Ad-Ventures4u

Every now and then I like to bring up sites and investment programs which seem to be attracting a lot of attention. I have seen autosurfs like 12Dailypro come and go, and have also seen many people make quite a lot of money from timing these programs correctly. The latest autosurf which seems to have gained a lot of publicity in the internet circles is Ad-ventures4u.

Is Ad-ventures4u Legitimate?
I have my doubts that they will be able to consistently pay out what they claim, however since it is a variable interest rate, they could technically lower it and survive for quite some time. They do have other business's that they are in fact making money with, so the longevity of the program could be quite long.

Deciding to Invest or Not in Ad-ventures4u
What one needs to do before investing in Ad-ventures4u or any autosurf for that matter, is the following. Make sure the amount of money you are investing is not money you could not live without. Always view autosurf investing as a gamble instead of an actual investment, because in fact it is more like playing a casino game like Texas Hold'em poker. Analyze the trends of the payouts, and decide for yourself it it may be too late to throw money towards something that will likely end eventually.

Personally I never invest into these things as I would rather participate in something that is monitored by governmental bodies like the SEC.

Lockerz Info

Today I saw another trending topic in the online incentive sphere. It's a site called Lockerz, which is located at Lockerz.com. Anyhow, I thought I'd give a brief overview of what I think the program will encompass, as well as my personal opinion on it.

What is Lockerz About?
It seems like a million new web site ideas pop up each week, however, some of them catch my eye more than others. Lockerz is one of them. The Company is run by by an ex executive of both Amazon.com as well as American Eagle Outfitters, Kathy Savitt. It is also funded by a rather respected investment group called Liberty Media. This here tells me we won't be seeing a fly by night scheme. The site itself will seemingly give incentives to individuals who sign up and then participate in their community, buy products through their site, refer their friends, and participate in other online activities like games and trivia. The site is free to join, thus you have nothing to lose besides time for signing up. You must have an invite though by an already established member to do so. You can get Lockerz Invites Here.

My personal Opinion on Lockerz
Like I said above, I see so many programs come and go, but the very fact that this one is backed by some rather respected people with experience in the field, gives me a good feeling about it. I'm sure people won't be getting free 50 inch TV's any time soon, without spending months participating at the site, but it promises to be an interesting idea which just may work if executed properly. There is a forum for Lockerz as well as several blogs about the program already popping up.

Understanding Autosurfs

I usually stay away from the online investment talk, because they are more like gambles than actual investment opportunities. I recently however had a few people contact me asking me if I knew anything about some of the latest Autosurf programs that are being promoted around the net.

My Overall View Towards Autosurf Programs
As many of you know, I used to Own and operate Talkgold.com for several years until selling it off back in November of 2007. I still remain a part of the site and keep my admin duties over there. Having said this I try to keep Talkgold as opened and free as possible, because autosurfs and well as HYIPs are more like gambles than they are actual investments. Having said this, the real programs do exist, and personally I feel people should be allowed to invest in these things as long as they know what they may be getting themselves into.

Remember a few things when putting money into one of these programs
#1 - Expect to lose your money
#2 - Get your initial investment back ASAP, and then play with the profits.
#3 - Don't believe everything you hear online about Autosurfs, or any investment program not recognized by the SEC.

HYIPs as well as Autosurfs should be viewed no differently then a game of Texas hold'em poker. It's a gamble, but with the proper preparation, skill, and luck you can turn the odds in your favor.

10 Cheapest Cities to Live in in America

Now May not be the best time to move, if you are cash strapped, but a move actually can be a great way to spark a declining attitude towards ones own life. If you have the money for a move, and was recently laid off, if may be a good time to think about where you would like to live other than your current town. If a job is available elsewhere, and it's some place you and your family wouldn't mind moving to, then why not be bold, and take the challenge. Here 10 of best cities to move too if you are money strapped. They are ranked using a formula with variables for how cheap living expenses are, the unemployment rate, and the average salary of the metropolitan area.

#1 Manchester-Nashua, NH
#2 Ogden-Clearfield, UT
#3 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
#4 Worcester, MA Metropolitan
#5 Ann Arbor, MI Metropolitan
#6 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
#7 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
#8 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
#9 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
#10 Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan

Of course you have to have the financial means to make a large move to one of these areas, and if you already have a job, make sure you can secure a similar job in one of these areas before just picking up everything and hauling it away.

The Best and Worst States for Unemployment

A couple months back I did a story about the unemployment rate in America. I love looking at data and seeing which areas are hurt the most and the least in the job sector. The US unemployment rate is currently at 9.7%, and will likely top 10% sometime this year before it's eventually but steady pull back, in my opinion. Here is a look at some of the states in the top 5 and bottom 5 of the unemployment data set. As you can see there is quite a disparity between job rates in America.:

Top 5 Most Unemployed States:
Michigan - 15.4%
South Carolina - 12.3%
Rhode Island - 12.2%
Nevada - 12.1%
Oregon - 12.1%

Top 5 Least Unemployed States
North Dakota - 4.6%
South Dakota - 4.9%
Nebraska - 5.1%
Wyoming - 5.7%
Utah - 5.9%

As you can clearly see, there are some major differences between the top and bottom 5 states in Unemployment rates. It is obvious that the States in the Union who rely heavily on agriculture are doing quite well, while those states Like Michigan, whom lost thousands of jobs when the auto industry went bust, and Nevada who is clearly one of the nations worse housing markets, as well as taking a hit from a gambling and travel decline, are the worse.

2010 Stock Market Predictions

I have been known to make predictions, and although I dislike leading people in an y direction, I am doing this for fun only. Please do not follow me, rather make your own personal choice while investing in the stock market. If you search my past predictions, you would see I predicted back in March, when everyone was panicking that the Dow would be at 9000 sometime in July. I also predicted the bottom of the market the day that it hit the bottom in the low 6000's Most of my predictions are just gut instincts, and really probably should not be used as an investing guideline, however Here I go with just a few more.

2010 Stock Market Predictions. (Prices predicted at the start of 2010)

Dow - 10650
We have just over 5 months before the beginning of 2010. The recession will likely be announced over sometime before the end of this year, and we may see the unemployment rate begin to ease. Stocks are still undervalued compared to their future profit potential. I think as long as there are no major snags along the way, 10,650 is a pretty good spot for the Dow to be trading at. That's almost a 20% gain from today's prices.

Google (Goog) - $550
I still love Google. The internet continues to grow, and the mobile internet continues to explode. Google has it's hands surrounding both. Internet ad revenue should continue to grow at a huge rate, and Googles new Wave could bring in a ton of users worldwide. Google should slightly out perform the market over the next 5 months leading to 2010.

Bank of America (BAC) - $23
Bank of America, although they have their share of issues, is a very strong company that should easily have explosive profit growth once the recession is over and things pick back up. The acquisition of Merrill will certainly help them in this once things settle. The housing market is clearly thawing out, and the bank will be the ones to benefit from this. A 80% gain in the next 5 months may seem extraordinary, but if you look at how far this stock has fallen it really isn't.

CD Interest Rates
If you are like me, you may have some cash you have that you like to keep free. I usually do this with no-penalty Certificates of Deposits. Having said this, the rates have been under 2% as of late. I think that starting in 2010, rates should begin increasing. By the end of 2010 a 4-5% CD will likely become available. To start 2010, I am guessing maybe 2.5-3% CD's will be available.

Like I said, take these predictions with a grain of salt. Follow your own stock market lead, not mine.

30 Ways to Save Money on Groceries

Saving cash is something everyone is looking to do in this terrible economy, so I decided to add another money saving guide to the weekly edition. Here are tips on how to save money while grocery shopping.

- Don’t be afraid of store brands, they are just as good
- Stock up (within reason) when things are on sale
- Get rain checks when sale items are out of stock
- Buy the Sunday paper
- Keep an eye on the weekly store circular
- Clip coupons for name brand items
- Check the store’s website for printable coupons
- Check your cupboards, pantry, and fridge before leaving
- Keep a complete list of items you need on your fridge
- Break your list down by store and plan your outing
- Plan your trip through the store to minimize wandering the aisles
- Don’t forget your list when you head to the store, but…
- Be willing to deviate from your list for great deals
- Be on the lookout for “double coupon” days
- Stack manufacturer and store coupons, both are allowed to be used at once
- Keep a price list/book so you know a deal when you see one
- Learn your store’s sale cycle (sales are often cyclical)
- Visit multiple stores to get the best deals, or…
- Buy in bulk, but…
- Be sure to look at unit pricing
- Bring a calculator (unless you’re a math whiz)
- Be on the lookout for “shrinkage” (e.g., 1.5 quarts vs. half gallon)
- Cook large batches and freeze for later
- Don’t waste leftovers
- Ask your preferred store to match prices form elsewhere
- Avoid non-grocery items that can be bought for less elsewhere
- Joins the store’s affinity program and flash your card
- Buy a chest freezer
- Eat less – seriously, many people eat way more than necessary
- Cook from scratch, avoid processed foods

Remember to spend some time preparing for your shopping expedition, as it could literally save you hundreds of dollars each year.

