Pay Off Debt or Invest? Which Should I Do?

Six traps investors should avoid

1) Anchoring trap. The mind gives a disproportionate amount of weight to the first information received on a topic. Avoid premature conclusions.

2) Status quo trap. Forecasts tend to perpetuate recent observations. If inflation has been high, it is expected to remain high. It is a psychological risk to assume something different.

3) Confirming evidence trap. Individuals give greater weight to information that supports an existing point of view. Run an idea by an independent-minded person. We tend to see evidence that supports what we believe to be true.

4) Overconfidence trap. Individuals overestimate the accuracy of their forecasts. Widening the range of expected possible outcomes is one way to mitigate this tendency.

5) Prudence trap. There is a tendency to temper forecasts that appear extreme. If a forecast turns out to be extreme and then wrong, it could be damaging to one's career. Therefore, sticking to the herd is safer.

6) Recallability trap. Individuals are overly influenced by events that have left a strong impression on a person's memory. These events tend to be catastrophic or dramatic. To avoid falling into this trap, individuals should ground their conclusions in objective data rather than emotion or memories.

Great
Source: Morningstar.com. [Original article here]

Warren Buffett Holdings as of September 2009

This is the list of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) public US equity holdings as of September 30, 2009.

 

 

 

Highlights from the portfolio of the greatest investor of our time.

• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) over 151.6 million shares, same as last quarter.
• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) 5 million shares; same as last quarter.
• Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE: BDX) 1.2 million shares, same as last quarter.
• Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) was reported as 76.77 million shares but frankly it does not really matter as BNSF is becoming part of Berkshire.
• Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) 9 million shares is same as last quarter.
• Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) right at 200 million shares, still same as before.
• Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) 12 million shares, same as before.
• Comdisco Holdings (NASDAQ: CDCO) roughly 1.5 million shares, same as before.
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) 57.43 million shares, DOWN FROM 62.485 million at the end of June.
• Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 5.254 million shares, same as before.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is a NEW HOLDING of 1.276 million shares.
• Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) 3.447 million shares, same as before.
• General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) 7.777 million shares is the same as before, but does not include the huge preferred investment from late 2008.
• GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares, same as before.
• Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) 2.757 million, same as last quarter.
• Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 636,600 shares; WAY DOWN from the 7.78 million listed last quarter.
• Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) 3.3722 million shares, same as before.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was just over 36.91 million shares; Same as last quarter and still well under the 62 million shares at one point in 2008.
• Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) over 138 million; same as last quarter.
• Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) 6.5 million shares, same as last quarter.
• M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) 6.71 million shares, same as before.
• Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) was listed as over 39.2 million shares, but that is WAY DOWN from the 48 million last quarter.  Be advised that he has noted sales and hinted at more sales here.
• Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) 9.0 million shares, same as last quarter.
• Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) 7.641 million shares, same as before.
• Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) 1.933 million shares, same as before, but we already know Buffett has or is selling out of non-BNSF shares in rail companies.
• NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) 7.2 million, same as before.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) was NOT LISTED ANY LONGER, so sold from holdings.
• Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) 96.3 million, the same as before.
• Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG) 3.625 million shares; NEW POSITION following Bill Gates.
• Sanofi Aventis (NYSE: SNY) more than 3.9 million shares, same as before.
• Sun Trust Bank (NYSE: STI) 3.079 million shares; DOWN FROM 3.2+ the quarter before.
• Torchmark Corp. (NYSE: TMK) roughly 2.82 million, same as before.
• Travelers Cos (NYSE: TRV) 27,336; NEW POSITION but small.
• US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) roughly 69 million; Same as quarter before.
• USG Corp. (NYSE: USG) 17.072 million shares, same as before.
• United Health Group (NYSE: UNH) 3.4 million shares; DOWN from 4.5 million last quarter and down from over 6 million in Q1.
• Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) 9.55 million shares, same as quarter before but this does not matter as Buffett is dumping his non-BNSF rail holdings.
• United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) 1.429 million shares, same as before.
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) 37.8 million; WAY UP from the 19.9+ million shares last quarter.
• Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) over 1.72 million shares, same as before.
• Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) 313.3 million shares; ABOVE THE PRIOR 302+ million last quarter and above the 290+ million in Q1.
• Wellpoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) 3.394 million; DOWN SLIGHTLY from the 3.5 million last quarter and from the 4.7773 million in Q1.
• Wesco Financial Corp. (NYSE: WSC) 5.7 million shares, same as before.
• WABCO Holdings (NYSE: WBC) IS GONE after being 2.7 million shares last quarter.

Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme Fund talks about Investing

The Fairholme Fund is one of my favorite mutual fund because of Bruce Berkowitz and its performance. He has a Buffett-style philosophy and is very focused on being a steward of shareholders’ wealth. He runs Fairholme as a concentrated portfolio of stocks and holds about 17% cash. In this video, he talks about his investment philosophy, stocks, lessons from the economic downturn and some of Warren Buffett’s recent purchases.

One millionaire’s advice on attaining wealth

These are quotes from an individual who did not make a lot of money, yet understood the basic principles of attaining wealth. Wealth is not accumulated by what you do, but it is accumulated by what you are. It is a state of mind where the natural consequence tends to be wealth as you define it. This is different for each individual, therefore I will not provide a static definition. Therefore, if you have goals to achieve a desired level of wealth, then the simple solution is to be that which you strive for. Once you become that, then you will ultimately bring all that you want into your life. Opportunities will begin to present themselves to you, you will come across financial information that are aligned to your goals, people will come into your life to help you…it is great how this works.

These are the quotes from one of our blogging relatives…FreeMoneyFinance

• “The real secret is to spend less than you earn. I don’t care how much you earn, you spend less than you earn. Spend less than you earn. This is true whether you’re on welfare or a millionaire.”
  The idea here is presented by most personal finance professionals; a very simple and fundamental formula. The opposite to this leads to leverage. Avoid leverage at all costs.
  
• “No smoking or alcohol consumption. This has nothing to do with morals and health – okay, maybe health – it’s all about the money.”
  This refers to expensive habits.
  
• “No-load mutual funds are the only way to go. To give anybody 3-4% of your money off the top is insane.”
  No-load mutual funds are funds where you do not have to pay the managers commission up front when purchasing. I agree, this is the way to go. There are many no-load mutual funds that are also low cost (very low expense ratio). See Vanguard to begin with.
  
• “Volunteer to help others.”
  Giving is always useful. I wrote an article a while ago on the benefits of charitable giving as it pertains to wealth. See Wealth and Charitable Giving.
  
• “I can buy whatever I want. Not need, but want. I just don’t want very much.”
  When you don’t want very much, you do not have a desire for a lot of material possessions. This allows you to retain a lot of your wealth. This is a great mindset to develop. Focus on what you need, not want. When you do so, everything becomes available to you, because you desire nothing.
  
• “Wealth is created by investing money, not by working longer and harder.”
  Invest now. There is no point to wait. Your money should be working for you; it should not only be the other way around. Each year you wait reduces the amount of money you can earn through the power of compounding over time.

Personal Finance in One Page – Part 4

Manage Your Money

When you increase your income or decrease your spending, you’ll find yourself with more cash at the end of the month. That cash is your ticket to financial freedom, and the more you can get each month, the better off you are. The trick though, is not to spend it, but to do things that will build a stable future for you.

1. Pay Off All High Interest Debt
Anything with an interest rate over 9% needs to go as soon as possible. The extra money should be used to make double or triple payments on these debts, focusing first on the one with the highest interest rate.

These steps can help you take care of your debt:
i. Make the first list – 4 columns, Name of debt you owe, the amount you still owe on that debt, the monthly payment for that debt, and most importantly, the current interest rate on debt.

ii. Order all of the debts by their current interest rate. The one with the highest interest rate, not biggest balance, should be paid off first.

iii. Look for ways to reduce the rates, focusing most strongly on the highest current one. Readjust the priority of the list to reflect to new rates.

iv. Direct all of your extra payments towards the top debt on the list. Each month, make minimum payments on all of the debts on the list except for the top one. With that top debt, throw everything you can at it. Make a double payment or a triple payment or more.

v. When a debt vanishes, cross it off the list and feel good about it.

vi. Update the list when you acquire a new debt.

vii. Update the list when one of your debts adjusts to a new rate.

