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Safety Glasses – There is No Excuse Not to Have Them

Guest Post

Every day across the United States there are about 2,000 workers who have the misfortune of experiencing a job-related eye injury that requires some medical attention. This is a shocking number of injuries that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have revealed; and the worst part of all is that these are injuries are preventable by wearing safety glasses.

Shockingly, the financial cost of these injuries amounts to more than $300 million every year in medical costs, lost production time as well as workers compensation. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compiled this figure and what they also address is that there is no amount of money that can truly reflect how these injuries have affected those who are affected. What can never be stressed enough is that anyone who may have any chance of sustaining an eye injury needs to be wearing safety glasses on the job (or at home if need be).

Bottom line, three out of five workers were not wearing safety glasses at the time of the accident according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wearing the wrong kind of safety glasses is to blame for some of the other workers. Although they were wearing some form of eye protection, these glasses had no side shields. In some cases, people are wearing safety glasses when they should be wearing safety sunglasses to be able to better see what they are doing.
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Save Money By Going Green This Winter

Guest Post

Depending on where you live, winter is either approaching or already upon you. The days are getting shorter, the nights have turned cold, and you may have already seen some snow flurries in the air. For some people, winter means holiday shopping and exotic getaways, ski chalets and warm fireplaces. For those of us in debt, however, winter simply means more expenses that we cannot easily afford. Our utility bills are higher. Our car may require maintenance. Our kids might need new coats.

These looming winter expenses can be discouraging. But before you despair and start taking out title loans, consider making an investment that should stand to drastically reduce your winter expenses. Consider, in short, going green this holiday season.

Here are some suggestions:

Get Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs

While more expensive than traditional light bulbs, energy efficient bulbs are proven to last far longer – a longevity that more than makes up for their increase in cost. Replacing the lights in your home, then, can bring in savings over the course of the winter months.
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There IS Affordable Health Insurance IF You Know Where to Look

Guest Post by Timothy L. Barnes, CLU

This post is Tim’s response to my post of June 17th, The Self-Employed Health Insurance Dilemma. As a Chartered Life Underwriter, Tim wishes to point out that there are affordable health insurance options for the self-employed–and for nearly everyone else–if you know where to look and are prepared to make necessary trade-offs.–Kevin M

In the 1939 classic, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” Frank Capra illustrated thatWashingtonD.C. had already become a place where politicians were willing to spread lies and misinformation to serve their own desire to hold onto power.

Nothing has changed in the last 60 years. Politicians have used the media to spread rumors about health insurance that are not entirely true. The only difference is that in 1939 the media was dominated by newspapers. Today, politicians prefer to smile in front of TV cameras.

The people called “journalists” in 1939 are now called TV anchors. Just like the “reporters” in the 1930s, TV news tells stories that will result in more advertising dollars. Newspapers before World War II and TV stations today honestly tells stories but with their own agendas in mind.

Most recently, politicians and pundits have told Americans that they need to be scared by the high cost of health insurance. They are using the classical political trick that Michael Douglas exposes in “The American President.”

They are,

Telling Americans what to fear.
Telling Americans who to blame.

“That is how you win elections!”
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Fear of Admitting Investing Mistakes Can Cause Bigger Investing Mistakes

Beyond Buy-and-Hold # 45

By Rob Bennett

You’re walking down the street and a fellow offers you a proposition. He will flip a coin. You will say in advance whether you think it will turn up heads or tails. If you are wrong, you will pay him $10. If you are right, he will pay you $20.

The fellow is offering you odds strongly in your favor. There’s a 50 percent chance that you will lose money. But there’s also a 50 percent chance that you will gain twice that amount of money. Logic says that this is a good bet to take. Casinos get rich by setting things up so that they can be on the right side of bets like this. This fellow is offering you the opportunity to enjoy the edge ordinarily possesses only by casinos.

The behavioral finance literature teaches us that, if you are like most people, you will turn the fellow down.

Our aversion to losses is greater than the joy we feel in response to wins. Intellectually, the proposition being offered you is a winner. Emotionally, the edge you are being offered is probably not sufficient to persuade you to take a chance on suffering a loss.

Beyond Buy-and-Hold # 39

By Rob Bennett

Some people believe in God.

Some people don’t.

Have you noticed that those who believe find new evidence of God in everything they see? They look at the stars and they see evidence of God. They look at the grass and they see evidence of God. They experience hard times and that brings them to a closer relationship with God.

But those who do not believe find evidence that there is no God in everything they see. They look at the stars and they see evidence there is no God. They look at the grass and they see evidence that there is no God. They experience hard times and they become more confirmed in their minds that there is no God.

