How Much Money Does Opec Make in 6 Days?

Enough to buy General Motors.

Eee!

OK, so I know I keep seesawing back and forth on this issue of should I buy a house. I had thought about it but eventually decided that I couldn't afford anything that was in the area that I wanted and had the amenities I wanted (like not sharing a damn wall with a neighbor) so I started looking at renting a larger place instead. Today we even went to see a potential new place to rent which was pretty nice.

Well, I got home from that tour and visited the Craigslist ads as I always do, and then for a lark went on the Prudential page that I use to look up local properties. And..

There is a great house for sale. It is a wee bit more than I wanted to pay, but I can afford it on my salary, not counting any CashDuck money or contribution from Boyfriend. It needs work, but I do have money coming in that I can use (plus if I put a nice downpayment down, I can take it back out as home equity in the short term.) It used to be a rental, so all the guts work, it just isn't terribly pretty. Very nice big backyard (which is pretty rare for the area) and a big deck. Plus, it is empty right now, which is important because I only have three months (approximately) to get this done. Boyfriend doesn't have intensive classes during the summer, so he'd be able to oversee the work a little bit, and my mom is retiring in June and really wants to help out too.

So.. I put in a request to see the house tomorrow, and for a quote from a mortgage broker (an Upfront Mortgage Broker, thanks Searchlight Crusade!) and maybe we can get this puppy going. Although it is a bit higher priced than I would like, it's going to be the only thing we can get a mortgage for in this area - and I'm pretty much guaranteed to get back all the money I put into it when we sell as all the other houses in the area are at least $50k more, and most are pretty nice houses.

As my mom said, you were meant for this house! But then, as I said, I just have to make sure no one else is meant for it too. :) Definitely be updates on this soon.

Edit: I just pulled my credit reports and scores, I have a 697 (???) at Experian, but a 749 from Equifax and a 740 from TransUnion. So I feel pretty damn good about that.

OK how dorky am I...

I got all excited because Boyfriend asked me if I would do his taxes. Normally he mails his things home to his father, who has an accountant do them. Which is really silly, because Boyfriend has exactly one W-2 and an interest statement. It took us about half an hour, at least ten minutes of which was consumed by such activities as trying to get TaxCut to open in a browser (doesn't work in Linux or Firefox) and printing out the sheet he has to sign and mail in because he doesn't know his AGI from last year (which is what TaxCut asks you for to prove your identity.) We then went to the Ohio e-file site and filed that - hells no I would not let him pay thirty bucks to let TaxCut do it! He's getting a couple hundred back which is pretty nice. I have also been telling several other people that I will help them do their taxes, because I just don't see the point in paying a couple hundred for someone at a tax place to do what will take us and the programs in Free File half an hour. And maybe some chips. I do like chips.

I won't file my own until April, although they are done, so I can hang onto the money a little longer.. plus TaxCut still does not have the Ohio form that assesses me a penalty for underpayment. (I probably should have looked into this earlier, since the estimated tax payment deadline was Jan. 15th and I could have made that and saved some bucks. But, since I have no idea what they are going to charge me, I might actually earn more in interest than I will pay in penalty.)

Cold Weather, You're Out

Dear Chicago:

I don't know what I did to piss you off, but I'm writing to let you know that I've absolutely had it with your attitude. I WILL NOT, no matter how cold, snowy or downright nasty you get, WILL NOT wear my down parka another minute until at least October. I refuse! You may have gotten the best of me this winter by jacking up my heating bills to over $200 each month, leaving permanent salt stains on all my clothes and shoes and halting my driving lessons with your "ice storms," but mark my words, frienemy, your frosty days are numbered.

Watch out Chicago. Because as soon as your cold snap ends, I will be out on your town with a vengance.

Regards,
Nicole

Cheating Today

Actually I've been cheating for the last couple of weeks since our son went to blow up things in the Las Vegas desert, we're building a house, I may have to sue some people in Florida, and I'm having trouble getting the electrician to show up. Not a lot of time for other things like concentrating so I'm cheating. Actually the subject is about paying attention to only certain things so take a look at this article from Marketminder.com (again) and learn to ignore thinking that only gets in the way of getting rich. Here goes---

The Myth of One

9/12/2007 |

Right now, you’re reading this column and your mind is focused on each sentence. That’s a marvelous and miraculous thing your brain is doing! The ability to focus on one thing is an incredible feat of focus allowing us to accomplish much in life. But there’s a big drawback: While you’re focusing on this column, there’s a whole world of activity your brain is ignoring!

That pain in your back, the chatty co-worker across the room, the phone that won’t stop ringing, the fly buzzing around your head…where did all those pesky thoughts go? None of them ceased to exist, you just stopped paying attention for a few seconds.

Blocking extraneous issues from our minds and directing our focus towards what’s most relevant is a nifty feature of the human brain: We’re actually designed to ignore most of what’s going on around us. Human brains—and those of many animals—are made to focus and reduce situations to actionable, understandable steps. We can’t keep a whole lot of information at the forefront of our consciousness for very long. At best, we can hold on to a few items at a time, but mostly we just focus on one thing or we’ll forget it.

That’s because evolution designed the brain as a hierarchical thing—receiving stimulus from the outside world and running the data through various neural unconscious systems (which account for the vast majority of brain activity) and deciding what, if any, information is worth bringing to your actual frontal lobes (where most of your consciousness is believed to reside). You’ll never even know about most of what your brain does or perceives!

That’s a great thing because nobody wants to be thinking about regulating their heartbeat, digesting this morning’s cinnamon raisin bagel, or focusing the lenses in their eyeballs to read the newspaper every second of the day. Our unconscious brains do all that heavy lifting so we can put our attention on other issues.

Only problem is, the brain’s tendency to block out extraneous information can be a very hazardous thing for investors.

I like to call most of today’s financial media pundits disciples of the “Myth of One.” That is, most stories we read today tend to focus on one issue alone as if that was the only thing moving stocks. “Oh, stocks were down today because housing starts fell last month!” or “Stocks went up because mortgage loan demand was higher than expected in August!” (Really? Since when are we suddenly all so focused on mortgage demand as the seminal market moving issue?)

