With the stock market hitting its lowest points since 1997 people are both excited and scared. One positive factor of what is happening here is that if you have some capital it might be a great time to go bargain shopping in the stock market. If you take a look around many well trusted and well value stocks are sitting at their 52-week lows on their stock price. If you play the market right you could cash out way ahead!
Look for companies that are well funded, to withstand the recession. You don’t want to invest in a stock that is high in debt and has little capital. Check the financial strength of some companies you are looking to invest in. One thing to look at is the Total Debt / Equity ratio. Ideally you want that ratio to be at or around .50 or less.
A lot of companies right now are not growing in sales and numbers, but ideally what you want to look for is growth and increased earnings. Look at how the company is doing quarter by quarter this year, if they are growing or not. Most stocks will show a major decline, so it will be harder to decide where to invest.
This morning looks like there might be a small rebound after investors seeing a decline over the last 6 days. If you have the extra capital and are patient right now could be a great time to get into the market. Some of the stocks out there are sitting at a great buying opportunity. Just don’t lay your eggs all in one basket and be smart about where you invest. Really educate yourself and research where you want to invest your money before putting into this volatile market.
The greatest investor Warren Buffet puts it best, “be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy only when others are fearful.”
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Free Stack Of Pancakes!
Get a free stack of pancakes at IHOP tomorrow February 24th, 2009. Go to your local IHOP and get a free stack for making a small donation from 7am - 10pm. The donation goes to support local children's hospitals. Here is the link for more info...
http://www.ihoppancakeday.com/index.html
http://www.ihoppancakeday.com/index.html
Friday, February 20, 2009
End of Week Market Update: Feb. 20th, 2009
The Dow closes the week at a 6 year low. During the day on Friday it hit an 11 year low, but made an afternoon rally to hit a 6 year low instead.
Even though stocks plummeted this week, gold did the opposite. Gold finished at over $1000 per ounce.
During the week Robert Allen Stanford was accused of running a fraud scheme that is estimated by the FBI to total $9.2 billion!
Starbucks announced earlier this week of the release of the $1 cup of coffee in efforts to help the recently failing company.
After Trump Entertainment (TRMP) stocks dropped over 35% Tuesday, Donald Trump resigned and the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Other casinos have seen to also be drowning in the deep end. These stocks could be very risky, but a couple have the potential to stick around.
First time home buyers got a break on Monday. If a first time home buyer purchases a house before next December they will receive a tax credit of $8000 or 10% of the home value, which ever is less.
Even though stocks plummeted this week, gold did the opposite. Gold finished at over $1000 per ounce.
During the week Robert Allen Stanford was accused of running a fraud scheme that is estimated by the FBI to total $9.2 billion!
Starbucks announced earlier this week of the release of the $1 cup of coffee in efforts to help the recently failing company.
After Trump Entertainment (TRMP) stocks dropped over 35% Tuesday, Donald Trump resigned and the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Other casinos have seen to also be drowning in the deep end. These stocks could be very risky, but a couple have the potential to stick around.
First time home buyers got a break on Monday. If a first time home buyer purchases a house before next December they will receive a tax credit of $8000 or 10% of the home value, which ever is less.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Achieving Your Goals: Step by step to get from where you are now to where you want to be.
We all have goals and dreams, but sometimes achieving those goals seems out of reach or near impossible. The first thing you have to do to reach your dreams are to change your mindset. Instead of thinking why can't I reach my goal, start thinking how can I reach my goal. Most people sit back and think they can't reach their goals and dreams. This is the negative approach to looking at the situation. For someone to take the positive approach to looking at the situation they would say how can I reach my dreams and goals. By changing your mindset to positive from negative will give you a new outlook on how to reach your dreams.
The next thing you need to do is to point your finger to blame. Who is responsible for your situation? Is it your parents for not letting you pursue your dream job and them making you do what they want? Is it your previous employer's for laying you off? No, the only person who is responsible is you. Once you realize that you have the power to change your situation and realize that it isn't others who can you will be one step closer to achieving your dreams.
