Stock Market

Dollar cost averaging is an investment method used to reduce exposure to risk associated with making a single large purchase. You buy a fixed amount of shares at regular intervals. This means that you buy more shares when the price is low and less shares when the price is high. While not being as profitable as buying all your shares when the price is low it reduces the risk of having bought all of your shares when the price was high.

Though dollar cost averaging is not a smart investment method because investing in the stock market involves a lot more factors that buying a fixed amount of shares at regular intervals, it can be used to effectively reduce the cost of buying gas for you automobile.

Gas for Your Car

No matter what the gas price is you are going to have to drive you car. You can reduce this cost by filling up more often. Since gas prices fluctuate every day you can dollar cost average gas. As long as you don't go out of you way to buy gas.

The following table gives the cost of gas in Toronto every day for last month and the cost of 300 Liters of gas purchased at 10L, 20L, 30L and 40L at a time. Buying gas 10L would have been $0.56 cheaper than buying 40L at a time.

Not much but it adds up.

You would have saved more had you filled up on March 18, when gas was 103.6 but predicting gas prices has become like predicting the stock market. You never know what is going to happen tomorrow. You only know what happened yesterday and wish you have know it the day before.

Later on I am going to write a post on Advanced Gas Saving Techniques. It will be an analysis on gas trends over the past 5 years. When gas prices traditionally go up. Maybe even create a google calender on when to buy and how much based on previous years trends. This calender however will not be able to predict when the next oil refinery fire will break out.

Date	Price	Liters	Cost	Liters	Cost	Liters	Cost	Liters	Cost
29-Feb	108.9	10	1089	20	2178	30	3267	40	4356
1-Mar	104.4	10	1044
2-Mar	104.5	10	1045	20	2090
3-Mar	104.5	10	1045			30	3135
4-Mar	105.2	10	1052	20	2104			40	4208
5-Mar	103.1	10	1031
6-Mar	105.3	10	1053	20	2106	30	3159
7-Mar	105.3	10	1053
8-Mar	107.7	10	1077	20	2154			40	4308
9-Mar	107.7	10	1077			30	3231
10-Mar	108.9	10	1089	20	2178
11-Mar	109.2	10	1092
12-Mar	108.6	10	1086	20	2172	30	3258	40	4344
13-Mar	107.6	10	1076
14-Mar	107.1	10	1071	20	2142
15-Mar	107.1	10	1071			30	3213
16-Mar	107.1	10	1071	20	2142			40	4284
17-Mar	107.1	10	1071
18-Mar	103.6	10	1036	20	2072	30	3108
19-Mar	106.9	10	1069
20-Mar	103.6	10	1036	20	2072			40	4144
21-Mar	106.1	10	1061			30	3183
22-Mar	106.1	10	1061	20	2122
23-Mar	106.1	10	1061
24-Mar	106.1	10	1061	20	2122	30	3183	40	4244
25-Mar	107.6	10	1076
26-Mar	108.4	10	1084	20	2168
27-Mar	108.9	10	1089			30	3267
28-Mar	107.1	10	1071	20	2142			20	2142
29-Mar	107.6	10	1076
	106.58	300	319.74	300	319.64	300	320.04	300	320.3
Savings					-$0.10		$0.30		$0.56

Source: torontogasprices.com

On January 1st 2007, I had $100 in my Presidents Choice Financial Savings Account. At 4% interest believed that I would by December 31, 2007, I would have $104.07. This is because interest is calculated daily and paid monthly. I would then receive interest for my interest. This is the power of compound interest. This is what makes your money to grow.

However at the end of the year my $100 had grown to $103.99. This was a difference of $0.08. What happened? Well what PC Financial does (so do most major financial institutions) is state the Annual Percentage Yield or the Effective Interest Rate.

This means that when PC Financial states that they pay 4% interest APY, they have already factored in the compound interest that you will earn for the year at their compounding schedule.

The mathematics behind this calculation (yes, I comprehend the formula and can explain High School Finite) is:

where

i_nom is the nominal interest rate and

N is the number of compounding periods per year.

