Archive for December, 2009


When Was the Last Time You Read a Stock Trading Tutorial?

Filed Under: Uncategorized by Bill — Comments Off
December 25, 2009

When the stock market crashed in 2008 some interesting things started happening in the investment world.  So many people lost an enormous percentage of their net worth.  Many people had to push back retirement plans or rethink retiring at all.  There were countless Americans who had a large portion of their savings invested in the stock market, and never really paid much attention to that money.  After all, the mantra of the generation was that long term investment in the stock market was not nearly as risky as short term trading.  The crash in 2008 changed that way of thinking.

People started to pay more attention to the money in their retirement funds.  People started to realize that there is more to a successful nest egg than just putting the money in and forgetting it.  In this day of easy accessibility to the stock market, people began to take control of their own money.  Interest in stock trading surged for the retail (read small time) investor.  There was an incredible influx of people who wanted to learn how to manage their own investment funds.

The point is that many of these people started to trade stocks around this time.  They went out and read a stock trading tutorial, and maybe watched a couple of how to trade videos.  I think now that a certain amount of time has passed since so many beginners were introduced into the market would be a perfect time to revisit some of the basics.  Nothing can replace the experience gained from actually trading, but going back through and brushing up on your knowledge of the stock market is never a bad idea.  When was the last time you went back to the basics and read a trading tutorial?

If you are interested in reading a stock market tutorial from the ground up, visit stocktradingtutorial.org

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Warren Buffett Stock Advice

Filed Under: Fundamental by Bill — Comments Off
December 17, 2009

When there is uncertainty in the markets, people listen to what Warren Buffett has to say.  And why shouldn’t they?  This is an investor that has consistently beaten the market for decades and has a billion dollar bank account to prove it.  Needless to say, after a couple of years in credit crisis mode, people want to know what the greatest investor forecasts for the year 2010.  People want to know his unique perspective on where the market is going and they are on the lookout for Buffett stock tips.

If you are an American, do not fear all that doom and gloom that America is on the decline.  According to Warren Buffett forecasts, America will be a richer country in 20 years than it is now.  There will be some short term financial issues but for the long term, things are looking good.  This is why if you have extra money in your bank account this is the time to invest.  The market is not overpriced.  However, take heed in what you buy.  You should only invest in a company that you have thoroughly researched and is trading at below its intrinsic value.  You should also be willing to sit on the stock for a long time because you are thoroughly convinced that it is a good investment.  You should ask yourself, as a business owner, are you comfortable with owning it for 20 years?  For instance, will Google still dominate the search scene or will something else come along?  What about Apple?  Will it still be the top of the mp3 player industry?  Do these businesses have enough of a moat around them to protect against competitors?  If the answer is no, then no matter how attractive the name, it does not fit within the formula of how to invest like Warren Buffett.

A disciplined investor in the recession is one that is careful with the purchases he makes but also one who has the foresight to pass on opportunities that do not fit his/her criteria.

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No More Excuses It is Time to Eliminate Debt

Filed Under: Personal Finance by Bill — Comments Off
December 15, 2009

The more I stare at the scary national debt problems the more passionate I become about eliminating my own personal debt.  I also want to have my friends and family eliminate debt on every front they can also.  I think this is how our country (US) will survive.  Let me throw around a few numbers:

The average US citizen earns $38,887 per year.  However, taxes takes out on average $17,818 per year for all the local, state and fed taxes.  This leaves your $21,069 to work with.  Since we know we’re running on a federal deficit this amount of taxes isn’t even gaining on the problem so expect more taxes.  WOW that’s a 45% tax rate overall.

Well you don’t even have $21,000 to work with because of your own debt.  The average personal debt per citizen is $54,065 with about 85% of that being mortgages.  So I’ll assume a 6% average interest rate for all of the debt costing everyone $3,243 per year in interest.  Now you have $17,826 to live off of. 

Basic food, lights, clothes, shelter etc will probably run you about $1000 per month per person.  So now you have $5,826 per year left to gain on any debt, or to be absorbed by any increase in taxes.  Not a very large margin of error.   This is why I need to eliminate credit debt now before I don’t have the income to get ahead at all.

My Debt Elimination Plan

  1. Save an Emergency Fund – This will allow me to quit running to credit every time there is a problem.  I’m going to start with a small one, a couple of thousand dollars, and then pay off debt, and then build a bigger one.
  2. Make a Budget – I hate doing this.  It’s even harder when you’re working with a spouse because you’ll disagree on the budget, but you have to do it.  You’ll be surprised how much money you waste in impulse buying every month. 
  3. Increase my income – I’ve wrote about this before, it’s my favorite part.  If you increase your income you have more money to throw at the debt.  I plan on throwing any increased money directly at the debt without figuring it in the budget so it doesn’t get washed out in “slush funds.”
  4. Sell stuff – If I can dump some things that will never go up in value and use it to pay down debt I win.
  5. Stay at it until I’m debt free – Persistence is the key to winning period.
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Gold Spot Trading

Filed Under: Stock Trading Systems by Bill — Comments Off
December 14, 2009

The concept of spot trading usually refers today to that of foreign currencies. However, for many investors the term is also substantially associated with the trading of precious metals.

One has to keep in mind that in the past, all currencies around the world were based on the amount of gold that the particular country had in its reserves. This makes the concept of currency and gold very closely related to one another. As such, the term spot trading today is still used primarily for the trading of gold as well as other precious metals.

The concept of a spot gold trade is that when you make the trade, it is immediate rather then some time later on. In spot trading gold, you can either chose to take a long position or a short one. Just like Forex, rather then trading currency pairs, you are trading currency on the spot for old or any other precious metal.

The listing on the market ticker refers to the value of the precious metal at the moment in US Dollars. This value is based on the troy ounce; which is not to be confused with the standard American ounce. There is of course a slight spread between the current asking price and that of the selling price so that one has to hold on to the trade for at least a little while before selling it for any profits.

The ticker though moves just as fast as that of the Forex ticker so keep a watchful eye on your investment so as to ensure you are getting the most profit possible from your trade. In the end, you will find that gold spot trading is a very fun option for gold trading as well as lucrative proposition for just about anyone today; assuming you have the funds to invest in the first place.

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