The Great Beanie Baby Bubble

Author: Zac Bissonnette
Publisher: Portfolio
ISBN: 1591848008
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Book Description
"There has never been a craze like Beanie Babies. The $5 beanbag animals with names like Seaweed the Otter and Gigi the Poodle drove a large swath of America into a greed-fueled frenzy as they chased the rarest Beanie Babies, whose values escalated weekly in the late 1990s. Just as strange as the mass hysteria was the man behind it. Sometimes called the "Steve Jobs of plush" by his employees, he obsessed over every detail of every animal his company ever released. He had no marketing budget and no connections, but he had something more valuable - an intuitive grasp of human psychology that would make him the richest man in the history of toys. The Great Beanie Baby Bubble is a classic American story of people winning and losing vast fortunes chasing what one dealer remembers as "the most spectacular dream ever sold.""--Back cover.

How to Be Richer, Smarter, and Better-Looking Than Your Parents

Author: Zac Bissonnette
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101580453
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Book Description
Striking out on your own for the first time is exhilarating. But in a culture full of bad advice, predatory banks, and splurge-now-pay-later temptations, it can also be extremely dangerous—leading you to make financial decisions that could hurt you for years to come. Combine this with a slumped economy, mounds of student loans, and dubious examples from reality TV stars to politicians to your own parents, and it’s no wonder so many twenty-somethings are struggling. Twenty-three-year-old Zac Bissonnette—the author of Debt-Free U—knows exactly what you’re going through. He demystifies the many traps young people fall victim to in their post-college years. He offers fresh insights on everything from job hunting to buying a car to saving for retirement that will give you a foundation for a secure, stable, and happy life. In the process, he reveals why FICO scores are overrated, online job applications are a waste of time, car loans are for suckers, and credit card rewards are a scam. With detours to discuss wine connoisseurs, Really Broke Housewives, and Lenny Dykstra, Zac shows you how to make better choices today so you can be richer, smarter (and better-looking!) for years to come.

Debt-Free U

Author: Zac Bissonnette
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101458968
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 269

Book Description
This book can save you more than $100,000. These days, most people assume you need to pay a boatload of money for a quality college education. As a result, students and their parents are willing to go into years of debt and potentially sabotage their entire financial futures just to get a fancy name on their diploma. But Zac Bissonnette is walking proof that this assumption is not only false, but dangerous-a class con game designed to rip you off and doom your student to a post-graduation life of near poverty . From his unique double perspective-he's a personal finance expert (at Daily Finance) AND a current senior at the University of Massachusetts-Zac figured out how to get an outstanding education at a public college, without bankrupting his parents or taking on massive loans. Armed with his personal knowledge, the latest data, and smart analysis, Zac takes on the sacred cows of the higher education establishment. He reveals why a lot of the conventional wisdom about choosing and financing college is not only wrong but hazardous to you and your child's financial future. You'll discover, for instance, that: * Student loans are NOT a necessary evil. Ordinary middle class families can- and must-find ways to avoid them, even without scholarships. * College "rankings" are useless-designed to sell magazines and generate hype. If you trust one of the major guides when picking a college, you face a potential financial disaster. * The elite graduate programs accept lots of people with non-elite bachelors degrees. So do America's most selective employers. The name on a diploma ultimately won't help your child have a more successful career or earn more money. Zac can prove every one of those bold assertions - and more. No matter what your current financial situation, he has a simple message for parents: "RELAX! Your kid will be able to get a champagne education on a beer budget!"

Friend & Foe

Author: Adam Galinsky
Publisher: Crown Currency
ISBN: 030772025X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
What does it take to succeed? This question has fueled a long-running debate. Some have argued that humans are fundamentally competitive, and that pursuing self-interest is the best way to get ahead. Others claim that humans are born to cooperate and that we are most successful when we collaborate with others. In FRIEND AND FOE, researchers Galinsky and Schweitzer explain why this debate misses the mark. Rather than being hardwired to compete or cooperate, we have evolved to do both. In every relationship, from co-workers to friends to spouses to siblings we are both friends and foes. It is only by learning how to strike the right balance between these two forces that we can improve our long-term relationships and get more of what we want. Here, Galinsky and Schweitzer draw on original, cutting edge research from their own labs and from across the social sciences as well as vivid real-world examples to show how to maximize success in work and in life by deftly navigating the tension between cooperation and competition. They offer insights and advice ranging from: how to gain power and keep it, how to build trust and repair trust once it’s broken, how to diffuse workplace conflict and bias, how to find the right comparisons to motivate us and make us happier, and how to succeed in negotiations – ensuring that we achieve our own goals and satisfy those of our counterparts. Along the way, they pose and offer surprising answers to a number of perplexing puzzles: when does too much talent undermine success; why can acting less competently gain you status and authority, where do many gender differences in the workplace really come from, how can you use deception to build trust, and why do you want to go last on American Idol and in many interview situations, but make the first offer when negotiating the sale of a new car. We perform at our very best when we hold cooperation and competition in the right balance. This book is a guide for navigating our social and professional worlds by learning when to cooperate as a friend and when to compete as a foe—and how to be better at both.

