Our recession would undoubtedly be solved by this simple yet effective system of collecting taxes.

This is how much I spend a month on food. I don’t cook, so everyday I go out to eat and spend around 10-20 dollars a day. The amount excludes at least 3 days worth, because I went home and food is free there

I bet I can cut that cost down next year by making my own food! I’ll go to the store two times a month and spend 130 dollars each time. That’ll be enough food to last me at least two weeks.

I have it all planned out.

Yeah.

 

After successfully reaching its job-cutting goal of 11,000 jobs, Chrysler chairman Bob Nardelli announced a very enticing incentive to lease a Chrysler. Until May 31, Chrysler will be offering $2.99 gas for three years at 12,000 miles per year. No matter what the price of gas, a card from Chrysler will pay the difference, only costing you $2.99 per gallon.

On the surface this looks like an extremely enticing deal, especially with the price of gas breaking new records nearly every day recently. Some say the average price of gas could reach $4.00 per gallon during the summer of 2008, however, with some rough math the savings aren’t as great as expected.

I made some very rough estimates, saying that the average Chrysler vehicle hold 18 gallons of gas and averages 20 miles per gallon. Then I estimated that the average price of gas over the next three years would be around $4.20 (luckily in Texas we don’t see near the average). That equals 360 miles per tank of gas, meaning you would fill up 33 times per year at the 12,000 mile limit, equaling 100 total fill-ups during the 3-year leasing period. That’s assuming 18 gallons per fill-up, not totally accurate but it works out, equaling to 1800 gallons of gas used under the Chrysler deal. In the end, at an average difference of $1.21 nationwide, that equals to a total savings of $2,178 on gas.

The point here is that it is better to take Chrysler’s cash back deals, which averages $2,090 per vehicle. Most people will immediately use the cash back incentive to immediately put some money down on the vehicle, which will in the end save you even more money on the APR. The deals are pretty close, but in the end it seems that the gas discount is not as good as it sounds. Props to Chrysler though for really appealing to a major crisis that really gets their name out, especially with the negative appeal of their job cuts.

Some of ya’ll have already received the Economic Stimulus check, and are ready to either buy stuff or pay off debt. For those of you who don’t know, US government made the 2008 economic stimulus package, which alloted 152 billion dollars worth of rebates to tax payers. The reason for these rebates is to boost the consumer spending, and fix our economy’s current trend.

Needless to say, many company are very anxious to get a hold of your rebate check.

• Kroger, Albertsons and SuperValu are offering 10% bonuses (check your local store for info).
• Wal-Mart will cash your rebate check for free, in hope you’ll spend it all in their store.
• Staples has launched the Economic Stimulus Center. This will give consumers even more discounts, hence more incentive to buy!
• RadioShack is offering 10% deductions on purchases of $50 or more.

Even though I paid taxes last year, my parents claimed me as a dependent and I won’t be getting my check. I freaking paid 40% of my income on taxes too! Damn self employment tax and income tax. I’m just glad that Texas doesn’t have state tax, otherwise I’d be paying almost 50% of my income to the government.

For those of you who have gotten or are getting the check, check out local stores for the deals. I’m sure there’s a lot of competition out there to get your money; it’s like a second Christmas season for them. If you don’t want to spend the check, I suggest you put it in CountryWide’s 4% savings account.

Yeah.

#1. All their cards have all the rewards and benefits that Visa and Mastercard provide, whether it’s 1% cash back or airplane mileage.

#2. If you buy something, below $300, and the merchant refuses to refund your money, Amex will pay you for it; however, you can only redeem up to $1000 a year doing this.

#3. If you buy something with a warranty Amex will match that warranty, up to a one full year.

#4. Most cards have travel insurance. In case you get sick or die, while traveling, Amex will  pay the covered person up to 1.5 million for their loss. It depends on what type of card you have. In case of “loss of  one hand and one foot” the coverage is between 50,000 to 1,500,000.

#5. When you rent a car with a qualifying Amex card, you’ll be covered under their Car Retnal Loss and Damage Insurance Plan. So you don’t need to buy insurance from the car renter!

#6. Don’t be scared to lose your bags when you travel, because Amex has Baggage Insurance. Eligible members are allowed to claim $500 for checked bags, and $1250 for carry-on baggage.

The thing you have to realize about all these benefits is that you have to use your Amex card! So you can’t rent a car with a Visa and expect Amex will pay for it.

Yeah.

Tonight, I went to Amy’s Ice Cream and wasn’t too pleased with the service. The line wasn’t long when I got there, but it took at least 15 minutes to get my ice cream. I really don’t get how tough serving ice cream and shakes can be. But apparently the three employees had a hard time.

 
I was with two other people and we were going to order together. One person served all three of us, rather than all three helping. I don’t get the logic here, but one of the employees refused to serve me because there was somebody else helping my two friends. That employee also took the time to chat with a coworker, after turning me down. My first impression of Amy’s Ice Cream is that it has a really relaxed atmosphere. But that guy really ruined it for me, and made Amy’s Ice Cream seem like a haven where slouches can work. This is a perfect example of how a successful business gets bad publicity.

 
Let’s talk about making money.

Anyways even with bad employees, Amy’s Ice Cream is totally a cash cow. Their return of investment is so high, because the majority of their costs are fixed; therefore, they have a higher operating leverage, so any increase of sales will subsequently increase their net income.

The ice cream comes in three different sizes: Tiny, Small, and Large. Don’t be fooled into thinking the sizes correlate with the price: The tiny size is the cheapest and cost around $3.50. Each topping cost almost a dollar extra. They’re definitely marking it up the price by some huge percentages.

 
Here is what I predict Amy’s Ice cream income statement to look like:

Look at the operating leverage. Any change in sales will increase income 6.2 times! I could be wrong about the variable expenses, because I assumed they used 300% markup. It possibility could be even more, because I ice cream is inexpensive to make.

 
In conclusion, Amy’s Ice cream is a big cash cow for Amy, but it could be ruined by bad employees. After all, part of Amy’s Ice Cream is based of experience of their service, why else could they charge ridiculously high markups? Do ya’ll have any stories about receiving bad service?

 
Yeah.