Category Archives: Costs

Why You Should Not Own Bitcoins And I Never Will

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Okay, there exists plenty of lot of reasons not to buy into Bitcoin, but I’m going to start with the ones that bother me the most.  So let have at it:

  1. Nobody know who created it!  This is huge and means that the creator could have an unmeasurable amount of Bitcoins in his/their possession already.  Shoot for all we know, the creator could be some of these large Bitcoin exchanges that are losing the money by “hackers”…  What if in reality they (the Bitcoin exchange) was taking the bitcoins?  That reaching, but possible.  More likely the creator has a massive stash of bitcoins on his electronic device and will slowly exchange the bitcoins for real money.  We just don’t know…
  2. Once the governments realize that the Bitcoin medium is hard to track, they will require that tax is taken from it or else they will outlaw it.  Japan already has…
  3. You can get algorithms and machines to “mine” bitcoins?  Whaahuh?  What is this Minecraft?  This is just insane in my eyes!  What this means it that some clever code could just created a distributed package (like a virus) on thousand of computers that mines the bitcoins whithout you even knowing (think SETI).  Lame…
  4. The only thing that makes Bitcoins worth anything is nothing!  It’s literally not backed by any hard asset or really any governments.  Umm, I have a new idea… Don’s Pant Lint!  This currency (Don’s Pant Lint) is recyclable and good for the environment.  Plus there is a central point of exchange, although it might be easy to counterfeit unless you see Don in person…  Actually Don’s Pant Lint has more value because it can be used as a fuel source not to mention the incredible insulation properties…
  5. It almost like a virtual ponzi scheme, but the difference is that once people realize it has no value, those last to get Bitcoins will be the ones holding the lose as they try to exchange their bitcoins for any type of value.
  6. With the wild valuation moves, what business in their right mind would accept Bitcoins?

I’ve thought most of these thoughts for a long time, but didn’t really say anything because one never really knows, and two because I didn’t understand how it worked (I do now).  Knowing how it works, makes you think it’s kind of quacky a bit.

All that said, if you happen to own Bitcoins because you got it when it was first introduced, you might want to exchange some for cash or whatever.  At least get whatever you invested into it out.  Thinks beanie babies, but with a quicker decline of value potentially.

If I’m wrong, well this article will be a good laugh for any Bitcoin Billionaires (probably the bitcoin creator(s) ), but I’m not holding my breath 🙂

Good luck,

Don

Controlling Christmas Costs

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How I Controlled Christmas Costs in the Past

Christmas Presents

Christmas Presents

I’m constantly looking out for value in Christmas Gifts.  For example, my wife is a big book enthusiast, so whenever I see certain authors in the Bargain Bins, I snatch them up!  Some of her favorite authors are Stephen King, Grisham, Ken Follet and others…

Sometimes, I would cheat by going to a used book store and look for volumes that are in pristine condition.  I once bought a hardback book for $1 at one thrift shop.  After examining the book for any obvious marks or dog-eared pages, I bought it.  I wrapped up my used-but-new-looking Christmas Present, and gave it to my wife and she was none the wiser.  Later I told her what I did, and she was honestly impressed (or understood that we didn’t have much money back then).

Now I often buy first editions of her favorite authors on eBay.  They are not $1, but we now have a bit more money to spend on such things.  The shipping on such purchases is very reasonable, and currently (although this may change soon) there is no sales tax on item bought online (and in particular eBay) unless the buy and seller is in the same state (at least that’s the way it is in my state).

As a bachelor, I often got by at Christmas with only spending $100 on Christmas presents.  And of that $100, fifty of it was for my younger sister as a big surprise (back then the money meant more to her than it does now).  I use to get various size boxes and put the money in the boxes hidden so she had to search for it, or fight to get it out of the package.  It was a fun time and something that we both looked forward to, but now since she’s an adult, that has fell by the wayside.

How I control Christmas Costs now

Now my methods are simplified!  All I do is create a budget of how much I’m going to spend, and then try to stick to it.  If we go over, then I try to make up for it by reducing my cost for other things over the following months until I hit my initial budget numbers.  Unfortunately this happens a lot of the time…

We usually spend a bit over $1,000 now, but a lot of that reason is because we have kids!  Kids grow up quickly, and Christmas is like magic for them, so we try to make the best of it.

