Wealth Artisan 
Earlier this week, I told you about how I took my wife, sister and mother out for breakfast and how the restaurant didn’t accept credit cards. This was surprising to me as it isn’t very common for a business to not accept credit cards in our area. In fact, even the food trucks around here … Read more
The other day, I took my mother, sister and wife out to breakfast. My mom told us about this great diner just down the street so we decided that we would go there, rather than to one of the bigger chain restaurants. After a great breakfast, I went up to the register to pay the … Read more
You throw some clothes in the washer, some dishes in the dish washer, and a meal in the microwave. While everything is going, you check your email and see that your mom sent a question about a computer problem. Quickly, you answer her question, get your meal, eat it, and while the clothes and dish … Read more
I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a statistics nerd, but I’m an extremely visual person as well. Everyday, we talk about, invest in, and shop at tons of different companies. Often, we walk into these massive stores, and we just assume that they are these mega companies, but this is a reminder that there are … Read more
You need help making a budget, and that’s OK. Everyone who takes the dive into budgeting eventually realizes that there must be a better way to do things. Luckily, there is! Below are 5 of my favorite tools (besides my favorite which is envelope budgeting) that will prevent you from pulling hair out of your … Read more
Today I found an excellent quote that I believe encompasses the meaning behind entrepreneurship perfectly. This quote comes from Henry Ford: Henry Ford: “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for a better horse.” What I love about this quote is that it highlights a few things: Entrepreneurship requires vision. Customers don’t always … Read more
Barnes and Noble (BKS) was started as a Printing Company around 1873 and has grown to be the largest book retailer in the United States. It has enjoyed great success, and weathered one of the worst economies faced in decades. It also survived in an environment that Borders collapsed in, but is Barnes and Noble … Read more
Last week, Barnes & Noble (BKS), Apple (AAPL), and a few publishers got smacked down when the federal government arrived at a settlement that there was collusion to raise the prices of eBooks. I won’t be naive, I’m sure price fixing and collusion happens all the time. I know it isn’t supposed to legally, but … Read more
Recently, we unveiled our new Mortgage Calculator. Our mortgage calculator has a couple of great benefits: It charts the payments so you can see the principal and interest. It provides the monthly payment amount. It has a mortgage amortization schedule. You can include additional principal payments. It doesn’t require multiple screen loads like most calculators, … Read more
We’ve finally finished our new Mortgage Calculator, and we’re very proud of it! The mortgage calculator was a lot of work, but we’re happy the day is here to unveil it. We did our best to make the mortgage calculator functional, intuitive, and aesthetically pleasing. We hope this is helpful for you, and if you have any … Read more
We’re happy to announce the winner of our 2nd Blogoversary Giveaway. The winner of our Blogoversary $50 Dollar Amazon.com Gift Card Giveaway is Michelle F. Congratulations to Michelle F., we’ve sent an email to her informing her of the great news. We would like to thank everyone who participated, and all of our readers. It’s amazing … Read more
We’re happy to announce the release of our Dividend Payout Ratio calculator. For those who don’t know, the Dividend Payout Ratio (DPR) is a ratio that shows what ratio of earnings is going towards dividend payment on stocks. This ratio says a lot about where a company’s priorities are, and if they are retaining enough … Read more
Best Buy announced that it will be closing 50 stores as a cost cutting measure. While that doesn’t sound so bad, here are some notable store closings in 2011 & 2012: 633 Borders Book Stores 405 Blockbuster Stores in 2011 500 Blockbusters in 2012 200 Gamestops 180 Abercrombie and Fitch 100 The Gap 35 Office … Read more
After building up your confidence with my article “5 Reasons You Won’t Make Money Online” I thought it might be a good idea to show you some promising pieces of information. I’ve heard a lot lately about how more and more people are becoming self-employed as a result of the economy, but I like having … Read more
Plenty of people are making eBooks, videos, selling “systems” and offering eCourses about making money online. You see insane claims like “earn $1,000 a day while you sleep” and you think “if only I could make half of that!” Many of these authors provide plenty of proof of their success, and they promise to package … Read more
Sometimes success seems like it is miles away. It doesn’t matter what you are doing: Starting a business Completing School Making Money Getting out of debt or even performing simple tasks Maybe it’s something you have done a million times before without any trouble, or perhaps your task is something brand new, scary, and everything … Read more
With the Olympics bringing an influx of visitors to the city in July, many Londoners will make extra money by renting out a spare room over the summer. For the rest of us, it’s a reminder that there are plenty of opportunities to let a spare room during sporting and cultural events, to help make … Read more
A few weeks back, I wrote an article about buying new computers for your business. Ironically enough, I recently had to purchase a new computer for my business. Before I discuss the computer itself, you need to know a bit about my approach to technology. I like change in general, but technologically I don’t. If … Read more
Your business probably needs software. Before you let a business software vendor come in, demo, and sweet talk you into purchasing their “solution,” you need to figure out if what they are selling is a solution, or more headaches. Starting a business is a difficult decision, and something as innocuous as buying a software solution … Read more
I think everyone has been on the receiving end of an enraged maniac shouting in their ear on the telephone. The reasons for it occurring are probably infinite, but it doesn’t change the fact that it happened. In addition to this obvious fact, there is another obvious fact, you probably weren’t overjoyed about it. Few … Read more
If you’ve had the pleasant experience of visiting a car lot, or furniture store, then you know what a high pressure sales situation feels like. Read about another one of my recent personal experiences with pushy sales people when my wife and I went to a furniture store. A few weeks ago, I received my first … Read more