Next Week: ExxonMobile Reports

So far this week, has been quite a thriller for those long in the stock market. Earnings reports came in better than expected for the most part, and Housing numbers surprised even the most optimistic experts in the field. So, will next week continue the rally? Could the Dow Actually start it's accent up to the 10,000 mark within a couple months? I guess we will all find out soon. Let's take a look at Next weeks agenda.

- Jul 27 10:00 AM New Home Sales
- Jul 28 9:00 AM Consumer Confidence
- Jul 28 9:00 AM S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index
- Jul 28 9:00 AM S&P/CaseShiller Home Price Index
- Jul 29 8:30 AM Durable Orders
- Jul 29 8:30 AM Durables, Ex Transportation
- Jul 29 10:30 AM Crude Inventories
- Jul 29 2:00 PM Fed's Beige Book
- Jul 30 8:30 AM Initial Claims
- Jul 31 8:30 AM GDP-Adv.
- Jul 31 8:30 AM Core PCE
- Jul 31 8:30 AM Chain Deflator-Adv.
- Jul 31 8:30 AM Employment Cost Index
- Jul 31 9:45 AM Chicago PMI
- Jul 31 10:00 AM Employment Cost Index

As you can see, there are a lot of second quarter numbers coming out. I will be paying particular attention to the New Home sales, as well as the home price indicators, to see if the increase in pre-owned home sales was caused by a lowering of prices, or a decrease in new home sales, or if it the entire market is beginning to thaw. The unemployment and GDP numbers should also be significant economic indicators to fill us in on the state of the general economy. Next week is also another big one for earnings. Below are some of the key companies reporting next week:

Monday:
Radio Shack
Sohu
Verizon

Tuesday:
BP
Earthlink
Mittel
Viacom

Wednesday:
Hess
IAC

Thursday:
Brunswick
Expedia
ExxonMobile

Friday:
Chevron

6 Ways to Save Money on Gas

No one really knows where oil prices are headed now-a-days. We have seen the price of oil affect gasoline prices throughout the world to a pretty large degree, especially over the last 3-4 years. As prices bounce around, the economy also is not in great shape. Everyone is looking to save some cash on gasoline right? Well here are some things you, as a consumer, can do to help lower your gasoline use.

#1 Choose alternate cheap methods.
Consider walking, biking, or riding the bus. The first two will not only save you money, but possibly even a couple years on your life, and maybe some money on those extra large sweatpants you have to buy.

#2 Park in the Very First Spot you Find.
Don't spend minutes riding around looking for a better spot. In the time it takes to find another spot, you could already have been at your destination. Walk a little if it's nice out. Time in your car means more gasoline consumption.

#3 Combine trips.
Plan out the quickest way to run all your errands that will save on time and distance traveled. Plan ahead instead of having to run out 5 times every day.

#4 Check the Internet for Gas Deals
Check out sites like Gasbuddy.com for deals in your area. Sometimes you can save as much as 15 cents a gallon from one station to the next.

#5 Who Cares What Brand it is
Gasoline is Gasoline. Who cares if it is Mobile, BP, or some no-name brand? There may be slight differences in the additives of one brand compared to another, but overall, you will not notice a difference.

#6 Sign up for a Gasoline Credit Card
You can often save up to 3% on all gasoline purchases with a cash back rewards program offered to people with good credit scores. Remember to pay off your card on time every time, and to shop around for the best deal.

AAPL, Dynamite Again

There are only a few companies in America that I can say are as exciting as Apple (AAPL). Not only is Appl continuing to innovate, but while just about every other computer company has flopped during this recession, they report that sales of their personal computer, iMac's are up. That is incredible, and just goes to show how popularity in one area can mean success in all. Ever since Apples Launch of the iPod several years ago, a product which has become the symbol of electronics for this decade, the "coolness factor" has driven up sales in all their other product lines. Than came the iPhone, which just built upon the iPod's successes.


So, whats in the future for AAPL?
You might think, "hey, the glittery exterior of the iphone and ipod are wearing off, how will Apple keep the success coming? Simple. They will do what they did in the first place, innovate. Rumors have it that sometime this year, Apple will release a tablet like computer. Some describe it as a larger iPod touch, while others describe it as a possible alteration to the newly popular netbooks. Either way, I'm certain they will blow us away with their innovative foresight.

It just makes me wonder. If a company like Apple who sell products which cost consumers prices that are above average in each area they are in, can prosper in a recession, what happens when the economy begins to grow again? Might be time to considering adding some of their shares to your stock portfolio.

How To Save Money on your Water Billl

With the economy still shaky, and unemployment rate about to hit 10%, every little bit of money one can save could mean a huge difference in their lives. Here are 7 things you can do to save a bundle on your next water bill.

1. While waiting for the shower to heat up, catch the cold water in a bucket so you can use it later to water plants, flush your toilet or clean outdoor furniture. This can save as much as 300 gallons per month alone.

2. Turn the water off while brushing your teeth. This will save 3 gallons per day, or 1000 gallons per year on average.

3. Use less detergent while washing dishes by hand. A smaller amount will clean just as well, and take a lot less water to rinse off.

4. Rinse Vegetables in a fill pot instead of letting the faucet run over them. This can save up to 3000 gallons per year.

5. Instead of putting everything in your garbage disposal, instead create a compost pile. This can save you up to 1000 gallons per year.

6. Put mulch around trees and plants. Mulch allows water to stay in the soil instead of evaporating. This means less watering, which will save you upwards of 12,000 gallons of water per year.

7. Do not water your lawn on windy days. The wind speeds evaporation, and can mean the loss of up to 300 gallons of water in just one session.

These simple steps can save you over 40,000 gallons of water per year. That's a lot of money.

AAPL, PFE, and Others Report this Week

After quite an eventful week last week, we are in for a bit of a quieter one for economic data. Having said this, we will likely get some excitement from the earnings reports being released this week. Last week saw the market rebound quite well. Intel's results combined with that of Google, and the major banks propelled us back up towards the highs of May. The existing Home sales number coming out on Thursday will be quite important to see if home sales are maybe trending towards a rebound, or at least leveling off.

Jul 20 10:00 AM Leading Indicators Jun
Jul 22 10:30 AM Crude Inventories 07/17
Jul 22 10:35 AM Crude Inventories 07/17
Jul 23 8:30 AM Initial Claims 07/18
Jul 23 10:00 AM Existing Home Sales Jun
Jul 24 9:55 AM Mich Sentiment-Rev Jul


There are way too many stocks reporting this week for me to list, but I'll list a few for each day of the week that I feel could be important market drivers.

Monday:
Halliburton
Texas Instruments

Tuesday:
AMD
Apple
Continental Airlines
The Coca-Cola Company
Yahoo

Wednesday
Altria Group, Inc.
Ebay
Etrade
Eli Lilly
PepsiCo
Pfizer
Piper Jaffray

Thursday
3M
Amazon
AT&T
Baidu
Bristol Myers Squib
Wyeth
Xerox

Friday
Exelon

Stock Market Good News Emerges - Goog Reports

It seems that just last week, the investors were once again worried about the status of our economic recovery. People began questioning if the market rally from the 6000's to the 8000's were warranted. Fast forward a week, and now it seems we are all blissful with dollar signs in our eyes. There are a few things propelling us.

Earnings reports:
Intel released what some experts are calling a monster blowout in both earnings and their forecast. Intel stock shot up close to 8% following earnings, and looks to be in great shape. They also took much of the computer sector as well as the entire DOW and S&P with them, as we saw the Dow up over 256 points. Clearly Intel's results signaled to traders that the technology industry is on the rebound, which also means just about every other industry must be as well.

Jobs Reports:
Unemployment is still going up, however, this morning we learned it was going up at a much slower pace now.Initial jobless claims dropped by 47,000 to 522,000, lower than forecast, in the week ended July 11, from a revised 569,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said today in Washington. This gives us hope that we could see the unemployment number begin to fall by year's end.

Google (GOOG) reports at the close today, and investors are certainly excited to see their results. Google is expected to earn $5.09 per share on revenue of $4.06 billion, based on the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. If they beat this number, it would be incredible news for most of the market. We will see around 4:15 today.

Predicting the Stock Market With Bets

One of the sites I like to look at to get a true feeling of what people expect, weather it is with the economy, sports, politics, etc, is Intrade.com. Basically Intrade is a betting site, that works sort of like the stock market. The higher the share price, the more likely people think an event will happen. There is not better way to get a good accurate feel of a general populations thoughts, than through betting. Polls, and questionairs can be deceiving, as the people taking them do not have an incentive to be honest. With Intrade, people put their money where their mouths are. So, I will take a quick look at some of the states:

According to the bettors at Intrade.com the following is true according to the last trade price at the betting site.

Facebook IPO
14% Chance that FaceBook Will announce an IPO by December 31st, 2009
31% Chance that FaceBook Will announce an IPO by December 31st, 2010

Dow Jones Price Target
88.5% chance the Dow will end at over 6000 on December 31st, 2009
77.5% Chance the Dow will end at over 7000 on December 31st, 2009
30.2% Chance the Dow will end at over 9000 on December 31st, 2009
7.8% Chance the Dow will end at over 11000 on December 31st, 2009

Economic Data
55% Chance the US Unemployment will be Greater than 10.50% by December 31st, 2009
7% Chance the US Unemployment will be Greater than 11.50% by December 31st, 2009
55% Chance the US Recession will end in this Quarter (Quarter 3)

Just thought these numbers were interesting. Take them for what they are.

