Cut-up credit card Jan 28, 2006
What do you do with old credit cards?  You cut them up into little pieces and throw them out.  But is that good enough? 

I performed a little experiment to try to figure it out.  I took an American Express gift card (picture 1) and cut it up into a bunch (41 to be exact) of little pieces (picture 2) and tried to put it back together again (picture 3).  Actually, I did more than just try; I succeeded.  What I found was pretty interesting: 

1.  The whole process took about 30 minutes.  It was started and completed during my lunch break. 
2.  Random sizes and shapes of pieces didn't make it any harder.  Actually, it might've made it easier because certain pieces could only fit in certain spots. 
3.  The design on the credit card made it easier.  I tried this one time in the past with an Old Navy credit card, which is full of colors and designs.  The patterns of the lines and shapes made it easier to match up with similar pieces. 

Conclusion:  If a person can complete a puzzle, they can reassemble a cut-up credit card.  I'm not sure if this is useful in any way.  I'm assuming it would be possible to just read the name and numbers off the card and use it to buy things online.  It obviously couldn't be taped back together and used at a store. 

I'm not sure what the solution would be to prevent this problem.  I would say to cut it up into smaller pieces, but I think that would just turn it into a slightly more complicated, though completely possible, puzzle.  Another way to fool a would-be cut-up credit card thief would be to put the cut-up pieces in several different trash cans or several different trash collecting cycles.  This would complicate the process of collecting all the little pieces, though it would still be possible to do.  The only really fool-proof solution is to burn the old credit card, turning it into a pile of melted plastic. 

[gallery /img/2006/01/creditcard1.jpg:::/img/2006/01/creditcard1-150x150.jpg::::::/img/2006/01/creditcard2.jpg:::/img/2006/01/creditcard2-150x150.jpg::::::/img/2006/01/creditcard3.jpg:::/img/2006/01/creditcard3-150x150.jpg::::::]
#money
Bills (2) Dec 22, 2005
The first bill I ever got was a phone bill in my freshman year of college.  As soon as I got it, I figured out how to pay it online.  Since then, I've tried to use the internet to pay every bill I get.  That's what was so cool about paying my traffic tickets a few weeks ago.  And that's what's so not cool about people/companies that require you to mail in a check.  It hardly ever happens, but every once in a while, I have to mail a check to something or someone.  But even with those things, I try to use my bank's BillPay system.  In reality, there's no need for actual paper checks.  A check is just a written notice that says I'm agreeing to transfer money from my bank account into another bank account.  I think it's pretty easy to do away with checks.  I'm just waiting for my church to agree with me. #money
Value Oct 17, 2005
It's weird how value is assigned to certain objects and it's based solely on how much someone is willing to pay.  Value isn't based on worth or usefulness.  It's based on a somebody.  For example, my parents had a garage sale this weekend.  They were getting rid of some junk that has been in their barn for generations.  It's useless stuff.  One thing was an old wooden wheel barrow with metal wheels.  You can buy a brand new metal wheel barrow with rubber wheels from Home Depot for a good price.  But a wooden wheel barrow with metal wheels?  Absolutely unusable.  But somebody bought it, obviously not because they're gonna use it to haul around dirt and rocks, but because it's an "antique" and "is worth a lot of money".  Why is it worth a lot of money?  Because someone is willing to pay a lot of money for it.  If nobody wanted to pay money for it, it would be worth nothing since it serves no purpose (and I don't consider "decoration" a purpose). #money
ING Sep 29, 2005
ING Direct is the best thing on the face of the earth in the history of anything.  I've never been more satisfied with an apparent scam in my entire life.  Here's what they offer:  an online savings account with a 3.40% APY; no fees, no minimum balance requirements, no catches.  Seriously.  There's probably some sort of overdraft fee, but I haven't encountered that yet.  But I know from experience that all the other things are true.  And the savings rate has increased 6 times and by 1.05% since the beginning of the year. 

It's a pretty good deal, but it's not like you'll make thousands of dollars in interest.  You'll probably make around $10-$50 per month, depending on how much is in your account.  But when you're too scared to invest in the stock market and want easy access to your savings account, this is the way to go. 

If anyone's interested, I can refer you, and you get $25 and I get $10.  Once again, there's no catch. #money
Credit score Sep 14, 2005
Isn't it great that the most important financial decisions in our lives are based on our credit score?  Not only is this completely arbitrary number based on things like how many times your credit score has been checked recently, but financial companies use this score in an automated system to decide what to give you and what not to give you.  And if you try to ask a question about it, they completely avoid the issue by saying, "Oh...well, our system shows that your credit score is 697 and we require a score of 700."  You say, "C'mon.  It's 3 points.  3 meaningless points.  Can't you cut me a break?"  And the answer is no.  It's always no.  There's no way to argue a point that's based on a decision that's determined solely by your worthless credit score.  Idiots run the world. #money
Tipping Sep 6, 2005
The idea of tipping at a restaurant, or anywhere for that matter, is obviously quite dumb.  I understand the typical response:  "Waiters and waitresses only get paid $2.50 an hour, so they couldn't survive without tips."  I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound like a very good excuse.  I had a job at McDonald's.  I was paid $5.15 an hour, which was below minimum wage at the time, but was considered appropriate because I got free food.  The point is that serving food, cutting hair, and other jobs that force you to survive on tips aren't the only jobs out there (I'll insert my foot into my mouth as soon as this whole Hurricane Katrina and subsequent gas crisis obliterate our economy and cause us to lose our jobs). 

