In the midst of an economic crisis, you might be richer than you thought

by Aaron Hotfelder on

I’m not saying this just to impress you, but I’m the 730 millionth-richest person in the world. How did I figure this out? Why, by going over to the Global Rich List, and entering my paltry salary. Do the same, and you’ll discover where you stand on the global wealth hierarchy.

Lest this all sound a little too competitive, allow the people behind the Global Rich List to tell you their real reason for starting this website:

“[W]e gauge how rich we are by looking upwards at those who have more than us. This makes us feel poor. We wanted to do something which would help people understand, in real terms, where they stand globally. And make us realise that in fact most of us (who are able to view this web page) are in the privileged minority. We want people to feel rich. And give some of their extra money to a worthwhile charity.”

There, don’t you feel a lot less dirty now?

How to save up for the dream vacation in 90 days: Tips from a financial guru.

by Jamie Rhein on

I love financial expert Jean Chatzky’s voice. She sounds so calm and reasonable. I came across a video clip of hers where she outlines how to save for a dream vacation in 90 days. It’s not rocket science, and her tips do work. I just did number two myself.

Here are the three tips in a nutshell. Seriously. It’s not rocket science.

1. Once you decide where you want to go, find out how much it will cost. Chatzky says to figure in the costs of eating and entertainment as well. The ticket or gas prices are only part of it. Factoring in ALL expenses helps plan. She recommends travel Web sites to scout out deals.

2. Then she suggests that you look to see if there are ways you can save, such as seeing if you can use miles. (That’s how I’m going to Denmark with my daughter in December.) In many cases we have NOT used miles if flights were not that expensive. We wanted to save up miles for a bigger trip.

3. Once you know your total cost, divide the cost by 13 since you have 13 weeks to come up with the money. Chatzky then says you look at your expenses to see what you can cut out each week. Chatzky picks coffee, clothes, lunches out and make-up as areas for savings.

Her figure to save was $80 a week. If you save $80 for 13 weeks, that’s $1,040.

If $80 is a hefty amount, my idea is to expand the length of time you need to save the money. The point is to know what your goal is so you can aim for it.

Although cutting back on immediate expenses, Chatzky says that once you’re on the beach, or wherever, the sacrifice you made to get there will be worth it.

Here’s the link for the video so Chatzky can tell you the how tos herself.

Any tips you’ve come up with to save for your dream vacation? I’ve saved all spare change.

And the dollar rallies!

by Grant Martin on

If you’ve been in the EU or Japan any time in the last 18 months or so, you’ve probably walked away from a currency exchange or ATM scowling. With the American economy virtually in the dumpster, oil sky high and our trade deficit in the stratosphere (but coming down!), the value of the dollar has been plummeting like it’s out of style.

While few economists can agree on whether this recession will end (or even if it is a recession, proper), what they can observe is the state of the European economies — and apparently they’re not doing well either. While their struggle with the credit crunch and mortgage crises haven’t been as pronounced as the Americans’, the Europeans haven’t been immune to money problems of their own, most notably fuel and food prices.

So while we might be sinking further into the depths of the credit netherworld, at least the Europeans are right behind us — and so is their currency. Against the Euro, the US Dollar has spent the last month running for the trees, gaining about 8% in thirty days with Ben Bernanke cheering from the stands. That means when you slip a hundred dollar bill under the TravelEx exchange in Heathrow you’ll be getting $67 back instead of $62.

It’s not too late to book that Thanksgiving trip to Mallorca.

[image courtesy Yahoo finance]

Euro notes in Spain have highest traces of cocaine

by Abha Malpani on

Money is probably the most contaminated thing you come in contact with on a daily basis, just because of the sheer number of people whose hands it goes through every day. It carries virus’s and diseases, and even traces of drugs.

Spain is known to the largest consumer of cocaine in the world, so it’s of little surprise that the money circulating there has high traces of cocaine. On average, Spanish notes contain 155 micrograms of the drug. The cocaine-money exchange, along with the fact that Euro bills are used to snort the stuff, are the main contributing factors. According to a report in the BBC, Spain has over 1 billion notes in circulation, of which an estimated 142 million have been used to snort cocaine.

Apparently, it’s cheap to buy cocaine in Europe (€60 a gram) because of efforts too boost production by Colombian paramilitaries who need money for weapons, and Spain is the main country through which they smuggle the drugs in. In fact, yesterday the Spanish government busted a Venezuelan-registered ship carrying 2.5 tonnes of cocaine and arrested 11 people of which 6 were Spaniards.

U.S. bills come as a close second with the notes containing an average of between 2.9 and 28.8 micrograms; however, in 1996, upto 1,300 micrograms were found on some of the bills.

Travel tips: Don’t keep your money in one place

by Anna Brones on

Losing your money or your credit cards can be the most stressful of events when you are traveling; stuck in a foreign land with no cash equals no fun. Room safes fail, money belts get stolen, and you can quickly turn into an unhappy traveler. An excellent way to deal with this problem is to spread your money around; never keep it in just one place.

A great article over at Hole in the Donut covers the most unusual places to stash your cash. Some of the recommendations:

-Snip a few stitches in the hem of the window drapes and slip some bills into the fabric.

-Carry duct tape with you so that you can put some money in a plastic bag and tape it under your dresser… or even the toilet tank.

-If you have a shower in your hotel or hostel room, take down the curtain rod and hide some cash in inside the hollow tube.

The most creative is of course the Brief Safe, a pair pf pre-dirtied men’s underwear that have a secret pocket where you can put some bills or other small valuables. You can buy a pair or even build your own thanks to Justin’s DIY project.