It's Easy to Start Enjoying the Benefits...

I received an invitation to get an American Express "Platinum" card in the mail.  It says:

"IT'S EASY TO START ENJOYING THE BENEFITS, REWARDS, AND SERVICES OF THE PLATINUM CARD TODAY"

All for the annual fee of only $450 for the first card, $175 for the next 3 additional cards, and then $175 thereafter for each additional card.

Hmmmmm... not at this time.

Website:  American Express Platinum Card

Wow! This is a tough market. Time to buy more?

If you have even been remotely watching the headlines, the market as measured by the major indices have all been down about 10 percent from the April 2010 highs.  This is where the mind starts playing tricks on you.  Should you sell?  Should you buy?

Logic tells you to buy when things are oversold (like they are now).  Think of it as buying something at a discount.

Here is a huge reason to stay invested or even allocate more of your money into equities.  The Hulbert NASDAQ Newsletter Sentiment Index is a measure how much "market timers" are recommending you invest in NASDAQ stocks.  A few weeks ago (May 4) they were recommending investing up to 80 percent of funds.  The current exposure reading is minus 45 percent .  You read that right.  They recommend shorting the NASDAQ with 45 percent of your funds.  This is a 125 percent shift in two weeks.

Click here to read the MarketWatch article on Yahoo! Finance.

Time to invest in Japan?

In the June 2010 Money Magazine issue, there is a section outlining how Japan's economy will benefit from the successes in China.

You will need to buy the current issue if you want to read all of the details, but here are three ideas on how to invest in Japan.

• VGTSX which has 17% in Japan (Vanguard)
• LLINX which has 30% in Japan (Longleaf Partners International)
• EWJ  which is an exchange-traded fund (iShares)

Click here to subscribe to Money Magazine for 1 year or 2 years.

Need a Professional Organizer?

I suspect that most people with children have clutter somewhere.

We do, and it is better in some places than others.  I will admit that I personally have made drastic improvements over the past many years.  I was recently reading the Money Magazine article (still getting for free) about organizing your garage and ran across "NAPO" which is an organization representing professional organizers.  I searched a nearby zip code and found a couple members and clicked to their websites for fun and found that they offer free consultations.  Of course, they will probably want charge for actual execution of any plans that result from the consultation.

It is just an option if anyone feels they need help.  The Money Magazine article estimates the cost to be about $200 to $1,000 for their services.  You can also "bribe a neat-freak friend" to help out.

Click here to subscribe to Money Magazine for 1 year or 2 years.

Other Websites:

• National Association of Professional Organizers
• Restore Order to Your Garage (CNNMoney.com)

Papa Johns lost out tonight

We were going to order pizza, but there is a programming error or something.  Even though they have a special of all large pizzas for $10 and all XL pizzas for $12 right now...

It was not easy or intuitive to get to the specials.  Once we pulled up the pizza, it would not allow us to change the type of crust or remove items.

Oh well...will need to try another day.  

Click here for the PapaJohns website 

Westways: Careening in a Can

In the June 2010 issue of Westways, the magazine for Auto Club members, there was a nice (and interesting) article about one family's "adventure"vacation in an RV.  We have been thinking about renting an RV and using it as a base for a similar "adventure."  With six people in the family, logistics is a little more difficult.

Now as for buying, we are not sure whether we could commit.  Some of the nice entry-level RVs run anywhere from $150k to the high $300s.  It seems to make it not worth it unless you are really going to use it the equivalent of about one weekend each month.  In addition, there is the maintenance on the engine, storage, sun damage, etc., etc.

An alternative is to get a trailer.  There are some nice trailers that can sleep six people and run below $30-40k.  One would need a truck that can handle the towing, maybe a 4x4 or a dually.  A truck could serve a dual purpose of running errands or for commuting as compared with an RV that serves one purpose. The dually would not be as practical for getting around town because of the wide rear axle.  The problem with a truck is that it needs to be able to hold six passengers and tow a decent sized trailer.

I am sure there are benefits with having a single electrical system in an RV, but the cost of a nice truck and trailer is much less than an RV.

Bottom line: not ready for an RV or a trailer/truck combination.

Click here to read the whole article.

Update:

I guess there are some Class C motorhomes that are priced between $75k to $100k that can sleep up to eight people at a time.  This may be an option in the future.

LATimes.com: Payday lenders sink loan limits

Here is another piece by David Lazarus on how Payday lenders are able to continue charging customers over 400% per year in interest.

Click here to read more.

Forbes: The Bicycle Economy

Here is another article in Forbes Magazine in their "Creative Giving" section about minimizing costs to fulfill needs that help drive economies.

In the May 10, 2010 issue, this article follows Frederick K.W. Day who helped co-found bicycle-component making company called "Sram."  He formed a foundation that built stronger bicycles capable of holding 200 pounds of cargo and withstand bumpy roads all for less than $100.

