Something On My Mind

Today is 2/11/24 which is the Superbowl with the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the San Francisco 49’ers and this marks the 57th time that this game will have been played. This is a large amount of years, so we decided to run some math based on the amount at which things are consumed and what they cost. Let’s start with advertising and the cost for a one minute spot during the game:In 1967: $37,500. For 2024: $7 million. This equates to an increase 185 times. To further that, this means gas would be $61 per gallon and the S&P would be at 16,000 - for context today it is at 5,000As for as food and beverage:Chicken wings would be $43/lb. A 6-pack of beer: $340.A bag of Doritos $18.5.So needless to say, for most items, they only increase in price and this led us to look into inflation and compound interest. For example, that $1 football square would be $9.18. How about the average house? According to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, it was $24,400 and in February of 2024, it is $492,300So let’s just put it out there . . It is expensive to be an American. Therefore, the best plan of attack is to budget and live within your means. In unison, the mission is to invest in yourself and build a moat for your future while balancing inflation. 'For context, the S&P since 1926 has averaged a return of approximately 10% and a 7% return when factoring in inflation. If we were to emulate that, we can invest in exchange traded funds that closely mimic these returns such as the tickers of SPY, IVV, VOO and SPLG. For context VOO has returned 9.99% over the last 30 years. According to Forbes, the average American works 42 years before taking retirement, so let’s see how much money adds up over time without inflation and expenses:At $100 a month, the amount would be $679,602.At $250 a month, the amount would be $1.69M.At $500 a month, the amount would be $3.39M.So this is fantastic and this shows the power of compound interest - and the reminder is that the more that you can invest, the more you make and you let the market do its thing. So the next question is … will this prompt you to look at your budget and find a few dollars to put away? All it will do is make you money. Website:https://www.somethingonmymind.net/Social Media https://www.instagram.com/somm.podcast/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChec5qcZBcGkIhUU3belNDwhttps://www.tiktok.com/@somm.podcast?lang=enhttps://www.facebook.com/somm.podcasthttps://twitter.com/Somm_podcast

Okay, you’ve got to be escheating me. What on earth does that mean? The definition derives from medieval times, in feudal law. When a landowner (tenant of a fief) died without an heir or committed a felony, a process was needed for the ownership of the land. In modern times it is the right of a government to take ownership of estate assets or unclaimed property in the event there are no heirs or beneficiaries.In layman's terms, you may have a variety of financial assets that you can claim and this includes uncashed payroll checks, inactive stocks, court funds, dividends, checking and savings accounts, and estate proceeds. So how does this occur? A few common ones derive with the death of the account holder or forgetting about an account.Let’s say someone moved out of an apartment in the middle of a month and paid a full water bill to the city. This person would be owed a half-month back; however, the rebate check was sent to the old address. Hence, the check goes uncashed and ends up unclaimed property. So let’s go through a few ins and outs. 1. Escheatment laws vary by state, but typically it takes about five years for the state to claim someone’s assets2. Unclaimed property is not taxed while it is filed as unclaimed; however, the property may be officially recognized as taxable income when it is reclaimed.3. Some unclaimed funds such as investments from a 401(k) or an IRA can be reclaimed tax-free.So how much money is out there? In New York, the state returns $1.5 million in unclaimed property to people who file claims. As of July 2021, the state had $17 billion in unclaimed property. In addition, the IRS has millions in unclaimed federal tax refunds. So How Do I Find My Money? Simply go to missingmoney.com which is a national database and if you find your name with some goodies on them follow the instructions. It’ll feel like you gave a gift back to yourself. Website:https://www.somethingonmymind.net/Social Media https://www.instagram.com/somm.podcast/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChec5qcZBcGkIhUU3belNDwhttps://www.tiktok.com/@somm.podcast?lang=enhttps://www.facebook.com/somm.podcasthttps://twitter.com/Somm_podcast

