The man, the legend, the interview: Warren Buffett

Magically, a transcription of a PBS Nightly Business Report interview with Warren Buffett ended up in my inbox and I thought it would be a great place to pull a catchy quote for a Money Talks post (which is basically my cop out when I have nothing else to write about). But halfway through the interview I realized it was way to good to pick and choose. Buffett - CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, worth about $60 billion (pre-economic collapse), and widely considered to be one of the smartest investors in the world - is truly an amazing guy.

For someone who’s life you would think revolves largely around money, he is, afterall, an investor by title, he seems so unphased by the economic climate right now.

A PBS reporter interviewed Buffett as a part of the Nightly Business Report’s 30-year anniversary special about his talks with President Obama, his optimism for the economy in the long run, and how he hasn’t altered his investing strategies since 1949, or maybe ‘50 (no, he will NOT give you investing recommendations, even if the reporter begs, which she does)

Here’s a quote to satisfy those of you who don’t like to read, the majority of the interview after the jump for those of you in the middle, and for anyone who wants the whole beast - post a comment and I’ll e-mail you the full interview.

Well the most important thing to fix right now is the economy. We have a business slowdown particularly after October 1st it was sort of on a glide path downward up til roughly October 1st and then it went into a real nosedive. In fact in September I said we were in an economic Pearl Harbor and I’ve never used that phrase before.

- Warren Buffett,

CEO, Berkshire Hathaway,

inventing new phrases.

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Recessionistas

It might seem strange that my two loves are saving money and buying clothes…

…. but they are.

So I’ve been trying to scheme out a way to write a post about fashion that was even remotely relevant to this blog and now I think I’ve finally found the way. Her name is Michelle Obama.

The first lady has been making almost as many  headlines as her husband ever since she started showing promise of giving First Lady/Fashionista Jackie O. a run for her money. Except not really. Because Mrs. Obama has made a name for herself among us ladies who truly believe that fashion can be affordable. She’s appeared on TV in low-priced, household brands like J.Crew (which also dressed daughters Malia and Sasha for the inauguration) and White House Black Market (pictured above on an appearance on The View).

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Defeated.

The only thing worse than a New Year’s Eve party that ended with shattered glass and a hole in my parent’s wall was having my Mint.com account laugh in my face come 2009 - sure, I spent the latter part of 2008 cautiously watching every penny that left my wallet, but then came Christmakkah. All of the painful sacrifices I made, including pledging to go a year without buying clothes (which is still going well, by the way) were worthless because I drained my bank account on presents. I don’t mean to sound selfish, I enjoy buying gifts for family and friends, but there are ways to survive the holidays without depleting your savings - I just broke every rule.

So I, like the economy, am starting out the year in a downturn. But I’m getting a head start for next year and I suggest you do the same. It turns out, Christmas Club Savings Account, offered at many local banks or credit unions, are sort of nonsensical because they make almost no interest. But the general idea is easy to replicate, just find yourself a high-interest CD (easier said than done these days, but don’t forget about Bankrate.com) that allows free transactions throughout the maturation period. The only stipulation on you is to actually transfer a part of your paycheck to the CD - the one benefit of the traditional Christmas accounts is that it’s out of your control.

So in light of all this I have a two-part New Year’s resolution: 1) Be able to save money THROUGH the  holidays next year, and 2) use that money to pay my parents back for the damage done to their home.

No apologies

… I was on vacation.

I promise the real blogging will start soon and be better than ever.