GMGMQ Halted, Finally

I very rarely blog about one particular stock, however with this instance I am making an exception. Earlier today the the self regulatory body of the brokerage industry, FINRA stepped in and halted trading on the Bankrupt General Motors company, now known as "Motors Liquidators," with ticker symbol GMGMQ.

Why did it Take so Long to Halt GMGMQ?
This is a question many people are asking. Why didn't this stock get halted weeks ago? General motors stated repeatedly that the shares of GMGMQ would be worthless once the US government, the United Auto Workers, and the company’s bondholders take their pieces of the restructured company. By allowing it to continue to trade it allowed for manipulation to occur, and traders to make quick money off of the uninformed.

What Sparked the Halt?
Earlier today the stock surged, up 38% for really no other reason then stock newsletters pumping it up. The initial jump in price caught the attention of investors who thought that maybe the GMGMQ symbol represented the new General Motors which emerged from bankruptcy just last Friday. This was not the case, thus the halt to stop the confusion.

It's pretty crazy when a company that claims their stock is worthless trades at a market cap of over $600 million, like it was at at the time of the halt earlier today. I just wonder how many investors lost big money thinking they were buying into the new General motors that is now no longer bankrupt.

Tazoodle - A look Inside

Below is an overview of a new Search engine which launches in about 98 days. It's called Tazoodle, and it leaves many questions to be answered. This overview is written by a guest author, and not myself:

Overview of Tazoodle

Here's the brand new search engine Tazoodle. We don't know much about it. In this article, we're going to talk about how it works.

In the beginning, after registering a Tazoodle account, a user becomes a viewer. The viewer becomes an advertiser, when a website is added to the account and advertising is purchased. After that, the website of advertiser is added to the display list of the website together with other advertisers. Then, their website is displayed at some times.

One website's view or click cost is $1 and each advertiser pays fees ahead of their site being shown. $1 purchases one credit for website display. Tazoodle gains income, when an advertiser's site is displayed. The earned income is shared differently with different accounts in the next manner – 50% of the total income goes to account owners, which merit sharing in the earnings pool, 75% of the remained 50% goes to advertisers, and 25% goes to advertisers and viewers.

Account keepers can share in the everyday income pool by surveying 20 advertiser sites for 15 seconds each. Advertisers receive a 25% bonus in credits for website display. All that is calculated and then added to their display credits every day. The site display credit count defines the quantity of times the website of the advertiser might be displayed and the implicit income gained by the advertiser.

Both viewer and advertiser can introduce Tazoodle to others. If the user creates an account under the account number of either viewer or advertiser, they become the sponsor of the new account. The sponsor receives a 10% cash commission, if the new account's owner buys advertising. In the same manner if the new account's proprietor invites a user to Tazoodle that later buys advertising also, the first sponsor will receive a 5% cash commission. Commissions are paid instantly to the cash account of the sponsor. Every day, the viewing earnings and commission earnings will be counted and transferred to the user's cash account. Then, each user will have the choice to buy Tazoodle advertising, transmit money to another user's cash account of transfer it to International Global Exchange or PayPal account, which offers debit card facilities and bank-to-bank transfers.

July Earnings and Economic Data

This has been another, not so good, week in the markets. Having said this, I am still very optimistic. I feel that these drops in the market are just buying opportunities for later in the year and next year. I have been asked, where I thought the DOW would be by the middle of 2011. No one, not even the best economic experts in the World could even venture a good guess at this question. Anything could happen between now and than. I will however say that in 2 years from now, I could see the Dow in the 11,000 - 12,000 range. Now that's almost a 50% gain from today. 25% per year is an amazing return.

Next week is going to be certainly a wild one. We will get a lot of information on the status of the economy. Most importantly, the earnings reports from some of the largest corporations on the planet, including, Google, IBM, Citibank, Bank of America, and many others. In addition to this, we will also get the following economic data released all throughout next week.

Jul 13 2:00 PM Treasury Budget Jun
Jul 14 8:30 AM Core PPI Jun
Jul 14 8:30 AM PPI Jun
Jul 14 8:30 AM Retail Sales Jun
Jul 14 8:30 AM Retail Sales ex-auto
Jul 14 10:00 AM Business Inventories May
Jul 15 8:30 AM Core CPI Jun
Jul 15 8:30 AM CPI Jun
Jul 15 8:30 AM Empire Manufacturing Jul
Jul 15 9:15 AM Capacity Utilization Jun
Jul 15 9:15 AM Industrial Production Jun
Jul 15 10:00 AM Business Inventories May
Jul 15 10:30 AM Crude Inventories 07/10
Jul 15 10:35 AM Crude Inventories 07/10
Jul 15 2:00 PM Minutes of FOMC Meeting June 24
Jul 16 8:30 AM Initial Claims 07/11
Jul 16 9:00 AM Net Long-Term TIC Flows May
Jul 16 10:00 AM Philadelphia Fed Jul
Jul 17 8:30 AM Building Permits Jun
Jul 17 8:30 AM Housing Starts Jun

I will be paying close attention to the Business Inventory number, as well as the Philadelphia Fed. The Housing numbers should also be very interesting. So, whether you are buying or selling in the current conditions, Next week will certainly make a financial impact on your holdings.

2009 2nd Quarter Earnings - Google, Citibank, etc

We have seen the stock market drop nearly 10% from it's Highs back in late May. In the last two weeks though, the market has really tumbled. Most of this is from economic data, which was not as good as expected, but a lot of the negative sentiment is from jitters before the 2nd quarter earnings reports for 2009. Starting next week we will see some very important companies release their earnings. Below are just some of the companies releasing their reports next week, that I feel are a bit more important to the economy as a whole.

Tuesday, July 14th
Goldman Sachs
Johnson & Johnson

Wednesday, July 15th
Kinder Morgan
Worthington Industries

Thursday, July 16th
Google
IBM

Friday, July 18th
Bank of America
Citigroup
General Electric
Mattel

If the majority of these reports are better then expected, and if the companies give forecasts that seem to lend a hint of optimism towards a soon to be expanding economy, meaning more job opportunities, we may just retest the highs of late May. Having said this, it could go the other way as well. I personally see more room to the upside then downside though.

How to Save on Life Insurance

Life insurance. It's not something anyone really wants to think about, because no one wants to consider the possibility of dying earlier then expected. Having said this, Life Insurance is one of the more important insurance types anyone can buy. Be aware that there are a lot of companies out there that will rip you off on policy terms. Because of this I have created a short, but important list of things you can do to save money on your Life insurance policy:

#1 Look for "No Load" Policies
Although they are rare, "No-load" policies are a smart move. This means that you are not paying any of your monthly premium for expenses to the agents, thus more money will go immediately to work for you. The best way to get a No-Load policy is to seek out financial advisers which charge a flat one time fee.

#2 Improve Your Health
There is no questioning why a Life Insurer would charge a lower rate to someone who is healthy. Concentrate on quitting smoking, losing weight, and decreasing your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Note that you usually have to stop smoking several years prior to getting a policy in order to get the "non-smokers" rate.

#3 Pay Entire Insurance Bill Yearly.
Do not opt for the monthly payments. This will only increase your rate and interest payments. If you pay the policy free and clear at the start of each billing year, you will walk away with much more cash at the end of the year.

#4 If You Are Healthy, Do Not Buy A Guaranteed Issue Policy
Guaranteed issue policies are policies which require no medical exam, and are guaranteed to you. The problem is, that if you are healthy, you want the insurer to know. Guaranteed issue policies are riskier to the insurer, thus they cost more for you.

Remember as with every financial decision, do your research, online and offline to make the best decision possible for you.

47 Ways to Raise Your Credit Score

At Another website I run I often get asked questions about credit scores, and how one can raise them. Yesterday someone emailed me with a 600 Credit Score, who was panicking because she couldn't get a mortgage. She wanted to know how she could raise her score to at least a 700 within 12-18 months. Without Going into detail I have listed 47 different ways one can raise their credit score. Many of these are obvious, yet people continue to ignore them.

