniture now or in another 12 months.

Switch to a one car family: Heck, if your wife can’t drive to the store she can’t spend money!

Internet: Switch back to dial up.  Again, if your wife and kids can’t surf the web fast, they’ll stop using the computer.  This helps to keep your wife from shopping online and stops kids from looking at porn!  Besides you have high speed internet at work: use it!

Those are your debt relief tips for today!