Every Saturday morning I get up and fill out my personal finance spreadsheet. Yes, I could do a lot of this in even more electronic ways. But, the act of filling out the spreadsheet actually helps me internalize what is going on with the money. Saturday is the day with the least rigor in my life and most susceptible to money spendage. Filling out the spreadsheet is the psychological reminder that I really don't have anything to spend when I walk out the door on Saturday morning.
This morning I filled out the "Investment" tab and realized that my accounts are down around 40%. Wow. Some are down 80% and some are not down much, but the grand total is about 40%. Yet, on the "Debt" tab, my debt is barely moving. Of course, it doesn't help that my mortgage payment, the yearly home and car insurance fee and the yearly neighborhood association fee all came out of this last check. Still...even if that hadn't come out it would still not be chipping away.
I could stop contributing to the 401K, but then I would end up giving that money to Uncle Sam anyway because the 401k helps lower my taxes (and apparently no actual savings benefit right now).
Just a sign of the current times I guess, but it is a glimpse into how bad it must really be. What about those that are retiring, lost their jobs or are stuck in any kind of non-perfect situation (divorce, random health issue, fewer hours, or this thing called life, etc.).
I don't have the answers, I just have my spreadsheet.
It looks like I will just be buying some gas and a couple of carrots today.
Showing posts with label stock market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stock market. Show all posts
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
CNN Breaking News
I have some RSS feeds set up to give me the latest information on financial markets.
Here are the messages that came in through CNN today. Short and very to the point.
Sent: Sep. 29, 2008 1:48 p.m. - Dow Industrials fall more than 600 on fears bailout package vote will fail.
Sent: Sep. 29, 2008 2:30 p.m. - $700 billion bailout bill fails in House. Dow down by nearly 600 points.
Sent: Sep. 29, 2008 4:43 p.m. - Dow suffers biggest point drop in history, falling nearly 778 points in reaction to House vote rejecting economic rescue.
I don't know what the right answer is to resolve the crisis. I just know that I'm a big spender and...a very big saver. Strange combination. But, in this situation it's almost like I'm being burned for being such a good saver. So, I'm not sure what to do. Help - Craig, where are you?
Do I keep contributing to the 401k? Should I scale back? It's good to buy low, right? But, what if low means it is going to zero soon? Do I scale down the contributions and pay off debt? When should I get back in?
Alas, it's a difficult time. Even the guys on Fast Money don't know whether to buy or sell. The reason they give - the rules are changing and still haven't been re-established and so ...if the standard is floating how does someone make a decision? They do have a point.
All stress aside, I'm glad I have some food storage, I'm glad I have a very stable job (if I lose mine that would mean the country is in REALLY bad shape) and I'm glad I have friends. That doesn't solve all problems, but it at least provides a little peace.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Financial Signs of the Times - Part 2
...and yet another email from E*TRADE all in the same day.
_________________________________________
Given all the recent news in the financial industry, we understand you might have some questions about how the cash in your E*TRADE Securities account is protected.Rest assured that the uninvested cash in your Extended Insurance Sweep Deposit Account (ESDA) is automatically FDIC-insured up to $500,000—featuring up to 5X the coverage of FDIC basic insurance.This extraordinary level of protection is a free feature of your brokerage account. There is no cost and nothing you need to do. It's just one of the many ways your assets are protected at E*TRADE Securities:
•
FDIC insurance coverage up to $500,000 for the cash held in your Extended Insurance Sweep Deposit Account.¹
•
E*TRADE Securities is a member of SIPC, which protects securities customers of its members up to $500,000 (including $100,000 for claims for cash). Explanatory brochure available upon request or at www.sipc.org.
•
Additional brokerage protection up to $150 million per brokerage account is underwritten by London insurers (aggregate $600 million).²
At E*TRADE, the safety and security of your assets is of paramount importance. Today, over 3.1 million customers worldwide rely on E*TRADE for their trading, investing, and banking needs. We look forward to serving you for many years to come. Sincerely,Michael CurcioChief Executive OfficerE*TRADE Securities LLC P.S. For additional information on your Extended Insurance Sweep Deposit Account, please visit the following links, or see our frequently asked questions.
_________________________________________
Given all the recent news in the financial industry, we understand you might have some questions about how the cash in your E*TRADE Securities account is protected.Rest assured that the uninvested cash in your Extended Insurance Sweep Deposit Account (ESDA) is automatically FDIC-insured up to $500,000—featuring up to 5X the coverage of FDIC basic insurance.This extraordinary level of protection is a free feature of your brokerage account. There is no cost and nothing you need to do. It's just one of the many ways your assets are protected at E*TRADE Securities:
•
FDIC insurance coverage up to $500,000 for the cash held in your Extended Insurance Sweep Deposit Account.¹
•
E*TRADE Securities is a member of SIPC, which protects securities customers of its members up to $500,000 (including $100,000 for claims for cash). Explanatory brochure available upon request or at www.sipc.org.
•
Additional brokerage protection up to $150 million per brokerage account is underwritten by London insurers (aggregate $600 million).²
At E*TRADE, the safety and security of your assets is of paramount importance. Today, over 3.1 million customers worldwide rely on E*TRADE for their trading, investing, and banking needs. We look forward to serving you for many years to come. Sincerely,Michael CurcioChief Executive OfficerE*TRADE Securities LLC P.S. For additional information on your Extended Insurance Sweep Deposit Account, please visit the following links, or see our frequently asked questions.
