Young Professional Finance Blog

5 Reasons Getting Outside and Doing Something Saves Money

alex@youngprofessionalfinance.com (Alex Fisher) — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:07:41 -0500

The nice weather is starting to come around and getting away from the computer and outside is a great way to save money. Some miscellaneous reasons why:

1. You can ditch your monthly gym membership fee.

2. If you're outside doing something then you aren't inside paying for something.

3. Chances are it'll help maintain your health which means less costly bills for poor health in the future.

4. I'm sure someone has proven being active and seeing light improves your mental abilities-- allowing you to be more effective in the things you commit yourself to doing.

5. You aren't inside watching TV, using the microwave, or the computer meaning you're using less electrical energy.

Bad Economy? SCREW IT! I'm Starting A Business NOW

alex@youngprofessionalfinance.com (Alex Fisher) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:43:35 -0500

So, I have finally done it-- I jumped into running my own business full-time. Looking back and counting every job I've had since my first paper route there have been about 13 companies/people I've worked for over the last 15 years. The different jobs range from picking weeds for my high school teacher to running world wide webcasts for Fortune 500s to building computer software and hardware for small companies. Now, I'm off and running a technology consulting firm and have to make it or break it on my own!

Continue reading "Bad Economy? SCREW IT! I'm Starting A Business NOW"

Time to Start-up?

alex@youngprofessionalfinance.com (Alex Fisher) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:52:49 -0600

Good article over at Sillicon Alley Insider comparing the different types of entrepreneurs, what to do if you're running a start-up right now, and some interesting stories of business successes and failures. Check it out. Make sure you read down to "the good news".

The Busy Life of This Young Professional

alex@youngprofessionalfinance.com (Alex Fisher) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:06:17 -0600

Hey everyone, sorry for the inactivity on YPFB lately. After the holidays hit it seems everyone wanted to get back to work and thus I've been pulled in a million directions on all the different projects I work on day and night.

In the meantime, I wanted to direct everyone to check-out the latest on YPBLOGS. It's now over 100 blogs strong and updated nearly every hour.

Also, I've started a personal site, AlexFisher.net, which features information about other projects I'm working on. It also houses my non-finance related blog articles.

With that said please keep your feedreaders tuned to YPFB as new articles are coming in 2009!

Quick Tip: Spend Less on Underwear!

alex@youngprofessionalfinance.com (Alex Fisher) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:51:52 -0600

I just found-out yesterday you can find underwear, t-shirts, socks, etc. for a big discount at stores like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. 50% savings means spend half as much or enjoy twice as many undergarments for the same price!

The Young Professional Blog Aggregator

alex@youngprofessionalfinance.com (Alex Fisher) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:31:00 -0600

The past year and a half, I've met many interesting young professionals online and offline through this blog and my other related activities. For my own benefit and yours I've started a new site to keep track of what young professional related blogs are doing and saying right now-- The Young Professional Blog Aggregator.

In less than a week of being online ypblogs.com has over 400 posts available from 25 blogs!

Every 10 minutes ypblogs.com scans numerous young professional related blogs for updated articles. When a new article is posted on a site its title and a small description (just the first couple lines of the article) are posted right on the front page of ypblogs.com in reverse chronological order (newest article listed first).

Readers can visit ypblogs.com or subscribe in their RSS reader to monitor what the young professional blog-o-sphere is writing about. The article titles link directly to the original blog article where users can read the full article, comment, discuss, etc.

Writers can add their blog to ypblogs.com to gain new readership, market their blog, increase their page rank, and become even closer knit to the young professional community. The site is open to both young professional writers as well as those writing on topics that would be of interest to young professionals. It's important to realize that the definition of who is a young professional isn't set in stone and information by writers who may be "less young" can still be very valid for those who are "more young".

ypblogs.com is already gaining great momentum. It's been up less than a week and right now there are 25 blogs that have signed up and 413 posts are listed. There are no ads, only legitimate blogs, and a graphical list of popular tags on the sidebar showing what the young professional blogging community is writing about most right now.