For large N we have, approximately,

Beware of pay-by-the-month insurance

Many insurers allow payment of premiums on a monthly basis so instead of having one large annual outlay you can budget for smaller monthly payments. But some insurers penalise you for the privilege of monthly premiums so that twelve monthly payments total more than one annual payment.

Last year I choose to make monthly payments rather than the yearly payment. I invested the money in a high interest savings account at 4%. As a result I lost $24.25. If my investment returned 8% or more then it would have been better to make monthly payments.


Monthly Payments

Yearly Premium = $1445.00
Finance Charge = $43.35
Total Monthly Premium = $1488.65

Interest Gained on Monthly Premium at 4% = $33.49
Capital Gains Tax 22% ($37,885 and $75,769) + 9.15% ($36,021 +$72,040) = 31.15%
Tax Paid on Interest = $10.43

Return = $20.29


Yearly Payment

Yearly Premium = $1445.00
Finance Charge (not paid) = $43.35

Interest Gained on Finance Charge at 4% = $1.73
Capital Gains Tax 22% ($37,885 and $75,769) + 9.15% ($36,021 +$72,040) = 31.15%
Tax Paid on Interest = $0.54

Return = $1.19 + $43.35 (Finance Charge (not paid)) = $44.54


Increasing the Deductible

Going for the higher deductible always results in a lower insurance premium. To check how much I used the online insurance estimator for PC Insurance (Scottish and York Insurance) and came up with the following rates.

Comprehensive Coverage Insurance

• $300 Deductible = $1410 Premium
  
• $500 Deductible = $1379 Premium, Savings $31
  
• $1000 Deductible = $1346 Premium, Savings $64
• $2000 Deductible = $1301 Premium, Savings $109
  

Compared to the increase in the deductible the savings in the premium was not comparable. If you changed from $500 deductible to $1000 deductible to save the $33 in premium you would have to drive 15 years accident free to realize the $500 savings.

• Do not buy non-denominational permanent stamps to beat postage price increases.
• You will lose 2 – 4 % of the cost of the stamps.
• Wait to buy stamps when you need them.
• Year over year the cost of mailing a letter has become cheaper.

You should use email over standard mail when ever you can. Email is cheaper and faster than standard mail. However there will be cases where you will have to send standard mail. Important documents will require a paper trail and it is best to ensure that you create a paper trail for security purposes.

Canada Post on November 16, 2006 introduced non-denominational stamps. These are stamps that do not have a value printed on them. The value assigned to them will be the same as the current value of a standard letter. When these stamps were issued the cost of standard letter postage within Canada was $0.51.

According to Canada Post these permanent stamps would eliminate the need to purchase 1-cent stamps after a rate increase. Canada Post usually increases its rate once a year by 1-cent. This increase in price is legislated under price-cap formula by the federal government as of 2000.

Basic letter rate increases, when warranted, will not exceed 66.67% of inflation based on the consumer price index from May of the prior year to May of the current year. Increases will be implemented no more than once a year, in January, and announced no later than July in the year before the increase goes into effect.

Price changes for the remaining regulated domestic Lettermail and USA and International Letterpost products continue to be market-based and proposed increases are scheduled for implementation on Jan. 14, 2008.

With this 1-cent year over year increase we consider the fact will it be worth it is stock up on these non-denominational permanent stamps or would it be frugal to just buy new stamps when the need arises to mail a letter.


Canada Post saves money by not having to print and distribute 1-cent stamps to their retailers.

Date	Standard Postage	% Increase	Inflation Rate	% Increase w/Inflation
Jan 1 2000	$0.46	0.00%	2.2	-2.98
Jan 5 2001	$0.47	2.17%	3	-1.28
Jan 5 2002	$0.48	2.13%	1.3	-2.08
Dec 19 2003	$0.49	2.08%	2.1	-1.88
Jan 7 2005	$0.50	2.04%	1.9	-2.38
Apr 3 2006	$0.51	2.00%	2.4	-1.08
Jan 5 2007	$0.52	1.96%	1.1	0.00

The cost of mail a letter has become cheaper year over year when adjusted for inflation. It would be frugal to just buy new stamps when the need arises, and to never stock up on stamps.


