Made a 22% return on my portfolio for 2010

I had another successful year as an investor, and again beat the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 returned 13% for 2010, and my portfolio (managed by the Stock Trading Riches system) returned 22%.

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An ArticleThat Describes My Investment Philosophy

Here is a June 2009 article that Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen wrote after interviewing me.

I just re-read it, and it does a good job of explaining my basic investment philosophy.

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I Just Bought Six New Stocks

It is the end of the year, so I reapplied the Stock Trading Riches formula to all my stock holdings - and adjusted the positions (by buying and selling shares) accordingly.

Since my portfolio is up about 22%, after being up 44% last year, the rebalancing of the individual positions resulted in the cash portion of my portfolio being over the maximum for the Stock Trading Riches system.

I found that I needed to add 6 positions to my portfolio to put the excess cash back to work.

Here are the 6 positions I bought:

1. Hasbro (HAS) - Parents and grandparents who had to hold back on toy purchases during the recession want to buy things for their kids now that the economy is coming back. Hasbro has a large share of the toy market, and their Beyblades are a big hit. I bought it at $47.60, which is trading at about 14 times estimated 2011 earnings.

2. Jakks Pacific (JAKK) - This is also a toy company. Besides benefiting from the improving economy, they are at the bottom of their hit cycle. Hannah Montana dolls had pushed their stock from $18 to $30. Now, the dolls popularity peaked, and the stock is at $18.65, ready for the next craze.

3. GOL Airlines (GOL) - The only developed country airline I own is Southwest (LUV), but airlines in developing countries have growth potential. GOL is the new, low cost carrier in Brazil that has quickly captured 40% of Brazil's seat capacity. At $14.71, it is trading at 1.5 times book value, 80% of annual revenue, and six times estimated 2011 earnings.

4. Flsmidth and Co (FLIDY) - I usually don't buy pink sheet stocks, but I bought this stock at $9.31. This is a Danish company that provides engineering services to cement makers. They are really strong in emerging markets like India. The stock is trading at 2 times book and 11 times 2011 estimated earnings, and will participate in the materials comeback as the developing world resumes its growth.

5. Celanese (CE) - This is a play on the improving global economy because they make acetyl chemicals, and 3/4 of its revenues are from outside North America.

6. Diageo (DEO) - With funds focusing on emerging markets and Asia, UK multinationals like spirits maker Diageo are undervalued. At $74.22, I'm broadening my portfolio at a good price to include premium drinks such as Johnnie Walker, Jose Cuervo, Baileys, and Guinness. They also own 34% of Moet Hennesy (which owns luxury brands like Hennesy cognac).

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Carnival of Traders and Investors

The latest edition of the Carnival of Traders and Investors is live.

It has a lot of interesting financial articles.

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Berkshire's Secret: Lou Simpson, The Only Other Investor Besides Buffett

Warren Buffett is the legendary investor who manages Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio.

But, did you know that there is one other person at the company who is authorized to invest?

That person is Lou Simpson, who will retire at the end of the year. Simpson manages Geico's investment portfolio (Geico is owned by Berkshire), while Buffett invests all the other Berkshire portfolios (after Simpson retires, Buffett will take over Geico also).

Since all Berkshire investments (including Geico's) are reported together, it can be hard to know which picks are Simpson's, and which are Buffett's. According to Buffett in a Chicago Tribune interview back in August, "If you see a purchase on a company in the $300 to $400 million range, odds are very good that's Lou's."

Simpson's and Buffett's investment styles are similar: value based - looking for "obscure companies poised for growth". They do their own research, talk to management / competitors, and read all company documents.

On a couple of occasions, they matched their investments. For example, they bought Tesco at the same time, and sold off Freddie Mac in 2003.

Simpson keeps things simple, and just employees one assistant and one analyst to manage a $4 billion portfolio. From 1980-2004, Simpson has only had 3 losing years, and beat the S&P 500 in 18 of those years.

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Carnival of Finance, Investing, Savings, and Debt

The latest edition of the Carnival of Finance, Investing, Savings, and Debt is up.

You should check it out, because it has a lot of personal finance articles from different blogs.

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Can Poker Help You Invest Better?

An old article in the Chicago Tribune financial section dealt with how the game of poker can make you a better investor.

In fact, Aaron Brown, a former finance professor, hedge fund risk manager, and author of The Poker Face of Wall Street, goes so far as to say it is risky to invest without playing poker, and learning your psychological tendencies for mistakes.

As someone who both invests and plays poker, I agree that, due to financial risk, both activities cause people to make bad psychological decisions that cost them money.

Here are four psychological mistakes that are common to both investing and gambling:

1. Greed - this occurs when we start expecting a big win, counting our chickens before they hatch, and start ignoring evidence that indicates we may lose. The Tribune article gives the example of getting dealt two aces in Texas Hold 'em - the strongest opening hand, but one that causes a lot of losses. If you get the ace of diamonds and ace of spades, you might stay in expecting to win the hand, even if the three community cards are all hearts. You are ignoring the possibility that someone else might have a flush.

2. Overconfidence - after winning a big poker hand, or experiencing a booming stock market, the gambler or investor can get overconfident, and start making large reckless bets.

3. Regret - after losing a big poker hand, or losing on a large investment, the gambler or investor may try to break even on a reckless bet or be scared into playing too conservatively.

4. Seeing patterns - Humans are wired to see patterns. In poker, this can be seen in the "hot hand" fallacy. If you are holding a 10 or jack, and the flop has a queen or king, you may bet big by overestimating the odds of an ace. The investor may over-invest in past stock market winners.

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Harry Markowitz's Portfolio

Nobel-winning economist Harry Markowitz is famous for his work on modern portfolio theory, and is sometimes thought to advocate buy and hold.

In reality, he stated in a Chicago Tribune interview that he's "never been a buy and hold guy".

Markowitz said that, early in his career, he didn't take the level of risks that today's investment advisers suggest for young investors. He simply saved regularly and saved 1/2 his money in stocks, and 1/2 in bonds.

He kept asset allocation really simple. He never sold anything to regularly rebalance. When he felt that one category was higher, he stopped contributing to it.

At 82, he has a large municipal bond portfolio so that, if he dies, his wife can live off the interest.

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The True Way to Spirituality

The true way to spirituality is accepting whatever happens in life without regrets. It lacks expectations and, so, is devoid of a need for rewards.

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Carnival of Wealth #15

The Carnival of Wealth #15 is up and has a lot of good financial articles.

Read More

Should Borders Buy Barnes and Noble? Ackman Offers Financing For $16 Bid

Today, William Ackman and his Pershing Square Capital Management (which own 37% of Borders) stated in a regulatory filing that they would provide financing to Borders to offer $16 a share for Barnes and Noble.

This is 21% higher than Barnes and Nobles' closing price on Friday.

Would this combination be a good idea? On one hand, it sounds good because there are many people who still love bookstores. Also, they could invest in making the Nook better.

On the other hand, Yahoo quoted an analyst:

Simba Information's senior trade book analyst Michael Norris said the deal would simply be a distraction to the booksellers and "fundamentally weaken not just the combined entity but the consumer book industry in general."

