Daily Links: A Fool and His Money Edition
October 28, 2009 by J.D.
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On April Fools’ Day 2007, I posted a tongue-in-cheek article describing the lifestyles of the rich and stupid. This list of the dumb things people do with money in one of the most popular posts I’ve ever shared.
I’ve softened a little since then. Yes, I think that people do some stupid things with money, but I’ve decided it’s not my place to judge them. I’ve done plenty of dumb things myself over the years. (Though certainly not on the scale as Dennis Kozlowski, who threw a $2 million birthday party for his wife, a party that featured an ice-sculpture of the Statue of David that pissed vodka.)
All of this is prelude to the first link in our daily roundup. (Why do I still call it a daily roundup? It hasn’t been daily since 2006. It’s weekly, at best!)
The Boston Globe reports that former Boston Celtics star Antoine Walker is broke and in debt. Walker has earned $110 million over the course of his career. According to the article, top professional athletes often have a “burn rate” of $2 to $4 million per year. The mind boggles. This is a fascinating story. (For more like this, check out this fantastic article about how and why athletes go broke.)
In happier news, I love this analysis from C.J. Gill that explains how he got a free Mac Mini. The computer wasn’t actually free, but it saves so much energy over his previous computer (an HP Pavilion) that he’s saving $20 a month! The computer pays for itself in energy efficiency. (I’m sure there are energy-efficient PCs, too. This story is neat not because it’s about a Mac, but because it’s about taking the time to analyze cost patterns.)
Finally, Matt at Debt-Free Adventure has drafted a list of ways to save money when dealing with customer service reps. “While some CSRs are trained to try and dissuade you from your dream of reduced expenses, others wouldn’t mind giving you a break at all…as long as you treated them right! Here are a few tried and true pointers that I use every nearly every day.”
Before I go, here’s a list of money carnivals from the past week. These are a great way to find more info about saving and investing:
- Fabulously Broke hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance #227.
- Tom from the Canadian Finance Blog shared the Best of Money Carnival #21.
- JLP at All Financial Matters hosted the tiny tiny tiny Carnival of Debt Reduction #214.
- The Financial Blogger was home to Carnival of Pecuniary Delights #29.
That’s it for today’s this week’s links round-up. Now it’s time for me to head home. I’m heading out for chicken wings with my wife and her sister. Yum! Have a good evening, everyone.
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