Business is Personal (Finance)

• Mobile blogging platform

  Jan 30, 2010
  This is not one of my usual topics of discussion. However, while looking to install a mobile blogging interface, I saw this question asked many times without an answer so this is my public service announcement.Question: The iMT plugin (iPhone... 0

• Prosper Post-Mortem

  Jan 27, 2010
  The process of previewing my taxes reminded me to check my Prosper account to download all my statements for 2009. I first heard about Prosper back in 2006 and was quite excited about it. Here was an investment option where... 0

• Housing is cheap...er...

  Jan 26, 2010
  The following story says the trailing 15 year premium-to-buy for the San Francisco metro area is 296% but it was down to 233% in 3rd quarter 2009.http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/21/buying-versus-renting-lifestyle-real-estate-homes.htmlThe local news stories are quoting and declaring it's time to buy, buy, buy!... 0

• April 15 ... I mean June 15

  Jan 25, 2010
  I decided to take an early look at my taxes to avoid being overly surprised by an April 15 tax bill. While I have yet to get most of my tax documents, I can make good enough guesses to get... 0

• Random follow-ups

  Jan 25, 2010
  Follow-ups to some of my previous posts: Website Changes The web user interface is now consistent across all screens. In addition, some previously missing functionality has been restored. Copied style from Home (last 10 entries) to Category Archives and Search... 0

• Millionaire Next Door and Business Owners

  Jan 22, 2010
  The subject of running your own business comes up all the time whether online or offline. People will talk about needing good ideas, proper business plans, networking, dedication, ability to take risk and so on. However, it seems perhaps the... 0

• Website Changes

  Jan 20, 2010
  One of the projects my company next wants to tackle is to produce a mobile version of our web product. To that end, I have switched to a minimalistic style as a first step before creating a mobile version of... 2

• Can you spare a million mister?

  Jan 20, 2010
  A recent story in CNN about the wealthy having trouble getting mortgages:http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/20/real_estate/mortgage_woes_for_wealthy/index.htmSome of the examples of woe in the article:A self-made man, he had sold a business and put much of the proceeds in a charitable remainder unitrust that paid... 0

• Christmas Spending

  Jan 19, 2010
  I'll need a few more months before I have enough records to make some sense of our spending. However, I can say our December was one of the lowest on record. In China, Christmas is a minor holiday -- store... 0

• "Look at all the money I saved!"

  Jan 17, 2010
  An edited snippet (for grammar) from a conversation on the topic of travelling in China:Don't forget the exchange rate! $1 equals almost 7. You will save lots of money shopping!:) I tried to make a joke about this statement but... 0

• Thank you for riding the REIT dropzone, please come again

  Jan 14, 2010
  If somebody opened up a Wall Street themed amusement park, a REIT rollercoaster would be one of the most harrowing rides. If you were monitoring the VGSIX/VNQ on a regular basis, here is what the monthly fluctuations looked like: When... 0

• Transferring money to China

  Jan 14, 2010
  Living in China but collecting a U.S. paycheck (direct deposited into Vanguard money market funds) does require getting the money over. Here are some of the methods I have been using:Western UnionMost people use Western Union by bringing cash in... 2

• China visas

  Jan 13, 2010
  I've just renewed my Temporary Residence Permit (basically a visa that is only issued inside China) so the visa process is still very fresh in my mind.If you are interested in a stay longer than a vacation and you are... 0