Beanie Mania II

Author: Becky Phillips
Publisher: Dinomates Press
ISBN: 9780965903615
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 284

Book Description
A new edition of the definitive collector's guide to Beanie Babies--the hottest collectible trend in recent years. Each of the Beanies--including current, retired, and redesigned toys--is described in a complete history, with color photos and up-to-date information on prices and popularity. (Antiques/Collectibles)

Stock Market Wizards

Author: Jack D. Schwager
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0471485551
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : de
Pages : 357

Book Description
This decade has witnessed the most dynamic bull market in US stock history, a collapse in commodity prices, and dramatic failures in some of the world's leading hedge funds. How have some traders managed to significantly outperform a stock market that,until recently, moved virtually straight up? This book will feature interviews with those traders who achieved phenomenal success, from an Ohio farmer who has constantly made triple-digit returns, to a Turkish emigre who transformed a $16000 account into $6 million, to spectacularly successful professional hedge-fund managers such as Michael Lancer of the Lancer Group and Michael Masters of Capital Management. Today, the action is on the stock market. This book will be a must-have for that sector, as well as for the legions of individuals who eagerly bought Market Wizards.

The Great Beanie Baby Bubble

Author: Zac Bissonnette
Publisher: Portfolio
ISBN: 1591848008
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 274

A Killing in Costumes

Author: Zac Bissonnette
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
ISBN: 1639100873
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Book Description
Stardom fades fast when you’re on the line for murder, in this debut cozy mystery perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Jenn McKinlay. Jay Allan and Cindy Cooper were soap opera stars in the late ’90s, a wholesome young husband-and-wife duo who combined musical talent with humor and charisma. When the truth about their sexual orientations came to light, their marriage and TV careers ended, but decades later they have remained friends. Together, they open Palm Springs’ chicest movie memorabilia store, Hooray for Hollywood--but no customers and dwindling finances spell trouble. A Hail Mary arrives in the form of Yana Tosh, a ninety-year-old diva of the silver screen who has amassed a valuable collection of costumes and props and is looking to sell. But first, Jay and Cindy have to beat their competition, a vice president from a mega-auction house with ten times their resources. And when he winds up dead, they become prime suspects in the murder. With their freedom and livelihoods on the line, Jay and Cindy desperately need to clear their names. There are plenty of other potential suspects, but they'll have to solve it soon before they're forced to trade in their vintage costume collection for two orange jumpsuits.

The Index Card

Author: Helaine Olen
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698186656
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 163

Book Description
“The newbie investor will not find a better guide to personal finance.” —Burton Malkiel, author of A RANDOM WALK DOWN WALL STREET TV analysts and money managers would have you believe your finances are enormously complicated, and if you don’t follow their guidance, you’ll end up in the poorhouse. They’re wrong. When University of Chicago professor Harold Pollack interviewed Helaine Olen, an award-winning financial journalist and the author of the bestselling Pound Foolish, he made an offhand suggestion: everything you need to know about managing your money could fit on an index card. To prove his point, he grabbed a 4" x 6" card, scribbled down a list of rules, and posted a picture of the card online. The post went viral. Now, Pollack teams up with Olen to explain why the ten simple rules of the index card outperform more complicated financial strategies. Inside is an easy-to-follow action plan that works in good times and bad, giving you the tools, knowledge, and confidence to seize control of your financial life.

Warman's Bean Plush Field Guide

Author: Dan Brownell
Publisher: Krause Publications
ISBN: 9780873497800
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 516

Book Description
With thousands of new beanies appearing on the market daily, collectors are finding it difficult to keep track of what they have, what they don't have, and what they cannot wait to get their hands on. This handy pocket-sized carry-it-with guide is the perfect reference for any collector, buyer, seller, or enthusiast to take to shows, estate sales, auctions, and bean related functions and make instant meaningful investment decisions. &break;&break;Containing a wide range of popular manufacturers, this guide makes for quick and easy identification and valuation of more than 500 bean-filled plush toys. Coverage includes a number of bean brands and lines, including Ty, Coca-Cola, Harley-Davidson, Nascar, and many others. Collectors will discover this guide is an indispensable tool for buying and selling one of the hottest items to ever hit the collectibles market.