Open Source Blogging

I have to admit that while I eat pretty healthy at home, my weakness is at social gatherings: family parties, weddings, gatherings with friends, barbecues, eating out at restaurants.

I’ve tried different strategies, with mixed success. So before I went out last night (for the FIFTH time in six nights!), I asked my friends on Twitter (follow me here) for some of their best tips on eating healthy at social gatherings.

They responded with some great, common-sense tips. While many of these are tips I’ve tried before, it’s good to be reminded of them. And a couple I haven’t tried yet, … Continue Reading

Jax wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the question below. If you have a get out of debt question you’d like to ask, just visit GetOutOfDebt.org.

“Dear Steve,

I need to refinance my home in Oct of 2009. My credit score is 669. I have a mortgage of $130,000, home equity loan of $34,000, a car loan of $4,000, & credit cards of $4,000. Some credit cards don’t have balances.

Do I close these credit cards and extend my home equity loan to pay for my credit card debt and then refinance my home with the mortgage … Continue Reading

Teresa wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked me her question below. You can write me for help also. Visit GetOutOfDebt.org.

“Dear Steve,

I have too many credit cards. Where do I start to get rid of them?

Teresa”

Dear Teresa,

Credit cards don’t magically appear in our wallets or purses. They appear because we have done something or participated in some process to agree to these credit instruments.

The first step to get rid of your credit cards is to do a financial autopsy and figure out what your actions were that led to you getting so many cards … Continue Reading

Opal wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked me the question below. If you have a question you can write to me through the site as well.

“Dear Steve,

I have two or three credit card that are debt free. Should I close these accounts since I don’t use them and don’t need but one active card?

Would it go against my credit to close these?

Opal”

Dear Opal,

As strange as this may sound, with only two or three credit cards to your name it does not make much sense to close any of them, and here’s why.

Your credit score … Continue Reading

Mary and Bob both wrote the me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site. If you have a credit or debt question you can write me for help also.

“Dear Steve,

I’m living on small social security check and I have put all my investments in cash account with brokerage firm. I am moving into an annuity for security and need cash each month. I’m using the rest for money market checking account and a 6 month CD. Is this the right thing to do? I need an answer because I’m changing this on Tuesday.

Thanks.

Mary”

Dear Mary,

Asking me or any other casual adviser … Continue Reading

One of my friends bought a 2008 Cadillac CTS about a month ago. In order to pay for the $32,000 in debt he incurred, he needed to take out a sizable loan.

The credit union he worked with gave him several options - a 36 month loan at 6.75%, a 48 month loan at 6.875%, a 60 month loan at 7%, and a 72 month loan at 7.125%.

He took the 72 month loan.

Afterwards, he bragged to me about his … Continue Reading

Socialtext is making big news all over the Web this morning. Here’s a rundown, later in the post I’ll talk about why. I also have an exclusive video of Ross Mayfield, founder of Socialtext demonstrating the new features to me.

Ross Mayfield, for my cell phone camera last night, explains the changes in this 18-minute video.

Ross Mayfield, co-founder of Socialtext, writes on his blog “Hello Socialtext 3.0!”

BusinessWeek: Socialtext 3.0: Will Wikis Finally Find Their Place in Business?

Webware: Socialtext co-founder: Enterprise Twitter isn’t enough.

eWeek: Socialtext Signals Marks Wiki Provider’s Move into Enterprise Microblogging.

Dawn Foster notes … Continue Reading

Luckily, I was on the golf course yesterday instead of catching the news about the blood bath on Wall Street. Upon coming back to the office, I looked at my stock portfolio.  Ouch…a sea of deep red.

It’s already been a challenging year for most companies, and it seems that we have yet to turn the corner. Especially until we figure out where the financial industry is headed.

That said, small, medium and large companies continue to pour money into their content marketing. Although I rarely promote our service, Junta42 Match, … Continue Reading

Maria wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked me the question below. If you have a question you’d like to ask just visit GetOutOfDebt.org.

“Dear Steve,

This is not a debt question - it’s about staying in the stock market with all the current turmoil? Will you still answer it?

Maria”

Maria,

So much of what happens in the stock market is not based on logic or research, but innuendo, gossip and emotion. Just because the stock market is wildly gyrating at the moment is not necessarily a cause for concern as long as you are invested in professionally managed mutual … Continue Reading

Almost a year ago, in an article entitled Building a Foundation: Ten Things To Do First If You’re Looking At Starting Your Own Business, I described the value of finding a business mentor and offered a few minor tips for finding one.

The truth, though, is that a mentor is incredibly valuable no matter what you’re doing.

What Is A Mentor?
So, what exactly is a mentor? It’s a term often bandied around in business books, but it’s often not looked at outside of this context.

A mentor is any person … Continue Reading