A Look at TheMoneyKid

Just lately many of us have noticed a massive number of brand new "Get Paid to" type programs which usually seem to present amazing incentives for giving visitors to their own sites. Presently there are basically hundreds and hundreds of cons out there that operate with the admins greatest interest at hand, leaving behind the people in the dark at the finish, and without cash. One fresh site like this is the recently launched plan called The Money Kid. If you are sensible you would quickly avoid this website and any sites like it.

The Way TheMoneyKid functions is that you get your very own individual web address which you duplicate and paste all over the place. The Money Kid recommends that you propagate the referral link you are offered all around the internet via Myspace, Forums, Bebo, and so on. The more mouse clicks you get to your individualized TheMoneyKid web address, the more cash you will generate. In reality, you will make 15 cents for each and every click you get on your own customized link. That's at least what these people claim.

Remember that if an offer appears much too good to be real than it almost surely is. Of course, no one will close these types of plans down since they are not inquiring for any kind of cash to get started, but many folks will squander a remarkable quantity of their time, imagining they are making lots of funds, when in truth they are just viewing numbers go up on a monitor.

Just remember to be incredibly mindful, and think about how these programs make their money just before moving head first into something you have no idea about. Bear in mind the program itself requires to be able to generate more money than they are having to pay out. This signifies that if they need to pay out $15 for every 250 views of their web site, the plan wants to make at minimum that to keep in business. Do the mathematics. If it won't add up, run!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Whats the Better Investment Now - Stocks or Bonds?

With the stock market up nearly 30% from it's lows only 3 months ago, many investors are speculating that it may now be time to consider investing in Bonds, which could pay off better then stocks int he long run. That's at least what some experts are saying. Me, on the other hand, disagree.


Bonds:
Bonds are still yielding extremely low rates of return compared to the past. The 10 year Treasury is paying just about 3.6%. That's not terrible, but you have to consider that inflation could easily reach 3.6% within the next year, and likely will go a bit higher than that. If inflation strikes like many experts think, we could see 10 year Treasuries paying over 6% easily, meaning those lowly 3.6% bonds you purchase today will be worth about 60% then. I, in fact, do like some of the more risky corporate bonds, where you can get a return as high as 10% on companies which really are not in that bad shape.

Stocks
Right Now, even though the market is up 30% from it's lows, I am still a stock guy. Although I do own some bonds, I believe that the stockmarket is the place to be. Why in the world would you buy a 3.6% Treasury bond that is locked in for 10 years, when you can buy a stock like Verizon (VZ) which has a 6.25% dividend, you can sell whenever you like, and will likely increase it's share price over the long run with or without inflation. If you are looking for the stable return of bonds, then buy some of the blue chip dividend stocks like Intel, BP, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Altria, etc. You will get a pretty reliable stable return higher than 3.6% plus have the stock price gain to look forward to as well.

Conclusion:
Stocks are still an excellent buy. With the economy picking up finally, most dividend stocks which have yet to cut their dividends will likely be safe from here on out.

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?
   

Domain Names Price Decreases

The recession is affecting just about every world market there is, including that of the high value domain segment. Domain names continue to decrease in value according to my personal portfolio evaluations I have been doing. Primary price decreases are led by the simple fact that liquidible cash is not available like it was just 6-12 months ago. Another cause of devaluation can be the lower parking revenue due to the lack of advertisers feeding the parking company with quality high prices advertisement.

The average 3 letter .com domain is selling at $6900 (in the past 4 weeks). This is compared to $9800 just 6 months ago. This represent a devaluation of almost 30%. Considering the stock market has fallen nearly 40% in the same time period, and home prices have fallen about 40% as well in the last 3 years, this is not all that bad.

We predict this downward trend to continue for the 1st quarter, and then a gradual increase from April onwards as the economy in general will begin showing signs of a recovery.

For more articles about my domain name thoughts, check out my articles at: Brian's Dmain Articles