I recently took a trip to Seattle and started out using public transportation to get around. It was inadequate and took too long for my needs. I have heard much about Uber on the news and some good testimonials from friends in bigger cities. But could Uber be better than taking a taxi and cheaper. The answer from this small town kid is a resounding yes! Uber took two minutes to download and I was able to order my first car right away. I never had a problem finding a car or traveling to a destination. The cars were clean and the cost was cheaper than I expected. Uber has changed the way we get cars and the cost. I know that they have changed because taxis in Seattle were advertising that they also had an app to download. I didn't use the taxi app so I do not know who it worked but why switch when Uber already made it simple.
Uber has also caused taxi medallion prices to fall as the New York Times reported, the cost of a taxi medallion fell 17% from the peak reached in 2013. If Uber were publicly traded I would probably want to invest as they expand and disrupt the current status quo. Google believes strongly in them and I might want to take a close look at investing in Google if they make more great investments like Uber.
It might be too late to make huge returns off Uber but what I need to do is search for another company that will disrupt an immovable landscape. I have my eye on a few companies but I'm afraid many are staying away from public trading. I hope that I will be have the foresight to see the next big company but it is doubtful.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Rotten Local Government: A Downtown Parking Structure
There is something rotten and foul smelling in the City of Bowling Green. It is this. Ever since it was discussed and then built it had a reeked of crony capitalism and the worst form of governing. It in the end mismanaged funds of the citizens of Bowling Green and promised too much that could never be delivered. It is poorly designed and has been a failed experiment.
Bowling Green did need a parking structure downtown. There were more events down there and several new venues. The Mills Family Reality Group (MR Group) came to provide this service to the city while getting government binds to help fund the proposed development. Everyone was on board. The city gets free parking, the MR Group gets new office space to sell and a place for Hitcents.com to have offices, and the taxpayer gets paid back with interest from the revenue generated. The family who owns MR Group started Hitcents. As with most joint ventures this was a fairy tale and a poorly designed one too.
The new restaurants were touted to be delicious and a new wave in Bowling Green. They even bought an old bastion of Bowling Green dining Mariah's and moved it to anchor the block. It became clear that the parking lot was of poor design. Making it hard to get out and to the restaurants or for that matter just out of the parking structure. They had several car break-ins there and which they did not have security cameras plugged in to catch them even though they had the functioning hardware to film any illegal activity. Problems persisted with not enough traffic to keep the restaurants alive and not renting enough office space.
When MR Group decided to not pay the builders all of the problems were suddenly exposed. The Mills Group disputes that it owes money and that actually money is owed to them see here. It is a big mess and with several million dollars in dispute they can't decide who owes what and who can sue who. At one point the County Attorney Amy Milliken said she was unsure that liens could be placed since the government was involved. Since then there have been liens placed and it looks like the city is trying to get everyone paid.
The city though to make sure everyone gets paid is taking out $30 million more in bonds. To pay off the old bonds and pay money to the builders. This is ridiculous. The city should stay completely out of this mess and really should never have gotten in bed with industry. It made MR Group act more reckless and take risks because the government was funding the bill and screwed the taxpayers out of several million dollars without an offsetting benefit. In the article mentioned above the city government decided to lose $280,000 a year with these new bonds and plans. Yes, we the taxpayers should have to pay for this mismanagement of funds of a private citizen. Let MR Group pay for all the bonds and the costs they incurred building their monument to themselves.
If the city commissioners do decide to vote this plan into existence I will have to support all new candidates for the commissioner positions. It is a gross mismanagement of tax money and they should not continue the problem. I will stand for Mayor Bruce Wilkerson though as he was the lone vote. This was illegal and just shows us the taxpayers again that business should not nor do they need handouts from us. It creates too much drama and loses the taxpayer money that could have gone to building roads or funding schools.
Bowling Green did need a parking structure downtown. There were more events down there and several new venues. The Mills Family Reality Group (MR Group) came to provide this service to the city while getting government binds to help fund the proposed development. Everyone was on board. The city gets free parking, the MR Group gets new office space to sell and a place for Hitcents.com to have offices, and the taxpayer gets paid back with interest from the revenue generated. The family who owns MR Group started Hitcents. As with most joint ventures this was a fairy tale and a poorly designed one too.