The next step is exactly that. You need to be patient and realize that you aren't going to achieve your goals overnight. Getting from where you are now and getting to where you want to be will be achieved by taking steps.
Once your mindset is changed you will need vision. You can't accomplish anything without having vision. You need to see yourself taking the steps to your dream. You need to envision yourself being what you want to be and doing what you want to do. Act as though you have the job you want, talk like you are doing what you always dreamed of, and dress like you already have the job you want. Having vision is one of the most powerful tools you can have to achieve what you want. See yourself getting the promotion. Act as if you already have your dream job.
After seeing yourself doing what you dreamed of, act on that dream. Once your plan is in place and you see the steps to take it is time to go out and take action. Don't make excuses and don't be scared to step out of your comfort zone. Take action and do what you already dreamed of doing. The only way you are going to get closer to your dream is if you act on your dream.
Next, never give up! When you give up you stop your road to success. You can't get any closer to your dreams by stopping. Even after you failed many times, keep going, and keep trying. When you give up you give up your dream or goal. You can't achieve your goal anymore, because you stopped trying. Thomas Edison tried to invent the phonograph 32,000 times before he actually succeeded! Think if he would have given up on try number 29,999...the world might be a different place today!
One thing you will need to do is get motivated and stay motivated and inspired until you reach your goal. A good way to do this is to read a book about what you want to become or a book on success. Don't let what others say affect what you do. Just because something didn't work for them doesn't mean it can't work for you. Let the negative things people say inspire you to do better. Usually the people who tell you that you can't are people who don't have drive or a vision for their future. Surround yourself with people who want you to succeed or just motivate yourself. I think one of the best ways is to read about other people's success stories. I will post motivational articles and people's success stories on here from time to time, because nothing gets you more inspired than a testimonial of someone who achieved their dream.
Lastly, don't put limits on your dreams and goals. You are the only one who can limit how much you succeed. Donald Trump says it best, "If you are going to be thinking, why not think big!"
The next thing you need to do is to point your finger to blame. Who is responsible for your situation? Is it your parents for not letting you pursue your dream job and them making you do what they want? Is it your previous employer's for laying you off? No, the only person who is responsible is you. Once you realize that you have the power to change your situation and realize that it isn't others who can you will be one step closer to achieving your dreams.
The next step is exactly that. You need to be patient and realize that you aren't going to achieve your goals overnight. Getting from where you are now and getting to where you want to be will be achieved by taking steps.
Once your mindset is changed you will need vision. You can't accomplish anything without having vision. You need to see yourself taking the steps to your dream. You need to envision yourself being what you want to be and doing what you want to do. Act as though you have the job you want, talk like you are doing what you always dreamed of, and dress like you already have the job you want. Having vision is one of the most powerful tools you can have to achieve what you want. See yourself getting the promotion. Act as if you already have your dream job.
After seeing yourself doing what you dreamed of, act on that dream. Once your plan is in place and you see the steps to take it is time to go out and take action. Don't make excuses and don't be scared to step out of your comfort zone. Take action and do what you already dreamed of doing. The only way you are going to get closer to your dream is if you act on your dream.
Next, never give up! When you give up you stop your road to success. You can't get any closer to your dreams by stopping. Even after you failed many times, keep going, and keep trying. When you give up you give up your dream or goal. You can't achieve your goal anymore, because you stopped trying. Thomas Edison tried to invent the phonograph 32,000 times before he actually succeeded! Think if he would have given up on try number 29,999...the world might be a different place today!
One thing you will need to do is get motivated and stay motivated and inspired until you reach your goal. A good way to do this is to read a book about what you want to become or a book on success. Don't let what others say affect what you do. Just because something didn't work for them doesn't mean it can't work for you. Let the negative things people say inspire you to do better. Usually the people who tell you that you can't are people who don't have drive or a vision for their future. Surround yourself with people who want you to succeed or just motivate yourself. I think one of the best ways is to read about other people's success stories. I will post motivational articles and people's success stories on here from time to time, because nothing gets you more inspired than a testimonial of someone who achieved their dream.
