Owner: Saving to Invest URL:www.savingtoinvest.com Join Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:44:05 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Ideas and Thoughts on the Journey towards Financial Freedom by Saving Effectively and Investing Wisely Site statistics:Click here
My Credit Card - recommended by CNN.com 2008-04-11 10:13:39 CNN.com recently had a very succinct article on the best credit cards out in the market place for different consumer spending needs. I tend to use my credit cards for most purchases, in order to get the reward points or cash back offers. My logic is that I might as well get something back for "free" for all the money I am spending anyway. The key thing is to make sure you pay the balance off in full every month. I have three main credits cards - one for online shopping, one for everyday purchases & one as a back-up. I was glad to see that the credit card I used for my every day purchases - American Express Blue Cash - was the recommended as the best credit card in its category. Kiplinger's Personal Finance has also ranked this as No 1. for its category.If you do most of your purchases Read more:CNN
, Credit Card
Are we targeting the right illegal immigrants? 2008-04-11 10:13:21 A recent article in the Wall Street Journal talked about the crackdown by federal and local authorities on illegalimmigrants
. A number of these illegal immigrants have been in the country for years and are now part of communities with young (legal) children. They are doing well economically and tend to run their own small businesses, hiring locals (90%+ of business in America are "small' business which have less than 10 employees). So my question is - are these the illegal immigrants, who have become productive members of society, who pay taxes, own homes and contribute to the economy, the ones we want to target?Being a legal immigrant myself, I have mixed views about this. On one hand I have seen how long the immigration process can be and I know a number of people who have tried to come
Carnivals and Festivals 2008-04-10 16:57:47 The Money Hacks Carnival #7 was hosted at Mommy Gets Paid, which featured my article on Easy Ways to Save Money. Check out the other great articles there.Carnival of Personal Finance #147 is up at MoneyNing. Many great articles are presented there and thanks to David for including my article on "Excessive Taxes and Fees on my Cable/Phone Bill". As this is a relatively new blog it is great to get this exposure and I look forward to participating in future carnivals.******************************************************************Liked this article? Then consider subscribing by clicking here to receive regular updates****************************************************************** Read more:Carnivals
10 things to know about your Credit Score 2008-04-10 09:55:52 Here are 10 good to know facts around one's credit score, what affects it and how to deal with bad credit.1. Credit scores really impact the purchase of a homeCredit scores are driven by the record of paying bills and other debts reported to a credit bureau. Statistical studies have consistently shown that individuals with higher credit scores are less likely to be late with a payment and pose less risk of loss to a lender. A lower risk of loss translates into a lower cost of doing business, which in turn enables the lender to offer financing at a lower rate of interest. This means lower monthly payments and potentially significant interest savings over the life of the loan. For example, reducing the interest rate on a $100,000 30-year fixed rate loan from 7% to 6% would reduce the monthly Read more:things
, Score
5 Useful Money Formulas 2008-04-09 08:50:34 Here are 5 quick formulas to help you quickly answer some common money and investing related questions:Q1. How many years does it take to double your money?A1 - Known as the rule of 72. Divide the number 72 by your estimated annual return. So for example, if you expect to earn 9% annually, it will take eight years (72/9), to double your money.Q2. What am I giving up in retirement savings when I spend money today?A2 - Add a zero to what you spend if you are going to retire in 30+ years (assuming 8% return on your savings). Divide the number by 1.5 for every 10 years you get closer to retirement. For example, if you are going to retire in 30 years, spending $1000 today is equal to $10,000 in 30 yrs. If you are going to retire in 20 years, $1000 today is equal to approximately $6,666 ($10,00 Read more:Useful
, Money
, Formulas
My Investment Portfolio Review 2008-04-08 08:56:13 Well, here it is, the first post of a regular monthly feature on my (US) investment portfolio. I have investments in the other countries I have lived in, but my main focus is on building up my US portfolio and so that's what this series of posts is focused on. I'll talk about my international portfolio in the near future. So without further ado here is my current portfolio and a quick discussion on some of the stocks I have it in it.I have used the Yahoo stock widget so prices will be up-to date.Yahoo! FinanceHere's a quick review of stocks currently in my portfolio and why I hold them:Melco PBL (MPEL) - In a previous post, I talked in detail about this stock. Suffice to say I am still well down on my initial investment (bought when the stock was $20), but believe in the long term growth p Read more:Portfolio
