Get Rich Slick

Prior to getting my iPad 2, I had been researching “Top 10 iPad Apps” lists and it took a long while to find worthwhile apps so I figured I’d share that information with readers here.   Rest assured, you’re not going to find the typical crap you find on most lists.   Sorry there’s no app listed here for tracking your grocery budget or tracking coupons.  These apps will help you become better informed for making investment decisions or tools to allow you to make some money in the process.   I guess you could call these money making apps for the iPad!

1. E-trade Mobile App (Free) – By far the most elegant trading application and far much better than TDAmeritrade’s App.  Designed around a widget concept, each individual window caters to specific information (portfolio, news, quotes, etc).   I have already placed an options order on this app and it was sweet!
2. TDameritrade Mobile Trading (Free) – A pretty ugly trading application and the only reason on my iPad is because I have an account here.   TDameritrade should be ashamed of itself and develop a better app or buy eTrade.
3. CNBC RT (Free) – This is CNBC’s app and it’s a pretty sweet application that gives you most of the information you’ll typically find on CNBC including videos, quotes, news, and finance information.
4. Bloomberg (Free) – Competition is a good thing and I like Bloomberg’s app as much as CNBC’s.
5. BA  II Plus Financial Calculator ($14.99) – One of the few apps I’ve actually paid for and at $14.99, its a bit pricey considering you can buy a physical calculator for about the same price however I bought it because it is a daily staple of my life for work and school and I don’t have to worry about forgetting my calculator as I take it in and out of my bag for use.   Plus, no additional extra weight to worry about in my bag when I get on a plane.   With this app you can calculate cash flows, bond rates, interest rates, amortization, and so much more!

6. CBOE (Free) – This is the Chicago Board Options Exchange app and I’m a bit disappointed its so clunky and not user friendly.  My pet peeve is when checking options on an equity, you can’t select by strike price across calendar, your only option is calendar by strike.
7. MarketDash (Free) – Yahoo’s stock app which doesn’t seem to include options data which is very disappointing but a handy app nonetheless for charts and graphs of equities.
8. Thomson Reuters Pro (Free) – One of the best news organizations has one of the best looking apps for news out there and information is the path to money!
9. Amex (Free) – If you have a personal or corporate Amex card, you need this app!  It helps you review your accounts and manage money flows.

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I just got my iPad 2 and I am totally blown away. My MacBook pro is sitting in the corner and I haven’t missed a beat. I am glad I waited for the new one because the camera is awesome.

I will follow up with another post with my top iPad apps but this device is definitely a game changer for the computing world. Just to give you an idea, I have traded stocks and options, I have calculated some net present value calculations, checked email on multiple accounts, checked my blogs, caught up on news and typed this post all on my iPad in a day alll without having to boot up a damn computer!

I am seriously thinking about learning to program apps on this platform because it is the future but we’ll see how steep the learning curve is for that!  Oh yeah, and the best part of getting my ipad was that it was tax free baby!

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I have two stories to write about today and I’ll start with why Google/Android sucks!   I bought my son a VirginMobile Samsung Intercept phone for Christmas and for the last three months I’ve been trying to figure out how to get the damn Android Market to work and have not yet found a solution despite HOURS and HOURS of research.    Essentially, my son’s phone would constantly get one of two messages, “can’t establish a reliable data connection to the server” or “your username and password do not match” over and over  again.    I can log in to my son’s account using a laptop into gmail with no problem with the same username and password but it won’t work on the phone!   I’ve searched every google forum, samsung forum, and other places but no one has a solution.   The common “fix” is to hard reset the phone and I’ve done that three times to no avail.    I’ve just about given up but I understand there may be an upgrade coming out so that may fix the problem.    Here’s something funny though, one of the forums I read had this quote,

“Same problem here too. The only information I can find is to do the factory reset.  Verizon told me to call Motorola. Motorola told me to call Google.”

I’ve heard that same line before whenever I had a problem on a Dell/HP/Gateway/<insert manufacturer here> and Microsoft operating system whereby Microsoft would claim it was a manufacturer problem and the manufacturer would claim it’s a Microsoft problem.  I was considering possibly buying a Motorola Xoom or an Android based phone but quite honestly, I’m done with crap hardware/software which is why I converted to Apple a few years ago.   I left the Microsoft world, a world full of spyware, viruses, blue screens, bickering hardware manufactures and software manufacturers  and and other crap that made my life miserable.   Steve Jobs is absolutely right about the “experience” of technology and not just be worried about industrial functionality or cheap commodities so I ordered my iPad 2 today and expect to get it in a few weeks tax-free w/ free shipping.