Lastly, don't put limits on your dreams and goals. You are the only one who can limit how much you succeed. Donald Trump says it best, "If you are going to be thinking, why not think big!"
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Mid-Week Report: Feb 18, 2009
It has been a rough week so far with the Dow Jones down 300 points and already over 32,000 layoffs with many more said to come.
Crude Oil is down below $35 a barrel on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Chrysler and GM announced planned layoffs totaling 50,000 employees by the end of this year. At the same time they asked for $21.6 billion more in federal loans.
General Electric's CEO Jeffrey Immelt turns down his $12 million bonus, with his company's stock prices declining.
Crude Oil is down below $35 a barrel on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Chrysler and GM announced planned layoffs totaling 50,000 employees by the end of this year. At the same time they asked for $21.6 billion more in federal loans.
General Electric's CEO Jeffrey Immelt turns down his $12 million bonus, with his company's stock prices declining.
Invest with $1000 or less
No matter what your income you should always invest some of your money. It doesn't take a millionaire to invest; you just have to choose to invest. To know how to invest you have to decide what you need your investment money for. If you need it in the future and can't afford to lose it you will want to look into a low risk investment. If you can afford to lose some of it, but want to see a higher return on your investment you can look into an investment with higher risk. Here are a few options you can do to invest with $1000 or less.
First of all, before you start investing some of your money you should make sure you have some sort of emergency fund saved up. You never know when something could happen, so you need to make sure you have some liquid cash available. If you don't already have a savings built up you can open a money market account. You will gain more interest than a savings account and you don't have to risk losing your money. Go to your bank and ask about what their current rates are on their money market accounts. You can typically start an account with a small deposit. If you don't like what your bank has to offer go online and look into opening an orange account. The orange money market accounts usually have the best rates.
Once you have your emergency fund set up you can now look at a couple of investment ideas.
If you want a low risk investment and you don't want to touch your money for a bit try out a CD. With a CD you can set aside some money and gain a small return from the interest earned. They only issue with a CD is that you have to wait for the CD to mature to gain the full interest amount. You don't have instant access to you money like a savings or money market account. CD's typically can be set for 3, 6, 12, months or longer. Say you set up a CD with an interest rate of 3% for 12 months you would gain about $30 from interest. This type of investment is great for someone who is looking for almost zero risk with a small return on your investment.
If you are looking for an investment with more risk and a greater possibility of a greater return, look into stock investments. The best way to start is to open an account through a discount broker. There are many discount brokers like, scottrade, thinkorswim, ameritrade, and tradeking, that you can get started with low fees and commissions. To open an account with any of these discount brokers is fast and easy. Once your account is set up you need to decide how you want to invest. If you don't have a lot of time and want to hold onto your investment for a while you can buy blue chip stocks that are near their 52-week low, but aren't in danger of going bankrupt. Maybe their sales have been bad the past year, but they are starting to make positive gains again. It will be up to you to do the research to see what factors made the company's stock lose value and if it is worth buying it at a discount. Also, if you want to sit on a stock without jumping in and out of the market too much you can look into small-cap stocks that have been making slow, but steady gains over the last year or two. Look for a company that you can invest in and hold for 6 months to a year and check up on it from time to time, then sell once you have made your gains. The key here is to buy low and sell high.
If you have some more time on your hands and you are looking for a little more risk and reward then look into investing in penny stocks or active day changers. Investing in penny stocks can be very risky, but very rewarding at the same time. If you are going to take this investment approach you have to be ready to lose some of your money. One way to lower the risk is spread out your investments into different types of stocks and industries, you don't want to put all your money into one thing. Stocks in this category generally don't have slow steady gains. These stocks are usually more volatile and can dramatically fluctuate in price daily. If you play these stocks right you can make a good chuck of money in no time.
One of the best ways to minimize risk besides diversifying is to educate yourself. The more you educate yourself the less likely you are to fail. If you gain understanding of what you are doing you will make things less risky. Watch business news headlines, buy a couple books off amazon.com and read more on this blog to get educated with investments.