1. Make Sure that each Creditor Reports to the Credit Bureaus
2. Add Your Name to Someone Else’s Good Account
3. Get Credit Advice from a Professional
4. Do Not Max Out any Credit Cards
5. Pay All your Bills on Time Every Time
6. Get Current on Past Due Accounts
7. Immediately Settle Disputed Accounts
8. Do Not Close Unused Credit Accounts
9. Do Not Make Too Many Credit Inquiries
10. Reduce Revolving Your Debts
11. Never File For Bankruptcy
12. Dispute Delinquent Credit Accounts
13. Correct Credit Report Inaccuracies
14. Get a Secured Credit Card
15. Open New Credit Accounts with High Limits
16. Close Accounts Slowly, Starting with the Newest
17. Get a Savings or Checking Account
18. Quickly Dissolve Joint Accounts after a Divorce
19. Avoid Consolidating Debts or Balance Transfers
20. Negotiate Better Terms with Creditors
21. Stop Using Credit Cards
22. Ask for a Credit Limit Increase, But Not Too Often
23. Never Take a Cash Advance
24. Occasionally Use Your Credit Cards
25. Pay Utility Bills on Time
26. Maintain at Least One Good Account
27. Something is Better than Nothing
28. Shop for Loans within a Short Period
29. Live Within Your Financial Means
30. Apply for an Auto Loan
31. Don’t Open Too Many Accounts within a Short Period
32 Add Information to Your Credit Report
33. Payoff Existing Loans
34. Pay More than the Minimum Payment
35. Ask Creditor to Delete a 30-Day Late Item
36. Enroll for Automatic Bill Paying Services
37. Resist the “In-Store Credit” Temptation
38. Pay Credit Cards Early
39. Do Not Exceed Your Credit Limit
40. Pay Balances Off in Full
41. Avoid Finance Companies
42. Re-Open Closed Accounts
43. Lower Your Overall Debt Ratio And Increase Your Assets
44. Have at Least Three Open Accounts At Any One Time
45. Do Not Apply for a “Capital One” Credit Card
46. Prioritize Your Debts
47. Always Know Your Credit Score

Should you Start Your Own Business?

As the United states unemployment rate approaches 10%, more and more people are looking for work. As this occurs, more people are considering launching their own business, and firing any future boss's they may have. The dream of working for yourself, is one that certainly has it's benefits, but also has several dangerous risks. Below I will Provide 5 Questions that you should ask yourself before you enter the world of entrepreneurship.

#1 Do you completely understand the downside of Working for yourself?
From working 16 hour days, to constantly being on call, per se, do you understand just what is needed to succeed? Find someone who is in this line of work and ask them what they may have to be less appealing about working for themselves in the particular area you are thinking of.

#2 Do you have enough cash to survive for the next 12-24 months with 0 Income?
Running a business means reinvesting profits usually to begin. Can you survive without any profit for up to 2 years? How much Money do you have saved?

#3 What Positives and Negatives are you leaving behind in a job working for someone else?
How do they compare with what you will be doing?

#4 Are you doing this for the money or the Happiness?
You must be passionate about the business you are creating. If you are running the business for the sole purpose of getting rich, you likely will not succeed. Unless you enjoy what you will be doing, you will likely slack without the presence of a boss, especially if you are used to working for someone else.

#5 Are you in the right stage of your life to be taking on these responsibilities?
If you know you will need to work 12-16 hour days, and have a couple toddlers at home who need your caring, than it may be best to hold off on your Entrepreneurial desires.

As with any life changing change, you must spend as much time as possible weighing your options. Never jump into something without the proper research.

Unemployment Rate 9.5%

Well, we come to the end of a shortened market week, and have to say, Yesterday threw us some surprises. One surprised figure was the number of jobs on employers' payrolls fell by 467,000 in June, which was significantly worse than analysts had expected. The unemployment rate rose to 9.5. This really throws a dagger into the hoped of a recovery in the 3rd and forth quarters of the year. I still think their is hope, but it is possible we will have to wait till Quarter 1 of 2010 to see an end to the recession.

Below is the usual list of economic data to be released next week. Unlike this week, there is not all that much data becoming available, but the usual claims for unemployment should be interesting.

Jul 6 10:00 AM ISM Services Jun
Jul 8 10:30 AM Crude Inventories
Jul 8 3:00 PM Consumer Credit May
Jul 9 8:30 AM Initial Claims 07/04
Jul 9 10:00 AM Wholesale Inventories May
Jul 10 8:30 AM Export Prices ex-ag. Jun
Jul 10 8:30 AM Import Prices ex-oil Jun
Jul 10 8:30 AM Trade Balance May
Jul 10 9:55 AM Mich Sentiment-Prel Jul

There really are not too many earnings reports being released either, next week. Here are a couple of the highlights though.

Tuesday - Ruby Tuesday
Wednesday - Pepsi
Thursday - Chevron

Could Bing Challenge Google?

There has been a lot of fuss lately about the new Microsoft owned search engine called Bing. The fuss by the tech blogs, and Microsoft haters out there probably stems form the fact that Microsoft has claimed they will be spending upwards of $100 million on advertising the new search engine on television, magazines and the internet.

Can Bing's Advertising Help Them Overtake Google?
I can attest to the huge ad budget they have. For some Adwords ads (Googles ad platform), Bing comes up first even if the term has nothing remotely related to computers or search. I also noticed other ad platforms like Kontera, which sells in-text ads, also show Bing for a large array of key words. Google on the other hand has a huge fan base, who in effect advertise them for free. The moment Google announces a new feature to search, there are literally thousands of popular blogs which pick up the news story and announce it to the internet world. Remember, like Microsoft, Google has billions of dollars in cash. So although $100 million is a drop in the bucket for a large corporation like Microsoft, Google can still be using their $100 million to improve an already amazing search product.

Bings Search Results
So, are Bings search results better then that of Google? There have been arguments on both sides for this. In my opinion, after analyzing key results for key terms, it seems as though Bings database of sites it indexes is much smaller than that of Googles. For some searches, Bing may show better results, but for the majority of searches, Google is still far and away the best.

Is Bing Better then Live Search?
The answer to this quest is, absolutely. Even though I feel that Bing is still leaps and bounds from catching Google both search quality wise, and in the number of everyday users. Bing by far outperforms Live search. Bing basically is a copy of Google. They took many of Googles best features and made them their own. They not have sections for health, traffic, weather, travel videos, and even their own "Google Trends."

What will it Take for Bing to Catch Google.
In order for Bing to even come close to Google in their number of everyday users, it will take lot and lots of time, as well as money, but most importantly, something innovative and unique. Bing has modeled themselves after Google, and has many similarities to it. The problem is, Why would people who use Google everyday change their searching habits and just move to another "Google"? The answer is, they won't. Bing needs to be the first mover and come up with something uniques that Google does not already incorporate. If they can do this, and have a nice span of time before Google Copies their unique idea, I think we could start seeing Googlers becoming Bing'ers.

Save Money on Homeowners Insurance

As you know I have a series of blog posts related to saving money in various industries. Today I will look at a few ways to save money on your Homeowners insurance policy. If you own a home, than Homeowners insurance is a must, however, it can often drive someone crazy trying to figure out what types of coverage they need and want. Below are 4 tips to save some money on your Homeowners insurance policy:

#1 Shop Around
There are so many different insurance companies out there, and so many different types of insurance available. Do your homework before simply signing on to a policy. Check out the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website at: naic.org to get a list of insurers in your area as well as complaints and praises about each.

#2 If Possible, Buy Your House and Automobile Insurance From the Same Company
Today, more and more insurance companies offer all types of insurance, from flood, to homeowners, to auto, to life. If you can buy a couple policies from one company, you will likely save anywhere from 5-10% off your premium. Like I said though, make sure you do your homework first.

#3 Raise Your Deductible
Homeowners insurance should be in place in case of a disaster. If you are paying an insurance company to cover the minor problems you may face with home damage, you are likely losing money. Remember, an Insurance company is making a profit. This means they are charging you more than the average person needs to spend to fix their damaged home. By raising your deductible, you will save a ton of money on your premiums, and still be covered for those major problems you may face with damage to your home. Raising your deductible from $500 to $1000, can save as much as 25% on your premiums.

#4 Stay with the same Insurer.
Unless you find an amazing deal with another company, it is usually best to stay with the same company. Not only are you familiar with the policy terms, but many insurers will decrease your rates by 5-10% after 3-5 years with them.

June Consumer Confidence, Home Prices

Stocks this morning are lower after a brief gain at the market open. There are 2 main pieces of News this morning, from the economic front. Like I said, this week was going to be packed with news since it's the end of the month as well as the end of the 1st half of 2009.

Consumer Confidence in June Falls
After 2 months of gains in the consumer confidence data, we have seen a drop for the month of June. Consumers attitudes towards the current economic environment dropped to 49.3 from 54.8 in May. Not a huge drop, but still something to note. The overall point here is that the economy is still very weak, but not close to as weak as it was just 4-6 months ago.

Home Prices Dropping, But at Slower Pace
Even though home prices across the nation have dropped once again from March to April, the drop was very mild. Prices on a whole, in the 20 city S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price index fell just 0.6% in that given month. On the other hand, the Year over year drop is quite staggering, yet expected, at 18% from April 2008 - April 2009. "While one month's data cannot determine if a turnaround has begun, it seems that some stabilization may be appearing in some of the regions," said David Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's. "We are entering the seasonally strong period in the housing market, so it will take some time to determine if a recovery is really here."

Overall, things were pretty much what most economist expected. We are recovering, but the recovery will not be over night, and will be slow, with a few potholes in the road. Remember, Tomorrow starts the 3rd quarter of 2009 already, and that's when many economist, as well as myself think the recession will be officially over.

