Benjamin: August 2009

Monday, August 10, 2009

The New Pizza is Frugal Pie

Pizza presents possibilities

I was watching “Food Network Challenge” the other day, and it was a pizza-making competition. Of course, I was glued to the set. What is better than pizza? It was very unfortunate for me that I didn’t have any pizza to eat while watching it, but luckily I survived. Barely.

One of the contestants made an interesting comment, which was that anything edible can be a pizza topping. Of course, I was very skeptical about this, but then the guy didn’t say it would be good, he just said you could do it.

Forgotten foods

Everyone knows that the best way to save money on groceries is to keep from wasting anything. Even if you get the cheapest personal loan and use it for groceries, you’re wasting your money if you’ve still got food that you haven’t eaten.

Sometimes food items get left in the cupboard simply because no one wants to eat them. Sometimes vegetables and fruits go bad before they are eaten. So, if this Food Network contestant was right, and any food can be a pizza topping, could pizza be the answer to making the most of your groceries?

Back to the basics

So, you do need three things in order to make pizza: dough, cheese and sauce. There are several different types of sauce that work, including all different types of spaghetti sauce and other things you wouldn’t expect. I have had pizza that just used ranch dressing for the sauce and it was delicious.

Pizza dough is pretty easy to make, but if you have leftover bread products like sandwich rolls, bagels or English muffins you could potentially make individual pizzas and use those up as well.

I have actually heard people argue that you can make pizza without cheese. I think that is just ridiculous. If it isn’t covered in cheese it isn’t pizza. End of story. Now that we’ve got that straight, let’s talk toppings. … click here to read the rest of the article titled “The New Pizza is Frugal Pie“

The Power of Passive Index Fund Investing: An Example

The other day, I was trying to explain to a friend why I invest in index funds. I came up with this example, which I’m not sure is perfect but I thought I’d share it.

Background: Market Cap Indexes
When you hear “index funds”, it traditionally means mutual funds that follow an index which holds companies proportionally to their market capitalization. If a company has 1,000,000 shares and each share is trading at $25, then its total market capitalization is $25 million.

Let’s take the S&P 500 Index. The market cap of Starbucks (SBUX) is $14 billion dollars, while Exxon Mobil (XOM) is worth $334 billion. So an index fund tracking the S&P 500 would hold 24 times as much Exxon as Starbucks.

The index fund is “passively managed” in that it does not make any of its own decisions on the value of each company, it simply accepts the value of the each company as determined by each day’s market trading between millions of investors.

An Alternate Universe

Let’s imagine an alternate universe where we only have two companies, AAA and ZZZ, that make widgets, the one thing people there buy. Both have a million shares outstanding. Company AAA makes widgets and has earnings of $1 million a year. It’s been around a while and is fairly boring, so the price/earnings ratio is 10, making the market cap $10 million. Thus, each share is worth $10.

Company ZZZ also makes widgets and has earning of only $500,000 per year. But it’s newer and makes stylish widgets that attract young people. People seem to think it has greater potential for earnings growth, so the P/E ratio is 20. Thus, the market share is also $10 million, or $10 per share.

An index fund is created to track this alternate universe, and based on market-cap it holds 50% AAA and 50% ZZZ.

So what happens in the future?

Scenario #1
ZZZ could keep taking market share from AAA with their cool and stylish widgets. AAA’s earnings go down to $500,000, and the P/E stays constant at 10, leading to a new market cap of $5m. ZZZ starts earning $1,000,000 per year, and with a P/E of 20 grows to a market cap of $20m.

What happens to the shares in your index fund? Nothing. No trades are made, because only the share values have changed. You hold the same number of shares of each. However, your fund’s value has grown 25% because the value of ZZZ has doubled, while the value of AAA has been cut in half. Your holdings based on market value are now 20% AAA and 80% ZZZ.

Scenario #2
Things are going along, but then a new medical study finds that ZZZ’s widgets cause cancer, and it turns out the CEOs have been covering this up for years. ZZZ tanks, and is now trading at a penny per share, while everyone is switching to AAA’s reliable widgets. AAA goes up to a market cap of $25m ($25 per share).

What happens to the shares in your index fund? Still nothing, even though you now own 99.96% AAA. Meanwhile, your fund has grown another 20% because of AAA’s growth, even with ZZZ’s collapse.

Summary
You don’t know what is going to happen in the future. There are a million different possible scenarios I could have chosen. AAA could have split off a small division called BBB and it could have taken over the world. The most important point is, whatever happens, with a market-cap index fund, you are guaranteed to own all the winners.

