Don't Cash Out That 401K or IRA

The Market Ticker - Karl Denninger: 
"Let me make this crystal clear:
Your 401k or IRA has near-absolute protection in a personal bankruptcy. As a qualified retirement plan it cannot be seized by creditors if you file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.
The absolutely worst thing you can do is to cash out those plans. This is not just about sabotaging retirement, although that's serious.
This is the 'human face' on the games our government has played with bailing out banks and other big financial institutions. You, 'Joe Six Pack', hasn't been helped at all, and bill collectors and others will even 'suggest' that you cash in retirement funds so you can pay them!
Don't do it!"

If you're like me you know a few younger people that are going through some hard times, and are thinking of tapping into their 401K or IRA accounts. Please take the time to forward this article to them, it's short and to the point. It will at least arm them with some facts and alternatives to help them weather the financial storm they are going through. Karl is right $100 is well spent money for advice from a CPA and/or Bankruptcy Attorney.

16-inch Windows 7 laptop for $350

Get a 16-inch Windows 7 laptop for $350 | The Cheapskate - CNET News:
"If you are in the market for an inexpensive laptop to make the jump to Windows 7, we may have just what you are looking for."

Attention all Boomers, if anyone needs a cheap laptop right away, give this one 'look see'.
All indications are that the prices will really take a plunge by Christmas, but if you need one NOW for knocking around, this is the guy  .............. and did I tell you it's comes with Windows 7?

 

Rumor has it that Santa is going to treat me to either a 12" Netbook (Atom/Nvidia) or a 13.3" Mac, wont I be surprised. I'm so tired of lugging around those big heavy bricks just to write email and do some net surfing..

Upside To The Downturn?

Some people think so: 
"It seems the financial crisis isn't all doom and gloom: one in four people are glad the world's economy slumped like it did, because it helped them realize their priorities in life, according to a global survey. Market research firm Synovate polled around 11,400 people across the world and found more than half had permanently changed their attitudes toward money over the last 12 months."

 It's interesting to see how other countries are adjusting, but I feel that they haven't lost near as much as the US. What do you think, are Americans adjusting to the Downturn or are we mad as hell about it?
Boomers want to know!

Guess Who Sleeps Better After Retirement

People With Pensions Sleep Better After Retirement : 
"NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Retirees have something else to look forward to besides playing golf -- much better sleep -- particularly if they have decent retirement benefits and retire relatively early. That's what Dr. Jussi Vahtera of the University of Turku in Finland and colleagues found in a study of 14,714 people who had retired from the French national gas and electric company. But because the workers in the study had excellent retirement benefits, including generous pensions, the findings don't apply to everyone, Vahtera noted in a prepared statement."

And if they have 401K plans to go along with their pensions, they sleep like babies.
I love studies like this, they remind me of an old radio show I used to listen to called Tom and Ray. One of the best segments was called Ask Mr. Obvious. Tom would pretend to be a caller with the most transparent question, and Mr. Obvious (Ray) would give the most obvious answer to the even more obvious question. Trust me it was funny. Anyway studies like this are exactly the same as the Tom and Ray skit. The question: Why do I sleep so well? Mr. Obvious' answer, because you are retired with a good pension and don't have to worry about money in your Golden Years, obviously.
The only good thing about the study is that it was Finnish tax money that paid for it, not ours.
Obviously.

Snoring Cure

Snoring jab could cure noisy snoozing in minutes:
"It takes two minutes and costs just €3 , but its effects could be priceless for the partners of loud snorers. The 'snoreplasty' involves injecting a chemical called sodium tetradecyl into the roof of the mouth. It acts as a hardening agent that stops the soft tissue at the back of the mouth from vibrating."

