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Gays now have a new battle cry from Happy Hearts - review

chuvalingga on Random Musings 

JOCELYN DIMACULANGAN, PEP for GMANEWS.TV 

Wendell Ramos: “A bakla is always a bakla!” Review

Members of the so-called third sex now have much to be happy about in Regal Entertainment’s latest flick, Happy Hearts. For one thing, it stars Rustom Padilla, the icon for gay pride, and the hunky Wendell Ramos as an equally convincing homosexual.

Wendell’s portrayal as Rustom’s gay lover was well appreciated and his funny antics drew rounds of applause during the March 11 premiere of Happy Hearts in SM Megamall. This Regal Entertainment film also marks the first time that Rayver Cruz and Shaina Magdayao have been paired up as a love team. Despite the title Happy Hearts, their love story is far from being a happy and perfect one.

Alvin (Rayver) is a balikbayan who comes back to the country with his mother, Sarah (Jean Garcia), who hopes to hook up with her longtime email buddy (Lauren Novero). Sarah is the ex-wife of Enrico (Rustom), a closet gay teacher living with his lover Louie (Wendell).

Enrico tries desperately to hide his true nature from his son Alvin but, instead, ends up lying to him and hurting his feelings. To complicate matters, Alvin falls in love with Kristine (Shaina), the daughter of Mr. Ricafrente (Tirso Cruz III), the owner of the school where Enrico works.

Wendell’s acting is noteworthy—just by raising his eyebrows, he can convey a whole range of emotions. Rustom’s mannerisms were just as endearing but there are times when Wendell seemed even more than gay than Rustom.

Judging from the wild cheers of the crowd, the Shai-Ver (Shaina-Rayver) love team is a sure winner. Shaina proved her mettle especially during the confrontation scene with veteran actor Tirso. Meanwhile, Rayver got a chance to show off his dancing skills and seeing him all dolled up and wearing a tutu is absolutely priceless!

My biggest complaint about Happy Hearts is the sound quality. There were times when you could barely understand what the actors were saying. Hopefully, Direk Joel Lamangan can do something about this problem before Happy Hearts premieres this Wednesday, March 14.

Posted on March 14, 2007 under :

More ways to earn money while blogging… MONETIZE!

chuvalingga on Random Musings 

I have recently been searching the web to find out how I can monetize my site effectively.  There are lots and lots of information available on the net but what is the best route?  I questioned a lot of them but in all honesty, what could I lose if I try all of them?  I have a total of six blogs and it would be a waste of time and effort if I couldn’t at least break even on the monthly hosting fees that I pay Bluehost, don’t you think?  So I thought of the possible ways I could reoup my expenses and here’s what I came up with:

  1. Host with Bluehost.com - This was the best way for me to go.  I had a store (Rainbowreels) where I sell niche DVD’s and other things.  This is what got me started hosting with bluehost.  The Store is free of charge and you can configure it to your heart’s content.  A little or no knowledge of PHP is of no concern since they give you very explicit instructions.
  2. Open a store using Zen Cart (www.zencart.com).  The store is customizable although you may have to pay extra to purchase templates should you not like the default design.
  3. Hosting will Bluehost.com provides up to six domains available for your use (included in the $6.95) fee you pay every month.  You may have to pay for the registration of the extra domains but you don’t really have to if your main goal is to just create blogs and don’t mind the long URL address your readers will have to type to get to your site.  I just prefer the former rather than the latter because it’s nicer and easier to remember for my readers.   I say, utilize all of them.   Use it up and wear it out!  It will work to your advantage.
    • Wordpress is included in the installation menu and by far, Wordpress is the best and easiest to use medium for blogging in my opinion.
      • If you’re a newbie, and wouldn’t want to pay for hosting right away, you may also opt for Wordpress.com however, you will not be able put ads in it so I would suggest to go with Google’s Blogger.  It is free and will allow you to put Google’s adsense in a very easy to use template and widget-configured process.
  4. Publish your blogs and website using the following media advertising vehicles:
    • Google Adsense - I must say that this is the most effective and most rewarding but you MUST FOLLOW THE RULES.  They are quick to let go of anyone who is suspected of cheating by invalidly clicking the ads or invalid impressions.
    • Adbrite.com - Works similarly like Adsense and is probably a great alternative.  However, you may not post adbrite and adsense ads together.  They will conflict with each other, and besides - Google frowns on that anyway.
    • Adster.com - Another way that works similarly as Google adsense.  You can choose from text link ads or image ads.  Here’s an excellent review of this company.
    • Intellitxt.com - This is a prime ad feature where the words in your posting will be underlined and connected to advertisers.  There is an approval process and you must have at least 500K in pageviews every month to be approved.  Although this ad medium is used by professional bloggers.  Once you get your readership to this level, you may want to apply.
    • Miva.com - This is very similar to adsense and Intellitxt.  You can choose which way you want to go - text ads, image ads, or word underline advertising.  Each one is perfect for use.  There is an approval system as well but the pageviews required is by far much less than what is required by IntelliTXT.
    • Linkshare.com - This is an affiliate marketing medium where you post their attractive ads using codes into your blog or website.  The only thing here is that earnings are made once people purchase something from the advertisers.   It is still a viable option and makes your site looks professional if placed properly on your site.
  5. Join all the blog groups you can possibly join, such as MyBlogLog, Blogorama, etc.  This adds volume to your viewership and always be courteous to respond to your commentors.  They visit your site probably for the same purpose, so that you will visit theirs.

