tagged w/ Savings
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Is Social Security a good retirement plan? Economics professor Antony Davies shows that Americans stand to earn significantly less and assume more risk with Social Security than other investment options. According to Davies, taxpayers would be better off both in terms of financial security and return on investment by investing their money privately. Social security is extremely expensive, soon to be insolvent, and doesn't even offer taxpayers the most bang for their buck. For those reasons, Prof. Davies argues that it is time for the government to phase out Social Security. Davies' solution: the government should honor its obligations to current retirees while giving Americans the freedom to invest their money as they see fit.
http://youtu.be/PLTfOAYfbaoIs Social Security a good retirement plan? Economics professor Antony Davies shows... more
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Cutting back on your energy usage is one of the best ways to bring down your electricity bill. But did you know that making simple changes to not just your wattage consumption but the way your home retains and expels air can dramatically transform the way you experience your spaces and use electricity? Joining us this week to share 5 Tips on how we can better green our homes is green visionary and sustainable pioneer David Johnston who focuses on easy changes you can make with your appliances, air exchange, insulation and even windows that will pave the way to dramatic savings. Undoubtedly an expert on all things energy, David shares his over 30 years of experience and gives us a snapshot of some of the best ways we can reduce our energy consumption by up to 50%!
http://inhabitat.com/5-tips-to-cut-your-electricity-bill-with-green-energy-expert-david-johnston/Cutting back on your energy usage is one of the best ways to bring down your... more
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Public employees have been blasted in the media for having pensions, and conservatives are quietly attempting to enact legislation to allow states to declare bankruptcy and escape having to pay workers pensions which those workers have earned. The same people who want to allow states to slide out of their obligations are not so lenient when it comes to mortgage holders or those with credit card debt. Why is that?Public employees have been blasted in the media for having pensions, and conservatives... more
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When the snow begins to fall and temperatures drop, many of us are tempted to crank up our thermostats to take away the winter chill. That might be an easy way to stay warm, but it also is a surefire way to boost your heating bills and burn energy.
Next time, try a greener approach. You can stay comfortable in the cold without wasting fuel and money by following these simple ideas:
Turn down your thermostat
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that consumers save about 10 percent a year on home heating costs if they turn the thermostat down 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours a day. So turn down the temperature when you go to bed at night or go to work in the morning. Consider investing in a digital thermostat that can be programmed to adjust the temperature up and down at the same time every day. If you don’t like waking up to a cold house, a programmable thermostat can even turn the heat up an hour before you awake.
Take advantage of Mother Nature
Open the blinds and curtains on your windows during the day to let Mother Nature bathe your rooms in sunshine. Then close the blinds at night to keep heat from being lost. You’ll stay warmer without using energy. Choose insulated window treatments for a better barrier from the cold. Eco-friendly shades and drapes made of recycled fibers also are available in stores, along with window coverings that haven’t been chemically treated. Windows facing south or north will bring in the most sunlight, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Continue reading here: http://www.enviralment.ca/2011/01/25/5-green-ways-to-save-money-on-heating/When the snow begins to fall and temperatures drop, many of us are tempted to crank up... more
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Weemz
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While it’s still snowing outside and you haven’t even recovered from your last month’s holiday shopping fever, there are still a host of winter must-buys that you just cannot miss.While it’s still snowing outside and you haven’t even recovered from your... more
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Alstom
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Don Wright, from Downer Transport Company, provides a really exciting industry case study. He discusses how Downer has made huge reductions in their operational costs through a combination of methods aimed at motivating truck drivers to change their driving habits.Don Wright, from Downer Transport Company, provides a really exciting industry case... more
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Book review and how to buy Financial Advice for New HIgh School Grad & Student. Fantastic read and book is good for parents too...whole family should have if they want to buy a car, get apartment security deposit back, best bet for a co-signer, etc.Book review and how to buy Financial Advice for New HIgh School Grad & Student.... more
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Give the wealthiest Americans a tax cut and history suggests they will save the money rather than spend it.
Tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 under President George W. Bush were followed by increases in the saving rate among the rich, according to data from Moody’s Analytics Inc. When taxes were raised under Bill Clinton, the saving rate fell.
The findings may weaken arguments by Republicans and some Democrats in Congress who say allowing the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to lapse will prompt them to reduce their spending, harming the economy. President Barack Obama wants to extend the cuts for individuals earning less than $200,000 and couples earning less than $250,000 while ending them for those who earn more.
The Moody’s economists examined saving rates by income groups back to 1989. Their study uses statistics from the Federal Reserve’s quarterly Flow of Funds report, which gauges the net worth of households, and the Fed’s triennial Survey of Consumer Finances, a measure of balance sheets, pensions and incomes of U.S. families.
When tax legislation was signed by Clinton in 1993 -- raising the top tax rate to 39.6 percent from 31 percent -- the saving rate fell from 12.1 percent in the second quarter to 9.5 percent in the first quarter of 1994. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.9 percent from July through September, after little change the previous three months.