Mailing for Less Postage

Using any of theses methods will almost certainly delay the delivery of your mail. Do not try any of these methods if the letter is important or time sensitive. It will be most likely be late. I am recommending that you do not use any of these methods.


Address the Letter to Yourself


Address the envelope backwards. That is, address the letter to yourself, and put the name and address of the person you want the letter to reach in the place where the return address would normally go.

Some creditors in the United States have taken advantage of this system. They have placed their address on both the recipient address and the return address. Doing so ensures that their bill payment gets to them even if the correct postage has not been affixed.


Insufficient Postage

The Post Office sorting machines cancel stamps at a rate of nine per second, or 30,000 an hour, and the machines only look for the telltale ink present on every stamp over 10 cents in value. For that reason, the only envelopes that get bounced out of the system are those without any stamps.

• Letter is returned to sender for more postage. If there is a return address on the letter.
• Letter is sent to recipient for more postage due. In some cases the letter is held at the post office until the recipient pays the postage this is due.
• Letter is sent to the recipient without any problems.

In most cases placing insufficient postage on a letter will still get it delivered.


References:
Canada Post Stamp Releases -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Post_stamp_releases_%282000-2004%29
Bank of Canada Consumer Price Index (CPI Inflation) http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/cpi.html

The 2001 Census clearly showed that the chances of making it to the top earnings levels are directly associated with educational attainment, and particularly with a university degree.

In 2000, more than 60% of earners in the lowest earnings category (less than $20,000) had no more than a high school education. However, more than 60% of earners in the top category ($100,000 or more) had a university degree.

• Less than high school graduation certificate = $21,230
• College certificate or diploma = $32,736
• University certificate, diploma or degree = $48,648
  

• China has more millionaires than Canada.
• United States has the most millionaires in the world.

This is a ranking of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI). It does not include the value of their primary residence (their home).

Country	Millionaires	Population
United States	8,900,000	303,645,612
Germany	2,600,000	82,210,000
Japan	1,400,000	127,790,000
China	345,000	1,323,180,000
Canada	315,000	33,214,800
Switzerland	185,000	7,591,400
India	91,877	1,130,550,000
Saudi Arabia	60,000	24,735,000
United Arab Emirates	59,000	4,380,000
Singapore	55,000	4,681,000
Norway	54,810	4,751,000
Sweden	44,400	9,182,927

For the rest of us the gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita (PPP) ranks how rich you are compared to the rest of the world.

Wikipedia is has an article on this.


Income Per Capita

According to this article people in Luxembourg are the richest in the world. This is followed by Ireland and Norway. The United States ranks 4th and Canada ranks 13th.

The average citizen of Luxembourg earns $87,400 per year. In Ireland the average is $47,169, and in Norway the average is $47,098. The average American earns $44,765 and the average Canadian earns $36,984.

China, Japan, and Germany have more millionaires than Canada however their citizens earn $8,788, $34,024, and $33,023 respectively.

The poorest citizens in the world are; Democratic Republic of the Congo at $300 per year, Liberia at $500 per year, Burundi at $800 per year.


Income Growth

From Wikipedia's article on list of countries by GDP (real) growth rate per capita.

Azerbaijan's citizen are growing richer faster than the rest of the world. They have an increase in income of 31.63% per year. China ranks 11ths at 9.85%. United Arab Emirates has an increase of 8.55%. India has an increase of 7.02%.

The United States ranks 136 with an increase of 2.37% and Canada ranks 152 with an increase of 1.90%.

Citizens of Maldives earned less in 2007 than they did in 2006. Their income decreased by 6.21%.

Would you like to donate a dollar to the United Way?

No. Thank You.