"A proposed combined entity would spend a year thinking about what overlapping stores to close, and at least another year combining systems and operations while trying to hang on to talent with both hands," he said. "While that's going on, rivals like Amazon, Apple and Google will just be steaming ahead unimpeded."

Also, the same Yahoo article had an interesting comment: If you tie two anchors together do they sink faster?

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Interesting Article on Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit

New York Magazine has an article on Vikram Pandit, and mentions a bit about Citigroup and the financial crisis.

This quote from page 5 of the article (mentioning Citigroup’s Sandy Weill and Clinton’s Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin) is a good example of the marriage of politics and finance that got us into this mess:

Rubin and Weill had been friends since the late nineties, when Rubin served in the Clinton administration. It was Rubin who helped push through the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that effectively allowed the merger of Travelers and Citicorp. A year later, Weill made Rubin a board member at the company he helped create, paying him a salary of $17 million a year.

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Two Stock Ideas: NETC and RPM

Today, I bought Net Servicos De Communicacao (NETC) at $13.628. This is Brazil's largest pay-TV provider and a large player in their phone and internet access and services.

I feel like this stock is both a growth and value play. It gives my portfolio access to Brazil's growing middle class, and Forbes columnist (and portfolio manager) Ken Fisher feels that the stock is cheap at $13.

I wrote a more detailed analysis of NETC on the Stock Trading Riches Discussion Board.

I had narrowed my choice down to NETC or RPM International (RPM). RPM is a value and dividend play. At $20, Ken Fisher considers the stock cheap and it has a 4% dividend yield. RPM makes industrial and consumer paints, adhesives, etc.

I ultimately decided on NETC because my portfolio could use more exposure to Brazil, and I have several stocks that are already similar to RPM: Cummins (CMI) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW).

I also discussed this stock in a bit more detail on the stock trading riches board.

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Reverse Global Marketing: Disney's Duffy Bear

Usually, Disney creates new characters through their movies and TV shows. Then, they create merchandise and introduce the characters to their Disney World theme park. Finally, they take the character global.

Duffy Bear is different, and is a good example of how the global economy doesn't always revolve around the U.S.

Duffy Bear has never been in a TV or movie. Originally, he was introduced at Disney World in Orlando (as Disney Bear), but flopped.

In Japan, where teddy bears are a cultural symbol, Tokyo Disney renamed him Duffy Bear, and they made up a back story that Minnie Mouse created him to keep Mickey company on his travels. He called him Duffy because he carried him in a duffel bag.

Because of the back story, Duffy became a big collectible hit with young Japanese women. Now, Duffy has gone from Japan back to Orlando - along with a long line of merchandise.

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Holiday Shoppers Should Be Wary of Extended Warranties

At this time of year, retailers are discounting items such as TVs, cameras, etc., and accepting a smaller margin.

However, they try to make up for it by more aggressively pushing extended warranties - which are a big source of their profits.

Unless you are buying something really expensive (like a 3D TV), these warranties are not worth it. Most electronic devices are covered by the manufacturer for one year, and that is where defects will show up - not during the extended warranty period ( years 2-4).

If you do decide to get the extended warranty:

1. Read the fine print of what is and isn't covered.

2. Keep proof of coverage.

3. Hang onto any receipts, serial numbers, or UPC symbols you may need.

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John Bogle Preaches Simplicity on Wall Street

Monday's Chicago Tribune business section had a quick interview with the legendary John C. Bogle - the man who popularized investing with cheap index funds when he started Vanguard.

He has a new book out ("Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life") and talked about how Wall Street has taken too much in cost vs. value added.

He also said there was too much speculation and not enough simplicity.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out the more the financial sector makes, the less investors take home".

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Four New Blogs

I recently started work on four more blogs. I haven't listed them on my profile yet. I'm waiting until they are more established.

They are:

1. Gridiron Madness - where I write about and express my interest in NFL football.

2. Fun, Humor, and Comedy - where I share some of the internet humor and jokes that pass through my inbox.

3. Simplicity in Politics - This is where I express my frustration with the complexity and selfishness of politics and contemplate simple, elegant solutions to make the U.S. strong, safe, sane, and secure.

4. Talking About Real Estate - I discuss real estate investing, home ownership, financing, etc.

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Reader Included Stock Trading Riches in Their Amazon List of Recommended Trading Books

A reader on Amazon included my book "Stock Trading Riches" in their list on formula investing books.

They even tested my system:

"When using Puri’s spreadsheet and making one trade on the S&P 500 ETF (Ticker: SPY) on the first trading day of each year from 2001 to 2008, the result is that his system did beat Buy & Hold. The compounded annualized return of buying and holding the SPY index only, was 1.7%, while Puri’s system delivered 2.0%. Better results may be had with individual stocks, other ETFs, or closed-end funds."

I am grateful for the review. Also, I recommend not using a general index fund because it will lack volatility because the fluctuations of the individual components will cancel one another out.

Instead, my system works much better with a portfolio diversified among stocks and/or sector funds. The "Stock Trading Riches" formula would then be applied individually to each stock or fund to generate a better return by taking advantage of each position's volatility.

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Why The City of Chicago Pension Funds Are In Trouble

Last week, the Chicago Tribune had a two-part investigation into the city of Chicago's pension plans. The article is really disheartening because it shows how we have let incompetent individuals run things.

The whole country has probably heard that the state of Illinois is broke, and has unfunded pension liabilities. But this is about the city of Chicago itself. It has unfunded pension liabilities of either $20 billion or $40 billion (the politicians say $20 billion, but that is assuming an 8% average annual return, while the average return this decade of the pension funds has been around 4%).

The problem is that the politicians did not make required contributions to the pension funds - while also raising the employee's salaries and benefits. The politicians took the short-term, easy way out. They wanted to keep labor happy NOW, and who cares about decades from now, when they might be out of office?

The Tribune article looked at the example of the Chicago Teachers pension plan. Back in 1995, the plan was founded 100%. Then, in 1995, Mayor Daley took over control of the Chicago public school system, and he lobbied Springfield to allow property tax income (that went directly into the pension funds) to go to the school system's general fund.

In 1996, his administration went one better and got the law changed so that they didn't have to make a payment as long as the retirement fund was at least 90% funded. Because of the bull market, they didn't have to pay in for 10 years.

In 2006, they had to pay because the fund was below 90%. They contributed a little, then got the law changed again to let them make reduced payments for the next 3 years. Their excuse? Even though they didn't need to pay into the pension plan for 10 years, and thus got to keep an extra $1.5 billion, the school system spent it and was running a deficit.

Now, the fund is only about 73% funded and, by 2033, they will need to contribute $1 billion a year.

Some of the other pensions are even more seriously underfunded. Municipal workers are at 47%, police at 37%, and the fire fighter's pension is only funded for 30%.

Does this mean that the workers might lose their pension benefits? Maybe - but the Illinois state constitution was amended in 1970 to require that pensions to unionized government workers have to paid. So, slashing benefits may be unconstitutional. So, tax payers may be on the hook.

By the way, I don't think the workers are to blame. The main problem is the financial irresponsibility of elected officials.

Why do we have such incompetence?

I think the problem is that life is really hectic these days - people work long hours, then sit, burned-out, in front of their televisions at night.

Then, when it comes to voting, they either don't, or else just vote for the incumbents.