You’ll also have owned the losers, but remember you won’t know who they are beforehand. Buggy whip manufacturers used to be huge. Now, iPhone-making companies are growing. One day iPhones will be in landfills, and we’ll be onto downloading knowledge directly into our brains or something. Or maybe we’ll run out of oil and be back to buggy whips. Who knows.

“Don’t look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack.” - John C. Bogle

This is the power of passively-managed index funds. With low-cost index funds, you’ll even be guaranteed to beat the average investors’ performance because of investment expenses eating into their return.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Podcast 16: Jeff Rose, Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports Autos

In this episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast Tom Dziubek speaks with Jeff Rose, Certified Financial Planner^™ about financial planning. Jeff talks about different professional designations for financial planners and what it takes to become certified. He shares with Consumerism Commentary Podcast listeners some of the trends he sees with his clients, advice that could benefit everyone.

Tom also interviews Jeff Bartlett, online editor for autos at Consumer Reports, about how the magazine tests and evaluates cars. Jeff also shares suggestions for shoppers who are currently in the market for a safe, reliable car, either new or used, and offers tips for negotiating with car salespeople.

To listen, use the player above (Adobe Flash required), download the podcast here, subscribe to the podcast RSS feed, or use the iTunes link. Note: open links in a new window (Ctrl-click or Command-click) to avoid interrupting the podcast.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo and an announcement about Money Quantum
[00:58] Interview with Jeff Rose, Certified Financial Planner
– [01:12] Difference between Financial Planners and Financial Advisers
– [01:57] The CFP and other designations
– [04:50] Jeff’s website, Good Financial Cents
– [06:36] Changes in saving habits since the beginning of the recession
– [08:10] Tom asks Jeff for free 401(k) advice
[13:02] Interview with Jeff Bartlett, Autos Deputy Editor for Consumer Reports
– [13:15] Auto testing methodology at Consumer Reports
– [15:05] How Consumer Reports handles reliability reports from customers
– [17:02] Consumer Reports’ perceived bias towards foreign cars
– [19:20] Qualifications for the Cash for Clunkers program
– [21:17] Possibility of Cash for Clunkers hurting domestic car sales
– [22:12] American cars that have made the best strides in fuel efficiency
– [22:46] Best buys for new cars
– [23:58] Negotiating with car salesmen
– [26:37] Best choices for used cars
[28:58] End

We always welcome feedback from listeners. If you have any comments for this episode or for any other, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, please leave us comments here or email us at podcast at this domain name.

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 16: Jeff Rose, Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports Autos

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Posts of the Week

Here are some articles of note.

12 Step Program: Shopping Addiction? MLR (My Life ROI) offers an overview of a twelve-step program for overcoming an addition to shopping. What I really like about this post are the twelve ways to spot a shopping addict. People are notoriously inept when it comes to self-evaluation; perhaps someone you love is a shopping addict. Is it time to plan an intervention?

Spending Cash Is the Same As Borrowing If You Have Debts. The best point in this article by Four Pillars is that all cash should be treated the same. In his example, if you’re in “debt repayment mode,” as much of your cash should be put towards that goal as possible rather than setting aside a portion for fun — the fun you already had that landed you in debt.

Unfortunately, not all debt is a result of fun. And I certainly don’t agree that you should sacrifice a complete emergency fund to pay off debt — if an emergency arises, your only choice would be to go deeper into debt. But as an example of the first point I mentioned, in the past I tried to separate the income from my day job from income from my side activities. This worked well but only to a point. When I realized I had enough income to maximize my 401(k) contributions, I was doing so with a significant percentage of my salary. This resulted in having no choice but to pay for some living expenses from the side income.

What the Heck is a Money Quantum? On Tuesday, Consumerism Commentary will be launching a new community-focused website, in the style of social networking, for people whose life involves money. Mighty Bargain Hunter had an early look at the site, Money Quantum, and shared his thoughts in this article. I’m really excited about this new project. I’ll be sharing more details shortly, and will soon be letting readers know how they can obtain an invite during the “private beta” phase of the launch.

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Posts of the Week

Friday, August 7, 2009

Julia Child Recipes | How About Dinner and a Movie?

‘Julie & Julia’ is finally here!

Meryl Streep as Julia Child

The much-anticipated film “Julie & Julia” hits theaters today. My friends are all foodies, so I know a lot of people who are very excited to watch this movie. I’m sure this movie will pull in some big box office bucks.

