Saving Money & Finances

How much do hedge fund managers make

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How much do hedge fund managers make? – Want to make a pretty penny, be rolling in the cash? Well maybe becoming a hedge fund manager is your best bet! Of course it’s not just a job you can walk into and it’s not for the faint of heart. You may even have to make some decisions you don’t feel comfortable with!

Still the potential to earn a lot is there, also you could screw everything up and earn nothing! Generally hedge fund managers make their bucks from various aspects of the management process. This includes Management (basic fees that provide the basic wage), Performance, Redemption and Administrative fees.

So how much do they earn? It’s hard to say but here are some numbers from Forbes in 2011 for the highest earners:

Ray Dalio
Firm: Bridgewater Associates
Headquarters: Westport, Ct.
Earnings: $3 Billion

James Simons
Firm: Renaissance Technologies
Headquarters: East Setauket, N.Y.
Earnings: $2.1 Billion

Carl Icahn
Firm: Icahn Capital Management
Headquarters: New York
Earnings: $2 billion

Steve Cohen
Firm: SAC Capital Advisors
Headquarters: Stamford, Ct.
Earnings: $600 million

David Shaw
Firm: D.E. Shaw & Co.
Headquarters: New York
Earnings: $580 million

Yes, that’s a lot of cash! See all 40 here.

In reality the average hedge fund manager probably takes home a salary more in the range of $5million – $10million, hardly worth getting our of bed for!

Of course the journey to the top can be rough and take many years of much much lower paid junior positions.

Tax

Tips to boost your tax refund

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Tips to boost your tax refund – As they say, there are two inevitable things in life, death and taxes. So with that info on board the acceptence of paying tax can make us damn lazy about keeping on top of things and working out how to get the refund we deserve.

There are various things you can do to reduce the amount of tax you ultimately end up paying and in this article we wanted to share a few tips from around the web.

First off Turbo Tax, the popular filing software, have shared 5 tips. Straightforward but worth taking on board:

  1. Rethink filing status to boost your refund
  2. Don’t shy away from tax deductions
  3. Maximize your IRA contributions
  4. Timing can boost your tax refund
  5. Become credit savvy and refund happy

More details for each tip can be read on their post here.

Ehow adds an interesting tip where they say you have the right to adjust your W4 which is usually stock paperwork. Details here.

And then MSN shares a way to reduce tax using itemised deduction here.

Interesting tips but there must be a lot more and we’d love if you shared them below.

General

19 Very Important Photos Of Benedict Cumberbatch With Kittens Buzzfeed

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19 Very Important Photos Of Benedict Cumberbatch With Kittens Buzzfeed – Ok, ok, ok, we know this isn’t important or that related to this site but it had me laughing and I wanted to share a post I wrote about it on a site where I write about animal related things….

It always makes me laugh what lengths people go through to make stupid pictures on the net! Imagine if those talents were applied to things that mattered. Of course I hear you screaming that kittens and Cumberbatch do matter, they are the most important thing on the planet right now.

Well here are some of the pics that made me laugh and more commentary can be read here (where you’ll also find the Buzzfeed link with the full 19 pics).

19 Very Important Photos Of Benedict Cumberbatch With Kittens Buzzfeed

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See, very important!

 

General

Katherine Deprill plea to find mum who dumped her at Burger King

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Katherine Deprill plea to find mum who dumped her at Burger King – One of the amazing things about the internet is the sheer power it has to gather people. As an investigative tool it’s undeniably amazing! Answers can be sought to questions, mysteries and ideas can be expanded, problems solved. With all those people at the end of the wires almost anything can be achieved.

27 year old Katherine Deprill was found crying on the bathroom floor of a Burger King restaurant, just hours old. The baby was taken in, she was healthy, safe and sound, and had what she called “the best childhood” with her adopted mother Brenda Hollis.

But of course, she is now curious to try and find the woman who left her in Burger King. She says she is not mad and wants to thank her for not throwing her away all together. She just wants to know if she has blood relations and more about her genetic lineage. Of course we all probably would.

So that’s where the awesomness of the internet comes in.

Katherine has posted a Facebook status with a picture, which is shared below, reading:

“Looking for my birth mother.She gave birth to me September 15th 1986. She abandoned me in the Burger King bathroom only hours old (in) Allentown, Pa (Pennsylvania).”

And here is the picture:

037335-27487350-a58d-11e3-900e-99186aa12c4d

I suggest we all share this and help her find her mother, or someone who knows who she is.