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The Stock Trading Riches Message Board on iHub

I've created a new message board on iHub to discuss and answer questions about my book, the Stock Trading Riches system, trading and investing, stock picking, etc:

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=19287

The board is open for all, and it is free to read and post!

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Orson Welles On The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

Director / producer / actor Orson Welles was a gifted speaker with a genius, dry sense of humor: Here Orson Welles Roasts Dean Martin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlKR0i-51S4&feature=related Here, Orson Welles pays tribute to Jimmy Stewart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMKxTS4_FJM&feature=related

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Tic Tac Toe (So Cool)

YOU GOTTA TRY THIS AT LEAST ONCE!!!!! IT'S GREAT.
Tic Tack Toe

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Annual Halloween Greeting

Here's my annual Halloween greeting.  Enjoy!

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Carnival of Financial Planning 10-22-2010

Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment
Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs

Carnival of Financial Planning - Edition #162
- October 22,
2010

Welcome to the October 22, 2010 Edition #162 of the Carnival
of Financial Planning.

The Carnival of Financial Planning takes a
long-term view of personal
financial planning for individuals and families. We focus on efficient
and sustainable personal financial planning practices that can lead to
lifetime financial security. 

This edition
is arranged by subject
heading, so that you can browse efficiently.

Enjoy!

The Skilled
Investor, Editor

Budgeting and Economics

Jessica Bosari presents Are You Saving Money or Just Spending Less? Why You Need to Do Both | billeater.com posted at Billeater, saying, "The difference between saving and spending less, why you need to do both."

Silicon Valley Blogger presents How To Book Cheap Flights & Air Travel Deals posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "Some ideas for smart shopping and finding good deals for airline flights."

The Skilled Investor presents Save More posted at Personal Financial Strategy,
saying, "Budgeting and self-control in
consumption is far more important than clever investing. Expenditure
control and budgeting works, while "clever"
investing usually is counter-productive."

Roshawn Watson presents Economists Blame ME for the Slow Recovery posted at Watson Inc,
saying, "We are responsible with our money, yet instead of admiration
(or even understanding), these efforts garner contempt as the frugal
once again get the blame for dismal economic activity."

Jeff Rose, CFP presents Prepaid Services Worth Having posted at Jeff Rose,
saying, "Prepaid services, in some cases, can save you money, providing
you with a discounts, or guaranteeing you lower prices down the road.
Here are a few prepaid services that are worth it."

Financial Planning

freefrombroke presents Guaranteed Ways To Lower Your Credit Score – 5 Steps posted at Free From Broke,
saying, "It seems some people are in self-destruct mode with their
credit. So here are 5 ways to make it easier to destroy your credit
score."

Dividend Tree presents Building
Core Competency for Long Term Survival posted at Dividend Tree,
saying, "whether it is running a business or individuals investment
portfolio, it is important to build a core competency for long term
sustainability. In my case, I focus on good quality companies that
consistently pay or have potential to pay growing dividends over
time.

Daniel M. Wood presents How to Set Goals That Will Make You Rich posted at Looking to Business,
saying, "To succeed, you need to know what you consider success. To be
truly happy about where you are and where you are going, you need to
know what your dreams are.

Setting clear goals in writing is a great way to get clarity, focus and
motivation."

FMF presents Credentials versus Accomplishments posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "When you hire a financial planner, which matters more, credentials or accomplishments?"

Tom Bills presents Tips to Avoid Financial Strain with Aging Parents posted at In-LawSuite.com,
saying, "Caring for aging parents is an emotionally taxing experience
for their children. In addition to the emotional strain, financial
strain can also be experienced. However, there are some easy steps that
can help to reduce this strain and prepare for the future financially."

jim presents Should I Change My Social Security Number? posted at Identity Theft Wall.

Sustainable Life Blog presents Prioritizing Goals? posted at Sustainable Life Blog,
saying, "Wondering where to turn when starting to attack debt? Here's a
quick guide on how to help you prioritize your goals."

The Financial Blogger presents A Day As A Financial Planner posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, "A look at the work involved with being a financial planner."

Larry Russell presents Best No
Load Mutual
Funds posted
at Best Index Mutual Funds, saying, "Superior past
performance has simply not been shown to be a reliable
predictor of superior future performance. However, low costs can lead
you to the best mutual funds.

PT presents Meeting with a Fee-Only Certified Financial Planner, Part 1: Finding an Advisor and Gathering Info posted at Prime Time Money, saying, "My experience meeting with a CFP."

Frank Knight presents Asset Allocation Strategy posted at Best Personal Financial Planning Software,
saying, "When you are already there and invested in an asset class, you
are following a passive asset allocation strategy. Tactical asset
allocation strategy advocates suggest that you can anticipate the crowd,
but flow-of-funds studies show that almost all tactical asset
allocation fund flows are late money flows that chase performance after
valuations have already moved."

Financing Education

FMF presents Examples of How to Pay for College Without Borrowing posted at Free Money Finance,
saying, "Want to know how to attend college without incurring debt?
This post offers two real-life suggestions for doing just that!"

Ben presents 529 College Savings Plan Parent Overview posted at Money Smart Life.

Praveen presents Is The Education Market The Next Credit Bubble? posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, "How educational loans appears to be a bubble like mortgages."

Ryan @ MFN presents Can You Get a Montgomery GI Bill Refund? posted at The Military Wallet,
saying, "The Montgomery GI Bill is usually a use it or lose it benefit.
But some veterans may now be eligible to receive a refund on their
MGIB."

Income

MoneyNing presents 15 Ways to Earn Extra Money posted at Money Ning, saying, "There are lots of ways to make more money. Here are 15 to start you off."

Health Care

MoneyNing presents 10 Hassle Reducing Tips for Dealing with Insurance on Medical Care posted at Money Ning, saying, "Who doesn't want to save some money and time dealing with health insurance?"

Ryan @ MFN presents Get a Free Flu Shot from the VA posted at The Military Wallet, saying, "Military veterans are eligible for a free flu shot from their local VA. Thanks for your service!

Investing

passive family income presents What does Dividend Yield Mean and How do I Calculate it? posted at Passive Family Income,
saying, "There are plenty of financial ratios that can be used by
investors to help determine the value of a stock. Sometimes these
calculations can tell us when it is time to buy a stock, while other
times they signal it is time to sell a position. There are plenty of
commonly used calculations, such as the price to earnings ratio, which
can be used to evaluate any type of security. In other cases there are
specific ratios geared towards a certain investment strategy, like
dividend investing."

Intelligent Speculator presents Including international exposure in your investments posted at Intelligent Speculator, saying, "An interesting situation involving international risk."

The Financial Blogger presents The First Time Is Always The Worst posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, "A tale of an investment gone wrong the first time.

Ryan @ CML presents Invest in Gold, Silver or Precious Metals? posted at Cash Money Life,
saying, "Gold and other precious metals are at or near record highs.
Should you invest in gold, silver, and other precious metals?"

Praveen presents Caveat
Emptor: If An Investment or Opportunity Appears Too Good To Be True,
Beware! posted at My Simple Trading
System, saying, "Beware of investment opportunities that seem to be
too good to be true."