Easy Ways to Save Money 2008-04-06 20:42:22 If one of your New Year's resolutions was to save money, you probably prepared yourself for a long year of penny pinching and bargain hunting. But saving more doesn't have to be such hard work. Here's five easy ways to put more money in the bank no matter how much you make.1. Set up automatic deposits into a high interest savings account. Direct deposit or payroll deduction is the ultimate method of painless saving because you don't have to do anything -- money just automatically moves into your savings account. Don't skip this step if you can't save much -- even $10 a week can add up quickly. And to make sure this money stays in savings, stash your savings in an account at a bank that's not convenient to reach. Forgo the ATM card to make it even more difficult to withdraw funds. 2. Give y Read more:Money
Excessive Taxes and Fees on my Cable/Phone Bill 2008-04-06 15:21:42 I get my cable, internet and phone service through a bundled package via Cox communications, and one thing that has really bugged me is the high level of fees & taxes in each bill. I have scanned in one of my recent bills so that you can see what I mean. My total bill was $125.38; Figure 1, has a total of the bills fees and charges summary which comes to $8.20 (6.5% of the total). I can live with that. Then, I see these other taxes, which are NOT in the fees and charges summary section. Figure 2, shows these as FCC Access charge and VA Telephone right of way fee. These add up to $6.89.Figure 1- Fees and Taxes
SummaryFigure 2 - Phone Tax/ChargesSo combining all the actual charges, the total fees and taxes I pay on the bill is 15.09, or 12% of the total bill. The sales tax in my state (V Read more:Cable
RIP - HD-DVD 2008-04-06 15:09:07 Well Toshiba's HD-DVD format player was officially killed today by the Sony-Blu ray format. For me this is personal as I had bought a Toshiba A3 HD-DVD last year around Christmas, now an obsolete piece of technology. I got a good deal for it at the time - $169, but it is now selling for close to $120 as stores try to get rid of stock. It'll get cheaper over the weeks until it becomes a collectable.The DVD format battle had been fought during the past several years. Sony has led a group backing its Blu-ray technology. Toshiba has promoted its HD DVD format, which it touted as the affordable choice for consumers. Persuading major film studios and US retailers (like Walmart and Best Buy) to issue movies in the Blu-ray format was crucial in Sony winning the battle. They lost the home video war
Those Pesky Ratios...PE, PEG 2008-04-06 15:08:11 For new investors when you go to finance sites like yahoo, msn etc and hear finance programs you here about all these financial ratios. Well, below is a link that explains these ratios quite nicely.Ratio analysis (part of fundamental analysis) should only be part of your review. However, it is a great starting point to see if you should look at stock further. My preferred ratio to look is PEG (Price earnings to Growth). Basically this is a ratio looking at the ratio between the PE (Price to Earnings) and Earnings Per Share (EPS) growth. If it is less than 1, it means that the stock is undervalued in that it's earnings are growing faster than it's PE. This is a good sign and means the stock is worth looking into further. PEG's can be backward looking (ie based on actual reporting earnings) Read more:Ratios
Personal Budget Spreadsheet - how to make it work for you 2008-04-06 15:02:45 Let's clear one misconception - creating a budget spreadsheet won't make you any more money or make you rich. What it does is provide a framework to organize and track your finances.Ideally you would want to maintain a budget for six months to a year to get an idea of your spending patterns. You want to adjust the spreadsheets as your estimates get better.Once you have a handle on your budget sheet, you will have a good idea of what you are making and more importantly spending. You can then take options to determine what you can realistically cut back on so you save more and spend less.The way you get rich from budgeting is that you increase your savings by identifying where you can cut back on AND then investing that money. Just keeping a budget will not make you wealthier in the long ter Read more:Personal
, Spreadsheet
