Trading Stocks 101

I have my 401Ks, not much of a savings account, and I am terrible at managing money. So, I know I need to get better at this. I need to budget, clip coupons, stay home once in a while and invite people over for a drink at my house instead of going out to expensive restaurants and bars.

My most recent effort at saving and making money involves the stock market--or more accurately, dipping my toes into the stock market. OK, so I am not one of those top tier stock owners. No company is going to tremble at the thought of my owning a few measly shares of their company. But I have wanted to do this for some time and to learn about trading at my own pace. So I started a sharebuilder account. I have been able to add a few shares of this or that stock every week for minimal cost. Not making much money yet, but am enjoying the learning process. (At some point though, it needs to become about making money!)

So, in the process I have been doing some research on stocks and finding out what looks hot or not. I have been reading everything from information on the sharebuilder site itself to articles in Smart Money, Wall Street Journal, Motley Fool, and some other informative sites, including press releases from the chemical investment banking group and other such entities.

Even though most of these articles are not relevant to me and my investments, it is good to learn what is happening in different sectors. If you read trend reports in money magazines or WSJ, or a chemical m&a advisory or stock analysis from another source, you may know what to do with your money when you have gained a substantial amount. Or what companies to invest in now. If you know that a company is being acquired or merged, that can clue you into how the compay may perform in the future.

Or simply put, reading such material can also prepare you to talk intelligently about mergers and acquisitions when you are at a fancy dinner party, and the people next to you are talking about a deal in the works. Never hurts to know the lingo and what is going on in the sectors.

Think Twice Before Filing Bankruptcy

Years ago, I was afraid I might have to file bankruptcy. Drowning in debt, it seemed like a distinct possibility. But I didn't, and I have been on payment programs for my credit cards since. Within a year and a half, I wll totally be out of credit card debt. So excited! I remember when it was five years until being debt free and it seemed like I would never get there. Now, I it is within grasp. I am glad I did this. Too many times, people may choose bankruptcy, when they can work the problem out for themselves. And a bankruptcy will dog you forever.


Then I went to law school and became interested inb being a bankruptcy attorney. I took the class in school and have since graduated, bot I have not followed through yet on being a BK attorney. I almost took a chapter 7 case, but I taked him into making a payment plan instead. I would really like to have a BK practice someday. I haven't bought the software yet--it is pretty expensive, plus I have't worked out my schedule yet to be able to take some classes. There were some other things that I needed to figure out, like where to find a bankruptcy class for my clients to take (it is required.). I have heard that an online bankruptcy course would fulfill the requirement too. There are a lot of things to think about when taking on this area of law. But I think it would be interesting and also lucrative in this economy.

Going Back To School Expenses

One of my more interesting mystery shops lately involved dental assisting schools. I had to contact a couple of different schools and pretend that I was interested in going back to school and switching careers. The type of schools I was to shop were of the "career college" ilk--those that you frequently see advertise practical type degrees that you can earn in a year or two. So I had to come up with a reasonable explanation that why all of a sudden I wanted to change course 180 and become a dental assistant.

I thought I was pretty convincing. My industry, and therefore my company, are going downhill because of the economy, and I need to be trained in a field that will have demand in the future. So dental assisting makes perfect sense!

If  I really needed to do that, I think it would actually be a good idea. So I went through the whole rigamarole, and learned about the schedules, fees, courses, and most importantly, how well the school administrators handled my inquiry.

One of the things I thought interesting is that students need to wear scrubs to class. http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/. I don't know, but am guessing, that that is to get the students in the right frame of mind. Which makes sense.

For such short degree programs, the students can rack up some debt. But at least they have a good chance of finding a job quickly to pay it off. Some things they can do to help keep costs down are look for used textbooks and find scrubs on sale. Every little bit helps!

Budgeting

Content by Sol Rosales
My husband has really gotten into budgeting over the last handful of months. He has gotten our family on a cash budget, and it has really helped us manage our finances better as a family. I grew up in a fairly wealthy family, and I never worried much about managing money. It was not a skill I needed until after college. At first I did not think using a cash budget was going to work, but it has helped us keep much better track of our spending. We allot a certain amount each month for all of our spending needs, and we simply do not spend more than we allow ourselves for a given month. Using this method we have been able to cut into our credit card debt and are beginning to save for the future. My husband works hard, and I work part-time as a nurse, but we are still a middle-income family. One thing that has helped us figure out how much we are spending every month on energy is to switch to a fixed-rate energy system through http://www.texaselectricityproviders.com/. This allows us to know exactly how much we will be spending every month on energy for our home. We also have switched to less expensive internet and cable providers in an attempt to save money. Probably the single biggest thing we have done to save money is to eat out less. I used to dread cooking, but over the last few months I have actually learned to like it as I become more comfortable in the kitchen. It feels so good to feel control over our finances again.

Saving Money Online

I am very focused on trying to save money and looking for new ways to do so. I am wanting to use more coupons, so am trying out electronic coupons as well as paying more attention to the tried and true paper ones. But I have to be careful not to use a coupon to buy something I normally wouldn't buy. That would defeat my purpose. So far, I haven't done much of that. I just need to find more coupons to save real money on groceries and other items of use. And then actually upload the electronic ones or take the paper ones to the store. So much to think about!

Another goal is to try to find deals on online auction and coupon sites. Again, not to spend money on things I don't need, but on things I do. I have used ebay, half.com, groupon, and living social. I am reading some dealfun.com reviews to see what that is about. Mindfulness about not spending money is what I need. I am getting better at being mindful about not spending some of the time, but not all of the time. I need to be mindful all of the time.

I have come to realize that I will always need to keep vigil about not overspending and keeping a budget. It doesn't come easy for me. I am beginning to think I need to start every day with a little meditation or mental reminder to keep my wallet shut. I just don't have the genes to do it otherwise. I am beginning to think that.

How To Live Well On $40,000 A Year

I saw this article the other day and was eager to read it. I make more than 40K a year, but not much. I am always looking for tips on how to make money go further, yet live well. I read the article and was a little disappointed. No real insight--just mainly talking about living on one salary and saving the other, and teaching their daughter to give away 10 percent of her allowance, save 25 percent, and spend the rest.

Maybe you have to buy his two books to get to the good stuff? Maybe I will buy them and read them, but I want to see real budget tips.

Older Boomer Women Not Prepared For Retirement

We have been hearing for some time about how a great number of people are not prepared for retirement, but this video points out that older baby boomer women are among the least prepared. The report profiles women in their 60s. It also points out that less than 10 percent of boomer women have pensions and only 32 percent of 401ks.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44764814#44764814