I went to Swiss Chalet last night for dinner. After dinner the waitress asked if I would like to make a donation of one dollar to the United Way. I said "no". I said no not because I did not want to give one dollar to the United Way. I said no because I did not want Swiss Chalet to benefit from my donation.

Swiss Chalet will donate my dollar to the United Way and get a tax credit.

I don't think that a corporation should benefit from my donation. When I donate I will do so myself and the government will give me a tax credit for my donation. Swiss Chalet might say that they are spending money having their employees collect the donations. I don't think that employees are paid more for collecting donations. I don't think employees have a choice whether to collect for the United Way or not. They might actually feel pressured to collect.

Donate your time to charities first. A couple hours of your time at a local food bank, or homeless shelter is worth more than the money you would donate. This shows that you care enough to get involved.

Donate money if you feel that you can't donate your time. If in that case follow these rules so that you get a tax credit for your donations.

• Get a receipt for every donation. Most charities will only issue receipts for donations greater than $20. So that should be your minimum donation.
• You get a 15.25% federal tax credit for your first $200 and 6.05% Ontario tax credit. You get back $44.
• Once you pass the $200 limit you get a 29% federal tax credit and 11%-18% Ontario tax credit. You would get a minimum 40% tax credit.
• Donations you made in 2006 can be claimed any year up to 2011. Claim your charitable donations every 5 years.
  
• Claim you donations under one person. Either you or your spouse.
  

I am always very cautious of which charities I donate to. I will not donate to charities that have high administrative costs. The money does not get to those in need.

It is getting harder every day to predict what is going to happen with the price of gas. It used to be that right before every long weekend the gas price would go up. Every Monday the price would be lower.

The gas companies raise the price for

• Oil Supply Disruptions
• War and Political Instability
• Low Oil Inventories
• High Summer Demand

To find the lowest prices around check out GasBuddy.com On this site drivers like you report the price of gas for the stations that are in their neighbourhood.

GasBuddy.com can help you find cheap gas prices in your city. It is a network of more than 179+ gas price information websites that help you find low gasoline prices. All web sites are operated by GasBuddy and has the most comprehensive listings of gas prices anywhere.

Gasoline prices change frequently and may vary by as much as 20 percent within only a few blocks. It's important to be able find the service station with the lowest priced fuel. GasBuddy web sites allow motorists to share information about low priced fuel with others as well as target the lowest priced stations to save money when filling up at the pumps!

Get a free Nestle Coffee-mate package.

https://www.coffeemate.ca/get_coupon_for_free_coffee_mate.aspx

• Limit one per household.
  
• If you try to sign up more than once you will get an error.
  
• Email address does not look like it is verified.

Valid from Jan.29-May15.2008

Get a coupon for a free Campbell product. Max value $3.49.

• http://www.rediscoverandwin.ca/coupon/en/
• You will be asked to enter the 12 digit UPC codes of 2 Campbell products that carry the health check symbol.

UPC Codes
Campbells Tomato Soup 063221000115
Campbells Vegetable Soup 063221010213
Campbells Goldfish Pasta in Chicken Broth 063221177206
Campbells Soup at Hand - Veg. with mini pasta 063211167603
Campbells Soup at Hand - Veg Beef 063211167610
Campbells 063211143161
Campbells 063211149825

• Use a valid email address, a confirmation email will be sent to you
• The confirmation email will direct you to a save.ca link where you have to fill out your address again. You coupon will be mailed to you.
  
• Limit one per household
  

If you don't want to use the Campbell's product donate it to your local food bank.

There was an article in today's Toronto Star on proposed legislation that would require the residents of the city of Toronto to pay a refundable deposit on all batteries that are purchased in Toronto.

This would be similar to the beer bottle deposit. Every bottle of beer purchased at either the LCBO or the Beer Store has a 10 cent deposit added to the purchase price. When you return the empty bottle of beer. You get your 10 cents back. This program was expanded to include wine bottles a few months ago.

