May 2007
You are currently browsing the articles from General Finance written in the month of May 2007.
The U.S. stock market most mostly unchanged most of the day yesterday, overreacting to the some “bad” news from China and in anticipation of the release of the minutes from the latest Fed meeting. At the end of the trading session the Fed news was interpreted as very positive and stocks roared at the end with indices ending up about 0.8% up for the day. The S&P500 broke through its all-time high set several years back.
These signals point to a higher return for this morning’s trading session. In the long run it adds to the bullish arguments out there stating the stock market is primed to make a big move.
Written by Nagel on May 31st, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Investing and Stock Market.
The stock market has continued its climb and showed only small signs of weakness. Can it keep going up? Will it rise further?
There are many pessimistic investors out there, however, there is just as many positive signs as negative. So what does it mean? Again, I have said I am being conservative, but I am reconsidering because so many investors are so bearish. I am interested in value investing and contrarian thinking so I have put a little bit more money into the market. And if the market dips I will try to take advantage of it.
Written by Nagel on May 30th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Stock Market.
Let’s face it, Americans have a big problem saving money. The saving rate in the U.S. has recently become negative for the first time in recorded history. So we need some help. Periodically, I will list some examples of potential methods to use to save money.
Save Money Tips
- Load up on necessities at the dollar store
- Load on on non-perishable often-used items when they are on sale
- Buy generic if you can
- Try low cost entertainment alternatives such as: walks, tennis, go to the park, etc.
- Eat out less often
These are just a few of the many to come.
Written by Nagel on May 29th, 2007 with 2 comments.
Read more articles on Budgeting and Household and Uncategorized.
Everyone knows somebody who does not like their job and wants a better job; it might even be you. But how do you go about getting that better job that you love? It is not as difficult as you might think.
It takes . . .
Motivation
Typically, that great job you love is not just come to you without you looking for it.
Time to Determine What You Want to Do
Consider what that dream job is
Brainstorm about things you already like to do
Preparation
- Prepare your resume
- Use online job sites
- Get the word out: Network
Passion
Your passion will keep you going in order to ultimately find that job
A great resource is: Dan Miller’s 48 Days to the Work You Love
It is a great podcast to learn how to find that job you love.
Written by Nagel on May 28th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Household.
Why save money? Seems like a simple straight-forward question, but you can have a long discussion on the benefits of saving versus not saving money. My wife and I make a genuine effort to save as much money each month as we possibly can. We want to have an emergency fund, a hefty retirement account balance and be able to travel.
Here are some reason why you should save money.
Saving money can . . .
- Give you an emergency fund when times are not so good
- Give you a sense of accomplishment
- Help you reach life goals
- Allow you to splurg on something you always wanted without the worry
- Make your future brighter
- Help you family’s future be brighter
- Mean retireing early
- Working less, not more
- Free you from wanting to keep up with the Jones’s
- Help you sleep at night
- Keep the bill collectors away
- Help give you a positive attitude
Why save money? These are just a few reasons why.
What are your reasons?
Written by Nagel on May 25th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Household and Uncategorized.
Top Salary Negotiation Strategies
- Don’t broach salary first and hold off from the subject as long as possible. This gives you more power in the salary negotiation process because you have sold the potential employer on yourself so they will be more apt to give more money for your services.
- Salary.com: Find out how much your job position is worth
- Find out how much the benefits they are offering are worth
- Many say they will negotiate, but many chicken out when it is time. So are you really going to negotiate or not.
- Is with any negotiation, ask for a higher salary; they will counter-offer. Then try to explain why you are worth that.
- The offer is low, and it is a corporate situation where they cannot negotiate try for a signing bonus, higher performance bonuses, or a shorter time frame for a performance review and raise.
- Negotiate base salary first, and then move on to the other parts of the job.
- You can negotiate non-money issues such as moving expenses, paid vacation, personal days, professional training, etc.
- Remind the potential employer consistently of what you bring to the table.
- Don’t try to get companies into a bidding war.
- Negotiations are not a no-sum situation. You and the employer can come out happy with the results.
- Do not make demands and never be confrontational.
- If you really need or want the job, you need to be more flexible because walking away is not a possibility.
- If you agree, the negotiations are over.
- Get the offer in writing.
Written by Nagel on May 24th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Household.
I am sure you have noticed the jump in gas prices the past several weeks; how could you miss it? Should gas prices increase like this? Oil prices per barrell has increased, but it does not necessarily reflect how high gas prices are. Here is some gas prices over the past several years.
Historical Gas Prices: National Averages
$1.49 May 15, 2000
$1.71 May 14, 2001
$1.38 May 13, 2002
$1.49 May 12, 2003
$2.01 May 17, 2004
$2.16 May 16, 2005
$2.94 May 15, 2006
$3.10 May 14, 2007
Written by Nagel on May 23rd, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Household.
Everbank.com has been my bank for almost a half-a-year, and it is a time for an update.
I had a very high level of problems at the beginning; it seemed never-ending. My level of frustration was to the point to withdrawal all my funds and go to a different bank. My wife even said she wanted to take it out because she was worried about the future of our money.
Months have passed and things have improved dramatically, mainly because I no longer need to contact them for anything. I received the 6.01% introduction APR and I could not pass that up.
Written by Nagel on May 22nd, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Banking and Uncategorized.
Here are some helpful tips to remember when trying to conserve gasoline. This is even more important since gas prices are sure to rise this summer driving season.
- Keep your tires fully inflated. When they are not they decrease fuel efficiency.
- Take all the junk out of the trunk. More weight=less MPG.
- Change your oil and fluids regularly.
- Replace dirty air and fuel filters.
- Combine multiple trips into one.
- Keep a steady pace. Starting and stopping cut gas efficiency.
- Use regular unleaded gas
- Search for cheap gas, but do not drive all over to find it.
- Try to use less air conditioning.
- Do not fill your gas tank to the top because it can cause spillage.
Written by Nagel on May 19th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Budgeting and Household and Uncategorized.
I continually track the stock market andtry to decide where it is going. I have stated my U.S. economy concerns and its potential impact on the stock market. I have recently put some more money in the stock market, but these are long term investments and I plan on keeping that money in no matter what happens.
I have some individual stock investments that are doing well right now, and I am going to pull that out soon. The stocks that I have that are doing bad are going to stay in the market now matter what.
My stock market tracking is nearly minute-by-minute, and it will continue to be until my concerns are realized, or quelled.
Written by Nagel on May 18th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Stock Market.
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