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… ]
Yours truly recently incorporated.
I’ve often mentioned how much I believe in taking action, but now that’s proof – I named my company Astute Actions Inc. (Now on to something I really want to tell you.)
- Thank you for your early support that led me to jumping into this full time.
- Thank you for pointing out my mistakes and teaching me how to be better.
- Thank you for sticking around to continue our journey to financial freedom.
- Thank you for helping me realize how important taking action is. Now it’s my turn to remind everyone else…
Stop sitting around the TV and TAKE ACTION.
Your finances, career and relationships are all waiting for you to take the next step. We hate to fail but don’t stop trying because you will eventually get it right as long as you never give up. Don’t worry about failure. We are all trying and falling down too.
So. How are you going to spend the rest of the week? If you ask me, I will be picking myself back up to try again.
Everyone should be asking themselves at one point or another – “Should I Pay Off My Mortgages Early”?
When choosing whether to pay down debt or invest, the primary factors are the interest rate on the debt and what rate of return you think you could safely achieve by investing. Sometimes, however, this calculation isn’t as straightforward as it appears.
For example, even your after tax interest rate on a fixed-rate mortgage can change over time. Let me explain.
[ continue reading… ]
If you have ever received advice on investing your money, chances are you’ve had the benefits of diversification drilled into your brain. “Diversify and rule” was my college economics professor’s one-line strategy for managing his retirement portfolio. Corny but true. The virtues of diversifying your investments have been borne out by mathematics, finance and plain old personal experience.
[ continue reading… ]
As is usually the case in big ticket purchases, the best way to save money buying a new computer is not to buy one. The statement is obvious but it’s worth mentioning. If your current computer works fine, it can be much cheaper to spend money on upgrades than on a completely new machine. If you are still determined to purchase a new machine though, here are some things to help you minimize the impact on your budget.
[ continue reading… ]
