Are we really in a recession or has the dream bubble burst? Did we really expect the housing market to always go up with no top on the horizon? Come on now… When I was working at the bank and I was supposed to sell home equity lines and loans to clients that had about 30% debt to income ratio, I knew something was going to happen. Our software actually promoted the idea to sell loans to people that were in the 30-40% debt to income range. I was a simple “banker” (really just a fancy word for salesman of financial products) and I could see what was going to happen four years ago. It just amazes me that financial institutions were so leveraged to the mortgage business even though a high school student with one semester of forecasting could predict it blowing up.

This situation does not have to get you down though. This market had a self-destruct button and it was hit a long time ago. Companies did this to themselves and the ones that can’t take the heat are going to be burnt. Badly burnt. But as you know, there are plenty of companies that are just getting brought down by the huge sell off that’s been going on for a while now. Some companies that seemed too expensive just a few months ago are now extremely cheap. It’s going to me hard making a positive return in this market, but you can certainly build a nice position while the market is low. Dividends are a huge key to be successful in this market, but there are plenty of other ways to get a pay off. Diversification could be a winner here if you choose the right fund. Fidelity reopened the Magellan fund; which brought some nice returns even in a pretty crappy market in the 80’s and 90’s. Fidelity is opening up the flood gates for new investors and maybe you should be part of the rush.

I know it seems depressing when you turn on the TV and all you see is the Dow sinking even further. I wouldn’t recommend putting all your money in one stock or purchasing a ton of stocks at one time. You need to purchase slowly and keep buying even if the market keeps sinking. The best idea is just let an index fund do everything for you. Just keep on dumping $300 dollars a month (if you can) in an index fund that is spread over the S&P 500, raw materials, minerals, and petroleum. The stock market will go up and you just need to buy it as the market goes down. There will be a U-turn at some point and investors will be happy that they bought when everyone was selling.

I also think that boom markets will be produced from this mortgage disaster. There’s still a lot of older people out there that are about to retire. This situation alone will send up certain sectors to new highs. Medical and anything influenced by an aging population will send stocks soaring. And because the whole market is hitting new two year lows, this offers the opportunity to own lots of stocks for real cheap. Happy investing and I would love to hear some new investing ideas you might have.   

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Could there actually be a positive side to the market’s recent implosion? It’s hard to look at the sunny side when it seems like a dark cloud is always hovering around. But I still think that you could eventually make some good money while the market corrects itself. This is a perfect opportunity for younger investors to purchase stocks of great companies at their lows. For the young investor it’s much more important to create a position and let it ride back to the top.

Great companies are still paying out healthy dividends which will be reinvested at their low share price. You can establish a small position and let it grow for the long term. It’s like growing a tree. First, you plant the seed (purchasing shares). Second you take care of your plant by watering it and providing shelter (reinvest the dividends and keep on purchasing shares). Eventually, you will end up having a big ol’ tree (a nice position in a good company).

The market has so much opportunity right now that it’s craving for some buyers. You can try to play it smart by purchasing and investing for the long-term or you can try to be a market timer and probably lose. No one ever got rich by purchasing shares at their highs and selling them at their lows. So please take advantage of the huge “fire sale” the market is giving us and buy some shares of some good companies.

The financial sector got killed this year, so their might be some good buying opportunities with good conservative banks. SunTrust for instance, got knocked down with their peers even though they still have a pretty clean balance sheet. They are paying a 4.9% dividend and are at a three year low. It’s still a great bank with excellent fundamentals.

Of course there are many other companies that I would buy if I had the money to invest. My personal favorites are still companies that are paying dividends because they offer long-term position growth. Right now, I would rather buy Microsoft than Apple because they pay out a dividend. It’s much easier to build a position when the company offers the investor an incentive to be a shareholder.

The other company I like, while their share price is getting beat up, is PWE. They pay out that nice dividend which will help the investor build a position very quickly. Remember to reinvest the dividend for maximum growth potential. The company also pays out their dividend monthly which is an added bonus. There are plenty of other Canadian oil trusts for the picking, but I still think there is more upside with this company.

The market is offering investors long-term buying potential. Young investors have the ability to make a lot of money in this market. If you have the ability to invest, invest in companies that are getting knocked around, but still offer a bright future.