The new restaurants were touted to be delicious and a new wave in Bowling Green. They even bought an old bastion of Bowling Green dining Mariah's and moved it to anchor the block. It became clear that the parking lot was of poor design. Making it hard to get out and to the restaurants or for that matter just out of the parking structure. They had several car break-ins there and which they did not have security cameras plugged in to catch them even though they had the functioning hardware to film any illegal activity. Problems persisted with not enough traffic to keep the restaurants alive and not renting enough office space.
When MR Group decided to not pay the builders all of the problems were suddenly exposed. The Mills Group disputes that it owes money and that actually money is owed to them see here. It is a big mess and with several million dollars in dispute they can't decide who owes what and who can sue who. At one point the County Attorney Amy Milliken said she was unsure that liens could be placed since the government was involved. Since then there have been liens placed and it looks like the city is trying to get everyone paid.
The city though to make sure everyone gets paid is taking out $30 million more in bonds. To pay off the old bonds and pay money to the builders. This is ridiculous. The city should stay completely out of this mess and really should never have gotten in bed with industry. It made MR Group act more reckless and take risks because the government was funding the bill and screwed the taxpayers out of several million dollars without an offsetting benefit. In the article mentioned above the city government decided to lose $280,000 a year with these new bonds and plans. Yes, we the taxpayers should have to pay for this mismanagement of funds of a private citizen. Let MR Group pay for all the bonds and the costs they incurred building their monument to themselves.
If the city commissioners do decide to vote this plan into existence I will have to support all new candidates for the commissioner positions. It is a gross mismanagement of tax money and they should not continue the problem. I will stand for Mayor Bruce Wilkerson though as he was the lone vote. This was illegal and just shows us the taxpayers again that business should not nor do they need handouts from us. It creates too much drama and loses the taxpayer money that could have gone to building roads or funding schools.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Living Frugally and You Can Retire A Millionaire
The quickest way to become a millionaire is to get a high paying job and saving a portion of that income for retirement or future use. If you can't get the top jobs or create a start-up that can be sold then you can still become a millionaire it will just take more work. It is still possible as this story or this one and the most recent story of a gas station attendant who accumulated an eight million dollar fortune over his life can attest. We as humans are always so surprised when the person next door who lives prudently has more money than we do especially if their income is lower than ours. We wonder if they inherited it or they must have a second job. It really is most likely just a simple idea of saving money.
I'm fascinated with these stories because it shows that with patience and hard work you can move yourself from a lower class to a higher class. It does not happen for everybody yet it is attainable.
The media also likes these secret millionaires because we as consumers like to hear about them. It plays to our desires and wants.
All of these individuals have made good stock picks or investment choices. It was not by picking investments though that they were able to amass fortunes. The real change here is that with each increase in wealth they did not spend the new wealth but kept the same lifestyle. Not changing the lifestyle even if you could technically afford it means that you can use profits and the same money to grow your money even more. It is difficult to predict the future and to live frugally allows a person to accumulate wealth and be able to maintain the current lifestyle in case of job loss or other event. If each time you had new wealth and changed your lifestyle you would erase all the gains.
Living frugally is not the easiest choice and at times I do not take the frugal path. Yet if I want to amass a fortune too maybe I should start living more frugally and that should be a choice as wise investors also choose. It can be done and let's take the advice of their lives.
I'm fascinated with these stories because it shows that with patience and hard work you can move yourself from a lower class to a higher class. It does not happen for everybody yet it is attainable.
The media also likes these secret millionaires because we as consumers like to hear about them. It plays to our desires and wants.
All of these individuals have made good stock picks or investment choices. It was not by picking investments though that they were able to amass fortunes. The real change here is that with each increase in wealth they did not spend the new wealth but kept the same lifestyle. Not changing the lifestyle even if you could technically afford it means that you can use profits and the same money to grow your money even more. It is difficult to predict the future and to live frugally allows a person to accumulate wealth and be able to maintain the current lifestyle in case of job loss or other event. If each time you had new wealth and changed your lifestyle you would erase all the gains.