I feel confident in saying that I’ll sync iPad 2 to my mac laptop flawlessly and have it up and running in under two minutes in contrast to the bloatware and problems with Microsoft and Google based crap.    In the end, time is money, and I can’t afford to waste countless hours debugging crap for Google or Microsoft so I’m abandoning these inept folks for greener pastures and better experiences.   Thank you Steve Jobs.

UPDATE:  After investing a couple of more hours in as a last salvo I read this thread:  http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/5343/android-cant-establish-a-reliable-data-connection-to-the-server/   and added a youtube account, reverted back to trying a bunch of different things and suddenly the market place began to work.   I’m not really sure if adding a YouTube account worked or if something else finally clicked but it’s all working fine now.   I have to admit, there are some pretty neat apps on there but the hours of frustration and lack of clarity as to the solution still keeps me from ever buying an android phone.

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So it’s Super Bowl time and we decide we’re having Papa Johns Pizza tonight.  I head over to Papa’s and boy is the place busy.   People that had called ahead were standing around waiting for their pizza.  I just showed up so I order the XL pizza which is supposed to be on sale for $11.99 which includes up to 4 toppings.

“What do you want on your pizza sir?” asks the clerk.

“I want half of it Pepperoni, half of it Pepperoni, Sausage, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes” I reply.

“Okay, your total is going to be $19.99″ she says.

“What?  The sign says it’s $11.99 back there!”  as I point to the large sign which reads “XL Pizza up to four toppings $11.99″

“Yeah but that’s the special with four toppings and you got more” she states.

At this point I’m confused because I have exactly FOUR toppings (Pepperoni, Sausage, Mushrooms & Tomato) but I assume she’s counting Pepperoni twice to make it “five” toppings but that didn’t phase me.  The inability for a clerk to add is no surprise to me these days as they all want to push a button and not have to think.

“So you’re going to charge me $8 dollars for ONE topping?” I retort sarcastically.

At this point, another clerk comes up after overhearing what’s going on and looks at my order and says that my total will be $12.99.   I assume this is correct because of sales tax and I assume I’m getting the $11.99 special and I’m told that my pizza will take 20 minutes.

Of course, as I stand there, I see huge volume of boxes piling up in the counter where they store boxes for soon to be made pizzas and the pile keeps growing.  Needless to say, I had my pizza FORTY minutes later (not twenty) and I have come to the conclusion that Papa John is not capable of running a business.

1. Clerks can’t add

2. Clerks can’t forecast time properly (anyone could tell you that 20 minutes wasn’t going to happen based on volume).

3. Clerks can’t make critical business decision that will SAVE Papa John some money as illustrated in this prior story.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t really bothered by poorly trained or incapable clerk about any of it because I knew exactly what I was getting myself into but seriously, Papa Johns needs to rethink all of this “waste” in effort, goods, and product delivery.

I don’t often eat junk food so this was a bit of a treat for me and I was willing to wait but it’s part of the reason why I stay away.

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So I’ve been trying to tally up my spending for the holiday season and I lost count somewhere over $6,000 and I honestly don’t know what the total tab has been.  So here’s a quick run down of the holiday shopping list.

• Samsung 55″ LED TV w/BluRay player $2200
• Vizio 47″ LED TV $900
• 3 iPod Touch’s  – $700
• Xbox 360 + game and controller – $300
• Nintendo DSi – $130
• Variety of games, toys, and other items $600
• Cash gifts to family members $900
• Hosting Christmas at home (food, decorations, gifts, wine, etc)  $600
• Variety of accessories for all the stuff bought (HDMI cables, ipod Touch covers/sleeves, etc) $200

There are other expenses not even included in here but I have to say it was a really great Christmas compared to last year.   I have no guilt spending this money because it was money that would have otherwise gone to the shitty airlines and pay for TSA goons which I will continue to boycott until my summer vacation in 2011.

So instead of American hotels, restaurants, airlines and tourist locations making money this year, a vast majority of my money went to overseas manufacturers of electronics, toys and other items….looks like China wins yet again!

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So Costco has a great bundle that includes a Samsung 55″ 3D 240hz LED TV w/ free BluRay player and 3-D starter kit for a little over $2,000 and I couldn’t help but pick one up.   I took it home and setup it up and the picture is simply amazing.   The screen is so large that it actually overpowers the room it’s in and the images are so lifelike that it looks like the people on the screen are actually in my family room!    I was watching the nightly news with Brian Williams and could see the wrinkles in explicit detail along with a horrible makeup job.   Sorry Brian, I love your nightly newscast but your makeup people need to step it up a bit!