How to Save Money on Your Auto Loan

With the economy still hurting, and people without work, buying a new car is often way in the back of your mind. Having said this, there are many great deals out there, as the auto makers try to recover from bankruptcy, and get rid of the cars which are left over from the hundreds of closed dealerships around the country. If you are looking to buy a new or used vehicle, there probably is not a better time than today. Here are a 4 ways to save money on your Auto loan and car purchase, and make sure the loan is as affordable as possible:

#1 Pay as much money as you can in cash. The larger the down payment, the smaller your monthly payments will be. Often times if you put a large down payment down, you can shorten the length of the loan, thus also reducing the interest rate quite significantly.

#2 Pay close attention to both the price you would pay in normal circumstances, and that which you would pay with a low rate loan. Often times you will not be eligible for the many discounts provided by the dealership and car company should you opt for the low rate loan special.

#3 Shop around for a bank loan, before even considering getting financing from the dealership. Finance charges add up, and often times you will pay several hundred dollars more with the dealership financing option.

#4 You Are in Control. Go into the dealership, tell them the exact price you are willing to pay, and don't budge. Let them know you are not going to budge, and that you would rather forget about buying the vehicle altogether than pay even one more cent. Time are tough for car companies. Dealers have lots of room to bargain with.

Remember to do your homework, checking out the current rates available, as well as the average sale price of the vehicle you are interest in. When you go into the dealership, you want them to know that you are in control, and are just as knowledgeable as they are.

Consumer Spending Rises

This has been a rather action packed week. We got word from the FED on interest rates, we had Ben Bernanke grilled by law makers, and we got some rather interesting economic data released.

Today in fact we got more information pointing to the economic rebound most economists were hoping for. Consumer spending increased 0.3% for the month of May, after a revised, flat April. Since Consumer spending makes up about 70% of the economy, this is certainly a sign that we are likely pulling out of the recession.

Anyway, here is the list of economic data we will get next week. It should be a pretty telling week, as a lot of data will be out at the end of this month.

- Jun 30 9:00 AM Consumer Confidence Jun
- Jun 30 9:00 AM S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Apr
- Jun 30 9:00 AM S&P/CaseShiller Home Price Index Apr
- Jun 30 9:45 AM Chicago PMI Jun
- Jul 1 8:15 AM ADP Employment Change Jun
- Jul 1 10:00 AM Construction Spending May
- Jul 1 10:00 AM ISM Index Jun
- Jul 1 10:00 AM Pending Home Sales May
- Jul 1 10:30 AM Crude Inventories 06/26
- Jul 1 2:00 PM Auto Sales Jun
- Jul 1 2:00 PM Truck Sales Jun
- Jul 2 8:30 AM Average Workweek Jun
- Jul 2 8:30 AM Hourly Earnings Jun
- Jul 2 8:30 AM Initial Claims 06/27
- Jul 2 8:30 AM Nonfarm Payrolls Jun
- Jul 2 8:30 AM Unemployment Rate Jun
- Jul 2 8:30 AM Unemployment Rate Jun
- Jul 2 8:30 AM Hourly Earnings Jun
- Jul 2 8:30 AM Average Workweek Jun
- Jul 2 8:30 AM Initial Claims 06/27
- Jul 2 10:00 AM Factory Orders

I will be looking at the unemployment rate, initial Claims of Unemployment, and the Auto sales numbers carefully next week for more info on how much better the economy may be improving.

Save Money On Your Credit Cards

Two weeks ago I started a series which I am trying to continue. It's all about different ways to save money. This Thursday I would like to look at a few ways you can save money with your credit cards. Most people use them, and most of the time they are worse off for doing so. If you know what you are doing and follow simple guidelines, credit cards can be an asset rather then liability to your finances. Here are a few tips to save you money on your credit cards.

#1 Reward Cards Are Not Always Rewarding
It may be tempting to get a rewards card, thinking for every dollar you spend you will earn redeemable points towards all sorts of cool gifts, but unless you pay your balance off in full each month, a rewards card will usually have a higher interest rate. If you are one of those people who pay off your balance right away, than Rewards cards will save you money, but on the other hand if you carry a balance, a normal card will be the money saver.

#2 Simply Ask for a Better Rate
After being a customer for 4-6 months, give the credit card company a call, and simply ask for a better rate. As long as you have been paying your card on time and do not have any other credit problems that have popped up recently, they will likely try and make you happy, and reduce your rate by at least a quarter of a point.

#3 Pay Off Your Entire Balance Each Month
This is probably the single most important tip. If you can't afford something, and can't pay off your balance in a month, then don't buy it. Credit card interest rates are super high compared to normal loans. Paying off part of your balance every month is a sure way to get into long term debt.

#4 Shop for the Best Rate
You will find a huge array of interest rates each credit card you are approved for has. If you jump right into a card offer, you will likely be borrowing at 1-2% higher then your could be. That small percentage really ads up over time if you are not one of those people who pays off their card each month. Shop online for the best rates, and see which ones approve you.

#5 Never Ever Take a Cash Advance
Most Credit card companies will allow you to take a cash advance. This is a straight up cash loan. The problem is that the interest rate is usually quite a bit higher than the normal credit card rate. To make things worse, if you carry a balance, that balance will be paid off before the cash advance loan is since it is more profitable for the credit card company to use your payments towards the lower interest rate balance. If you need cash, go to the bank and get a loan. Even with bad credit your loan will have a much better rate from the bank.

Follow These 5 tips to the best of your ability, and you will not only save money, but have a much better control of your credit card debt.

Federal Reserve Interest Rate Move?

Today is a big one for those who follow the moves of the Federal Reserve. Today at 2:15 PM EST they will decide on the status of current rates. I'm standing pretty confident though that there will be no changes to the current rates this time around. They are currently hovering in the 0% - 0.5% range and will likely remain there for a couple more months.

The Federal Reserve also has to consider their Treasury buying activities. The current plan to buy treasuries will run it's course come September. Will they extend this plan? Another thing to consider is long term inflation. Ben Bernanke seems to think that he can leave rates low for some time before having to worry about the pending inflation, which will come eventually. In My opinion the Fed is stuck between a rock and a hard place with their interest rate options. They know that the eventual rise of rates will be needed to counter inflation, but, also know that if they begin raising rates now, it will likely send the stock market down, possibly weakening consumer sentiment and slowing the possible economic turnaround as a whole.

“They have to be really careful,” said Christopher Low, the chief economist at FTN Financial in New York City. “They may not be forceful because they are worried about how the market will react,” he said. “The Fed needs to communicate they are aware of the shift in inflation expectations and they take inflation fighting seriously.”

I expect them to at least keep rates at the current level for another few months, possibly starting to raise them sometime in the 4th quarter of this year. Although the initial reaction from the markets of a rate increase may be a sell off of equities, longer term it will show the markets a recovery is in the works, giving them more confidence.

Recession of 2007 - 2009 Compared with Others

I thought it would be interesting to compare the current recession we are in to the average recession in the the last 25 years. Recession's are normal cyclical events that happen on average every 7-8 years or so. Although the media often blows things out of proportion, without recessions, we would eventually have bubbles in every market, which would eventually collapse, causing a much more severe event, called a depression.

In the last 15 years, not counting the last 2 which are part of the current recession, the average recession lasted only about 8 months. The current recession we are in right now, however has lasted over twice as long, at 17 months and running. With any recession, there is a bear market as well. The average bear market between 1983 and 2007 lasted 1 year (12 months). The current bear market that we just saw lasted 19 months. The bear market is over, at least for now, but the recession has yet to officially be declared over, and likely won't be for some time to come. Even if the recession is over, it will take about 4-5 months to determine that for a fact.

Despite the negativity of it all, there is some good news. The bear market appears over, thus we are likely at the start of a bull market run. A bull market, unlike it's evil twin brother, the Bear market lasts on average about 4 years or about 49 months. Since we are starting at such a low base, it is likely this bull market will be stronger than most. The average Bull market can show returns over 100%, with one third of that gained within the first 12 months. The lesson of this is that despite all the negative media over the last 12 months or so, things probably won't be as bad as most experts were predicting, and the great thing about it is that if you have cash on the sidelines, and a little risk to bare, now is an amazing time to invest in the market with a long term horizon.

Could A National Strike in Iran Spike Oil Prices?

The situation in Iran, which I wrote about briefly last week appears to be getting worse as each day goes by. The Defeated candidate, Mousavi, is rumored now to be ready to announce a National strike in Iran which would start with the Oil industry. The question has to be asked... How much will a national strike on the part of Iran affect the international price of oil?

Oil Prices Already Rising
With Summer beginning Yesterday here in the US, Gas prices are already averaging around $2.70 a gallon. Oil Prices have doubled since their lows only a few months ago. If Mousavi does in fact called for a national strike, how high could that make prices go? Technically, the other nations should make up for any production stoppages in Iran, but just the mental impact of the Iran mess could very well send prices back to $90 - $100 by August in my opinion. As you can see Below in the world map of the largest Oil Producing Nations, although tiny geographically, Iran has the third largest oil reserves and currently is responsible for about 8% of all Oil production in the world, with 3.7 million barrels of production per day.