I am all for protecting the environment. I recycle diligently. Everything that can be recycled in the Blue bin goes in the Blue Bin. There are two garbage bins in the kitchen. One for regular garbage and one for the Green Bin garbage (organic waste). I have considered setting up a composter but believe that it would be a waste with the town already collects organic waste. As a household we put out less than one garbage bin every two weeks.

Deposit on batteries looks like a plan to generate revenue for the cash strapped city. It would be very difficult to administer, enforce and would cost the consumer more that it is worth. A better alternative would be to allow a zip locked sandwich bag of batteries to be placed in the Blue Bin.

This looks like another tax on the residents of Toronto under the guise of protecting the environment. Meanwhile collect all of those dead batteries in your garage they could be worth money soon.

How the Beer Bottle/Wine Bottle Refund Works?

1. Fixed Collection Points for Deposits.

The 10 cent deposit for beer and wine bottles are collected at LCBO stores and the Beer Store. Both are government of Ontario operated cooperations which collect the deposit. Only the Beer Store transacts the refund.

2. Cyclical Transactions, High Rate of Return.

Almost every time beer is purchased at the Beer Store, empties are returned. This means the government holds your deposit but you are not adding to your deposit. If you return more empties that you purchase you will decrease the amount of money that the government holds as a deposit.

Most beer bottles and wine bottles are returned to one of the 441 retail stores located throughout the province. 96% of all beer bottles and cans are returned.

3. Reusable Item.

Beer bottles are actually reused. They are returned to the bottler, cleaned and refilled. This saves the manufacturer money. Wine bottles are recycled for glass. The province diverted it from the Blue Bin program was because some regions do not have a recycling program. Also the coloured wine bottles would break and 'contaminate' clear glass which recyclers would pay more for.

4. Interest Free Loan.

The deposit that consumers place on beer bottles are an interest free loan to Ontario. According to the Canadian Brewing Industry in the year 2005 there were 5196742 hectolitres of bottled beer and 840548 hectolitres of canned beer sold in Ontario. One hectolitre is 292.8 bottles of beer or 280.8 cans of beer. Therefore there were 1521606058 bottles of beer and 236025878 cans of beer sold. [1]

A 10 cent deposit each container resulted in a total of $175,763,193 collected as deposits in a year. If the average rate of return was two weeks, this is considering that bars and restaurants would return empties on a frequent basis and household consumers would be much less frequent, $6,760,122 was held by government in deposits at any one time. At an interest rate of 4% Ontario made $270,404 a year.

A return rate of 96% meant 4% of empties are not returned. These deposits are kept by the government of Ontario. This is an additional $7,030,527 revenue for the government.

The deposit and refund program generates at least $7,300,931 for Ontario every year.

This is a very conservative estimate. The population growth in Ontario is 6.1% per year, so the amount of beer sales would have increased since 2005. Deposits on larger items such as kegs have not been included. The calculation also excludes wine bottle deposits and their rate of return. The rate of return on wine bottles should be much less. As a rule more affluent consumers drink wine and returns can only be made at the Beer Store. Most will not find it not worth the trouble. As a result the rate of return on wine bottles and containers, with a 20 cent deposit, should be much less.

Why the Batteries Refund Will Not Work?

1. No Fixed Collection Points.

Batteries are sold every where. They are sold at large stores such as Walmart, Future Shop. They are also sold a small convenience stores and dollar stores. Most of these stores would collect a deposit from the consumer on batteries but Toronto would have a hard time consolidating these collections. Sales would be difficult to verify.

The refund process would be just as complicated. If each collection point was to issue a refund a battery bought at large retailer but returned to a small convenience store would result in a temporary negative cash flow for the small convenience store. Most convenience stores would not be willing to refund the deposit.

2. Collect From the Importer.

The easiest option would be for Toronto to collect the deposit from the importer, have the retailer collect from the consumer and then refund the consumer at a central recycling station. However I don't believe that the city of Toronto has the legal authority to do this. Especially if the importer is not located.

3. Low Return Rates.

Just like the wine bottles that are not returned to the Beer Store. Batteries that have to be returned a recycling centre will not be returned. It would cost the consumer more in transportation.

