Money Blue Book

Whenever two Goliaths want to duke it out for supremacy, I’m the first to grab some popcorn and a front row seat. I can’t help but watch and be entertained. Like watching a cafeteria brawl back in high school, it’s just too fascinating to pass up.

Fox News’ Not-So-Secret Secret

Yesterday, Fox News confirmed that it will be releasing its long overdue 24 hour cable business news channel Fox Business Network by the end of the 4th quarter of this year. In doing so, Fox News will be launching itself into a head on battle between the current dominant business news channel, CNBC (one of my favs).

Back in February 2007, Rupert Murdoch raised my eyebrows when he indicated that his new Fox Business Network channel would be more business friendly than CNBC” which he complained was quick to leap on every scandal”. Fox News president Roger Ailes also indicated in a separate interview, that “Many times I’ve seen things on CNBC where they are not as friendly to corporations and profits as they should be,” and adding that “We don’t get up every morning thinking business is bad.”

I certainly hope this doesn’t mean Murdoch plans on creating a business news network that will operate with a particular preconceived and slanted agenda, an allegation some have levied against his current news network.

To Succceed Fox Business Network Will Have To Find Its Niche

The advertising market and demographics for Fox News compared to the other cable news channels such as CNN and CNBC are quite different. To be competitive, Fox’s new business channel will not only need to galvanize its current audience, but it will also have to find a way to go after CNBC’s predominantly wealthier, highly educated viewers. Unlike Fox News, CNBC’s market is generally understood to be comprised of more high net worth viewers, a segment that is highly coveted by advertisers. Because of this, I doubt Fox News will be able to rehash the same recipe for success that worked for the current Fox News channel by focusing primarily on right wing conservative viewpoints alone. Murdoch might find it difficult to create an interested audience of investor types from his current network’s demographic base.

As one online commentator comparing Fox News to another network noted:

Fox viewers are more Chevy buyers than BMWs. Hence, lower ad rates for Fox..

Is There Room For Another Cable Business News Channel?

Not only will Fox Business News face an uphill battle for favorable demographics and marketshare, it will have to find a way to distinguish itself and prove to skeptics that there is room for another cable business news network. Others networks such as CNNfn have tried in the past but failed.

Fox has indicated that it wants to appeal more to a “main street” audience rather than a “wall street” audience. Whether this particular demographic segment will be enough to build up a sustainable viewership remains to be seen.

I am not a Murdoch fan but I think competition will be great for the viewing market. If they want to focus on business and financial issues that affect more the ordinary lay person, more power to them. I will definitely tune in to the channel to get a different viewpoint. But if the channel starts to smack of propaganda and peculiar agendas, I might just tune back to CNBC exclusively. But I’ll give Murdoch a chance.

F-F-F…Freeebies!

Here are some free offers and deals that I’ve come across recently. Remember, I only post ones that don’t result in spam or future unsolicited offers.

As always, the items listed below are available as of the date of this posting, but keep in mind that some may not last too long once people get a wind of them. So get them while they’re still there! Please let me know if and when they are no longer available. Here they are:

1. FREE Astroglide Personal Lubricant – Um, if you don’t know what this is, then you probably don’t need it
2. FREE Bain de Terre Mud Masque Hair Treatment
3. FREE Beeswax Candle From Esurance
4. FREE Blu-Ray Movie - The offer is supposed to be for those who work for a retailer – the movies choices are: Chicken Little, Deja Vu, Glory Road, Invincible, Guardian, or The Prestige
5. FREE Carmex Lip Balm
6. FREE Good Morning Hawaii T-Shirt
7. FREE Hugo Boss Fragrance Sample – Hugo Boss XY for Men or Hugo Boss XX for Women
8. FREE Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Cream
9. FREE Jergens Moisturizing Collection Samples
10. FREE Professional Hair Care For Women
11. FREE Skinwear Hand Sanitizer
12. FREE Tampax Pearl Sample – Send text message keyword PEARL to 467467 to get a free sample
13. FREE Zours Candy Samples

Remember to check out the other Freebies if you haven’t yet done so. Some may not yet have expired.

The mightiest monetary force in all of the investment world is not the Federal Reserve. It is the power of the compound interest. If I could offer only a single piece of financial advice to anyone, I would encourage the individual to understand how compound interest works and why its effects are so dramatic over time. Even ole Albert Einstein supposedly called it the “greatest mathematical discovery of all time”, and deservedly so.

