So even if you're broke, I still suggest making your money earn you some money. There are a few options out there. You can keep it in a savings account and earn about .000000000001% interest (come on, you know it's a lame interest rate) or another option is to get a checking account that earns interest. I think one of the best ideas is to open a money market account. The best one by the way, with absolutely no minimum is Paypal. I am earning 2.38% as of the writing of this blog. Not great, but better than my savings account.
I was earning 5+% but since the fed lowered rates, that number dropped. The great thing about paypal is it takes about 3-4 days to get your money into it, same amount of time to get it out, and there is no minimum (you need at least $1 to earn interest though) I put in extra money when I have it, and pull it out when I need it. You can even keep all your money in there, and use a paypal debit card (although I don't recommend this; I have no experience with this card, so I can't speak as to it's quality)
There are other options, but just remember, even if you don't have thousands of dollars, you can still earn better returns on your money. I would love to say more, but I'm very busy getting ready to go to England in 5 days.
Showing posts with label investing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label investing. Show all posts
Monday, July 7, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
New Highs
Well, oil closed above $100 a barrel for the first time ever today. Scary huh? Tea prices are also increasing, which is crazy, I wonder if this is just a fad, or if it's simply the American market catching on to the greatness that is tea. I have been making more and more Green tea than coffee, and that's saying something since I bought some REALLY good coffee (Kona Coffee, which is absolutely incredible) Bad times for Lipton? Or does Lipton grow the tea too, because then they would be a good buy.
With oil prices continually increasing, would it pay to invest in alternative fuel sources? I checked out some companies that are developing sustainable Hydrogen creation, and quite a few of them are quite cheap. Some are even as cheap as $0.08 per share. That doesn't necessarily sound like the most sound investment, but would it be worth it to throw $50 to them as a purely speculative investment? I mean, $50, minus $4 for the fee, means $46 of stock at $0.08 per share. That comes out to 575 shares. If that goes up to only $0.10 per share, that is $57.50 per share, at $4 to trade, that would be a $3.50 win. What if they developed a serious technology, or got bought up and went up to $0.20, that's $61 profit. I'm not saying it's a sure thing, but it may be a good speculation given the increasing price of oil. Others may have the same idea's soon. My own personal investments are in treasury bond indexes, which haven't been strong lately, but it's a good 3-5 year investment.
Investing is a funny thing, because when you think about it, the stock market doesn't really depend as much on whether or not a company is doing well. If you are investing long term, it does matter, but for day traders, the only thing that matters is how the market will react. We could just invest in companies X, Y, and Z, and we might have the same effects on the markets. I read Liar's Poker, which my Uncle sent me, and it was really amazing how the world's events could affect the markets. For example, would you think that Chernobyl would cause the price of potatoes to go up? Maybe, but not 3 minutes after it was announced. There is a story who just minutes after Chernobyl was announced recommended a buy for potatoes. Just an interesting thought.
I have found a few new things to cook in the dorm room to save money. Beside the Sushi that I have been making (write to me if you want instructions) I am also now making Ramen (original, I know) and I just bought stuff to make quesadillas, in the microwave. They're quite cheap, just tortilla's, cheese, and some spices (I'm simply using some chili powder, and I'll steal Tabasco from the cafeteria) I'll let you know how it turns out.
I am excited, the leadership conference with Philip Morris is coming up. That should be GREAT. It's through the Business honors program, Eli Broad Scholars. We'll go to some site and do some shadowing, and hear many speakers, all provided for us by Philip Morris (it's FREE!) I also have a trip to Traverse City coming up with the Glee Club, and it looks like I will be going to Texas for Spring Break. That's most of my travel plans for the upcoming months.