2. Build an Emergency Fund
An emergency fund is an amount of money you keep in a savings account that’s intended to be used in the event of a major crisis, such as a job loss, a medical emergency, major car damage, and so on. It’s a good idea to measure your emergency fund in terms of months’ worth of living expenses – you should have a month and a half worth of living expenses for each person you claim as a dependent.

A good rule of thumb is to have 6 – 8 months worth of living expenses in your emergency fund. If this seems like a lot, set it as a long-term goal and begin putting aside a small amount each week. Right now, I have an automatic monthly deduction from my checking account to a high yield savings account at ING. Don’t wait, begin right now with as much as you can afford.

 

3. Max out Retirement
Go to one of those retirement meetings at work, ask exactly how much you should be putting away to ensure that your living expenses are well-covered in retirement, and put that much away. This varies a lot depending on how much you have in right now, how much your employer matches, and so on, so you should talk to your retirement planner at work about the specifics. It is never too early to start investing for retirement!

Save 10% of your income at the bare minimum. You should not have more than 5% of your retirement in the stock of any one company. If your company doesn’t have a retirement plan, open a Roth IRA on your own with a reputable company like Vanguard. If your company offers any matching on your retirement, contribute enough so that you can get all of it. If you don’t know what you are doing, put your money in a “target retirement” fund so that it gradually becomes less risky as you approach retirement.

 

4. College Savings
Establish a 529 college savings plan for them and start automatically putting a certain amount into this account each month. There are many different plans, just pick a good one and start investing now. I use the New York 529 Savings Plan managed by Vanguard for my lovely niece.

 

5. Pay Off All Debts
If all of these are covered and you still have cash left over, the next step is to pay off all of your debts. Get rid of car loans, student loans, and your mortgage using the debt reduction plan discussed in the previous section.

6. Invest
Now, this is a good time to start investing. Trent Hamm recommends buying low-cost broad-based index funds because they don’t have many fees and grow very nicely over long periods of time. Don’t invest in individual stocks unless you’re quite content to lose the money or want to invest many, many hours in research. Trent Hamm invest with Vanguard directly through vanguard.com – their fees are miniscule, they offer a huge array of index funds, and their customer service is stellar.

 

Thank you for Trent of the Simple Dollar for allowing the free distribution of this e-book. For the entire e-book, click on link below. 

Everything you ever really needed to know about personal finance in one page, by Trent Hamm.

 

RELATED LINKS:

Personal Finance in One Page: Part 1
Personal Finance in One Page: Part 2
Personal Finance in One Page: Part 3
Personal Finance in One Page: Part 4
Personal Finance in One Page: Part 5

U.S. Bancorp CEO, Richard Davis on Banking

Thanks to Noise Free Investing for finding this video.
One of my favorite banks in the U.S., US Bancorp, C.E.O. talks about banking in the 21st Century.

The 12 Secrets of Wealth

This article discusses some simple yet, great ideas on achieving financial independence. These could be considered secrets, but they aren’t really. Most of these points we all know of.

Here are a dozen of the non-secret "secrets".

1. Pay off your credit cards.

With credit card rates at 15% to 20% (or even more), there's just no risk-free investment that can provide you with as good a guaranteed return as you'll get by paying off your high-interest credit cards. (If you have multiple credit cards, pay off the one with the highest rate first.) Once you've paid off your credit cards, only charge what you can afford to pay off in full each month.

2. Live below your means.

Try to save at least 10% of your income. (20% would obviously be even better.) Regardless of how much money you make, if you don't live below your means, you'll never achieve financial independence (unless, that is, you hit the lottery or get a large inheritance, and I wouldn't recommend planning your financial well-being around either of these options).