According to Zippia.com, in 2021 the average amount homeowners spent on home improvement was $10,341 which was up 25% from 2021. This makes sense as people spent their cabin fever time improving their homes and now that Covid is more controlled. People are spending more due to M1 money supply with unemployment and stimulus checks. Now that labor rates are rising due to lack of resources, the general contractors and landscaping companies are raising their rates and passing them onto you. This is just another result of inflation.So what can be done to curb the cost? The easiest one is reducing the cost for supplies to complete jobs. Generally speaking, the typical markup for materials is between 7.5 to 10%; however, some contractors will mark up materials 20% or more.What you can do is ask the contractor for a materials list and place the orders yourself. Now with larger jobs, it comes with more complicated supply lists, ad hoc purchases and add-ons. In addition, you may make several purchases throughout the project life cycle so you need to stay on task. In many cases you should be able to order the large majority of goods while removing copious tasks away from the contractor who may not want that burden. The bottom line is that this is an easy way to save money and you can learn a little bit along the way. For example, a $30,000 job could save you anywhere between $2,250-$6,000.Website:https://www.somethingonmymind.net/Social Media https://www.instagram.com/somm.podcast/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChec5qcZBcGkIhUU3belNDwhttps://www.tiktok.com/@somm.podcast?lang=enhttps://www.facebook.com/somm.podcasthttps://twitter.com/Somm_podcast

According to AgHires, Over 74 million Americans grilled out for the 4th of July. Of this food, burgers will be cooked by 85% of people, steak 80%, and chicken 73% and not to mention, 150 million hot dogs. When it comes to grilling, 61% of people choose propane and 49% for the charcoal purists according to statista.com.Now that we’ve had some heat on this topic, the last thing that you want to do is run out of propane when you're in the middle of dinner preparation.A common question is . . . how do I determine when I need to refill my tank? Instead of shaking it, there is a simple solution to this. Bring a pot of water close to a boil and then pour it over the tank. This creates a physical reaction between the hot water on the tank surface and the propane inside your tank. Hence, putting your hand on the tank and where it becomes cool determines how much propane is remaining and you can decide when you need a refill. The bottom line is that a standard 20 pound tank is around $20 so leaving less gas behind won’t save you much money; however, it can save you from future aggravation. In my case, it keeps heat going on the grill rather than the heat coming from my wife.Website:https://www.somethingonmymind.net/Social Media https://www.instagram.com/somm.podcast/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChec5qcZBcGkIhUU3belNDwhttps://www.tiktok.com/@somm.podcast?lang=enhttps://www.facebook.com/somm.podcasthttps://twitter.com/Somm_podcast

Even in times of rising inflation, people seem to be going out and spending money. This is likely to occur for some time until things are too expensive and we fall into a recession or in stagflation state.At the moment the world has a handle on Covid and entertainment venues are filling the seats. So when going to an event, the question is: do you buy your tickets right away or do you wait? If it is a can’t miss, people will pay up.If you decide to wait, there are many apps out there to buy tickets in the second hand market.So for the next question: is it better to wait until to purchase tickets right up until the event occurs.Typically this is a good strategy, but more so when the event is not sold out as venues want to fill their seats.Recently, I went to a baseball game on Memorial Day weekend and it turned out that it was less expensive to buy the seats at Will Call rather than through an app. This is because the demand was high.As for sporting events, if the team stinks or you don’t mind showing up after it starts this will save you money.Another strategy is to search for events straight through the venue as you can find packages that will include parking. We have found this to be advantageous. We parked close to the building and saved money. There’s nothing like paying $60 bucks to park, right? The bottom line is that there is no right or wrong answer.As for my wife and I, being spontaneous keeps life interesting - we hop in the car, find an event and we keep some of our money from going to the overpriced ticket brokers. Website:https://www.somethingonmymind.net/Social Media https://www.instagram.com/somm.podcast/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChec5qcZBcGkIhUU3belNDwhttps://www.tiktok.com/@somm.podcast?lang=enhttps://www.facebook.com/somm.podcasthttps://twitter.com/Somm_podcast