There are other ways to make money online.  The rule of thumb as always is not to put all your eggs (ADS) in one basket.  Make ads work for you.   You may also visit OFWCenter  for more tips and tricks, including glossary of terms about blogging.

I guess this is it for now.  I will continue to post about monetization as I learn about them.  Happy blogging and let us all make money online!!

Posted on March 13, 2007 under :

The scoop about KC Concepcion and Lino Cayetano from Sharon Cuneta Herself

chuvalingga on Showbiz Philippines 

This entry is for my pinoy readers.  As you well know, I am a very big fan of the ‘megastar’ herself, Ms. Sharon Cuneta.  I was doubly amazed when she was interviewed regarding the relationship of her daughter, KC Concepcion with the tv director, Lino Cayetano - and how the megastar was obviously protecting her child from the harm of tabloids and gossip mongers.  Watch the clip - - courtesy of The BUZZ! 

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25c_5B04zdc]

Posted on March 12, 2007 under :

Movie Blockbuster Surprise this weekend - 300

chuvalingga on Random Musings 

A movie made on a budget with no A-list actors have become the surprise hit this weekend.  This R-rated movie pulled in some 70 million dollars this weekend.   From the excellently-made trailer below, I am not surprised!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnIPkfXNHfc]

CNN Reports:

Story Highlights
• “300″ from Frank Miller’s graphic novel about Thermopylae
• Movie is extremely violent, but in antiseptic video game way
• Message of “300″: Pile on the blood and thunder

By Tom Charity
Special to CNN

(CNN) — The fanboys are raring for this one. As of Wednesday, two days before “300″ opened, the Internet Movie Database gave director Zack Snyder’s historical epic a user rating of 8.6 out of 10, based on more than 7,000 votes. The breakdown reveals that 6,000 of the voters are males under the age of 29, and that more than 80 percent rated the film a perfect 10. (The figures weren’t much changed as of Friday.)

All this excitement for a historical epic set in ancient Greece, starring such actors as Gerard Butler, Dominic West and David Wenham. What gives?

Seven years ago, “Gladiator” used CGI to paint in crowds and armies and even resurrect actor Oliver Reed after he died during the shoot. But “Gladiator” looks like an artifact from a bygone age beside “300,” based on a Frank Miller’s graphic novel about the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C.

Ridley Scott dragged his crew to Italy, Malta, Morocco and Britain. Snyder recreated ancient Sparta and famed Thermoplyae — where 300 Spartans held off an invasion force of more than 100,000 — without leaving his virtual studio in Montreal. Photo-realism is dead, or at least on its way out.

“300″ morphs between live actors and a graphic animated world that is both cheaper and more malleable than the usual movie sets. Instead of the traditional cast of thousands, the credits list more than 200 visual effects artists. Along with “Sin City,” the previous adaptation of a Miller work, “300″ etches out the horizons of a new cinematic landscape.

So one can see why there would be such enthusiasm for the project. But, having actually seen the flick in question — unlike, perhaps, a number of its eager IMDb supporters — I’m afraid I cannot share their enthusiasm, though I suspect it delivers exactly what they think it does: blood and thunder.

