Week in Review (May 18th to May 24th)

Social Media + Politics + Faith + Finance + Business

SOCIAL MEDIA: With unemployment rising to 8.6% in April and a record level of unemployment claims being reported last week, finding a job is difficult. As people scour the market for their next job, sending a resume and cover letter just doesn’t cut it anymore. It seems that claiming your name on the web, having a presence via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, providing updates on the sites and being “prudent” in choosing your online friends are just as important (if not more) than a good resume.   WSJ- Landing a Job with Social Media

POLITICS: Students from Montgomery County High School in Mount Vernon, GA have a black prom and a separate white prom. Since the school was integrated in 1971, no formal prom has been organized by the school giving parents of the white students the leeway to hold an annual “invite only” prom for their children.   New York Times- The Black and White Prom

FAITH: The Pope is joining the social media world. On May 24th, the Pope launched a new site (www.pope2you.net) which allows internet-savy followers further access to the Vatican and its messages. The site provides links to the Vatican’s Facebook application and YouTube videos.   Telegraph- The Pope on Facebook

FINANCE: Barack Obama and Congress approved legislation imposing new restrictions on credit card companies. Many consumers are cheering over the news, but credit card companies say they will be less inclined to offer lines of credit to consumers. The new rules ban some fees, provide more notice for customers to pay bills and require clearer disclosures.  USA Today- Credit Card Reform Passes

BUSINESS: A man named “Winter” is trying to visit every Starbucks store in the world, but he’s having problems as Starbucks stores are closing in droves. So far he’s visited 9,000 stores but says he gets upset when stores close because “If the store closed before I visited, I would lose another piece of my soul.” WSJ- Winter Visits Every Starbucks

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I’m in Australia, I think it’s important to help out, you know, the economy out here, everywhere in the world. And what’s wrong with doing a little shopping?” says Paris Hilton on her recent trip to Australia.

The Blessing of Unemployment

My wife and I never imagined that one of us would be jobless for more than a month or two, but for the past four months my wife has been in the process of nailing down a job as she was recently laid off by Barack Obama (mainly because she worked for the Bush administration). 

When we got hitched in September, we were spending money at or just above the amount of our two paychecks.  This unnecessary spending stopped in February when we came face to face with the reality that unless we seriously adjusted our expenses, we would be in trouble.  We paid even closer attention to our money and saw that we had to cut our monthly dining and grocery expenses (which averaged $1,000) in half to break even.  Also, any “extras” like decorations for the house or clothing had to be on the cheaper side or given to us as presents.

In the past two months we’ve realized how happy we are now that we live with fewer expenses.  Dinners happen in the house more.  Lunches are brought into work and turn out to be healthier than the cafeteria.  Dates are creative and usually to free events.  Clothes are bought at great prices but still look good.  And my wife and I are growing closer to one another amidst it all. 

Since February our total expenses have been lowered by almost 50% a month, and we continue to pay off debt and give money to our favorite charities. When we finally have two incomes again, we already made a pledge to keep our spending where it is (at least before kids) and put the rest in savings or give it away. 

Ben Franklin said, “If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher’s stone.”  Our hope is that we continue to spend less than we receive, have peace about our finances and help our friends come to find the same joy we’ve found by living with less.

Week In Review (May 4th to May 10th)

Social Media + Politics + Faith + Finance + Business

SOCIAL MEDIA: The White House has officially decided to join the social media world. Although the Obama campaign was extremely gifted at spreading its message via social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube, it has been quite a challenge for the leader of the free world to have his own Facebook and Twitter accounts since entering office. Last week, the White House announced that President Obama would now have his own Facebook page, Twitter account and MySpace site. If you are like me, I can’t wait to see how President Obama talks about his budget in 140 characters or less.  Biz Journal- Obama’s White House and Social Media 

POLITICS: Oklahoma is almost a sovereign state! Since the beginning of its statehood 101 years ago, Oklahoma has taken too many orders from the federal government and is tired of the federal government’s increasing size. To fix the problem, the Oklahoma state government has made a proposal to be sovereign. Neither Oklahoma’s Democratic governor nor sole Democratic congressman (Dan Boren) supports this measure, but it may be endorsed by the state’s Republican majority and sent to the U.S. congress and President for final vote and approval. The big question (actually not so big) is whether this will pass in the House and Senate.   News OK- Oklahoma Becoming Sovereign

