April ended with the market in a downward trend. The first two weeks of May spelled a continuation of this trend toward year lows, cryptocurrency was among the sectors hit hard by the down turned market. Is this a time to fret or a time to invest?
The Stock Market and Ukraine
The stock market is impacted by major world events, rumors of mergers, and bankruptcy. If you have seen the news lately, you will know there is the threat of Russia invading Ukraine. For those trading in the stock market, it could mean big dips are coming. Risk of Investment Last month I wrote about learning […]
Learning About the Stock Market
Learning about the stock market is something wise to do before jumping on the bandwagon of trading on the stock market. Sure there is value in learning from experience, but this could cost you thousands of dollars. Depending on your age, you may not have the time to bounce back from that loss. In this […]
Short Term Investing
If you have read through my posts the last several months, you know I have been looking at the stock market recently. If you have missed those posts, check them out here and here. I have been thinking about how to invest short term rather than just for retirement. Here is what I have learned […]
Investing, Who Do You Hire?
After making a contribution to a self-directed IRA I considered opening an investment account for pre-retirement investing. Opening an account is the easy part. Who will be the person I hire to make the investing decisions? Will I hire myself in a self-directed account, or will hire a financial advisor to make the investing choices? […]
Stock Investing in 2021
As we end 2020 many of us are eagerly awaiting the new year and new possibilities. Some of those possibilities are looking toward investments. Maybe you got a bonus this month and want to make good use of it. Maybe you’re looking to diversify your retirement portfolio. Will 2021 bring us good fortune? Will the […]
Motif: An Engaging Way to Diversify
If you’ve ever wanted to invest in a variety of stocks but couldn’t afford to own that many individually, now you can. Motif is an online brokerage that allows investors to build stock and bond portfolios based on “motifs”, like home improvement or travel. The great thing about Motif is that you can invest in […]
Born to Sell Review
On Wednesday, we discussed diversifying your income and the various ways that you could pursue passive income strategies. If you want to establish another source of revenue generation, you may be interested in covered calls through Born to Sell, an additional investment opportunity. Born to Sell is a subscription service that helps you earn extra […]
The Gamification of Investing
Turning events into games is one of those endearing hobbies that a lot of us like to indulge in. Whether it’s Fantasy Football or Fantasy Football, The Bachelor Edition (yes, that’s a thing), we all like to turn things we can’t control into a game. It turns out even investing isn’t immune to being turned […]
Reader Question: How Can I Invest in Stocks?
Today we have a question from reader AM who is inquiring about investing in stocks. So I have a financial question and if you already have an article about it I apologize, send my way! Do you have some of your money in aggressive stocks? If so which ones and how much? I’ve obviously been […]
Update: Racking Up 100,000 Miles & $200 Cash with Loyal3
(Update 12/5/14: Loyal3 no longer allows stocks to be purchased via credit cards.) I wrote an article a few months ago about a new company called Loyal3 and how you can use a credit card to purchase stocks for free. Now I don’t really invest in many individual stocks due to the uncompensated risk, but […]
Using a Credit Card to Buy Fee Free Stocks with Loyal3
Update(5/11/2014): Loyal3 now limits credit card purchases of stocks to $50. So you can still use it to MS but it isn’t a viable option if you’re looking to do more than $1-2k. It’s easier than ever to invest your money in stocks these days. Not only are companies battling it out when it comes […]
Diversify Everything
Whenever I hear someone get really excited about their latest investment, I tend to think the worst. It’s not that I don’t want that person to succeed but I usually worry they’re making a big mistake. Any time I see a friend buy a house, I wonder if they spent more than they can afford. […]
Can You Really Handle a Bear Market?
Over the last couple of weeks, stock markets around the world have seen swooping downward trends thanks to jittery and uncertain emerging market activity. If we could look at this objectively, we would barely bat an eye. After all, the stock market spent most of 2013 on a steady and dramatic upward climb and we […]
I Finally Invested My HSA Money
It’s been a while since I wrote about my new HSA rollover strategy and lots of things have happened since then. I quit my old job, got free health insurance for a couple months, got my own insurance for a month and will have employer health insurance again next week! I’ll probably go with the […]
Review of TD Ameritrade Online Brokerage Services
TD Ameritrade is an online brokerage service that offers everything from trading accounts to Roth and regular IRA accounts and mutual funds. Online stock trading can be a great key to building wealth if you have the right mindset for trading (a combination of patience, resilience, a love of research and the willingness to stick […]
Special Tax Treatment of an Employee Stock Purchase Plan
If you do your taxes yourself and participate in an employee stock purchase plan(ESPP) you could be making a huge error in the IRS’ favor. Although the ESPP program was discontinued at my workplace this year, one of my co-worker’s recently made this mistake and he’ll have to amend his 2012 return. It all has […]
Everyone’s a Great Investor During a Bull Market
We all know the market has been on a tear the past couple years. The S&P 500 is at an all-time high and I know my 401(k), along with others’, has performed tremendously well. But my awesome returns aren’t due to the fact that I’m an investing genius, all I’ve done is maintain my portfolio […]