Really stylized blood and thunder, too. Thermopylae doesn’t look remotely like Greece; it looks more like the inside of a computer game.

Reproducing Lynn Varley’s double-page panels as if the comic book were their storyboard, Snyder and cinematographer Larry Fong bleed detail and color from the grainy, sepia visuals, save for the Spartans’ swishing crimson cloaks, the bronze of their round shields and rippling torsos.

Perhaps it’s this remove from reality that allows the filmmakers to revel in an orgy of violence with impunity. The battle, which dominates the movie, is a nonstop slaughterhouse with the ferocious Spartans lopping and chopping their way through their innumerable foes (including rampaging rhinos and elephants, scuttled off the cliffs to their doom).

War receives the kind of gloss you’d find in, well, a video game. (Indeed, the actors have little to do besides assume picturesque positions and chew the virtual scenery.) When the audience cheers one particularly aesthetic decapitation it’s because it’s not quite the same thing as watching an Iraqi execution video. And to be fair to Snyder (who also made the “Dawn of the Dead” remake), he does have a flair for dismemberment.

Nevertheless, it’s not so much the body count or even the blood lust that’s disturbing. It’s that the film, with its macho militarism, seems out of step in a war-weary time.

Gerard Butler’s glaring, glowering, bombastic Spartan king Leonidas is the Jim Jones of military strategists: never retreat, never surrender, death on the battlefield is the greatest glory. The rhetoric echoes sentiments expressed by Japanese imperial loyalists in Clint Eastwood’s “Letters from Iwo Jima,” but there’s no criticism implied here. These are the good guys. They even couple their death wish with ahistorical sentiments about “defending freedom” from Persian slavery and mysticism, though this hardly jibes with the regime the movie itself reveals. It’s noticeable, too, how Miller and his collaborators strain to disavow any whiff of homosexuality (well known throughout ancient Greece), even as they strip their buff warriors down to highly impractical leather briefs. Athenians are dismissed as “boy-lovers,” but Spartans are real men.

Meanwhile, Xerxes, the Persian king, is bedecked in jewelry and facial piercings, and has an effeminate, clean-shaven look. He’s also distinctly dark-skinned and not at all Persian-looking.

All of which may be beside the point, I know: the kids just want to have fun. Many of them will. But what does that say about another Greek contribution — Western civilization?

“300″ is a Warner Bros. film; Warner Bros., like CNN, is a unit of Time Warner.

Posted on March 11, 2007 under :

Madonna’s latest H&M Video - - FIERCE!

chuvalingga on Uncategorized 

The latest H&M Video with Madonna.   Take a look!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk6UWeyTsgU]

Posted on March 10, 2007 under :

More Gypsy than Princess - KC Concepcion

chuvalingga on Showbiz Philippines 

Okay okay okay!!! I have to admit it, I am a fan. Actually, a solid fan. Of whom, you ask? The one and only, Sharon Cuneta. I have always admired her way back in the early ’80s and to think that after all these years, I still think of her fondly. Now, I am more impressed with her in the way she has reared her daughter, KC. You can see the effect of the way she was raised by simply listening to what she is saying. I am surprised to have the same admiration for Sharon’s daughter as I have for her. I know this is a long entry but I actually liked it and it’s a nice read. To my surprise, I also found out that she has her own blog. Visit http://kooki.multiply.com/journal

kc-pool.jpg

OH, TO BE YOUNG, and to be KC Concepcion. To find yourself one night at Rue du Faubourg Saint Martin in Paris for a party celebrating Karl Lagerfeld’s new clothing line, or in Toulouse to attend your best friend Stephanie’s wedding after a bachelorette minibreak in Palma de Mallorca, basking in the Spanish sun on a leopard-print yacht. Or even in the palengke at Rue Cler on the 7th Arrondissement for the week’s supply of greens and fruits-because it’s impossible to actually do proper marketing back home, where you will most likely be mobbed by autograph-seeking and photo-op-hungry vendors. Plus, the Parisian marketplace reminds you of those Tagaytay and Baguio trips you used to go on with your cousins and grandparents when you were younger.

