Yesterday, we analyzed ways to determine our tolerance for risk in our investment portfolios. That risk tolerance was based on when we needed the money, other income sources available, and our personal feelings and sensibilities regarding risk.
We also determined that there are three basic types of investors:
Set up an investment account with only $500 at Scottrade
I’ve arranged these into a table:
Investment Class Aggressive Moderate Conservative Cash & Equivalents 0% 15% 20% Bond Index 10% 25% 40% US Stock Index 50% 40% 30% International Stock Index 25% 15% 10% REIT Index 10% 5% 0% Precious Metals Fund 5% 0% 0%
Cash (and its equivalents) are the safest of all investments. It’s bas
The meaning of measurements has changed over the years. A blouse formerly listed as a size 12 could now be a size 6 or smaller. Standardizing women’s sizes across the clothing industry would limit fitting-room frustrations, which could only be a good thing for retailers. Yet no such solution is in sight. The New York Times reported that last year, $194 billion in clothing was returned, according to figures from the National Retail Federation.
Instead of coming up with a simple standard of measurement for women’s clothes, there are various creative fixes to decoding arbitrarily shrinking size labels. One such effort is a body-scan booth at shopping malls that gives women a list of comparable sizes at different stores. The company behind the scanner, MyBestFit, says the scan takes about 30 seconds and shoppers don’t have to strip down for it to work. Retailers pay to be in the database, and may have access to the size data collected via scan.
“Curve ID” at Levi’s is a retail-specific effort to make the perfect pair of jeans less elusive.
Blacksburg, Virginia is far from the epicenter of the earthquakes that have rocked Japan over the last six weeks, but resident Kirk Cameron has felt the virtual aftershocks.
Days after the magnitude 9.0 shaker hit, Camerons startup MiserWare tripled the number of downloads for its proprietary Granola energy-saving software.
Before (the quake) Japan accounted for about 5 percent of our downloads in a day and now theyre more like 20 to 30 percent, said Cameron, who prior to the quake averaged about 25 daily downloads. Now weve basically covered the entire island.
The software has clearly resonated with Japanese PC users desperate to keep their computers running longer and preserve their generators, as authorities urged a crackdown in energy usage following the quake that wreaked havoc on the power grid.
Hotels are trying to curb the number of items that get packed into people’s suitcases. And some high-end locations have resorted to washable microchips to keep track of towels, bathrobes and bed linens.
Florida-based Linen Technology Tracking has patented one such washable tracking device. The company has clients in Honolulu, Miami and New York that are using their product to track linens in real time. In an interview with the New York Times, Linen Technology Tracking declined to name those hotels. The Honolulu hotel, which introduced the technology last summer, reportedly saved more than $16,000 a month by reducing the number of stolen pool towels from a whopping 4,000 down to 750 a month.
The radio frequency ID tags also let hotel managers know when they are running low on supplies like bed linens, bathrobes and towels. Perhaps they’ll start tracking other hotel room items as well.
Gee, How Did That Towel End Up in My Suitcase?
As the state of the economy becomes more and more uncertain, many families are obviously tightening their budgets. Cutting back on grocery costs is a great way to save money and you don’t necessarily have to sacrifice the quality of your meals. In order to keep eating well on a budget you’ll have to start following some basic rules. You’ll need to start eating at home instead of going out, collecting coupons, and buying store brand products. If you do it right and keep the habit going you’ll find that you can make multiple meals in less time while saving money and improving your financial position.
Many families like to go out and eat because of the convenience, but if you want to save money it’s the first and most important habit you need to break. Stop going to fast food restaurants and start buying groceries that will allow you to prepare meals at home. Don’t purchase junk food. Buy fruits, vegetables, canned goods, and meats. Purchase it