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With all the news circulating about the Fed’s decision on cutting rates for the third time in a row, is the economy really based on the Federal Reserve or companies blowing away earnings estimates provided by analysts? Right now it seems like it’s heavily dependent on the Fed. The complete lack of confidence in the market is creating a lot more controversy than the whole mortgage mess. I think that there’s about 600-800 points of pure speculation embedded in the Dow right now. Usually when people think of the American stock market and economy, they think of the purest form of separation of government and business.

But does this situation erase the line in the sand and mix the two together? I am starting to think that it is. It feels like a complete bail out of companies that really don’t deserve to still be around. The major companies that have suffered were in the business to make money out of thin air. Did they really think they would make money off of a consumer that can’t even pay for the minimum payments on their credit cards? Come on now! And those are the idiots the Fed is trying to save…

I am sure our country would be perfectly fine with the total disappearance of some of these companies. When you play with fire, your ass will get burned most of the time. The companies playing around with crappy mortgage portfolios deserve what they got. If I went to a casino and bet all my money on red and the ball lands on black, am I allowed to complain and try to get my money back? I could, but the manager would tell me it was my fault for gambling.

Where should we invest our money to get ahead of the game? I think we should play the market in a 10-12 stock portfolio. You need to have some consistent growers like (Kroger, (KR), Coke (KO), Costco (COST), and some that will deliver constant dividends Pengrowth (PGH), Bank of America (BAC), Unilever (UN). After the portfolio has a strong foundation, you can pick some good performers over the long-haul. I like Wainwright Bank (WAIN), Adobe (ADBE), Honda (HMC) and Hologic (HOLX). Those stocks have some varied fluctuation, but have a strong long-term performance. Your portfolio is almost complete, but it’s still missing a few more stocks to really make it happen. I am still on the E*Trade (ETFC) bandwagon even after all the news. Does this make me a hypocrite because of what I said before? Maybe a little, but their main business is still very strong and their cash infusion will certainly help. Here are some picks of my favorite movers and shakers: Nintendo (NTDOY.PK), Suncor Energy (SU), and ValueClick (VCLK).

No matter how you end up playing this wild market, keep your eye on the long-term and remember that the stuff in between is almost like an illusion. The next year might be scary, but I think that this market will end up producing a lot of rich people. Do you want to be part of the pack or sit on the sidelines with your best friend Mr. Mutual Fund?

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Did we just receive a market comeback or is it just an illusion? I’m guessing a little bit of both. Last week was a horrible week in the market with an accelerated loss in the Dow of over 600 points. Then Monday came around with more disappointing numbers which was provided by the financials. Today provided a cushion landing for a lot of the stocks that got hit hard by the massive amount of speculation surrounding a lot of retail and financial companies.

A shroud of darkness has plagued the financial markets because of the lack of proper forecasting in the banking, brokerage and mortgage sectors. E*Trade for instance, announced that their mortgage backed securities lost more value than originally expected. When I first bought shares of E*Trade, I knew there were going to be some ups and some downs, but nothing like what happened on Friday and Monday. The rally that happened with the market today was extremely beneficial to the people that purchased E*Trade (ETFC) earlier in the trading session. Around 3:00 P.M. E*Trade was up more than 50% then settled at 43%!

I am guessing you (the readers) probably have some other stocks that blew a tire last week, but did your stocks and funds ever recover? And should people view Tuesday as another good day or just another inflated trading day? Personally, I think that there’s going to be a lot more news about the mortgage mess in the upcoming weeks. As an investor, you need to find some stocks that will shake off all the market drama and sustain a good return. I’ve been very challenged by the current market because of all the severe ups and downs. It’s almost like you need to buy when you hear bad news and sell when you hear good news.  Taking a more conservative view point might be a good idea to prevent huge losses while the market stabilizes a little. The stocks I recommended earlier this week are still great long term investments that are less exotic and perform extremely well in recessionary type of times.

What are some other stocks that you’ve been eyeing in these desperate times? Financials? Bio Tech? Defense companies? I’m a huge believer in insurance companies if the price is right during times of uncertainty. Allstate (ALL) and Brown & Brown (BRO) are two companies that are extremely cheap and have a wonderful upside potential with great books. They have plenty of wiggle room from their 52-week high and both have a stable and growing dividend. I am a huge fan of dividends when the market is flying all over the place. They provide some sort of security for me that many growth stocks do not have.