Such is the charmed life of KC. This early morning. a few days before she jets off to Paris to begin her last semester in school, she finds herself allhe poolside of the family mansion in Wack-Wack, lying on a sunbed, wearing a gown by Patrice Ramos-Diaz, and bronzed to perfection from head to toe. Her hair is straightened and perfectly done to look like it was drenched long enough in the pool’s water and dried by the sun, and she’s being asked by TJ-her term of endearment for Tito Jun de Leon-to flash her “most expensive smile.” She tries-even if the sun is directly in her eyes and it’s a challenge to look straight at the camera. She loves shoots like this. “Kelan ka ba naman lulublob sa pool at naka-makeup ka’t and ganda-ganda ng buhok mo?” she says with a laugh. “Kung puwede ka lang gumising sa umaga na ganito na hitsura mo.”

It’s highly likely she does wake up this beautiful, whether she’s rising from the bed of her new apartment in Paris (photos of her unmade-up self posted in her blog prove this), or waking up for a 7 am shoot after a party at home (it was her mom Sharon Cuneta’s birthday the night before).

There is something about the world 21-year old KC has built for herself in the past four years, so that she can wake up in any continent and be surrounded by things that inspire her to be beautiful, or be excited about what’s next, or nostalgic about vignettes from her childhood. Indeed, since leaving Manila at 18, Kristina Cassandra, daughter of Sharon and Gabby Concepcion, has been less and less the privileged princess people have pictured her to be.

What she’s become is a young gypsy, with her bandanna-ed hair and white cotton dresses, an old soul with a boundless enthusiasm for life.

“It’s the freedom, the independence, being able to walk around,” she says when asked what she misses most about Paris when she’s in Manila. “At yung lamig. Nakakabihis ka kasi pag malamig, eh, iba-iba yung layers mo. And yung place mismo-Paris is so beautiful. I really thank God all the time. I never thought na titira ako sa Europe, I never thought I would even survive it.”

Days later, back in Paris, in a message sent by text, she would expound, “Living here is like going to finishing school! You learn to be quieter, and people seem to be more private with things they talk about. And you get the feeling na you drop a fork and you’re in trouble!”

Her life in Paris is not just about school, but also traveling to surrounding cities, watching the opera, picking lip the latest Elle Decor or ArtTravel. having picnics by her favorite bridge. And when she’s in Manila, she’s surrounded by a community of young artists. theater actors,
writers, photographers and fashion people-and most of them have become her friends. “I’ve always liked working in this field,” she says, glancing at the cover shoot crew. “Si TJ, dami kong natutunan sa kanya about photography, even how to present yourself in front of the camera. It’s not just about being beautiful. Here, you meet the best of the best. Where else would you have that?

“These days, I’ve been really into-siguro influence na rin ito ng Paris-painting and photography, all that artsy-fartsy stuff,” KC adds. Her blog is full of whimsical drawings and photographs, heart images, and poetry both her own (in Tagalog) and Henry Miller’s (”The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.”). In one entry, she writes, “So what if we all just burst into color?”

Her European sojourn has made it possible for KC to create this world so different from the one she was exposed to, growing up with two very prominent parents in the showbiz industry. And she doesn’t hate showbiz. In fact, she seems to embrace it the way she opens her arms to most things. And for a girl who isn’t even officially a regular in the entertainment scene, she handles her celebrity with stunning maturity. She knows how to anticipate a media frenzy, choosing to share photographs of her reunion with her dad in San Francisco before an entertainment editor’s DPA could smell a scoop. She didn’t want any malicious suspicions coloring a genuine effort on her part to reach out to her father. She also knows how to use her celebrity for a good cause; last year she put together an art and music jam, gathering her artist and musician friends at the Rockwell Loft for an event that raised funds for Hands-On Manila and the Virlanie Foundation.

While it is a privileged life she leads, KC likes to downplay the glamor associated with her stay in Paris. To her, it’s just like any other young independent woman’s life-except that it’s happening in the most beautiful city in the world. “Doon, ikaw lang talaga mag-isa gumagawa ng lahat, eh. Parang si Lea Salonga sa Sana Maulit Muli, where she was on the phone while she was cooking and tending to other stuff.”

