Genmar Bankruptcy Leaves Yachts in Drydock

Yacht maker deep-sixed

Imagine this conversation between a wealthy industrialist and his portly butler. It comes courtesy of sportswriter Jim Baker. I’ve embellished it a bit to add some talk about what’s happening with the Genmar bankruptcy.

“Molesworth, draw a bath aboard my Carver yacht.”

“Terribly sorry, sir. You sold the pleasure craft to help cover your stock market losses. Now the parent company - Genmar Marine - has gone bankrupt.”

“Such indignity! Use the ornate claw tub off the east solarium, then.”

“As you wish, sir. Will there be anything else, sir?”

“No, Molesworth, you are free to go after that task is complete. However, I do not wish you to ‘raid’ the larder on your way out, as has been your custom of late.

“Very good, sir. Good night.”

Emergency loans come too late

Unfortunately, Molesworth and his employer have lost their piece of ocean luxury due to the Genmar bankruptcy. Genmar Holdings will have no cash til payday loan to help close the gap, as Genmar Marine is filed Chapter 11. Sam Black and Chris Newmarker report for the St. Paul Business Journal that the owner of the Brown County, Wisconsin yacht maker formerly known as Carver Yachts is in need of the bankruptcy protection. A reorganization petition was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minneapolis along with “more than 20 related subsidiaries.” ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Genmar Bankruptcy Leaves Yachts in Drydock"

I hate fish

I hate fish so much, there is not even a word that exist that describes my passion of hatred towards fish. I hate swimming in water than has fish in it, but sometimes I just can’t help it, like when I go inner tubing, I can’t help but fly off sometimes and there is no way out of being in the fishes world now. So what I do to keep them from sucking on my toes I just squirm around like crazy so I don’t have any interaction with them at all. Fishes are slimy and gross and really ugly and taste horrible. Well, I guess I have never officially tried fish, but if I hate fish enough to not want to swim with them I’m sure I wouldn’t like eating it either, I remember one time my mom and dad made fish for dinner, and the pinned me against the counter and tried to put a piece of fish in my mouth, I got so mad. If I can avoid being around fish, I will. I will do anything to keep myself as far away from them as possible. Who would enjoy swimming with fish, I don’t get it.

Socks

Socks are amazing! You can where them almost anywhere! Socks can be all the way up your leg, or at your ankle. Some socks are toe-socks, socks that go between your toes. Some have designs, and some are just plain white. My sister has so many socks. She has toe-socks, designed socks, and plain socks with more. She needs some socks that say "Sock Queen" on them. My dad use to play this game where he puts new socks in a bag and has all of his daughters grab one. The next girl had the option of either taking someone else's socks, or take one in the bag. This would go on until every girl had a pair.

Daily Links: Gentle June Edition

My April was manic. I was very busy, both with the blog and in Real Life. I swore to improve things in May, but it never happened. But this time I mean it! I’m going to do less in June. I want to focus on three things: yardwork around the house, marathon training, and writing great content for Get Rich Slowly. The other stuff will have to take a backseat for once.

Here are some of my favorite recent personal-finance stories from around the web:

I’ve been out of touch with the news lately, so I’m behind the curve on the recent credit-card bill passed by the U.S. Senate. The Christian Science Monitor offers a quick rundown of what the credit-card bill does and doesn’t do. Some of this stuff is fantastic. Other restrictions seem arbitrary. I’m curious to see how this legislation will affect the industry — and responsible card-holders.

Elsewhere, JLP at All Financial Matters continues to produce fun spreadsheets for math geeks like me. In his latest, he looks at how quickly mortgage rates can change, affecting your payments. He writes: “On Tuesday, the rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage stood at about 5.03%. That same mortgage had a rate of 5.44% on Thursday. To get an idea of what this means dollar-wise, I ran some numbers…On a $200,000 mortgage, a person would have to pay $50.75 more per month if they took out their mortgage on Thursday instead of Tuesday.” He’s posted details on his site.

The Houston Chronicle is allowing its members to create content for its site. One of these members is Amanda Grossman, who writes a column called Frugal Confessions. Amanda recently shared an interesting article about Amish finances and how they differ from those of the average American. “At the core of their lives and finances is the idea that one must live a humble life.” Great stuff.

Finally, Patrick at Cash Money Life has scoured the web to create a nice list of essential money tips for new parents. There’s a wealth of information here for prospective parents.

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Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly:

• Daily Links: Pets, Films, and Mortgage Savings
• Daily Links: 100 Pushups Edition
• The Best of GRS: June 2007 Edition
• Daily Links: Compound Interest, Web Income, and Happiness
• Daily Roundup: Bringing Home the Bacon Edition

Read more about Daily Links: Gentle June Edition…

A military spouse

I think being a military spouse is defiantly one of the hardest jobs in the entire world. You can’t get a job where you have to work outside the house because your spouse is gone all the time, and when they’re not gone you’re moving all over the place, and you’re doing all this with children in tow. You never know when your spouse is going to get called up to leave at the last minute or if your spouse is gone you never know if you’re going to get the dreaded phone call or the dreaded mysterious stranger knocking at your door so every time your phone or doorbell rings your heart starts pumping. It’s exhausting. Kudos to all those military spouses out there!

Vacuum cleaners

I would have to say that the best creation in the entire universe has to be vacuum cleaners. There is nothing that cleans or sucks up better than a vacuum. I don’t know how people back in the day got along with just a broom. I guess they did just have wood floors back then, but still having to sweep all those floors would be so much work. Vacuuming is defiantly my favorite chore to do around the house. It’s obviously the easiest, especially with our incredible vacuum cleaner. I guess I probably wouldn’t clean my floor if I didn’t have a vacuum because I would refuse to just sweep my carpet. I just don’t know what I would do without a vacuum cleaner.

Overheard at BookExpo

As usual, I attended Book Expo America this past weekend. I didn’t have a chance to do much scouting for new personal finance books, but I did manage to score a free copy of Chris Anderson’s new book, appropriately titled “Free: The Future of a Radical Price.”

The most interesting money-related moment of the show for me actually occurred in the bathroom. There was a very friendly attendant working there who was chatting with all of us waiting in line. Here’s what she was saying while I was there, more or less:

I’m working here from 7 AM to 7 at night. No, I don’t mind at all. I have another job too!
I go home after this job, I sleep for 2 hours, then I get up and go to my other job, cleaning offices at night. It’s ok– hey, my kids are all grown and out of the house.
I thank God that I have even one job in this economy. Nowadays, I laugh to see all these rich people who are scared! I see it in their faces, they’re scared.
And to think, I used to feel intimidated by rich people. That’s why they build all those tall buildings, so they can sit in them and look down on everybody…

Contrast this to another conversation I overheard, between two well-dressed young women who worked for publishers.They had obviously just run into each other after not seeing each other for a while:

Woman A: Hey, we have to get together! We still haven’t done our Brooklyn thing!
Woman B: I know, I know! But I’m really broke again.
A: And I’m really busy…
B: Well, we have to find a time. Around the 15th of the month is a good time for me.
A: Ok, we’ll find a time…

I guess Woman B was scheduling her social activities around payday. It’s just fascinating how different people can be in their attitudes towards money and time!

Read more about Overheard at BookExpo…