They are as follows.

1. The people there probably don’t want you.
2. Their governments don’t want you.
3. Other countries treat illegal immigrants worse than America.
4. What you hate about America, you find everywhere.
5. Adapting will be harder than you can imagine.
6. You will likely just hang out with other Americans the whole time

This didn’t impact my decision to move, but it was an entertaining read.  The article is meant as a satire piece but there is a tinge of truth to it.  Knowing what you know from that article (and your own experience) would you ever seriously consider moving abroad?

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Everybody has different goals for life.  Some people want to be rich beyond their wildest dreams.  Some people want to live a stress free life.  Some people want to solve world hunger.  Everybody ticks based on different things.

A good fulfilled life is bound to have 1 or more of the following elements:

• Goals
• Strong Health
• Great Friends/Community
• Ways to Handle Stress
• Money

In your opinion which element (s) are necessary to live a fulfilling existence?

There was once a time when social media was a neat little corner of the internet.  Back then things were in a golden age of sorts.  You could say and do what you wanted with little consequence.  As things got bigger that changed.  Sites started instituting terms of agreement/service to make sure that users had the best experience.  More money started changing hands.  Social media turned into big business.

THEN.  The dark side of society reared its ugly head.  People started (GASP) lying on the internet about who they are.  Lying on the internet isn’t really that big a deal until someone starts being a big asshole.  In the last few years that has been the trend. CNET recently ran a story about making lying on the web about who you are a crime.  They site a pretty compelling argument for doing so.  Apparently a woman named Lori Drew created a fake MySpace account and harrassed a 13 year old girl so much that she committed suicide.  Her conviction was thrown out but the Department of Justice is pressing to make this type of activity illegal.

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Sex is one of those things that everybody learns about in a different way.  Some parents flat out avoid the discussion.  Some parents tip toe into the discussion.  Some parents give way to much graphical information (mine did).

From what I’ve seen people whose parents really explain sex (and its outcomes) to them tend to be better adjusted.  People whose parents don’t explain it tend to swing from the pole.  I’m sure nobody here wants to see their beloved son or daughter sliding down a pole in their local happy gallery anytime soon.

That begs the following question.

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The joyous Christmas season begins on the night of Thanksgiving.  Most diets and budgets are forgotten.  Before your turkey and dressing settle on your stomach, most people are out in line or preparing to bum rush the doors of Walmart, Best Buy, and other popular shopping stores.  All eager to grab the latest television, video game console, Blu-ray, DVD, or 8-track player.

Credit card companies are smiling from ear to ear on this Black Friday.  Most consumers are out buying items like it’s the end of the world.  And most are swiping their fave credit card.  Americans typically spend around $525 billion during the holiday season.  The average shopper spends $1200 on Christmas shopping and about 12% – 20% of that goes on a credit card.  But on a good note, a recent poll showed that 59% of people were planning to cut back on Christmas shopping this year.  Of that same population, 10% were still paying debt off from last Christmas though

Maybe you’ve seen the AMEX, MC, and VISA hysteria from a week ago.  Maybe not.  But please riddle me this…

One positive thing to the recent (doom doom) recession is that many people’s eyes have opened up.  Many people now see that getting up and busting your butt for the man day in and day out is not a “guaranteed” thing.  A friend of mine was laid off about 2 years ago.  She took the time to learn some new trades and take up a hobby she’d always wanted to focus on more – baking.

With a little online assistance, some trial and error, she was able to master the fine craft of baking delicatessens that any sweet tooth would love.  She recently held a sweets and wine tasting event to showcase her new found talent.  It was excellent.  It was of better caliber than Publix or any other high end cake producer.  I spoke with her after the event and she said she was about to devote her time to this.  She had since found another full time job but believes her passion for baking is the more income guaranteed route at this point.

What advice would you give her?

I know you’re tired of hearing it but we are in a (doom doom) – Recession.  This is the time when people look to save money anywhere they can.  One of the most common is for you and your special someone to move in together.  On the surface, you would save tremendously.  Instead of two rent/mortgages, you only have one.  Only one set of utility bills.  And chances are you would save gas from driving back and forth to each other’s home.

But behind the scenes, you would spend more on food.  Your utilities would likely be higher, and then there’s that obvious stress situation of living with your spouse.  Sometimes you cannot put a cost to that, but you know that if there was, it would be worth the expensive price tag to get away.

What do you think?  Is it really cheaper…

The US economy is still in a state of turmoil and disarray.  Unemployment is still as high as ever, although we don’t appear to be at war, we are still footing the bill to help a ravished country rebound, and US commodities are at all time highs.  Yeah, and we understand that the government knows this and they are providing relief in the form of tax cuts and stimulus checks.  It takes more than a $400 check to get us back on our feet.

How about some relief in the fuel arena.  I mean think about it:

1. Many employed individuals depend on daily transportation to get around and this requires gas.
2. Delivering commodities to stores requires gas.
3. Traveling to visit loved ones around the holidays requires gas.
4. Going to the mall or shopping areas to shop requires gas.

At the end of the day, all of the items listed above drive the price of what you need up.  Whether it’s a salesman coming to sell you counter-tops or home security, or going to grocery shop or buy a nice outfit for the weekend.  All of these items are driven up by the price of fuel to get them there.  It’s really an unfortunate situation.  Because essentially, we are going to continue to purchase gas, because of the obvious – we need it.  However, we have to save that money elsewhere.  That elsewhere includes our extra shopping and leisure activities.  So think about that when you hear that Christmas shopping sales were not as expected.

We recently watched the banks slowly introduce a debit card fee to us.  It started as a pilot with a few Wells Fargo branches.  Then Bank of America, Chase, Regions Bank, and a few others said, “Hey, that’s a great idea!”, and decided to implement their own fee as well.  These announcements were received in disgust from millions of customers across the country.

I personally thought it was about as low down as you could get.  In thinking back to my bank employment days, I worked in ecommerce with the VISA card folks and I recall their one main goal was to generate more checkcard business.  They had incentives to get every single bank customer with a checkcard in their wallet.  Even my parents (the people who hold the express line up at Walmart as they fill out their check) succumbed to checkcard eventually.  And why not, the card was free, it was convenient.

You could:

• carry less cash
• pump gas and get right back in your car
• travel abroad without worrying about the local currency
• even carry the protection of the no liability if your card was stolen

But now that they’ve got us all on the checkcard kick, its time to charge.  Customer opinions were felt in the form in twitter rants, facebook page petitions, and even Occupy movement stands.  To much disappointment, Chase and Wells Fargo decided to cancel their fees.  As with all good competition, Bank of America decided to follow suit, as did Regions Bank as well.  However, the effect had already begun.  Some credit unions reported a 50% rise in account applications.

Was all this really necessary over a little $4 or $5 fee?  We use our cards daily.  Surely its worth $4 or $5 bucks.