The reality is millions upon millions of factors are acting on the market at any given time. But our brains can’t live with that idea so we write and read stories about single factors as if they were the only relevant thing. How absurd! But that’s how our brains work—we’re just not made to see the big picture. (In fact, our brains are so blind no one seems to notice corporate earnings are easily surpassing expectations this year!) Today the singular mythic issue is credit and housing, yesterday it was energy prices and carry trades, and tomorrow it will be something else. That’s your brain tricking you into the Myth of One.

It seems impossible to truly understand what’s going on in markets if we can only focus on a few measly issues at a time. What can we do?

One useful strategy is to put things into perspective. Often when investors get too focused on a single issue it gets blown far out of proportion. A great example is last week’s US employment report. Investors headed for the hills as the S&P 500 relinquished more than 1.5%–supposedly all for a job contraction of 4,000. When we consider a workforce of over 153 million, 4,000 jobs account for less than one thousandth of a percent of the employee base. How silly! There’s virtually no way such a small thing could account for such a big move. That tells you investors irrationally fell prey to the Myth of One. If you can see that, you’ve put the issue into perspective and gotten ahead of the game. Read more about the employment issue here:

Belaboring Labor, 9/7/07
http://marketminder/commentary/CommentaryPage.aspx?articleID={FCC988F3-72BA-4D67-97CE-10681D05A89C}

Ultimately, you’re just going to have to live with the brain you’ve got. But that doesn’t mean you have to buy in to the myth that just one story alone moves global markets at any given time.

How a Bank in Colombia could be the Sleeper Stock of 2008

A few years ago, anyone that mentioned investing in Colombia would likely draw laughs or skepticism, especially from the general populous, but for those looking for the next frontier of BRIC-type growth opportunities, Colombia is at the top of the list. Under Uribe, the country has started to emerge from the veil of kidnappings and corruption to recognition that Colombia is a real player in the world economy.










The case for Colombia:





Free Trade Agreement:

Currently, there is much consternation and debate over the proposed Free Trade Agreement with Colombia. As usual with our disingenuous politicians, this is much ado about nothing and it comes down to pandering and politicking. Some little-known facts are that the U.S. has actually been engaged in free trade with Colombia for several years, but on a one-way basis only. As an incentive to allow Colombia to prosper by trading with the US, the expectation was that this opportunity would allow Colombia to fight the drug cartels, and this effort seems to have been successful, given recent results. Since the 1990's and without interruption, a can of coffee or a banana sold into the U.S. from Colombia has entered duty-free with no tariffs, while a tractor or bottle of soda made in the U.S. and sold into Colombia has faced a tariff of anywhere from 10-20%. Without going off on a political or economic rant, it's generally accepted by any economist worth their salt that the benefits of free trade greatly outweigh any negative consequences on an aggregate basis...the theory of competitive advantage, documented cases of free trade with Mexico, etc...Unfortunately, Congress recently scuttled the Colombian Free Trade Agreement, but in time, logic will prevail and this FTA will come to pass and Columbia will reap benefits beyond those of its existing strengths.


It's the Economy Stupid!


Colombia's economy has experienced positive growth over the past several years including 6.5% GDP growth in 2007. The economy is booming due to the government's ability to reduce public debt levels, shift to an export-oriented economy, reign in crime, and our favorite development of the decade: high commodity prices. While the unemployment rate stands at about 10%, that's no different than a typical level in Western Europe of late (9% in Germany, 8% in France). The primary risk facing the local economy is concern over continued failure of the US Congress to approve the FTA.



How to invest in Colombia:



As it stands now, you have only one option and it's a good one: Banco de Colombia (BIC). While the shares are up 3500% since late 2001 and it's unlikely to see another 34x return any time soon, can the stock outperform the US and emerging market indices? Surely. It has continued to do so this year as evidenced by the following chart. Note the 40% return for CIB vs. 20% for EEM, the Emerging Markets ETF, followed by the dismal -7% return for the S&P500 during the prior 1 year period.

Banco de Colombia Analysis:

Analyst Coverage: The shares have virtually no analyst coverage and there are rarely news items published aside from company filings. As of now, there are only 2 analysts on the stock and they are both positive on the stock with a "buy" and an "outperform". The past two actions in 2005 were upgrades and newly initiated coverage in 2006 was "outperform".


Beta: Interestingly, even given the massive runup over the years, the Beta for the stock is less than 1, at .89, so it's not as risky a proposition as you might envision.

Dividend: The stock sports a 2.9% dividend, which is OK for a bank stock.

Earnings: BIC recently reported earnings of Ps. 425.0 billion for the first four months increasing 56.6% as compared to the same period of 2007. It's difficult to gauge earnings vs. street consensus with virtually no coverage from the street, but judging by the continued ascent in share prices of late, the smart money likes what they're seeing. The shares are slightly off the all-time high of $44 per share at $40 per share.

Outlook: Given the increase in the standard of living and continued strong GDP growth in Colombia, as well as decreasing inflation, I expect the stock to continue to perform well in spite of a deferral on the FTA. In the event the FTA comes to pass in the future, expect even bigger things from Banco de Colombia.

Disclosure: The Everyday Finance portfolio currently has no position in CIB and does not intend on purchasing shares during the next 5 trading days.

www.everydayfinance.blogspot.com

What the CEO envisions… vs. the reality of what may actually be happening

Back in December when I reviewed??Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, I did not live in a community dotted with a Starbucks at every block, so I have never been to a Starbucks. ?I was able to read the book and see the vision Howard Schultz, the CEO, had of the company. ?I saw how he wanted the Starbucks image to exist. I wrote my review of his business techniques in the book?here.

