Sometimes friction has a purpose
May 9, 2012 by Jackson Beirne · Leave a Comment
America has introduced a JOBS act designed to remove many of the truth and informational requirements that funding requests must address under securities law. The title here is the final phrase in Esthers piece and it is a deep one.
This article is a highly insightful piece from Esther that captures the essence of the role and responsibility of government as it applies to the free marketplace. The words “unintended consequences” leap off the page here. It is far to easy to design a solution that apparently attacks the problem directly but in fact has effects that were not even considered.
The reference to the US mortgage crisis driven by the apparently common sense desire for pervasive home ownership is an example of clear thinking that is lacking in government.
Markets of Magical Thinking | Project Syndicate – Esther Dyson
Unfortunately, the JOBS Act is as likely to be successful as the US government’s earlier attempts to ensure that American families could buy their own homes. Low down p
We’ll do anything for a deal!
April 5, 2012 by Jackson Beirne · Leave a Comment
Photo courtesy of flickr user gegeyteaghea
No one respects a frugal act more than a personal finance journalist like me. But even in tough times like these, I had to laugh when I read an article from Money magazine about a 22-year-old college student who bought 30 cans of baby formula on sale, even though there’s not a baby to be found under her roof.
Sadly, her source of inspiration was TLC’s Extreme Couponing, which features folks who clip so many coupons that their basements bulge like stockrooms with mass quantities of stuff. At first, I assumed it was an intervention show, until I realized that the coupon clippers are actually applauded for their penny-pinching ways. Is it just me who expects to see the same faces on A&E’s Hoarders next week? R
Canada digital payments report–intends to upgrade the Canadian Payments Association to meet needs of mobile payments
March 30, 2012 by Jackson Beirne · Leave a Comment
Here are recommendations from the Government of Canada digital Payments report released yesterday. Now the comments in the Federal Budget make sense. The Canadian Payments Association (CPA) was designed in the days of cheques. Time to bring the bureaucracy up to date.
Government must lead the change.
For Canada’s payments system to substantially modernize, changes are required in multiple arenas, from consumer behaviours to accounting solutions, to the very procedures governments rely upon in delivering services. Industry has not implemented change due in part to uncertainty and lack of coordination. Therefore, the Government of Canada should lead the change by undertaking the following actions:
• Implement electronic invoicing and payments (EIP) for all government suppliers and benefit recipients.
• Partner with the private sector to create a mobile ecosystem.
Community National taps ex-State Bank exec
March 29, 2012 by Jackson Beirne · Leave a Comment
Michael Locorriere
Community National Bank has appointed Michael Locorriere to the position of director of municipal banking, becoming the latest bank to bring on board a high-ranking former State Bancorp executive.
Locorriere spent 12 years with State Bank of Long Island, rising to become senior vice president and director of municipal finance.
From Financial Advisor to Financial Comparison Site Owner: How To Quit Your Job and Support a Dream Lifestyle
March 21, 2012 by Jackson Beirne · Leave a Comment
This is the story of how I went from being a bored financial advisor to owning a financial comparison website that lets me travel the world on the profits.
I’m usually not comfortable telling people how to make money online but I wanted to share my story because if I can do it then you can do it. I’ll also give you some tips on what NOT to do when starting a niche site like this. If you avoid the mistakes I’ve made then you’ll save yourself a lot of wasted time and energy, and you’ll probably start making money a lot more quickly too.
I am a qualified independent financial advisor, and although I had a decent job in the UK financial services industry, like many other people I found myself dreaming of making money online and living by the beach. I tried a bunch of things and nothing seemed to work until I started Compare Logbook Loans, a financial comparison site in the obscure niche of logbook loans that I’d never even heard of before.
It wasn’t an easy ride, and I’ve made lots of mistakes along the way, but it now earns me and my business partner a basic living each month, and since it really took off I spent most of 2011 in Thailand and Vietnam living by the beach. The site won’t make me rich it now makes around $8,500 net profit per month between two of us but because I get paid in UK pounds it allows me to live an excellent lifestyle in exotic places where I benefit from the great exchange rate.
There are many different online business models but the one I have managed to get working is a cross between affiliate marketing and lead generation. Put simply, this mean