It's really a win-win situation for both readers and writers. Not to mention the fact that now I can even use my own new site to read more of what my fellow young professionals are writing.

Read articles at right now, add your young professional blog, or subscribe via RSS.

Looking for Young Pro Writers

alex@youngprofessionalfinance.com (Alex Fisher) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:03:06 -0600

Have something interesting to say having to do with young professionals or finance? I'm looking for more young professionals to write an article for Young Professional Finance Blog.

We're one of Google's top 10 finance blogs and you'll have thousands of people reading your stuff! I'm open to lots of topics. The rule is pretty much: whatever you write about should be interesting to young professionals in their 20s or 30s.

Just contact me with an idea or an article!

How Do I Manage My Money?

alex@youngprofessionalfinance.com (Alex Fisher) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:18:25 -0600

Sometimes I wonder how other people manage their money. I figured I would throw my own way out into the wild and see how it compares to your way. Below I have listed the various ways I deal with earning money and spending money.

Paychecks

I have a percentage of my paycheck directly deposited into my checking account. I have the remaining percentage directly deposited into my high interest savings account at ING DIRECT.

Retirement

401k doesn't have matching so I don't contribute to it. Instead, I have a Roth IRA at Fidelity which pulls a fixed amount from my checking account once a month. For tax reasons it doesn't make sense for me to contribute to my old Traditional IRA.

Other Income

I continually work to figure out ways to diversify my income streams. Two years ago I had no idea how to make money from anything, but a paycheck and some small dividend and interest income. Side work, web site ads, etc. are some of the ways I've found and I try to keep this money separated from my normal day job income. I like to think of it as a bonus and try to save it in a separate savings account and watch it grow. (Of course, it also helps at the end of the year when I figure out taxes which, by the way, are way too high. Sure would love a consumption tax)

Continue reading "How Do I Manage My Money?"

Top 10 Money Related Movies

alex@youngprofessionalfinance.com (Alex Fisher) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:40:00 -0600

A while ago I started a list of movies related to money and success. There's no way to remember them all, but I thought I'd get the list started and let all of you remind me of any I forgot.

Money Movie 1: Wall Street
Who can forget the ultra 80s, go-getter hair and greedy style of Gordon Gekko played by Michael Douglas in Wall Street. When you want to earn insane amounts of money in the market and impress those at the top what better way than a little insider information?

Money Movie 2: Boiler Room
In this great movie that shows how people make very risky decisions without enough information when under pressure and persuasion Seth Davis shows us one way of stealing money. Who can't help but get a kick out of Vin Diesel in an Armani suit selling stocks.

Money Movie 3: Trading Places
One of the best movies about betting money, Trading Places is about two old rich guys that make a bet they can turn a bum into a corporate snob and a corporate snob into a bum.

Money Movie 4: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
A dead man reveals his secret of hidden treasure-- half the directions to one person, half to another, and a third person is hunting them down for it too. Love the soundtrack by Ennio Morricone.

Money Movie 5: American Psycho
A movie so serious and insane it can cause you to laugh it shows the success-focused narcissistic culture of 80s big business. Patrick Bateman, an executive banker on the edge of a hidden insanity starts falling further down the rabbit hole.

Continue reading "Top 10 Money Related Movies"

Begin Connecting With Young Professionals NOW!

alex@youngprofessionalfinance.com (Alex Fisher) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:18:03 -0600

I am now a featured contributor on Qvisory.com, a new nonprofit online advocacy and service organization that supports the health, financial well-being, and career goals of young adults from 18 to 34 years old.

They just posted my first exclusive article encouraging their readers and all people in their 20s and 30s to join a young professional organization today! Here's a sample of the article:

...I first discovered young professional organizations existed about 2 years ago after moving away from my friends and family in Metro Detroit to start a job in a new place. After searching the Internet and local newspapers, I found a group in Lansing, MI called Grand River Connection. I began meeting new people—making friends, getting dates, and even interacting with local politicians. I was having a great time.

Read more of Connect With Young Professionals [Qvisory]