Options Trading 2008-04-06 15:01:16 Looking at getting into options trading? Then check out this cool online option trading site with tons of useful information, expert opinions and customer testimonials. Whether you are a beginner or advanced trader this site has a lot to offer you. You don't even need a lot of cash to start.Online options trading is a fast growing sector, especially in these volatile times and you can make a lot of money if you have the right strategies. However we are not all experts and this is where the site can provide really value. The site provides online resources for you to learn to day-trade and undertake short-term stock trades. It provides all the market alerts and relevant training.The traders at OEX started trading QQQQ, e-minis, the S and P 500, and day trading options. and have successfully Read more:Options
, Trading
I just bought 5 shares of Google for $700 each. 2008-04-06 14:59:40 Bought 5 shares
of Google
(GOOG) a few weeks ago @ $US 699.83 - the highest share price at which I have bought any stock. Even though the stock has fallen to around $600, I think the stock is still cheap and a good long term investment.So why did I buy it?After being in the states for almost 1 year now, I have watched Google's share price continue to appreciate. It is continually in the media (good and bad publicity) and is now a common name worldwide - heck, its even an official word in the English dictionary. So apart from not wanting to miss the ride on one of the hottest global technology companies, here's why I decided to take the plunge :- - Even at current prices, most analysts are saying the stock has got a long way to run. The consensus target is around $US 750 for this year, and
Country ETFs 2008-04-06 14:57:00 As the US dollar continues its drop....it is definetly time to invest internationally. The most effective way to do this is to invest in country ETF's. Here is a list of some of the more popular ones: Read more:Country
Contact Details 2008-04-06 14:56:01 You can contact me - Andy, by clicking hereFeel free to contact me or leave a comment on this post for :- Exchange blog/site links if we have similar content. Always looking to discover new sources of information.- Advertising on this blog- General questions related to personal finance and investingIf the above link doesn't work, my email is andy @ savingtoinvest.comReturn to home page
Roll them dice baby....Macau! 2008-04-06 14:54:22 I am sure you all have read about the new Asian Vegas - Macau. Gaming revenues in Macau, at the southern tip of China, overtook those of the iconic Las Vegas Strip last year, and if the new developments (like the Sands Ventian) succeed, analysts say it will help double that annual income to $13.7 billion by 2010. Ie twice the size of Vegas. The two fastest growing economies in the world - India and China are also within a 3 to 6 hr flight!Here is a quick recap of the big players in Macau who trade on the US Stock exchanges :Melco PBL Entertainment (MPEL)MGM Mirage (MGM)Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN)Here the key Risks and upside to investing in the Macau Stocks:Risks:- Construction delays, funding problems, infrastructure bottlenecks and the risk of an oversupply of both hotel rooms and baccarat
Brocade after the earnings 2008-04-06 14:52:33 Well, Brocade Communications Systems Inc.'s (BRCD) fiscal third-quarter profit did top Wall Street's estimate as the networking equipment maker benefited from the takeover of a big-selling rival, but was still weighed down by heavy acquisition and legal costs. So overall a neutral result. The stock went up nicely along with the market and even got some analyst upgrades.Management was cautiously optimistic in it's guidance and competitors like Cisco and EMC have also reported and forecast good results.Learning Tip : Always examine competitors performances when looking at a company. It gives you a good way to compare and assess a company's performance. Also at a sector level, if they are all forecasting good results, it is a signal that further growth in the sector is expected.I think I will
Lessons from investing in a losing stock 2008-04-06 14:51:57 Want to tell you a story about my trading history with Brocade Communications (BRCD). This was one the first stocks I bought after moving to the US. It had just announced good results and was trading around $10.50, There were some good articles about it and I saw some positive news stories about it. The fundamentals looked good, solid ratios, analyst buy ratings, no debt and it was in a duopolistic market - the only other major competitor was Cisco.Yet today the stocks stands at $7. (It was down to $6 a few weeks ago and has had a run up before the earnings announcement today). So why did the stock drop so much, even though I did my homework? Well here are some reasons I think why :- They had just been through SEC investigation for options backdating. Even though they paid a fine and had n Read more:Lessons