I received this email from TD Insurance Canada here are some tips on how to prevent car theft.

Some 159,000 cars were stolen in Canada in 2006 alone, according to Statistics Canada. But there's more to that number than just thousands of empty-handed owners. In fact, you've paid a price for the crime too.

"The overall cost of car theft to Canadians is a whopping $1.2 billion," says Rick Dubin, vice president, investigative services, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). That price includes paying for police involvement, ambulance and court costs. "On average, Canadians pay an extra $40 on their auto insurance premiums for car theft."

Auto theft can also be an aggressive and even violent crime. "Between 1999 and 2001, car theft resulted in 81 deaths and 127 serious injuries to Canadians," Mr. Dubin says, quoting figures from The National Committee to Reduce Auto Theft. "And, today, we know that organized crime rings are highly involved in this criminal act."
Theft prevention tips for today's driver

More than ever, you need to get serious about safeguarding your car. Here are the IBC's top tips to keep your car more secure.

• Get an electronic immobilizer. If your car is a 2007 or newer model, chances are it is equipped with an immobilizer. If you don't have one, "investing in an aftermarket immobilizer is a good idea because they make your car more difficult to steal; unless, of course, a thief has managed to steal your keys," Mr. Dubin continues. Just make sure it meets national standards.
  
• Never leave your unattended car running. That includes in your driveway, garage or on the street in front of your home. On a cold winter morning, you may be tempted to leave your car to warm up before heading to work, "but this is a common time when thieves simply drive away with your vehicle," says Mr. Dubin. A remote starter warms up your car without you leaving the keys in it. It also cools down you car in the summer by running the AC.
  
• Always lock doors and windows. Our expert advises you to get into the habit of locking up, "even if you’re leaving your car in the garage overnight."
• Don't leave your keys in the ignition. This may sound obvious, but according to the IBC, one in five cars is stolen this way. As for a spare key, the first place a thief will look is in the car itself — even under it. Leave it with someone you trust, instead.
• Protect your keys — even at home. "Keep your keys hidden," says our investigative expert. "Thieves will even break into your home to steal your keys so don't leave them in open view as in a kitchen or hallway."
• Don't leave valuables in your car. "You are being watched by thieves," cautions Mr. Dubin. "Thinking your purse, wallet or laptop are safe in a locked trunk just isn't the case anymore."
• Park smart. "If you're at the mall or leaving your car in a lot while you take the train or public transit to work, choose a parking spot that is well lit and busy."
• Report insurance crime to 1-877-IBC-TIPS. "If you suspect someone of insurance crime, call the IBC's hotline," Mr. Dubin advises. All tips are treated in a confidential manner.
  

If your car is stolen

If your car is stolen, your first call should be to the police, and then take steps to report the loss to your insurer. "You’ll want to call your insurance company as soon as possible so that facts are still fresh in your mind," says Mr. Dubin. "It’s a good idea to have a list of the contents of your car ready, since personal items are often covered under your homeowner's policy."

Did your car make the IBC top ten?

Every year, the Insurance Bureau of Canada releases a list of the top ten most frequently stolen cars in Canada. You may be surprised to learn that new and luxury cars don't usually make the list since many are equipped with electronic immobilizers. Thieves find value even in older models.

Here is the list for 2007:

1. 1999 Honda Civic SiR 2-door
2. 2000 Honda Civic SiR 2-door
3. 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX/WRX STi 4-door AWD
4. 1999 Acura Integra 2-door
5. 1994 Dodge/Plymouth Grand Caravan/Voyager
6. 1994 Dodge/Plymouth Grand Caravan/Voyager AWD
7. 1994 Dodge/Plymouth Caravan/Voyager
8. 1998 Acura Integra 2-door
9. 2000 Audi TT Quattro 2-door Coupe
10. 1994 Dodge/Plymouth Shadow/Sundance 2-door Hatchback

Public libraries are a great sources of entertainment material and knowledge.

