Very few people understand investing.  Really understand it.  As in, you can identify quality companies, understand price to earnings ratios, understand the differences when looking at different sectors and industries, understand technical indicators, market momentum, can identify real buying opportunities and actual selling opportunies.  I think there are several reasons that have contributed to this phenomenon.
Reason #1 – Trust the “Experts”
Most people have their investing activity limited to passive participation.  They have bought into the mainstream viewpoint that they have no idea what they are doing and should pay someone …

As our manufacturing and production economy has eroded over the decades, we’ve replaced it with a service based economy.  As we’ve shipped manufacturing jobs overseas, we’ve bought into the idea that economic growth is possible and sustainable when most Americans work in service capacity.  This is false.
Wealth is generated in this country when we produce things and sell them abroad.  This causes wealth to pour into the country.  Service based jobs are worthy jobs, but they are not what produce wealth for the country.  Service jobs need production/exports based jobs.
An …

Organization is something that all people desire.  Some people are naturally gifted at staying organized while others are a complete disaster.  I’m somewhere in the middle. I’ve spent a good amount of time in recent months both thinking about organization and working to better my own personal situation.  The clear conclusion is that staying organized definitely equates to saving money.
Having an organized life is usually regarded as nothing more than being able to find things easily.  While this is true, I believe being organized is much bigger than this.  For …

A recent report shows that Federal employees are enjoying unprecedented pay despite a terrible recession.  So much for a little belt tightening during a time of dwindling tax revenues and record deficits.  Pretty much the rule of thumb for the Federal government is whatever most Americans are doing with regards to personal finances, do the opposite.  When most Americans are cutting spending and buckling down, the Federal government should borrow, print, and spend more.
Maybe we should all go work to the Federal government.  Now that would be a productive economy. …

Welcome to the first edition of weekly money tips, where I will write about random tips for saving money.
Don’t Buy Paper Towels
An interesting idea that I recently implemented was to stop buying paper towels. Why? Because it forces you to not use them! When you have them readily available, it is so easy to go through them so quickly. The cost of paper towels can definitely add up. Instead of having paper towels next to your sink, have a handy dish towel instead that you …

The President announced this week a new proposal for job creation.  Not wanting to call it a stimulus (focus groups don’t like this word anymore), we’re now labeling this a jobs package.  Infrastructure spending is the focus it looks like.  Can we get a refund on the first $800 billion stimulus package?  How’d that work out.
I have the following points to make:
#1 – The Debacle of the First Stimulus
If you criticize the first stimulus as ineffective, you are typically told that the stimulus was designed to make an impact over …

I have decided to sell my entire Harvest Energy Trust (HTE) position.  This company is going through some major changes, potentially getting acquired by a Korean company, and most importantly, they have suspended their dividend.  The dividend is the reason I held this trust, so without it, I don’t see a reason to hold anymore.
I benefitted from buying this position at a much lower price (average share price around $5.65) and sold all shares at $9.45 a share for a 67% gain not counting a year or so of dividends.  …

If you consider long term financial goals, there aren’t many that should earn your attention more than the goal of increasing your hourly pay.  At first glance, this might seem simple, but it’s much more than increasing your wage.  Increasing your hourly income can be done in two ways: increasing your income or decreasing the time required to earn that income.  Ideally, we can do both.
Efficiency
If you work an office job or a corporate job, you undoubtedly have figured out that there is an incredible amount of time wasted during …