With the economy seemingly getting better, we could be in for another oil price jump. I do not see it getting to $150 a barrel like last year though. Investors will be too hesitant to carry prices over the $100 mark in my opinion for fear of another collapse like we had int he last 12 months.

Cash for Clunkers Program and Next Week

It's Friday again so another look at the week ahead, but first I want to talk a little about the Cash For Clunkers Program that was just approved by the government.

Cash for Clunkers Program
The Program today was approved by the Senate and just needs Obama to sign it into law. It gives consumers with cars that get less than 18 miles per gallon the ability to turn them in for a $3,500 or $4,500 cash credit. This could be huge for the economy, and will also make a lot of environmentalists happy. It might be enough for me to consider buying into some auto stocks. Although, "Cash for Clunkers," will not save the auto industry by itself, it could pave the way for quite a nice rebound. Those companies which make the more fuel efficient vehicles should see the most benefit. Only if the 300 Mile per gallon car, the Aptera was selling yet.

Next Weeks Economic Data

- Jun 23 10:00 AM Existing Home Sales May
- Jun 24 8:30 AM Durable Orders May
- Jun 24 8:30 AM Durable Orders, Ex-Transportation May
- Jun 24 10:00 AM New Home Sales May
- Jun 24 10:30 AM Crude Inventories 06/19
- Jun 24 2:15 PM FOMC Rate Decision
- Jun 25 8:30 AM Initial Claims 06/20
- Jun 25 8:30 AM Q1 GDP - Final Q1
- Jun 26 8:30 AM Personal Income May
- Jun 26 8:30 AM Personal Spending
- Jun 26 8:30 AM PCE Core May
- Jun 26 9:55 AM Mich Sentiment-Rev

A Few of Next Weeks Earnings releases:

Walgreens - Monday
Oracle - Tuesday
Nike - Wednesday
RedHat - Wednesday
Rite Aid - Wednesday
Wyeth - Wednesday

10 Homes Between $99 - $10,000

I heard a lot about homes, especially in Detroit selling for under $10,000, and a few under $1000. I thought it was a joke, so I did a bit of research, and was amazed at what I found. Here are just a few of the cheap homes I found.

$99 - Detroit Michigan
Alright I know it looks crappy, and needs a lot of work, but for a price that you'd pay for a nice dinner for 2 you can have a 1100 square foot home with 3 bedrooms, and the land that it sits on at 13960 Marlowe St.


$250 - Detroit Michigan
Another steal? It doesn't look great on the outside, and probably not on the inside either, but for $250 this home, built in 1920 and located on 9750 Bryden St seems like a good buy. Has 3 Bedrooms and 1 bath, and is 858 square feet. >>>More details


$500 - Detroit Michigan
How can you go wrong with this 4 bedroom, 1700 Square foot home on 15486 Ardmore St in Detroit? With a 30 year fixed rate mortgage you'd pay about $3 a month for this beauty. Ok, maybe it;s not a beauty but $500????


$500 - Detroit Michigan
Wow, what a steal. This home which is located in downtown Detroit can be had for less than you'd pay for a new laptop. With 2 Bedrooms and 1 bath, and 850 square feet, how can you go wrong. The outside looks nice at least.


$4,400 - Pontiac Michigan
This one actually looks like it's not all that old or dilapidated. It's only 500 square feet, and has 2 BR's and 1 Bathroom, but for a price lower than that of a Really nice Plasma TV, how can you go wrong?


$4,900 - Flint Michigan
Located on 5317 Dupont Street, this home built in 1950 is 781 Square feet with 2 Bedrooms and one bath. Not a bad buy if you are a handyman. The outside seems old, but workable.


$6,500 - Flint Michigan
This home on 2621 Wisner Street, in the hurting town of Flint, is goign for a steal. Has 821 square feet of living area and 2 bedrooms. Built in 1956. More details can be found at: Cheap Home


$9,900 - Detroit Michigan
Is it me or does this actually look like a home that would sell in the $100k range in any other area. At 1500 square feet, this monster of a home seems like a sure steal. >>>More Info


$9,900 - Minneapolis Minn.
This 2 story home is an old one, but with with 3 Bedrooms, and 1100 square feet of living area in the heart of Minneapolis, this 109 year old (Built in 1900) home could be a gem if fixed up.


$10,000 - Lansing Michigan
This Home, built in 1906, on 1101 N Larch Street, could be a gem at $10k. It features 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a full basement, and a 1.5 car garage. It is entirely brick, and judging from the pictures isn't in all that bad condition on the outside, at least.

Stocks to Protect Against Inflation

Inflation is all but certain in this economy. The government has interest rates set as close to 0 as you can get, plus they are buying up treasuries. Sooner or later, the printing press's will have to be put to work, and with that, comes inflation. I, by no means, expect to see hyper inflation, or even inflation rivaling that which we saw in the 70's and 80's, however, we will have it, and it will be strong in my opinion.

So, what does one look for when investing in stocks that will protect you against inflation? Well, first and foremost, the stock market is not a terrible place to have your money when inflation is upon us. Inflation is a rise in prices. When prices rise, that means it is likely that your stocks will be earning more money. What you want to look for are stocks which are quickly able to adjust prices, as well as companies which are not effected by the rising costs of raw materials. You want companies which have fixed costs such as machinery, real estate, or labor, rather then those that rely on a lot of buying of materials. You also want to look at companies which sell food, beer, wine, cigarettes, and oil. Here are just a few:

ConocoPhillips (COP)
They have a business that is tied more towards the actual oil price then most of their competition.

Molson Coors (TAP)
They rely on less raw materials then their competition. That;s why maybe their beer is usually more watery. Might not be good for the taste buds, but during times of inflation, their costs rise less than their revenue.

Eli Lilly (LLY)
They make important and vital drugs. Their dividend yield is 5.8%, and people don't stop buying drugs they need to survive when inflation hits.

Remember to diversify your holdings and don't just invest in stocks. Keep some cash on the sidelines so you can react to any changing conditions, and also consider a small amount of gold or silver as a precaution to unforeseen economic events.

How Twitter, Iran, and #iranelection Is Changing Media for Good

I don't usually blog about much other then the Economy, Finance, and Business related topics here, however given that this is quite a big story, and is somewhat related to business I had to do a quick post about the changing lines in the Media world.

Twitter and #iranelection
In ten years from now we may look back at this Iranian election mess and say, "that's when media distribution changed forever." That's because Twitter has shown us how much more informative and valuable it is compared to the traditional news outlets such as CNN. Anyone who goes to Twitter and searched for #iranelection will see a feed of hundreds of new tweets every couple minutes, many from people inside Tehran Iran with their smartphones posting continual updates of what they are seeing. It is really quite amazing how fast news can spread. Pictures taking by Iranian tweeters are hitting twitter hours before any traditional news outlet releases them. News of violence, deaths, and unrest in Iran are being published seconds after they occur for the world to see.

How Twitter and #iranelection is Helping Iranians
Not only is Twitter changing the media sphere for good, but it is also having a tremendous impact on Iranian citizens who are impacted by the mess of this election. Iran has been blocking local IPs from accessing News sites, Facebook, and even Twitter. American's and people in other countries have been setting up proxy servers and trying to get the information to the Iranians who which to access the information that their Government has been blocking. Twitter is in effect helping to spread freedom of speech and democracy throughout the world.

3 Possible Scenarios for The Bull Stock Market

Over the last 3 months we have seen the major US markets rise almost 40%. That is an unprecedented increase in stock prices, one that any investor would love to have in a 5 year period, much less only 3 months. Investors however are now asking, "what's next?" Below are 3 arguments and my personal opinion on their likelihoods of happening:

The Market Is Overbought and Sells off for Big Losses, Dow Back to 7000
It is possible that the market has gotten too far ahead of the economy. The markets are usually 6 months ahead of the economy, so right now it's pretty much saying that a recovery will be in the works within 6 months. A 40% gain in only 3 months is staggering, and even if things were looking amazing for the economy such a gain is hard to maintain without some pullback. Could we pull back into the 7000-7500 range for the dow?
I give this a 20% chance of happening.


We level Off but maintain current levels for the next few months?
Even though the market has risen quite a bit, the optimism and good values keep things steady and in a range of 8500-9000 for the next few months until we get more solid news on the status of the recession. A mix of good and bad news will keep things bouncing around in a rather narrow range until August or September.
I give this a 45% chance of happening.


Good news continues to keep the Market Rising, perhaps to 10,000 - 10,500 by September.
With stocks that were way undersold, still being cheap, and news continuing to mount that the recession is all but over, the markets could react favorably. Sure we have gone up 40% in 3 months, but in order to get to level we were at before the whole Lehman Brothers mess, we would still have to rise another 25-30% from were we are at right now. With a mixture of Good news, and companies reporting earnings better then expected for the 3rd quarter, we could see the dow approach the 10,000 mark or even higher by September.
I give this a 35% chance of happening.