Almost any book, movie, or CD that you want can be found at your local library. It does not make sense to go to a bookstore or rent a DVD from Blockbuster when you can get the same from your public library.

You will have to be patient and wait but a recent search or a popular movie "Rush Hour 3" in the Toronto public library system showed 206 copies. Any of these copies can be ordered to a location near you for free.

Canada has a private copy levy on blank media. Canada's current levies are as follows: $0.24 per unit for Audio Cassette tape (40min or longer); $0.21 per unit for CD-R Audio, CD-RW-Audio & MiniDisc.

This means that in conjunction with the levy, the Canadian Copyright Act allows individuals to make copies of sound recordings for their own private, non-commercial use. They may not distribute the copy.

You can legally copy CDs and other sound recordings that you borrowed from the library or from a friend as long as you use it for your own private use. You cannot legally copy a CD for a friend or lend a copied CD to a friend.

The government is trying to change the current copyright law in favour of the Music Industry to make private recordings illegal. However since 2007 the Canadian Private Copying Collective in behalf for the Music Industry has collected for $100 million dollars in levies.

When I was younger one of my favourite shows was Star Trek: TNG. In that TV show a race of aliens called the Ferengi have their entire society based on profit and wealth.

Every Ferengi is taught and believes in "The Rules of Acquisition". I always found these rules interesting. In some of the episodes the Ferengi characters would mention or refer to a certain rule number.

Here is a list of those that were mentioned on the show. A complete list was never revealed.

• 1. Once you have their money, you never give it back.
• 2. The best deal is the one that brings the most profit.
• 3. Never spend more for an acquisition than you have to.
• 4. A woman wearing clothes is like a man in the kitchen.
• 6. Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity. or Never allow family to stand in the way of profit.
• 7. Keep your ears open.
• 8. Small print leads to large risk.
• 9. Opportunity plus instinct equals profit.
• 10. Greed is eternal.
• 11. Even if it's free, you can always buy it cheaper.
• 12. Anything worth selling is worth selling twice.
• 13. Anything worth doing is worth doing for money.
• 16. A deal is a deal.
• 17. A contract is a contract is a contract. But only between Ferengi.
• 18. A Ferengi without profit is no Ferengi at all.
• 19. Satisfaction is not guaranteed.
• 21. Never place friendship above profit.
• 22. A wise man can hear profit in the wind.
• 23. Nothing is more important than your health. Except for your money.
• 27. There is nothing more dangerous than an honest businessman.
• 31. Never make fun of a Ferengi's mother...Insult something he cares about instead.
• 33. It never hurts to suck up to the boss.
• 34. War is good for business.
• 35. Peace is good for business.
• 40. She can touch your lobes, but never your latinum.
• 41. Profit is its own reward.
• 44. Never confuse wisdom with luck.
• 45. Expand or die.[6] (The 95th rule is also given as "Expand or die" on one occasion.)
• 47. Never trust a man wearing a better suit than your own.
• 48. The bigger the smile, the sharper the knife.
• 50. Never bluff a Klingon.
• 52. Never ask when you can take.
• 57. Good customers are as rare as latinum. Treasure them.
• 58. There is no substitute for success.
• 59. Free advice is seldom cheap.
• 60. Keep your lies consistent.
• 62. The riskier the road, the greater the profit.
• 65. Win or lose, there's always Hupyrian beetle snuff.
• 74. Knowledge equals profit.
• 75. Home is where the heart is, but the stars are made of latinum.
• 76. Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies!
• 79. Beware of the Vulcan greed for knowledge.
• 82. The flimsier the product, the higher the price.
• 85. Never let the competition know what you're thinking.
• 89. Ask not what your profits can do for you, but what you can do for your profits.
• 94. Females and finances don't mix.
• 95. Expand or die. (The 45th rule was also given as "Expand or die" on one occasion.)
• 97. Enough... is never enough.
• 98. Every man has his price.
• 99. Trust is the biggest liability of all.
• 102. Nature decays, but latinum is forever.
• 103. Sleep can interfere with... [cut off]. (The rest of the 103rd rule was never stated onscreen as Pel was interrupted before finishing.)
• 104. Faith moves mountains... of inventory.
• 106. There is no honor in poverty.
• 109. Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack.
• 111. Treat people in your debt like family. Exploit them.
• 112. Never have sex with the boss's sister.
• 113. Always have sex with the boss.
• 121. Everything is for sale, even friendship.
• 123. Even a blind man can recognize the glow of latinum.
• 125. You can't make a deal if you're dead.
• 139. Wives serve, brothers inherit.
• 141. Only fools pay retail.
• 144. There's nothing wrong with charity... as long as it winds up in your pocket.
• 162. Even in the worst of times, someone turns a profit.
• 168. Whisper your way to success.
• 177. Know your enemies... but do business with them always.
• 181. Not even dishonesty can tarnish the shine of profit.
• 189. Let others keep their reputation. You keep their money.
• 190. Hear all; trust nothing.
• 192. Never cheat a Klingon... unless you're sure you can get away with it.
• 194. It's always good business to know about your customers before they walk in your door.
• 202. The justification of profit is profit.
• 203. New customers are like razor-toothed Greeworms. They can be succulent, but sometimes they bite back.
• 208. Sometimes the only thing more dangerous than the question is an answer.
• 211. Employees are the rungs on the ladder of success. Don't hesitate to step on them.
• 214. Never begin a business negotiation on an empty stomach.
• 217. You can't free a fish from water.
• 218. Always know what you're buying.
• 223. Beware the man who doesn't make time for oo-mox.
• 229. Latinum lasts longer than lust.
• 236. You can't buy fate.
• 239. Never be afraid to mislabel a product.
• 242. More is good... all is better.
• 255. A wife is a luxury... a smart accountant, a necessity.
• 261. A wealthy man can afford anything except a conscience.
• 263. Never allow doubt to tarnish your lust for latinum.
• 266. When in doubt, lie.
• 284. Deep down, everyone's a Ferengi.
• 285. No good deed ever goes unpunished.