3. Differentiate between needs and wants.

Fund your needs and try to minimize your spending on the "wants". (You'll want to discuss your goals, and how you plan to achieve them, with your spouse or partner. It's so much easier when you're both on the same page, working as a team to achieve your financial goals.)

4. Start to save and invest early.

Pay yourself first. The earlier you start, the more time you'll have to let the power of compounding go to work for you.

5. Establish an asset allocation plan that's appropriate for you.

Determine the percentage of your portfolio that you want in equities and the percentage you want in bonds, based on your needs and your risk tolerance. (In your planning, remember that over your investing career, you'll inevitably experience at least one bear market (perhaps more), during which you should be prepared to lose as much as 50% of your equity holdings. So, a portfolio that's 80% equities and 20% bonds could lose ~40% in a bear market. You need to set your asset allocation according to the amount of risk you're willing to take so that you don't panic and sell at the bottom of a bear market, after the damage has already been done.)

6. Invest in a diversified portfolio of low-cost mutual funds.

Choose the low cost funds needed to flesh out your asset allocation plan. (I'd recommend Vanguard, the low-cost leader.)

7. Contribute to your company retirement plan

(at least enough to get the company match). If your company doesn't have a match, and has poor investment choices with high costs, consider other available options.

8. Contribute additional money if you can.

If you qualify, fund a Roth or Traditional IRA.Then fund your taxable account.

9. Minimize taxes.

When you invest in a taxable account, place your tax-inefficient holdings (like bonds) in your tax-deferred accounts and tax-efficient funds (like Vanguard's Total Stock Market Index Fund) in your taxable account.

10. Save part of every raise.

When you get a raise, invest at least half of it. (Even being able to spend the other half of your raise is an increase in your spending, so you can certainly do it!)

11. Rebalance.

When you rebalance back to your desired asset allocation, you're controlling risk. (You're selling high and buying low, and that's the "secret" to successful investing.)

12. Stick to your plan

and watch your financial garden grow. (You do have a plan, don't you? See #5.)

ARTICLE CREDIT: Morningstar.com

http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?postId=2660897

Morningstar | Seven Ways to Simplify Your Investment Life

Investing can be overwhelming. Once you get to the point where you invest through many different products and vehicles; 401ks, IRAs, Roth IRAs, 529 plans, CDs, taxable accounts etc, it can seem to be a daunting task to manage them all. These are a few guidelines provided by Christine Benz of Morningstar to create a minimalist portfolio; one she says you can depend on.

1. Stick with the Basics: Ignore the crowd and the everyday noise of the market. Stick with low-cost, broadly diversified mutual funds with veteran management teams and great long-term reward/risk profiles.

2. Investigate One-Stop Funds: Consider Target-Date funds. These are ideal for people who do not have the time to research or monitor companies on their own. Target-Date funds are funds which grow more conservative as your goal draws near. That is, it automatically adjusts your risk profile (percentage of stocks to bonds on portfolio) as you age or go closer to retirement.

3. Index: With indexing, you accept the market’s return rather than trying to beat it. Warren Buffett recommends this to any investor who does not have the time to study companies; buy low-cost index funds and hold for the long term. You would perform well over time this way.

4. Take the Best and Leave the Rest: Pay specific attention to your asset allocation over all your investment portfolios.

5. Jot Down Why You Own Each Investment: This is a very important step. Warren Buffett says that you should be able to explain why you own any company in a simple paragraph. Christine says “By writing down why you made an investment in the first place, you’re more likely to make sure that the investment meets its original goal.If it isn’t doing what you expected by sticking with a specific investment style and producing competitive long-term returns, you’ll be ready to cut it loose.”

6. Consolidate Your Investments with a Single Firm or Supermarket: This eliminates excess complexity and paperwork.

7. Put Your Investments on Autopilot: Dollar Cost Averaging is a great strategy with long-term benefits.

Read the full details here >>>

Three Steps to Financial Security

These steps cannot be repeated often enough. The majority of people don’t adhere to the basics of personal finance. If you are looking for a place to start, this is it. Click link below to read more.

