We’re a few days into the eFIPO challenge, and we are all surviving alright so far, right? Actually, I’m not doing to badly. As of today (Tuesday night) I’m fourth, which given my strategy, or lack thereof, is rather impressive.

Thus far I’m just lazy. Not once have I looked over any ratios, financial statements, quarterly reports or news statements for any of the companies that I’ve invested in. I’ve taken a peek at a few charts (I’m a very visual person) and sort of taken the roulette strategy - if I see a lot of decline, I assume that some increases are coming - kind of like the red/black thing.

So where does that leave me? I just figure I’m the average consumer, so I buy stocks that I am familiar with for companies that I am purchase goods from. Google?Got it. Apple? I’m saving for an ipod nano and nike sports kit. Whole Foods? Yup, I like to buy organic and local. I would be buying LVMH (yes, that’s Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy) if we could buy in non-US markets (what girl doesn’t love a Louis Vuitton Speedy? Such a classic). And Merck? An anti-cancer vaccine with 100% effectiveness for a disease that infects millions of thousands of women, not just in the US but globally? And is getting national support for mandated vaccination even though it costs $300 and only fractions of that to produce? Vaccines are great - microbes don’t develop resistance to them like they do antibiotics, and governments love them since they almost always come out on top in cost-effectiveness studies.  What’s not to love?

I’m curious, what’s your strategy?

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Well I know what you’re thinking¦ it’s been a long time since I’ve had something to say, right? Actually, I’ve had tonnes to say, I’ve just been so busy I’ve hardly had time to throw together any posts. But I have a few good ones in the works, so prepare yourselves.

Let’s review a few of the reasons that I have been so busy (because I think that they’ll give you a flavor of what to expect from my upcoming post):

1. I’m planning my wedding (so I have to budget and manage my personal time and finances like mad right now).
2. I’m taking accounting courses to work towards gaining my accounting certificate from UC Berkeley (so I am finally understanding why Assets= Liabilities + Shareholders Equity, which has totally transformed my understanding of investing and the stock market. Really).
3. I’m contemplating a career change, and might possibly start my own company in the next year (so I’m completely obsessed with entrepreneurs and business plans for the time being).
4. I’m doing some web design for some vacation rental places (so I’m spending hours figuring out CSS coding and browser compatibility those of you who do web design will understand how frustrating this can be).

And I’m working. My real full time job!

So stay tuned. I think it’s going to get interesting really soon

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Yesterday was my first American Black Friday experience, and what an experience it was. I spent most of the day touring peaceful wedding salons attempting to find myself a dress (more on that later) but I did spent a solid chunk of time in the malls searching for savings. In the process, I witnessed firsthand the insanity of the American shopping mobs.

Yes, there were deals, but I also saw people spending loads of cash I would guess they didn’t have. Here are my two simple rules for shopping wisely:

1. It’s not a deal if you wouldn’t have bought it at full price: I will never understand why a 50% off sign will send women (and some men) into a tizzy such that they start purchasing things that they will never ever use, and often don’t even like. So if you weren’t looking at it before it went on sale, don’t buy it just because it’s on sale. Instead, use the sales as a chance to buy things that you were looking at before but couldn’t quite afford. In my case, I was searching for a sale on a handbag that I have been lusting after for months. But if I was smart and had saved before hand to take advantage of the sales, I also would have used it as a chance to replace my ailing Mac laptop or finally bought myself that adorable pink ipod nano, since apple rarely puts things on sale.

2. Don’t get sucked into the credit card offers: Yes, it’s tempting to take them up on those discounts they offer at the cash, in the changing rooms, etc, etc, to get “25% off!” if you only sign up for their credit card. But trust me, don’t do it. Not only is opening multiple cards bad for your credit score but having multiple cards makes managing your finances a lot more difficult. And frankly, it’s worth saving those discounts for when you really need them (ie: I am not opening any department store cards until I figure out where to order my wedding dress from… saving 15% on a $4000 dress means a lot more to me than saving 15% on a $200 pair of jeans).

