Comments on: Times Are Rough, So Think Smart and Profit

By: Joyce

Joyce — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:12:59 +0000

Nice write up…usually I never reply to these thing but this time I will,Thanks for the great info.

By: Yolander

Yolander — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:42:09 +0000

Knowing what to do and having the discipline to do it are two completely unrelated things. It’s like the Financial Adviser with bad credit who gives really good advice to his/ her clients on avoiding debt. Or the overweight person who gives great diet advice.

By: amyinindy

amyinindy — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:21:43 +0000

I work for a family business, and I find this to be a very scary time. I would like to agree with everyone who believes that the worst has already occurred, but I am realistic and believe the worst is yet to come. I’m not as well-versed in history as I should be, but I bet people were saying the same thing right before the Great Depression. And of course, we all know, that during that time, the bottom seemed to fall out again and again and again …

I actually found this blog entry to be thought provoking. Thinking about saving money now to buy assets at a discount later is a great tip both for individuals and businesses. On a personal level, I hope to buy a house in the next couple of years, so maybe my timing will be perfect, especially if I start saving my money now.

Thanks for the good ideas on several levels!

By: Maria

Maria — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:15:40 +0000

Kevin – great article as usual! The first item caught my eye, coming from the POV of someone who works for a consultant. I had a funny discussion with my older, supposedly wiser, sister who just finished her MBA. We had an “argument” that in these times, people should INCREASE their advertising and marketing spending. I wanted to laugh at her naivety. I’m younger and don’t have an MBA from a fancy Boston school, but I do work for a very small business. We just lost 2 accounts this year – both in the construction industry. Obviously she was preaching from an academic POV and in theory, yes you should market your business more aggressively, but that’s not how it works. We all know that marketing and advertising are the first to go in troubled times – the number crunchers see this as spending as superfluous, especially when you’re struggling to pay other vendors and make payroll.

The rest of the article is pretty solid though – I hate to be snarky, but I’ve always wondered what kind of people even HAVE $100,000 but not-so-smart to research and know about FDIC insurance?

By: kevin

kevin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:18:38 +0000

Thank you everyone for the great comments. This article has sparked quite a bit of interest, judging from the traffic logs.

pwan: As for the FDIC limits, this has caused a lot of debates in my colleague circle, and I can’t seem to get a straight story from anyone. Some people say “per account type, per bank”, others say “per account per bank”, and still others say “per bank”. I will put that to end.

Right from the FDIC website at http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/insuringdeposits/

“The basic insurance amount is $100,000 per depositor per insured bank. Certain retirement accounts, such as Individual Retirement Accounts, are insured up to $250,000 per depositor per insured bank.”

It goes on to say:

“The FDIC provides separate insurance coverage for deposit accounts held in different categories of ownership.”

It then described those categories as:

“The most common ownership categories are: Single Accounts, Certain Retirement Accounts, Joint Accounts, Revocable Trust Accounts”

It then describes Single Accounts as:

“These are deposit accounts owned by one person and titled in that person’s name only. All of your single accounts at the same insured bank are added together and the total is insured up to $100,000. For example, if you have a checking account and a CD at the same insured bank, and both accounts are in your name only, the two accounts are added together and the total is insured up to $100,000.”

So I do apologize that my article may have been misleading, but it wasn’t incorrect. You may have more than one account type, up to $100,000 per account type (with the exception of IRAs, which is $250,000). Your total of all Single Accounts must total $100,000 at most.

Keep those great comments coming in!

By: Your FeedBlitz Updates

Your FeedBlitz Updates — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:08:32 +0000

[...] This Post • Email to a friend • Article Search • Related • View comments • Track comments • [...]

By: sonica

sonica — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:28:24 +0000

Your article is wonderful with suitable tips on how to cut down costs. The economy is undergoing trpubled times and with the bailout package being rejected, we sure dont know what else is likely to happen. I have friends who work with big corporates have found that they have started implementing some of the measures suggested by you. Teleconferencing is resorted to by more business houses to cut costs on travel and hotels.
What I really like about your article was the clear steps suggested by you for cost cutting. Nice work, keep it up. Looking forward to more such articles from you.

By: Shonnabella

Shonnabella — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:42:03 +0000

What a great blog post.
I don’t have a business, but I come from a family of entrepreneurs who are all taking the action you spoke of. Making sure that there isn’t too much in one account, making staffing cut backs where they absolutely have to, etc.

It’s amazing to me that there ARE people think it’s nothing and that it’s going to get better once the new administration gets in. I do not understand that mentality, especially when you look at the candidate’s economic plan. It’s relatively worthless, in my opinion.

By: Hacker News | Times Are Rough, So Think Smart and Profit

Hacker News | Times Are Rough, So Think Smart and Profit — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:31:21 +0000

By: hystry: Your inbox for Hacker News

hystry: Your inbox for Hacker News — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:30:08 +0000

[...] [...]