Iran: Hossein Moussavi Win May Help the Markets

Once again we have hit the end of the week, and that can mean only one thing. Our traditional end of week look ahead. This week has been pretty flat in terms of the stock market. We did get some more encouraging news when we found that new unemployment forms were not as high as expected. In addition to the whole array of economic news we expect next week, we should also get results from Iran on their National election. Right now it looks as though, Mir Hossein Moussavi, who is friendlier to the West, may beat out the President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Although the Nuclear ambitions of Iran may not change with either candidate, a victory for Moussavi could affect the markets a bit positively. Below is the list of data that we will be receiving next week:

- Jun 15 8:30 AM NY Empire Manufacturing Index Jun
- Jun 15 9:00 AM Net Long-Term TIC Flows Apr
- Jun 16 8:30 AM Building Permits May
- Jun 16 8:30 AM Core PPI May
- Jun 16 8:30 AM Housing Starts May
- Jun 16 8:30 AM PPI May
- Jun 16 8:30 AM Building Permits May
- Jun 16 8:30 AM PPI May
- Jun 16 8:30 AM Core PPI May
- Jun 16 9:15 AM Capacity Utilization May
- Jun 16 9:15 AM Industrial Production May
- Jun 17 8:30 AM Core CPI May
- Jun 17 8:30 AM CPI May
- Jun 17 10:30 AM Crude Inventories
- Jun 17 10:35 AM Crude Inventories
- Jun 18 8:30 AM Initial Claims 06/13
- Jun 18 10:00 AM Leading Indicators May
- Jun 18 10:00 AM Philadelphia Fed Jun

I will be paying close attention to the Building Permits number on Tuesday, as well as the initial claims of unemployment on Friday, as both could show that the economy is well on the way to recovery. If the Initial claims number continues to slide downward, we may be in pretty good shape. As for Next weeks earnings reports, there are not too many. I would venture to guess that next week is one of the deadest week for earnings all year, or at least in the quarter.

Price of Oil - Where are Oil Prices Headed?

One of the driving forces behind any economy are it's energy prices. Pretty much every business around the globe is affected directly or indirectly by the price of oil. This is why the huge fluctuations in Oil prices we have seen over the last 2-3 years are quite turbulent for the economy in general. In the last 3 months alone we have seen the price per barrel of oil rise by about 80%. That's almost a 1% gain per day over the last 3 months. This is after we saw Oil prices fall from $150 a barrel all the way down to $35. Take a look at the chart below to see how much prices have increased since the bottom of the recession.



Will Oil Prices Hurt Our Recovery?
This is a tough question to answer. As long as prices don't come close to the highs of last year I don't personally see it being a major dagger in the heart of the recovery. We are in the Summer months, and some price increases were all but guaranteed. We are still at about half of the highs that we saw last year, so we should be thankful of that.

Where are Oil Prices Headed?
You could ask a hundred experts this question and get a hundred different answers. In my opinion, It would surprise me if we saw prices go above $100 a barrel within the next year. The world economies are still fragile, and demand is not as high as they were before the recession, nor will it be for quite some time. As long as OPEC does not cut production any further I think prices should level off in the $60-$80 range for the next 12-18 months at least.

Save Money on Heating and Cooling Your Home

With all the talk recently of cleaner greener energy use, I thought I'd start a series here with different ways to save energy, since saving energy also means saving quite a bit of money, something we all can use in this economy. So, here is a short list of things you can do to save money and energy with the heating and air conditioner systems of your home:

- Clean or Replace Filters on your furnace at least every 2 months
Dust buildup can lead to less air making it's way into your home, meaning your furnace will need to run harder, longer. It can also be a carbon monoxide hazard.

- Install New Smart Thermostats
New thermostats allow the owner to program them so that at certain times of the day, according to ones schedule, the temperature can be switched higher or lower. It is pointless to heat or cool a home when you are not there.

- Insulate heating ducts in unheated areas such like the attic and crawlspaces and keep them in good repair to prevent heat loss.
Up to 60% of the heat produced by your furnace can be lost by poorly insulated ducts. Considering that half of a families electric bill can be used on heating their home in the winter, that means the average bill could be reduced about $30 a month with proper duct insulation.

- Install and Use Fans during the summer months.
A fan causes a windchill effect. Having a fan on will allow you to increase your thermostat in the summer 4 degrees F, and still feel just as comfortable. Also, in the Winter, a fan can be used to circulate the warm air that has risen to the ceiling down toward where you are.

I will try and continue this series with other energy tips throughout the next few weeks. I thought that since we are in the Summer months here in the US, I would provide the Heating and Cooling section first.

5 Money and Investing Misconceptions

Since there isn't all that much to discuss about the markets yet this week, I thought I'd write a little post about some of the misconceptions I have heard throughout the years about finances, money, and investing in general. Here they are The 5 Money Misconception:

#1 Investing in Stocks Is the Same as Gambling
This is the furthest from the truth as you can get. Over the last 50 years the Dow has had an average return of close to 11% per year. That is a heck of a lot more money then your average return at a casino which is guaranteed to be a loss if you play long enough. Investing in stocks you know nothing about for the short term is the same as gambling, but investing in stocks which you have researched, and diversified, and leaving the money in them for a few years will almost always have a positive return. Diversification and patients are key. Even those people who invested in a diverse portfolio right before the market crash of 1929 would have has gains if they held long enough.

#2 The Misconception between "Good Debt" an "Being in Debt".
There is a major difference between being in debt, and having debt. Being in Debt is never positive. You are in debt if your assets you own are valued less then the assets you owe. This situation is never good, and it means you are spending more money then you are making, and will likely lead to all sorts of problems. On the other hand, having debt means owing money. For instance you may take out a mortgage for a house. You may owe $200,000, but likely the home value is greater than that $200,000. Even if you have cash to buy a home, sometimes it's better to take the mortgage (debt) and invest the cash in an investment vehicle that yields more than the rate you are paying on the mortgage. In that case, the debt is "Good Debt".

#3 The Wealthiest Americans are those Who Work Hard at their 9 to 5 Jobs
The facts are that it is nearly impossible to become very wealthy working for someone else. Over 90% of Americans with a net worth of over $8 million got their wealth by either starting up their own business or an inheritance.

#4 Money is Only for Buying Stuff
Most people think that the sole purpose of money is to buy things to make us happy. The people who are the happiest though are those that save money. Wondering why? Some of the biggest problems we face revolve around money. Not what we can and can not buy, but our long term piece of mind. Those people who save money and invest it, are much happier, healthier, and much more worry free then those who send their money more liberally. Buying something may make us happy for a few hours or days, but knowing that we have no financial obligations, and have financial freedom can make us happy for a lifetime. 50% of all Marriage conflicts revolve around money problems.

#5 If all the Experts are Investing in Something, it must be a Great Investment
The facts are that those who stray from the herd are usually the ones to succeed. This means buying when everyone else seems to be selling (case in point, when I recommended buying into the market in the 7000 range a few months back when the media was filled with gloom and doom.), and selling when everyone else seems to be buying. Take for instance the housing bubble. All the experts were telling us how great a value real estate still was, even though in some areas prices had doubled in only 5-6 years time. Mass buying or selling usually results in a market correction that will likely cause a bubble to collapse. Be your own person. Think for yourself.

Mortgage Interest Rate History

Well It's Monday so I thought we'd do another chart here, as I love looking at charts filled with lots of good information. The chart/graph below shows the various types of mortgage rates for the last 17 years:


Mortgage Rate History
I'm concentrating on the Red and orange lines, which are the 30 year and 15 year fixed rate mortgage rates. If you just take a quick glance at them, you can clearly see that we are at the lowest rates, by far, in the last 17 years. In my opinion, if you can refinance your mortgage, this IS the time to do it. Don't wait. I personally feel this will be just about the lowest rates many will see in perhaps their lifetime. We are about 40% lower the the highs we saw in the early 1990's, and probably won't be going down any further from here.

Buy Outright, or Take a Mortgage?
Many people who have the cash to buy a home will buy the home outright. Sure, this will give you the piece of mind, knowing you owe nothing, and will likely never have a worry in the world about your home's affordability, however, it may not be the smartest move right now. If you can get a mortgage for 5%, it may be best to take it regardless if you can buy the home outright or not. Why? Inflation will likely go up quite a bit in the coming years. The FED will likely raise interest rates by quite a but over the next few years, meaning bank Certificates of deposits could possibly be paying an interest rate, in 2-3 years, higher then what you can take a mortgage out for today. f you can borrow $500,000 at 5% and get a CD or bond for 6%, you are making a cool $5000 a year profit. Just something to think about.

Conclusion
In my opinion, we have clearly struck a floor with interest rates, and anyone who hesitates on refinancing now, will likely regret it pretty soon.

