Steadfast Finances

 Business Trends, Consumer Education, Market Themes, Strategic Planning         8 comments

Share
Now that the Greater Fool Decade is over, I thought I would dust off my prognosticator hat and do a little strategic planning since we just experienced the stock market’s second worst performing decade ever.
Here are a few of my top, and relatively simple, investing themes for 2010 that will …

 Buy on the Dips, Long-Term Stocks, Market Themes         3 comments

Share
As someone who spent most of their career working in the biotechnology industry, I occasionally forget that my salary was paid by some unfortunate soul who had a pretty nasty disease.  Diseases like cancer, extreme hemophilia, or multiple sclerosis were used in everyday conversation, so after a while, you just became …

 Financial Crisis, Market Themes         11 comments

Share

Many people are under the assumption that Wall Street’s business transactions, particularly the transactions requiring a liquid credit market, have little to no affect on our daily lives.
This is a false assumption.
In fact, so many details of our daily lives are impacted by Wall Street that it is difficult …

 Banking, Financial Crisis, Index Funds, Investor Psychology, Market Themes         1 comment

Share
Earlier today, I heard a financial journalist say one of the most peculiar statements I’ve ever heard about a down day in the stock market.
It’s good to have something bad happen to keep you on your toes.
I’m not sure who came up with that old adage, but I’m not sure …

 Energy crisis, Gas Prices, Market Themes         11 comments

Share
Three months ago all I heard was speculators this and speculators that.  Every financial news program I watched on a daily basis went out of their way to include the phrase “oil speculator” just to get a rise out of us.
And most people lapped it up like crazy!  Especially when …

 Debt Reduction, Market Themes         1 comment

Share
It may not be as hot a ticket as The Dark Knight, but the new documentary I.O.U.S.A is my must see movie of the summer.
As the title suggests, the implication of an I.O.U. (an acronym for “I owe you”) being permanently stamped on any American symbol is alarming to say …

 Auto Sales, Bargain Hunting, Market Themes         No comments

Share
As an investor with a bargain hunter mentality, I’m always on the lookout for opportunities to buy items selling at a discount from previous highs.  This tactic has been made famous by investors like Warren Buffet (and many notable others) by buying just after the market plunges and sentiment is …

 Commodities, Market Themes, Personal Finance Tips         No comments

Share
Growing up in a rural community, it was relatively common for me to spend a few weekends every summer cutting firewood to lower the electric bill during the cold winter months.
Like many things, I only paid attention half the time to such personal finance tips as a kid, but I’m …

 Market Themes         No comments

Share
Oil rocketed to an all time high in mid 2008 at $148/barrel driving the average cost of gas nationwide to $4 per gallon.  Home equity loan commercials once polluted your favorite prime time television shows, and now they’re virtually nonexistent.  And what’s this, the U.S. Dollar might actually …