Mickey's G-blog

Student Loan Debt: The Facts

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:40:35 +0000

Where Google Money Comes From

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:56:26 +0000

Google is rolling in wealth. It’s a huge company, as vast and unstoppable as any mega-corporation in the US has ever been. It’s got its hands in almost everything right now, challenging long term providers of services from VOIP, music, search, and data storage to up the ante or get out of the game. Do they need to be regulated? Has Google gotten too big, to the point where it is now forcing other companies completely out of industries where they have long been seated? Where, exactly, is Google making all its money?

Here is an infographic showing where Google’s money is coming from. If you’re thinking ads, you would be absolutely right. But which paid search ads are costing the most? Where exactly is Google making a killing? Let’s look at the most valuable keywords and the dollar amounts associated with them to find out:

All About Disc Golf

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:01:14 +0000

Disc golf is a disc game in which players throw a disc at a target or into a basket. The purpose of the game is to go from one end of the course to the other in the fewest numbers of throws of the disc. There are more than 3000 disc golf courses as of 2010. The game is played in around 40 countries around the world. There are fairly basic rules for disc golf, one rule being that any disc golf course will be 54 strokes regardless of length. Tee throw must be completed behind or within the throw area, and make sure not to throw until the players in front of you are out of range to avoid them getting hurt.

The lie is the spot where the previous throw landed, make sure to mark it with a mini disc or turn it over. The throwing order for disc golf is determined after teeing off, whoever’s disc is farthest from the hole throws first. The player with the least amount of throws in the first hole will tee off in the next hole. Fairway throws have to be made with the foot closest to the hole on the lie. The other foot can’t be closer to the hole than the lie. To complete a hole, the disc must come to rest in the basket, chains, or hit the target that is marked.
Disc golf is a very fun, exciting, and new game to play. All it requires is a few different types of discs, such as putters, mid-ranges, and drivers. These discs all throw differently due to how they are made. To purchase disc golf equipment, there are shops like Flowland for all of your disc golf purchasing needs. They have every time of disc you will need, from putters, mid-ranges, to drivers. They have great customer support and will help you with anything you need at any time. If you feel like disc golf is a game you would like to start playing, head on over to Flowland or their website to purchase some discs, and any other disc golf equipment you think you will need.

Your Financial Adviser

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:59:45 +0000

If 2011 was a mess of a year for your personal finances and the first part of the new year has involved you dreading tax preparation season as you brace yourself for how much you might owe this time, then maybe 2012 is the year for you to consider hiring a financial adviser. A good financial adviser will be able to help you get organized, lay everything out on the table, and gear up for a year dedicated to putting you back in the black. When choosing a financial adviser, it is important to research all your available options. You don’t want to be saddled with someone who is not very helpful and only amounts to another expense. On the other hand, the right financial adviser is like hidden gold, and a worthy investment who will actually save you money.

If you are planning on seeking professional financial services this year, part of your research should involve frank discussions with trusted family members whose financial skills you admire. They might have valuable suggestions for you, and might recommend their own advisers. My uncle in Virginia introduced mine to me. This would be ideal. Another thing you can do is personally interview everyone who makes your short list, to make sure that person will be a good fit. Here are some additional tips that will help you find the right person:

Education or Money?

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:21:08 +0000

For a start-up entrepreneur, start-up capital is definitely important. First, he has a great, new idea. Next, he creates it, and finally he seeks a way to make sure the whole world can buy what he has to sell, be that product or online service. How important is education for the leadership of a start-up? That all depends on which leadership role each person plans to assume. A visionary, like the late Steve Jobs, has so much charisma and personal power that he found formal higher education a bit disappointing. He ultimately discovered that he did not need that in order to realize the things he imagined could exist in the world, and he was right. But an engineer or an accountant would certainly need formal training in order to do their jobs.

So now comes the big question: what is most important to a start-up? Education, or funding? And beyond that, where does raw experience factor in? We tend to think that education and experience both play a role in a person’s ability to find sources of start-up capital. Some lenders will look at education in making their decision, while others will be more impressed by the experience of the entrepreneur or team. Also, education isn’t always necessary when starting a small business like a computer repair shop or Aspen Storage company. This graphic attempts to sort out the reality of the question in some detail:

Debt Equity or Not?