Week of June 9th - Economic Events

Well it's Friday again, and that means it's time for an overview and look ahead at next week. This week has been phenominal if you are long the market in any sector pretty much. Much of the data we received this week has indicated that the recession is clearly on it's way out, and the predictions of 3rd Quarter growth seem like they will be dead on. Today we found out the total number of new jobless claims has fallen considerable. Although the unemployment rate has risen to 9.4%, it seems as though we may not get to the 10% mark that I thought we may. Companies like Walmart are starting to hire again as they expand, and most companies who are going to lay off workers already have. I could honestly see the unemployment rate turning lower sometime in September if things keep up. Below is a list of the data we will get next week:

- Jun 9 10:00 AM Wholesale Inventories Apr
- Jun 10 8:30 AM Trade Balance Apr
- Jun 10 10:30 AM Crude Inventories
- Jun 10 10:35 AM Crude Inventories
- Jun 10 2:00 PM Treasury Budget May
- Jun 10 2:00 PM Fed's Beige Book
- Jun 11 8:30 AM Retail Sales May
- Jun 11 8:30 AM Retail Sales ex-auto May
- Jun 11 8:30 AM Initial Claims
- Jun 11 10:00 AM Business Inventories Apr
- Jun 12 8:30 AM Export Prices ex-ag. May
- Jun 12 8:30 AM Import Prices ex-oil May
- Jun 12 9:55 AM Mich Sentiment-Prel Jun

I am going to pay close attention to the crude inventories, especially since the price of oil is on a major rebound. Also the Fed's beige book and Business inventories should clarify the economic conditions even more. As for Companies reporting earnings, there are not too many big names reporting next week. That will change in the coming month. Could we see the Dow break the 9000 mark sometime this month? I certainly think so!

74 Forums About Making Money Online

I have been running internet business's since I was 15 years old. I started off selling baseball cards on a bulletin board (forum) on Prodigy, and now have dozens of websites in a range of categories, selling all sorts of stuff. If it wasn't for internet forums, I would never have had the inspiration of knowledge to do the things I currently do.

Webmaster Related (Forums dedicated to earning money running and managing websites. SEO tips, webmaster dialogue, and more)

- 1. DigitalPoint.com - Webmaster community where one can learn to make money running a website. Many great Tips and tricks

- 2. SitePoint.com - A webmaster haven. Many great internet gurus are here.

- 3. WebMasterWorld.com - Another Webmaster forum which talks a lot about Adsense. Big name players are here including Google employees themselves.

- 4. SearchEngineWatch.com - Really good section about Google. Discusses all types of SEO related topics

- 5. Ozzu.com - Pretty Much discusses everything related to running and hosting a Website

- 6. V7n.com - Focused on Site design, with a nice marketplace and SEO folder.

- 7. HtmlForums.com - Everything you need to know about Html, programming, graphics, e-commerce and more.

- 8. Devshed.com - Probably the most comprehensive Programming and development forum online. Folders for all programming languages.

- 9. SeoChat.com - Focused almost completely on SEO. Some really smart people with a lot of great insight post here.

- 10. WebTalkForums.com - Focused almost completely on website promotion and development.

- 11. WebDeveloper.com - Generally about programming and scripting websites with sections on domain names, and other money related topics.

- 12. TheAdminZone.com - Focused on forum administrators, and how to make money with an internet forum.

- 13. CreateBlog.com - Focused completely on website coding and designing

- 14. Cre8aSiteForums.com - Everything from Website development to monetization discussed here.

- 15. Daniweb.com - Website creation and marketing discussed here.

- 16. TalkFreelance.com - Very Large webmaster marketplace, and huge Freelancer community.

- 17. BloggerForum.com - Focused on the Blogging community and how to monetize a blog.

- 18. WebHostingTalk.com - Geared towards hosting resellers but has some relevant sections on making money selling hosting and running a website. Very active.

- 19. HostingForum.ca - Canadian version of Webhostingtalk. Focus's mainly on website scripting.

- 20. HostingDiscussion.com - Focused almost completely on website hosting and selling hosting for a profit.

- 21. Forum4Designers.com - Really good forum for coding, html, and graphics.

- 22. Webmaster-Talk.com - Pretty much dedicated to anything webmaster related, but focused on the coding and design aspects.

- 23. IwebTool.com - General Webmaster talk and marketplace'

- 24. WebExpertz.net - Geared mostly towards Java script programming, with a nice section about making money online.

- 25. HighRanking.com - Spans all webmaster topics, with a really good Internet marketing section

- 26. WebMasterForumsOnline.com - Not as active as some of the others, but has a nice marketplace section for buying and selling web services and sites.

- 27. WebMastersHelp.com - Pretty much a quieter form of Sitepoint. Moderators seem active but not as many active members.

- 28. SeoGuy.com - Rather quiet, but there are some SEO experts posting here.

- 29. FrontPageWebmaster.com - A Webmaster learning community. Many different programming language topics, as well as a site critique seciton.

- 30. UkWebMasterWorld.com - Moderately crowded. Based in the Uk, and has a great business section.

- 31. SearchEngineForums.com - Some really good folders about Google optimization and Google Adsense.

- 32. WebDesignForums.net - Everything related to creating a website.

- 33. WebForumz.com - Large selection of webmaster related topics.

- 34. IHelpYou.com - Almost completely about SEO. They have a really good Help and Advice section.

- 35. SeRoundtable.com - Just made the cutoff in terms of traffic, but the good Google related section gave it a bump.

- 36. SeoBlackHat.com - Private forum for discussing the often criticized black hat techniques of getting search engine traffic.

- 37. NetPond.com - The largest forum for adult webmasters.

- 38. AdultWebMasterinfo.com - The second largest adult webmaster related site.


Miscellaneous (These are general categories, but all list below are forums which will give you a ton of information on various online revenue streams, and opportunities):

- 39. Talkgold.com - This is our own forum. Pretty much covers every Money making opportunity there is online from Hyips, to Forex, to Running a website to blogging.

- 40. GeekVillage.com - Really good section for making money online, as well as other related topics.

- 41. RevenueSource.com - Discusses different ways to make money online. A variety of topics.

- 42. WebLife.org - Not as busy as it once was., but a lot of good topics and moderators.

- 43. DnLodge.com - Focused on a variety of topics including domain names and site design.

- 44. FreeWebSpace.net - Nice section on internet advertising, as well as design and Free web hosting.

- 45. MarketingChat.org - Barely made the list because of low traffic, but there is a lot of great information about several money making topics here.

- 46. TheFreeAdForum - Place for webmasters to advertise their sites and opportunities to make money.

- 47. FreeAdvertisingForum.com - Great place for webmasters to post ads to their site for free.

- 48. SiteOwnersForums.com - A variety of topics including a "Making Money on the Web" section

- 49. AkaMarketing.com - Covers a large assortment of webmaster money making topics.

- 50. RolClub.com - Focused on Iraqi Dinar investing via the internet, with sections for hyips and autosurfs as well.

- 51. EWealth.com - Focused on a variety of topics. Anything related to making money online is discussed here.

- 52. MoneyTalkPro.com - Focused on risky online programs like HYIPs and Autosurfs, but discusses a variety of other money related topics.

- 53. MoneyMakerGroup.com - Another forum dedicated more towards High yields investing and risky programs. Also has various other money making topics.

- 54. DreamTeamMoney.com - Focus's on Hyips and Get to to surf programs, and has a unique points system.

- 55. HotSurfs.com - Focus's on Hyips, but also discusses a variety of other money making topics.

- 56. Code4Gold.com - Focus's on E-currencies, Hyips, and webmaster related issues. Admins are not too fond of Talkgold, but this list isn't biased ;) It deserves to be here.

Domain Name Related: (Whether you are buying and selling domain names, or simply investing in them, developing them, and putting ads on them, there are a whole array of ways to make money in the domain name industry)

- 57. DnForum.com - The Grand Daddy of all Domain name related forums. They do have various paid membership upgrades. Learn to Invest in Domain names.

- 58. NamePros.com - The second most popular Domain name oriented forum. Greta place for appraisals. No paid memberships like DNForum.

- 59. DomainState.com - Not as busy, but they have a great News section to see what past domains sold for.

- 60. DiscussNames.com - Focused on Domain name Appraisals and buying and selling of of Domains for profit.

- 61. DomainForums.com - A quieter version of DNForum.com.

- 62. AcornDomains.co.uk - A UK based domain name appraisal, and marketplace discussion.

- 63. DDBoard.com - Various webmaster topics discussed here with a bulk being domain name oriented.

- 64. IdnForums.com - Domain name discussion with folders based in 11 different languages.

- 65. DnsScoop/com - Large Domain name marketplace section as well as other webmaster related topics.

Affiliate/Internet Marketing Related: (Want to sell others peoples products and get as much as 75% commission. These forums teach you the ins and outs of the industry)

- 66. ABestWeb - Dedicated to everything related to Affiliate marketing. Largest Affiliate forum online

- 67. WarriorForum.com - One of My Favorite forums related to Internet Marketing in General.

- 68. AssociatePrograms.com - Really good forum for affiliate marketing and earning online.

- 69. WickedFire.com - All about internet marketing and generating traffic to your website.

- 70. Affiliates4u.com - Discusses ways to earn through affiliates and other means of website ad publishing.

- 71. 5StarAffiliatePrograms.com - Very Organized affiliate related discussions.

- 72. AffiliatePrograms.com - General Affiliate marketing discussion.

- 73. ClickBankSuccessForum.com - Really great community for people who sell ebooks via clickbank.

- 74. Im4Newbies - A WarriorForum for people just getting started in internet marketing. Good information found here.

This list is just the tip of the iceberg, however they are the main ones that most of the online entrepreneurs use.