Very few people become rich or financially secure through wages alone due to the realities of the trading hours for dollars concept, but by taking advantage of the miracle of compound interest, you can have a much better shot at achieving your financial goals.

The way compound interest works is quite straight forward. When you invest money, you earn a certain percentage as interest for the first year. In the second year you earn interest on the original principle and the interest accumulated during the first year. In the third year you will earn interest on the original principle as well as interest on all the previously accumulated interest. The more time that passes the greater the interest that accumulates.

The best time to invest was yesterday, but the second best time is now. Don’t delay! The sooner in time you start investing the greater the benefit you’ll reap through compounded interest.

Hypothetical Example To Demonstrate the Power of Compound Interest

To illustrate, let’s compare two people – Bill and Hillary. Bill invests $2000 for 6 years straight in a savings account earning a fixed 12% interest rate. Let’s not worry about taxes for now. After the 6th year, Bill stops investing and lets his account go on autopilot as compound interest continues to accrue.

At the same time, let’s assume Hillary does nothing for the first 6 years. But after the 6th year, Hillary starts to put $2000 into a 12% savings account and continues to add this same amount every year and doesn’t stop.

Since Hillary had a 6 year late start, how long will Hillary need to continue putting money into her account after the initial missed 6 years before her balance will eventually be greater than Bill’s. The answer is 37 years! At that time, Hillary’s total account balance will be $1,235,557, compared to Bill’s $1,235,339.

Bill’s total out-of-pocket investment of $2,000 for 6 years was only $12,000. Hillary on the other hand had to contribute $2,000 for 37 years for a total of $74,000 to ultimately beat out Bill’s account balance. Bill contributed less money but because he started much earlier, he gained the early compound interest advantage over Hillary, even though Hillary contributed substantially more overall.

There’s also an interest infographic on the power of compound interest rates.

Critical Compound Interest Rules To Remember That Will Maximize Your Investment

1. Start as early as possible – If you have money that is not at the very least sitting in a savings account earning interest, what are you waiting for? Get some interest accruing now!
2. Get the highest interest rate or return on your investment possible. My current approximate investment portfolio annual rate of return is about 40%. But mine is likely riskier than is appropriate for most people. If you want stable and predictable returns, then at the very least put your money in a savings or money market account earning 5% APY.
3. Keep adding to your investment over time – Early and often is the key.
4. The more time that has passed the greater your investment will have grown through compound interest. Your investment horizon should not be a matter of a few years. You should think in greater terms, like 10 or 20 years.

I enjoy using coupons. I don’t spend a whole lot of time clipping coupons from the Sunday paper however. In fact, I don’t even order or buy the Sunday newspaper and its collection of coupons. I prefer to do it the easy way – by emailing companies directly and requesting coupons and discount promotion vouchers.

Believe it or not, companies love to hear from their customers and appreciate your comments and suggestions. You don’t even need to beat around the bush by sugar coating your emails and gushing about how much you love their products. I prefer to get straight to the point and simply ask them if they can send me coupons.

Here Are the Steps to Take.

1. Think about what products you use on a daily and weekly basis and take a look at your home and make a note of what products you use.
2. Start running internet searches for every brand you use and visit the company’s website directly. For example, if you like Odwalla fruit smoothies as I do, type in “Odwalla.com” in your favorite search engine and visit the website’s customer service section. Email them this message ” Dear Odwalla: I really enjoy using your products. Please send me coupons and other promotional products and samples.” You can substitute Odwalla for any other brand you like.

That’s it! See how easy it is? I’ve been receiving lots of coupons from every conceivable brand in the last few days after requesting them through their websites. Some brands like Kashi are super generous and will send you several free Kashi cereral vouchers. Ask and thou shalt receive!

Weird Customer Service Response

Side note: I don’t think some of these companies really pay attention or even read the messages they receive from customers. My guess is that they just automatically send a standard response letter with coupons attached. I emailed one company (Proctor & Gamble) to complain and gripe about the quality of one of their products and they later sent me a few gift certificates along with a letter thanking me for my kind and generous compliments. I wasn’t sure whether I should be happy that they offered me freebies or whether I should be disturbed because they failed to understand the e-mail content I wrote them.