Tushar Mathur
presents Can't
Control the Markets? Try controlling the Costs posted at Everything Finance,
saying, "The financial markets are prone to
unpredictable periods of turbulence. That can make investing feel a bit
like a roller-coaster ride. The disappointing results may have left you
feeling concerned over your financial future. You're not alone."

Dividend Tree presents Dividend
Investing and Businesses with Moat posted at Dividend Tree,
saying, "In general, companies with moats in their business are very
good dividend growth providers. However, the opposite may not be true."

Frank Vertin presents Top Index Funds
posted at Index Mutual Funds, saying, "Top ten no
load index funds that track the Standard
and Poors 500 composite index in terms of lowest costs.

mike presents 6 Reasons For Not Reinvesting Dividends posted at Mike, saying, "Reinvesting dividends is a good strategy, but consider the alternatives as well."

The Skilled Investor presents Stock Market
Timing posted at Personal Investment Management,
saying, "Always stay invested to earn risk
premiums. You must have your money invested and at risk
to get risk premium returns. Jumping out and in or "timing the markets"
doesn't work."

Intelligent Speculator presents Why I do not use intra-day stops posted at Intelligent Speculator, saying, "My rationale is explained in the article."

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Your Mutual Fund Investment Portfolio: How Many Funds Should You Own? posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "How many mutual funds should you own? Some thoughts on fund investing." 

Tomas Escent presents Stock
Trader Automation posted at Nerds on Wall Street

Frank Knight presents Muni
Bond Financial Software, posted
at Best Financial Planning Software,
saying, "Municipal bond
investments and your state and federal marginal income tax rates: Some
investors hold municipal bonds in an attempt to reduce their tax
burden. This article discusses the relationships between tax-exempt
municipal bonds, bond market returns, marginal tax rates, and
investment asset tax location."

Consumer Boomer presents How to Build a CD Ladder For Maximizing Return posted at Consumer Boomer, saying, "When you ladder your CD investments, you can maximize the potential earnings. Here's how."

Dividends4Life presents 12 Stocks Sending A Strong Message With Higher Dividends posted at Dividends Value,
saying, "One of the many reasons I like dividend stocks is because
they provide continuous feedback. As time passes, dividend investors see
their income grow steadily. You don’t have to wait five to ten years to
determine if the strategy is working. Each dividend and dividend
increase provides reassurance that the strategy is working."

Managing Debt

David presents 7 of the Best Airline Miles Credit Cards posted at Credit Card Offers IQ.

Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents Top 15 Credit Card Blunders posted at The Canadian Finance Blog,
saying, "A credit card is a necessary evil in the modern world.
Luckily, all you need to do to avoid problems is follow a few simple
rules."

Joe Plemon presents How to Avoid Christmas Debt Without Becoming a Grinch … 12 Great Tips posted at Personal Finance By The Book,
saying, "Piling up debt in order to celebrate the birth of Christ
doesn't add up. These tips will help your Christmas season be a true
celebration."

Tim Chen presents 5 Reasons To Avoid Amex Blue Cash posted at NerdWallet Blog - Credit Card Watch,
saying, "Savvy consumers are drawn to this card because it has no
annual fee, while offering an unparalleled 5% back on gas and groceries,
and 1.25% elsewhere, after you spend $6,500 per year. And while these
rewards do add up for most cardholders, there are a few "catches" to be
aware of."

Roshawn Watson presents Why
Is Debt Really Decreasing? posted at Watson Inc, saying,
"In the first quarter of 2008, our debt to disposable income peaked at
a staggering 131%. This means for every dollar we earned, we spent
$1.31. As of March, our debt as a share of our annual income is
presently 122%. If you think this change indicates that we have
collectively been so scarred by the "Great Recession" that we are now
behaving fiscally responsible, think again. There is a surprising and
sad reason why our debt has gone down. Hint, it has nothing to do with
frugality."

CreditShout Kevin presents How to Cancel Recurring Credit Card Payments posted at CreditShout, saying, "Here is how to cancel those pesky reoccurring charges on your credit card once and for all!"

Sam presents What You Absolutely Must Know About Bankruptcy Before You File posted at Surfer Sam and Friends,
saying, "Thanks for including my article. Here's an excerpt...

What you absolutely must know about bankruptcy before you file. Chapter
7? Chapter 11? Bankruptcy will eliminate some of your debts, but make
sure you know your rights. Find out which debts will be wiped out and
which will remain."

Big Cajun Man presents Found
Money Trap posted at Canadian
Personal Finance Blog, saying, "Found money should go on
debt no matter what!" 

Jeff Weber presents Avoid Balance Transfer Mistakes posted at Smart Balance Transfers,
saying, "Balance transfers can be extremely effective in managing debt.
However, a simple mistake like a missed payment can terminate the 0%
interest rates that make these transactions worthwhile."

The Smarter Wallet presents Are
Debt Counseling Services The Way To Debt Relief? posted at The Smarter Wallet,
saying, "On debt counseling services."

Mike @ Green Panda presents Four Reasons Why YOU Are Broke posted at Green Panda Treehouse, saying, "It’s now time that you take full accountability for your finances."

Miscellaneous

Joe Plemon presents How to Share Financial Responsibility with Your Spouse posted at Personal Finance By The Book,
saying, "Although sharing financial responsibility with your spouse is a
huge part of a successful marriage, it is an aspect far too often
overlooked. These guidelines will not only help your finances; they
will help your marriage."

MoneyNing presents Can You Be Rich and Miserable? posted at Money Ning,
saying, "It is easy to feel miserable no matter how much money you
have, but do you get more upset when you see someone who has a load of
money but can't find happiness?"

nissim ziv presents How to Present Yourself in an Interview and Impress the Interviewer? posted at Job Interview Guide,
saying, "When you are in the process of preparing yourself for your job
interview, one of key prep steps is practicing your interviewing
performance and reshaping your presentation level in order to create the
best positive impression on the interviewer."

Pasadena Financial Planner
presents Vanguard's
Investment Performance posted at Top Mutual Funds,
saying, "Compares Vanguard's actively managed
mutual funds and Vanguard's
passively managed index mutual funds. Vanguard investors should read
and understand this study."

Sam presents Investing in Silver posted at Surfer Sam and Friends,
saying, "Thanks for including my article on how to invest in silver.
There's an excerpt...

Silver and other precious metals are popular investments. Bullish
investors have moved into silver with enthusiasm. They know that silver
is important in industrial manufacturing, and jewelry. But the
attraction of silver in these uncertain times is its use as a hedge
against inflation, deflation and currency devaluation. Massive
government deficits, and loose money policies have put the U.S. currency
under pressure. To protect one's wealth from inflation, market bubbles,
increasing taxes, a pension crisis, budget deficits, trade deficits,
the debt mountain, financial scandals, and weak currencies, investors
move into gold and silver. The more money that is pumped into the
economies, the more money that is issued, then the less valuable the
U.S. dollar becomes. Investors look for alternative investments to
protect themselves against the depreciating value of money. One silver
bull exaggerated, "None of these currencies are worth anything. We have
printed money like drunken sailors and that leads to inflation.""

