Timeout NY mailbag

Last week I did a advice column over at Timeout NY's website. It finally ran today, which is great, although my setups were edited down/cut out entirely. I think it comes off as rather rude now, instead of the humorous format which I submitted it in (well, I vouch humor was at least attempted). It definitely lost it's funny tone as I read it now. Oh well, I have no control over the editing. Sorry to Sarah, Julie, and Alexander, I'm really not an ass!

The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch

Shot over to Englewood, NJ today to shoot a segment for The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. I was the poorest person in the room. It was awesome.

There was fitness czar Kathy Smith and designer and former model Emme to start with. They are basically iconic from what I gathered in the green room and from watching their interviews.

Also got to meet The Orginal Sprout creators, the unstoppable, and seemingly unflappable Cynthia Kersey, and also the founders of Samazon. All products I was introduced to today and looking forward to trying them out as soon as possible. It made for a very "green" friendly show lineup, and not just in the color of money kind of way. Tune in tonight: 10 PM ET, CNBC

Interviews

Two fun interviews I did recently are listed below. Both are from sites I've recommended before to check out, and still do.

Geezeo calls me single in the non-married sense. For the record, I'm taken. And Thicken My Wallet puts up with my man-crush.

My First Book Signing

Things went great last night! Thanks to everyone that came out, it meant a lot. I know the book store sold out of the 50 books they had on stock, sorry to those that didn't get a book. I don't control that aspect, but obviously more people came out than expected. That means you people rule!

IE No Pants a Success

900 People came out this year, almost tripling the previous record. It was almost a parade atmosphere with so many people. Reports here:

+AP via Yahoo

And also on The Today Show below:




For full report, a ton of pictures, more details etc - check out Improv Everywhere in about week. Charlie should have compiled things by then.

I heart Bryant Park Project

NPR's The Bryant Park Project is becoming my favorite show, and not only because they had me as a repeat guest again today. Ok, maybe that's the only reason.

Just kidding, it's fun, informal, and the whole staff there rocks. It makes for a good comfortable environment. The show today was more about my reality TV experiences, but they seemed to also appreciate my cheapness, which I got ridiculed for mercifully on The Judith Regan Show last week. That goes a long way with me.

Now I have 48 hours to do something crazy to get invited back again for the next installment of the Bryant Park Project. Good thing Improv Everywhere's No Pants 2k8 is this weekend.

NPR - The Bryant Park Project

Was interviewed on NPR's The Bryant Park Project this morning promoting the prank collective Improv Everywhere's No Pants 2k8 coming up this Saturday, Jan 12. It's being hosted in 10 cities in 3 different countries this year. So far we have:

New York
Boston
Washington DC
Portland, OR
San Francisco
Chicago
Toronto, CA
Adelaide, Australia
Baltimore, MD
Salt Lake City

And we are looking for more people to join us in each city and looking for captains to lead the way it other cities...Click here for NYC Details and here for other city details. Come out, we have 450 confirmed in NYC thus far. I promise it will be a blast. (And if you can't make it, at least join our mailing list or spend 9 hours reading through Improv Everywhere's very hilarious previous missions.)

Reader Mail - I want more!

I've been getting a lot of positive feedback and a lot of questions recently through this site. Fan mail is great! I've decided to reply to them publicly if I find they could help others or if the review is so positive I'll put them up here for you to debate whether I actually made them up.

First up:

Awesome awesome book. I am stunned that I have found a book that represents what I am about to go through once I graduate this may.

I would like to know if you could recommend any books that can help me learn more? Maybe a few books that you found were useful when you first started learning about finance.

Thanks,
BKarp

Good question, and first congrats on being on top of your finances at such a young age. You are well ahead of your buddies, believe me. But luckily you have more options these days than just books. Blogs and websites are great resources too and even better, they're free!

Some blogs I really like about frugal living include GetRichSlowly.org, FiveCentNickel.com, ThickenMyWallet.com, and Queercents.com. (You don't have to be gay to appreciate the financial advice on the last one.)

More stocks, mutual funds, and 401k type questions I would recommend the websites of The Motley Fool and CNN/Money.