A congratulations to Barack Obama who has now won Wisconsin as well (that makes 9 in a row). A congratulations to John McCain as well, who is warding off Mike Huckabee's fight in the GOP Primary (even though he cannot statistically lose) I encourage EVERYONE to vote in the remaining primaries if your state has not been visited yet, and in the general election this November. Whether it's Obama vs. McCain, or Clinton vs. McCain, you should vote for whoever you feel is the best candidate (even if they are a third party). Use your right to voice your opinion; a single vote might not make a difference, but if you don't vote, you are not voicing an opinion. It's a small voice, but in a nation of 300 million people, everyone deserves a voice, if you don't vote, you are losing your right to speak up, no matter how quietly it happens.
Here is the remaining schedule for the Democrats and Republicans. Unless specifically listed, each state applies to both parties. I urge you to utilize your right to vote.
Please note: any financial advice given here is merely my opinion, and is not meant in any way to provide legitimate suggestions. All investment decisions are solely your own decision, and your liability.
With oil prices continually increasing, would it pay to invest in alternative fuel sources? I checked out some companies that are developing sustainable Hydrogen creation, and quite a few of them are quite cheap. Some are even as cheap as $0.08 per share. That doesn't necessarily sound like the most sound investment, but would it be worth it to throw $50 to them as a purely speculative investment? I mean, $50, minus $4 for the fee, means $46 of stock at $0.08 per share. That comes out to 575 shares. If that goes up to only $0.10 per share, that is $57.50 per share, at $4 to trade, that would be a $3.50 win. What if they developed a serious technology, or got bought up and went up to $0.20, that's $61 profit. I'm not saying it's a sure thing, but it may be a good speculation given the increasing price of oil. Others may have the same idea's soon. My own personal investments are in treasury bond indexes, which haven't been strong lately, but it's a good 3-5 year investment.
Investing is a funny thing, because when you think about it, the stock market doesn't really depend as much on whether or not a company is doing well. If you are investing long term, it does matter, but for day traders, the only thing that matters is how the market will react. We could just invest in companies X, Y, and Z, and we might have the same effects on the markets. I read Liar's Poker, which my Uncle sent me, and it was really amazing how the world's events could affect the markets. For example, would you think that Chernobyl would cause the price of potatoes to go up? Maybe, but not 3 minutes after it was announced. There is a story who just minutes after Chernobyl was announced recommended a buy for potatoes. Just an interesting thought.
I have found a few new things to cook in the dorm room to save money. Beside the Sushi that I have been making (write to me if you want instructions) I am also now making Ramen (original, I know) and I just bought stuff to make quesadillas, in the microwave. They're quite cheap, just tortilla's, cheese, and some spices (I'm simply using some chili powder, and I'll steal Tabasco from the cafeteria) I'll let you know how it turns out.
I am excited, the leadership conference with Philip Morris is coming up. That should be GREAT. It's through the Business honors program, Eli Broad Scholars. We'll go to some site and do some shadowing, and hear many speakers, all provided for us by Philip Morris (it's FREE!) I also have a trip to Traverse City coming up with the Glee Club, and it looks like I will be going to Texas for Spring Break. That's most of my travel plans for the upcoming months.
A congratulations to Barack Obama who has now won Wisconsin as well (that makes 9 in a row). A congratulations to John McCain as well, who is warding off Mike Huckabee's fight in the GOP Primary (even though he cannot statistically lose) I encourage EVERYONE to vote in the remaining primaries if your state has not been visited yet, and in the general election this November. Whether it's Obama vs. McCain, or Clinton vs. McCain, you should vote for whoever you feel is the best candidate (even if they are a third party). Use your right to voice your opinion; a single vote might not make a difference, but if you don't vote, you are not voicing an opinion. It's a small voice, but in a nation of 300 million people, everyone deserves a voice, if you don't vote, you are losing your right to speak up, no matter how quietly it happens.
Here is the remaining schedule for the Democrats and Republicans. Unless specifically listed, each state applies to both parties. I urge you to utilize your right to vote.
