Musings About Careers And What Would Be My Dream Job

By MoneyBlueBook

I left the traditional attorney job behind a few years ago and now do finance and legal work on a contractual basis. I've been doing this for more than a year now and so far it's been enjoyable, although not without its ups and downs. But then they don't call it a job for nothing. I probably can go on and on about how miserable I was working as an attorney but I think I'll save that for another day. Suffice to say, the legal field is overly saturated and the profession simply isn't the lucrative and inspiring field it used to be. I think most attorneys today, including myself would be wary about recommending law school to those contemplating a field of study. I am constantly trying to tell younger friends to bypass law school and do something more worthwhile and meaningful with their lives, but they never seem to listen. They'll know what I mean when they get out.

A Change Of Profession Is What I Needed

So here I am in my current job, working on a contractual basis in a field somewhat related to my area of study. The job security and rapid advancement opportunities may be gone, but my sanity and happiness have flourished ten fold. Working on a contractual basis, I now have the opportunity and time to develop and improve my various side ventures - things I'm quite passionate about. Of course, perhaps one day I will tire and choose to get back to the nitty gritty legal practice. Tax

By MoneyBlueBook

For those who haven't seen it before, MTV's "My Super Sweet 16" is one of the many things in television pop culture today that is seriously messing up the minds of kids today, leading them down the path of excessive consumerism and obsession with wealth and entitlement. The MTV reality TV show follows and documents the 16th birthday celebrations of upper class teenagers. Now these are no ordinary birthday parties. We're not talking about a day at Dave and Busters or the bowling alley. On this program we have stretch Hummers, horses, live dancers, famous rap stars, decked out ballrooms, and budget rolls in excess of $300,000. Everything is paid for in cash or with quick obligatory swipes of the parents' trusty Amex Black Cards or Visa Black Cards, indispensable and exclusive tools of the trade. You won't see any "paltry presents" like Apple iPods or Gap clothing here. Instead, the doting parents of these spoiled rotten kids prefer to give them top of the line BMW's and Land Rover's, capped with red bows on top to quench their material thirst. The show, although quite entertaining, proclaims the non-stop need to spend, spend, and spend to the utter collective delight of all luxury car dealerships and luxury boutiques everywhere.

Spoiled Bratty Kids Come In All Sizes

The show features spoiled teens of all race, nationality, and even sex - black, white, Persian, and even shockingly, a few teenage boys among the mostly teenage girls. The show follows the same template,

By MoneyBlueBook

How was your Christmas? Did you spend it all day with family and friends? Or did you manage to sneak out to watch Aliens vs. Predator like I did. Yes, I was one of those that ducked into the theaters on Christmas afternoon to watch this winter's biggest sci-fi blockbuster movie on opening day. Only this time, I was sorely disappointed. It wasn't even the movie itself either (although I thought it could have been better). It was my realization that I was paying way too much money for the opportunity to be crammed into a stuffy hot room with a crowd of noisy, obnoxious people, to watch a movie on a blurry movie screen operating on technology that probably hadn't been updated in several decades. Watching the latest movie release at the local cinema simply isn't what it used to be anymore. Why are movie tickets so expensive nowadays? Times have changed and I wonder if it's time I did so too.

Movie Theater Tickets and Concession Stand Snacks Are Outrageously Overpriced

Christmas day afternoon I went to see the new Aliens movie with my brother. Going with the Christmas spirit, I decided to pay for everything. For two expensive movie theater tickets I shelled out a total of $18 at about $9 each. Two popcorns and two small sodas tacked on another $16 for a grand total of $34 for two people. Now, if I was a father with a wife and 2 kids, and assuming everyone bought the same customary number of snacks and

By MoneyBlueBook

Merry Christmas everyone! It's exciting that Christmas is now upon us and I'm quite eager to find out what's in store for the coming new year. I'm feeling a bit wistful right now so I'd like to look back at the wonderful and memorable presents I've received over the years since childhood and even into adulthood. Many of the presents continue to have a special place in my memories and I still remember them quite fondly.

I know some parents advocate the teaching to children of the true meaning of Christmas - the valuable lesson that Christmas is not only about presents and receiving gifts, but that it's also about family, sharing, and spending time with loved ones. Although I believe these themes are worthy ones, I don't think we should completely deprive children and the younger generation of the simple and innocent joy of receiving and giving presents. The simple act of giving and receiving presents is often an annual ritualistic event that holds a special place in the historical hearts and minds of many children, teens, and adults alike. Instead of trying to compel the thematic shift of Christmas from presents into the non-material aspects of the holiday season, we should try to encourage and teach children to not only receive, but to give. It's an inevitable fact that children will ultimately grow up into a materialistic world. Rather than shield them or futility try to sanitize their environment, we should prepare them for reality and the future by showing them that the Christmas

By MoneyBlueBook

I am the type of person who likes to maximize everything that I do. Particularly when it comes to hobbies and interests, I always want to think - how can I find a way to monetize or turn the hobby into a beneficial endeavor? Not that I have to profit from everything, but I just have a very entrepreneurial and "see the bigger picture" personality. However, there are some things that I just can't seem to spin into a financially worthwhile venture - research intensive, but addictive hobbies like fantasy football. For the last few fall and winter seasons, I've been embroiled in the fun of online fantasy football. I've been the league commissioner for my church league for several years now and this is the first year where Ive made it to the final championship game. I'm so excited!

What Is Online Fantasy Football?

If you don't know what fantasy football is, allow me to explain. First of all, it's not some silly "fantasy" thing where people pretend to be in the game like some of my female friends jokingly think it is. I think people who aren't into fantasy football or other online fantasy sports see it as a childish game, but in fact, most of the online fantasy sports leagues are played by adults.

Football football is generally an online game played by participants (called owners) arranged into online leagues. Usually there is a draft at the beginning of the sports season where owners acquire players on their team comprised of real life NFL football

By MoneyBlueBook

I'm a frequent credit card user. In fact, I carry only enough cash on my person for emergencies at all times. I charge everything and over the years I must have signed tens of thousands of credit card receipts whenever I made purchases in person. The thing I've noticed is that nobody ever checks the signature nowadays. Is there a point in this modern day and age to require signatures on credit card receipts anymore?

Credit Cards Should Use PIN Numbers - Signatures Offer Little Security

Requiring customers to sign every receipt is supposed to make them feel safer and in control. With more and more people buying things online though, signatures are losing the identity assurances that they might have once offered. Most online retailers require customers to enter in their 3 digit verification code (CVV/CVC) found on the back of their credit cards for security purposes. I think requiring some type of PIN number would be more effective than signatures since signatures can be so easily overlooked and forged.

I don't even sign my full signature anymore. I've done everything from scribbling randomly on the signature line, to drawing a smiley face, to asking my friend to sign my name instead - all while under the watchful gaze of the sales clerk, who frankly could care less if I signed it personally or not.

For the sake of speed and convenience, many credit card companies don't even require signatures anymore for small purchases or at certain places such as fast food restaurants. Although seemingly counter-intuitive, merchants