skills such as how to change a tire (it’s much harder than it sounds), and
employ a sales staff that caters to every skill level. You’re going to rely on
their bicycling knowledge until you develop enough of your own, so if you
get attitude, or if the salesman seems uninterested, go elsewhere.
CONSIDER THE WHOLE PACKAGE. Once a bike catches your eye,
don’t be distracted by its individual components. Manufacturers often
install one high-end part to catch consumers’ attention and then skimp
on the rest of the component package to make up the cost. Consider the
component system as a whole, making sure that most of the parts are
of the same quality. A top-of-the-line Shimano Dura-Ace rear derailleur
won’t do you an ounce of good if your off-brand brakes fail in traffic.
UPGRADE TO CARBON FIBER. Many great sub-$1,000 bikes exist,
but if you can afford to shop above that price point, you’ll be rewarded
with carbon fiber. Most $1,200-plus road bikes come with carbon-fiber
forks, and many also have carbon-fiber handlebars and seat posts, all
of which dampen road vibrations better than aluminum (the material of
choice for less expensive frames). Bottom line: The more carbon a bike
has, the more enjoyable it will be to ride.
+ BEST LIFE NO-BRAINER
If you can afford it, go for the Cannondale Six Carbon 6—a
smooth riding, full-carbon bike—for $1,800. cannondale.com
Your Kid a Future
If your children are still in diapers, they’re probably not ready for your
lecture on the power of compounding interest. Get their nest eggs
started yourself with UTMA custodial accounts. You can contribute
cash, stock, and even real estate to these accounts, which the kids
won’t be able to touch until they’re 21 (depending on which state you
live in). And because the first $850 in annual earnings is tax-free, and the
next $850 is taxed at the child’s rate, these accounts are a handy place
to stash assets that are weighing on your own tax bill, like unsold shares
of stock. As soon as your kid gets his first summer-job paycheck, open
a Roth IRA for him. You can invest up to $5,000, or whatever he earns.
By the time today’s 15-year-olds are 65, that five large will be worth a
cool $92,000…or perhaps a lot more.
A Stock
Read Benjamin Graham’s 1949 classic, The Intelligent Investor
(updated in 2003), which Warren Buffett has called “the best book on
investing ever written.” Predicting market meltdowns such as the one
happening today, Graham explains in 531 pages how to profit off other
investors’ panic. Don’t have time to read it? Then you don’t have time
to tend to a stock portfolio. Instead, buy the whole market through a
fund such as the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (VTSMX). Sure,
you give up the chance to make 20 times your money, but you’re almost
guaranteed not to lose your shirt either. In fact, in the past five years,
nearly 70 percent of mutual funds that own shares in big companies
failed to beat the market, and small-cap, mid-cap, and international
funds did even worse versus comparable indices, according to data
from Standard & Poor’s.
A Television
Deciding to buy a new TV can be stressful. Advertisers would have
you believe that each new fleet of high-definition televisions is better
than last year’s (or even the one from six months ago), and that
each new improvement (1080p! 120Hz!) has dramatically improved
picture quality. Stop chasing the carrot. “The fast-changing face of
technology never stops moving forward, so you just need to decide
when you want to jump in,” says custom-installation expert George
Parker. Begin your quest in the room that will host your new set. To
find your optimal screen size, measure the distance from the sofa
to the television in inches and divide by 2. 5. A revelation will soon
follow: The only way you can truly enjoy a 70-inch screen is if you’re
15 feet away from it. Ambient light is the other factor to consider.
Plasma screens generally produce more vivid, colorful pictures, but
they don’t fare as well as LCD sets in brighter environments. Next,
check out the selection at an electronics store. Pay careful attention
to each set’s ability to produce a dark black background. The deeper
the black level, the more pop an image’s colors will have. You’ll need
to trust your eyes, not the number on the box. The specification that
poHowwto Buy er
Carpenters know that
the most important
feature of their most
indispensable tool is
not volts or torque,
but ounces. “I don’t
want a 24-volt drill if I
have to lug it around
all day,” says Rich
Friberg, a carpentry
instructor at Boston’s
124-year-old North
Bennet Street School.
A 14-volt cordless
drill provides a good
balance of power,
weight, and value for
the DIY-er, and any
of the contractor-grade brands, such
as De Walt, Bosch,
Milwaukee, or Metabo,
are reliable, he says.
Because most drills
come with a one-hour
charger and just one
spare battery, Friberg
recommends buying
a third battery pack
and using all three in
rotation to guarantee
that you always have
enough power. (Newer
lithium-ion batteries
weigh less and last
longer than nickel
cadmium ones, but
they can cost a third
more.) Think about the
requirements of your
projects too. If you
need a lot of power
for a battery-draining
task (hanging drywall
or building a deck),
go with the constant
power of a corded drill.
+ BEST LIFE NO-BRAINER
Even the best drill is useless with a dull bit.
Friberg recommends buying a 30-piece set
in a variety of sizes with your new drill, and
eventually purchasing a “contractor’s pack”
of 10 bits for the sizes you use most (brand
doesn’t matter). Throw away used bits as
soon as they dull.