Both groups see the same things. They come to opposite conclusions about just about everything. Because they examine the same inputs from entirely different perspectives. It’s often the starting point in a logic chain that determines its ending point. Get the fundamentals wrong and you can never end up in the right place no matter how much work you put into the project.

Is There Cash in Your Trash?

If you are like me, you are always getting rid of stuff. Maybe you are in the process of moving, relocating, or simply doing some spring cleaning. Or maybe you are just clearing some much-needed space in your house.

Whatever the reason, it always gives me a sense of relief and accomplishment to fill up my trash cans with things I no longer need or perhaps things I never really needed in the first place. And I’ll bet you are no different.

Throwing Money Away

But there is one thing you would never think of putting in your trash can. That would be your wallet. Yet based on some of the things I see in the dumpsters at some of the storage facilities I visit, people may as well be throwing away their wallets along with all the money inside them.
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Consider an Online Degree For a Change of Career

By Katheryn Rivas

So perhaps you’ve been in the same line of work for several years, and you’re craving something different. While throughout most of the 20th century, it was considered perfectly normal to stay the course with a specific company or career path, now, job mobility and flexibility is standard.

Changing careers has become much more accepted, so the only thing holding you back is probably self-imposed thinking that dictates you can’t change tracks. But if you play your cards right, you can indeed make a complete jump into something different.

Online education has grown exponentially in the past few years precisely because it meets the needs of today’s mobile and flexible workforce. It’s generally less expensive and it teaches key skills that align with whatever field you wish to enter. And what’s the best part about it all? An online degree can be completed in the comfort of your own home.

How Do You Stop Others From Using Your Wireless Internet?

By Kevin M

A few months ago a friend of mine was tooling around on our home computers and made a discovery that stunned me.

“Someone else is using your connection” he said, almost casually.

I of course, was anything but casual at the news. “Who would be doing that?” I asked, trying to sound intelligent, but failing miserably.

“Just about anybody with a laptop computer within a couple hundred feet of the house” he answered. “Someone with a laptop in their car parked on the street near the house could do it.”

I have heard this can even be tapped into with a T1 internet connection in some cases.

Have you ever heard news that was so shocking that logic failed you? This was one of those moments for me. I couldn’t think of a series of questions that would glean the information that would put my mind at ease. The implications of what had been revealed that day were so far reaching that I did what humans have been doing for thousands of years upon hearing disturbing news: I put it out of my mind.

Now if you’ve ever read any of my previous posts, you know that I’m a self declared techno-idiot, and I’m not joking about that. The average high school student knows more about computer related matters than I do, so if I make any comments that seem ridiculous, or pose questions where the answer is obvious, just consider the source!

How to Save Money At The Movies

By Kevin M

Last Saturday night, we decided to go see Avatar, a highly acclaimed movie that lived up to its billing. It was the first time we’d been to the movies this year, and I’m almost embarrassed to admit that the reason we decided to go at all was that our daughter was at a weekend sleepover, which meant that only my wife, my son and myself would go, saving us money on the fare (OK, she wasn’t really excited about seeing the movie anyway).

Now we live in the Atlanta area, which is a region nearly famous for having a very reasonable cost of living. Despite this, here’s the run down of what it costs to take in a movie in these parts:

Movie ticket: $10.50 per person (seems to go up a dollar every year)
Medium popcorn: $7
Medium soft drink: $5
Box of candy: $5

I can only imagine what it costs to go to the movies in “high cost” areas.

If each person in the family goes for the “full package”—movie, popcorn, drink and candy, the cost is an astonishing $27.50 per person, or $110 for a family of four (a 12 year old is an “adult” at the ticket window)! And we haven’t even added dinner!

Wasting (Money) Away Again in Margaritaville

The Local Watering Hole as a Financial Bottomless Pit

Kevin M

At the risk of personal safety I’m going to take aim today at an “expense” that may be sacrosanct for some, but that’s exactly why it needs to be discussed.

Jimmy Buffet’s 1977 sentimental favorite Margaritaville tells a tale of a carefree life lived on a warm beach in a perpetual state of inebriation. As appealing as that can be at times, when it’s romanticized into a regular activity at a local bar, the costs can be steep, and we aren’t just talking about money.

For the purpose of full disclosure, I’m a light drinker. I’ll indulge in an occasional beer or glass of wine (or two or three), most frequently with dinner guests, but consumption of alcohol has never been a priority in my life. I can go for months without drinking or sit in a bar for three or four hours nursing soft drinks, surrounded by people drinking the hard stuff. I don’t know if that status disqualifies me or gives me the vantage point of an objective outsider, or if it even matters.

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