She has been living alone since she arrived there in 2002, and has recently moved into her third apartment, one that’s close to her school, a cheaper but bigger flat that used to be a boutique. She used to live farther away, so that she could have a longer commute while exploring her new environment. “Every day I try to clean my house. Dati, sobrang burara ako. I don’t pick up my clothes. Kung saan ko maiwan yung gamit, doon na lang siya. These days, pakaunti-kaunti, I try to pick them up. I wake up at 10 am. My courses have varied schedules. Actually, okay yung life ko doon, sobrang simple lang na practical siya talaga: mamamalengke ka, kailangan mapuntahan mo yung mga dapat puntahan bago magsara, kailangan maluto mo na yung dinner mo before you do errands, before you pay bills.”

Stuff she never had to think about when she was still living with her mom in Manila. Despite the independence, KC says Sharon is still a major influence in many of her decisions.

“Especially when it’s something about the industry. She’s been here for three decades, and I can’t say I know more than she does. Even the tiniest things, I ask her.”

What do they usually argue about? “lba-iba. lba-iba, naku.”

“Boys?” “Not so much anymore these days. I don’t know, iba-iba. eh. Sensitive topic ‘yan, parang ayoko naman i-mention pero…” She laughs, then pauses for a while. “Siyempre, it’s just harder when our lives are magnified, di ba? I’m sure every showbiz family experiences it. You have to be extra aware even of the small things, because. anyone can do anything with your words. Ana it’s so hard because even if you mean one thing, it’s so easy to manipulate things.”

Did she ever feel that having been born to famous parents made it more difficult for her to make decisions for herself “There are people who approach me and say, ‘Sharonian pa rin ako.’ I want to say, ‘Eh bakit, tinatanong ba kita? Eh dapat lang Sharonian ka, eh pati naman ako Sharonian. And forever ako magiging Sharonion.’ It’s hard, because I guess people have high expectations. But at the same time, I get pushed. ‘Ah, ganoon pala tingin mo so akin?’ Or ‘All, oo nga, actually puwede kong gawin yun, try ko nga.’”

Hence, being sent to Paris made really-major sense in the end: It was so she could forge her own persona, away from the prying eyes of the fans and the media who had watched her mom, and who had already pegged their own concepts of what KC is and what she should be.

“And how will you change for the better if you don’t, even know who you are? Yun ang natutunan ko talaga. And I’m glad that it happened while I was still young, kesa naman may asawa na ako, that’s when I realize kung anong…” she trails off. She’s thinking of marriage this early? “Nah, I’ve always been just hyper-aware because of what happened with my mom’s life. She got married at 18. I’ve always been aware of that:”

Three months before this interview, she had met a new man in Paris. His name is Lino Cayetano, the TV director, the handsome and talented son of the late Senator Rene. “Were not in a serious relationship,” she says. “but I met him, I like him, he’s a very good guy, very interesting. He intrigues me. That’s all I can say for now. We kid her that even her taste in men seems to lean towards the creative types. There was that deep friendship she shared with Rivermaya frontman and songwriter Rico Blanco. And now Lino, who. like her, looks like a young urban hippie, with his long hair, faded jeans. slippers and ethnic wristbands.

She pauses and seems to ponder the suggestion that there could be a trend when it comes to the men she gets attached to. She laughs, and then says quietly, as if still convincing herself, “Siguro there’s something about people involved in things like art that makes them more human, Maybe they’re more sensitive about the world around them, hyper-aware about every little thing that happens.”

KC might have met her match in Lino, but romance, for now, can wait. This is, after all, her graduation year from her International Corporate Communications course. While she may be looking forward to this last episode of her Parisian adventure, she is also dreading its heartbreaking end. “I’ve been there for so long I wouldn’t know how it would be like to leave for good,” she says, a hint of sadness in her voice.

But being the KC that she’s turned out to be, she wouldn’t dwell on this little gray cloud for long. A couple of weeks after she left Manila, her blog records happy thoughts. She’s rejoicing over the acknowledged biodiversity of Philippine seas greater than Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and Honolulu’s reefs combined. She’s happily trying on her new LV glasses in the very unsuitable 4-degree weather, and discovering her new all-time favorite sculpture at the Louvre, a marble piece of an angel and a woman about to kiss, done in the late 1700s “The world is so rich,” says another Henry Miller quote in her blog. “simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls, interesting people. Forget yourself.”

