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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

5 Ways to Build Back Your Wealth

So your 401k plans are at levels unimaginable, your home value is probably between 50-80% of what it was just a couple years ago, and you may have either lost your job, or are on shaky ground at work. Don't fret, I'm hear to provide you a few tips on how to rebuild some of your wealth so that next time the economy crashes, you are in a much better situation. Things seem bad now, but they will get better, and in the end you will have learned a great deal about your finances. Here are 5 ways to build your wealth back up.

1. Build your Credit Score - In times of crisis it's always good to have a nice credit line with a low interest rate in case of an unforeseen emergency. Build your credit score, by lowering your debt to credit ratio. This means you need to pay off the debt you owe, while also trying to get a credit line increase. The more credit you have available, that you do not use, the higher your score will usually be in the long run.
   
   
2. Don't watch so much TV - Did you know that for every 1 hour of television you watch per week, your expenditures increase by $200 for the year? The reason for this is that we are influenced by trends on tv. If our favorite athlete or movie star is wearing a certain piece of clothing, driving a certain car in a sitcom, we are more likely to want that object.
   
   
3. Reevaluate your Portfolio - This is a great time to re-adjust our investment holdings. If you are in the age range where you should have a 50% stock holding and 50% bond holding, it is likely that after the recent crash, things are not 50/50 any longer. This probably means you should buy more stocks. In the long run it will even out and you will likely recover your losses
   
   
4. Reevaluate your Car and Homeowners Insurance Policies - Did you know that you could save about $400 a year if you raise your deductible for homeowners insurance from $500 to $5000? That may seem like a big step, but in actuality, how often have you had to put a claim in? Insurance should be there to protect from catastrophy, not the minor problems.
   
   
5. Refinance - This is probably one of the most overlooked ways to save a bundle of money. Did you knwo that if you were to refinance your $300,000 mortgage from a 6% rate to 5% rate, you'd save over $40,000 during the life of the loan? You'd also cut your monthly payment by abotu $350 as well. $350 a month is a nice amoutn fo money you could be saving isn;t it?