On Friday, oil prices dipped $1.68 to $56.82 a barrel which its lowest price of 2006. This came even though OPEC stated the day before that they would limit the extraction of oil by 1.2 mil barrels per day. Traders of oil seemed to not be convinced that this would make future prices rise.
This indicator bodes well for the future of the U.S. economy and should help quell any Fed worries of gas prices leading to inflation problems
ETFs have become the hottest thing in the investing world–especially with more novice investors.
ETFs behave just like a stock except they track a specified index. there are benefits to this and drawbacks. You can be more flexible than mutual funds because they can be traded at any time. They will help the tax-efficiency of your portfolio as well and there are no loads. However, you will have large fees if you wanted to invest $100 in an ETF like you can in a mutual fund. If you are going to be buying in smaller sums it is best to go with mutual funds, but consider ETFs for your large investments because you will only incur the trade fee.
Check out best performers and worst.
We all dislike dealing with customer service employees for services we receive from a wide variety of companies ranging from credit cards to the gas company. It can be an ordeal to get through the red tape in order to get what you need.
Remember to:
Get the representative’s name each time you call in so you can refer to them when discuss your case.
Get a case number of your issue so the representative can quickly look it up in the database and familiarize themselves with the problem quickly.
Write down the date, time and what, if anything, was promised to be done about your problem.
These seem like tedious things to do each time you call a company regarding their service that they provide you, but you are much better equipped to get results by doing this and having precise details than not having this information.
Your parents always told you to turn off the lights when you leave a room. Now in the digital age they might be asking you to unplug your cell phone charger.
Unbelievable as it may be stanby power can take up to 10-15%. Now, obviously you need to keep that refrigerator plugged in at all times, but do all of your other devices need to be plugged in 24/7? Your electrical devices drain more power than you can imagine. When these appliances are “off” they still drain as much as 95% of the power when they are on. So if you are not using it–unplug it.
Sometimes warranties are a good thing and sometimes they are a rip off.
Did you know that a major portion of Best Buy’s revenue is from selling warranties?
Ask yourself:
Have you ever had the opportunity to use a warranty you purchased?
Have you ever followed up on a warranty?
Have you had a good experience with a warranty?
Typically warranties are not a good deal, but people like them becuase it gives them peace of mind, but oftentimes if you purchase something with a credit card and it does not work or is broken you can get it replaced. Do you homework and make sure it is truly worth your money.
The stock market had its third straight week of gains and in that time the 3 major indicies have gained 2.4%. We will continue to see how oil prices have effected the economy as whole in Q4. So by the beginning of 2007 you might see a bump in many companies earnings because of energy prices dropping. The housing market, North Korea and the Middle East should not be forgotten. If any or all begin to show strong signs of serious trouble you could count on a quick reversal of the recent gains had. Many blue chip stocks having been performing well and that trend should continue.
Fixed-Income Annuity
You deliver a lump sum to the insurer and they pay you a set amount each month. As you get older and as interest rates rise you are paid more. You know how much you will receive each month which helps when you budget. However, inflation can eat away at your monthly payment. Shop around because all insurers are not the same and do not give the same rate.
Variable-Income Annuity
You invest a lump sum in a something that resembles a mutual fund called a subaccount. The amount of your first check is based on your life expectancy and assumed interest rate. The performance of your subaccounts will determine the rest when it comes to your payouts. If subaccounts perform well you will get larger payments and not have to worry about inflation. You are guaranteed payments for life, but there is no certainty to what the amount of those payments will be plus if the market goes bad your portfolio usually will suffer. Watch out for fees because they will eat up your payments.
When it comes to online investing there are many options for you. You need to look into which ones has the best fee schedule compared to your needs. Be careful for custodial fees, larger trading fees for retirment accounts, paper statement charges, minimum balances, and high fees for trading other than typical stocks.
As always you need to do your homework because you do not want to get nickeled and dimes to death and there are many stories of that happening. Just make a list of questions and call their 800 number and get the answers straight from the horses mouth. There are sites online that will compare them as well and I am sure Consumer Reports rates them.
Sharebuilder , TD Ameritrade, Scottrade are some options to consider while
E*TRADE seems to be the worst culprit when it comes to hidden fees so try to avoid them.
When shopping for a home many buyers do not consider the impact on their monthly obligation. Obviously, it depends where you live to know if they are high or low, but you can do some homework when searching. Your county assessor’s office should be able to provide you with the most up-to-date property tax information for a property you are considering. If you are currently looking 2005 taxes should be available. If your house listing provides 2004 numbers you need to see about the 2005 numbers. Recently, while shopping for a home we discovered this problem.
We had calculate the mortgage monthly payment along with the taxes and the house was affordable. But 2004 taxes were listing and when went to the County Assessor’s website I discovered that the taxes went up 50%. This is because the owner’s previously had done some renovation to the home and the assessed value had not been considered in the property taxes until 5 years later—2006. We no longer could afford the home. Make sure of how much your property taxes will be when buying a home and calculate them into your monthly obligation along with home insurance and the mortgage.
AllFinancialMatters opines on how much house someone can afford.
I know it’s early, but you need to start considering how much you can afford to spend on holiday gifts, etc. If you overspend and get behind after the New Year you need to budget better and be more realistic. Most Americans spend an unrealistic amount at this time of the year even though they cannot afford it. What a crummy way to start the New Year—further in debt.
Maybe over the next couple months you can cut down on your spending in order to be able to swing what you want to buy for loved ones. Maybe you spend less—but you still need to budget because this is a time when people spend more money than other parts of the year.
Depending on how important this time of year is for you might want to get a temporary second job. Holiday time is a time to enjoy, not one to put you in a worse position than you are already in financially.