Metro Magazine
March 2007, and website: http://www.sharoncuneta.com

Posted on March 9, 2007 under :

Just for laughs to break the monotony…

chuvalingga on Random Musings 

I saw this video and I was clearly on the floor laughing.  The video is very short but you just have to see it.  I am still laughing while writing this.  Malolowka kayo!  Syeeeet!

Posted on March 9, 2007 under :

Follow up to the 2007 Philippine Blog Awards

chuvalingga on Random Musings 

Congratulations to REYNA ELENA for being nominated in different categories for the Philippine Blog Awards. I nominated her for the Best OFW Blog under business, but little did I know that with all her fans all over the globe, she was nominated in several other categories as well!! The awards night will be held on March 31st, 2007, 5 pm at the Podium 4, RCBC Plaza Auditorium in Makati. We wish her the BEST!!

pba1.JPG

At heto naman ang maipagmamalaki ko na rin…. see below:

nominated2.JPG

Here’s a complete list of the nominees:

Bloggers’ Choice Award

Best Blog Design

Best OFW Blog

Best Free Custom Theme

Best Blog Plugin/Extension

And here are the nominations for the Main Categories:

Personal

Entertainment

Technology

Travel

Socio-Political

Home & Living

Photo Blog

Fashion & Lifestyle

Podcast

News & Media

Business/Entrepreneur

Sports & Recreation

Posted on March 8, 2007 under :

Consolidating Your Debts - Home Equity Loan or Home Equity Line of Credit

chuvalingga on Random Musings 

When you have an enormous amount of debt, and would like to consolidate it by using your most precious asset (your home), which would be the best option to take? Home Equity Loan or Home Equity Line of Credit.

I was looking for an answer and I found one basic response that would put it in layman’s terms:

With a home equity loan, you apply for and get a fixed amount, up front and have to repay the loan over a fixed period, such as 15 years.

With a home equity line of credit, you apply for credit up to a certain amount, usually the amount of equity you have in your home. You are then given a stack of checks. You write checks as you need the money. The bank tracks how much you borrowed, figures out a required monthly payment, then sends you a bill. You always have to pay the minimum amount but can pay more if you choose.

The answer is pretty but you have to know the ropes in order to get the best deal. Whether you decide to take out a Home Equity Loan or Home Equity Line of Credit, you would still have to go through the same channels to obtain it.

  • What is your credit score?
    • This is a very important piece in your loan application. If your credit score is low, chances are you will receive a high rate of interest upon approval. Before you even think of applying for a loan, make sure that your credit score is in great shape.
      • Tip : Check your credit score for free (this is a new law and you can obtain your credit report for free once a year) - go to: www.annualcreditreport.com and pull your credit score.
  • How much do you owe?
    • You have to make certain that the amount you will be borrowing combined with your current mortgage will not put you in the hole.
    • If you don’t, you will end up in the same hole that you are in. You will use your cards again, and owe much more again.

Here’s a detailed explanation from www.bankrate.com

A home equity loan or line of credit allows you to borrow money, using your home’s equity as collateral.

Wait. Don’t click to another page. If the above paragraph seems like gibberish, you have surfed to the right place. We will explain what home equity is, what collateral is, how these loans and lines of credit work, why people use them, and what pitfalls to avoid.

First, some definitions:

Collateral is property that you pledge as a guarantee that you will repay a debt. If you don’t repay the debt, the lender can take your collateral and sell it to get its money back. With a home equity loan or line of credit, you pledge your home as collateral. You can lose the home and be forced to move out if you don’t repay the debt.

Equity is the difference between how much the home is worth and how much you owe on the mortgage (or mortgages, if you have more than one on the property).

Example:

Let’s say you buy a house for $200,000. You make a down payment of $20,000 and borrow $180,000. The day you buy the house, your equity is the same as the down payment — $20,000: $200,000 (home’s purchase price) - $180,000 (amount owed) = $20,000 (equity).
 