Retirement Planning

Super Saver presents Retiree Financial Lessons from the Recession posted at My Wealth Builder,
saying, "Although I wish this recession had not happened, I am glad
that it happened early in our retirement, while we were better able to
meet the financial challenges. Also, we learned the following lessons,
which I'm sure will continue to help us through out our retirement
years."

The Financial Blogger presents Where Will Your Retirement Income Come From? posted at Do Not Wait, saying, "For most mere mortals, the question that begs to be asked is: where will your retirement income come from?"

Ryan @ CML presents How to Make a 401k Hardship Withdrawal posted at Cash Money Life, saying, "Tips on how to make a hardship withdrawal from your 401k, and why to avoid it if possible!"

Jeff Rose, CFP presents QDRO and Your 401k or Pension Plan posted at Jeff Rose,
saying, "Here's an article you don't want to miss. Find out some
important facts about your 401k or pension plan and your beneficiaries."

Mike @ Green Panda presents Retirement Planning When You are in your 20s posted at Green Panda Treehouse,
saying, "We should all consider retirement planning as soon as
possible. Ideally, your retirement plan should start as early as you
when you land your first job… while still in school."

Jules Wells presents Retirement Planning Calculator-Retirement
Savings Software,
posted at Retirement Income Planning,
saying, "This article helps you understand the trade-offs
between traditional and Roth tax-advantaged
retirement plan
contributions,
including Roth 401k and IRA retirement plans. It helps with the 2010
Roth conversion decision."

Larry Russell presents Roth
IRA Conversion posted at Personal Financial
Planning Software, saying, "Trying to decide about
a traditional IRA to Roth IRA conversion without first having a
comprehensive lifetime financial plan in place makes absolutely no
sense. Without such a plan, you cannot figure out whether or not you
are likely to achieve the tax savings in retirement that would warrant
paying higher taxes now."

Mike Piper presents Types of Annuities: Annuity Definitions posted at The Oblivious Investor,
saying, "What are the differences between the various types of
annuities? Which ones are useful, and which ones are a raw deal?"

Walter W. Fouse presents Top Ten Large Cap Core Mutual Funds posted at Best No Load Funds,
saying, "This table of low cost top 10 S&P 500 mutual funds has
been organized with the lowest cost index fund first. Nevertheless, each
of these S & P 500 index funds is among the least costly on the
market."

Frank Knight presents Roth
IRA ConversionFinancial Planning Software posted at My Financial Freedom Plan,
saying, "Whether to invest in a
Roth IRA or Roth 401k versus their traditional
retirement account alternatives is one of the most complex
personal financial decisions. Roth accounts do not
make sense financially for most people. They are a good deal, for a
minority, but you
need to do the analysis.

Risk Management and Insurance

Marvin Grossman presents That's gross! Why home insurance won't pay for disgusting problems posted at Insure.Com Home Insurance Articles, saying, "Rats, mold, bed bugs? Here's why home insurance won't pay, and some exceptions to the rules."

Consumer Boomer presents Term Life Quotes posted at Consumer Boomer,
saying, "When you purchase an insurance policy it is important to know
exactly what you are buying. Here is some important information about
Term Life quotes."

Super Saver presents Why My Car Insurance Premium is Really Low posted at My Wealth Builder,
saying, "I pay $267 a year for my car insurance. There are two types of
reasons for my insurance being low: situational factors and price
discounts."

Big Cajun Man presents Self
Insured Company Disability Plans posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog,
saying, "Sometimes insurance is not as safe as you might think (in
Canada at least)"

Jules Wells presents Investment Risk Tolerance Questionnaire Financial Planning Software,
posted at Financial Answers saying, "There is a way for you to get a much better assessment of your
risk tolerance than you would from a simple conservative versus
aggressive financial industry investor questionnaire." 

Savings

KCLau presents Are You
Rich in Internal Assets? posted at KCLau's Money Tips,
saying, "pay attention to the internal assets."

Taxes

Madison DuPaix presents How to Save on Taxes This Year posted at My Dollar Plan,
saying, "With 4th quarter here, it is time for a reminder on some tax
saving strategies, some of which will expire this year. Read on to find
out how to maximize savings before the end of the year."

Super Saver presents Qualifying for Money Giveaways from the Government posted at My Wealth Builder,
saying, "Since retiring in October 2007, our taxable income is much
lower. We now qualify for a number of tax credits that we weren't
eligible for in the past."

David de Souza presents 5 Steps To Getting A Tax Rebate posted at UK Tax Blog, saying, "Are you due a tax rebate? Our guide will help you claim your tax refund"

Ryan @ MFN presents Challenge Property Taxes posted at The Military Wallet, saying, "Tips on how to successfully challenge your property tax assessment to lower your property tax bill." 

pfstock presents Update on Verizon Frontier Spin Off posted at PFStock.com,
saying, "This post is a follow up to a previous post:
http://www.pfstock.com/2010/07/frontier-communications-ftr-new-stock.html
I
explain how to calculate the tax basis of an investment after a
spin-off, such as the spin off of Frontier Communications from Verizon."

Financial Freedom presents Roth
IRAFinancial
Software, posted at Financial Freedom, saying, "The Roth tax
optimization puzzle for asset conversions, as well as for annual Roth
contributions during working years, is one of the most complex
decisions that the ridiculously complex US taxation and retirement
planning system forces upon individuals."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article
to the next edition of Carnival of Financial Planning
using our carnival submission form. Past
posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival
of financial planning, blog carnival.

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Pigeon: Impossible

Very good animated short: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEjUAnPc2VA&feature=player_embedded

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Three Blind Mice: Actual Jazz Improvisation - Example of Cooperative Freedom vs. Anarchy

http://tao-simple.blogspot.com/2010/10/three-blind-mice-actual-jazz.html

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Today's Google Logo A Tribute To John Lennon's 70th Birthday

Check out today's Google homepage. The logo is an animated and musical tribute to John Lennon.  This would have been his 70th birthday.

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Carnival of Financial Independence

The latest edition of the Carnival of Financial Independence is up.

It has a lot of useful personal finance articles.

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Another "Stock Trading Riches" Book Interview

I gave another interview about "Stock Trading Riches".  This interview is with a website for writers called "Selling Books".  They have a regular feature where they interview authors.

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Re: Fwd: Moving Jigsaw Puzzle---

This is a cool online jigsaw puzzle.  When you place a piece correctly, you will hear a noise. This is a good one ! Just a tip........take all of the pieces out of the box first Not your usual jigsaw puzzle!     This is amazing, the picture has movement in it the entire time you are working on it.    Drag the pieces together to make a picture, it can be done completely!    Click Here :  Unusual Puzzle

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Ex-Air Force Officers Are Saying That UFOs Have Been Monitoring Nukes For Years

Supposedly, this happened to both NATO and Soviet installations, and they can talk now because the documents are getting declassified and they are retired - so they don't have to worry about killing their career.  The UFOs even remotely activated/deactivated them, scaring the operators. It's an interesting idea to think about. http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/former-air-force-officers-ufos-have-monitored-nuclear-weapons-sites-for-60-years/19649347

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Carnival of Wealth Edition #5

The 5th edition of the Carnival of Wealth is online at PersonalDividends.com.

It has a lot of interesting articles on personal finance.