Related websites:

• Click here to read the article
• Click here to subscribe to Forbes Magazine for 1 year
• Sram's website

Forbes: Cisco's Gadget Guru

I am still getting Forbes for free.  In its May 10, 2010 article, it talks about how Cisco paid $590 million for Pure Digital.  That company was run by Jonathan Kaplan and made the "Flip" video camera product line.

It is an interesting article combining household technology kind of items and how Cisco is trying to improve and increase its image among consumers.

Related websites:

• Click here to read the article
• Click here to subscribe to Forbes magazine for 1 year

21 Best Money Tips Ever

I am still getting Money Magazine for free.  In the April 2010 issue, there was a section on 31 Ways to Improve Your Finances.  The first section had seven tips and the last part contained the 21 tips.  I think they are worth reading.

Links:

• 21 Best Money Tips ever

Click here to subscribe to Money Magazine for 1 year or 2 years.

Visit? Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico

This would be a longer drive to get there, but it looks like at some point we will need to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  Here are the issues keeping us from going:

• Minimum age looks to be 4 years of age.  If you have children 3 years and younger then they are not allowed.  This applies to us.
• It is about 900 miles from southern California.  Depending on how fast you drive and your gas mileage, this would be about 16 hours of driving maybe spread over 2 days with about 2 or 3 potty stops each of those days and 36 gallons of gas just to get there.

Related websites:

• National Park Service Website
• Wikipedia entry

Visit? Mount Rubidoux in Riverside, California

I have never hiked up Mount Rubidoux which is located in Riverside, California.  It looks mostly barren and is open from dawn until dusk and contains over three miles of trails.

Maybe we will have to visit....soon.

Related Websites:

• Wikipedia entry
• Friends of Mount Rubidoux

Market Update / Huge Swings Caused by High Frequency Trading?

Last September, I wrote a post about a Forbes article that described High Frequency Trading.  You can view it by clicking here.

A New York Times article posted on Yahoo! Finance lists that as possibly a culprit in yesterday's huge price swings.  How else could some fairly reliable companies make the following price swings:

• Proctor and Gamble (Symbol PG) had a high of 62.67, a low of 39.37, and closed at 60.75
• Accenture (Symbol ACN) had a high of 42.30, a low of 0.01 (!!) and closed at 41.09
• They report Exelon (Symbol EXC) traded for one-hundredth of a penny, but on the historical prices chart, this is not shown.

These are huge price swings and most of them occurred in less than an hour. 

I had been posting that the market has been oversold for a couple of months and the trading this week has been dramatic.  I will admit that I was not as hedged to the degree as reported previously.

Click here for the New York Times article on Yahoo! Finance.

Mother's Day Roses

Last year for Mother's day, the kids got their mother some roses from Sam's Club.  I posted a couple of pictures on my LeftyPhotoBlog.  Here is one of them.

If you would like to see more pictures, please access my photo blog with the link on the right.

Forbes: Major League Baseball team valuations

Yeah. I am still getting Forbes Magazine for free.  In the April 26, 2010 issue, it gives the Major League Baseball (MLB) team valuations.  The top honors goes to the New York Yankees at $1.6 Billion in value and operating income of $24.9 million.  The lowest valued team is the Pittsburgh Pirates at $289 million and operating income of $15.6 million.

Let us look at some of the other ways to look at the teams.  On this page, the article has a table that shows the debt to value for each of the teams.  The Yankees are at 89 percent debt to value ratio.  There are two teams who have no listed debt (Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays).

The Florida Marlins are only at 32 percent debt to value and have a valuation of $317 million.  That gives them a little more than $101 million in debt compared to the Yankees at about $1.4 billion.  The Marlins also had a reported income of $46.1 million.

Yeah, I know, there is still probably huge cash flows from the massive depreciation on the new Yankee Stadium, but it seems like the Marlins would be the team to own.

Click here to read the on-line article

To subscribe to Forbes for 12 months, click here.

Is it time to Downshift?

If you have been reading this blog, you will know that I have been receiving Forbes Magazine for free.  It looks like I will be likely getting it for another six months or so.  In the April 26, 2010 issue, there is an article called "Downshift" by Monte Burke which showcases some vignettes on five people in a variety of industries who have either by choice (most of them) or by being laid off.

This is just another reminder to stay grounded and focus on the fundamentals (live within your means, positive monthly cash flow, emergency savings, etc.) because sometimes you never know what is going to happen.

Click here to read the article.

To subscribe to Forbes magazine for 12 months, click here.

Visit? Amboy Crater

Amboy Crater is an extinct volcano located between Barstow and Needles.  It looks like there is a trail that can be taken from the day use parking.

Do not visit during summer or windy conditions.

Click here for the Wikipedia entry.

Visit? Mary Vagle Museum and Nature Center

The Mary Vagle Museum and Nature Center is located in south Fontana near the Jurupa Hills.  Their website does not have a site map, but it looks like there is fairly extensive grounds with a desert area, some water features, as well as a variety landscaping with flowers and other plants to view.

It is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM.