Welcome to another quarterly update of how my stock portfolio is doing and whether or not the experts were able to us find good stocks to invest in. Every year I invest a small portion of my portfolio into individual stocks to gain experience with them as well as attempt to increase my wealth. My long term goal is to build a stable portfolio of dividend yielding stocks that will eventually provide me a steady stream of income. If you’ll remember: The last time I bought stocks back in January, I noticed that each of the major financial websites had their own “analyst opinion” section that is supposed to tell you how the stock is going to do over the next 12 months. Even though I buy my stocks based on qualities like long-term earnings … [Read more...] about Can the Experts Help Us Find Good Stocks? 9 Month Update
Stocks & Investing
Can the Experts Help Us with Investing in Dividend Stocks? 6 Month Update
What if there was a really simple way for investing in dividend stocks and knowing which ones were going to do better than others over the next year? What if all you had to do was just read the expert opinions to know how they were going to do? That’s the fun little experiment I started about 6 months ago when I bought my last round of dividend stocks to add to my money design. Of course this is NOT how I picked my stocks and I would NEVER advise you do this. There are plenty of other ways to evaluate the assets of a company. All the same though, I thought it might be fun to note the “expert opinions” for each of the stocks I bought earlier this year and see how they did every 3 months are so. Who knows – could any of these … [Read more...] about Can the Experts Help Us with Investing in Dividend Stocks? 6 Month Update
How to Double Your Money the Safe and Smart Way
Blackjack. Hot-pick stocks. These are the kinds of silly things people usually think about when it comes to doubling their money fast. Unfortunately when it comes to methods like that, the story usually ends with them not only NOT doubling their money but also losing all of their initial investment too. Ever since I was a little boy I’ve been completely fascinated with the legitimate ways that you take one dollar and turn it into two. The truth is that it’s actually pretty easy to do. There are lots of ways how to double your money without having to take a whole lot of unnecessary risks. You just need the patience to give it time and let it happen safely. Here’s how that happens: The Rule of 72 and Doubling Your … [Read more...] about How to Double Your Money the Safe and Smart Way
Can the Experts Really Help Us Find Good Stocks to Invest In? Let’s See for Ourselves
One of the most thrilling and scary things you can do with your money is to buy individual stocks. I like to hold a small portion of my investments in individual stocks because I have found it to be a very useful component to my overall plan for financial freedom (my money design as I call it). Plus I’ve been investing for a long time so I have a pretty good idea of what to do. Unlike when you own a mutual fund, you lose the safety and security of owning 100’s of stocks at one time when you buy pick and buy stocks one a time. (Of course the experts have also said that you really only need 10-12 stocks to be adequately diversified). But then there’s a pretty lucrative up-side to stock investing: Your winners could be unbound! … [Read more...] about Can the Experts Really Help Us Find Good Stocks to Invest In? Let’s See for Ourselves
The Pros and Cons of Brokers When You Try to Sell Your Annuities
Somethings your investments just don't work out like you planned, and you might decide it's time to sell your annuities. But selling a structured settlement can be a tough task, especially because of the mandatory court approval requirements, and the involvement of other stakeholders such as claim adjusters, attorneys, and of course, buyers. In addition to all this, you also have to decide whether you want to opt for the services of a broker. So how do you know if using a broker is the right decision? Pros of having a broker help you out to sell your annuities: Accurate representation of technical information about your settlements so that there are no last minute shockers – There is a lot about your structured settlement … [Read more...] about The Pros and Cons of Brokers When You Try to Sell Your Annuities
You Got That Bad Investment Planning Advice From Dave Ramsey?
As much as we’d like to think that personal finance is a perfect science, it simply isn’t. To some degree there is an extent of art and skill that has to be applied. You have to look at certain metrics, past returns, and other intangibles to make some educated decisions about your investment planning prospects. At times the process can be very subjective. And when things are subjective, that can open us to being misguided or wasting time going down the wrong path. So if that were to happen, you would usually expect that kind of bad advice to come from some two-bit financial planner who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Or it would come from someone pushing his own agenda. But would you have ever expected bad investment advice … [Read more...] about You Got That Bad Investment Planning Advice From Dave Ramsey?
A Crash Course on Annuities and How They Can Help You
The following post is a guest contribution. If you would like to write for My Money Design, please feel free to contact me. There's all sorts of things to do when it comes to retiring, and it's important to understand what annuities are. Here's a crash course on understanding their benefits. … [Read more...] about A Crash Course on Annuities and How They Can Help You
Understanding the PE Ratio Formula and Why It’s Such a Popular Stock Metric
If there’s one stock evaluation metric that people love to throw around, it’s definitely the old staple: the PE ratio. Just open up any money magazine or financial article, and this will usually be one of the first values that they highlight. But even though there’s really not much to the PE ratio formula, its importance is warranted because it can reveal a lot about the company and investors belief about its future. … [Read more...] about Understanding the PE Ratio Formula and Why It’s Such a Popular Stock Metric