First of all, before you start investing some of your money you should make sure you have some sort of emergency fund saved up. You never know when something could happen, so you need to make sure you have some liquid cash available. If you don't already have a savings built up you can open a money market account. You will gain more interest than a savings account and you don't have to risk losing your money. Go to your bank and ask about what their current rates are on their money market accounts. You can typically start an account with a small deposit. If you don't like what your bank has to offer go online and look into opening an orange account. The orange money market accounts usually have the best rates.
Once you have your emergency fund set up you can now look at a couple of investment ideas.
If you want a low risk investment and you don't want to touch your money for a bit try out a CD. With a CD you can set aside some money and gain a small return from the interest earned. They only issue with a CD is that you have to wait for the CD to mature to gain the full interest amount. You don't have instant access to you money like a savings or money market account. CD's typically can be set for 3, 6, 12, months or longer. Say you set up a CD with an interest rate of 3% for 12 months you would gain about $30 from interest. This type of investment is great for someone who is looking for almost zero risk with a small return on your investment.
If you are looking for an investment with more risk and a greater possibility of a greater return, look into stock investments. The best way to start is to open an account through a discount broker. There are many discount brokers like, scottrade, thinkorswim, ameritrade, and tradeking, that you can get started with low fees and commissions. To open an account with any of these discount brokers is fast and easy. Once your account is set up you need to decide how you want to invest. If you don't have a lot of time and want to hold onto your investment for a while you can buy blue chip stocks that are near their 52-week low, but aren't in danger of going bankrupt. Maybe their sales have been bad the past year, but they are starting to make positive gains again. It will be up to you to do the research to see what factors made the company's stock lose value and if it is worth buying it at a discount. Also, if you want to sit on a stock without jumping in and out of the market too much you can look into small-cap stocks that have been making slow, but steady gains over the last year or two. Look for a company that you can invest in and hold for 6 months to a year and check up on it from time to time, then sell once you have made your gains. The key here is to buy low and sell high.
If you have some more time on your hands and you are looking for a little more risk and reward then look into investing in penny stocks or active day changers. Investing in penny stocks can be very risky, but very rewarding at the same time. If you are going to take this investment approach you have to be ready to lose some of your money. One way to lower the risk is spread out your investments into different types of stocks and industries, you don't want to put all your money into one thing. Stocks in this category generally don't have slow steady gains. These stocks are usually more volatile and can dramatically fluctuate in price daily. If you play these stocks right you can make a good chuck of money in no time.
One of the best ways to minimize risk besides diversifying is to educate yourself. The more you educate yourself the less likely you are to fail. If you gain understanding of what you are doing you will make things less risky. Watch business news headlines, buy a couple books off amazon.com and read more on this blog to get educated with investments.
Monday, February 16, 2009
10 great ways to save money!
With our economy falling deeper into recession and unemployment rates at their worst in over 30 years, we need to start cutting back the spending and start saving more. There are many ways to save money, you just have to be willing and disciplined. In this article I will show you 10 easy ways to save a good chunk of money.
- Look for Deals! The first step to saving extra money is to buy things on sale instead of the full retail price if possible. It sounds simple, but I know so many people who pay way too much for certain items when they could be saving themselves some money if they just looked for the deals. With many stores closing and retail sales dropping, stores are having huge sales. Right now, I don't buy any clothes at regular price. Almost every clothing store has a sale section. Usually you can save around 20-50% off the regular price.
- Cut the coffee! This was a hard one for me. I love having my coffee every morning. I usually will get up, go to the gas station, and get a cappuccino every morning that costs me $1.67. Now this doesn't sound like much, but over time buying this cup of coffee every morning will cost me $434.20 in one year! And let's say you go to your favorite coffee shop every morning and spend on average $3.50 on a latte, espresso, or some kind of specialty coffee. Over the course of a year you would end up spending over $900! When I saw how much I could save I decided to cut out my coffee runs and just brew my own at home.
- Shop around for cheaper insurance. Recently I was shopping around to see if I could get a better rate on car insurance. After about 45 minutes of research on the Internet I ended up finding a cheaper quote. Looking at my new quote I ended up saving $53 a month, which is a savings of $636 a year! I was very happy with this savings. Most insurance companies will have discounts if multiple people in your household go through the same insurance provider. You can also combine auto and house insurances and make a cheaper package through some companies. Another great way to lower your premiums is to set your deductions higher. If you have had a good driving record without any accidents this might be a savings for you.
- Start going to the dollar store. If you don't already go to the dollar store, you should! I started going to the dollar store to pick up certain household items to save money. Recently, I made a trip to the dollar store and my total cost was $6.39 for items like dishwasher soap, paper towels, toothpaste...etc. The same items priced at the grocery store cost a total of $16.51. I figure I would make a trip about once a month. Making this switch to the dollar store, where everything is a dollar, saves me $121.44 a year!
- Use coupons! Coupons are a great way to save a dollar here, a dollar there. Even though the savings might be small at first, over time the savings will really show its worth. Check out the Sunday ads in the newspaper or online for coupons for groceries.
- Use Redbox or Netflix. I love to watch movies. I have a big collection at home, but I still like to rent 2-3 movies a week. Normally I would go to the movie store, which costs me $4.25 a movie, but now I use the Redbox by my house. Redbox charges $1 a movie per night. This simple change has saved me over $400 a year!
- Pay off debt as soon as possible! Stop paying for things if you don't have the money. Debt is something you don't want hanging over you. It cause extra stress in your life that you don't need. Even if you take my previous advice and find a shirt on sale 15% off, but still put it on your credit card, you are not making a good choice. That shirt really wasn't 15% off, because you could easily pay more than the retail value with the interest that would accrue from the purchase. If you see a sale, but don't have the money it's ok, because there will always be another sale. If you have too much debt and you are over your head try to consolidate your debt. If that doesn't work try getting a second job or a second stream of income. Figure out what your talents are and use them.
- Quit Smoking! I know this one is obvious and you have heard it a million times if you are a smoker, but here are the numbers for you to decide if you want to keep smoking or not. Lets say you smoke about a pack a day. That cost of that with tax would about around $5 a day and over $1800 a year! And we don't even know how much you would save on future medical bills. Think if every time you wanted to smoke you put $5 in a jar, and did this everyday. Your prize at the end of the year without smoking would be to crack open that jar and give yourself an $1800 bonus! Even if it takes you $200-300 to help yourself quit you will still have saved a lot of money.
- Talk is cheap! Anyone who used to tell me talk is cheap didn't see my monthly cell phone bill. I used to spend about $100 a month on my talk plan and another $30 a month on a data pack for my blackberry. Altogether I was spending $130 a month plus taxes and extra downloads, ringers, texts, whatever! And most months I would go over my minutes. Now most cell phone providers have unlimited talk for around $100 or unlimited texting plans. To live more frugal I got rid of my blackberry and got a cheaper cell phone. I decided to keep my conversations shorter during the day, since I text more and take advantage of the free nights and weekends. A lot of providers are letting you talk to people who use the same company for free. There are a lot of deals out there you just have to look for them. Here is the math on this savings...My new plan cost me $65 a month plus tax, when before I was easily paying around $150 a month. This saves me $85 a month and saves me more than $1000 a year!
- Cancel your gym membership! Now before you actually go out and do this, hear me out. We need to exercise. It keeps us healthy, positive, and it can help you save money in the long run with medical bills and expenses. I used to have a gym membership like many other people do that got used rarely. I would pay $40 a month for a membership that was barely getting used. If you are getting your use out of your membership keep it! It just wasn't working for me. Instead, I decided to buy a couple things for around the house to exercise with. You can really get a decent workout done in your living room with just a few things. Here is what I bought...an iron gym which cost me $30, an ab ball that cost $20, perfect push ups that cost $25 and I checked out craigslist.com for some used dumbbells for $25. I use these items everyday and now I don't have to worry about waiting for other people in the crowded gym. My total cost of my living room gym was $100. That is a little over two months of a gym membership that I used about once every other week. Now lets see how much I saved over this year...$40 a month - the $100 for my at home equipment is a savings of $380 for the year!
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