Living frugally is not the easiest choice and at times I do not take the frugal path. Yet if I want to amass a fortune too maybe I should start living more frugally and that should be a choice as wise investors also choose. It can be done and let's take the advice of their lives.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Oil still Struggling, NASDAQ to 5000
Oil fell down hard today after news of supply still overstocked. This was after a rise from the slump earlier this month. I still think that oil will go up in the long-run back to previous levels but it will be a volatile and rocky road there. I have enjoyed the cheap gasoline at the pump but know that it is a temporary price. A good move will be to take advantage of the cheaper gas now and invest in companies that have been hurt like Exxon and Chevron.
The NASDAQ is closing in on 5000 points around thirty points shy. It's very close to its all time high and one that has not been seen in fifteen years. Apple has certainly carried it up to the heights it is at now. Once it passes this milestone again will it go up or will it scare investors that the market is overvalued. Earrings at record levels and good prospects on the economy this year point to a great sign that the markets will continue to go up and up. Companies are getting stronger and will attract people to invest in the market. I've invested in this market.
The NASDAQ is closing in on 5000 points around thirty points shy. It's very close to its all time high and one that has not been seen in fifteen years. Apple has certainly carried it up to the heights it is at now. Once it passes this milestone again will it go up or will it scare investors that the market is overvalued. Earrings at record levels and good prospects on the economy this year point to a great sign that the markets will continue to go up and up. Companies are getting stronger and will attract people to invest in the market. I've invested in this market.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
The Benefits of an Economic Education
High School in Kentucky has English, science, history, and math requirements. It has health and physical education. You can find a complete list here. What it painfully needed though is a requirement that high school students graduate with at least one economic and personal finance class. It makes no sense to not have any classes that will teach our soon to be graduates ready with critical thinking skills and a firmer grasp on the concept of money.
When we teach our children and next generation we want them fully equipped for the modern world. That is why we have taught them math, science, and English. English so they can form sentences and communicate and understand communication with their fellow members of society. Math so they can be employed in the workplace. Science is for a better comprehension of the natural world in which we live. All of this is to make informed citizens.
Without requiring economic and personal finance teaching in high schools and in some places not even offering it we do a disservice to our students. They are missing out of an important and integral part of society. People in today's society just as in the past need to know about the interest that will be charged on a loan, how to balance a checking account, and most importantly budget. Just those few tricks will save money and time for the average person and they will appreciate that they can understand the monetary world around them. They might have some knowledge about how the economy works which is a complicated organic beast. They will also learn strong problem solving and critical thinking skills learning about economics.
Now I am biased I graduated with a degree in Economics but I never had it in high school. I learned a little from reading on my own and going to the Governor's Scholars Program in Kentucky. Both of those were good. Some people will not have the opportunity to study it in college or have the direction and determination for self-study as a high school student.
An education in basic economics will in my opinion better the student body in meaningful ways. We want to give our students the best way forward in life and prepare them for the real world. Economics and personal finance are a good place to start in Kentucky. It is already required in some states. All states though would benefit and the populace will also benefit.
When we teach our children and next generation we want them fully equipped for the modern world. That is why we have taught them math, science, and English. English so they can form sentences and communicate and understand communication with their fellow members of society. Math so they can be employed in the workplace. Science is for a better comprehension of the natural world in which we live. All of this is to make informed citizens.
Without requiring economic and personal finance teaching in high schools and in some places not even offering it we do a disservice to our students. They are missing out of an important and integral part of society. People in today's society just as in the past need to know about the interest that will be charged on a loan, how to balance a checking account, and most importantly budget. Just those few tricks will save money and time for the average person and they will appreciate that they can understand the monetary world around them. They might have some knowledge about how the economy works which is a complicated organic beast. They will also learn strong problem solving and critical thinking skills learning about economics.
Now I am biased I graduated with a degree in Economics but I never had it in high school. I learned a little from reading on my own and going to the Governor's Scholars Program in Kentucky. Both of those were good. Some people will not have the opportunity to study it in college or have the direction and determination for self-study as a high school student.
An education in basic economics will in my opinion better the student body in meaningful ways. We want to give our students the best way forward in life and prepare them for the real world. Economics and personal finance are a good place to start in Kentucky. It is already required in some states. All states though would benefit and the populace will also benefit.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Dead Cat Bounce?
