July 2008 Archives

When you play the stock market, the key to success is to buy low and sell high. 

According to Investopedia, if you understand stock market cycles, and you time your investment accordingly, then you will earn more money than you lose. 

Smart investors who recognize the different parts of a market cycle are more able to take advantage of them to profit. They are also less likely to get fooled into buying at the worst possible time. -- Investopedia

People who take a chance in the stock market are warned against panicking in times of economic downturn.

According to MSNBC, "Investment experts warn that a period of major stock market volatility is no time to make rash decisions."  In fact, they recommend that you take the time to reassess your past decisions in order to avoid market queasiness.

It seems that people now playing the house market in a way that is very similar to playing the stock market.

I recently saw a show on Dr. Phil about a woman who hoarded a ridiculous amount of food that she and her family never ate. 

She had food in numerous refrigerators in her home.  She also had food stored in many other places that had spoiled.  While I know that her case was an extreme one, I couldn't help but think about how much food is wasted on a regular basis.   

Half of U.S. food goes to waste ... not only is edible food discarded that could feed people who need it, but the rate of loss, even partially corrected, could save US consumers and manufacturers tens of billions of dollars each year.
-- Food Production Daily

GoodSearch.com is a website that enables you to give monetary donations to charity without taking any money out of your own pocket. 

After registering with GoodSearch, you designate a charity you want them to donate money to.  Then, with every online search you conduct, GoodSearch will donate 50% of its revenues earned from those searches to your designated charity.

The money comes from GoodSearch's advertisers, as people click on ads at the GoodSearch website. You can also set up buttons on your website to invite others to search, shop and donate money to your favorite charities.

We estimate that each web search will generate approximately $0.01 for the designated charity or school (image, video and site-specific searches are not included). It quickly adds up!

Money guru, Jean Chatzky offers 4 tips for taking a vacation that won't break the bank.  One of the tips is to vacation at home, a new trend that is affectionately referred to as a “Staycation”. 

It means you take a week off from work and stay home. 

This is not a new phenomenon.  Coming from a very meager background, I always thought a week’s vacation meant dad got the week off from work while the kids had to tip toe around and try not to make any noise.  I am sure that this is not what Jean Chatzky had in mind when she wrote the article. 
 
If you want to have a Staycation that is a lot more fun than playing “who can make the least noise,” I have some ideas that will take up a full week, save a ton of money, and make you feel like you had a real vacation. 

Are you worried about the rising cost of gasoline? I am too.  So are millions of other people. 

This is why MyGallons.com is allowing you to pre-purchase tomorrow's gasoline at today’s prices. 
 
So, is it worth it? Should you really pre-pay for gas like this? Are there any "catches"?

Here's the scoop about the MyGallons.com prepaid gas card...

One of my brothers played the lottery every single day.  He spent at least $5 every day, plus a couple of extra dollars for goodies and treats from the store since he was there anyway. 

He was also a poor man due to a lifelong illness, so this ate up a good deal of his limited monthly budget.  He would win a lottery or scratch-off card for a large amount once or twice a year.  When I say a large amount, I mean a thousand dollars or so.  In my estimation, he was breaking even at best.
 
My brother would often call me with a tip.  “Play the lottery today,” he would tell me, and he would give me numbers to play.  I would tell him “No” and we would argue a bit about why lotteries did or did not make sense.  We would always end the conversation with him telling me that he would buy me a house when he won, and then I’d believe in the lottery system.  Sadly, he passed away before that happened.  He never struck it rich, and I never got my house. 

If you look around at other people’s grocery carts during these lean times, you will notice several things. 

One thing you may notice is that carts have just one or two different items in them -- such as 10 boxes of Frosted Flakes and 4 bottles of Hawaiian Punch.  Why is that?  Probably because the prices on those items are good, and the smart shopper take the time to stock up on the best deals.

Another thing you may notice is that grocery carts are seldom overflowing anymore -- even when the shopper is stocking up on groceries for the family.  Not to mention the fact that it's quite rare these days to see people with two grocery carts! 

These new trends in budget shopping, make people who purchase large amounts of bottled water, paper towels, and other luxury items seem out of place.  It’s enough to make me stop and wonder what these people do for a living that makes loading up on bottled water seem like a good idea.

Here are some supermarket luxuries that most people can do without, as well as tips to make forgoing these items seem a bit easier.