What’s your view of the stock market and the overall economy? Do you think it will start chilling out or do you predict more rapids ahead? I would love to hear people’s investment ideas and opinions concerning the current market. Are you bullish or bearish? Whatever the case may be, there’s still a huge amount of money to make out there and hopefully we can make it together.

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What do you do when life brings you down? Is there a sure fire way of picking up the pieces after everything breaks? Well, it seems that the market doesn’t want you to move on without going through some rough times. Another down day after a dreadful week of trading can really be hard on people. Especially when you own E*Trade (ETFC) like I do. The stock went down almost 60% in one day after getting the boot from an analyst at Citi (C). I think it’s ironic that Citi can make E*Trade decrease in value by 60% because of a “sell” rating regarding their mortgage segment Yet, Citi only goes down 5% after losing 11 billion dollars!! The market is pretty damn weird.

This is a rough time for me right now, but I need to keep my little chin up. I finally land a job, but I had to relocate to Orlando. I also recently got the “we need space” conversation with my now ex-girlfriend of four years (two months ago now). Yes, the girlfriend that made the beautiful header for this website. E*Trade is down 70% since I purchased it and Nintendo is only returning 34% which is a drop from my 55% gain. After two weeks of living in Florida, I ended up having to relocate again because of roommate issues which I can’t really talk about on this site (lots of rated-R material). I also had to leave my dog with my parents because I couldn’t bring him along with me. My job is 50% travel so I can’t really take care of my son Deuce man.

I guess my new life is a mess, but sometimes being on the ground floor isn’t that bad. I now have the ability to wait everything out. Like the market, life fluctuates up and down. But in the long run you will usually end up on top. One thing that I’ve learned from my whole experience is time heals the damage, but people still need to persevere to win. You can’t always sit in the backseat and expect the car to drive itself. When life gives you lemons, make some lemonade. Make the best out of the situation that life gives to you and you will ultimately succeed.

Should I just complain that my life isn’t what it used to be or should I try to give life the best I got? I think I am going to start trying option two. Giving up and complaining admits defeat. I just need to pick up the pieces that are left and run full speed ahead. Because, as we all know, I will ultimately have a positive return on life and in the stock market.

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I know it’s been stated many times this week, but holy crap the market is freaking out. Companies can hit their expected/required earnings, surpass them, have an excellent opportunity for future growth, and still get the b*tch slap from the market. I recently purchased some shares of Hologic (HOLX) at $66.00 and now it’s down to $62.09 after a great PROFITABLE quarter. As you know, I also purchased some shares of E*Trade (ETFC) which is down like 35%. My portfolio return for this year is still going to be good, but I am still hoping for a huge push-up.

What should you do when the market is throwing everything at you? Play some hardcore defense. You need to purchase shares of companies that will offer a steady return even in a down market. Coke (KO), P&G (PG), Cadbury (CSG), Unilever (UN), and Kroger (KR) are my defensive picks. A lot of them are at their 52 week highs, but after doing some research I’m sure you can find some good deals on a moderate market pullback. All of the companies I recommended have dividends so you’re at least guaranteed a return. Remember to reinvest those dividends and watch your investments grow.

Growth companies in the technology area are also a good bet because they are much safer than most other sectors in this crazy credit crunch market. After some pretty bad news involving Cisco (CSCO) the whole tech sector dropped 3%. Does this mean every company in the tech sector will be stagnant for the rest of the year? Doubtful… Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) will probably bounce back next week. Just look at the pullback as a great buying opportunity.

I know the market seems like a huge bonfire for your money right now, but sometimes you have to put your feet in the fire. The market is very crazy right now, so make sure you time and research your investments correctly. There are still plenty of areas to make some good money. Just slow down, think and then pounce when everyone seems like they are selling.  You need to be conservative when everyone is buying and the market is super-saturated. Then you need to switch your strategy to Mr. or Mrs. Aggressive and buy, buy, buy when the market seems to be real crappy. Right now, the market seems pretty crappy (Hint, Hint).

In theory, you want to be an investor that takes multiple swings instead of always trying to hit a homerun. Have some ammo in your arsenal (meaning multiple stock picks) and fire big time when the time feels right. Make a game plan and find out the ways to accomplish your goal. If you want a 25% yearly return, then buying bonds won’t get you there. Find profitable companies that you like and do some research. Luckily, Yahoo Finance provides you with almost all your study materials and it’s free! Remember, have fun, make money and keep your eye on the ball. Eventually, your portfolio will turn into a huge home run!