When the first Bush tax cuts were signed into law in June 2001, pushing the top rate down to 35 percent, the wealthy boosted savings. The saving rate climbed to 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2002 from minus 2 percent in the second quarter of 2001. The increased savings coincided with a 1.1 percent decline in the S&P 500 index.
Second Round
After the second round of Bush tax cuts in May 2003, the rich also increased their saving, with the rate climbing to 7.6 percent in the first quarter of 2004 from 2.2 percent in the second quarter of 2003, the Moody’s data show.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=irWOmI0gS6KM
*** I cut out most of the article so it's readable.Give the wealthiest Americans a tax cut and history suggests they will save the money... more
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Who doesn't want to retire with a comfortable nest egg? These are post of Financial experts explaining specific ways you can retire comfortably. http://tipsforretirement.blogspot.com/Who doesn't want to retire with a comfortable nest egg? These are post of... more
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'Creating a national pharmacare program could slash more than $10.7-billion off Canada's $25-billion-a-year drug bill, according to a new study that dismisses out-of-hand the notion that a public drug plan is unaffordable.
“Canadians cannot afford not to have universal pharmacare,” said Marc-André Gagnon, an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy at Carleton University in Ottawa.
The report, being released Monday in Ottawa, argues that Canada's jumbled assortment of public and private plans and wildly varying drug policies across jurisdictions is inefficient, costly and inequitable.
But, above all, it says Canada pays too much for drugs – between 16 and 40 per cent more than other industrialized countries – in a bid to attract pharmaceutical investment.
In fact, the vast majority of the purported savings – $10.2-billion – would come from adopting a drug-purchasing policy based on market competition and the assumption prices would drop 37 per cent. That would likely provoke a backlash from the pharmaceutical industry and may be politically unpalatable, researchers concede. However, in a number of other scenarios presented in the study, Prof. Gagnon shows, even without purchasing drugs at that lower price, a national program would still deliver net savings of ranging from $2.6-billion to $4.5-billion.
The report suggested that doing rigorous drug reviews and price negotiations, as done in New Zealand, could generate annual savings of $9.3-billion. Savings from cheaper administration costs, eliminating federal tax subsidies to insurance plans and eliminating multiple private plans would produce more than $1.4-billion in savings, for a total of about $10.7-billion.'
Read more here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/universal-pharmacare-touted-as-way-to-save-billions/article1704881/?cmpid=nl-news1
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What do you guys think about this sort of thing being implemented in the USA?'Creating a national pharmacare program could slash more than $10.7-billion off... more
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CalPal
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I came across this composite of environmental savings. This is awe inspiring. I plan on introducing these changes into my home.
If every American switched just one light bulb to a 13 watt CFL bulb you would save $700 billion annually and 9 billion lbs of greenhouse gas emissions every year.
If 20 million homes in the US installed a timed thermostat to turn down the temperature while they are out of the house the average home would save $180/year while the combined 20 million homes would save $3.6 billion annually. This would also save 41 billion lbs of CO2 per year.
If 20 million homes reduced their water heater temperature by 10 degrees 1.18 billion would be saved annually and 14.6 billion lbs of CO2 emissions would be saved nation wide.
If 20 million people switched to low flow shower heads 401 billion gallons of water would be saved each year as well as 6.4 billion dollars in water and electric bills.
If we did these four small things we would save $12.5 billion, 64.6 billion lbs of CO2 and 401 billion gallons of water.
http://nerdnirvana.org/2010/06/23/environment-what-if-we-all-did-just-a-little-bit/I came across this composite of environmental savings. This is awe inspiring. I plan... more
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Water is not only the next big environmental issue, but also the next savings opportunity, according to several companies.
A survey conducted by research analyst Ethical Corporation in May 2010 found that 99 percent of corporate sustainability managers saw water becoming a top priority for businesses in the next 5 to 10 years. The report "Unlocking the Profit in Water Savings" found that 52 percent of sustainability managers ranked "water stewardship" within the top five most important issues they now deal with.
But more interesting is the hard data supporting the trend. Companies have found that saving water equates with saving money even when including initial infrastructure investments, according to the report.
The report, which included interviews with global giants like Unilever, Kraft, Coca-Cola, and Shell, found many companies surprised by water savings outperforming estimates after they initiated company water conservation projects.
Sainsbury's, for example, a leading U.K. supermarket chain, has saved 1.6 million pounds (about $2.4 million) since fixing leaks, installing sensors on urinals, and reducing toilet water capacity, according to Ethical Corporation.
Whitbread, a U.K. company that owns hotel and restaurant chains, saved 350,000 pounds ($519,000) annually after installing low flow-faucets and shower heads, urinals with sensors, and dual-flush toilets in some of its properties. But initial company estimates had been that the changes would save between 93,000 or 80,000 pounds annually. Now the company has decided to implement more water conservation initiatives.
In conjunction with the report release, Ethical Corporation also released a podcast interview with Andy Wales, head of sustainability for SABMiller, the brewing giant that includes the brands Miller, Foster's, and Grolsch.