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Is The Education Market The Next Credit Bubble?

Higher education is like a mirror of the housing crisis. Just like society/government said "everyone should own a house", it said "everyone should get a college education".

In both cases, government made more money available, and lenders started to package/sell the loans on Wall Street. Since the lenders sold the loans, they didn't care about defaults and started relaxing their standards. Since so much money was available, both house prices and college expenses started to climb, increasing the need and amounts of loans. This created a cycle.

The housing market is now correcting, and the education market should be next.

Which makes me wonder: If people are walking away from mortgages because their houses are worth less, will people with student loans try to do the same thing? When someone who racked up $50,000 in debt for an $80,000 degree, sees the price of the degree fall to $40,000 after the educational bubble bursts, will they whine and try to bail out of paying?

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Fw: Google Alert - praveen puri

Here is the Google Alert I got for the interview - this one from NBC Washington. The story was syndicated to all the local NBC affiliates. By the way, that is a picture of Oliver Stone, not me :-)

--- On Mon, 9/20/10, Google Alerts <googlealerts-noreply@google.com> wrote: From: Google Alerts <googlealerts-noreply@google.com> Subject: Google Alert - praveen puri Date: Monday, September 20, 2010, 10:02 PM News 1 new result for praveen puri   Back on Wall Street, Stone Tries for Balance NBC Philadelphia The original "Wall Street" had the opposite effect on Praveen Puri. The film "sparked my imagination and inspired me towards an interest in Wall Street, ... NBC Philadelphia Web 1 new result for praveen puri   Praveen Puri | NBC Washington Praveen Puri. ... Stories related to Praveen Puri. Back on Wall Street, Stone Tries for Balance · Click Here! Enjoy This · LOOK · NFL Cheerleaders: Week 2 ... www.nbcwashington.com/topics/?topic=Praveen+Puri This once a day Google Alert is brought to you by Google. Remove this alert. Create another alert. Manage your alerts.

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NBC Interviewed Me Along With Director Oliver Stone For An Article On "Wall Street 2", And Mentioned My Book "Stock Trading Riches"

Here is the interview on MSNBC.com and on NBC Philadelphia.  The interview was syndicated to all the local NBC affiliate websites. The reporter interviewed me last week.  A lot of the interview is with Oliver Stone, but they interviewed me as an expert for background, because I traded stocks and wrote "Stock Trading Riches". They put two paragraphs from my interview into the article. I'm amazed I got this publicity.  But it seems my book developed a following among certain hedge funds, and I'm getting some attention. I knew at least one hedge fund read my book, because they commissioned me to develop some software / spreadsheets on my system.

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Carnival of Wealth #4

Check out the newly posted Carnival of Wealth #4.

It has a lot of great personal finance and investing articles.

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Switching "Stock Trading Riches" Description Back

Based on reader feedback, I'm switching the description of my book "Stock Trading Riches" on both my publisher's site and on Amazon.com back to the original:

In today's world of instant trade execution, sophisticated analysis, global markets, and 24/7 news, traders and investors still routinely fail to beat the market. The brutal fact is that a free market is about price discovery. A market works like an organism - "consuming" new fundamental and technical information and rendering it ineffective.

A 30-day moving average may make money for a while - until the market "digests" this parameter. Today's report on CNBC is already reflected in the price of the stock. Only 1% of traders are superstars who can consistently re-adjust, find, and exploit new information. The average trader or investor needs a simple system that is flexible and robust - that does not depend on the market moving in trends, or creating chart patterns.

Praveen Puri developed his system after becoming fascinated with the idea of a pure Zen trading system that would use no news reports, indicators, charts, or parameters to distract from Now. He developed a simple and powerful stock trading system that uses a mathematical re-balancing formula to buy low and sell high.

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Bought General Dynamics (GD) Today

Today I bought General Dynamics (GD) stock at $62.45. Like most of my investments, I bought it because of fundamentals and how it diversifies my portfolio. I will manage the position with my Stock Trading Riches system.

In the August 30 issue of Forbes Magazine, money manager Ken Fisher recommended GD at $64.20. He felt that it was very cheap at that price (9 times likely 2010 earnings and 80% of revenue).

GD is the fifth largest defense contractor. It sells ships, submarines, tanks, planes, and computer systems to the militaries of the U.S., as well as other countries.

Finally, he said that its 2.6% dividend yield is competitive with 10 year treasury bonds. He feels that it is better way to bet on government growth than buying bonds.

Based on the analysis above, I decided to buy GD because it fits a need in my portfolio - a large company with extensive government contracts that will allow me to profit from growth in government.

Stocks that benefit from increased government spending can also hedge your finances if taxes should increase. This is similar to how I didn't feel "pain in the pump" when gas prices went up before the recession because, while I was paying more to fill my car, my Apache Energy (APA) stock was increasing.

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Canadian Reader Includes "Stock Trading Riches" in His or Her's Amazon Listmania! List

A reader from Canada included my book "Stock Trading Riches" in their Amazon Listmania! List.

Here is what they said:

"When using Puri’s spreadsheet and making one trade on the S&P 500 ETF (Ticker: SPY) on the first trading day of each year from 2001 to 2008, the result is that his system did beat Buy & Hold. The compounded annualized return of buying and holding the SPY index only, was 1.7%, while Puri’s system delivered 2.0%. Better results may be had with individual stocks, other ETFs, or closed-end funds."

I am grateful for the review. Also, I recommend not using a general index fund because it will lack volatility because the fluctuations of the individual components will cancel one another out.

Instead, my system works much better with a portfolio diversified among stocks and/or sector funds. The "Stock Trading Riches" formula would then be applied individually to each stock or fund to generate a better return by taking advantage of each position's volatility.

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New Description for Stock Trading Riches

I've updated the description for my book "Stock Trading Riches" on both my publisher's site and on Amazon.com.

I wanted to emphasize less on the idea of zen minimalism, and more on the fact that it is a practical and successful stock trading system.

I really want to share the system that turned my trading around and allowed me to become a successful investor.

Here is the new description (it will take a few days to appear on Amazon.com):

This book introduces a simple and elegant mathematical formula for successfully investing in the stock market. It does not depend on the market moving in trends or creating chart patterns.

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The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: How To Increase Productivity By 30 Minutes A Day

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur blog has a great article on "How To Increase Productivity By 30 Minutes A Day".

I contributed step # 20!

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Free Credit Reports and FICO Scores

While consumers can get free yearly copies of their credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com, FICO credit scores are not usually free.

There are, however, a few sites that offer free alternative scores that correlate to your FICO:

1. CreditKarma.com - Once a day, you can pull a copy of your TransRisk credit score from TransUnion.

2. Quizzle.com - Once every 6 months, you can access your CE score from Experian.

3. Credit.com - Once a month, you can see a credit report card based on your TransUnion report. The report card shows a letter grade, as well as a numerical FICO range.

Finally, if you are going to apply for a loan or mortgage, you might want to see your actual FICO score. For $15.95 each, MyFICO.com can give you your Equifax and/or TransUnion FICO scores (Experian no longer sells their FICO score to the public).