Financial Signs of the Times
I got the message below when I logged into my ETRADE account this morning. I've only received notes like this in the last year and I'm assuming it is going to continue because the reality is we haven't hit a bottom and we haven't allowed ourselves to do so. I'm not a financial expert, but it is fair to say that we (American people) have overspent and the rest of the world has followed. I took an online poll this past week that asked "Who is at fault for this?" It identified the usual suspects (mortgage people, banks, appraisers, wall street, etc.), but I selected the option "homeowner" just to see how I came out. About 5% of people selected homeowner. Interesting. I actually think the entire group as a whole is to blame, if we are going to place blame. Every lender, broker, and buyer out there are a large part of the home owner population as well. We all got a little too comfortable taking risk. And, even when we thought it seemed a little too good to be true, we still went ahead and spent the money against our better judgement. Shame on all of us! In the beginning, and in the end, we all had a personal choice. No one twisted our arms. No one forced us into it. We just said "I want" that then became "I have" which then became "I wish I didn't." Alas, I'm a part of this all as well. I bought and fixed up. But, I'm lucky. I bought small. I save some and I spend lots even when I'm not trying. I can't imagine if I had stretched myself beyond this point. It is going to be stressful times, but hopefully it will spark our imaginations and we'll be creative and not victims.
Oh, that's right....I originally started this to show my ETRADE notice. Look forward to more regulation and lack of free market going forward. We'll find out soon enough whether that's good or bad.
____________________
IMPORTANT: Due to new Securities Exchange Commission rules, short selling on certain financial securities are not permitted from September 19, 2008 through October 2, 2008. The complete list of stocks which are unavailable for shorting can be found here. Any previous existing open orders to short sell these securities have been cancelled.Attention Options Customers: Due to the above new SEC regulation on short sales, certain options positions on these underlying securities expiring September 20, 2008 (long uncovered puts and short uncovered calls) that were entered into after September 18, 2008 may be subject to being closed by E*TRADE Securities at or before expiration. E*TRADE Securities may also take action to close the assigned/exercised underlying security in the event that the options are assigned or exercised. Please note that options positions entered into prior to September 19, 2008 are not subject to this action. To avoid the above action, you may wish to close the above mentioned options positions prior to option expiration dates in the event that the long option holders exercise the options prior to expiration.Again, please note that the above circumstances are a direct result of the above described SEC regulation on short sales. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at 1-800-ETRADE1.
Oh, that's right....I originally started this to show my ETRADE notice. Look forward to more regulation and lack of free market going forward. We'll find out soon enough whether that's good or bad.
____________________
IMPORTANT: Due to new Securities Exchange Commission rules, short selling on certain financial securities are not permitted from September 19, 2008 through October 2, 2008. The complete list of stocks which are unavailable for shorting can be found here. Any previous existing open orders to short sell these securities have been cancelled.Attention Options Customers: Due to the above new SEC regulation on short sales, certain options positions on these underlying securities expiring September 20, 2008 (long uncovered puts and short uncovered calls) that were entered into after September 18, 2008 may be subject to being closed by E*TRADE Securities at or before expiration. E*TRADE Securities may also take action to close the assigned/exercised underlying security in the event that the options are assigned or exercised. Please note that options positions entered into prior to September 19, 2008 are not subject to this action. To avoid the above action, you may wish to close the above mentioned options positions prior to option expiration dates in the event that the long option holders exercise the options prior to expiration.Again, please note that the above circumstances are a direct result of the above described SEC regulation on short sales. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at 1-800-ETRADE1.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Facebook - Friends for Sale
A few months ago I kept getting messages informing me that different friends had purchased me on Facebook. It sounded too weird to me and so I never checked into it because any widget you "check into" on Facebook seems to automatically force you to display the widget on your page. Since I'm a big fan of simple and effective online design, I don't like to participate in a lot of the little widgets, decorations, gifts, etc. that seem to detract from the main ambiance of the message.
However, I finally gave in and had to check it out since my value (about $8,000) at the time seemed so low to the million or so dollars that a few of my friends were worth.
I'm glad I did.
First, you earn money for yourself if you log in every four hours. It seems to consistently be $10,000. Don't ask how I learned this fact.
Second, you earn money if you invite a certain number of friends to the application. That seems to be around $40,000. This is allowed once a day as far as I have been able to gage.
Third, you can invite the same people day after day and so you can keep re-earning $40,000 even if you select the same people.
Fourth, the more people you invite and gain as "pets," the more likely that the percentage of participants will go up which will put more money into the "pet marketplace" and the more likely your own value will go up because there are more people participating in the buying and selling process. More money in the game literally.
Fifth, you earn money when you buy or when you are bought...putting more money in your spending pocket.
Wow! This game has nothing to do with buying or selling people as pets. It's all about cost-push and demand-pull economics, stock market, finance, money management, etc. Very, very interesting.
It really is a safe environment for learning some things about the market. Now my task is to figure out how to capture this into an interesting game for kids, as well as adults, to teach those market skills. Hmm.
However, I finally gave in and had to check it out since my value (about $8,000) at the time seemed so low to the million or so dollars that a few of my friends were worth.
I'm glad I did.
First, you earn money for yourself if you log in every four hours. It seems to consistently be $10,000. Don't ask how I learned this fact.
Second, you earn money if you invite a certain number of friends to the application. That seems to be around $40,000. This is allowed once a day as far as I have been able to gage.
Third, you can invite the same people day after day and so you can keep re-earning $40,000 even if you select the same people.
Fourth, the more people you invite and gain as "pets," the more likely that the percentage of participants will go up which will put more money into the "pet marketplace" and the more likely your own value will go up because there are more people participating in the buying and selling process. More money in the game literally.
Fifth, you earn money when you buy or when you are bought...putting more money in your spending pocket.
Wow! This game has nothing to do with buying or selling people as pets. It's all about cost-push and demand-pull economics, stock market, finance, money management, etc. Very, very interesting.
It really is a safe environment for learning some things about the market. Now my task is to figure out how to capture this into an interesting game for kids, as well as adults, to teach those market skills. Hmm.
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