Cracking The Credit Card Code
There’s hardly a more prominent financial product in America today than the almighty credit card. Nearly everybody has at least one — almost 80% of consumers in 2008, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston – and many use it on a daily basis. Without a doubt, there are also those consumers who know their credit card numbers by heart (makes online shopping and booking travel so much easier, if anything). But how many of you know what those numbers really mean? Contrary to what you may think, they aren’t random. Those 16 digits are there for a reason and, knowing a few simple rules, you could actually learn a lot about a credit card just from its number. This infographic shows you how to crack that code.
How to Replace Six Vital Documents
This post is from GRS staff writer April Dykman.
Could you produce your birth certificate, car title, or an old tax return at a moment’s notice?
You’re supposed to store vital documents in a fireproof box or keep them in a safe-deposit box, but how many of us actually do that? We may not need these papers often, but when we do need them, we really need them. You need vital documents to sell your car, travel overseas, apply for a job, get through an audit, refinance your house, and more.
Price Anchoring, Or Why a $499 iPad Seems Inexpensive
photo: buckaroobay
When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad, he showed off its high-resolution screen, touted its revolutionary features, and said things like “boom!” and “wow!” a lot. But that wasn’t what made the crowd go wild.
Read more on Price Anchoring, Or Why a $499 iPad Seems Inexpensive…
Analyzing Financial Statements
This topic could be and is a full semester course at some business schools. It is a deep and rich topic that I can’t cover in one single blog post. But it is also a relatively narrow skill set at its most developed levels. If you are going to be a public equity analyst, you need to understand this stuff cold and this post will not get you there.
If I Launched a Startup
Here’s what I’d do in the beginning:
Incorporation
(1) Entity Choice: Corporation or Corporation
(2) State of Incorporation: Delaware
(3) Authorized Shares in Charter: 10,000,000 Shares
(4) Type of Shares: Common Stock
(5) Par Value of Common: $0.0001
(6) Initial Founders Issuance: 8,000,000 Shares
(7) Founders Equity Split: Depends on the Team, But Quickly and After the Awkward & Difficult Conversations
(8) Vest Founders Shares?: Hell Yes
(9) Vesting Schedule for Founders Shares: 4 years with a One Year Cliff
(10) Consideration for Founders Shares: Cash & IP
(11) Handling of “Lost Founders”: Lock Down the IP (then Wish Them Well)
The Profit and Loss Statement
Today on MBA Mondays we are going to talk about one of the most important things in business, the profit and loss statement (also known as the P&L).
Picking up from the accounting post last week, there are two kinds of accounting entries; those that describe money coming into and out of your business, and money that is contained in your business. The P&L deals with the first category.
You Can Negotiate Anything
In May, I wrote about how to negotiate your salary. I argued that following the advice in Jack Chapman’s Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1,000 a Minute is one of the best ways to improve your financial well-being. I still believe it. If you’re looking for work or looking for a raise, you should absolutely read his book.