Steadfast Finances

 Energy crisis,Gas Prices,Market Themes         11 comments

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 speculators” just to get a rise out of us. And most people lapped it up like crazy!  Especially when it spilled over to [...]

 Cutting Expenses,Personal Finance         2 comments

Being somewhat of an anti-gadget type of person, I decided to check out the new Blackberry Bold earlier this morning against my better judgment.  No doubt, it’s an impressive piece of hardware, but I was quickly taken aback at the prices wireless telecom companies are charging these days. The unlimited talk and text plan from [...]

 Auto Sales,Energy crisis,Green Living,Personal Finance         No comments

It would appear the gentlemen running OPEC have decided that $100 oil is a fair price, because as of yesterday, they cut oil production by half a million barrels per day. According to OPEC (our favorite cartel), the world has an ample supply of oil flowing through our always thirsty combustion engines, and we’re just [...]

 Banking,CDs,Online Savings Accounts,Personal Finance         4 comments

That’s right!  No more CDs for me for the rest of 2008, and in all likelihood, for the first half of 2009. I’ve officially stopped contributing to my CD ladder (staggered every 3 months) or searching for those hard to find profits I might get by locking up my cash. It’s a new financial move. [...]

 Annuities,Investing 101,Retirement,Variable Annuities         3 comments

Every now and then, I see an article that slams an entire industry or writes off an entire line of products without examining the potential benefits from every possible angle. Earlier this week, MSN Money’s Personal Finance section published an article basically dismissing variable annuities as a whole. I couldn’t agree more that the variable [...]

 Consumer Education,Investing 101,Personal Finance         4 comments

It’s a shame that our present economy has developed a deep seeded justification for screwing over consumers. Not only are we going to do it, but we’re going to turn a profit doing it! Today’s culture has become so cynical and anti-big business that we bicker about it at every opportunity, yet at the same [...]

 Auto Sales,Commodities,Green Living,Investing 101,Microtrend Investing         No comments

It would seem T. Boone Pickens and his Pickens Plan followers are about to receive a flood of new supporters if headlines like these can be generated on a consistent basis. And yes, it’s confirmed, select residents in Utah who are fortunate to drive Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles are lining up around the block [...]

 ETFs,Index Funds,Investing 101,Mutual Funds,Retirement         45 comments

The entire personal finance blogosphere is in love with index funds, and I’m here to tell you why they’re bad for your investment portfolio. This should go over well.  Black sheep anyone? I realize this thesis will not be a popular one, but from my perspective as an active investor and stock picker, I’m here [...]

 Multiple Income Streams,Real Estate         No comments

With college football season kicking off this weekend, I once again kicked around a lingering idea that has remained on my potential investment list for some time:  buying an investment property in a college town. Now, if you’re like me, I initially dismissed the idea because I flashback to things I did to the first [...]

 Green Living,Productivity Tips         No comments

Ever have one of those days where you realize the pile on your desk can’t be overlooked any longer?  Today I took a serious look at that growing stack of my “to do” pile, and decided it’s time to deal with it. I soon realized that 75% or more of my incoming snail mail is [...]

 Debt Reduction,Economy,Financial Crisis,Market Themes         1 comment

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 the least.  With many [...]

 Index Funds,Investing 101,Retirement         No comments

This topic almost makes me want to run and hide after putting up a headline like that, but alas, it’s true — women are saving less than men when it comes to their retirement accounts. According to recent data from WISER (The Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement), women are saving around 11% less than [...]