If you're a decent person, you tip regardless of how your meal or service was.  You may tip only 15% instead of 20% if your service was slow, but you still tip.  The dumbest thing about this is that the tip is solely dependent on the price of the food.  So if you get the most expensive crab cake on the menu, the tip will be the same as for a 2-person meal.  But because it was the catch of the day and therefore more expensive, the tip is bigger.  It's not like it was any harder to cook, serve, or clean up.  And if there were flies in your soup or boogers in your salad, you might only give a 12% tip.  Ouch.  But let's do some math:  12% of $100 is $12.  20% of $20 is $4.  Those are some expensive boogers. 

[Update (2006-09-12 2:44pm):  I think what I was trying to say with that last statement is that a bad tip on an expensive meal is more than a good tip on a cheap meal.]

So my recommendation to those of you entering the food service industry is this:  Work at an expensive restaurant instead of a diner.  If you don't know what's expensive, start out with Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and work your way up from there.  Not only will your tips be about 5 times as much simply because of the price of the food, but you'll also be serving food to people who can afford expensive food.  These are the people who are more likely to leave a bigger tip.  And if you work at an expensive restaurant near a corporate or otherwise travel-heavy area, you're also more likely to attract business-people with the "corporate card".  This is a magical piece of plastic that has an infinite credit limit and unlimited rewards.  There are no bills.  There are no "no's".  Everything's a yes and it's beautiful all the time. 

*Note:  I don't have a corporate card.  Seriously. #money
Checks Sep 3, 2005
Why do people use checks to pay for things?  You can't get a bank account without them sending you a check card and signing you up for free online bill pay.  And obviously these people have bank accounts if they're paying with a check.  Yet somehow, I'm always stuck in line behind people who have to write out a check, hand it to the cashier, wait for the cashier to check their driver's license, and send the check through the automatic check signer-thing.  It's ridiculous.  And it's not like it's difficult to use a check card or credit card.  It couldn't be any easier.  Get with the times, people.  You might as well bring homemade crafts or homegrown vegetables to use for bartering. #money
House buying May 23, 2005
Here are my lessons learned from buying a house.
  1. Don't skimp on a lawyer.  A lawyer will cost between $500-$1000.  But in the long run, that's about a half of a percent of the cost of a ~$200,000 house.
  2. Try a paperless loan.  That sounds nice, doesn't it?
  3. Add about $2000 to the estimated closing costs.
  4. Try going with a reputable mortgage lender.  More on this later, unless Quicken Loans really impresses me.
  5. Choose a lawyer and a bank that are close to where you live so you don't have to travel and make extra plans for the closing date.
  6. Set a price limit on the houses you want to look for.  Then look for houses that are about $50,000 less than your limit.  You can't afford what you think you can afford.
  7. Expect to spend an exuberant amount of money for things like home inspections, loan application, and title insurance.
  8. Don't put any money down for the down payment.  What's the point?  Your measly little savings account with $15,000 in it will lower your monthly payments by about $50.  That's stupid.  Finance 100% of the house and spend your cash on something useful, like toys from Home Depot.
#money
Insurance Apr 28, 2005
What's the deal with insurance?  Who thought of it?  Honestly.  What lunatic thought, "Hey I know.  Let's collect money from people before accidents happen so that when they happen, we'll pay for them."  Why don't we just pay for stuff as it happens.  Wouldn't that be cheaper?  You say, "No Dave.  Look at your medical bills.  It would cost several thousand just for a routine cleaning at a dentist."  Here's my objection:  It wouldn't be several thousand if insurance wasn't involved.  The only reason medical expenses are so high is because insurance companies can pay for them.  And it's not like it's hurting insurance companies.  What business in its right mind would overpay for services for its members?  None!  The billions of dollars they collect from us gets paid out in hundreds or thousands to dentists and doctors and autobody shops.  If people couldn't afford medical care, doctors would be forced to charge less (this argument probably isn't valid because rich people can always afford things...supply and demand doesn't really apply).  But I think that things wouldn't be so expensive if people just paid for things as they happened, instead of unnecessarily pooling their money into health insurance and auto insurance companies, only to [maybe] use it later [or maybe not]. #money