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:04:48 +0000

When you are faced with financing any business endeavor, whether it’s corporate or you’re going it alone, you have some serious choices to make. Where is the money going to come from? Who will help you get the start-up capital you need to make your business go? You might have to have some kind of equity yourself before anyone is going to have enough faith in you to invest additional funding. That makes sense, when you think about it. Unless a person believes in his or her business idea enough to risk something of value to make it go, how can he or she expect investors and bankers to do so?

There are basically two types of equity to help you get started, but it can all come from many different kinds of sources. Debt financing comes from establishing a line of credit, or an outright loan or loans either from a commercial bank or private investors. These funds have to be repaid, normally over an established period of repayment at a fixed interest rate. Financing that comes from angel investors may have other kinds of strings attached, or fewer, depending on the interest they have at stake. Here is an infographic to help make sense of start up financing and where those dollars can be found.

Stopping Online Piracy Bad for Business?

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:43:36 +0000

It’s not what you would expect to hear, the idea that putting an end to online piracy might actually be bad for businesses. Yet, that is exactly the case. Companies like AOL, Yahoo!, eBay, Facebook, Twitter and others are all concerned about the impact of SOPA on their companies. ISPs have the same concerns, since if this law is actually passed, someone has to enforce it, and someone has to be responsible for it. Imagine you are an ISP and SOPA is in effect: now you have to monitor the Internet use of your customers and report their banned use to authorities? Even ADT can’t protect you from that. Insane. And it gets worse. Read on.

If SOPA passes, every Internet user’s online privacy is down the tubes. People will be watching and monitoring your every move. If you look at something a bit inappropriate, someone, somewhere will know about it. Sure, you could argue that there is already no such thing as privacy or anonymity on the Internet, but at least for now it’s still debatable. After SOPA, there will be no doubt. Check out this infographic for more reasons why SOPA could equal bad news:

Why Americans Don’t Save

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:50:07 +0000

America is one of the richest nations on Earth. Even her most impoverished have access to the fruits of everyone else’s prosperity, and our definition of poverty amounts to that of the middle class in many countries around the world. You would think that in a country with so much personal wealth, the citizens would have substantial personal savings, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many Americans do not save enough money for retirement, or simply under invest. An alarming percentage of Americans, despite enjoying a median household salary of $50,000 per year, live paycheck to paycheck, with little or no money in reserve for emergencies. How does American stack up against other countries?

Check out the infographic below. You’ll need to click on the image to open it, and then click it again to enlarge. You will notice that among the four countries compared in the data set, the US lags behind — but why? There are several reasons Americans just can’t seem to save, and most of them do not involve insufficient income. Read on.

US Small Business Administration for Women

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 01:30:36 +0000

Approximately 10 million women in the United States are small business owners. The SBA now has a special office for women in business, with resources and guidance designed to help women get started growing their businesses, obtaining contracts with clients, and becoming successful entrepreneurs. Companies with high growth potential, those that show signs of innovation, can get all kinds of help by visiting the SBA website. During the current economic downturn, when so many women and men alike are facing layoffs, starting up a lucrative small business could be the answer to their troubles.

What does it take to get started with mentoring and guidance from the US Small Business Administration? The video we’ve linked you to in this article is a good place to begin. In this interview with one of the important contacts at the SBA, you can hear some excellent introductory advice that will point you in the right direction. Other great sources of information can be tapped at your local community college campus, where offices for small business exist to help locals find funding for their entrepreneurial projects. You can also approach local banks and private investors to find out if there are sources of start up capital available to you.

Rent VS Buy

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 00:27:29 +0000

Buying a home is one of the biggest commitments you will ever make. Once you find a house you can afford based on various financial calculations performed by your lender, the inevitable day arrives when you will find yourself seated across from an attorney, signing page after page of legal documentation that binds you to your new home. It is a great responsibility, and not one to be taken lightly, especially in a struggling economy. Then again, mortgage interest rates are at a historic low, with some below 4%, so if you are inclined to purchase a home, now would be a very good time. It’s a buyer’s market, meaning that houses across the country are in foreclosure and are priced to sell. But that doesn’t automatically mean you’d be better off buying than renting.

How you know whether to buy or rent? Several key factors will play into that decision. There are some advantages to both choices. It all depends on your income and other current financial obligations, your eligibility for a mortgage loan, and how stable your employment is. You will also want to think about the future: how long are you going to be living in the area? Maybe renting is a better option for young people who are likely to move several times over a period of ten years to pursue new professional opportunities.

This infographic has a lot of positive things to say about home ownership. Click to see the full sized image: