Clawing my way out of the abyss

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

$10.5 Billion – The amount shelled out at U.S. movie theaters in 2009 as of Dec. 27, a record gross for Hollywood. (Source: Hollywood.com)

15.5% – Increase in online sales this past holiday season. While significantly higher than the 3.6% increase in total holiday retail sales, e-commerce still made up less than 10% of those sales. (Source: MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse)

76% – The percentage of consumers responding to a credit counseling survey who say that decreasing debt is their No. 1 New Year’s resolution. Six percent say that increasing savings is the top solution, while 11% intend to improve their credit scores. (Source: The National Foundation for Credit Counseling)

59% – Percentage of parents who say they are not currently setting aside any money for their children’s college education. (Source: Finra Investor Education Foundation Survey)

78% – Most U.S. air travelers (78%) approve of the use of full body scans of airline passengers, and 67% say they would not be personally uncomfortable in undergoing such a scan. (Source: Gallup)

68% – Two-thirds of Americans have taken steps to make their home more energy efficient. Of those who have, 71% say they did so to save money, while 26% sought to improve the environment. (Source: Gallup)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

83% – The percentage of surveyed Americans who say they are likely to learn more about financial topics in 2010. The two most mentioned subjects were setting financial goals and saving for retirement. (Source: Fidelity Investments)

$220M – The estimated amount of revenue Tiger Woods’ indiscretions and indefinite leave of absence will cost golf’s major corporate backers — such as the PGA Tour, Nike Inc. and television networks such as CBS—in 2010. (Source: Bloomberg)

52% – The percentage of U.S. adults who oppose more government regulation of the financial sector, up from 47% in June, when President Barack Obama proposed reforms to prevent another Wall Street crisis. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

84% – Eighty-four percent of seniors say they feel life insurance’s cost is relatively minimal, compared to other budgetary items. (Source: Prudential Life)

$37.3K – The amount paid for Michael Jacksons’s “moonwalking” shoes and fedora at an auction last week in London. The items, worn during 2001 shows, fetched far less than the $350K paid last month for his famous sparkly white glove. (Source: Bloomberg)

Happy New Year, readers! I hope all of you have a better new year than 2009. Well, it looks like 2009 ends on an high note with a modest increase in my net worth.

My home value rose once again. There are quite a few more listings in my development, with actually one 3-bedroom listing under contract this month. Let’s hope this momentum grows. My gas fireplace is still not working and due to my unemployed sister being too cold, she ran the forced air heat 24×7 (with a utility bill to match), so it finally quit on her and started blowing out cold air. I had to let it rest and then reset the whole thing to start the warm air, but the lights are saying I need emergency maintenance. Good luck finding that on New Year’s weekend.

My retirement funds are growing nicely. Mostly due to the company match and profit sharing. My Ford stock purchase in my Roth IRA are also doing very well with a 10% return for the month.

My Kelley Blue Book car value rose a tiny bit, I guess to make up for the mysterious drop last month. No major maintenance costs, just an oil change and a free air filter change that I got from Pep Boys after a poor job they did last month with my slow leaking tire.

My full time job is stable, although while I’ve been off the past 2 weeks forced to use vacation days I’ve racked up, there looks like a lot of work is stacking up for me when I return. No eBay sales as I closed my store, but I did post some old laptops just to reduce some clutter. My sister is still without job. What else can I say? No interviews until after the holiday season’s over.

I just missed hitting $70k on my credit card balance. Oh well, there’s always next month. Just kidding. To supplement my income, I went to Atlantic City again and did OK, winning just under $400. Not bad considering it was pretty dead all week with only one $2/5 table playing the same 9 guys, but Christmas Day was a madhouse. I also made money betting on college football. It’s only gambling if you don’t have an edge. Let’s hope 2010 is a good one for us all.

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

83% – The percentage of surveyed Americans who say they are likely to learn more about financial topics in 2010. The two most mentioned subjects were setting financial goals and saving for retirement. (Source: Fidelity Investments)

$220M – The estimated amount of revenue Tiger Woods’ indiscretions and indefinite leave of absence will cost golf’s major corporate backers— such as the PGA Tour, Nike Inc. and television networks such as CBS—in 2010. (Source: Bloomberg)

52% – The percentage of U.S. adults who oppose more government regulation of the financial sector, up from 47% in June, when President Barack Obama proposed reforms to prevent another Wall Street crisis. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

84% – Eighty-four percent of seniors say they feel life insurance’s cost is relatively minimal, compared to other budgetary items. (Source: Prudential Life)

$37.3K – The amount paid for Michael Jacksons’s “moonwalking” shoes and fedora at an auction last week in London. The items, worn during 2001 shows, fetched far less than the $350K paid last month for his famous sparkly white glove. (Source: Bloomberg)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

28% – The percentage of U.S. holiday shoppers whose gift-buying decisions have been influenced by social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. (Source: ComScore Inc.)

$11.8 Billion – Amount of life insurance policies sold by seniors as life settlements in 2009, more than double the amount of transactions in 2007. (Source: Life Insurance Settlement Association)

$3.9 Million – The record number of U.S. foreclosure filings expected this year, surpassing 2008’s record total of 3.2 million. (Source: RealtyTrac Inc.)

84% – Eighty-four percent of seniors say they feel life insurance’s cost is relatively minimal, compared to other budgetary items. (Source: Prudential Life)

71% – Seventy-one percent of seniors believe their financial situation will be negatively impacted next year, without an increase to their Social Security benefits. (Source: Senior Market Advisors Guide)

$8.5 Billion – Amount the Energy Department loaned to car companies, including Ford and Nissan, to build more efficient vehicles. (Source: U.S. Energy Department)

I rarely have time to post reviews of software or gadgets, but since my Blackberry was slow to deliver emails thanks to Research in Motion’s technical difficulties on Wednesday, I’d like to take some time and issue a gold star to Recuva by Piriform Ltd. I accidentally deleted an important database, and after I threw a pile of junk off my desk in frustration, went searching for some recovery software as the file I deleted was too big for the Recycle Bin and was on a Windows 2003 server. After finding other software vendors that charged anywhere from $49.95 to $89.95 to an insane vendor at several hundred dollars, I found this little lifesaver. The best of all….it’s free. I promise to donate after my next paycheck, but I hope spreading the word about Recuva and their three other free apps will do for now. Thanks guys!

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

20% – As government officials scramble to supply enough H1N1 vaccine for all who need it, one out of five parents (20%) say they have attempted to get vaccinations for a child but have been unable to do so. (Source: Gallup)

23% – Nearly one-in-four adults (23%) say they or someone they know has bought a toy that was recalled for safety reasons. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

48% – Forty-eight percent of Americans say they are at least somewhat concerned about the safety of toys being sold this holiday season. Twenty-three percent are very concerned. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

66% – Sixty-six percent of Americans celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

$2,693.55 – The amount that every man, woman, and child would received if the $819 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 were distributed evenly. (Source: New York Times)

48% – Americans are divided as to whether the U.S is likely to achieve its goals in the Afghanistan war, with 48% believing the U.S. is likely to do so, and 45% disagreeing. Seven in 10 Americans worry about the war’s cost affecting the government’s ability to address U.S. domestic problems. (Source: Gallup)

With the latest iPhone rumor from a Piper Jaffray analyst being an integrated RFID reader, the potential to turn your iPhone into a digital wallet could finally be here in 2010. It’s been a long time coming since similar technology has been used in Japan and Singapore for years. Even if it replaces credit cards and cash, I still need to carry a wallet for my drivers license and various public transportation passes, so no real space saving advantage.

With the Adobe Flash plugin and RFID coming soon to the iPhone, a flood of new apps will be coming as well. This brings me to an article on WalletPop about making a million bucks with an iPhone app that makes fart sounds. Since most Wall Street firms prefer Blackberries to iPhones for business use, even though it now supports Microsoft Exchange, I’ve been hesitant to purchase one for personal use. I may just have to buy one in hopes I can one day develop the next iFart app that somehow uses RFID, so I can reap my millions too.

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

1% – The percentage decrease in holiday spending expected this season. (Source: National Retail Federation)

39% – The percentage of survey respondents who consider holiday shopping unpleasant. Forty-three percent think it’s fun, while the rest consider it somewhere in between. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

67% – Sixty-seven percent of adults think the unemployment rate will be the same or higher a year from today. That includes 29% who believe the unemployment rate will be higher than it is now and 38% who expect it to stay about the same. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

$82 – Americans spent an average of $82 per day during the six-day period since Thanksgiving — spanning the Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday. This is down 15% from $96 for the same six-day period during 2008. (Source: Gallup)

35% – Over the next year, 35% of Americans believe the job market will get better, 36% say it will stay the same, and 28% expect it will get worse. (Source: Gallup)

77% – The percentage of surveyed consumers who would pay down their existing debt if they had an extra $500. Fourteen percent would put the extra cash in savings, 7% would use it toward holiday shopping, and 2% would spend it on themselves. (Source: National Foundation for Credit Counseling)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

$1.171 Trillion – The value of U.S. corporate bonds sold so far this year, surpassing the all-time record $1.167 trillion sold in all of 2007. (Source: Bloomberg)

$106 – Americans report spending an average of $106 each day on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving this year, down 8.6% from the $116 average reported on those same days last year. (Source: Gallup)

14% – Fourteen percent of adults say they have completed their holiday shopping, doubling the number (7%) who said they were done in a survey just before thanksgiving. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

47% – When it comes to receiving presents, 47% prefer specific gifts, while 40% like gift cards that allow them to but what they want. Men favor getting specific gifts more than women do. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

10.1% – The percentage increase in sales of existing U.S homes in October, to a 6.1 million annual rate – the highest level since February 2007. (Source: National Association of Realtors)

56% – The percentage of New York state voters who said that it is at least somewhat likely that the state will be bankrupt by the end of this year. Twenty-one percent said that it is very likely. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)