Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz rises up every morning at 4:30 a.m.to follow the same routine driven by his personal values. He even applies his values into Starbucks business that is much more than making money selling coffee by focus on selling an experience and a lifestyle. Drawing examples from ridiculously successful people like Schultz, Dr. Travis Bradberry discusses 8 critical things to utilize effectively in the morning. Make sure you wake up early, eat right and exercise to get the energy up. By disconnecting from digital devices and setting achievable goals you can increase your productivity for the day tremendously. (linkedin.com)
Lifestyle
World’s Most Expensive Parking Garage at $110,000 Per Spot With a Long Waiting List
The parking lot at the Vault, belonging to Bighorn Golf Club east of Los Angeles, may be the world’s most expensive place to park. Members of the club have to pay $110,000 annually for the privilege to park their vehicles there. Don’t tell this to Mr. Money Mustache or he’ll get angry at the stupidity and destruction of these rich folks. “Paying for parking is a sign from God that you’re in an area not designed for a car,” Mr. Money Mustache said. Beside the extremely high price of $110,000 to park, the cost to play golf at the club is even higher. An individual club membership, without golf privileges, costs $100,000 USD. Throw in golf, and the cost climbs to $250,000 USD. Indeed, this is a bizarre concept where you pay hundred of thousands of dollars in advance, for the privilege of paying even more hundreds of thousands of additional dollars to play golf. It’s just insane! (stuff.co.nz)
New Poll Says Millennials Pick Socialism Over Capitalism
According to a new survey from YouGov, millennials have more favorable views of socialism than of capitalism. On the other hand Seniors have the most favorable view of capitalism with sixty-three percent. It’s not a surprise that no other age or ethnic demographic preferred socialism over capitalism. But millennials aren’t swayed by the benefits of capitalism in the products and services that reduce the number of people living in poverty worldwide by half in the past 20 years. (breitbart.com)
How to Easily Avoid Lifestyle Creep
Did you just receive a promotion and a pay raise? Have you paid off your mortgage or student loan? Then you need to beware of the lifestyle creep as your discretionary income rises. You will have more money to eat out, splurge on necessities, upgrade to a better car or buy a bigger house. Here’s how to easily avoid lifestyle creep: Stay on budget, pay off debt, fund college savings for your children and max out retirement accounts. (castlebaram.com)
Finances Are Preventing Almost Half of Non-Homeowners from Buying Homes
As homeownership rate drops to 63.4%, lowest since 1967, Bankrate reports that almost half of non-homeowners say their financial situation stands in their way of purchasing a home. The reasons are that 29% of respondents say they can’t afford a down payment and 16% of respondents say that their credit isn’t good enough to qualify for a mortgage. “Hispanics were the ethnic group most likely to report that their credit is holding them back from homeownership, while the most-cited reason among blacks and whites was they just don’t want to own a home yet.” (bankrate.com)
Hobbies You Can Start for Free
On average, Americans spend 2.8 hours in front of the television each day. Instead of wasting time on the couch watching television, you can try these 10 hobbies for free, recommended by Wise Bread. These cool and fun hobbies are cooking, nature identification, weather reporting, drawing, photography, whittling, video blogging, dancing, couponing and meditating. (wisebread.com)
Watch All the TV You Want Without Paying a Cable Bill
With the emergence of streaming services like Sling TV, HBO Now, Amazon and Netflix, cutting the cord becomes easier than ever. You can pick out different services and tally up your savings relative to cable by checking on Slate. For the extreme, indoor TV antenna that cost under $10 gives free access to network content and major live events like the Oscars or the Super Bowl. Anyway, Money on time.com shows you five bundles of online television programming so you can watch all the TV you want without paying a cable bill. The different bundles suit just about any type of TV viewer, from the basic cable junkie to sport fans. Are you ready to cut the cord? If so, check out the five different ways to ditch cable and save hundreds of dollars in the process. (time.com)
McDonald’s Salad Has More Calories Than Big Mac
If you thought eating healthy fast food was actually healthy, think again. According to CBC News, some of its nutrient-enhanced meals are actually as bad as junk food. In fact McDonald’s new Kale salad has more calories, fat, and sodium than a Double Big Mac burger. The salad contains more than 730 calories, 53 grams of fat, and 1,400 milligrams of salt while a Double Big Mac contains about 680 calories, 38 grams of fat, and 1,340 milligrams of salt according to McDonald’s nutritional information. It is definitely better cooking at home for healthy food while saving money at the same time. (cbc.ca)
8 satisfying secrets of happy people
Healthy Mind Healthy Body has some tips to help boost your happiness. “Some people always seem to be cheerful and upbeat. So what’s their secret? Turns out, it isn’t having loads of money or a perfect body, home or job. Instead, happy people tend to make time for healthy, fulfilling and feel-good activities.” Here are 8 satisfying secrets of happy people:
- Nurture social ties
- Give thanks — for joys big and small
- Lend a hand
- Talk nicer to yourself
- Find joy in moving
- Create and play
- Get your pillow time
- Look on the brighter side
(hmhb.com)
Hillary Won Perfect Coin Toss to Broke 6 Clinton-Sanders Deadlocks in Iowa
The race between the Democrat presidential hopefuls was so tight in the Iowa caucus Monday that in at least six precincts, the decision on awarding a county delegate came down to a coin toss. The chances of winning six coin tosses in a row are just 1.56%, yet Clinton won all six coin toss. Now we know who’s the luckier. (marketwatch.com)
The Important of Frugality
An anonymous reader writes: “Frugality has allowed me to: Chase my dream career, even though it’s low-paying and inconsistent work. Lessen my impact on the environment. It’s an excellent way to go green. Save up an emergency fund that’s given me the freedom to move when I want and leave terrible jobs. Find money I thought I didn’t have so I could save up for retirement. Free up money to buy more expensive quality items that last longer, rather than cheaper versions that break quickly. Completely change the way I view objects and money, for the better.” An article on US News shows why frugality is so important. It lists the five basic skills you can work on to get started saving money and living the frugal life. (usnews.com)
9 Frugal Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day
American spends almost $19 billion per year for Valentine’s Day. That means on February 14 the average person shells out $142.31. Men spend $190.53, while women spend $96.58 on gifts. Well, you don’t have to measure how much you love by how much you spend. Here are 9 frugal ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day by Everything Finance.
- Go on a date … at home
- Have a movie night
- Give a massage
- Leave hidden notes everywhere
- Have a fondue date
- Write love letters to each other
- Plan a scavenger hunt
- Spend it with someone who’s lonely
- Opting out of Valentine’s Day
U.S News also shows a frugal list to celebrate Valentine’s Day. (everythingfinanceblog.com)
Better Off Spending Your Spare Time Being Frugal or Earning More Money?
We all have spare time every now and then, either during the weekend or certain hours everyday. But are you better off spending that spare time earning more money or being frugal? Simple Dollar delves in this excellent question to help you choose higher earnings or lower spending on your spare time. “The more precarious your financial state, the higher priority you should put on frugality. The reason for this is very simple. Frugality’s big advantage is its speed.” So, if your finances are pretty precarious being frugal in your spare time is better. On the other hand, “the more options you have to move up in your current career path, the more worthwhile it is to spend your free weekend preparing to earn more money.” Earning more money is a better choice if you already take care of your finance, complete most of the frugal projects already and have consistent blocks of spare time. Whatever route you choose on your spare time, whether being frugal or trying to earn more, it can greatly improve your personal finance situation. (thesimpledollar.com)
Get Cars for Free by Buying, Fixing, Driving and Selling for Profit
Mr. Money Mustache preaches about minimizing one’s car-related expenses to the bare bone. “When it comes to the Automobile, you really have a choice between two possible relationships. You can be the Master, and thoughtfully use cars as a tool as needed to reach your goals. Or you can be a Slave to the auto – worshiping it, allowing it to steal your money, your physical fitness, and your sense of control over your life.” In his situation, by spending only $1500 per year on vehicles’ expenses comparing to $9000 for the average two-care family’s spending, he’ll come out ahead by $104,751 over 10-year period. However, his friend Ben has a totally different saving route regarding to car-related expenses. Ben shows how he makes profit after he has owned and driven over 50 cars. Basically he gets his cars for free by buying, fixing, driving and selling cars for profit. Ben’s recommendations are to buy low, to look for neglected cars, to research and do as much work as you can on your own. Then sell quickly at a modest price. That way you still save money and have fun at the same time. (mrmoneymustache.com)
7 life lessons from the very wealthy
In order to become wealthy, you have to embrace money. Rather than bashing the rich, there are some insights to learn from the experiences of the very wealthy. Here is the list about 7 Life Lessons From the Very Wealthy.
1. Having money is better than not having money
2. Don’t become “cash rich” and “time poor”
3. Memories are better than material objects
4. Watch your “lifestyle leverage,” especially early in your career
5. Having goals is incredibly important
6. You must live in the here and now
7. It helps to be incredibly lucky
We should all study from the very wealth who have achieved success. It is very important to learn from their experiences that got to where they are and learn from the success. Wealth creation is a good thing so that you can be financially secure in life. (washingtonpost.com)