Now my commute to work passes three Starbucks Cafes, so I decided to check the place out. ?My brain carried the image Schultz painted in his book. ?The experiences have been totally different. ?Yes the employees were great and the coffee was delicious–but it was the other things that were off. ?He said they give real cups unless customers ask for to-go cups. ?The baristas told me it's actually the opposite. ?They don't even have enough?porcelain?cups to?accommodate?the seats in their shop. ?Schultz said his business was green; the places I visited had no recycling for the disposable cups. ?The differences between what Shultz said was standard and what I saw were shocking. ?But it just goes to show:

A CEO can't always be in touch with what is really happening in his company. ?It's like a king–does he really know everything his subjects are up to? ?There are so many people and so many cups of coffee.

I feel lucky that I read the book before I walked in the coffee shop. ?Of course, it means I was disappointed when I walked in while the average person is won over by the experience. ?Oh well. ?No wonder this book is on clearance at Amazon now.

?

?

Write-Offs: 05.19.08

$$$ Deals: The Blockbuster Is Back

In our M&A Roundup for the week ended May 18, four deals top $2.5 billion, with HP-EDS and the sale of defense contractor DRS topping the list. [CFO.com]

$$$ Gotti loan shark gets shaken down in USA Commercial Mortgage bankruptcy [TheDeal]

$$$ Brinks Co. (BCO) [WallStrip]

Spring Cleaning

I haven't been feeling much like myself lately. I've been in a funk and stressed out for some reason - probably due to increased stress at work and some small health issues (which seem to go hand-in-hand). I've been meaning to post, but haven't had the heart to write what's on my mind. I tried to work out a bit, but don't have the energy. I've been spending weekends in, mostly sleeping or just lounging, rather than going out with my girls. And you know what? I'm sort of sick of myself.

I realized today that I've been spending more time talking about my health and nutrition issues lately than, well, anything else. And I think it's driving my family and friends crazy. I need to get back to my normal, energetic and engaging self. But how?

Well, as most of you know, I'm not an unhealthy person. I usually eat plenty of veggies and fruits, try to eat "clean," or organic/unprocessed whenever I can, avoid sodas and too much sugar and work out regularly. This isn't the cheapest or easiest, but it's how I feel my best and has worked well for me. Despite my healthy ways, about two weeks ago, my digestive system staged a protest and I ended up at the doctor's office to get some advice.

Digestive issues are nothing new for me. I've had a sensitive stomach my whole life and regularly carry around a purse full of everything from antacids to Pepto to Immodium to chamomile tea to fiber to gas tablets (sorry for the TMI!). I've tried digestive enzymes, tried going vegan, tried avoiding dairy. How I'm processing foods really just depends on the mood of my tummy on any given day.

This time around, my doc advised me to be really restrictive about what's going in, and suggested I limit my fiber, uncooked vegetables and raw fruits until I get back on track. So I've been doing that for two weeks now and I hate it. Though my body seems to be back in order, I don't have the spring in my step that I usually do. So today I've gone back on veggies, fruit and fiber. Screw the brown-rice bread, bring on the whole grains! I'm scrapping the "sensitive stomach" diet and getting myself back into shape.

Here's how I'm going to get back to normal...

1) To start, I made an appointment with a GI doc. I like my doc just fine, but she's never tested me for what starts my issues in the first place. She recommends a high-fiber diet one day, and a low-fiber diet the next.

I have no idea what the GI doc will cost, but he's in my network so it should be reasonable. For those of you wondering, I don't want to delve to much into symptoms or history. We'll leave all that to the health and nutrition bloggers out there.

2) As I noted, I'm going back to my pre-protest diet... high-fiber, good fats, yummy fruits and veggies. If I weren't going out of town all week, I'd be at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's right now, buying $80 bags of groceries.

3) I'm going to keep taking the probiotics I started last week. The kind I'm using now is about $30/month.

4) I'm going to try to take a multivitamin every day.

Hopefully this strategy will keep me running right, with the energy levels and nutrients I need, until I see the GI doc at the end of the month. Until my appointment, I'm not going to complain or wallow one minute longer. I'm going to get off the couch and start exercising and cleaning my house.

Speaking of cleaning my house (how's that for a transition?)... My vacuum cleaner has also staged a protest this week, and has decided it is no longer cleaning up cat hairs. Unfortunately for the vacuum cleaner, this means we have reached an impasse and will no longer be working together.

That said, I now need to buy a vacuum cleaner. And not just any vacuum cleaner; one that will actually clean my floor. My 5-year-old $40 Hoover probably "lost suction" about a year ago; we've been fiddling with bags and cleaning brushes, but it's progressively getting worse. So in the name of spring cleaning, I'm going to splurge and actually buy an adult vacuum [read: expensive] this time. (My family had a top-of-the-line Rainbow growing up... I still remember when the sales lady came to my family's house in the mid-80's for a demonstration and all six of my family members sat in my living room in awe as she picked up a bowling ball with only one small attachment!)

So given how I'm partial to expensive vacuum cleaners because they actually, you know, work, I have narrowed down my search to two models: the Kenmore Progressive Model 35922, rated number one for pet owners by consumer reports and retailing for about $300, and the Dyson Animal, which retails for about $550 and is rated number one by my brother, who works with inventory for Best Buy. I have read glowing reviews for both. I'm guessing the Kenmore will be the winner based on price... after all, I am still the Budgeting Babe.

OK, so I think we've covered it all today: digestive ailments, probiotics and vacuuming. I have officially become the most boring blogger ever. Oh well. If it makes me sound any more glamorous, I also bought a plane ticket to visit a friend in Elko, Nevada. They have a cowboy museum there! Don't think I was going to let the opportunity to visit a cowboy-lovin', gold-mining western town pass me by. Spring cleaning season might suck, but I'm feeling an adventurous summer just around the corner.

Military personnel probably not eligible for RALs this tax season

The Military Lending Act came into law on October 1, 2007, with the intent to stop predatory lending to military personnel, their spouses, and their dependents. The primary target of this law was to protect military families from payday lenders and to protect the nation from the risks of servicemembers with high levels of debt and out-of-control financial situations. The law caps interest rates on all short-term loans (defined as loans of less than 91 days in duration) at 36% APR. One provision of this law deals specifically with Refund Anticipation Loans, or RALs, which are short-term income tax refund advances. With RALs, customers of tax preparation companies forfeit a portion of their refund in order to get it in one or two days instead of the 8-15 days normally required with an IRS direct deposit. The interest terms on these loans are usually right at 36% APR, since the major tax preparation companies have known about this impending legislation for awhile. That should make the fit within the parameters of the law, right?