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The Minimal, Elegant "Stock Trading Riches" Stock Trading System

99% of trading systems use the same old indicators. 99% of all trading books say "the trend is your friend". 99% of traders fail to beat the market. The brutal fact is that a free market is about price discovery. A market works like an organism - "consuming" new fundamental and technical information and rendering it ineffective.

Traders and investors need a system that is flexible and robust - that does not depend on the market moving in trends or creating chart patterns. Praveen Puri created a simple and elegant Zen trading system that doesn't use any news reports, indicators, or charts to distract from Now - the present moment.

Praveen Puri is a minimalist writer with a passion for simplicity, elegance, and Zen. He has been a software developer, full time trader, consultant, and a vice-president at a major bank. Stock Trading Riches is available from Amazon.com.

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Mentioned in Article on FINS (A Wall Street Journal Website)

I was interviewed by a Wall Street Journal reporter for their FINS financial website. They even mention my book Stock Trading Riches! http://www.fins.com/Finance/Articles/SB128353087745234097/The-Five-Best-and-Worst-Things-About-Telecommuting-The-Finance-Edition?Type=0&link=FINS_hp_article_photo

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Stevie Wonder, "Superstition" - Live on Sesame Street 1973

This is jamming! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ul7X5js1vE&feature=related

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China's Massive Traffic Jam

This is crazy! Drivers on China's Beijing to Tibet Highway have been stuck in a traffic jam for 10 days, and estimates are that the jam will last another 3 weeks.  On Sunday, traffic on the worst section moved less than a mile. The problem occurred when some lanes were closed for construction.  Villagers are selling food and water to drivers at inflated prices. China has the problem that they are growing fast, and they are not investing in infrastructure to keep up.

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Excess Trading Funds and Short Term Bond Funds

As I stated in a previous post, my portfolio had a large 44% gain for 2009.

Since I used my Stock Trading Riches system and re-balanced each position, I ended up generating a lot of cash for the cash pool.

As I've also stated before, I'm happy using Scottrade as my broker*. However, they do not offer a money market "sweep account", and are only offering .15% on cash balances.

They do offer no-load mutual funds with no commission, so I parked my cash in AALPX, which is the American Beacon Short Term bond fund. They returned 5.17% last year, and have a 5 year average return of 3.68%. They invest in fixed income with a duration of 1 to 3 years.

* If you want to open a Scottrade account, use referral code ZNTJ5666 to get three free trades.

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Stock Trading Riches Topics

Here are the topics included in my book "Stock Trading Riches":

My Simple Trading System

Optional Ideas for Customizing The System

Zen and the Art of Speculation

The Hidden Dangers of Investing Too Conservatively

7 Stock Market Secrets for New Investors

Divorce of A Trader - The Perils of Leverage

Why Stocks Are Better Than Mutual Funds

Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Investment Success - Stick to the Basics!

Combining Fundamental and Technical Analysis for Stock Trading

How to Invest in an Era of High-Inflation and a Weak US Dollar

Deflation and Stock Picking

How Markets React to News and Reports

The Problem With Trading From Charts - The Secret Flaw Technical Analysts Never Talk About

Evaluating Trading Systems Critically - Be Wary of the Well-Placed Example

How to Select IPOs That Are Ready To Explode

Stock Market Cap Analysis - Secrets for Building a Diversified Portfolio

6 Unconventional Metrics for Stock Picking

Bonus 2009 Updates

Bonus Awk, Perl, and Excel Scripts

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Interesting ABC News Report on India, Outsourcing, and How It's Enriching America

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ1O9NlnugE

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New Element Found - Administrarium

AMES, IA—The heaviest element known to science was recently discovered by materials researchers at IPRT/ISU. The new element, tentatively named Administratium, has no protons or electrons, and thus has an atomic weight of 0. However, it does have one neuron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice neutrons, and 111 assistant vice neutrons. This gives it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together in a nucleus by a force that involves the continuous exchange of particles called morons. Since it has no electrons, Administratium is totally inert. However, it can be detected chemically, since it impedes every reaction it comes into contact with. According to its discoverers, a tiny amount of Administratium caused one reaction to take over four days to complete; the normal reaction time is less than one second. Administratium has a normal half life of approximately three years, at which time it does not actually decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which neutrons, vice neutrons, and assistant vice neutrons exchange places. Studies have shown that the atomic mass usually increases after each reorganization. Research at other laboratories indicates that Administratium occurs naturally in the atmosphere. It tends to concentrate at points, such as governmental agencies, large corporations, and universities. It is always found in the newest, best appointed, and best maintained buildings. Scientists point out that Administratium is known to be toxic at any level of concentration and can easily destroy any productive reactions where it is allowed to accumulate. Attempts are being made to determine how Administratium can be controlled to prevent irreversible damage, but results to date are not promising.

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Animated Musical Hits

The Archies (With Sabrina the Teenage Witch) - This song from the cartoon show beat out the Beatles and Rolling Stones for song of the year for 1969: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGL4btEIoTo&feature=related Hoppo - The Lion Sleeps Tonight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K36qe7OXDAs&feature=related Shrek - I'm a believer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUyu5prWjTE Shrek Karaoke http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gknjvqdB_1M&feature=related

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Making Technology Work For You: The Best Day-Trading Software On the Market Today

This is a guest post by Alexis Bonari

An average individual making a foray into online stock trading is faced with a bewildering array of online brokers. Each promises to offer the most security, the best rates, and the best online interface for the money. While most of these companies offer significantly lower per-trade fees than going to a physical broker, there are still significant advantages and disadvantages to consider when picking an online brokerage.

Here are three of the highest ranked online brokers to date:

1. optionsXpress
(www.optionsxpress.com)
While it fails to offer FOREX or international trading, optionsXpress offers the most options to control your portfolio of any of the major online brokers. The small-time trader will be pleased to note that there is no minimum account balance required and the fees are flat rate. The program also covers IRA’s and education savings plans. No additional fees are charged for direct help from a broker.

2. Trade King
(www.tradeking.com)
The award for lowest price per trade goes to Trade King at $4.95/trade. Included with the online access is a simulator that allows you to “trade” with fake currency. For the inexperienced online trader, this feature would be beneficial for testing the trading waters or for testing out a particular financial strategy. Trading screens and all other interfaces are well designed and easy to understand.

One of the downsides to signing up with Trade King is the five-day waiting hold after setting up an ACH link for money transfer. In other words, getting started trading stocks takes time if you are adding a new bank account or setting the account up for the first time.

3. Zecco
(www.zecco.com)

If free trades aren’t enough reason to switch to Zecco, I don’t know what is. This policy only applies when you have $25,000.00 in the account or perform 25+ trades per month. Customers who go beyond their 10 free trades for the month are charged $4.50 for each trade thereafter.

The only major downside to Zecco is how much they charge for IRA’s. With a $30 annual fee and a $30 closing fee, your IRA might make more money elsewhere. Also, Zecco does not feature no-fee mutual funds. You are charged a $10 fee for each mutual fund purchase.

Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is a passionate blogger on the topic of education and free college scholarships. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

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Trailer for TRON: The Legacy (28 Years Later - The Sequel to 1982's TRON)

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-tron-legacy-comic-con-trailer.html

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An Example of a Real Niche Website Business

As my regular readers know, I like to spotlight interesting niche websites.