You can find the status on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/frugalzeitgeist/posts/10153922145770022?stream_ref=10

 

Diet

11 Chain Restaurant Foods That Are Horrifyingly Unhealthy

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11 Chain Restaurant Foods That Are Horrifyingly Unhealthy - If there ever was a reason to eat healthy and save money by learning to cook amazing meals at home then it’s just taking a few moments to actually see what you are eating when you visit your local chain restaurant.

Besides all the nasty chemicals that may potentially harm you, the actual lack of taste in some of the meals and the cost of feeding the family you just have to take one look at the calorie and fat content to realise you’ll be doing a lot of elliptical for the next few weeks to burn it all off!

Here are some horrifying numbers!

Outback Steakhouse Chicken Wings appetizer
Fat: 165 grams
Calories: 1,992

Friendly’s Giant Crowd Pleaser
Fat: 118 grams
Calories: 2,470

Buffalo Wild Wings’ Ribs & More Ribs
Fat: 158 grams
Calories: 2,380

Cheesecake Factory’s Bistro Shrimp Pasta
Fat: Not available, but there’s 89 grams of saturated fat
Calories: 3,120

Maggiano’s Surf and Turf
Fat: 152 grams
Calories: 2,020

Applebee’s Hand Battered Fish & Chips
Fat: 128 grams
Calories: 1,730

Bertucci’s Spaghetti with Meatballs
Fat: 84 grams
Calories: 1,880

Steak ‘N Shake’s Sausage Gravy and Biscuits
Fat: 74 grams
Calories: 1,070

The Hard Rock Cafe Nachos
Fat: N/A
Calories: 2,270

T.G.I. Fridays Bleu Cheese Stacked Burger
Fat: 105 grams
Calories: 1,490

Uno’s Pizzeria and Grill Mega Size Deep Dish Sundae
Fat: 130 grams
Calories: 2,700

Info source: Buzzfeed – http://bzfd.it/1ilVnw7

Alright, I am not saying never eat these meals or never eat at a chain restaurant, sure there are healthier choices. However knowing exactly what’s in your food and having choice of ingredients, spices and outcome is something that’s fun and rewarding. A good meal does’t take much longer to whip up than driving to a restaurant and then waiting to be served.

Do you ever eat any of the meals listed, did the calorie and fat content surprise you?

General, Opinion

10 shirts you can’t wear to school buzzfeed

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10 shirts you can’t wear to school Buzzfeed – So what is appropriate clothing and what is not and who has the right to tell us what is what? Controversy over kids being sent home over certain attire in recent years has been raising this question and it seems to be one that rages.

When I was at school we wore a uniform, a shirt, tie, trousers, black shoes and a blazer unless it was hot. Short sleeve shirts were permitted in the summer but the tie always had to be worn! It was extremely strict and I hated it. However I see some merit to uniform now considering the problems freedom of dress can cause within a communal setting like a school.

I’m not saying kids should be wearing strict uniforms like I did but I think some guidelines that allow a certain amount of freedom without causing problems (especially amongst parents moreso than kids!).

Buzzfeed published a list of t-shirts that had gotten kids sent home from school and it’s a varied and interesting list. Most were for political statements but some hate speech and symbolism! Below is a summary of the list.

1. Islam Is Of The Devil – A 10 year old girl in Gainesville was obviously sent home for this message!

2. Barack Obama: A Terrorists Best Friend – And a boy last year arrived with this patriotic message in his shirt!

3. The N Word – An 8 year old probably shouldn’t be embroiled in these word politics!

4. The Confederate Flag – Well, there is history to this! The 12 year old was sent home from Markham Intermediate School in Staten Island. However he says he wears it because he is a civil war buff, not because of any hate or racism.

5. Juicy Angel – A $75 shirt that is probably age inappropriate saw a middle school student sent home.

6. All Camouflage – Apparently this is gang attire so a 16 year old girl in Lowell, MA was sent home for wearing such dress.

7. Shirts With Pictures Of Fetuses – 12 year olds displaying graphic images on Ts for  “National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day.” may well get you sent home!

8. Professional Terrorist Hunter – One freshman at  Penn Manor School was asked to turn the gun displaying shirt inside out.