Not necessarily, and if you live in California, the answer is definitely no.

Aside from the APR, these loans have an origination fee which cannot be waived for anyone.* The origination fee (or account creation fee, or check fee, depending on where you go) added to the interest charges on the loan bump the loan's interest charges well above the federal limit of 36% APR. This means the loans are considered too predatory to military families under the Military Lending Act and are therefore unavailable. Therefore, as a servicemember, you need to plan ahead and realize it will be a couple weeks before your refund is available.

Are there any loopholes? Not as far as I know, short of committing perjury. A wife filing separately from her servicemember husband is not eligible for a RAL. A child who has received more than half of his support from a servicemember for the 180 days preceding the loan request is likewise ineligible for a RAL. Major tax preparation chains will have their software programmed to recognize certain EINs as belonging to military divisions and will invalidate the RAL option on that basis alone.

This will probably prove to be one of the more frustrating aspects of the new legislation, as many people who don't bother with payday lenders still request income tax refund anticipation loans. Many may not be pleased with the longer wait time, even if it does save them some money.

*Specifics here might vary by state. If you're interested in one of these loans, contact your tax preparation company of choice to inquire. They will know, and more likely than not, they will not be able to offer this product to any member of the military, their spouse, or their dependents.

Money in the Bank - What are your Best Options for Gaining Interest with your Money

Congratulations on making savings a priority!? Now that you have some money in the bank, it is time to figure out what kind of account will yield you the best benefits.? Do not leave your money sitting in checking where it does not accrue interest; this practice does nothing for you, and will not help you grow you money.? In fact, leaving your money in a checking account may actually tempt you to spend more than you intend, so watch out for your funds!

A basic savings account is a better option than your savings account, yielding you a small interest payment each month with little or no minimum balance required in the account.? If you need your money to be highly mobile and available at all times, then this is the perfect account for you, particularly if you tend to maintain a low balance at this point.?

If you have managed to save a few thousand dollars, on the other hand, a money market account might be the best thing for you.? This account has a much higher interest rate than a traditional savings account, but also has a much higher minimum balance, often of several thousand dollars.? If you feel comfortable having a few thousand dollars dedicated to the account at a time, then this might be the perfect option for you.? If you can’t afford not to have instant access to that money, however, you might want to stick to a more traditional savings account.?

If you really don’t mind having your money tied up for a long time, though, you can spend your money on a CD, which stands for Certificate of Deposit.? A CD is a special kind of account, which usually has an even higher rate of return than a money market account, but which ties the full balance up completely.? When you put your money into a CD, you commit the money for a certain amount of time.? You cannot deposit or withdraw to or from that account, and the money that you earn on it is often applied less frequently, sometimes annually.? This kind of account yields higher interest payments, but usually have a large penalty if you withdraw your money before the term is up.? If you can afford to have your money set aside for long periods of time, then a CD might be a good option for long term savings.?

Budgeting Babe Group on Facebook

While Blogger is a great platform for me to be able to share my thoughts with you, I'd like for you all to be able to share investing tips, money advice, articles, blogs, sales and great financial professionals with each other. So to that end, I just created a group on Facebook for all my Budgeting Babes out there. You can access the group here, but you need a Facebook account to do so.

I hope you'll join my latest experiment!

Opportunity for free financial education

A hot tip from Veteran Military Wife, the mastermind behind Life Lessons of a Military Wife. Dave Ramsey, the well-known financial program radio host and purveyor of the Debt Snowball method, is offering his Financial Peace University program FREE to all veterans. The promotion is running from now until the close of business on Wednesday. This program is a 13-week course, and normally costs $100, but due to this promotional offer, he is giving it away for free to eligible vets. For more information, see Veteran Wife's post about the offer. You will not find any mention of this offer on Ramsey's website, as he only mentioned it over the air. For the proper enrollment procedure and to find out if you are eligible, see the above-linked post for details.

Oh you temptress, TIAA-CREF

So I wrote previously about how I am trying to structure my contributions to cram as much money as possible into my retirement accounts this year. Well, TIAA-CREF just sent me a letter about this year's contribution limits for my 403(b).. and my 457(b). What what now?

Apparently I have BOTH a 403(b) and 457(b) set up for me through my work plan. I am not sure what a 457(b) is, but it appears to do the same thing that I am doing with my voluntary contributions to the 403(b). And my maximum limit on it is $14,740. Which means, total between the two, I could put away $30,240.

This has opened up whole new possibilities of cramming money into the account! I am tremendously excited. (Especially since I found out that you can only change your allocations once a quarter, and thus must plan more carefully.) So I think I will wait and see how things shake out in the next couple months as there may be some changes in my life going on, but I might be able to get a whole lot more money in there! (This would also save me a fortune in taxes, given how much self-employment income I have.) Very interesting...

Michigan Primaries – The State That Doesn’t Count

Well the primary elections are in town today.? Time to get out and vote.

For the republicans it’s business as usual.? You vote for the best guy they should put up for president.? But what about the democrats?

Well.? I guess they don’t want to recognize Michigan.? The only major candidate to put her name on the Ballot was Hillary Clinton.? So here are your democratic choices:

A.?Hillary Clinton

B.?Undecided

C.?Other: Write Name Here:_____________________

Here’s the funny thing.? If you choose C your vote doesn’t count.? What?? You read that right.? They give you a choice that invalidates your vote.?

Printing costs must be up because they’ve got a few names on there of guys who’ve already dropped out, so you can’t pick them either.

But the Obhama and Edwards supporters are still out in full force:

“Choose undecided,” they say.? “That way Michigan delegates can vote for someone else instead of Hillary down the road”.? Ok.? Let me get that straight now.? Vote for the guys that didn’t even want to be on Micigan’s ballot?

But what issues are important for Michiganders in this election? That’s an easy one:? JOBS.