Despite the fact that my movie moneymaking predictions are almost always wrong, I am going to go ahead and predict that “Julie & Julia” will sell the mos tickets at the box office this weekend. If this prediction is wrong, I’ll be on quite the streak of bad predictions, but luckily my job is to educate people about payday loans and write financial news, not to predict movie earnings.

Get festive with Julia Child recipes

Everyone loves food and movies, and it’s not too often that the two get to meld. So why not turn it into an event? Julia Child’s cooking show started airing in 1963 and she was a famous culinary television personality into the ’90s, but never developed much of an online presence. She doesn’t even have her own web site! Still, you can find Julia Child recipes sprinkled all over the internet.

So, in honor of a movie about a woman who made every one of Julia Child’s recipes, maybe you could just make one or two. I found an article from Ladies’ Home Journal about Meryl Streep and Amy Adams (who play Julia and Julie in the movie) and their favorite Julia Child recipes. Amy’s favorite is more of a side dish, so you could easily make a great dinner using both of these recipes. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Julia Child Recipes | How About Dinner and a Movie?"

"Hello Cow" Song | Be Good to a Bovine

A mooove in the right direction

(Photo: myspace.com)

Do you like milk? Oh yeah? How much?

If you feel some kind of maternal-infant attachment to cows somewhere deep down in your psyche, it should come as no surprise. Now mind you, I’m not saying that ladies are breastfeeding the bovines, or that young children are made to suckle at the teats of barnyard animals. I’m not redneck enough to even suggest something like that.

What I am saying is that unless they’re lactose intolerant or otherwise allergic to milk, kids tend to love cows. This love tends to move on into adulthood. Rebellious teens in Wisconsin towns love them so much that they tip them. It’s not exclusive to Wisconsin, though. Anywhere where cows are doing good work, they’ll get tipped. Oh yes they will. Me, I’d use payday loans and short term loans if it meant that cows would get what’s coming to them.

And the “Hello Cow” song is for them

It’s busting out all over, according to Google. The “Hello Cow” song is a squirt of fresh milk in the eye of the typical sordid fare that people search for on the Web: Vanessa Hudgens pictures leaked, Steven Tyler dead, Lady Gaga hermaphrodite picture, et al. We need “Hello Cow” songs to get through the weekend, not the usual assortment of trash.

According to the Village Voice, FOX News ran a feature on dairy cows and the farmers who love them so much that they give them waterbeds to sleep on. Here’s that little story: ... click here to read the rest of the article titled ""Hello Cow" Song | Be Good to a Bovine"

"Hello Cow" Song | Be Good to a Bovine

A mooove in the right direction

(Photo: myspace.com)

Do you like milk? Oh yeah? How much?

And the “Hello Cow” song is for them

How and Why Do Rumors Like 'Steven Tyler's Dead' Get Started?

Steven Tyler dead from a little tumble? No.

Aerosmith frontman dead from a scratch and some bruises? No. He's a live and well.

The world was aghast yesterday when Steven Tyler fell off the stage while performing at a motorcycle rally. But word got out quickly that his injuries were minor, and he was fine.

However, Steven Tyler did go to the hospital, and pretty soon the “Steven Tyler’s dead!” rumor started to fly. It seems any time a celebrity is admitted to the hospital, somebody out there decides that person is dead. The more famous the person is, the more likely there will be rampant rumors of death.

Who first said “Steven Tyler’s dead”?

So, I know that this happens. I remember rumors recently that Jeff Goldblum died and lots of other instances of fake celebrity deaths being widely reported. So I understand that this happens, I just don’t understand why.

What’s the motivation for spreading “Steven Tyler’s dead” rumors? Most things can usually be traced back to money. Is there someone out there saying, “Hey, I’ll give you a cash advance if you spread a rumor that Steven Tyler is dead”? Somehow I don’t think so.

Making waves in the media

I know that magazines and newspapers and online publications make money if they break a big story. However, that usually only works if the story is true or if somehow one publication can maintain control of the story. Sure, the National Enquirer prints false stories on a regular basis, but people buy the magazine because it’s the only one reporting on the Bat Child or that Patrick Swayze is a woman. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "How and Why Do Rumors Like 'Steven Tyler's Dead' Get Started?"

OptionsXpress $100 New Account Bonus via Referral

Here’s another solid opening account bonus for an online broker. OptionsXpress is offering new customers a $100 bonus if they open an account with a referral from a current customer. You must maintain an average balance of $500 for 6 months, and make at least one trade. That’s a pretty sweet return on $500 in exchange for you trying out their service.