9. Virginity Rocks - Albemarle County, Virginia students have been banned from wearing this shirt.

10. Be Happy, Not Gay – This hand written shirt had the words “not gay” scrawled out by a school counselor in Illinois.

The full list and details can be seen here: http://bzfd.it/1e2KNqi

Now, personally I don’t have an issue with a kid sticking up for an issue they believe in and actually dialogue should be encouraged, however in some cases it’s parents using kids as pawns, that’s wrong!

Within a school setting it may be easier to enforce a no-statement code of dress to stop these kids of problems but of course it’s far easier to say that than to enforce.

What do you think?

General

Wife exposes affair all over mistresses Walmart

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Wife exposes affair all over mistresses Walmart – Revenge is sweet, right? We all know the saying and all have participated in some act of revenge be in small or extravagant! The idea is that once you have your own back you can get past the event that triggered the anger in the first place!

In the case of this story a wife decided it was a good idea to post pictures of her husband and a woman he had an affair with, having sex, all around a Walmart that she worked at.

In some ways it could be viewed as funny but kids were potentially able to see the images and it could have lost the women her job.

Engaging in a relationship with a married man may be seen as immoral but I don’t think these personal issues should be dealt with in the public sphere like this, my opinion!

I’m not saying they should be hidden away either but we are adults and this story got me thinking about anger and reaction. We are all capable of some crazy things if pushed to it, especially when love, sex and relationships are involved!

The woman who posted the images has now been charged with one count of pandering obscenities but is saying she is not guilty. It’s now in the hands of the legal system and hopefully the fair and right outcome will be the result (yes I know it’s not always that way!!). More details on that story can be read here: http://bit.ly/1jYI6XD

We all get caught up in personal problems and this story got me thinking about how I have reacted in the past and how I try to deal with problems now.

I don’t think revenge is actually that sweet. Personally I find bigger solace in letting go and moving on. By not reacting, normally, you position yourself better mentally. People who continue to act inappropriately will eventually cause themselves problems, I believe. If they made one mistake then maybe they don’t deserve the punishment.

When it comes to relationships, if someone “plays away” or does something bad then why would you want to be with them anyway? I know logic and love don’t work well together but seriously you need to be with someone who cares for you. If infidelity happens it needs to be discussed, you both need to assess where it fits into your life. I personally feel the third person is usually not the one to blame!

What do you think on revenge and how to deal with such personal problems?

Food & Drink

12 pictures of death row prisoners’ last meals Buzzfeed

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12 pictures of death row prisoners’ last meals Buzzfeed – Buzzfeed recently put together a post showcasing images from an artist’s project putting together images of last meals from prisoners on death row.

While mildly morbid it got me thinking. I am sure I am not the only one who has posed or been asked what their last meal would be!

A few years ago, well many years actually, I probably would have gone for something like a chicken kebab, maybe a steak and chips, something really not that interesting! As you can see from some of the images I shared below you could argue the choices were not too interesting!

However these days food has become so important to me that I simply can’t choose, it feels impossible. There are restaurant meals such as Trinidadian Roti and good quality Indian. Then all the stuff I make at home that I love from stews to cous cous, currys, stir fries. I love food, I love it to the core and value it over owning objects. In fact I advocate spending money on food rather than things like shoes and such things!

Oh, and I am proudly vegan so my experimentation has grown immensely!

Simply put I better stay off death row so I don’t have to make this decision!

What would you choose?

Here are a few of the interesting meals (read the notes in the images).

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These images were created and put together on Buzzfeed using work by henryhargreaves.com. If you head over to his site or to the Buzzfeed post you can see more meals plus notes from the artist and this interesting project.

None of these meals look that appealing to me!

Uncategorized

Moonshot stocks for 2014

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Moonshot stocks for 2014 – There are so many methods for investing in stocks but the basics stay the same. You want to find a stock that will yield a higher return than your investment. Easy really but in reality much harder than it sounds! Of course I don’t need to tell you that!

So what on earth is a moonshot stock?

Well have you heard the phrase Shoot For The Moon? It means aim high and far. So set lofty goals. A moonshot stock is one that shot for the moon and made the shot, it hit the moon! This basically means it performed way higher than predicted and of course from an investing standpoint this is a potential good stock to invest in!

Of course it’s not as straightforward as that and the higher you climb the further you have to fall so moonshot stocks need complete evaluation and the risk needs genuine assessing.

So which stocks have shot the moon thus far in 2014? Here are some of the best, sourced from an an MSN Money article.

