Today is July 4th, which is Independence Day in the United States. As you may know, it’s the day when our country declared its independence from England. But today can be somewhat symbolic no matter where you live. Today is a day when you can declare your independence from life as usual, mistake-driven investing and the thought of doing things tomorrow—a day which never comes.
In the spirit of the day, I thought I’d share with you 8 things to do to bring about an improvement in your life, from a financial perspective. No matter how many investing mistakes you’ve made, how many times you’ve put things off or how many dreams you’ve had, today is the day to draw a line in the sand and go forward—much like the new Americans did in the 1700s against all odds.
Yesterday, I was researching various Chinese companies for possible investment. My searching took me over to Fool.com for an article about Harbin Electric Co. (Symbol: HRBN) Various comments over there talked about how this stock around $17 was “bottom fishing” and “likely to perform well.” But then I looked at the chart.
While the fundamentals might look interesting and recent price memory has the average investor thinking it’s a deal, the chart is telling another possible story. It’s worth noting that the “Caps Rating” over at Fool.com is 4 out of 5.
The other day I wrote an article about cutting expenses and I showed you how I managed to put $464 back into my pocket each month, so I could invest more. This gave me a great idea for the site and you, my valued reader.
I’m starting a new series on Financial Rebel called the “Financial Rebel Fund” that will detail how I’m going to take $300 each month and invest it. The goal is transparency, so you can follow along. In this article, I’ll be setting up the ground rules for the new Financial Rebel Fund and as we go along, I’ll provide news and thoughts about investments made and possible future investments. And of course, I’d love to get your comments along the way.
For the past few years I’ve been talking to friends, family and readers about exchange traded funds. But, Financial Rebel really hasn’t taken this to the next level. Even though ETFs have been around for some time, they are really starting to heat up. If you’re ready to get in the game, here’s a quick step-by-step list on how to buy your first exchange traded fund.
Today, I was reading some other financial blogs and I found a good post by John Frainee (“7 Ways to Save Money Grocery Shopping”). He talks about some of the ploys the grocery stores use to entice you into spending more of your hard-earned money that you wanted to.
Keeping along the lines of his post, I thought I’d share the one tactic I use that saves me money. And I encourage you to comment below to share your grocery war stories or money-saving tips.
So the other day I got to thinking about you. I was wondering how I could help you cut your expenses and increase your investments. Now, I don’t know you personally, but given the economic conditions around the globe, I was picturing you as someone who isn’t flushed with extra cash just floating around to add to your investments. Perhaps you’re not even investing at this time. And even if you are doing well, here are some ideas to help you gain more.
I’m always monitoring the housing situation and as you know it’s been disastrous of late to say the least. Since this is an investment site, I’m looking at this from an investment perspective. If you’ve found your dream home and don’t care about appreciation and plan to be there for 30 years, have at it.
Real estate investors should be concerned and excited at the same time. While interest rates are not going anywhere in 2010 and most likely most if not all of 2011, there’s still potential for downside.
Let’s look at a couple of issues.
There’s a huge trend growing where home owners who are perfectly capable of paying their mortgages are walking away from their home because it has lost too much value. And Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) has had about enough of it.
In a press release hot off the wire, it was announced that Fannie Mae is adopting new policies to discourage people from leaving their homes.
Is Verizon (VZ) poised for a big business bounced? For quite some time we’ve all speculated that Verizon might end up with an iPhone to sell—putting an end to AT&T’s (T) exclusivity. Today, it’s been reported via Barclay’s that Verizon could indeed start selling the iPhone 4 early next year.
Apparently Sears is going through a midlife crisis. It’s aging, but it wants to be hip. Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD) is going to start offering movie and TV show downloads.
Is this really going anywhere? Apparently Sears is pretty serious. They have partnered with Sonic Solutions (SNIC) and will install the RoxioNow™ platform on many electronic devices sold through Sears and Kmart stores.
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Email: jmartin@jasonamartin.com
My name is Jason A. Martin and this is my investment blog. Back in Jr. High School I fell in love with an electrical wiring company's stock on Wall Street. After following the stock daily in the papers—the Internet wasn't around back then—I sent them a letter and they sent me back all sorts of wonderful information about their company.
In High School, we had a stock market contest. All the kids were picking companies that made stuff they consumed. When I announced my beloved company, I was laughed at. Little did they know that my company was going to be the subject of a takeover soon.
Long story short, I won the contest and have made money in the stock market, through real estate investing, currency trading and so forth.
I hope you enjoy Financial Rebel. If you do, please leave your comments and share this site with those you know.
Jason