As an advocate for applying simplicity and minimalism to business and financial success, I really believe the way to internet marketing success is to have tightly focused, simple, one-page websites.

Today, I'm spotlighting a really niche website called 1tbharddrive.org.uk - all they sell are 1tb hard drives!

This is a brilliant idea for two important reasons:

1. By including the drive size in the main keyword, they will attract visitors who are ready to buy - rather than those researching hard drives.

2. By presenting only one product (hard drive) at only one size (1 tb), they eliminate indecision on the part of visitors - making it more likely for them to buy.

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17 Year Old Turned Used Cell Phone into Porsche Convertible On Craigslist

A 17 year old from California took an old cell phone and then, after 2 years and 14 swaps on Craigslist, ended up with a 2000 Porsche Boxster S.

He would spend up to 5-6 hours a day on Craigslist,looking for swaps.

Some of the swaps included an iPod touch, various dirt bikes, a MacBook Pro, a golf cart, and a 1975 Ford Bronco.

He used the Bronco for the final swap for the Porsche.

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BP Sells $7 Billion in Assets to Apache

To raise money to cover the Gulf spill, BP made a deal to sell $7 billion in assets to Apache corp (APA).

Apache will get oil and gas properties in Texas, western Canada and Egypt. BP will
get a $5 billion cash deposit on July 30. Apache will finance the purchase through a combination of debt, equity, and cash.

As a long time Apache shareholder, I like this move because it typifies how this oil company has grown over time: buying older, under-capitalized assets from oil majors.

In this case, BP will get some quick cash to help them cover spill claims, but Apache shareholders will reap much more over time, as the oil from these assets are extracted, processed, and sold.

I have owned Apache for over 4 years, and have done well.

As with most of my stock investments, I bought Apache based on fundamentals, and used my Stock Trading Riches technical system to trade around the core holding.

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Engineering Students Invent Simple, Elegant Anemia Test for Developing Nations

As readers of my blogs know, I am passionate about promoting the power of simplicity, minimalism, and elegance.

Today, I came across an article about two bio-engineering students who used simplicity and elegance in a way that will probably save countless lives in the developing world.

I feel excited for them: At a young age, as part of a class project, they have made an impact on the world.

These students, Rice University undergraduates Lila Kerr and Lauren Theis, were challenged to find a portable, low cost way to diagnose anemia without power.

Their solution was creative and elegantly simple: they modified a common kitchen salad spinner to create a device that separates blood samples (and diagnosis anemia) without electricity.

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Favorite Game Show: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Thanks for the post from Shad Blake

One of the best game shows to ever grace the television networks is Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. This show is truly awesome for the opportunities it gives ordinary people to earn a million dollars in a half hour or hour. The show was originally hosted by Regis Philibin and continues to be a thrill to watch.

The thrilling game show makes dreams come true for people. The show is based off of the premise that anyone in the world can win a million dollars with a bit luck and a bit of knowledge. I remember watching one of the first episodes of this show on my satallite TV and being completely astonished when a person actually won the million dollars. It was quite thrilling to see someone win the million dollars. There are also three options a person has for getting help with the answers. A person could answer a question using 50/50, phone a friend, or pass. It was fun to see some of the contestants phone some of the most famous people in the world. One person even phoned Oprah Winfrey for his question! After he lost the question, she provided him with money to compensate for his losses.

Watching "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" is a great experience that gets anyone involved. The game show makes you want to win a million dollars!

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Simple Shortcut to Calculating the Internal Rate of Return For Your Investments

If an investment (i.e. mutual fund) starts off with $20,000 and is worth $22,000 at the end of the year, then you know that you earned a 10% return.

But, what if, during the course of the year, you invested an additional $100 per month during the year (for a total of $1200)?

You can't determine your return by dividing 22,000 by 21,200 because you did not have $21,200 invested since the beginning of the year.

You need to use regression analysis to calculate the exact return but, here is a quick and dirty way to calculate the approximate return:

Adj. starting value = original starting value + amount added / 2

Adj. ending value = original ending value - amount added / 2

Approx. rate of return = Adj. ending value / Adj. starting value

So, in this case, the original starting and ending values are $20,000 and $22,000.  During this time period, we added an additional $1200.

So, the approximate internal rate of return =   (22000-600) / (20000+600) =  3.89%

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Why Personal Finance Should Be A Required Class Everywhere

When I attended high school in Illinois in the mid 1980's, it was a requirement that, to graduate, you had to take a consumer education class from the business department.

This class taught basic personal finance: i.e. understanding interest rates, creating a budget planner, how to balance a checkbook, etc.

Today, I think Illinois still requires high school students to take a consumer education class, and I'm assuming that it's been updated to include online and computer resources, such as personal finance software.

But, these kind of classes need to be beefed up. Today, more than 25 years ago, lifetime employment is a thing of the past, and people are free agents. They need entrepreneurial skills. Also, financial and consumer choices are much more varied and complex today. 25 years ago, we did not have to deal with so many monthly contracts (such as cell phone plans).

In fact, the subject of finance and entrepreneurial skills need to be required throughout high school. For example, students are required to take math throughout high school. They should have 4 years of financial education.

Of course, this should not be limited to just Illinois.

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Jewel Goes Undercover at L.A. Karaoke Bar

The website Funny or Die got the singer Jewel to wear a disguise and go to a karaoke bar and sing her songs. Watch the reactions...

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Caveat Emptor: If An Investment or Opportunity Appears Too Good To Be True, Beware!

If you are interested in business / investments, the #1 lesson to learn is that, if someone presents an opportunity that seems too good to be true, walk away, or at least get your guard up. If it is so good, why are they sharing it with you?

Here is an example: Yesterday, I got an email talking about the "world's best investment" - better than stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. The guy who sent it provided a link to a video.

So, I watched the video. He followed a predictable formula:

1. Selectively chose examples to criticize normal investments - in this case 2008, when stocks, real estate, bonds, and even TIPs (inflation protected treasuries) were all down. He also mentioned how the returns for stock indexes were negative from 2000-2009.

2. He then described his "perfect investment" - in this case, "being your own bank" by buying used mobile houses at wholesale, and re-selling them at retail with financing. Ex: buy mobile home for $7,000 and re-sell for $10,900 with a 72 month lease. So you would receive about $117 per month for 6 years. His rationale for this working is that banks don't want to finance used mobile homes.

He said that these deals can make a double digit return in any economic environment, and mobile homes are easier to sell then regular homes. They are considered to be like cars (sold through "pink slips") rather than real estate.

3. Finally, he made his pitch: his company would handle everything - locate a mobile home for you, negotiate with a trailer park, advertise the mobile home for sale, screen buyers, etc.

I quit watching at this point.

Think about it - if his company is set up to do the drudgery work, and buying/re-selling mobile homes is the "perfect investment", why would he go to all the trouble of emailing people about it and letting them make the returns, while he just collects a fee?

Clearly, he must think servicing mobile home investors has a better risk/reward than actually investing.

It's like the California Gold Rush - people rushed out there to discover gold and most failed. But Levi Strauss got rich selling jeans to them.

Does this mean that buying / re-selling mobile homes is a scam? Not necessarily. Someone might be able to generate a good return, but I doubt if it is that easy.

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