1 in 13 people doesn’t have a job here.? So it should be an easy sale for the candidates that do actually want to get some votes out of old Michigan.

I’m a republican.? I haven’t made up my mind for their best guy yet.? But I’ll do some research today and go cast my vote later this afternoon.

It should be an exciting election year ahead.

Everyday Finance Portfolio Update and Market Commentary April 26, 2008

It was another acceptable week for the Everyday Finance portfolio, besting the 0.8% return of the S&P with a return of 1.2%. With last week's 6.2% return vs. the S&P500 return of 5.5% (here), I'm actually not exceeding the market by the margin I should given the higher Beta holdings of late; the Gold ETF has been a primary culprit. Baidu.com (BIDU) turned in a nice 7% performance following earnings numbers that exceeded expectations and the typical analyst upgrades that ensued. Focus Media (FMCN) turned in a nice week with a 12% return, as prospects for a rebound in the Chinese equity markets became more believable. Gold has continued to decline, even as oil teeters on $120 due to the combination of a weak dollar, international events (including a US ship firing a warning shot at an Iranian ship), and global demand in spite of a slowdown in gas/oil consumption in the US. The 2X Gold ETF lost another 7.5% for the week. On the other hand, the 2X Financial sector ETF gained another 3.6%. This financial play was the easiest money I've made in months, actually. The sector was harshly punished in the past few quarters, as it should have been, but markets always overreact and in this case, it was so overdone, it was beginning to truly look foolish. The Fed has already demonstrated that it will not allow any of the "premier US institutions that cannot fail" to fail...so, the bottom was pretty easy to call. I will be holding my remaining 2/3 stake for another 20-30% rise at a minimum.

How's my position banking on a decline on oil going?

Well, it didn't start off pretty. I entered into a synthetic option play with oil at around $113 where I will start to get into the red at $120 oil. We're not there yet and hopefully, we don't have additional attacks in Nigeria and ships firing at each other in middle east this week. The full rationale and method of cash-neutral options leverage using synthetic options is here. If you think oil's headed to $150, the same rationale can be applied with long calls and short puts, as opposed to my trades last week.

www.everydayfinance.blogspot.com

Tips for All Your Small Space Issues

Given the size of my small apartment, space is always an issue. Our apartment is essentially one big room that encompasses our living area, eating space, office, library and pet homes (we luckily also have two bedrooms). Within our small space, I consider it an engineering marvel that my closets don't spill out the minute you open the doors. Whether I'm shopping for paper towels, sleeping bags, sports equipment or just a new hand bag, the question always pops up: "Where are we going to put this?" I considered buying an armoire for extra storage, but then realized I didn't have the floor space for it.

It's not just storage space that causes problems. Try asking two people put away five bags of groceries or simply cook a meal in a ten-foot by six-foot kitchenette. Try enjoying "Rock of Love" in the living room while someone else is attempting to write a 30-page legal paper that's due tomorrow in the same room. Luckily, despite our lack of space, B and I have managed to make our small apartment work.

And given that many of you are living in small urban spaces with roommates (or someday will), I thought you could use some tips for getting along and living in a place that actually fits your budget, if not your lifestyle.

Tip one: Give stuff away. If you like to shop, and your space is limited, you're in trouble. I have imposed the following rule to prevent my closet from overtaking my living space: If I can't fit the new items in the closet or home, I must give old stuff to friends, family and Goodwill (or the Salvation Army) to make room. (I've also heard that Freecycle is good, and certainly e-bay is another option if you have valuable things). I stay away from throwing clothes, shoes, accessories or household items in the trash if they're still usable. If I can't stand to part with anything, I don't deserve the new goods.

Let's apply this rule... if I go shopping and come home with two bags of new spring clothes, I automatically weed through my closet and pull old pieces. You'd be surprised at the old stuff lurking in your closet. I still find clothes from college (which means they're about eight years or older) in my closet. I don't wear it, but for some reason I can't let go of it. Well, tough. Now, if I'm not wearing it, I can't keep it. Someone out there probably needs my old sorority T-shirts and sizes-too-small mini-skirts more than I do. (I kid. Typically, it's my old work clothes, warm sweaters, winter coats and gently worn shoes that make their way out. I gave away the minis long ago.)

One other cool idea: A friend of mine had a bunch of clothes, accessories and make-up in great condition that she had shrunk or just didn't want to wear/use anymore. She invited us all over for dinner and drinks, then opened up her closet and let us all pick what we wanted. I got some amazing work clothes and she got much-needed closet space back. It was a win-win for all.

Tip two: Buying stuff isn't always an option. I would really like a tent for when we go hiking and camping, instead of always borrowing my parents' huge old complicated one. But I seriously have nowhere to put it, so I can't buy one. Same goes for my eating nook (I really want an actual table, with chairs that have backs), kitchen appliances (we have the smallest coffee maker EVER), seasonal apartment decorations, a treadmill, a rocking chair, a bigger TV screen, an entertainment center... you name it, I can't buy it. And that's fine by me, because I probably can't afford it anyway. What I have fills my living space to the brim. And that's enough.

In terms of household items, I would like to be able to buy some non-perishable things in bulk, like paper towels, toilet paper, soaps, shampoos, etc. But for now, we just have to say NO! because we can't handle it.

Tip three: Organize with removable shelves and bins. Is there any storage problem that Rubbermaid can't help with? Check out their Web site for new ideas for your closet, junk drawer and shared spaces. I optimize all my space with extra sliding drawers, bins, etc. Come to think of it, I will be buying more today to organize my coat/cleaning supplies/wrapping paper/board games storage closet.

Tip four: Keep it clean and uncluttered. I am never in a worse mood than when my apartment is cluttered or untidy. And with only one main living area, that seems like always. The slightest amount of clutter - office papers, coffee cups or junk-mail - on one surface makes it seem like my entire apartment is in chaos. Not only does a messy apartment make me cranky, it also makes me feel like I want to move to a bigger, more expensive one. Keeping the place clean goes a long way towards making me feel content, so if you feel trapped in a tiny apartment, try cleaning and uncluttering before you think about getting a bigger place or buying before you're ready. It might help you stick with your lower rent place.