How I would like to Control Christmas Costs in the Future

This might not be a surprise to my regular readers, but I would like to have money invested in dividend stocks or bonds that would provide dividends or interest money at certain intervals.  This would be my Christmas Dividend Fund and I would use that money for Christmas present purchases.  Sometimes I wonder if I should have called this blog moneyreasonsfordividends.com (lol).

I’ve had the dream of a Christmas Fund that would pay for my Christmas gift purchases, even since I was in college.  I need to start this now instead of later if I ever expect to have such a thing.

Control your cost today to enable you to have more elaborate Christmas experiences and gifts in the future!
MR

When Is Gas Considered A Luxury?

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So at what point is gas considered a luxury good, and if not now, then when should we think of it as one?

High gas prices

Where I live, gas is at $4.00 a gallon, and I started wondering what would the monthly cost be if the price continues to climb.  So below is some quick numbers that I put together in a spreadsheet to compare projected cost of gas prices in the near future.

I chose the $4 (current), $6 (some project this rate for this or next year), and $9  level  just for a good contrast.

Day Miles/Day Gas Price: $4
Monday 60 $4 $12
Tuesday 45 $4 $9
Wednesday 60 $4 $12
Thursday 45 $4 $9
Friday 45 $4 $9
Saturday 30 $4 $6
Sunday 15 $4 $3
$60
Monthly: $267.00
Day Miles/Day Gas Price: $6
Monday 60 $6 $18
Tuesday 45 $6 $14
Wednesday 60 $6 $18
Thursday 45 $6 $14
Friday 45 $6 $14
Saturday 30 $6 $9
Sunday 15 $6 $5
$90
4 weeks $387.00
Day Miles/Day Gas Price: $9
Monday 60 $9 $27
Tuesday 45 $9 $20
Wednesday 60 $9 $27
Thursday 45 $9 $20
Friday 45 $9 $20
Saturday 30 $9 $14
Sunday 15 $9 $7
$135
4 weeks $540.00

 

 

$540 a month for gas would mean that gas is a luxury for me.  At that point, I’d definitely be carpooling!  There is a great chance that I would be biking or walking more often to close destinations too (like visits to the library).

Actually, there is a good chance that I would try to carpool with more than just my buddy.  I think I would try to get 4 total people to carpool with, if possible.  By having 4 people in the mix, that would drastically reduce my gasoline cost (if not for weekends it would be by a factor of 4).

If I lived in a larger city, I would consider taking public transportation too, but since I don’t… public transportation isn’t really an option for me.  I would definitely try to push the telecommuting option though!

 

So forget the Grey Poupon, pass me a can of gasoline please!

Bests,

MR

Free Cars in The Future and High Gas Prices

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The year is 2021, and now cars are free!

Well, to be exact, fossil fuel powered cars are free.  The still growing electric car segment is still quite pricey.  Surprisingly, the Chevy Volt now cost $60,000, a 50% increase over the 2011 price of $40,000.  And the real shocker is that the Chevy Volt is now the most affordable of the wave  of electric cars on the market!

You see, gas prices are now $25 a gallon and the oil companies now provide free cars, as long as you use them, per the usage contract (daily for 5 years).  Of course any repairs would have to come out of the user’s pocket.

Seems like a good deal until you realize that gas prices are expected to increase another $5 before the year is up, and to accelerate at a higher rate every year after that!

Some clever neighbors will pool their money and buy a single car so they can carpool to work, but this is now illegal in the future because of capacity rules.  Oh it’s still happens and it’s hard to prove that this is what they are going, so most do it because they can’t afford the exorbitant prices of gasoline and diesel fuels…

Okay, the above scenario most like will never happen, but without a smooth transition period from oil to alternative sources of energy, it could really disrupt the lives of individuals, especially rural and suburban folks.

Back to 2011:

So this is why I think it’s best to drill oil for the time being.  Yes, let’s keep pushing alternative sources of energy (especially electric via solar and wind farms), but let’s not hurt the average American during our switch over!  After all, they are the segment that will get hit the hardest by higher fuel and food prices!

Higher food prices?  Yep, once gas prices go up for the farmers, they just pass the cost to the consumers.  Now you might think that’s wrong… but they have to make a living!  Both farmers and companies that aren’t profitable go out of business, and that means we all suffer!

Doesn’t it make sense to keep oil prices down by doing whatever is necessary until we get electric to be the main source of power for cars?  Not forever, but for a while…

Thanks for reading my soft rant!

-MR