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I can honestly say that getting a higher return in a portfolio is actually easier than most people think. My investment strategy is becoming a little more complex, but my theories are still pretty basic. Find good and profitable companies with long sustainable growth. Of course one of the biggest changes that I’ve done is purchasing more shares of a company instead of diversifying in many companies with a lump sum. I would rather a return of 20% with an investment of a $1000 in one company versus a 30% average return in ten companies with the same investment amount. I know I’ve been covering this issue a lot lately, but I truly think it’s an important topic. Trading fees can kill an investment when you buy in small increments. I know a lot of bloggers disagree with me on this, but in my personal experience its worked wonders.

Last year my individual stock portfolio returned a pretty healthy return, but I’ve already made almost double that even when I incorporate trading fees. I realize that putting more of my eggs in fewer baskets can be dangerous, but doing your homework can really save that “investment risk.”

This year I’ve made some big purchases (for me at least) in some good growth companies. As you know, I’ve decided to buy Nintendo and E*Trade.  I still have $2200 left to add to my Roth IRA. Here are the stocks that I am looking at purchasing later on this year. Masimo Corporation was brought to my attention earlier last month. Jim Cramer also reinsured my position after speaking highly about the company earlier this week. The company recently became public and they’ve done a great job in the medical technology field. They have patents on their most profitable products and apparently they have technologies that will change the whole industry.

Pengrowth and Penn West are still looking good and have those extremely high paying dividends, which is always a good investment. I’m leaning more towards Penn West because Pengrowth just lowered their dividend yield. The nice thing about these companies is they pay their dividends on a monthly basis. This means your investment compounds monthly and grants you a higher return than the quoted dividend. I want to maximize my returns this year. I want to aim at getting a 54% return. I know it seems high and unrealistic, but I could sell the shares I already own and put them in cash and make a 32% return.

Everyone has a different investment strategy and I am not saying that mine is perfect, but since I’ve changed my style, money is certainly coming faster than before. Just remember that diversification in small amounts will lower your return. I would recommend putting your money in a high-yield savings account until you reach a $1000 dollars. After that, you can look at what stocks fit your investment style and strategy.

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I know investing is not always easy. I know that most people want to sell when their stocks are down and have a “let it ride” mentality when their stocks are reaching new 52 week highs. It’s always nice to see when your stocks perform much higher than indexes, but sometimes you need to know when to hold em’ and when to fold em’. You can never actually make any money in the stock market without selling some stock. When you are sitting on some nice gains without shaving some profits, this situation could turn into a disaster.

Apple keeps hitting new 52 week highs and it seems like they are still trucking for more. They still have their new operating system and the 2^nd generation iPhones waiting to be released. I purchased the stock when it was floating around $100 a share. Now it’s floating around the high $160’s. That’s a 60% gain! Imagine your portfolio could get that every year. You would be the richest person alive in about 30 years.  Unfortunately, that does not happen, but you can still take the profit and run. There is no shame in cutting and running once you struck gold with an investment. If your stock is up that high, why not take out your investment and let the gains ride. You have nothing to lose. You are playing with “house” money at that point. Remember that this strategy will only work if you have enough money in the actually stock. Trading fees can kill your return so make sure it’s worth selling. Try finding a broker that offers lower trading fees so nothing can disrupt the money you’ve earned.

You also need to realize that selling a stock that is down can sometimes save you tons of money or really cost you tons of money. The “street” can overact on some companies which can damage their share price very quickly. This is actually a great buying opportunity if you are involved in a company that has long-term commitments to profitability. For instance, Walgreen’s  is a great company and the largest drugstore in the U.S. Because they didn’t meet the streets expectations, their stock price fell 8 points. Does this actually mean Walgreen’s will perform like crap forever? Probably not. There’s a reason why they are number one. They will learn from their mistakes and fix the issues that ended up hurting them this quarter. On the other hand, selling off a stock that falls because of the corporate structure, they are in mounds of debt, and other companies keep suing them for patent infringements could mean it’s just a bad company. That’s the story about Vonage. I learned my lesson about some risky company’s and you should always evaluate before you buy and sell stock.