As a gift for my cat last Christmas I bought him a Chia Cat Grass Planter. When I opened the box on Christmas Day I was surprised to find that the company had knowingly sold me a defective product.

A letter to Joseph Enterprises, the company that makes Chia Pet, resulted in no response. Usually I am very good with receipts but this one among all of the Christmas shopping was lost. So I could not return the Chia Cat Grass Planter.

Needless to say, I will never buy anything for Joseph Enterprises again.

This is a copy of the email that I wrote:

Dear Sir/Madam

Chia Cat Grass Planter Featuring Sylvester & Tweety

On December 23, 2007, I purchased the above mentioned product from Canadian Tire for my cat Leo. After seeing your commercials on TV I believed that it would be an excellent gift for Leo. It was not an easy product to purchase. I found that it was sold out at two different Walmart stores.

This product was wrapped and presented to Leo as a Christmas present. On Christmas Day, with Leo and my family gathered around the tree, the gift was opened and we were instantly horrified to find that the Chia Cat Grass Planter had this huge unsightly blemish on the front. Moreover this huge unsightly blemish had been poorly covered up (Please see attached picture).

Leo had to go without a Christmas gift this year. Furthermore I am thankful that I did not give the Chia Cat Grass Planter as a gift to any of my friends. Had they received one like this one, they would have believed that I was the biggest Scrooge in the world by purchasing gifts for them from a Dollar Store.

This was not a defect that escaped quality control. It looks like the product has paint missing from that section, fired in the kiln, noticed by inspection, repainted and sold.

This product is not cheap at $20 and I believe the effective profit margin is large, with the product being made in China.

I do not believe that your company should knowing make a decision to sell a clearly defective product to a consumer.

I trust that you will take the time to apologize to Leo for a very disappointing Christmas. I would also like to you to ensure that further defective products are not sold to unsuspecting consumers.

Sincerely,

[me]
[contact information]