Tip five: Understand your personal space needs. I grew up in a family of six. In college, I never lived with less than six people. I like a full house, I like contact, I like constant conversation. B, on the other hand, was one of two kids, and prefers to be a little quieter, a little more solitary and have a little more space. Our different upbringings play out like this: If he's in our small kitchen, I like to be standing a few feet away from him, chatting. He feels claustrophobic if we're both standing in the tiny kitchen together.

When we first moved in together, I think we were both surprised that the other felt so differently about personal space. But we talked about where our needs come from, and we respect them. In the end, I learned the value of having quiet time to myself (which sometimes requires me to get outdoors for a walk or just sitting down by myself with a good book), and B learned to appreciate having someone nearby with whom to communicate.

Whether it's roommates or a loved one, living together can be difficult. Living together in a small space can be even tougher. Communicating about, understanding and respecting personal space needs will help make life easier.

.....

I could probably ramble all day, but I hope these five top tips will help you better appreciate your small, tight, unloved apartment or condo a bit more before you grow out of it.

In addition to the tips above, here are some sites that can help as you look to furnish or rework your small space:

• Tiny Living
• Domino Magazine
• HGTV: Small Space, Big Style Gallery
• HGTV: Small Space ideas
  
• Ikea
• Nate Burkus' Small Space Miracle
  

For those of you with small-space love, give us some of your best tips!

The Art of Deception - By Kevin Mitnick

I recently finished reading ‘The Art of Deception - Controlling the Human Element of Security' which is a book written by Kevin Mitnick. In case you haven't heard of Mitnick before, he is the most famous social engineer ever.

Social Engineering is basically using the social skills of influence and persuasion to get whatever the the persuader wants. It relies heavily on the reliance and exploitation of basic human trust. It's quite similar to being a conman, only usually it's done against a company rather than an individual.

Mitnick talks about various workarounds in security systems that can be bypassed by anyone using the correct lexicon who sounds like they know what they are talking about. He explains different methods of attack and ways to get a hold of information using different scenarios.

A good portion of the book is about shielding your company from attacks from social engineers and possible policies that you might want to employ. This portion of the book is done very well and I would recommend checking it out, espicially if you have never heard of social engineering before.

Great Weekend Reading

• Newsflashr Business Blogs - Excellent Site!


• If you want weekly Stock Links - Kirk is the Master!


• Trader Mike has Great Daily Stock Links


• Tim Sykes has a Great New Blog Design


• New Car every 10 years or Used Car every 5?
  
  *Note: My family always buys used luxury cars (2-3 yrs old) - Best deal in the business.


• Dryships Stock Breakout a Beauty -Time will tell (new highs are a must).


• Top Weekend Hold - Rajin Agrees with Blain on DRYS


• Peak Oil, Peak Water.. We're All Gonna Die


• The Importance of Keeping Score
  
  How much do you know about your trading?


• Ten Things Everyone Should Know About the VIX


• Visa on Wallstrip 4-28-08 Visa (V)
  
  It pulled back Friday but my position is up over 30%.


• Dollar Rallies and Gold Falls
  
  This is something I am watching as well.


• Gold Hanging on by Its Fingernails

I leave you with some great Warren Buffett quotes (they apply to today's market and any market for that matter):

Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.

Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.

Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.

A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.

If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.

Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote.

The investor of today does not profit from yesterday's growth.

Budgeting Babe on CBS Evening News

Hey friends, tune in tonight (Tuesday, April 1) to the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric at 5:30 Central Time/6:30 Eastern Time to watch yours truly talking fashion and finance with Kelly Wallace!!!!!! (...along with some of my fiercest best friends, of course.)


OMG, I have SO MUCH to tell you about it, but I'm a nervous wreck right now in anticipation of the piece so I have to bite my tongue until we see how it all turned out. All I can say right now is:

1. It was an absolute dream to participate.
2. If it turns out badly, we're pretending like it never happened, 'kay?
3. If for some reason it DOES NOT air tomorrow night, they might hold it until later this week, so keep checking in. It's a features piece, and those sometimes get bumped for more "hard news" stories that come up.

I will post the piece here one it airs. Please, please, please keep your fingers crossed that it turns out OK!

Head above water

This month has been a particularly crazy one for CashDuck, hence the long silence. But I am doing pretty well with it all, though it does mean I don't sleep quite as much as I'd like. Or blog, or clean the house, or feed the cat. (Sorry, cat.) Recent thoughts:

Taxes - Ouch. I paid about $4,600 between federal, state, and local (plus I paid some 2007 estimated taxes for local). H&R Block decided that I should pay a penalty for underpayment of estimated taxes - however yesterday I got a letter from the IRS (which did cause some consternation when I saw it) in which they stated that I didn't actually need to pay the penalty and they were going to send it back to me. Awesome! Albeit in 30 to 60 days. Still essentially free money. I signed up for the federal estimated tax payment website, and am waiting for my packet on that, and attempted to sign up for the state program but it is rather confusing so I need to sit down and try to figure that out. Local taxes, I just fill out a little coupon and mail that in with a check, there doesn't seem to be an online method. If the state and federal systems weren't so massive that I'm afraid that a paper check would get lost, I'd do it there too as it's simple, but unfortunately doesn't leave much of a record.

