Cheapo Groovo

Stop The Carbon Tax

While Al Gore, Bono, and the United Nations want to place a carbon tax on us, they remain silent about these alternatives:

1. GOOGLE "city sues man for cancelling trash service"
2. New home construction should use rain harvesting
3. Re-build communities so churches, schools, and shopping are within walking distance
4. Have governments’ do more than symbolic efforts
5. Stop Saturday mail delivery
6. Put timers on streetlights
7. Automate toilet flushing in public areas (stadiums where 100,000 fans flush toilets)
8. Use public service announcements and direct mail to convince businesses to turn off computers and fluorescent lights at the end of the day
9. Go back to local organic farming
10. Find alternatives to all the petroleum based products we use (Ammonia, Anesthetics, Antihistamines, Artificial limbs, Artificial Turf…Lip Stick, Milk Jugs, Nail Polish, Oil Filters, Pantyhose, Perfume, Petroleum Jelly, Rubber Cement, Rubbing Alcohol, Shampoo, Shaving Cream, Shoes, Toothpaste, Trash Bags, Upholstery, Vitamin Capsules, Yarn)

Earthlights

Products Made To Fall Apart. The Cost of Walmart!

At our newly opened Slave Mart, I saw shoes for $4.99. So when they wear out in a few months, you buy new ones!

Cheapness -- and the decline in durability that has accompanied it -- has triggered an astonishing increase in the amount of clothing we buy. In the mid-1990s, the average American bought 28 items of clothing a year. Today, we buy 59 items. We also throw away an average of 83 pounds of textiles per person, mostly discarded apparel, each year. That's four times as much as we did in 1980.

Since 1995, the number of toasters and other small electro-thermal appliances sold in the U.S. each year increased from 188 million to 279 million. We buy more than 2 billion bath towels a year, up from 1.4 billion in 1994.

In a paper [PDF] that came out last year, three business professors illustrate how inducing manufacturers to cut product quality enhances Walmart's competitive position. "Because lower quality products are usually cheaper to produce, it is often argued that discount retailers induce lower quality in order to drive down prices. Our model suggests, however, that the competitive and bargaining position effects provide incentives to induce lower quality regardless of changes in production costs," the authors write.

Walmart is also a master at getting shoppers to buy more than they came for. It employs all of the techniques that have been shown to spur "unplanned buying," according to a recent study [PDF] in the Journal of Marketing. The study found that large stores that promote the concept of one-stop shopping and can only be reached by car generate the most impulse buys. Marketing messages that evoke abstract shopping goals are also highly effective at inducing people to put more stuff in their carts.

According to the study, the least amount of unplanned buying occurs when a shopping trip involves multiple stores, each with a specific product focus, and the customer arrives on foot or by mass transit -- in other words, when you shop at small neighborhood and downtown retailers.

Most New Businesses Fail

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 44 percent of new establishments were still in existence 4 years after their birth. Dun and Bradstreet surveys show that 60 percent of businesses fail in their first five years.

So how do you guarantee success? Start a business with built in downside controls. This is what practical entrepreneurship is all about. Diversify your revenue streams, spend the most time on marketing, get paid in cash where you can, and set realistic goals!

Thrive in a Jobless Economy

7 Ways to Have More by Owning Less

These are excellent web sitres and fit with my local living philosophy. Neighbors helping neighbors is what made America strong!

Proceed to full article

Individualism versus Collectivism #Video #OWS

 

Fixing The Economy Without Austerity Measures

The easiest way is to simply ask the banksters for our $16 tillion back. But since the banksters rule the world, I guess we won't get that!

 

 

Social Security
Means test benefits. If you made twice the median salary (approximately $33,000) in your last 5 years of employment, you  get reduced benefits.
Eliminate the income limits. Why should you stop paying in just because you made more than $106,800? There are no income limits on medicare.
Do not raise the retirement age. This will only exacerbate the unemployment problem as fewer job openings will occur.

Revenues
Legalize and tax marijuana. That may be $40 billion to $100 billion in new revenue!
Legalize and tax sports betting. Although only 35 states currently allow "gaming", that number is sure to grow. Adding $50 million to a state budget will help to eliminate the need for federal dollars.

Economic Growth
A natural gas based economy. Get fleet vehicles and 18 wheelers running CNG. Get Detroit making those vehicles. And export LNG to other countries (USA nat gas is $3.76 but it can be liquified and sold at $16).

Sustainable Sunflowers #Photos

They provided privacy this summer and healthy snacks for the fall. After they dry out over the winter, into our fire ring for a spring burning. All this for $2.75!

Harvest Time #Photo

I'm still unclear as to why government funds a food stamp program. We have food pantries, gardening, and extreme couponing to feed the hungry!

Governing Downside Risk

A governor, or speed limiter, is a device used to measure and regulate the speed of a machine, such as an engine. I have taken that concept and applied it to finance. You put in place a governor that limits the speed at which you could potentially lose money.

Here is how I apply it:

• I try not to buy disposable products. Why throw money in the garbage?
• I place stop loss orders for every stock/ETF I own at 4.5% below its cost basis. My upside is not capped but my downside is.
• I use alternative income streams rather than bet everything on a single business venture. Collecting  aluminum cans, getting paid to read email, getting paid to watch Internet ads, getting paid to search, and getting paid to post tweets has no explicit downside risk

 

 

Why The Cheapo Groovo System Works While Other Fail!

In a nutshell, STATISTICS. 60% of new businesses fail within their first five years.

My system applies the same diversification techniques used by stock investors to employment. Why specialize and bet the farm on one career? Instead you should have multiple income streams!

With my system, you are using assets, avoiding liabilities. You perform tasks that you were doing for free but now get paid for (searching, clicking links, watching videos, opening emails). You are not spending tens of thousands on a college education that will be useless, obsolete, or outsourced. You combine practical entrepreneurship, with a frugal lifestyle, with a proven investment strategy!

My favorite income stream is selling covered calls. Did you know that over 75% of options expire worthless?  That means I keep my option premium and can repeat the process all over again. If you don't know what I'm talking about, start here.

Unlike network marketing systems, you will earn income even if no one joins underneath you. And unlike the touts and come-ons all over the Internet, I document all my income streams.