But if books are must haves, I would recommend "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", "Building Wealth: From Rags to Riches in Real Estate", and "Millioniare Next Door". They are all good reads on 3 different and smart approaches to investing over the long haul. Albeit, none are stock related. And I know people love to hate Rich Dad, but I do think it's something everyone should read just to figure out what kind of investing is or is not for them.

I got more excited about real estate than stocks when I first started out (I think because I understood quicker), so my stock investments were just the normal index 500 mutual funds Motley Fool and Cnn/Money recommended to me. I didn't dig deep into any books specifically on stocks either, so I don't know what to recommended. I invested in medium risk things and a mix of large cap and small cap funds, basically balanced across the board. I wasn't comfortable with my knowledge of stocks too much, so I just maxed out my 401k, Roth IRA, and put as much as I could in big name mutual funds that I read about over and over again on many different websites and magazine articles. Don't get me wrong, stocks are important in any investing - I just don't feel comforatable recommending books specifically on that subject. I've also read many of Suze Orman's books - the stock sections are a bit droll, but it has solid advice anyone should follow.

Lastly, if you are looking for something really cool online, I just got contacted by a really zippy website that I wish was around when I started out 7 years ago. It's called Geezeo, and it's like Facebook meets Quicken Online. You can set and see other people's goals and you can also get the guilt of money off your chest in the confessional room. Basically it's a free way to stay on top of finances in an interesting environment with like-minded peeps who are computer savvy (i.e. under 35).

Hope this helps and anyone who has more recommendation, please post them in the comments sections. There are hundreds of blogs out there, find the one that works best for you, and check it daily. No one cares more about your finances than you.

UPDATE: Wanted to updated this post to say I read "The 4-hour Workweek" recently and I would add this book as a must read too for people who love to travel, comfortable with their current income, and/or want to reduce their workload. It's a very informative book, and after reading it, I've made some changes in my financial life too.

UPDATE 2: Been having time to read some more books, here is another rec. Scratch Beginnings is an awesome book, especially those skeptical of the American Dream. Adam Shepard on his own will enters a homeless shelter in a foreign city with $25 in this back pocket. A year later, he has a car, a livable apartment, and a savings of $5,000+. If he can turn $25 into $5,000 in one year, imagine what you can do with your money. Definitely a solid read.

The Judith Regan Show

Just did The Judith Regan Show on Sirius Radio today. I can't find a link of the interview anywhere, but it was fun. I got railed for a good portion of it (granted it was deserved as I brought up her O.J. Simpson's book "If I Did It..."), but she feels stingy parents help teach kids about education as she has a son that was raised stingy by her and a daughter that was raised spoiled by her father. The son is obviously in better shape financially from it today. I agree, I definitely learned my frugality from my parents. They made me work for everything, and I appreciate it so much more than if I was given a chunk of cash. So there's a lesson for everyone - if you have kids, give them nothing. They'll thank you when they are 30.

Money Matters - ABC News

Had a fun television interview today at ABC News. I found online the first half of the our interview, which can be seen here:

The Vent

The AJC has a section called "The Vent" where people call up anonymously and leave a voicemail to vent their frustration with the world, or Atlanta, or usually just the Falcons. And then Vent Guy publishes the best vents each day.

I remember calling the number all the time as a kid and then checking the paper the next day to see if my vent got published. Even though vents are uncredited, I would still feel a bit of glory seeing something I yammered about on a voicemail in print. I think the only ones of mine that ever got published were the ones I made up about bad traffic. I realize that's probably because nobody really wants to read what a 16 year old has to gripe about anyway.

In even more glorious fashion, I was actually mentioned in a recent vent based on some recent press. It read:

Alan Corey (How many pennies do you have to pinch to become a millionaire) makes Clark Howard look like a spendthrift.

Wow, I'm not sure why that person had to get that off their chest, but inside, I hope it was some high school kid trying to get his first vent published.

And to Atlanta's iconic financial money-saver Clark Howard, I invite you to celebrate this great occassion with me. Drinks on you.

AJC

Wow, must have been a slow news day in Atlanta on Saturday - as a complete suprise to me - my face (twice - one aged 10) was on the very front page of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution! I couldn't believe it! Now I have a huge backlog of emails to return from this great exposure, but what a great way to start '08. I'll get back to everyone shortly after I try to find my way off this damn Merril Lynch bull.