Financial Planning, Retirement Plan, 401k, Investment Blog

Financial Planning, Retirement Plan, 401k, Investment Blog

Investing Basics

Financial Literacy- Does It Still Work?

Posted March 30, 2009 by Bernz

Financial literacy means being savvy with your cash flows and understanding your financial transactions in order to make better decisions that will protect and increase your wealth. Many feel that financial literacy is no longer useful or relevant in the face of our current economic meltdown. They feel that, no matter what consumers know or do, they will be hurt in this recession.

However, financial literacy is more important than ever. Understanding your financial position and how to navigate through tough economic times will give you a leg up in ensuring your financial security.

The people who will survive and thrive in today’s economy are those who have a handle on their personal finances. They know what they own and what they owe and they know where the cash is coming from and going. Every dollar that comes in has a name- meaning they know exactly where it is going.

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Posted in 401k, Debt, Estate Planning, Financial Education, Financial Goals, Index Funds, Investing Basics, Investing in Real Estate, Investing Strategies, IRA, Life Insurance, Loans, Mutual Funds, Retirement Planning, Roth IRA, Saving for College, Saving Money, Simple IRA, Stock Market Investing, Tax Reduction, Traditional IRA, Wealth Building | No Comments »

Is This the Market of a Lifetime?

Posted March 25, 2009 by Bernz

It’s difficult for even the best prognosticators to get a handle on the stock market these days. The massive recession-that-might-be-a-depression that has gripped much of the industrialized world has brutalized stock markets in the US and abroad. Pension funds, college funds and savings accounts have all been hard hit. Recently, CNBC’s Jim Cramer took a verbal beating from Jon Stewart about his inability to predict the crash.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped to its lowest level in 12 years recently and continues to test that limit. But even with all of the warnings about the dangers of the market right now, some wise investors are in collection mode.

So, is there opportunity in the stock market right now or only grief and despair? Optimists point to the fact that all stocks are getting punished regardless of their fundamentals. That means that there are stocks that are currently undervalued lurking out there. The tricky part is finding the ones that will both weather the remainder of the recession and also do well when the markets turn around.

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Posted in Financial Education, Financial Goals, Index Funds, Investing Basics, Investing Strategies, Stock Market Investing, Stock Watch | 1 Comment »

Is Now a Good Time to Start a Small Business?

Posted March 18, 2009 by Bernz

Have you ever had a dream of owning your own business and not having to work for a boss anymore? That is the dream of many employees who wish to have more control over their lives and their finances. With the unprecedented current level of employee layoffs, more people than ever are considering following that dream rather than trying to apply for a new job. Is now really the best time to do that?

Perhaps it’s time for a reality check. Starting a business is often considered to be one method of building wealth. The fact is, however, that 80% of small businesses fail in the first five years, and almost 80% of the ones that survive fail within ten years. Those that make it through the first decade have a solid financial and entrepreneurial foundation that is strong enough to see the business through the tough times. But what if you’re trying to start a business during tough times? It is possible and there is help available.

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Posted in Career, Financial Goals, Investing Basics, Investing Strategies, Loans, Misc, Retirement Planning, Wealth Building | No Comments »

Banking on American Banks: Why US Financial Institutions Will Survive the Crisis

Posted March 16, 2009 by Bernz

So far this year, the news has been pretty frightening. Banks have been taking huge bottom line hits on their assets. Some banks have teetered on the edge of financial collapse before receiving a $700 million life line from the federal government. Specters of the Great Depression dominated financial markets and, for the first time in two generations, people started wondering if their money was safe in some of the largest banks in the country.

To understand the banking crisis and why US banks will survive it, you have to understand the sub-prime mortgage fiasco. Most of us know that sub-prime mortgages were home loans made to those who couldn’t qualify for conventional bank mortgage financing, making them high risk. Most of these loans contained a low-interest teaser rate to attract new borrowers, but, buried deep in the fine print of the contract, lurked a much higher rate after the first few months. As the rates went up, so did defaults and the mortgage assets weren’t worth as much to banks. What made the situation worse is that banks and other financial institutions bundled these loans up into packages called mortgage-backed securities and sold them to various investors. Many of these investors were not aware of the risk of the underlying loans. Those securities that sat on banks’ balance sheets rotted away until no one was sure what their true value was, if any. As their assets deteriorated, banks ran into a liquidity crises where their current assets were in danger of not being sufficient to meet their current liabilities. That’s when the federal government stepped in with their bailout.

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Posted in Financial Education, Investing Basics, Loans, Misc, Saving Money, Stock Market Investing, Wealth Building | 1 Comment »

How to invest in the right types of stocks

Posted October 30, 2008 by Bernz

Stocks and stock markets can be really confusing! This article will clear up a few misconceptions and help you understand how stocks and markets work and how to invest in the stock market.

By Dustin M.

Quite simply, stocks or shares are small parts of a publicly traded companies. Companies sell these parts to raise capital for future investment in buildings, employees, and other resources. There are two types of stocks or shares called, common and preferred.

Common stock

Common stock/shares is the most common kind as you can imagine. This is the kind of stock traded on the stock market every day. It is the kind of stock that is bought for mutual funds and 401K plans.

Preferred Stock

Preferred stock/shares are high level, very expensive stocks. Sold only to hand-picked investors by companies with stocks that run into the thousands of dollars. Usually founders of the company and their friends end up with these privileged shares. Also, private banks also tend to hold these shares as well. These are not often traded on the open market because people who own these shares tend to sit on the board of the company or have other controlling interest.

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Posted in Investing Basics | No Comments »