Do You Have a Personal Monthly Budget?

Although the economy is in the gutter and the last thing you might want to think or talk about is money, this is really the time smart men look at their finances more carefully. And for you men who have always kept a careful watch on your affairs of the wallet, you’re not smart, you’re genius (and probably getting laid).

We’ve talked about money management here on the site before, but the question I have for you today is, “Do you have a Personal Monthly Budget?”

If you don’t have a personal monthly budget, you really should think about putting one together. I used to have two roommates that worked (and still do) in the financial sector and both helped me realize how important personal finance is (especially for guys starting out in their twenties).  My old boss also once told me something that stuck. He said, “In your twenties, even though you may have already graduated from college, you’re still in school and learning what it takes to succeed.  In your thirties, the focus shifts more to starting a family and working on crafting your career.  And in your forties and fifties, if you play your cards right, you’ll be making the most money in your life.”

Read the rest of this article »

Fantasy Sports and the Stock Market

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Joe Abello.

The U.S. economy is lagging worse than reruns of The English Patient. While the banking and real estate industries have their investors in tears, oil and gas investors are sporting Tony Robbins-sized grins, puffing on a $50 Cohiba as their yacht pulls into the harbor. What’s my point, you ask? They were opportunists, seizing opportunities when others looked the other way. When asked what his investment strategy is, Warren Buffet—worth a reported $62 billion—explained that he “simply attempts to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.” The market will eventually rebound, that’s the beauty of capitalism. In today’s bearish market, there’s no better time to sin than now.

Read the rest of this article »

Economesst.

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from “Master Banker.” Check out more of his writing here. To submit your own piece and have thousands of people read your words, click here.

Economesst.

The state of the markets is fucked. From my 900-pound mahogany desk in midtown I write, frustrated with financials and angry with oil. Inflation is on her broomstick and the only thing ‘experts’ tell people to buy is commodities and the contradictory everything-green. The last several months can be described as a big long panic, spattered with spells of euphoria—a lot like a night out in Bushwick. Luckily for the disciplined, panic is what to buy. Read the rest of this article »

Overcoming the Money Crunch

By: Hamilton Wong

With the housing market crash, the price of oil rising, unemployment increasing, and incomes staying stagnant, money is tight for most of us. Everyone is cutting corners to make the house, rent, or car payments. But obviously everything is a trade off and sacrifices come with a cost. If you find yourself “tight” and dipping into your vacation money to make the monthly payments, it may be time to make a few changes in your lifestyle to make things work rather than sacrificing your sanity. Read the rest of this article »

How to Invest $5,000: What Would You Do?

For those who are risk adverse to those who are risk daredevils, investing $5,000 can result in a variety of payouts. Generally speaking, the higher risk you take, the higher the reward will be. $5,000 might not seem like a lot of money, but that amount after 30 years will net you over $50,000 with a conservative 8% rate of return. If you have the foresight to invest $5,000 each year for the next 30 years, your pot will grow to $662,000 using the same metrics. [These numbers obviously ignore inflation.] But if waiting 3 decades might seem like awhile, here are a few suggestions on how to invest $5,000 for different personalities and tolerance levels.
Read the rest of this article »

Interview Tips: How to Ace Your Next Job Interview

Fellas, if you’re going to be graduating soon or are just out there looking for a new job, take a look at these tips on how to ace your next job interview.

I just spent the last 5 hours on a plane from Hawaii sitting next to a former human resources administrator (by the way she was hot) who had these excellent interview tips to share.
Read the rest of this article »

How to Invest in Wine

photography by Vittis from Lithuania

Every man instinctively attempts to secure a financial backbone. Now there can be varying views on this matter. On one hand it’s “save for a rainy day!” or maybe your purpose is to just “make it rain!” on a Friday night.

It’s something we talk about often on ploomy—investing your money. But investing your money in wine? Yes, for those of you who don’t know there is such a practice and it is called buying futures or en primeur.

Read the rest of this article »

How to Find What You Are Good At

photography by jayniebell

Think about the most successful person you know. Now think about what makes that person so successful.

Chances are they have found something they are extremely good at and have exploited it to the nth degree. Tiger Woods, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Tom Hanks and Warren Buffet are all names that come to mind. These individuals all have truly found what they are good at and have gone to great lengths to hone their skills.

How does one know what they are good at in the first place? Dumb question you say? Well not everyone reading this is like that guy who knew in 5th grade that he wanted to fly aircrafts all his life. It just doesn’t turn out that way for most people.

Finding out what you are good at doesn’t have to be that difficult though. Sure you can take an online aptitude test, but those are boring. Ride with me, let’s just go find it.
Read the rest of this article »

How to Make a Dollar Out of 15 Cents, The eBay Way

photography by liewcf

As I approach my 10-year anniversary of having an eBay account, let me share some tips on how to buy, sell, and make some pocket money in the process. As an on-again and off-again PowerSeller and avid buyer, I understand the intricacies of the primarily auction formatted site. During a transition between jobs, I had to rely solely on eBay income to keep afloat for a few months. You get out of it what you put in, so understand if you want to increase your loot, your time dedication should correlate. Even though you might not have ever purchased or sold something on one of the web’s most popular sites, here are a few tips to gain some familiarity with it.
Read the rest of this article »

How to Win at Office Politics (Hint: It’s Like Basketball)

I’ve been fortunate to work at many different types of companies: a mom-and-pop business, a start-up, a mid-size company, a Fortune 500 company, and also my own small business. Regardless of where I worked, one constant remained the same—you must play office politics to succeed.

Office politics is such a dirty term you say? You may think no way not for me, I’m above that tomfoolery stuff. The reality is you’ll have to start playing at some point because everyone is playing this game whether they know it or not.

And if you think about it long enough, playing office politics is just like any other game. Matter of fact, it’s sort of like basketball. There is a general manager (your boss’ boss), a coach (your boss), players (you and your co-workers), and even bench warmers (those who think they are above the game and don’t get to play because they suck).

And with that, let’s go over some of the fundamentals of office politics. Grab your mouth piece, lace em up and get ready for the jump ball.
Read the rest of this article »

Next Page »