Housing - I am really getting the itch to get a bigger place. Our current apartment runs $695 per month plus electric/gas which is another ~$115, so it's pretty easy for me to swing. This is a two bedroom apartment and currently Boyfriend has the small bedroom (it's pretty small) as his office, and I have the remaining space in the large bedroom that isn't actually taken up by the bed. I would really like to have my own room though (especially since then I could take a larger home office deduction if I had a whole room instead of a 5x8 area) and I really need more storage space for all the duck stuff. Second, I would really like a backyard that is fenced in and that dogs haven't been pooping in so I can take my guinea pigs outside. I used to do that all the time when we first moved here but then our second year here several dogs moved into the neighboring apartments and their owners allow them to crap right off the pathway, so I can't let my guinea pigs eat that grass for fear of getting an infection. So some space outside that I can absolutely know dogs haven't crapped on would be great. Third, we need more storage space - we had a great big closet that fit everything, but then (although this is both good and bad) our landlord put a washer and dryer in it. Plus, I am storing most of the unpacked CashDuck duck stuff on a giant shelving unit which is oh-so-lovely right in our living room. So I am really thinking about moving, but have to weigh more room and nicer space against paying at least $400 more per month for what I want. I found a nice place that's a block away, but despite the fact that I walked by this morning and the rent sign is still up, the landlord said it had been rented already. So I've emailed about another place that's a little farther from where I live now, but closer to where I work, but is available in May (and our lease here is not up till August). It won't be a tragedy if we have to stay here a little longer, and then maybe our current landlord will have something that I want available, since we really like our landlord. But I am just getting a little frustrated with how crowded our house is - the rooms are all pretty small or full of furniture.

Savings - I have successfully put Plan Not Living On My Actual Salary into effect. I will get paid $338 on Monday, split 80/20 between the bills bank account and the fun stuff bank account. I already sent off the rent check from my ING checking account (hopefully it will get there on time as I forgot to do it till yesterday so it won't go out till Monday) and transferred some extra money into my bills account. I also didn't get around to making my normal $500 Roth deposit in March so I will put in $1000 in a couple of days for March and April, and my 403(b) will get the $2500 from my salary, plus my regular nonnegotiable contributions, so I am pretty excited about this massive influx. I will also probably put some more money into the Fidelity SEP IRA that I set up - I put $4600 in during early March sometime, of which only $1000 was for this tax year, so I should really put some more in. Part of the logic of not living on my salary is that pretty much one way or another there is not any way for me to get out of paying self-employment tax on my CashDuck earnings, and how much I can save of that is limited to 25% of profit, so I might as well sock away as much as I can with my 403(b) and then put away whatever I can in the SEP afterwards. Also because I can continue sending in money for 2007 to the SEP until Apri 2008, but I can't do so for the 403(b). If I continue not living on my salary for the rest of the year, I'll nearly max out the 403(b) and 457.

MBA - I've been thinking about what kind of advanced ed I should get (as I have intended to get something or other all along) and I'm really leaning towards getting an MBA. The university where I work has a really great part time MBA program which you can get done in as little as two or as many as five years, and is very flexible, and all the classes are at night. The thing that worries me though is whether I will really have the time to do it with both working full time and doing CashDuck. I finally broke down and got someone to help me with CashDuck, but I would really need more help or more time to be able to do this. So the options there are, hire someone else to help me, or go to 32 hours or less per week at my full time job. Option 1, I don't know how helpful that would be because there is so much that would be really hard to spin off, and would require a lot more sophisticated of a structure in order to keep all of the gears running together. The person who helps me now is doing tasks that can be done anytime and don't really intersect with other operations, so it doesn't matter that I don't keep tabs on her. I have a few other things that could be spun off that are similar, but she doesn't have unlimited time or unlimited space for duck prizes at her apartment. :) Option 2 might be the way to go but I think I will wait until I have been there long enough that I am too valuable for them to say "no" to me going 80% (since it would then be 80% of me or 0% of me.)

In the back of my mind there is also option 3 which is to get a different, less demanding or less than full time job, because where I work now seems pretty dysfunctional and unless things improve I might leave too. I do like the work but the management stinks. Everybody keeps asking me why I haven't quit my job to work CashDuck, but the short answer is that I would become very neurotic working at home and having nothing else to think about. Plus I need the psychological security of having that income (even if I'm not living off it) and I wouldn't feel safe quitting my job without having large, large sums of money stashed away. Third, I'm young enough that having that kind of gap in my resume might be disastrous later on. ("You were in research and quit to run a website and now you want to do research again?") So I don't feel it's wise. I mentioned this to Boyfriend the other day and he told me that he would think I was nuts if I quit my job to run CashDuck, for pretty much the reasons I outlined above, but mostly the neuroticism.

A parting thought.. Anybody else notice that ING put in a total deposits amount at the bottom, that shows how much money you have among all of your accounts? I find this to be dangerous as I am practically a compulsive saver now, and I am going to be very unhappy to see that number go down when I have to pay CashDuck estimated taxes soon (since I park CashDuck tax money and general savings money at ING), but I do like seeing that nice big number (though more than half of it is CashDuck's money anyway.)

I will try to keep to a once weekly blog update as I feel very squeezed for time right now - if you saw my house (and desk) you would understand.

Pottery Barn credit card bonus

Whilst perusing the latest Pottery Barn catalog, I noted that the fine print of their credit card bonus program is actually pretty sweet. If you spend $750 during the six-month "program cycle" (which appears to be the first six months of the year, and the second six months) you get a $50 gift certificate to Pottery Barn. Plus, if you spend $100 in the first month, you get a 5% rebate certificate which you could use to make the gift cards go farther. If I spent $750 on my American Express card, I'd only earn $7.50 in gift certificates, so that seems like a good deal to me. To totally dork out, $100 in gift certificates just for spending $1500 with the card (and it doesn't stipulate anything about balances, so you could pay it off right away) gets you a 6.6% return on your money. If you don't want to shop at Pottery Barn, you could sell the gift certificates on eBay or get 70% of value without hassle at GiftCardBuyBack.com or a similar site. (Most of the time eBay'ed gift certificates will get at least 85-90% of value, but it's more time-consuming and you have to pay fees.) I'm probably going to do some credit card arbitraging once my current 0% deal expires and I pay it off, so I'll apply for this one too and get my free gift card.

Details: http://www.potterybarn.com/cust/ccsplash/cust.cfm?cmtype=fnav

Pluses and minuses

Plus: I got my $50 National City gift card in the mail today - it was a Sharebuilder bonus for signing up through my National City account that I have for CashDuck. So that's pretty cool. Sharebuilder bonuses are awesome. (I invested my $6 in an S&P 500 index fund. It is now worth $6.14. How savvy am I?)