OptionsXpress offers $14.95 trades, free real-time and streaming quotes, and has lots of features for options traders. There are no minimum account balances, no account maintenance fees, and no inactivity fees.

If you’re looking for something safe to buy, the new WisdomTree Current Income Fund ETF (USY) is designed to have very low volatility and currently yields 1.03%. Another option I like is PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly (PVI), which also has a stable NAV from VRDOs and currently yields 2.62% tax-free. These would also work well with the TradeKing $50 bonus if you’re low on stock ideas.

I have an account, so if you’d like a referral just contact me with OptionsXpress in the subject, and I’ll be happy to send you one. I only need your e-mail address. You must open your account with the same e-mail you give me, and also use the promotional code FRIEND on your application.

Here’s the complete fine print:

$100 in your account and $100 in your friend’s account
Offer limited to one $100 bonus per referrer and referred friend, for each unique referral resulting in a newly activated, funded optionsXpress account meeting the terms and conditions of the refer a friend program. To qualify for the $100 bonus, the referred account must maintain a per account average balance of $500 for 6 months, and the account must trade at least once. The $100 bonus will be deposited into the referrer and referred accounts within 45 days after the referred friend meets the terms and conditions of the offer. To qualify, the referrer must enter the referred friend’s email address through this page, and the referred friend must enter the promo code “FRIEND” through the new account application form when opening the new account. A referred customer can only qualify for the $100 bonus a total of one time. A customer can only qualify for a total of $500 from any combination of optionsXpress cash promotions per calendar year. Deposits of new f! unds or securities from existing optionsXpress accounts are not eligible for this offer. Qualified (IRA), linked and shared accounts are not eligible for this offer. This offer is not valid for optionsXpress associates, non-U.S. residents, certain referring parties, and where otherwise prohibited. Customers can not exchange the $100 for other offers, cash or credit. We reserve the right at our sole discretion, to cancel, modify or suspend this offer program at any time without notice.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Understanding Roth IRA Conversions

Photo: oskay

The opportunity to convert an existing regular IRA to a Roth IRA may be the single biggest upside to the stock market’s extended slide. The younger you are and the more aggressive your investment strategy, the more likely it is that a conversion to a Roth IRA will make sense for you.

You may already be aware of the key difference between a regular IRA and a Roth IRA. At a very high level, a regular IRA provides for tax-deferred growth whereas a Roth IRA gives you tax-free growth. All else equal, we’d all prefer tax-free growth, of course. Here’s everything you need to know about Roth Conversions

Contributions to a Roth IRA are limited and are not deductible

Trouble is, income limitations prevent everyone from being eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA. During 2009, if you’re single and make more than $120,000 ($176,000 combined with your spouse, if you’re married), you can’t contribute a dollar to a Roth IRA. Furthermore, those who can make a Roth IRA contribution can’t deduct it – that’s your key upfront sacrifice for the many future years of tax-free growth.

A Roth Conversion allows everyone access to a Roth IRA

Let’s first define what a Roth conversion is: the transformation of your retirement account from tax-deferred to tax-free status. You effectively move money from an existing regular IRA or former employer’s 401k account into your Roth IRA. The cost to do this conversion is the payment of regular income tax on virtually the entire amount you convert. (You’ll pay tax on 100% of the converted amount unless you previously made non-deductible contributions).

Roth Conversion restrictions are going away

Through the end of 2009, conversions are only available to those people who earn less than $100,000 and have filing statuses other than married, filing separately. However, both of those restrictions are eliminated at the end of the year. As a result, anyone who wishes to contribute to a Roth IRA but whose income level is too high can make a 2009 contribution to his/her regular IRA and simply convert part of their account in 2010.

Why converting your Roth IRA could make sense today

If you’re confident your 2009 adjusted gross income will be less than $100,000, you don’t have to wait until 2010 to convert. Furthermore, you can take advantage of market downturn, as I referenced earlier. Here’s a simple example:

Say you invest in stock and you accumulated 300 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock (JNJ) over the years. If you converted your shares during April of 2008, when JNJ was trading at about $67 per share, you’d have converted $20,100 of stock. Assuming you were in the 25% tax bracket, you would have owed about $5,000 in taxes on the conversion.

In April 2009, JNJ was trading at about $51 per share. If you converted the stock then, you would have converting $15,300. If you were in the same 25% tax bracket, you’d owe just over $3,800 in tax, not $5,000, for a permanent tax savings of $1,200. In either conversion, you retain ownership in the long-term potential price appreciate of JNJ, yet in the latter case you’ve successfully timed the market from a tax perspective.

