Advice from Planck's Constant Archives

Posted on January 27, 2012 11:40 AM

The American Eagle 2008 One Ounce Silver Proof Coin

It was close to closing hour and I was out of town so I called my friend Charlie (a business owner who is on the Bowery as well) and asked if he could kindly lend me $3,000.00 until the next day. He said, "Sure, anytime."

Read the Rest: A Friend Lends Me Money

Posted on January 9, 2012 11:22 PM

Prepaid debit cards are nothing more than legalized banditry preying on people who can least afford all these fees.

Read the Rest: Do Not Buy Prepaid Debit Cards

Posted on December 27, 2011 08:35 AM

Who wants to be a millionaire failure demotivational poster

If unable to think of an answer, there are only four times a contestant should ever Ask the Audience...

Read the Rest: Do Not Ask the Audience

Posted on December 5, 2011 11:10 PM

I use a calculator whenever I have to decide whether to buy the 10 oz package at $1.69 or the 18 oz package at 2.89 (you save more than 15 cents buying the larger package).

Read the Rest: Never Shop Without a Calculator

Posted on November 10, 2011 11:41 PM

A woman comes in with an old Westinghouse TV. Rick asks, "How much are you looking to get?"

She scrunches her face and answers, "300 bucks," To which Rick replies, "I can't give you 300 dollars." After a very short pause he then says, "I can give you 450 dollars."

Read the Rest: Advice to Pawn Stars

Posted on October 20, 2011 10:57 PM

Some people mistakenly believe that the Coca Cola company is in the business of selling beverages, it is not.

Read the Rest: Should I Start a Business?

Posted on October 4, 2011 11:10 PM

Barred from using lead in children’s jewelry because of its toxicity, some Chinese manufacturers have been substituting the more dangerous heavy metal cadmium in sparkling charm bracelets and shiny pendants being sold throughout the United States, an Associated Press investigation shows.

Read the Rest: Chinese Jewelry is Dangerous

Posted on September 5, 2011 08:53 PM

Ten Troy Ounce Gold Bars from Crowne Gold

An acquaintance recently asked me if it was a good idea to buy gold stocks; that is, to buy shares in gold prospecting or precious metal mining companies as an investment

Read the Rest: Should I Buy Gold Stocks

Posted on July 17, 2011 06:08 PM

Much of the unrest in the world is because too many people don't know the joy of bacon. Almost no one who has tasted bacon would willingly blow themselves up or start shooting at someone else. Bacon is worth living for.

Read the Rest: The Best Way to Make Perfect Bacon

Posted on May 16, 2011 08:55 PM

Chinese officials have recalled some 170 tons of milk powder tainted with deadly melamine in the latest evidence that products from the last industrial scandal were repackaged and placed back on the market.

Read the Rest: Chinese Knock-offs Can Kill You

Posted on May 13, 2011 05:57 PM

The people who sell us oil do not store dollars in their closets, they buy gold and for 60 years gold prices have mirrored oil prices, so my suggestion to everyone is that they buy enough gold for as many years in the future as they can afford.

Read the Rest: How Much Gold Should I Buy?

Posted on May 11, 2011 11:41 PM

While this is an age old question of over or under and you may wonder, is there actually a right or wrong way? Yes, there is.

Read the Rest: The Right Way Toilet Paper Should Roll

Posted on May 10, 2011 10:36 PM

I tell my cashiers to give the coins first, counting them out in front of the customer, then to count out the bills, again in front of the customer counting out loud as they do so.

Read the Rest: The Right and Only Way to Hand Change to a Customer

Posted on May 9, 2011 09:28 PM

Unless you possess something in the caliber of the Hope Diamond, it is unlikely you will be able to get more for your stone than you paid.

Read the Rest: Are Diamonds a Good Investment?

Posted on February 27, 2011 07:21 PM

Many states have passed laws that require drivers to either slow down if they are in the lane next to the shoulder or to slide over to the passing lane if there is a vehicle with flashing lights on the shoulder. These laws are meant to prevent the death or injury to emergency or police personnel.

Read the Rest: How to Safely Fix Flats on the Highway

Posted on February 26, 2011 10:46 PM

So if you listen to WABC Radio 77 in New York you most likely have heard the infomercial on Vitamin D from Dr John Cannell where he will send you a free bottle of his Vitamin D for only $4.95 in shipping. But do not do this. It is a waste of money.

Read the Rest: Do Not get Free Vitamin D on the Radio

Posted on January 25, 2011 09:03 PM

If there is one bit of financial advice that I want my readers to get from my blog it is this: Do not buy 24 kt gold-plated coins from anyone. I have been buying coins from the public for more than 33 years and I have never once come across anyone who has ever gotten more for their gold-plated coins than they had paid.

Read the Rest: Do Not Buy 24 KT Gold Plated Coins from TV Offers

Posted on January 1, 2011 10:49 PM

A friend of mine was breaking up with his girlfriend of five years and was asked to kindly leave (the house they were living in belonged to her parents). Over the years he accumulated a lot of stuff and so he asked me if I could recommend a self-storage facility because he was moving in with a friend but his friend's apartment was too small for all his belongings.

Read the Rest: It Never Pays to Use Self Storage

Posted on December 24, 2010 11:37 PM

Obama has been very good to me this Christmas season. When I wrote in June of 2008 that if elected, President Barack H. Obama will make me Rich, gold was trading at $883.50 an ounce.

Read the Rest: President Obama Gives Me a Christmas Present

Posted on October 16, 2010 10:26 PM

it is not illegal to fart in a crowded restaurant. No one will arrest you for doing so. But just because you have the right does not mean it is appropriate even if you are used to doing it in Assurabia. In America, we like to think that passing gas while other people are eating is uncivilized, disrespectful, thoughtless, and rude.

Read the Rest: The Ground Zero Mosque and Tomatoes in Fruit Salad

Posted on August 10, 2010 11:10 PM

TRENDnet 300Mbps Wireless-N Travel Router Kit

I love the way Disney keeps its resorts clean. I enjoy their hospitality and the value they place on their customers. I think they do a great job in promoting the Disney brand. In almost all respects they run a great business. However, they still don't get the Internet. Our suite has three bathrooms, a combination kitchen-dining room-living room, a double-bed bedroom, and a master bedroom but only one Internet access point. Not even Wi-Fi.

Read the Rest: Some Hotels Still Don't Do Internet Right

Posted on August 2, 2010 11:15 PM

Given a choice between an Apple product or a knock-off I will choose the knock-off because I will be treated better by that manufacturer, I will not be locked into buying peripheral products at inflated prices, and I will have a greater choice of colors, sizes, and models than with any Apple product.

Read the Rest: Do Not Buy an iPhone 4

Posted on July 16, 2010 09:25 PM

Four out of five men in the US will eventually marry and half will eventually divorce. Rarely will a man get the house, and is lucky if he gets anything at all. With the car, the man can take off and look for another wife as soon as the present one starts acting ansy.

Read the Rest: Audi R8 Spyder Convertible Heading Toward Jersey

Posted on July 3, 2010 12:05 PM

The London Sun reported that Tiger Woods has reached a record divorce settlement with Elin Nordegren. Woods will pay his former wife between $750 million and $833 million. This comes out to more than $14,000 per hour, every hour, every day since they got married on 5 Oct 2004.