- March 4th
- Ohio
- Texas
- Vermont
- Rhode Island
- March 9th
- Wyoming (Democrats Only)
- March 11th
- Mississippi
- April 22nd
- Pennsylvania
- May 6th
- Indiana
- North Carolina
- May 13th
- Nebraska (Republicans Only)
- West Virginia (Democrats Only)
- May 18th
- Hawaii Convention (Republican Only)
- May 20th
- Kentucky
- Oregon
- May 27th
- Idaho (Republicans Only)
- June 3rd
- Montana (Democrats Only)
- New Mexico (Republicans Only)
- South Dakota
Please note: any financial advice given here is merely my opinion, and is not meant in any way to provide legitimate suggestions. All investment decisions are solely your own decision, and your liability.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
A Note on e-Bay Forex Arbitrage and Risk in General
For everyone who read my post on Foreign Exchange Arbrirage on e-Bay, I would suggest you do not try this right now. Since the Dollar is so uncertain right now, and foreign exchange rates are going nuts, this is not the best time to do this. If you have Euro's, now may be the time to sell, but I would not suggest purchasing Euros from a third party to sell on e-Bay currently. This is still a decent strategy, but in this uncertainty, there is a much higher risk than there would normally be.
Whenever you are looking potential business deals, or exchanges, always look at the risk. Higher risk usually means higher reward, but this is not always the case, so you need to consider both risk and reward. If you need to risk $100, but stand to make another $600, that's a much better risk than say risking $100 to make another $100. This is more apparent in the bond markets; higher risk doesn't always guarantee a higher potential reward. Furthermore, a lower risk does not always mean a lower reward. There are safe investments that can produce 4-6% returns, which is not as high as many high risk investments, but it is still ahead of inflation.
I know I must sound like I'm strictly talking about Equities, Bonds, Forex, etc. investing, but in any business, you must consider the risk. With a new restaurant, there is high risk (something like 98% failure rate) but do you stand to make a lot of new money? Not really, unless you become wildly successful and can create a chain. Why do people do this then? Usually because of a passion: I would not typically view a restaurant as a wise investment (excluding chain restaurants)
I just thought I would throw out a few thoughts on risk. It never pays to be cautious, but it can be even more costly to be overly risky. If you have a desire to learn more about managing risk in the markets, there are MANY good investment books out there; check out Amazon.
I finished reading the book Liar's Poker recently, and it was great, it was basically a narrative of one bond trader's excursion through the industry; how a bond trader is part investor, part gambler. It's quite a good read, I would suggest it for anyone interested in learning about the behind the scenes of the Bond market in the 1980's. He also discusses in detail the formation of Mortgage bonds at his company (Salomon Bros.)
That's all for today; I really like being able to write about other things besides just starting businesses in your dorm room, it gives me much more to think about.
Whenever you are looking potential business deals, or exchanges, always look at the risk. Higher risk usually means higher reward, but this is not always the case, so you need to consider both risk and reward. If you need to risk $100, but stand to make another $600, that's a much better risk than say risking $100 to make another $100. This is more apparent in the bond markets; higher risk doesn't always guarantee a higher potential reward. Furthermore, a lower risk does not always mean a lower reward. There are safe investments that can produce 4-6% returns, which is not as high as many high risk investments, but it is still ahead of inflation.
I know I must sound like I'm strictly talking about Equities, Bonds, Forex, etc. investing, but in any business, you must consider the risk. With a new restaurant, there is high risk (something like 98% failure rate) but do you stand to make a lot of new money? Not really, unless you become wildly successful and can create a chain. Why do people do this then? Usually because of a passion: I would not typically view a restaurant as a wise investment (excluding chain restaurants)
I just thought I would throw out a few thoughts on risk. It never pays to be cautious, but it can be even more costly to be overly risky. If you have a desire to learn more about managing risk in the markets, there are MANY good investment books out there; check out Amazon.
I finished reading the book Liar's Poker recently, and it was great, it was basically a narrative of one bond trader's excursion through the industry; how a bond trader is part investor, part gambler. It's quite a good read, I would suggest it for anyone interested in learning about the behind the scenes of the Bond market in the 1980's. He also discusses in detail the formation of Mortgage bonds at his company (Salomon Bros.)
That's all for today; I really like being able to write about other things besides just starting businesses in your dorm room, it gives me much more to think about.
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