1. Save for a rainy day.

2. Be prepared for an emergency.

3. Invest for retirement.

Kiplinger: Three steps to Financial Security>>>

Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps to Financial Success

As I have always mentioned, the intention of this blog is to provide you with solid information that will allow you to make sensible decisions when it comes to money and personal finance. After reading studying many books and reading many blogs, one starts to have a sense as to what is good information from what does not work. Even though money management is different for different people in different situations, certain information works very well in general. This blog posting on The Digerati Life provides a great and simple breakdown of Dave Ramsey's basic steps to financial success.

I have listed the steps briefly; click Dave Ramsey's book to purchase from Amazon. Highly Recommended.

DAVE RAMSEY'S BABY STEPS

1. Save up for a small emergency fund.
This is very important and is usually very liquid cash that you can access quickly in the case of an emergency.

2. Pay off your debts with the debt snowball strategy.
A very important step in being free of financial distress.

3. Grow (or extend) your emergency fund.
This should equate to approximately 3 - 6 months of your expenses.

4. Save and invest in your retirement.
Put money in your employers 401k or 403b; enough to get the matching. Next, open up an IRA; a traditional or a Roth IRA depending on whether or not you think you will be in a higher tax bracket closer to retirement (which means that you should have a Roth IRA now).

5. Save for your child's college fund.
Open up a 529 plan. Save for your child's college fund. Let's face it, it's not getting any cheaper. The earlier you start the better.

6. Pay off your home mortgage early.
Once you get to this step, you can contribute more to your mortgage.

7. Continue saving, build your wealth, invest and give.
This is a great position to be in; just focus on growing your net worth.

 

Click here to read further. >>>

10 Important Money Skills for a Bad Economy

These are a great set of tips to keep in mind, especially this challenging economic environment. These are skills we all can learn and adopt through practice. The purpose of this blog is to provide financial education; I believe this article from Zen Habits, done by J.D. Roth from Get Rich Slowly, has a lot of great material on it.

I will share with you some of my takes on the 10 skills that are stated in the article.

 

1. Set up a budget - Know what your fixed expenses are and know what are not. Set up how much you would like to spend on various things and stick to it.

2. Track your spending - I actually use Mint.com and MS Money. They are both great applications and really allow you to see where your money is being spent. I also recently tried Quicken Online since it somehow integrates with Turbotax, which is what I use to file taxes. The point is not what you use, but that you actually start tracking where your money goes. Even a simple Excel sheet can work. Knowing where your money is going is the first step in understanding your finances and taking control of it. Just do it.

3. Check your credit report - Your credit score is very valuable and should be kept in order. In the long run, having great credit can be very beneficial and save you a lot of money from lower interest rates in mortgages to cheaper insurance. Take care of your credit and it will take care of you.

4. Stop Junk Mail - Stop them or throw them out. Don't even look at them. They are meant to tempt you into getting things you do not need.

5. Optimize your bank accounts - Be sure that your money is in high yield savings accounts. I recommend ING Direct. Great online high yield savings account.

6. Open an investment account - It is never too early to start investing. Utilize your employers 401k or 403b and also consider opening a Roth IRA. Read the article to see the benefits. I opened my Roth IRA through Sharebuilder, which is where I do my investments as well.

7. Call around for better deals - Check around for better insurance rates, better credit cards etc.

8. Educate yourself - Learn as much as you can about finances. See link below for great recommendations.

9. Set financial goals - Set some short-term financial goals and some long-term financial goals. For example, I intend to put $5000 in my Roth IRA account by the end of July and plan to increase my investment portfolio by $100,000 in 5 years.

10. Create a money file - Have a secure place to keep all your financial data; passwords, account numbers etc.

Click here to read this great article by Zen Habits>>>

10 Ways to Wealth by Warren Buffett

"Buy a business that's so good, any idiot can run it, because sooner or later, one will"

These ideas came from Warren Buffett's true autobiography, written by Alice Schroeder, The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life. If you know me, you are aware that I have the highest level of respect for Warren Buffett; as a businessman, investor and a person. His values and integrity are unlike no other in the business world and I consider myself to be blessed to have lived in a time where I could be a witness to someone of this status and character living the way he does. He is truly an inspiration.