Netflix ($405.91, up 23.5% since Jan. 21) beat EPS estimates by 14 cents, earning 79 cents a share after hours on Jan. 22. The streaming media company popped above its 50-day SMA at $364.22 to a new all-time intraday high at $412.40 on Jan. 31. The weekly chart is positive, with its five-week MMA at $373.89 and its 200-week SMA at $173.05. The stock has a buy rating and is 3.8% undervalued, with a gain of 132.3% over the last 12 months. The stock has an elevated 12-month trailing P/E ratio at 178.0. Weekly, quarterly and semiannual value levels are $388.26, $325.48 and $328.21, with a monthly risky level at $423.48.

Under Armour ($104.65, up 22% since Jan. 28) beat EPS estimates by 5 cents, earning 59 cents a share before markets opened on Jan. 30. The sports apparel company popped to a new all-time intraday high at $108.72 on Jan. 31. The weekly chart is positive, with its five-week MMA at $92.01 and its 200-week SMA at $45.74. The stock has a hold rating and is 74.4% overvalued, with a gain of 109.5% over the last 12 months. The stock has an elevated 12-month trailing P/E ratio at 69.5. Quarterly and semiannual value levels are $89.34, $86.05 and $72.14, with weekly and monthly pivots at $98.61 and $103.40.

Facebook ($62.75, up 13.8% since Jan. 28) missed EPS estimates by a penny, earning 20 cents a share after trading hours on Jan. 29. The stock rallied on the outlook for mobile applications, and set a new all-time intraday high at $63.77 on Feb. 3. The weekly chart is positive but overbought, with its five-week MMA at $57.04. Facebook has a hold rating with a gain of 123.2% over the last 12 months. The stock has an elevated 12-month trailing P/E ratio at 101.8. I show weekly and monthly risky levels at $65.90 and $71.25.

And this article has 4 more that didn’t do quite as well as these three but are still hugely exceeding EPS estimates!

Do you think any of these are a worthy investment or will they fall back down to earth in the remainder of the year?

 

Medical Bills and Bankruptcy
Debt

Pros and Cons of Debt Consolidation

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If you’re on the fence about pursuing debt consolidation, consider the following pros and cons. With careful thought and some research as to what your options realistically are, you can make the right decision for you about debt consolidation.

Simply put, debt consolidation is when you, “take out one loan to pay many others.” You’re basically putting all of your debt from different sources together and then making one monthly payment to one source rather than to 5 various ones. If done correctly, it can be very effective at paying off credit card and other debts. But debt consolidation has it’s critics as well. Let’s look at the Pros and Cons on the matter to help you decide what’s best.

Pros

- It can often come with a low rate for a set period, making it easier to pay off.

- All of your debt is in one place so you only have to make one “easy” payment.

- It is a far less overwhelming approach to approaching your debt.

- You can avoid bankruptcy.

- Debt collectors will stop hounding you.

Cons

- There may be a balance transfer fee.

- The initial rate quoted might not be what it is long term.

- If you’re late on just one payment, your interest rate can skyrocket.

- With debt consolidation loans, you may have to put up your house as collateral– a huge risk.

- Qualifying can be difficult.

- You might pay more in the long run.

As you can see, there are many things to consider before you decide to consolidate your debt.

Another approach (other than getting a debt consolidation loan) is to attack your credit card debt by transferring the balances of all your cards to a single card or a single non debt consolidation loan. You can find a million and one comparison sites in every language and every country to find the best rates on cards and loans (such as this one from one of our partners) and you can find a lot of information on authority sites like Fool. You can also contact companies you owe to direct and see if they are willing to pool your debt and others into one, this may save applying for a new loan.

At the end of the day you want a lower combined rate with more favorable returns and you MUST not get any more debt beyond that!

Many credit card and loan companies will offer a low interest rate for the first year, which can help you make a serious dent in your debt if you plan it correctly. Afterwards the rates can go up to the normal amounts, but you’re still only paying one card off, which can feel infinitely less overwhelming.

Debt Consolidation Pros and Cons

Talk to a professional about whether or not you qualify for a debt consolidation loan. I’ve had family members take out consolidation and honestly it’s saved them when they genuinely stuck to the rules. But it’s your decision, and everybody functions differently. If you are prone to get into more debt, look for other options! If it seems like it would be advantageous to your situation and you’re confident you can make the monthly payments on time, it could be a very good thing.

Life, the Universe & Everything!