There are a few complaints I have about Samsung.   First, neither the BluRay nor the TV came with an HDMI cable and for two grand, you’d expect the right cable to be included in either box.   The problem is that there are so many freaking HDMI cables to choose from it’s getting harder to decipher what you need without an engineering degree.   A coworker told me to be sure to get a version 1.4 HDMI cable to make sure it works with my 3-D TV.

Next, while my BluRay player has built in WiFi, the TV does not have WiFi.   I actually had to shell out another $80 to buy a Samsung Wireless Link adapter for the TV.   Why didn’t this have it built in to the TV?  I haven’t yet had time to play with the Apps or even Netflix but that brings me to my next point: complication!

As features and functionality get better, it is also increasing the complexity of setting up a TV as now I have to enter a 200 character WiFi encryption key with a 10 button remote!   As always, it’s almost impossible to use a single remote either!

My biggest complaint is the lack of and cost of 3D BluRay movies.   Take a look at the short list of movies available in 3-D here.   There were a few movies at retail outlets selling for $40!  Yikes!   Come on guys, $40 for a movie when a comparable DVD is under $20?

Lastly, the Samsung 3-D glasses cost $150 EACH.  Yes, that’s right, it costs $150 for 3-D glasses so a family of four will spend $600 just on glasses!   Of course, I got two “free” but that still means I need to spend another $300 on glasses and god forbid if one pair gets damaged!

It’s all pretty ridiculous but I’ve got money to burn now that I’m not spending $6,000 traveling thanks to the TSA molestation policy this year so the money has to go somewhere and it may as well go to Korean manufacturers instead of American workers.

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Since December 1, I have been on a mission to de-clutter my house.  Every single room in our four bedroom house, one office house is packed with stuff that has been sitting in a particular location for years.   We started with the office and found medical records from 2004 and earlier so project “shred” for one of my kids was to shred 7 years of old medical receipts and records.   Project “office” consisted of removing tons of knick knacks, collectibles (still in original packaging), books, records and tons and tons of compact disks, hard drives and cables (chargers, network cables, usb cables, etc) and sorting for sale, recycling or trashing.

We have three piles – stuff that recycles, stuff that goes to garage sale my in-laws will sell, and stuff that goes straight to the garbage.    I am finding the project  very gratifying and stress relieving and to some extent depressing.    I look back on my life and all the “garbage” that I collected and how little it means to me now and how much of a waste it was all to spend time, money and energy collecting it.

On December 2, we started with cleaning the closets and one particular closet had tons of suitcases.   Some of the suitcases were old and were missing zipper sliders, some had damaged wheels and some were just old.  Why are we keeping these here?   I quickly found four suitcases that we could easily get rid of and we still had five left over.    These old suitcases will go to a garage sale and perhaps they’ll get some use.   We also found some old artwork that’s going to the garage sale and no there weren’t any Picasso’s in the pile.

On Saturday we’re cleaning the garage to reclaim some more space and we’re clearing so much space that any thought of renting a storage facility is getting out of my mind very fast and that will mean saving money!

So how did I finally get the family committed to this project?   Well since I have everything I could ever want, I was asked what I really wanted for my birthday this year.  After long consideration, I came up with the idea of getting 1 hour every day for the next 15 days (Dec. 1 thru 15) to help me clean up the house.

We’ll be hosting Christmas this year with plenty of guests coming over and spending the night so I wanted to clean up the house.   I set a goal of 15 days because that’s when the kids will be out of school and they’ll lose focus fast but I figure it’s enough time to get some serious cleaning done.   1 hour x 4 people x 15 days = 60 hours of labor.

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Costco has some deals on LED LCD HDTV’s and this weekend I picked up a 47″ LED LCD TV from Costco.  It was a Vizo brand with a 2 year warranty and using the Amex card extends warranty an additional year so I’ve got 3 years of coverage on an $800 TV.

I brought the TV home and was quickly disappointed with the TV stand as it didn’t swivel and worse yet, I had installed it backward which gave the TV a 10 degree inward inclination.   I attempted to call tech support and was prepared to return the TV until I decided to try spinning the stand around and then the TV was mostly vertical but still not 90 degrees.    Ultimately, I’ll likely mount the TV so the stand won’t matter much.

That’s really the only complaint I have with the TV except that it may be too large for my bedroom.   It’s a 47″ LED and its razor thin and the color and picture is good enough.    There were a few other TV’s in the display aisle that clearly had a better picture such as Samsung, Sony and an LG model but they all cost $300 to $500 more than the Vizio.    Since this isn’t going to be the major entertainment center in our home, spending $800 for 47″ LED was fairly reasonable.

By the way, these things were flying off the shelves…I saw FOUR leave the floor while I was standing there deciding on whether to take one home or not.

