Great Holiday Movies

December 21, 2006 at 8:12 pm (Holiday Reviews, Movies)

There are so many great Holiday movies out there to watch, and every year there seems to be more and more movies out there. The list of my favorites, however, has pretty much stayed the same. The old movies never seem to lose their appeal, no matter how out-dated the clothes and language, they remain classics. A list, and review, of my favorite holiday movies.

The Ref Movie Cover The Ref, a 1994 comedy starring Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey, and Judy Davis. This is a hilarious comedy about a feuding married couple on the outs who get taken hostage by a cat-burglar who is on the run from the local police. Denis Leary plays the cat-burglar who takes Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis hostage, but ends up helping them fix their own family problems, and, in-turn, the family helps set him free. It is a really funny movie. The only thing I advise to be careful of is the language. There is a lot of bad language, so this is not a family-friendly film! Otherwise, it’s funny as all hell with a holiday twist.

Home Alone Movie Cover Home Alone, the original 1990 movie starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern. This old holiday classic is about a young boy who is accidently left at home when his whole family goes to France for Christmas vacation. The boy, Culkin, also has to face dim-witted criminals who are trying to burglarize his home. There are many crazy events but this movie is not only family-friendly, but it is a fun classic.

Die Hard Movie Cover Die Hard, the first and the best of the movie trilogy. Made in 1988, this Bruce Willis action movie is packed with lots of actions, humor, and twists. Although it does possess some bad language and there is mild violence, the action is high and it takes place on Christmas Eve. This is a fun couple movie and it’s a classic. A young Bruce Willis and a young Alan Rickman make this movie a delight.

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“Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Letcher

November 29, 2006 at 5:34 am (Books)

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Letcher

Ever since I was young, I spent money like it was going out of style. When I was in high school, I held a decent paying job at a local supermarket for three years, and by the time I quit, I was in a mad rush to get another job within days because I had no money saved. This was not good, and I knew. I just didn’t know how I could change. I grew up in a house where my parents, combined, were making over 150,00 dollars a year. For an average family, that’s a good amount. But my parents never invested in anything; no real estate, stocks, bonds, baseball cards or collectors coins. They did what most normal families do and they spent. They took us on vacations to Hawaii, they bought us every toy we could imagine, gave us more than we needed, and always supplied us with name-brand everything. Which is okay, if you know how to otherwise manage your money. They are great parents, don’t get me wrong, but when it came to doing smart things with their money, they just missed the boat. And so maybe that is where I picked up that awful trait?

When I met my fiance, I was in at least a thousand dollars of debt to creditors because of unpaid bills. Today, we have money in our savings account, and smart plans for our future. But I must give credit where credit is due and say that reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” really played a part in that. Now my fiance and I are saving money to invest in stocks. We hope to one day invest our monies in real estate to be rented, and many other great money-making opportunities.

I recommend reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Letcher for one of many reasons. I think the number one thing I learned about in this book was learning the difference between an asset and a liability. Kiyosaki says that knowing the difference between these two, in all actuality, is the key to your financial freedom. He writes that people often feel like when they make more money, they must upgrade their lives to prove that they make a lot. They will often purchase bigger homes (which they cannot fully afford) and nicer cars (ditto here), which leads them to debt in the longrun. Kiyosaki also gives many great examples of smart investments that have worked for him in the past, and how you can make them work for you. He adds in charts for those of us who are visual learners.

All-in-all, besides the few typing errors and slow moving preface, I believe the book contains a lot of great advice, stories, charts, and ideas that can not only help out adults and young adults with their financial woes, but can also help out their children. It may be several years old, but it’s still a great read.

5 out of 5 stars!

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