Let's take a look at the 10 ways that are stated in his book.

1. Reinvest your profits - most of the returns in the market comes from dividend reinvestment.
2. Be willing to be different - be your own person and do not follow the crowd.
3. Never suck your thumb - do not wait for a lower price when a great opportunity is staring at you. Do not try to predict the market.
4. Spell out the deal before you start - know exactly what your expectations are before making an investment; one should be able to summarize any good investment in one paragraph.
5. Watch small expenses - be careful of commissions and fees.
6. Limit what you borrow - do not borrow on margin.
7. Be persistent - continue to learn and have faith in your decisions.
8. Know when to quit - do not become attached to your stocks; stocks do not know that you own them. Sell if business fundamentals have changed.
9. Assess the risks - know your risk tolerance.
10. Know what success really means - success is not about making money; know what it means to you.

I highly recommend this book and it should be read by all young investors and businessmen out there.

Also, if you are interested in understanding Warren Buffett's investment philosophy more, check out my other blog, Buffettucation

"I know people who have a lot of money," he says, "and they get testimonial dinners and hospital wings named after them. But the truth is that nobody in the world loves them. When you get to my age, you'll measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you. That's the ultimate test of how you've lived your life."

Understanding Retirement Investing

If you have not already noticed, I have posted a lot of articles around retirement, IRAs and 401ks etc. Why? It is all part of my personal investment philosophy of preparing for the long term and having the right strategies. 360 Degree Wealth is meant to provide you with all the necessary information to assist you in making a well-informed decision. With the right information, and the right understanding, I believe most people will be able to become great financial planners. I think this article adds to that mission.

Retirement Investing is very important because it allows you to start thinking long term. The mind-set that is created when thinking long-term is valuable when it comes to investing. There are many wealthy people out there and a large majority have become wealthy because they are able to plan well; they are very responsible with their finances. An important part is retirement.

I encourage you to read this article below and get an understanding of the various options that are available to you; IRA, Roth IRA, Roth 401k, 401k, 403b etc. Understand the difference between them and know the contribution limits. Your decisions here can have a huge impact on the quality of your lifestyle closer to your retirement years.

Enjoy!!

Click here to read more >>>>

Ten Basic Personal Finance tips

You may have heard the three basic personal finance rules to achieve wealth; earn money, spend less than you earn, and invest. These are very important, however, applying what I am learning in my risk management and other finance courses, it is important to not only do those, but to manage risk as well. How do you do so, through great planning. Look at these 10 basic personal finance tips.

1. Make a will or estate plan. (not done yet)

2. Obtain sufficient insurance. (through my employer)

3. Set up a high yield savings account. (I have an ING Direct account)

4. Track your money. (I use both MS Money and Mint.com) See my Mint.com review.

5. Build an emergency fund. (set up automatic savings through ING Direct)

6. Get out of debt. (I have zero debt)

7. Improve your credit score. (I own high reward credit cards that I pay in full every month; I use them merely to build and maintain excellent credit- they are important to get lower rates for mortgages and insurance etc.)

8. Start investing for retirement. (I have opened a Roth IRA, max out my 403(b) and invest through Sharebuilder)

9. Increase your income. (I work hard at my job and keep my options open)

10. Negotiate to save money. (I am a net saver, not a net consumer; however, I do look for deals like anyone else.)

Pay attention to all of these and carefully and strategically incorporate them into your lifestyle.

Read more about these tips from CashMoneyLife blog. >>>

Investing and Tax Tips for 2009

This site briefly describes some valuable tips one can partake in for this upcoming year. Please understand that everyone's investing and tax situations vary, so do research on what makes the most sense for your given situation.

Read more on investing and tax tips...

General Investing Questions Answered

This site by Dan Solin answers some very basic investing questions people have, and he does it "very candidly" as he put it. Don't take offense to any thing, just open up your mind to the ideas. They are actually some very good comments. Enjoy!!

Read more here...