It’s certainly possible that stock prices could go lower from here and that a further delayed conversion could be even more lucrative from a tax perspective. Nonetheless, a conversion could make more sense for you today than at any time previously.

Take advantage of your youth

The big upside of voluntarily paying taxes (since you don’t have to convert), is the tax-free appreciation of your converted investments. The longer the amount of time you have until you plan on taking your money out (ideally retirement), the greater the odds that a Roth IRA conversion will make sense.

In addition, the better your investment performance between now and retirement, the greater the upside of converting to a Roth IRA. Still, it makes sense to run the numbers. Importantly, it seldom makes sense to convert to a Roth IRA if you don’t have the money available to pay the tax on conversion. Using money from your IRA to pay the tax almost never makes financial sense.

Keep in mind that it’s not an all-or-nothing proposition. If you want to convert your retirement account but just don’t have the funds set aside to pay all the taxes, consider converting some of your account. You can always do some more next year.

Michael B. Rubin is the author of Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck and the blog of the same name. He is the President of Total Candor, a financial planning education company.

'Cash For Clunkers': A Closer Look

So far, 8 in 10 of the vehicles traded in under the government’s “cash for clunkers” program have been trucks. The three Detroit automakers’ nameplates have accounted for 45 percent of the new-car sales. Explore an interactive map showing the states in which the trade-in program has been the most popular.

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Dirico Motorcycles Bring Together Rock and Road

Steven Tyler falls off stage

If Steven Tyler was trying to get his motorcycle brand, Dirico Motorcycles, some media attention he did a great job. Steven Tyler fell off the stage while performing at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and was taken to the hospital.

Don’t worry. He’s fine. I don’t really think there’s a reality where Steven Tyler falls off stage just to get people to buy his motorcycles. Tyler is a pretty smart guy — and a pretty rich guy — so that doesn’t sound like something he’d do.

Dirico Motorcycles in the media

Still, when Steven Tyler falls off stage it makes the news. I didn’t even know that Steven Tyler had his own motorcycle brand before today, but now I know all about Dirico Motorcycles. It appears that Steven Tyler gave inventor Mark Dirico some easy cash loans, and a motorcycle brand was born.

Dirico Motorcycles web site says:

Music innovator Steven Tyler and master inventor Mark Dirico merged their respective art forms to create Dirico Motorcycles, USA. Designed and hand built for seamless function, Dirico motorcycles are statements of craftsmanship, style, detail, and innovation, expressed through modern-age components yet assembled with old-world skill. They connect with the owner through their lines and inspire the rider through their performance.

So, you want to buy a Dirico Motorcycle?

Of course, you can buy Dirico Motorcycles through the Dirico Motorcycles web site. But what kind of rider orders a bike without even seeing it or test driving it? I don’t know anyone who would buy a motorcycle without getting a feel for it. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Dirico Motorcycles Bring Together Rock and Road"

Answering Mail: Using Debit Cards as Credit Cards

Every so often I address questions and comments I receive via email or Twitter. If you have a question, please contact me using the form on this page. I try to respond to everyone, but it might take a while before I read every email I receive.

From A. Parker:

What is the difference between the options when a cashier asks you whether you would like to use your debit card as “credit” or “debit?”

Merchants offer pay the middlemen between them and banks less for “debit” transactions, which generally require you to enter a PIN. You will likely see merchants, if they show favor between “debit” and “credit” transactions, lead a customer towards “debit.” To use a debit card as “credit,” you are not actually using it like a credit card. Your bank account will still be debited immediately, overnight, or on the next business day. In most cases, you will be required to sign for the transaction rather than entering your PIN, but signature-less credit card transactions are increasingly common.

According to Visa, using a debit card as “credit” helps to ensure you’ll receive the credit card network’s protections like “Zero Liability.” This also ensures that Visa receives a bigger chunk of the merchant’s money.

If you have questions, let us know. You can email your questions directly to me (or to Smithee, Jeff, or Tom) or leave your questions in the comments area.

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Answering Mail: Using Debit Cards as Credit Cards

Ask the Readers – Are You Employed at Credit Card Inc?

I always thought that going out for a meal was a much better social gathering than other types of get-togethers because of the social interaction involved (required). A few days ago, my luncheon with a friend confirmed this idea further.

He told me that he uses many credit cards in order to “snipe” the best rewards from each one. Naturally, the conversation sparked an interesting debate since I’m the type that thinks having even two credit cards can be confusing.

