Angel Investing: Big Risk, Big Rewards if you have the money and the friends

As a recent college graduate with my own financial issues, I've had a lot of time to think about the way that money exchanges hands. I've learned about the different financial instruments available to the average person, from the different tax sheltered retirement vehicles, tax credits and deductions for business owners, employees, students and families, and evena number of different securities.

I am always looking to learn more, and not too long ago I came across the phenomenon of Venture Capital, and more specifically investing clubs for venture capital.

The ideas behind angel investment, or venture capital, are reasonable. These days, businesses can undergo meteoric growth within a relatively short period of time, and an early investment in a successful company like Reddit, Youtube, PayPal or Google can pay back well over 300x the initial sum within only a few years.

The problem with venture capital, however, is that it is extremely risky. Companies might like to be the next Google, but there are hundreds of thousands of websites and web based businesses and entrepreneurs that are making peanuts, or losing money every year on hosting fees.

So, much like any savvy investor, these venture capitalists have decided to diversify their investments. Instead of spending $500,000 on a single company to boost it into a profitable position and prepare it for an IPO where you stand to make nothing, or $60 million, these investors find 9 like minded individuals to each contribute $50,000, and each get their share of $6 million. And they will be able to invest in 10 companies instead of just 1.

While the risk may not be reduced in each individual case, the investor will not be broken by the failure of a single business, but rather by the failure of all 10 of the businesses.

For more information, please consult the following:

http://www.angel-investor-clubs.com/

http://www.cbeid.org/Angel%20InvestmentClubsSummary.pdf

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Inside-Entrepreneurship-Angel-investment-clubs-1265773.php

http://www.angelcapitalassociation.org/

Highlander, Search for Vengeance (2007)

I was recently taken under the influence of an errant thought.

What was the name of that actor, that starred in the hallmark 80s movie the Highlander? I couldn't ditch the thought, and I decided to look up Christopher Lambert, the actor. In the process, I found that there had been a number of sequels, an animated movie, a television series that went on for 6 seasons (!) and a 2007 anime-style movie of a dystopic future in a postmodern world stricken by war, disease, and the products of an excessive civilization.

I decided to assault my sensibilities with this most recent presentation of The Highlander, and I was not disappointed.

Action.

Drama.

Stunning animation.

Graphic violence, tension of multiple kinds, love stories and tales of might and magic.

It was quite entertaining, I'd recommend it to anyone that has not yet seen the film.

It is a full hour and a half of content, so make sure to have enough time, but it is available on DVD and probably through some sort of streaming service if you are looking for that kind of thing.

Frugality Is A Good Thing

I am a strong proponent of frugality as an approach to a number of endeavors, for a variety of reasons that I will expand upon below and possibly in future posts.

I believe that a frugal person can make a given amount of resources go farther and perform more effectively than a spendthrift, and thereby gain the most utility out of them. It is easier to provide for oneself and ones dependents when living frugally, thus reducing the stress and pressure to engage in less than pleasant activities for money to live off of, and allowing for a greater freedom to seek fulfillment in one's days beyond the simple procurement of wages.

Frugality is also more likely to result in an excess of funds than wanton or unintentional spending, which allows for the benefits of giving, saving, and investing in the future as opposed to immediate and satisfying consumption.

Far be it from me to condemn anyone for their habits, and many people are still living within their means when they spend what seem to be astronomical sums, but for my purposes a lower than average cost of living is more than adequate to meet my needs.

Save Money on utilities by using your Microwave to the Max

Most modern itchens are not only equipped with the essentials, but also a bevy of gadgets, gizmos, and doodads that serve valuable functions and can help streamline kitchen workflow.

They also cost money, take time to clean and use, and usuallly perform functions that can be done by one or two simple devices, albeit not quite as perfectly.

For a great example, one could definitely live without an oven.

Sure, if you are baking bread weekly like a certain someone I know, perhaps an oven is a necessity, but if you just use it as an extra place to stow snacks or stacks of pots and pans, you might be fine with a stripped down kitchen with a good quality microwave oven.  

In fact, due to the speed and efficiency of microwave cooking, you could save over 30 dollars monthly in electricity or heating just by using the microwave oven instead of a full range.

A List of Websites that can help to Pay for the Medical Care of Pets

I spend a lot of time looking at charity cases, and there are an innumerable number of cases related to the costs of pet care.

While a dog, cat, lizard, or other pet might be cheap to buy or adopt, food, toys, and medical care for these animals can be unbelievably high. Even though a dog might only take 20 or 30 dollars a month worth of food, it might come down with a case of cancer that costs 10,000 dollars a month to treat or 15,000 to operate on.

I recently found a list of sites that offer assistance to people with sick pets, listed below. I hope that you find that this list helps someone, and I'd appreciate it if you shared it with others in case they ever have need:

• Best Friend Animal Society http://bestfriends.org/Resources/Pet-Care/General-Pet-Care/Miscellaneous/Financial-Assistance-for-Pet-Owners/
  
• Angels for Animals (Canton Ohio): http://www.angelsforanimals.org/auLocHrs.asp
  
• Brown Dog Foundation http://www.browndogfoundation.org/prequal
  
• Low and no cost spaying and neutering http://fixatfour.com/getyourfix.html
  
• Canine Cancer Awareness http://caninecancerawareness.org/apply-for-financial-assistance
  
• Care Credit http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/
  
• Cats In Crisis http://www.catsincrisis.org/contact.html
  
• Fairy Dog Parents http://www.fairydogparents.org/apply-online.html
  
• Frankie’s Friends http://www.frankiesfriends.com/programs-2/hope-fund-happy-tails-2/
  
• Gracie’s Mission http://graciesmission.org/Home_Page.html
  
• Paws 4 A Cure http://www.paws4acure.org/application.php
  
• Shakespeare Animal Fund http://shakespeareanimalfund.org/qualify.html
  
• The Dog & Cat Cancer Fund http://www.dccfund.org/treatment/application/
  
• The Magic Bullet Fund http://www.themagicbulletfund.org/Apply.shtml
  
• The Mosby Foundation (No emergencies): http://www.themosbyfoundation.org/what.html
  
• The Pet Fund (advice) http://www.thepetfund.com/financial.htm
  
• Red Rover http//www.redrover.org/node/1198
  
• Extend Credit (financing): http://www.extendcredit.com/petcare-credit.htm
  
• PetChoice.org http://petchoice.org
  /

Energy Efficient Lights are All Right

One of the last places we look to save money is the lighting in our homes, but when you think about it, not only the bulbs but also their long term operating costs can really add up. If you are spending 15 dollars a month on lightbulbs at Home Depot, you can probably cut down your long term replacement costs by spending a little more for LED or Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs, which also run on much less electricity than the conventional incandescent bulbs. These newer technologies allow you to run a single bulb for over a year of conventional use, which more than compensates for the higher cost of the bulbs (up to $20 for a single bulb).
But the real savings comes from the reduction in energy costs. LED bulbs can save you $20 per fixture per year in electricity costs, every year going forward.

Make sure that you get the appropriate type of bulb for your light socket though, you don't want to install a non-dimmable bulb on a dimmable light, and have it burn out prematurely.

Turn Down the Heat, Turn Up the Savings

In frigid winter, there are few feelings better than warmth. A warm bed, a warm bath or shower, and a cup of hot tea are luxuries that we would be loath to part with.
At the same time, we might be paying out the nose to enjoy them.

By being conservative with the temperature settings in our homes, we can reduce drastically the amount of money spent heating them.

I live comfortably at 62 degrees Fahrenheit with socks and a sweater during the winter, and comfortably at 75 degrees Fahrenheit with light pants and a linen shirt during the summer.

I save on air conditioning, heat, and let the environment keep a little more of it's energy rich materials for the next generation.

Win-win-win!