Monday, January 26, 2009
Grammy Awards 2009-Justin Timberlake and Paul McCartney are Grammy Bound
The high-wattage lineup for the 2009 Grammy Awards continues to brighten. Paul McCartney and Justin Timberlake are now scheduled to perform at the Feb. 8 show – not to mention a few surprises. Timberlake will perform with rapper T.I., while McCartney will team with Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl. Also, Radiohead will be making its first live TV performance in nearly nine years. A week after she'll deliver the National Anthem at the Feb. 1 Super Bowl – which will mark her first appearance since the October murder of her family – three-time nominee Jennifer Hudson is also expected to perform on the show. Other scheduled Grammy performers and presenters include Carrie Underwood, Coldplay, the Jonas Brothers, Kenny Chesney, Katy Perry, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne. The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m. on CBS.
Source: Pettitte, Yankees agree at $5.5 million plus incentives
NEW YORK (AP) -- Andy Pettitte and the Yankees agreed Monday to a $5.5 million, one-year contract that brings the left-hander back to New York.
Pettitte can make an additional $6.5 million on performance bonuses and bonuses based on time on the active roster.
"There was never another team brought up," Pettitte said during a conference call. "I wanted to come back to the Yankees."
SI.com's Jon Heyman first reported that the Yankees and Pettitte were close to a deal this morning.
He joins a starting rotation that already includes CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain. The deal raised the Yankees' projected opening-day payroll to $196.8 million for 17 players with agreements.
Late last year, New York had offered a deal that would have guaranteed Pettitte $10 million, down from the $16 million he earned last year. New York withdrew that offer after it agreed to a $180 million, eight-year deal with Mark Teixeira.
"If in fact Andy does in 2009 what he's done before, he'll actually make more money," said Pettitte's agent, Randy Hendricks.
Pettitte pitched for the Yankees from 1995-2003, helping them win four World Series titles, then spent three seasons with his hometown Houston Astros. He returned to the Yankees in 2007 and was 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA last season, his highest ERA since 1999.
Pitching with a sore shoulder, he was 2-7 with a 6.23 ERA in his final 11 starts and missed his last turn of the season.
Pettitte can make an additional $6.5 million on performance bonuses and bonuses based on time on the active roster.
"There was never another team brought up," Pettitte said during a conference call. "I wanted to come back to the Yankees."
SI.com's Jon Heyman first reported that the Yankees and Pettitte were close to a deal this morning.
He joins a starting rotation that already includes CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain. The deal raised the Yankees' projected opening-day payroll to $196.8 million for 17 players with agreements.
Late last year, New York had offered a deal that would have guaranteed Pettitte $10 million, down from the $16 million he earned last year. New York withdrew that offer after it agreed to a $180 million, eight-year deal with Mark Teixeira.
"If in fact Andy does in 2009 what he's done before, he'll actually make more money," said Pettitte's agent, Randy Hendricks.
Pettitte pitched for the Yankees from 1995-2003, helping them win four World Series titles, then spent three seasons with his hometown Houston Astros. He returned to the Yankees in 2007 and was 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA last season, his highest ERA since 1999.
Pitching with a sore shoulder, he was 2-7 with a 6.23 ERA in his final 11 starts and missed his last turn of the season.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Getting out of Debt
Stop acquiring new debt
(This step can be accomplished in an afternoon.)
This may seem self-evident, but the reason your debt is out of control is that you keep adding to it. Stop using credit. Don’t finance anything. Cut up your credit cards.
That last one can be tough. Don’t make excuses. I don’t care that other personal finance sites say that you shouldn’t cut them up. Destroy them. Stop rationalizing that you need them.
You don’t need credit cards for a safety net.
You don’t need credit cards for convenience.
You don’t need credit cards for cash-back bonuses.
You don’t need credit cards at all. If you’re in debt, credit cards are a trap. They only put you deeper in debt. Later, when your debts are gone and your finances are under control, maybe then you can get a credit card. (I don’t carry a personal credit card. I don’t miss having one.)
After you destroy your cards, halt any recurring payments. If you have a gym membership, cancel it. If you automatically renew your World of Warcraft account, cancel it. Cancel anything that automatically charges your credit card. Stop using credit.
Once you’ve done this, call each credit card company in turn. Do not cancel your credit cards (except for those with a zero balance). Instead, ask for a better deal. Find an offer online and use it as a bargaining wedge. Your bank may not agree to match competing offers, but it probably will. It never hurts to ask.
Establish an emergency fund
(This step will probably take several months.)
For some, this is counter-intuitive. Why save before paying off debt? Because if you don’t save first, you’re not going to be able to cope with unexpected expenses. Do not tell yourself that you can keep a credit card for emergencies. Destroy your credit cards; save cash for emergencies.
How much should you save? Ideally, you’d save $1,000 to start. (College students may be able to get by with $500.) This money is for emergencies only. It is not for beer. It is not for shoes. It is not for a Playstation 3. It is to be used when your car dies, or when you break your arm in a touch football game.
Keep this money liquid, but not immediately accessible. Don’t tie your emergency fund to a debit card. Don’t sabotage your efforts by making it easy to spend the money on non-essentials. Consider opening a savings account at an online bank like ING or Emigrant. When an emergency arises, you can easily transfer the money to your regular checking account. It’ll be there when you need it, but you won’t be able to spend it spontaneously.
Implement a debt snowball
(This step may require several years.)
After you’ve stopped using credit, and after you’ve saved an emergency fund, then attack your existing debt. Attack it with vigor. Throw whatever you can at it.
