Big news in tech was the announcement of Facebook’s IPO. This IPO has been highly anticipated by hopefuls for years. Many people just want a piece of the social media pie, as seen with the LinkedIn IPO. With such big names stepping out of the shadows of the private company realm, and stepping into the … Read more
Recently, I attempted to rent a movie from a Blockbuster Express machine, but was surprised when I saw a price of $2.99. Was Blockbuster truly so arrogant that they thought I wouldn’t walk across the street to the Redbox? Blockbuster Express Gets A Second Chance A few days ago, I decides to give Blockbuster … Read more
Buying a home is serious business and finding suitable funds and a mortgage to finance the deal takes tenacity. Many different lenders exist and they all offer various types of loans and repayment methods. If you want to do your own calculations, instead of waiting for advice from lenders, you can do so using a … Read more
I’ve been writing about Netflix an awful lot lately, but it’s only because Netflix CEO Reed Hastings keeps doing things that they later need to apologize for. In case you’ve missed any of the news, here is a quick timeline of what happened: September 2010: Reed Hastings says Americans are self-absorbed and ignorant of Canadian … Read more
Once you have decided to invest in property, a long and complex process is in the making. The services of a reputable real-estate agent will make the process easier. Real-estate agents offer many services to their clients including many for free. Finding a suitable mortgage is paramount when buying property and the use of a … Read more
The DOW has had a lovely run this week so far, but it’s been a roller coaster ride since the year 2000. You had the dot com bubble burst in 2000, you had the terrible events of 9/11, you had the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007-2008, and we’re still limping from that. On top of … Read more
Last time, I posted a satire about how Netflix should charge double for their services. On that same day, Reed Hastings, the Netflix CEO, sent out an apology trying to justify the price increase. He began discussing cost structures and other concepts that the majority of readers can’t truly understand or appreciate because we don’t … Read more
Please note: this is a complete satire. There is a lot of uproar lately about Netflix’s price increase. People got comfortable paying $8.00 a month, and it was raised to $9.00 a month last year. Beginning in September, the Netflix price increased by separating their DVD and streaming services and charging about $16.00 for the … Read more
So let’s say you’re looking to buy yourself a new house, but you can’t decide how much to spend. This is a common problem as it’s hard to decide whether you should invest more or less. This has become even more complicated with a tumultuous property market. It is also a tricky problem as buying … Read more
Netflix, as I’m sure you’ve heard, will raise their prices, yet again. For those who don’t remember, there was a $1 price increase in November of 2010. As many of my readers know, I’m very much a consumer activist, and dislike when companies do things like this in a classless manner. I know, I know: … Read more
If you work for a larger company, then chances are in your favor that they offer an employee stock purchase plan. Many people don’t participate in these programs for one reason or another, but we are going to discuss why you should consider this investment option, and some reasons why you shouldn’t fear it. … Read more
Retirement planning, if you plan on retiring, is one of those things that you just have to do. But how do you know if you’re on the right track? Do you just work and save for 30+ years and cross your fingers? Sometimes, it seems like that is the plan. Just work indefinitely until you … Read more
Hedge funds, derivatives, calls, puts, options. What are they? For the average person, these terms are meaningless. Understanding them as a concept is bad enough, but actually using them? It is almost laughable. Yet, everyday, people try to use these financial tools to their benefit, without knowing what they actually do. Quick note: Investing while … Read more
Is a 401k enough for retirement? I see lots of different statistics about retirement nest eggs, such as 43% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement. These are extremely surprising numbers, but at the same time it only confirms what we see all around us. People are unprepared for retirement, and appear to … Read more
Few can deny that Gold has had quite an interesting resurgence recently. In just 10 short years, Gold went from $300 an ounce to the recent high of $1,400 an ounce. That’s a pretty staggering number! Critics will point to the fact that Gold did little outside of the last 10 years and, when accounting … Read more
If you like what you read, then subscribe to our feed! I know that I’m cutting it a bit close to the end of tax season, but many people don’t pay extra on their mortgage for tax purposes. To be honest, for a larger majority of people, deducting the mortgage interest really doesn’t matter very … Read more
Generally, I don’t like to cover current events, but there are so many hilarious, and terrible money-making gimmicks that I see, that I just felt it necessary to highlight some of the more absurd ones that I’ve seen recently. These range from products, to marketing snafus, but all are equally silly. 1. Kenneth Cole’s Tasteless … Read more
This article is written with politics aside. It is a simple informational article based on recent legislation being written into law. As of Friday, December 17, Americans now have the opportunity to continue earning tax-free passive income. President Barack Obama signed into law an extension of the Bush Era Tax Cuts which allows citizens to … Read more
If you like what you read, then subscribe to our feed! Often times I find myself thinking up useless questions and statements. The other day I thought to myself “Wal-Mart must be huge.” I know, ground breaking inner monologue, right? Basically, there are Wal-Mart locations all around me, and each one is absurdly large. This … Read more
Choosing stock prices might sound impossible, but it is integral to your investment strategy. When someone is new to investing, it can be tempting to buy anything right away. Maybe you’ve researched a stock so much that you know it as well as you know your own brother, but you must have discipline. What we … Read more
Company:Johnson & Johnson Ticker: JNJ Current Price: ~$63.57 Annual Dividend: $2.16 52-Week Hi/Lo: $66.20/$56.86 Dividend Yield: Price: Yield: Hi $66.20 3.263% Current $63.57 3.398% Lo $56.86 3.799% Looking at that table, it’s easy to see that this Dividend Aristocrat has a very healthy dividend yield. I typically uses 3% as my minimum required yield when … Read more