If you watch the news you have probably heard a lot about dollar depreciation these last few months. As part of the economic stimulus package, the Federal Reserve has had to keep interest rates at historic lows (thereby making the “price” of dollars very cheap) while borrowing enormous quantities of money from foreign and domestic lenders. These actions have weakened the dollar against several foreign currencies.
As a savvy investor, you should be worried about the decline of the dollar, because this directly hurts the value of your paycheck. However, like everything else in life, economic trends have two sides to them. In our case, dollar depreciation can actually be your opportunity to invest in other currencies. Even if you’re not particularly concerned about the recent decline, investing in foreign currency will help you to diversify your portfolio, which is always a good idea.
[ continue reading… ]
Coupons, coupons, coupons. Gotta love those savings… right?
It’s a safe bet that most of us who read this blog love coupons. We routinely check our newspapers for special offers, and we refuse to make purchases without searching for discounts because we are very careful with our personal finance. I like coupons and saving as much as the next guy, but lately I have been feeling the effects of coupon invasion.
[ continue reading… ]
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Oh I bet you heard that before, but imagine with me for a second that you are paid every time that broken clock shows the correct time. Now, let’s also say that you are able to hit a button to randomize the time on that clock as many times as you want and when it hits the correct time, you get money.
What would you do?
[ continue reading… ]
If there is anything more beautiful than the sight of a mother holding her newborn, I don’t know what it is. For many years I worked as a labor and delivery coach, and one thing I heard all the time was “How do I manage all the diapers and baby supplies without spending a fortune?”
[ continue reading… ]
The announcements of economic indicators like the Consumer Confidence Index and Personal Income were blamed for market ups and downs in the past week. Economists at large institutional investment firms such as hedge funds keenly watch these indicators and act upon them. Indicators are very important data to them because they act as guideposts in developing and testing their “macroeconomic thesis”, a fancy term for their view of where the economy is headed. It is essential for such large investors to get their macroeconomic thesis right, because it is the foundation for their investment strategy.
As an individual investor, you do not have a professional economist guiding your investments but luckily, economic indicators are available to you easily and for free. Here is a list of a few highly-followed indicators and what they mean for you:
[ continue reading… ]
Skiing is one of the most expensive winter sports available. It may seem like there would be no way to save money and still enjoy a season’s skiing, but believe it or not, with a little planning you can hit the slopes in style and still save yourself some serious dough.
[ continue reading… ]
