Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.
Smart Outsourcing
This is the most intelligent thing I came across this week. Apparently, a Verizon developer outsourced his own job to a Chinese consulting firm. That in itself isn’t brilliant. He did it for a fraction of what he was paid. Instead of coming into work and working. He sat in his office and watched cat videos, shopped online, trolled Facebook and went home. It’s not the most exciting way to spend the day but hey…bonus points for thinking outside the box.
It doesn’t say if the developer still has a job, but it’s safe to say he uncovered a glaring amount of excessive costs. The first being his job. I doubt he’s the only overpaid employee. If you walk into your boss’ office declaring a way to save 80% on payroll costs, I guarantee they will sit up and listen. The guy probably deserves a promotion for this.
Debt Ceiling Hiatus
News came out today the Republicans are pushing for 3 month debt ceiling hike. Not surprising they added an end date of April 15. Though April 1st is more appropriate. This new strategy comes contingent on the Senate actually passing a budget. And it came with a half-hearted threat in their “No Budget, No Pay” slogan. Which is the smartest thing I’ve heard out of Washington this year. It’s probably the high point too.
Currently, members of the Senate and House get paid $174,000 for 2013. House and Senate leadership get slightly more. But for argument sake, with 100 Senators and 435 Representatives, that is over $93 million of cost cutting right there. Sounds like a great place to start.
Last Call
- TIPS Are Grossly Overpriced – The article tosses out a bunch of economic data, but it boils down to inflation fear has pushed TIPs prices too high. The author shows the effect rising interest rates will have on TIPs. Which is the point. By the way, I don’t endorse his suggestion to short TIPs. You’re better off just avoiding them.
- Stock Investing Isn’t the Only Risk in Your Life – Investing is all about weighing risks based on your long-term goals.
- Small-Cap Investing: More of an Art than a Science – An in-depth article on small cap investing. It points out several key principles investors should focus on.
- 401(k) Mutual Funds Mediocre – covers a collection of recent 401k studies that should help in deciding which funds in your 401k are worth using.
- Is it Really Worth Trading in Your Index Fund for a Cheaper Model? – a great breakdown showing why even a slightly lower expense ratio is good for your money.