The market had a monumental upswing today. It had several key factors mostly though oil was back up and rising sharply the past two days. Some good earning number, possible Greece debt deal, and okay economic data all contributed. This follows of course a couple of weeks of bad news and falling stock prices. So which way is the market really going to go? Is this just a dead cat bounce where a major fall has started hit the first floor, bounces a little and then just goes right back down and even farther. I do not think it is a dead cat bounce. It might go down some more but in the end this year I think it will be up and reach great heights. We should always keep an eye on the market and be careful about the direction it is headed.
Let's consider that it is not a dead cat bounce then the people who bought at this level will have larger gains than those who waited until someone else told them it was time to go into the market. If it is a dead cat bounce than the people who buy now will lose money at first. They can always recover it but it is difficult to recover losses. So it is always as previously stated a risk to buy into the market but one that consistently pays off with a well diversified stock picking.
So I'm going to say that this current uptick is not a fake bounce. It is a strong uptrend that will continue.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Amazon, Netflix, and Disney: Creating Content
Disney has for the past ten years created great content. The content seeped into all aspects of Disney which created even more revenue. Without the great content there is just no way that Disney's shareholders would have done as well. Netflix has created a couple of great TV shows and a few okay shows. They can be edgier and they have a wide platform already for subscribers. They make people want to subscribe just to watch those shows. Amazon has had struggles to create content but with Transparent they finally have a show that is recognized as good. This will be hard to maintain with other shows maybe they will still create content.
It is now a fierce battle for the eyes that watch content. With more choices on what to watch and more ways to watch content companies have to make the best content possible to attract enough people to make money. Just like with blogs only the best content makes money. Everyone else is just doing a pet project. So just like with these big companies they are fighting for the eyes and time of consumers.
Netflix just beat on earnings and this shows us that Netflix is doing really well attracting and keeping the attention of consumers. I think they will continue to do well. New shows and continuing the old ones are great ways to get more people into Netflix. Although I'm not sure how the movies will play out to consumers. They might be a huge flop unless they can get good directors and story lines. They could also pander to smaller market segments to get more subscribers which might be the direction they will take.
Disney of course makes great content and as far as I can tell have several great movies and plenty of storylines to continue making widely watched content. I think redoing all the old fairytales in live action are great to get younger people involved in watching Disney films again.
Amazon though with their struggles I can't say that they are creating up to par content. I think they wanted to be more like Netflix and still have their main thing be the marketplace. It's almost like a side business that they hope will make money but they are not investing enough into the content for it to make a difference. For this Amazon will still do fine but if you are looking to invest in content creators, Disney, Netflix, HBO, or AMC are much better options. They care about the content produced because it helps other revenue streams. Content isn't everything but for a media company it is the gravy. Makes everything better.
As more people can create content the fight will be fierce but several companies will have the skills and dedication to attract and monetize content. Netflix and Disney are just two of those companies.
It is now a fierce battle for the eyes that watch content. With more choices on what to watch and more ways to watch content companies have to make the best content possible to attract enough people to make money. Just like with blogs only the best content makes money. Everyone else is just doing a pet project. So just like with these big companies they are fighting for the eyes and time of consumers.
Netflix just beat on earnings and this shows us that Netflix is doing really well attracting and keeping the attention of consumers. I think they will continue to do well. New shows and continuing the old ones are great ways to get more people into Netflix. Although I'm not sure how the movies will play out to consumers. They might be a huge flop unless they can get good directors and story lines. They could also pander to smaller market segments to get more subscribers which might be the direction they will take.
Disney of course makes great content and as far as I can tell have several great movies and plenty of storylines to continue making widely watched content. I think redoing all the old fairytales in live action are great to get younger people involved in watching Disney films again.
Amazon though with their struggles I can't say that they are creating up to par content. I think they wanted to be more like Netflix and still have their main thing be the marketplace. It's almost like a side business that they hope will make money but they are not investing enough into the content for it to make a difference. For this Amazon will still do fine but if you are looking to invest in content creators, Disney, Netflix, HBO, or AMC are much better options. They care about the content produced because it helps other revenue streams. Content isn't everything but for a media company it is the gravy. Makes everything better.
As more people can create content the fight will be fierce but several companies will have the skills and dedication to attract and monetize content. Netflix and Disney are just two of those companies.
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