Many people say to pay your high interest debts first. There’s no question that this makes the most sense mathematically. But if money were all about math, you wouldn’t have debt in the first place. Money is as much about emotion and psychology as it is about math.
There are at least two approaches to debt elimination. Psychologically, using a debt snowball offers big payoffs, payoffs that can spur you to further debt reduction. Here’s the short version:
Order your debts from lowest balance to highest balance.
Designate a certain amount of money to pay toward debts each month.
Pay the minimum payment on all debts except for the one with the lowest balance.
Throw every other penny at the debt with the lowest balance.
When that debt is gone, do not alter the monthly amount used to pay debts, but throw all you can at the debt with the next-lowest balance.
I’m a huge fan of the debt snowball. It still takes time to pay off your debts, but you can see results almost immediately.
Supplementary solutions
You can do other things to improve your money situation while you’re working on these three steps.
First, focus on the fundamental personal finance equation: to pay off debt, or to save money, or to accumulate wealth, you must spend less than you earn.
Curb your spending. Re-learn frugal habits. (Frugality is something with which most college students are all too familiar.) You can find some great ideas in the archives of this site. Also check Frugal for Life.
While you work to spend less, do what you can to increase your income. If possible, sell some of the stuff you bought when you got into debt. Get an extra job. (But don’t neglect your studies for the sake of earning more. Your studies are most important.)
Finally, go to your local public library and borrow Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover. Don’t be put off by the title — this is a fantastic guide to getting out of debt and developing good money habits. I rave about it often, but that’s because it has done so much to help my own personal finances. After you’ve finished, return it and borrow another book about money.
The most important thing is to start now. Don’t start tomorrow. Don’t start next week. Start tackling your debt now. Your older self will thank you.
(This step can be accomplished in an afternoon.)
This may seem self-evident, but the reason your debt is out of control is that you keep adding to it. Stop using credit. Don’t finance anything. Cut up your credit cards.
That last one can be tough. Don’t make excuses. I don’t care that other personal finance sites say that you shouldn’t cut them up. Destroy them. Stop rationalizing that you need them.
You don’t need credit cards for a safety net.
You don’t need credit cards for convenience.
You don’t need credit cards for cash-back bonuses.
You don’t need credit cards at all. If you’re in debt, credit cards are a trap. They only put you deeper in debt. Later, when your debts are gone and your finances are under control, maybe then you can get a credit card. (I don’t carry a personal credit card. I don’t miss having one.)
After you destroy your cards, halt any recurring payments. If you have a gym membership, cancel it. If you automatically renew your World of Warcraft account, cancel it. Cancel anything that automatically charges your credit card. Stop using credit.
Once you’ve done this, call each credit card company in turn. Do not cancel your credit cards (except for those with a zero balance). Instead, ask for a better deal. Find an offer online and use it as a bargaining wedge. Your bank may not agree to match competing offers, but it probably will. It never hurts to ask.
Establish an emergency fund
(This step will probably take several months.)
For some, this is counter-intuitive. Why save before paying off debt? Because if you don’t save first, you’re not going to be able to cope with unexpected expenses. Do not tell yourself that you can keep a credit card for emergencies. Destroy your credit cards; save cash for emergencies.
How much should you save? Ideally, you’d save $1,000 to start. (College students may be able to get by with $500.) This money is for emergencies only. It is not for beer. It is not for shoes. It is not for a Playstation 3. It is to be used when your car dies, or when you break your arm in a touch football game.
Keep this money liquid, but not immediately accessible. Don’t tie your emergency fund to a debit card. Don’t sabotage your efforts by making it easy to spend the money on non-essentials. Consider opening a savings account at an online bank like ING or Emigrant. When an emergency arises, you can easily transfer the money to your regular checking account. It’ll be there when you need it, but you won’t be able to spend it spontaneously.
Implement a debt snowball
(This step may require several years.)
After you’ve stopped using credit, and after you’ve saved an emergency fund, then attack your existing debt. Attack it with vigor. Throw whatever you can at it.
Many people say to pay your high interest debts first. There’s no question that this makes the most sense mathematically. But if money were all about math, you wouldn’t have debt in the first place. Money is as much about emotion and psychology as it is about math.
There are at least two approaches to debt elimination. Psychologically, using a debt snowball offers big payoffs, payoffs that can spur you to further debt reduction. Here’s the short version:
Order your debts from lowest balance to highest balance.
Designate a certain amount of money to pay toward debts each month.
Pay the minimum payment on all debts except for the one with the lowest balance.
Throw every other penny at the debt with the lowest balance.
When that debt is gone, do not alter the monthly amount used to pay debts, but throw all you can at the debt with the next-lowest balance.
I’m a huge fan of the debt snowball. It still takes time to pay off your debts, but you can see results almost immediately.
Supplementary solutions
You can do other things to improve your money situation while you’re working on these three steps.
First, focus on the fundamental personal finance equation: to pay off debt, or to save money, or to accumulate wealth, you must spend less than you earn.
Curb your spending. Re-learn frugal habits. (Frugality is something with which most college students are all too familiar.) You can find some great ideas in the archives of this site. Also check Frugal for Life.
While you work to spend less, do what you can to increase your income. If possible, sell some of the stuff you bought when you got into debt. Get an extra job. (But don’t neglect your studies for the sake of earning more. Your studies are most important.)
Finally, go to your local public library and borrow Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover. Don’t be put off by the title — this is a fantastic guide to getting out of debt and developing good money habits. I rave about it often, but that’s because it has done so much to help my own personal finances. After you’ve finished, return it and borrow another book about money.
The most important thing is to start now. Don’t start tomorrow. Don’t start next week. Start tackling your debt now. Your older self will thank you.
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