Economics

Because this is the year of the copyright and also because I have been fascinated in freedom of information I wanted to take a look at current US policy and visit, just a little, the debate between the desire for openness and freedom to appropriate and the desire to protect and monetize things which people/corporations developed and in many cases put forth considerable effort in time or money to develop.

Short of developing a theory, to which I have little to add, I sketched up what I think is a very succinct summary of the issue:

I have been using KMyMoney for almost 10 years. It never occurred to me until recently that there might be something new, something better. Is there? What could they offer that KMyMoney does not? I've always considered KMyMoney to be pretty good, let's see what these solutions can do.

Basic structure to breaking down your budget. I tried to make it as complete (and generic) as possible so it looks expansive and large but I think people at all income levels should follow this strategy:

The one main drawback is that fixed, variable and disposable income go into the same account which is not very ideal at all. Everything else is well derisked and protected but not the fixed expenses. I will have to revisit this at some point.

Introduction
I have been learning how to use Google Sheets analytical tools (including the Statistics and Merge Sheets plugin) and while practicing I thought it would be the perfect time to answer a question I have been wanting to know: does population dictate GDP per capita?

The steps were as follows:

A calculation that shows fees have a greater impact on return than one time costs despite the fact the expense fees are very small.

I have found it quite a challenge while shopping to choose products that are ethical, healthy and sustainable. For one, it's hard to remember everything and second the information is not always available. I can improve the second by picking places to shop that list this type of information and hopefully this entry will help me wrap my head around the first.

The Pope was released an ENCYCLICAL LETTER to the public regarding the document. It's generated a lot of press coverage and I find myself quite moved by it. The language is beautiful and the arguments are quite sound. I have yet to read the full version (saving for my next long flight) but I jotted down some notes.

Introduction
I have organized and executed the details of my daily life for some time now much like you would run a business. This didn't occur suddenly but has slowly evolved over time mostly by the necessity of maintaining my responsibilities and a desire to accomplish my life goals in a timely manner.

I've often debated the pros and cons of this system but I've concluded that it is better than having no system at all.

Pros:

I signed up for a seminar for those interested in purchasing their first home. I've seen my coworkers attempt a number of different strategies: buying a condo, buying a home and investing out of state. Let's see how those strategies stack up. Note: Income and expenses were estimated with a single individual making $100k/yr. I also used a pretty healthy down payment as most of my coworkers are a) in their 30s and b) have had ~10 years of professional work experience that includes stock options. This does not reflect my income or savings, which may be higher or lower.

I have been shopping online for many years now and I was thinking about the things I buy online and the things I buy in the store. Sometimes I buy things in the store because I sought advice and other times I buy online because the price was just too good. But with services like Zappos, Amazon Fresh and Google Shopping Express I am beginning to wonder if there is a future left for brick and mortar retailers. This way of shopping is going to usher in a shift in the way we shop and buy goods. How can retailers compete?