So let me ask you, do you study credit card rewards so much that you might as well work for those companies that issue them?

Before you answer, let me tell you what my friend does in more detail.

Every time he gets a chance, he applies for those 0% balance transfers credit card offers (some I recommend are at that link). He doesn’t use it to pay off debt or anything that I suggest. Instead, he uses the cards to buy big purchase items to act as an interest free loan. Pretty clever idea but a little over the top I must say as he has 4 cards just based on these offers.
Then he has his rewards. He’s got the American Express True Earnings Costco Card that gives him 3% cash back on gas, which he uses for in addition to his Costco expenses.
He’s also got a Charles Schwab 2% unlimited cash back Visa card that he currently uses for pretty much everything else.
My friend also has a Citi Forward card just for Amazon purchases, because he gets 5% back from it.
Let’s not go into more details, but he actually has 6 other credit cards (or so he claims) he’s received over the years for a total of 11 cards.

My Take on Building the Credit Card Empire

I don’t know why he’s able to get approved for so many cards, as his potential credit risk must be extremely high. Aside from that, I also don’t think having that many cards is really beneficial because carry so many credit cards must be cumbersome (let alone remembering all the payment due dates).

Another detail he’s forgetting is the affect this has on his credit score. While his utilization score must be top notched, I can’t help but think that his average account age is very short, given that he always applies for new ones.

Another, and perhaps the killer for this approach – the time it takes him to study all these rewards and how he can benefit. He doesn’t seem to keep track, but I bet that it’s like a part time job just to keep all the cards paid, all the reward programs organized and stay up to date with the latest in the reward structures. It works for him, but definitely too much work for me.

On the plus side, my friend does seem to get more in terms of rewards this way compared to my basic one credit card approach. Instead of the 1% of every purchase that I get, he gets 2% more for gas and 4% more for Amazon. On top of that, he gets 1% more with his Charles Schwab card. Hmm, maybe I should look into getting a few more cards to get more free money?

So, is credit card mania worth it? Do you do something similar (or will you try it)? Let me (and my friend) know!

—
Related Articles at Personal Finance Blog by Money Ning:

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Is Bachelorette's Ed Cheating On Jillian?

Will honeymoon be over before it starts?

Will they make it to happily ever after?

I don’t know how much it cost ABC or the producers of “The Bachelorette” to make the show, but the good news for them is that now that “After The Final Rose” has aired, they get to keep all of their money, even if “The Bachelorette” winner Ed is cheating on Jillian.

Rumors are going around that even after Ed Swiderski got engaged to Jillian Harris on “The Bachelorette” he continued to have contact with two women — contact that was more than friendly — or so the women say.

Will another one bite the dust?

The relationships forged on “The Bachelorette” do not have a good track record of working out. I certainly wouldn’t bet my cash until payday on it. In this case, the first time was the charm, and only the couple who met in Season One of “The Bachelorette” are together to this day. Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter met on “The Bachelorette” 2003, got married and now have two kids.

Fast forward to the current “Bachelorette” cheating scandal, and you have a better idea of how the rest of the couples fared. None of them are together now. Despite the dismal marriage rate on this show, ABC keeps shelling out the money to make it, people keep watching in record numbers, and advertisers keep gobbling up air time during the show. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Is Bachelorette's Ed Cheating On Jillian?"

GOP Thugs at Town Halls: Paid By Healthcare Industry

Obamacare town halls draw hooligans

(Photo: votingfemale.wordpress.com)

You would expect that people would be able to hold a civilized discourse with elected officials when it comes to arguing the merits or drawbacks to an important piece of legislation. However, when it comes to universal healthcare with a public option in America, it appears that productive discussion is beyond the mental faculties of the maddening handful of people who instead shout and scream until town hall meetings are shut down.

Considering how similar the tactics of these hooligans have been across the nation at the various town hall meetings, it seems like these people have been organized. No, it doesn’t just seem like it… they have actually been organized and paid for! No short term loans or payday loans here - they’re receiving cash stipends. In some cases, they’ll probably also receive jobs within the Republican Party, much like protesters at the Florida Bush-Gore recount did.

“Shut it down!”

According to “The Rachel Maddow Show,” a leaked memo from a group called Right Principles was intercepted by the Web site Think Progress. This memo indicates that these town hall protests against Democratic senators speaking in support of public option health insurance are being orchestrated, even scripted. They are instructions on how to shut down the town hall meetings. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "GOP Thugs at Town Halls: Paid By Healthcare Industry"