FINANCE: Women are better investors. A recent study showed that women who invest have returns a percentage point higher than their male counterparts. When you are investing a million dollars a year that is a difference of $10,000 a year! The reason for this is that when women are faced with a tough situation, they usually feel the emotion of fear instead of anger (which is typically felt by males). This causes women to stray from making rash, emotional decisions based on the market’s swings. Main point: Have your wife, girlfriend or mom at the table when you lay out your investment strategy.  WSJ- Women Are Better Investors

BUSINESS: Starbucks and McDonalds are in an all out war. This past week, both companies launched expensive and highly visible campaigns to tout their drinks as being the most superior and cost-effective coffee choice for caffeine addicts. McDonalds, with its $2.29 12-ounce cup of espresso-based coffee, has made ads showing consumers how its drinks can brighten — or “McCafé” — their day. On the other hand, Starbucks promises in its ads that “If your coffee isn’t perfect, we’ll make it over,” and “If it’s still not perfect make sure you’re in a Starbucks.”  But what are you supposed to do if you can’t afford to “McCafé” your day and think that Starbucks coffee tastes horrible?  Chicago Tribune- Coffee Wars

PERSONAL: My sister graduated from James Madison University this past weekend and leaves the school with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology. In the next few weeks, she’ll be heading to Los Angeles for a job at one of the large movie production companies. Congrats to Chrissy Riley!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “We are what we are. We’re Republicans, and we have certain things we believe in,” Dick Cheney said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Week In Review (April 27th to May 3rd)

MEDIA: This week Neilson announced that 60% of Twitter users don’t return to the site the following month giving the impression that Twitter is a fad. But with over 5 million new users in March, this service isn’t going to die anytime soon giving people an additional avenue to share their narcissist thoughts. Only this time, those thoughts are in 140 characters or less.  Internet News Story- Twitter Losing 60% of Its Users

POLITICS: Obama reached the 100 day mark. Spector defected to the Democrats. Air Force One re-enacted 9/11 in NYC. And the campaign managers for both the Obama and McCain campaigns tell all at the University of Delaware (their alum). The two are unbelievably honest about their individual campaigns and the future of the Republican party. Washington Post- Schmidt and Plouffe Tell All (Credit goes to Dan Heim for finding and sending this story)

FAITH: Rob Bell, founding pastor of Mars Hill church and designer of the Nooma video series, was interviewed by Christianity Today to discuss his latest book and views on Heaven and Earth. He also gives a great answer to what he means when he says that “Jesus wants to save us from making the Good News about another world and not this one.” Christianity Today- Discussion with Rob Bell

FINANCE: The stock market had its 7th positive week in the past 8 weeks. This is both good and bad news for investors as the debate continues as to whether or not now is the beginning of a rally or the start of the next stock market fall. With construction spending and housing sales on the rise but consumer spending holding steady, it looks like the Dow Jones may stay around 8,000 for some time. The question is how much will the results of the banks’ “stress-test” affect the market?

BUSINESS: Generation Y’ers (those people born between 1978 to 1993) are known to be annoying in the workplace. They want constant feedback, can be lazy, demand respect on day one and ask to be promoted after six months on the job. But the recession is changing the game and how these Millennials act in the workplace. Recent research shows that these young workers are becoming increasingly entrepreneurial and efficient as a way to keep their jobs (and even get promoted) in this down economy. Wall Street Journal- How Gen Y’s Are Changing in the Workplace

NOT GOOD: The First Lady Michelle Obama participated in a charity event wearing a $540 pair of Lanvin sneakers. The First Lady deserves credit for her style and wearing J. Crew outfits most of the time, but rocking $540 shoes when you’re on display at a charity event during a recession will cause heads to turn. New York Post- $540 Sneaker Story

43: George Bush recently announced (albeit two weeks ago) that he’s ready for his Presidential Library! But this library isn’t just going to be a library. It’s going to be a library AND a policy center. Hear from his own mouth what the library AND policy center will be like.  George W. Bush Presidential Library Video