Archive for September, 2009

My shopping support system is shot!

September 22nd, 2009

My money tree is bare and the there are no new buds

There is dramatic change in my life. I’ve started thinking about not spending money. I built my personal financial system over years and years of spending money, sometimes cautiously, sometimes rashly and sometimes wildly. At all times I planned, saved and budgeted, always keeping spending directly linked to earning. Today I’m in a “no-spend” period. I’ve saved hundreds of dollars this year by finding good deals on financial products. You can do it too.

Our shopping expeditions

This small section belongs under the advantages/disadvantages of working at home. Years ago I fell into the habit of accompanying my wife on her trips to the supermarket. These outings ranged from ‘totally boring’ to ‘mildly interesting’ until I discovered that there’s a man’s world in the supermarket. I found 10 varieties of olives, 20 varieties of pickles and a carousel of fiery hot spices. I found the exotic cheese counter and the cheap tee-shirt rack. Within reason, I bought what I fancied. Then the owners closed down the company I was managing – not enough work to justify, blah, blah, blah… the faltering hi-tech industry, yak, yak, yak… So our shopping trips have changed. I still accompany my wife. We go to the supermarket with a list. We buy the items on the list and come home. Money saved: Considerable.

I’ve seen some changes

One always learns as one goes through life. Long ago when I had a problem with money, my first port of call would be the bank and my friendly bank manager who would always lean over backwards to help me. That’s gone. These days when I have a problem with money I put as much distance as I can between me and the bank. I’m just another customer and I’ve never met the manager. I changed banks recently, mainly because the bank on Pine Street offered better deals than the bank on Elm Street. The bank treats me as a casual customer, so I treat the bank casually too.

Check your insurances

I can’t remember exactly why I got into this. I think I had sudden urge to make sure everything was in order in case I got hit by a bus. The results were surprising. Other than stuff like life insurance, pension and savings which I regard as a ‘do not touch’ subject unless the agent is present, I looked at such fascinating items as household and auto insurance. It’s been years since I reviewed these policies. I took them out and called a couple of new acquaintances in the insurance business. Surprise! The trusty old agents I had used all these years were no longer looking after my interest. They were simply renewing annually. I found a new agent and saved huge amounts of money for the same insurance coverage. I also told the new agent that I would be shopping around for new quotations at every renewal date.

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A Men-Only Blog

September 21st, 2009

How to waste money with no sign of strain

I will begin with an apology to the male readers. I am the guy who bats out articles like, “How to save in the supermarket” and “How to cut your spending”. Gentlemen, this morning I had a total breakdown. I spent money, I wrecked the budget, I sabotaged the family spending and I ran us into debt that will take work to cure. It all happened very smoothly… I sat down to write at about 10am, decided on an article, wrote it, checked it and sent it off. At 11:30 I went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. My wife said she was going to the supermarket, would I like to come. This is one of the hazards of working at home. You sit alone all day, no one to talk to and no interruptions. When a chance of a break comes along, no matter what it is, you grab at it, just to change the scenery.

At the supermarket

Once inside, and this is where the problem started, wife went off to the meat counter and I was left to my own devices. I ducked down an aisle and that’s when I saw the selection of olives. They are in open buckets so I tasted a Spanish, an Italian and then a Greek. I liked the Spanish best so I bought a small container. Olives are healthy food. They also go well with a martini mix. I also bought a container of olives stuffed with peppers. Then I weakened and took a container of the Italian and the Greek. They are pickled and they will last. Then I saw the pickled hot peppers. There were green ones and red ones and I couldn’t decide. I took a container of each to make sure I got the one I like. I checked on my wife and she was still busy spending money so I wandered on.

At the chocolate counter

My weakness for chocolate started when I quit smoking 22 years ago. According to the latest research chocolate is good for you. So I took a few bars of the dark for ourselves, a few bars of the milk chocolate in case we have guests and a few bars of the white, for me. Next to the meat counter I saw the chorizo sausages in the freezer. I love them so I bought and bought.

The other men’s counters

I had 2 more counters that I wanted to visit, the nut counter and the cheese counter. The nut counter was easy. A no-brainer. I simply told the assistant, “A pound of each, please!” Do you know how many kinds of nuts there are? At the cheese counter you have to stop, look and taste. I was buying Gorgonzola when I heard my name being called over the public address system. At the check-out I gulped, shuddered and paid. A guy’s gotta live, right?

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Is The Wall Street Rally Real?

September 20th, 2009

It’s the best rally since 1933

Wall Street, amazing as it may sound, is enjoying its best rally in decades. Now the debate on whether the market has gone too far, too fast or is ready for a second wind is heating up.

The debate

Some investors and market players say the economy is gathering steam and will keep the market on track, while others argue that this is a “sucker rally” and is not supported by economic fundamentals. However, in the week to last Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average of blue chips advanced 2.24 percent to 9,820.20, its highest level in 11 months. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite and Standard & Poor’s 500 both finished about 2.5 percent higher. So what’s actually going on?

Best 6-month rally since 1933!

The gains since the early lows of March, 50 percent for the Dow, represent the best six-month rally for the blue-chip index since 1933. The other indexes have also soared over the past six months – 58 percent for the S&P and 68 percent for the Nasdaq – although all the indexes remain well below their all-time highs. Bob Dickey at RBC Wealth Management said it is likely the market can return to levels before the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other events last year that led to a panic. That could push the Dow to around 11,000.

Outside the market

Things are still grim in the street outside the market. Unemployment is very high in the western countries and businesses and banks are still collapsing. The price of oil yo-yo’s up and down and many of the economic indicators are still negative, showing that the recession is not over. Some sectors are battling to stay in business and some vital sectors, which took a beating in the recession, are having trouble getting back on track. The overall picture is not clear.

Un-Happy birthday

Next Tuesday, Sept. 15, is exactly one year since Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection. The company’s collapse was the biggest bankruptcy in history, and it sparked one of the largest-ever financial panics – large enough to almost drag the entire economy down with it. It also led to a flurry of domino type collapses, suicides and other mayhem. Hot on its heels came Bernie Madoff, slamming more nails into the coffin lid. That was the start of the current recession and despite the so-called stock market recovery, the entire world is still in the throes of the aftermath. My portfolio is up, meaning that I am winning the battle but on a wider front, I am still losing the war. The

Obama treatment

President Obama used the Lehman Brothers collapse anniversary and the near-death experience of Wall Street together with his $600 billion taxpayer financed bailout to call on the political will for change. Yet the prospects are not clear. All that is certain is that the big banks know they’ll be bailed out by the government if they fail.

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