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If you read blogs about marketing small companies, you’re inundated with “social media” advice about why you need a blog and a Twitter account and everything else.

Even my 90-year-old grandmother who doesn’t own a computer and reads my wife’s healthy cooking blog on print-outs asks “What’s Twitter?” because she read about it in the New York Times.

Still, most people and most businesses don’t think they need a blog.

In the next five minutes, I’d like to convince you that you have?to jump into the world of blogging and Twitter and Facebook.

Back in the late 1990s….

(Ew, don’t you cringe when you hear the phrase “back in the late 1990s?” Here comes a tale of hope and of disappointment, of “paradigm ..read more

Not long ago, 80/20 mortgages were so commonplace and many home buyers were using them to buy homes with no money down.  Today 80/20 are essentially so nonexistent that is does not matter if you have a perfect 850 FICO score, you still will not be able to find an 80/20 mortgage.  For better or for worse, these loans are no longer being offer to any type of borrower.

If you are wondering “What is an 80/20 mortgage?” let me explain.  An 80/20 mortgage (also called piggyback loans, tandem loans, nothing down mortgage, etc.) is (was) a mortgage for 80% of the purchase price with an additional mortgage for the other 20% of the purchase price, for ..read more

Aeroplan has a harsh bereavement policy, which requires widows and widowers to pay 1 cent a mile to transfer points after their spouse has died. When I wrote about this in my column, I heard from many readers who had beefs about both Aeroplan and Air Miles.

Did you know you still have to pay a fuel surcharge when you use your points to get a reward ticket? Both programs have kept the fuel surcharges, even though many airlines have dropped them (including Air Canada on North American flights) as oil prices have plunged.

I checked Aeroplan’s website and found a vague question and answer. Since it told me nothing, I called Aeroplan’s customer service (as instructed) and got the real story.

Yes, Aeroplan does have a fuel ..read more

You have to wonder at these folks who blog so confidently about how to run little companies.

I mean, on the one hand Joel teaches us everything we need to know about customer service while being funny and telling stories. But has Joel ever screwed up? If so, he hasn’t said.

Or 37signals, a company run by geeks with a unique vision about why products (not just software) should be simple and beautiful. They even wrote a whole book about it. Inspiration in every paragraph. Love it! But read their blog and all you get is ultimatums — unwavering confidence that their way is gospel handed down from Mt. Sinai.

Shoot, I’m also guilty of blasting my patient readers to?always be honest, never use the ..read more

The idea of diagramming you own personal finance network to show the relationships between your financial accounts is such a great idea.  I was inspired by Jim at Bargaineering to create my own financial network map.  Being a systems/software engineer by profession, I can’t believe I never though of the idea myself, but I think its a great tool for understanding your own financial accounts.  In the past, I’ve often had to do some financial maneuvering to transfer funds between accounts electronically (like when I went away to college and did not have a physical bank located in my city), and this is a great way to see how you can make transfers more efficiently and more.

..read more