VMware (VMW) 2008-04-06 14:50:25 There has been a lot in the papers recently about VMware. A great article on the IPO and the role of EMC can be found here.My wife works in the IT industry and she has actually used VMware. She says it is amazing and from what I have seen from a ROI (return on investment) perpspective this technology is great.I will be watching EMC (who still own 89% or so of the company) and VMware. Becasue EMC is a cheaper entry point (see above article), I will rather buy this company. I'll let you know when I trade it.Your comments are welcome.Andy
About this blog and the brains behind it! 2008-04-06 14:49:12 I moved to America about one year ago after living and traveling all over the world and thought I would be pretty competent around personal finance and investing activities. However I soon realized that I had a lot to learn and was already behind
the curve for my age group. So I started this blog as a way to track, record and share ideas along the way.Most of the topics on which I write about, you could find on the thousands of personal finance and investing sites currently out there. What I bring to it is a personal touch and unique perspective based on my own direct and indirect experiences. So what I write is what I live. I am married with a young kid, have a decent household income, growing share/funds portfolio and hope to retire before I am 50. These dimensions/goals provide a lot of
The Magic of Compound Interest 2008-04-05 09:20:48 Compounding interest is one of the fundamental concepts of investing and building wealth over the long term. Apart from the tax savings, it is also the key driver behind Retirement and 401K accounts and why all the experts tell you it is the best investment vehicle for most of us. I have been actively contributing to my companies 401K plan (about 10%) and do believe over the longer term, this will provide my retirement safety cushion. Read on to see the power of compounding and why investing over the long term is so beneficial.When you're young, you have an asset money can't buy: TIME. Start saving now and turn pocket change into riches. Compound interest has been called the eighth wonder of the world. And with good reason. It magically turns a little bit of money, invested wisely, into a Read more:Magic
, Interest
Is India the right investment right for you? 2 new ETFs 2008-04-04 18:06:14 Last week, PowerShares India
Portfolio (NYSE: PIN) became the second pure-play India-focused ETF, after last month's launch of WisdomTree's India Earnings Fund (NYSE: EPI). The PowerShares fund is market-cap weighted, adjusted for foreign fund access, and covers 50 India-listed companies and Indian American depositary receipts). Representing a broad swath of the Indian stock market, the companies in the index have market caps ranging from $3.4 billion to $91 billion. Foreign investors used to the bulldozer governments typical of developing countries will find many aspects of India attractive. In stark contrast to China, it is a vibrant democracy closely scrutinized by a feisty media. Yet it doesn't come without risks. Its central coalition government depends on the support of parties that Read more:investment
Avoiding Bank Fees 2008-04-04 18:04:08 We have all read about the ever increasing fees and charges that banks and other financial institutions charge us. But how well do you know the various bank fees and how much you could be charged? A recent government study on bank fees revealed that consumers are ill-informed about the fees they are paying on their accounts and tend to pay more than then need to. In the US alone, $36 billion in bank fees were charged last year to consumers. While bank fees are not going to go away or lessen anytime soon, savvy consumers can avoid a number of these fees by being informed and shopping around for the best deals. Here are some of the more common bank fees/charges and tips to avoid them.Monthly Account Keeping or Service Fee : The most common fee you pay for an organization to manage your bank
April is financial literacy month - teaching personal finance to the masses 2008-04-03 16:49:48 ""It takes less credentials to be a mortgage broker than a pimp on a street corner in Harlem.....Because a pimp needs references."The Economist published an article about the need to educate the world about personal finance
. On a much smaller scale that is one of the goals for this blog and so the article was very poignant for me. The article is based around the works of John Bryant, who has for years been telling anyone who will listen about the problems caused by widespread ignorance of finance. "EVERYBODY wants it. Nobody understands it. Money is the great taboo. People just won't talk about it. And that is what leads you to subprime. Take the greed and the financial misrepresentation out of it, and the root of this crisis is massive levels of financial illiteracy
." Here are some highli Read more:April