Happy shopping everyone!

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Let’s just dive into this with some controversial topics: religious freedom and women’s rights.

The Dutch announced this week that they are considering a ban on women wearing burkas in public. Geert Wilders, the MP that proposed the bill, feels that the burkas are a medieval symbol, a “symbol against women.” Quite frankly, I can’t help but agree. While I agree to the freedom of religious expression, I can’t help but feel that there is something insidious and repressive about the burka. After all, it essentially robs the woman of her identity and makes her place in society one of anonymity, and to be anonymous in life is really to deprive you of the most basic human dignity.

But is it a legitimate thing for a government to pass laws on? There is a fine line with government and religion. I think that the distance between the two should be vast, and although I believe strongly that faith, in whatever form, should be part of everyone’s lives, I don’t believe that government should step in and mandate or forbid religious practices. This, coincidently, is what makes Bush’s recent appointment Eric Keroack of the head of family-planning so hard to swallow.

I had high hopes that the recent democratic win (actually, really a republican loss) in congress represented a rejection of polarized political views by the American people, and I hoped that having a bipartisan government would force Bush to walk the middle road and would force some accountability on his part. And he promised he would. But appointing someone who is currently employed as the head of a Christian non-profit, a Woman’s Concern, a group that feels that birth control is degrading to women seems rather partisan and entirely misses the point, don’t you think? Step back into reality Mr. Bush.

While abstinence until marriage is a noble idea, it’s not an effective way to prevent teen pregnancies (or STDs) in this country. And in any way denying access to birth control is degrading to women. But then again, so is the burka.

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All of you loyal eFIPO readers know what an amazing site it is: hip, current and relevent to the world that we have to live and work in as young adults. But I would wager that most of you are men.

Not that there is anything wrong with that, but from time to time it pays to have girl’s perspective on politics and finance. Quite frankly, we have different concerns, different perspectives and sometimes an all around different point of view. Which is where I come in. Jeremie recruited me to be a female editor & writer on this site, thinking that I represent the average girl’s take on the world and that I would balance out the content already on eFIPO.

But I don’t just want to give you all a female take, I also want to get girls more involved in eFIPO. Girls these days are becoming more informed than ever about politics and finance, but I think that we still lag behind our male counterparts and I’d like to help change that. I want more girls on this site and I want them to be vocal and active participants. I am no expert on finance or politics, but I am trying to change that in my own life. You’ll get to learn with me as we bumble our way through the basics of stock investing, saving strategies and discussions of international economics and politics, among other things.

A little about me: I live in the heartland of crazy liberal America, Berkeley California, but I am a left leaning central at heart. I’m Canadian, but a non-immigrant, so I watch the political circus of the United States with a detached and fascinated eye, and I’m learning about civics as I go (I just figured out your election day system this week!).

Prepare yourself to inevitable comparisons of the US political system to the Canadian, since it’s my only point of reference to figure out how this country of yours works. I come from an eclectic academic background (a little microbiology and a lot of international history, plus a little infectious disease masters degree thrown in there for kicks) but frankly I have a passion for learning and there is very little in life that I wouldn’t take the time to learn about if I didn’t have to be employed in an actual job.

I’m smart and I’m saavy, but I am a little unsure of what I want to do with my life. I subscribe to both The Economist and US weekly, and I can discuss the current state of EU politics as readily as I can talk about Britney and K-Fed’s impending divorce (although I’m probably better versed on the latter subject, but come on! everyone saw it coming!).

I work for the government but I want to be an entrepreneur. I’m a feminist, but I would never suggest getting rid of my eye shadow or high heels or ruining all of those other things that make being a girl so much fun (the travesty!). I love to travel but I’m terrified of airplanes. I crunch numbers all day for a living but tend to buy stocks on a gut instinct.

In short I’m a bunch of contradictions.

Also known as, your average girl.

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