Fast-forward five years. You have been making your monthly payments faithfully, and have paid down $13,000 of the mortgage debt, so you owe $167,000. During the same time, the value of the house has increased. Now it is worth $300,000. Your equity is $133,000: $300,000 (home’s current appraised value) - $167,000 (amount owed) = $133,000 (equity)
House purchase price:

$200,000

Read more

Posted on March 4, 2007 under :

Portrait of a Millionaire from the Millionaire Next Door

chuvalingga on Random Musings 

I was reading a book given to me by a colleague.  He is one of the guys that I was going to form a business with, but somehow the idea fell through.  We’re still good friends today and we share tidbits and books such as this one that I am reading to keep us motivated. 

The book is entitled, ‘The Millionaire Next Door’ by Stanley and Danko.  It is very interesting.  I am just re-reading the book because I read it once before.  The first few pages caught my eye again and would like to share it with you.  These are what millionaires do and their traits that will sometimes surprise you.  Take a look.

PORTRAIT of a MILLIONAIRE

  • 70% of head of millionaire households make 80% of their household income.

  • 1 in 5 of millionaires are retired and the two-thirds that work are self-employed.

  • 3 in 5 millionaires that are self-employed consider themselves to be entrepreneurs.

  • Many types of businesses they are in could be classified as dull-normal (welding contractors, auctioneers, rice farmers, owners of mobile-home parks, pest controllers, coin and stamp dealers, and paving contractors).

  • 50% of millionaires have stay-at-home spouses.  The number one occupation of millionaire spouses, if they do work are TEACHERS.

  • Their average household net worth is $3.7 million.  Nearly 6% have a net worth of over $10 million.

  • On average, their total annual realized income is less than 7% of their wealth.  That means they only live on less than 7% of their wealth.

  • 97% of them are homeowners.  They live in homes currently valued at an average of $320,000 (maybe higher now since the book was written before the real-estate boom).  50% of them have lived on the same home for more than twenty years and have enjoyed significant increases in the value of their homes.

  • 80% of them are first-generation affluent.

  • THEY LIVE WELL BELOW THEIR MEANS.  THEY WEAR INEXPENSIVE SUITS, DRIVE AMERICAN-MADE CARS.  ONLY A MINORITY OF THEM DRIVE THE CURRENT-MODEL-YEAR AUTOMOBILE. ONLY A MINORITY LEASE THEIR VEHICLES.

  • Millionaire wives are meticulous budgetters and planners.  They are more conservative spenders than the person who brings home the bacon.

  • They SAVE 15% of their earned income.

  • They have a ‘go-to-hell-fund’.  In other words, they have accumulated enough wealth to LIVE WITHOUT WORKING for 10 or more years.  Anyone with a net worth of 1.6 million would be able to live more than 12 years without working.  But since the save 15% of their income it could probably be longer.

  • They normally don’t trade wealth for acquiring high-status mateiral posessions.  This results in millionaires having 6.5 times level of wealth more than their NON- MILLIONAIRE neighbors.

  • They are fairly well-educated.  Many of them hold advanced degrees.   18% have master’s degrees, 8 % are law degrees, 6% are medical degrees, and 6% are P.H.D.’s

  • 55% of their children are attending or have attended private schools.  Yet, only 17% of millionaires have attended private schools.

  • As a group, THEY BELIEVE EDUCATION IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR THEMSELVES, THEIR CHILDREN, and THEIR GRANDCHILDREN.  THEY SPEND HEAVILY FOR THE EDUCATION OF THEIR OFFSPRING.

  • About 2/3 of them work between 45-55 hours a week.  The are NOT SLACKERS who work just because it’s a job.

  • THEY ARE FASTIDIOUS INVESTORS.  ON AVERAGE, THEY INVEST NEARLY 20% OF THEIR HOUSEHOLD REALIZED INCOME EACH YEAR.  MOST OF THEM INVEST AT LEAST 15%.  79% of them have at least one account with a brokerage company but they make THEIR OWN INVESTMENT DECISIONS.

  • They normally recommend their children to take up accounting or law degrees since these are the services that the AFFLUENT are in much need.  Tax advsisors and estate-planning expert will be in big demand over the next fifteen years!

‘WEALTHY’ as  defined by Millionaires:

Conversely, those people whom we define as being wealthy get much more pleasure from owning substantial amounts of APPRECIABLE ASSETS than from displaying a high-consumption lifestyle.

Now - who among you have these traits?  Wouldn’t you want to become a millionaire someday?  LET’S GET TO IT!!!

Posted on March 3, 2007 under :

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