401K Basics 2008-04-03 10:30:43 Here is a great article covering what a 401K is and why it is a great investment. It is a good refresher article!As more Americans shoulder the responsibility of funding their own retirement, many rely increasingly on their 401(k) retirement plans to provide the means to meet their investment goals. That's because 401(k) plans offer a variety of attractive features that make investing for the future easy and potentially profitable.Below we've listed a number of key points regarding 401(k) plans. Be sure to talk to your employer or plan administrator about the specific features and rules of your plan.What Is a 401(k)?A 401(k) plan is an employee-funded savings plan for retirement. It takes its name from the section of the Internal Revenue Code that created these plans, which are also known Read more:Basics
Reacting to Market Volatility 2008-04-12 11:50:02 How are you feeling about investing nowadays? Do you own stocks that have tanked over 25% in one day? I did. On one occasion I got so worried by the fall in the stock price, that I sold it for a big loss only to see it bounce back a week later. That hurt. However I was glad to find that my reaction to a volatile stock market is line with a lot of investors. My reaction though should have been more thoughtful and I could have avoided an unnecessary loss.Too often people panic and take drastic measures. Long term investors have to realize that the market is going to have corrections and if they panic when these corrections happen they will lose money. Here are some well known guidelines to consider for these volatile situations, that are worth revisiting:1. Take a step back, look at the big Read more:Market
, Volatility
Repay your Mortgage up to 7 years earlier (& forget those extra 401K payments) 2008-04-13 18:54:08 This is a guest post by Tony Parker, an experienced and succesful investor across various asset classes.We all want to get out from under our massive mortgage debt. So what is the best way to pay off the mortgage quicker – and not significantly impact your ability to retire? The answer is a variation on the good old “Pay every two weeks instead of once a month” approach. Increasing the number or frequency of your payments, even marginally, can greatly reduce the amount of interest you pay and thereby, reduce the number of years you pay toward the mortgage – by about seven years, if done diligently.However, making payments every two weeks may not be ideal for a number of people due to personal or work related circumstances. So, I have an approach that will alleviate this pressure AN Read more:Repay
, Mortgage
It's Offical - Prices have been Rising 2008-04-15 08:43:31 I am sure, like me, many of you have noticed the sharp rise in the cost of goods and services over the past year. We are all familiar with the rise of gas prices, but I have noticed that basic groceries like milk, bread, vegetables and meat have been on the rise. I like to think of my wife and I as being frugal shoppers, but despite using coupons and looking for deals our grocery bills have risen by 25% to about $600 a month. Well today, the Labor Department reported that wholesale prices rose 1.1% last month alone. That was the second biggest increase in the past 33 years and near triple the rate analysts had been expecting.The reports show inflation pressures, which are occurring at a time when the overall economy is slowing and many analysts believe it may have already toppled into a re Read more:Prices
, Rising
Americans don't work that hard - apparently 2008-04-16 14:47:30 The Economist had an article today comparing the average work week across a number of OECD countries. Not surprisingly an Asian country led the pack, with America in the middle and Europeans at the end. The graphic (from the article) summarizes the comparison quite nicely. This got me to thinking as to what are "working hours". Having worked in Asia and America I think a key distinction is that in Asia work is rarely bought home. Workers will stay in the office till late and work on weekends, but generally do not take work home - so the official "working" hours are longer. In the states, I have noticed and I do this myself, that I tend to come home at reasonable hour (6pm or so) and tend to get back on the laptop after the rest of the family has gone to bed at 10pm to catch up on work ema Read more:Americans
I am NOT going to cut back on my cup of coffee 2008-04-16 14:46:59 Many personal-finance sites and authors talk about the need to cut your day-to-day expenses so that you can boost your savings. Good simple advice, but some who propose concepts like the obligatory measure of eliminating your daily cup (or two or three) of coffee and investing what you would have spent on it - are going too far. Yes, if you save $3 a day, for $720 a year, you will have some number like $10,000 in 20 years saved. A lot of money no doubt. However, in life you got to live a bit, for which you need to spend a bit. In my view, life's daily little pleasures like my morning cup of coffee have an intangible value to me which far exceed the $3 or so I spend on it. Maybe it's the caffeine or the simple experience of taking the time out to get the coffee and the 5-10 minutes to catch
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