"Our internal target is to improve our water efficiency by 25 percent by 2015," Wales told Ethical Corporation's Toby Webb during the interview. "At the moment, it takes us just under four and a half liters of water to make a liter of beer, which is better than the brewing industry average. But we need to go much further, so our 2015 target is that 25 percent reduction to 3.5 liters for a liter of beer."
Wales said SABMiller is also looking at ways to help its suppliers save water, which includes farmers growing barley or hops in regions where water is predicted to become a scarce commodity.
Wales noted that his position within SABMiller is integrated with capital planning and not just a silo department, giving him and his team more power within the company to actually initiate change. He said this type of model--giving actual economic power to those looking into sustainability issues--is the key to change in government as well as business.
"Water is a critical resource that underpins economic growth, underpins social development, and obviously underpins environmental protection. And yet, the discussion of water issues, of water as a resource, is often stuck in the environmental ministry," he said. "Those ministers are very good ministers, but they are not the most powerful in the government. We need to get finance ministers, energy ministers understand what the impact is of water for the growth of their country."
Both the report and interview underscore what companies and sustainability experts have individually been saying about water being the "oil of the 21st century." In January 2010, for example, Jackson Family Wines of Kendall-Jackson fame, announced it would be cutting its winery water usage by 70 percent. It also proposed that if just 35 percent of California wineries implemented the same technology, it could save the state 1 billion gallons of water annually.;title
Water is not only the next big environmental issue, but also the next... more
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By Kathy Ehrich Dowd | Friday, January 22, 2010 11:54 AM ET
A Minnesota couple donates their entire food budget to Haiti relief and plans a pared-down affair.
Weddings are beautiful, special, once-in-a-lifetime (hopefully) events. But let's face it: They can often be pretty over-the top, too. And with so much devastation in the world, it certainly seems like some brides have lost perspective when they melt down over details like dresses and flowers.
But bride-to-be Leah Bogen is anything but a high-strung Bridezilla. On the contrary, she and her fiancée chose to scale back their affair and donate a full quarter of their wedding budget to Haiti relief efforts.
Bogen got the idea when she scanned her Sunday paper, which featured devastating images of Haiti, and contrasted them with the smiling models on the covers of her bridal magazines.
"How can you not want to send money?" she asked KARE-TV in Minneapolis.
So she broached the idea with her fiancé, Will Nicholson. His reaction? "He sort of gave me this shocked look and said, 'Yes, I love you. Do it.'"
"If this was going to make things more perfect for her I thought, 'What the heck, let's do it,'" added Will. (Aww ...)
Overall, the couple is donating $2,500 — their entire food budget — to Partners in Health.
And what does that mean for the food at their June nuptials? "We have some ideas. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were the first ones I could come up with. You can put those together pretty fast and have them ready for everybody," declared Bogen.
No matter what they end up serving, Bogen and Nicholson hope their act inspires others.
"If anyone has anything they can cut out from their budget and maybe send a donation that would be the message we'd like to get across," said Bogen, as Nicholson nodded in agreement.
And with socially-conscious values like that, we have a feeling that regardless of the budget, the couple will have one special wedding. How's that for starting off on the right foot?By Kathy Ehrich Dowd | Friday, January 22, 2010 11:54 AM ET
A Minnesota couple... more
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tonic
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Much Needed Tax Relief For 2009, But You Must Open A Solo 401k By Dec 31st. Nabers http://www.Nabers.com says setting up and contributing to your Solo 401k before the end of 2009 will allow married couples to deduct up to $109,000 from their 2009 income taxes. Watch this video to learn more or you can pick up the phone right now and call Nabers Group directly at 877-903-2220.Much Needed Tax Relief For 2009, But You Must Open A Solo 401k By Dec 31st. Nabers... more
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The Nabers Group is available to consult with individuals regarding their savings plan, with answers about all aspects of Self Directed Planning. Those seeking more information on investing their retirement accounts in a Roth or Conventional IRA may contact the Jeff Nabers at Nabers Group at http://JeffNabers.com, where there is an abundance of information on investing and finances.The Nabers Group is available to consult with individuals regarding their savings... more
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This Thanksgiving, ideeli believes 'tis better to gift and receive this holiday season with wow worthy items for your loved ones and for yourself. We want you to be in the know with all of our fabulous Yule-tide events with our special Thanksgifting Calendar so you don't miss a single deal. Today we kick off our RED SALE, which gives black Friday a run for it's money with savings of up to 90% off. Sale runs until SUNDAY. Need a little gifting guidance? Now through Sunday ideeli is featuring 2 special deals of the day that are perfect for gifting and will ship for FREE. Shop Cyber Monday at ideeli and your entire order will ship for FREE. Lastly, ideeli plays Santa Claus this year with our "Thanks A Million" giveaway. One lucky grand prize winner will receive a prize package valued at. $15,000. Stay tuned for more details which will be emailed directly to you on 11/26. Have a shoptastic week and Happy Thanksgifting!This Thanksgiving, ideeli believes 'tis better to gift and receive this holiday... more
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