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Lots of things have been changing in my life recently and I no longer have the money to max out my Roth IRA. But sometimes it’s not how much you put into the account, but how much money you make off the money that is already in the account. I decided that I need to start being a smarter investor. My speculative stock picks need to be researched so I don’t go into purchasing shares of a company and get hit with a 70% loss. I decided to cut most of my losses and proceed with a better plan. I decided to sell five stocks so I could purchase $1,100 shares of a new stock.

I sold all my Apple (AAPL 45% gain), Circuit City (CC 70% loss), Sirius (SIRI 15% loss), PanHandle Royalty Trust (PHX 50% gain), Intel (INTC 30% gain) shares which totaled a little over $1,200 and lost $60 dollars in commissions using my Share Builder account. This is when I realized that my old way of investing was not working. Unless you purchase a ton of shares of a company, you will not realize a great “money return”. For example- You can have a stock that went up 100%, but if you only bought $75 worth of shares. Then your real profit is only $34 dollars.

Starting now, I am purchasing stock in much larger increments which will diminish the damages of the trading commissions and also allow me to take advantage of larger profits. I also realize that I can also lose a lot more money too. That is a chance I am willing to take. I purchased $1,000 dollars worth of Nintendo (NTDOY.PK), which is now worth over $1,300. I could sell $300 dollars worth of stock to take my 30% profit off the table or all of it and the commission will be less than 1%.

After selling all of the stocks that I recited earlier, I decided to purchase $1,100 worth of E*Trade stock (ETFC). I purchased my shares using a limit order at $11.98 per share. E*Trade’s stock has fallen ever since the whole mortgage mess that happened this summer. Lots of analysts say that after everything starts calming down, the company will be worth something again. The PEG is less than 1.0, which means it is considered undervalued. I am hoping that E*Trade will bounce back to its $20.00 stock price which will give me a 67% profit.

In conclusion, if you are with a traditional online broker like E*Trade, or Share Builder make sure your profits won’t be eaten up by commissions. Buying stocks or ETF’s in larger sums of money will produce a much bigger payday for your portfolio. If you are buying in smaller increments try finding a totally free online broker. Zecco is the only one that I’ve found. I have never used this company, but I think I will once I have my life all straighten out.

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Now that I am finally done with school, my life has had a lot of BIG changes. Here are just a few things that I’ve experienced in the past month.

1. Graduating college. Sweet!
2. Paying for my own health insurance
3. Paying for my own car insurance
4.Purchased a car (with a loan, not with cash. I’m not that rich yet. Little joke.)
5.Invested some money. I purchased shares of Apple (Yeah, I’m jumping on the bandwagon) and Diageo.
6.And the big one. Got a new job.

The new job thing is huge. I decided to turn down some pretty good entry-level positions to try out the whole entrepreneur thing first. My father hooked me up with a local business owner to start up a few programs that I developed to increase her profitability. If the whole thing goes the way I think it will, my shares in the company will be pretty good. I finally get to have an influence (that I can actually see) on a daily basis. Every single job that I’ve held throughout my college career was pretty much pointless. I always had to listen to management even though they were completely wrong (at least that’s what most of my college textbooks said).This is the first job that I get to call the shots.I’m going to update everyone on my progress as the weeks go on.

Because I’m working for a small business (20 employees), I have to pay for my own private health insurance. I decided to go with Kaiser Permanente for low rates and the medical center is right by my house. It’s costing me $67 a month, which is a pretty reasonable rate for a man my age. It covers all the good stuff, but has a higher deductible.

Another huge financial event in my life was the purchase of my new/used car. My mother was in a small accident that ended up ruining her car for good (she wasn’t hurt). My parents and I decided that she would take my car and that I would purchase a new one. After so many hours of shopping online and visiting car dealers, I decided to buy a 2004 Honda Accord EX (IT HAS NAVIAGATION. SWEET!!) It set me back a good amount of money, but it will only cost me $300 bucks a month for five years. Hopefully, I will be able to pay it off way before the actually deadline so I won’t have to pay interest on a depreciating item.

A lot of new events will be unfolding in the next few months. When I get some time to sit back and write, I will be writing on a consistent basis. My life seems much more level now and I’ll be able to take the time and write about personal finance and politics again. I have to thank my co-writer Dave for helping me out with some wonderful political and social ranting. Thanks again for bearing with me during the past two months.

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