Talk about "a day late and a dollar short". Where was this technology when I needed it? I can't tell you how many relationships my snoring has ruined over the years, and now when I'm too old they invent a cure :-( Anyway this is a good article for any Boomers out there that still have problems with the dreaded ZZZZZZZZ's.
PS I promise to stop with the signs and find more interesting graphics for the posts

Healthy Living - Yahoo Shine

5 Habits to Break Before It's Too Late : 
"'Someday,' you say, 'I'm going to get my health back on track, after this next project,' or 'when I get back from my cruise,' or 'when the kids get a little older' ... C'mon, you know your list of reasons -- or what I call EXCUSES -- better than I.
Look, if you're waiting for some magical day to appear, you just may be waiting forever. These days do not 'show up'; you show up for THEM. I have identified five critical areas, bad habits that many people mindlessly follow. Do you realize that each and every day of your life that you do not reverse these dangerous trends, you get farther and farther from your ultimate goal of living a fulfilling life?
Take a look at each area, determine how you stack up, and then make the fix today:"

I haven't posted anything health related in a while, so here's one that I'm sure will interest you. The reason this article caught my eye is that the habits are very easy to break. Some exercise but NO grueling forced marches in the heat of the noon day sun, no extreme will power needed, just some minor adjustments to your day. It makes sense, and it's easy.

Sears Starts Black Friday Deals Now

Sears Black Friday From Now Until Christmas: 
"HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Sears kicks off the holidays by celebrating Black Friday deals now -- offering them weekly -- with layaway options for these deals just in time for Christmas. Starting Saturday, Oct. 31, and continuing every Saturday until Christmas, Sears will offer Black Friday deals making gift giving even easier and more affordable with guaranteed best prices through Christmas on the best brands. From home electronics and kitchen and housewares to jewelry and apparel, shoppers will find incredible selections and values for their holiday shopping needs."

Well here's a surprise, Sears is starting to use the dreaded "C" word in their advertising for "holiday" sales. I wonder when the rest of the retailers will start putting Christmas back in their vocabulary? Hey you never know, maybe they'll put up Merry Christmas signs in their stores, and ...... gasp... allow their staff to wish customers a Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays.

It looks like the only up side to this Depression were in is that some merchants are admitting that the time span from the day after Thanksgiving to December 26 is called The CHRISTMAS Shopping Season, and that's the reason people spend money to buy their wares. It doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that people don't buy Christmas presents for some nebulous "holiday season", they buy for Christmas.

Sorry I'm redundant but I was always a great fan of The Miracle On 42nd Street, it's a movie about Christmas don't cha noe.

N&O Friday freebies

Sue Stock's Friday freebies:
"Friday freebies...
Submitted by suestock on October 30, 2009 - 1:34pm.
It's Friday..."

I know, it's Saturday but I was busy trying to get some personal things squared away.
The coffee samples are always a good find, I save them for when I run out. You know how it is, if it's not on the list you forget to pick some up at the market. I used to think shopping lists were a Senior Moment thing, but I've come to the realization that it has to do living out in the sticks and not being able to walk out your front door and walk in to a supermarket.

Million Dollar Nest Egg

Six Simple Steps To $1 Million:
"Let's face it; we all don't make millions of dollars a year, and the odds are that most of us won't receive a large windfall inheritance either. However, that doesn't mean that we can't build sizeable wealth - it'll just take some time. If you're young, time is on your side and retiring a millionaire is achievable."

I know, I know, at our age we've done all the savings and retirement planning by now. But I thought that I'd Boomer this one so that you can share it with your children and grandchildren. It's very tempting to make a political statement about Congress and ................................ Never Mind

A Slick & Cool Internet Music Player For YouTube

TubeRadio.fm - Music Player For YouTube: 
"YouTube is not only about crazy videos going viral. It’s also a huge archive of videos of the musical kind. From garage bands to the platinum artists, you will find them there. I don’t know whether you have the feeling (or not) that watching music videos is not exactly the same thing as listening to them. Sometimes you just like to be left alone with the tunes. That’s where TubeRudio.fm starts playing."

For all you Golden Oldies fans. It might surprise you that You Tube is a fantastic archive for finding Oldies But Goodies that you don't have in your Vinyl or CD collections. I personally found two songs that I used to have in my stack of 45's when I was in my teens, but somehow I lost them over the years. I also found some Rolling Bones and Animals sound tracks that had somehow become corrupted on my original CD.

While TubeRadio.fm allows you to listen to the videos, a little known web site I found called Video2MP3 allows you to convert the Video to an MP3 file that you can then store on your computer or iPod/MP3 player. That one is a keeper also.

It's Groovy!