In times when inflation is rising, we experience higher prices for our goods and services as well as shortages.For example, In the grocery store, we’ve experienced products in limited supply from toilet paper to baby formula. When a desired product is available, it is emptied as soon as it was stocked. When it comes to gasoline, supply chain disruption was experienced in 1973 and 1979. This also occurs during natural disaster situations where shortages shoot up prices and then we hear about gauging. To make things clear, gauging does occur; however, there is a large misinformation notion that gas stations drive up their prices because they have us over a barrel. For the most part this is not true as our research on average tells us that most retailers make 15 cents per gallon after the consumer pumps it. To make things worse, most people pay via a credit card which has a merchant fee around 2.5%. Hence, when the price per gas is at just $4, the retailer pays 10 cents and in our example would profit just five. This is why we see a cash price listed on the signs that are lower than the credit price. Hence, if you have cash, this is another way to keep a few bucks in your pocket especially during long stretches. The bottom line is this is another way to save a few more dollars, yet the hidden point in this finance tip is when we understand how things work, we can accept things that we don’t like.Website:https://www.somethingonmymind.net/Social Media https://www.instagram.com/somm.podcast/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChec5qcZBcGkIhUU3belNDwhttps://www.tiktok.com/@somm.podcast?lang=enhttps://www.facebook.com/somm.podcasthttps://twitter.com/Somm_podcast

It seems that everyone has a cell phone and back in the day that was the sentiment for owning a television.The difference is that people’s devices are attached to the palm of their hands. The interesting thing is that a cell phone can cost more than most T.V. 's but we tend to test their durability. It is plausible to say that people drop their phones at least twice a day. Moreover, we’ve all heard or had stories of losing them and dropping them into a lake. I actually dropped one into a toilet in Mexico - so that was an interesting experience and I pissed it away for a lack of a better phrase. So this leads us to cell phone insurance and like all protection plans, is it worth the cost?The answer is that it depends. From research, it typically costs $8 -$17 when using your cell phone carrier. You can also opt for third-party services from companies such as AKKO and SquareTrade which tend to be less expensive.Okay there’s no shocker here in that with just about each type of insurance, it comes with fine print namely in deductibles and the range of coverage. So understand the details before you commit.A good exercise is to determine the monthly cost insurance with a potential deductible over the cost of fixing or replacing your device over the duration of owning the phone. Typically, kids tend to damage or lose phones more than adults but in either case, many of the major phone makers in recent years design them to be waterproof. Either way, if you get a solid protective case and / or with screen protector you should be in good shape and may opt out of insurance. Social Media https://www.instagram.com/somm.podcast/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChec5qcZBcGkIhUU3belNDwhttps://www.tiktok.com/@somm.podcast?lang=enhttps://www.facebook.com/somm.podcasthttps://twitter.com/Somm_podcastThe bottom line is that viable product solutions are being offered at blistering pace without sacrificing quality while improving the environment - and as always your pocketbook thanks you.

When it comes to our finance tips, we haven’t covered reusable batteries as this seems like a no-brainer; and that exactly a case; however, sometimes we need a reminder. Rechargeable batteries have been around since I was a kid in the 70’s and they juiced up my remote control cars and my giant dual tape deck boom box radio. Now that we are in the 2020’s we still have an insatiable need for batteries for just about anything due to the advanced technology in our daily lives. So let’s run through some stats on batteries with the most common type which are Single and double A. When it comes to these rechargeable batteries they will cost more upfront; but the money that you save is far and away better than buying disposable batteries. Disposables last longer for a one-time use; however, most rechargeable batteries have at least 1,000 - 2,000 charges before they expire. The other factor is that in many states, the batteries are not recycled and therefore end up in a landfill. In fact, California considers them hazardous waste.Social Media https://www.instagram.com/somm.podcast/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChec5qcZBcGkIhUU3belNDwhttps://www.tiktok.com/@somm.podcast?lang=enhttps://www.facebook.com/somm.podcasthttps://twitter.com/Somm_podcastThe bottom line is that viable product solutions are being offered at blistering pace without sacrificing quality while improving the environment - and as always your pocketbook thanks you.