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I’ve written about this before, I won’t purchased a major item or service without first checking out online reviews about the product or service.   I read this article today and found it interesting that many people now threaten to sue if they don’t like the comments.

That sentiment is gaining fast traction across the global hospitality industry. More than 700 hoteliers and vacation agencies have joined KwikChex, a British company now threatening to file a series of defamation lawsuits in both the United Kingdom and United States against TripAdvisor on behalf of travel businesses.

Ironically, TripAdvisor is just one of the many websites I now use to vet my vacation purchases.  Here’s my top list of website review sites:

1. TripAdvisor.com – I usually use this site to check out hotels when I travel for business.   When I travel for vacation, I use it more extensively to find out about restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions and other activities.

2. Amazon.com – I have a love/hate relationship with Amazon and I’ve finally settled on a truce whereby I use the site to read reviews on products, occasionally I will make a purchase but I often purchase through alternative sources as Amazon has been playing too many games with pricing fluctuations that I can’t stand.

3. Costco.com – Let’s face it, Costco shoppers are in a bit in their own league and are generally higher demanding than most.   I’ve been in the market for THREE new LCDs and I have yet to find one that meets Costco shoppers expectations as the online reviews are no higher than 4 out of 5 stars for a TV.

4. Groupon.com – I’ve become a fan of Groupon although I’ve only used it once.   The big plus however are online customer reviews and forums that give you how well the coupon worked or didn’t work.

5. ConsumerReports.org – I recently became a subscriber to ConsumerReports again after a long departure because I plan on making some large purchases this year and next.   I got a special $12/year rate so I figured $1/month is a good deal.

6. BBB.org – The Better Business Bureau (check local chapter) is one that I use primarily before engaging a contractor to work on my property to find out how many complaints have been filed against someone.

7. FatWallet.com – A site mainly for deals of the day but there are often fairly good reviews about products and services.  I often heard this site was for cheapskates and frugal people that want to screw over corporations but I’ve come to respect the people on this site as savvy shoppers that want value for their money.

8. Consumerist.org – This used to be a fun place to read about customer service but it’s now mostly a ranting site and has considerably fallen of my list of sites that I used to frequent for shopping advice.

9. RottenTomatoes.com – On occasion when I’m bored and trying to figure out what movie I might want to watch I’d visit RottenTomatoes but I’ve been way too busy lately to go see a movie.

10. YouTube.com – While not exactly a review site, whenever I plan on buying a purchase, I’ll check out youtube to see if there are any instructional videos, complaints, or innovative uses for a product.

I’ve used all of these sights throughout the year and have made serious purchase decisions based on reviews and information I’ve found on these sites and it has saved me a ton of money and grief!

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about becoming a RedBox fan and while I may still occasionally rent from Redbox, my latest experiences have me a little disappointed.  I went to a Redbox a couple of times and the movie I was looking for wasn’t available.  Worse yet, a movie I was dying to seen seems to be gone from the Redbox.   I know that you can request/order a movie and have it sent somewhere but my schedule doesn’t work that way so enter Netflix.

Many years ago, I was a Netflix customer but the whole mailing DVD was too cumbersome for me.   I always worried someone would steal the disks from my mailbox and I hate going to the Post Office with a vengeance so I ultimately ended up canceling my subscription.   A week ago, I took the kids to my brother’s house to use the pool and my brother enlightened me on Netflix.   I told him I had used the service years ago and canceled it because of the mailing issue but he told me that you could order movies and shows online and watch instantly.   Curious and worried about the quality of video, I inquired about the quality of the movies over the internet and he said it was great.

I wasn’t totally convinced but I decided to give it a try and lo and behold, the quality of the streaming was excellent!   So far we’ve seen a couple of movies and a few TV shows and they all streamed perfectly!   I am amazed at the quality and content.   I only wish they had more online content but so far they have plenty of stuff for me to see!

There are a few things I don’t like, first you need to install Microsoft’s Silverlight to watch movies on a computer and Firefox doesn’t work to watch movies, you need to use Safari and I presume Internet Explorer if you’re a Windows user.   Secondly, for some reason, you need a disk to watch movies from your Wii console and I don’t know why when my Wii has a web browser?

I can’t wait for this service to advance where I can watch any TV show ever made.   I occasionally catch old episodes of Cheers and I thought it would be cool to see the first show again to relive the 80′s nostalgia!   My son has been asking about watching old episodes of Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, and a few other Sci-Fi shows and why they aren’t readily available.    Evidently Dr. Who episodes are available in a limited fashion so he’s been watching those too.

It’s easy to understand why this company has a 6 billion market cap and why it’s trading at $130!

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