Minus: I got two W-2's that I had forgotten about - one for Pearson, which was a test-grading job that I had for about a month in April-ish ($988) and one for Kaplan, where I worked for exactly three days during the July-ish period when I decided I needed a second job and then decided that I really wanted to go home after work ($81). So that's about $200 more in taxes to pay since neither had much withheld. And it also makes me wonder where the thousand dollars went??

Plus: I finally am able to see information about Electric Orange, the new ING checking account, and I am ALL over that. They have a payment feature where you can send someone an email, they put in their banking info, and voila they get money! This is so cool I can't even begin to describe. Plus about 3% interest on the money you have sitting around in the account. I am so opening one for CashDuck!!

EDIT: I originally wasn't happy about this feature because you had to know their account info - but the description made it sound like you didn't have to anymore. On further investigation, it's the same. So I guess that makes this a neutral?

Minus: I went to Target on Sunday with a pocketful of coupons, spent $91 and walked out without remembering to actually hand over the coupons to the Target lady (about $10 worth.)

Plus: I got a prescription filled and actually had one of the free-gift-card-with-prescription coupons (which I did use) from Target, so I got a $10 gift card from that.

Plus: I get my first paycheck from my new job on Wednesday - and $500 of it is going into my 403(b). So, from my calculations, about $1340 will actually be deposited between my employer's contributions and my voluntary and involuntary contributions. Which is about as much money as I use to live on and pay bills other than debt. So I think that's pretty cool. If all goes as planned I may have to raise my goals of how much retirement money I want to save by 30! =)

Everyday Finance High Yield IRA Doubles the S&P for Month

I generally update the taxable trading account holdings on a regular basis to keep readers informed on recent moves, market outlook and performance. For years, I've also held a less active, more dividend-focused self-directed Roth IRA. Essentially, rather than investing in mutual funds for this portion of my Roth IRA holdings, I buy my own shares since I can't find the mix I'm looking for in any mutual fund. Of course, I have another portion of my IRA holdings in a nice low-fee Vanguard S&P500 index fund. However, given the availability of double-digit dividend yield stocks and the tax protection of dividends offered through a self directed Roth IRA, I find it advantageous to hold these shares here.

Since I haven't posted these results in a while, I'm sharing the 1 month return as of tonight 4/28/08. The results are actually much better than my active account (perhaps that's telling me something), more than doubling the return of the major indices PLUS an average yield of over 13% per year which I didn't factor in to my returns (add about 1% per month to the return). The S&P500 returned 6.2% and the portfolio returned 12.6% plus dividends. An additional factor to consider is that several of these holdings have appreciated 50% plus and at the time of purchase, the yield was much higher, but to be conservative, I'm reporting the current yield at the present discounted rate.

Standouts were:

AFN, my foray back into the financials. I took a bold move here several weeks back and posted the background and rationale on the "ridiculous yielder" AFN HERE.

Shippers FRO and SFL have continued to do quite well in the face of the continued rising commodities boom. Their pricing power seems unstoppable at this point.

PCU, the Peruvian copper miner pretty much tracks with the price of copper, so no complaints over the 12% yield there.

And finally, WBD has performed spectacularly of late. I didn't buy this one for the yield, but wanted to purchase and was tapped out in my taxable account, so I got into this one at 100 and have a 27% gain to date; 23% for the month.

www.everydayfinance.blogspot.com

When Brazil Has Better Credit Than You, It Is Time To Exit The Market

Or maybe its just another sign that Standard and Poor's is totally, utterly useless. Either way, you sort of have to chuckle when AAA tranches are expecting 40-60% losses (depending on who you ask) and Brazil is now "investment grade."

Well, yes, and it is fun to tease Brazil, but really the country has come quite a long way.

Brazil received an investment grade credit rating for the first time from Standard & Poor's, sending the benchmark stock market index to a record and yields on dollar bonds to an all-time low.

Brazilian Debt Raised to Investment Grade by S&P [Bloomberg]

Debt Consolidation: Easing the Burden

There's no doubt that while having a certain amount of debt is normal and a way of life for most of us who live in North America, some of us have gone over the line where we can pay back what we owe in monthly payments. Before any further discussion of this unfortunate situation can take place, it’s necessary to note the facing a debt burden is something that can happen to anyone. It’s not just the people who don’t know how to manage their money that can get into trouble, but those unfortunate ones among us that are faced with the loss of a job, a family illness, or a host of other unexpected circumstances that find themselves falling behind.

Types of Debt

It matters what kind of debt you have, and as you might have guessed, there are several different kinds although most of the debt that the average person finds themselves facing is what’s called unsecured debt. This includes the one that most of us struggle with in one way or the other—credit card debt. As well there are those unpaid student loans that have a way of gathering interest like a stone rolling down a hill gathers moss, and tax debts as well as medical or legal bills that have gone unpaid.

It happens more and more that people find themselves unable to see over the mountain of debt that they’ve created for themselves. Most of them are good people who would love nothing better than to find a way out and there’s help out there. Debt relief agencies like?Delray Credit Counseling?are experts at studying people’s individual debt circumstances and then helping them find a way out.??

What to Do About It

?The best option is to speak to a professional that can help. A certified debt counselor is the right choice. Professionals like those at http://www.delraycc.com are the people that can listen to your situation and help you find a plan to get you back on track. To start, all you need to do is apply to a local debt consolidation program—they are either usually private or non profit agencies that will supply a free quote on the time and interest that will be required. It’s really quite simple and once a plan is in place, you stand to save a substantial amount of interest on the payments and shorten the time it will take to pay the money back. The debt consolidation company that you select works with your creditors to design a repayment method that will both satisfy them and start you back on the road to financial freedom.

There’s a good reason that this is the best option and it’s simple. By consolidating you debt, you avoid having to claim bankruptcy. While bankruptcy does erase many of your debts, it does not take away some of the ones that can swell to large proportions like child support payments and student loans. As well, once you’ve filed either the Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 versions of bankruptcy, you credit rating is affected for up to ten years and you will find it considerably more difficult to get a personal loan, a mortgage or even a job.???