A little December humor to brighten your day…not related to investing, but still funny.
From the “La Vida Laura” blog:
Invest Safely - Valuable, time-saving info about personal finance, money management, and investing.
That time of year…
Correlation versus Causation – The 1%
I recently mentioned some statistics regarding the 1%, in an attempt to define the other 99%. To summarize:
The Top 5 Facts about the 1%:
1) Owns 40% of US wealth
2) Takes home 24% of the nations income
3) Owns 50% of the country’s stocks, bonds and mutual funds
4) Has only 5% of the nation’s personal debt
5) Takes in more off the nation’s income than at any other time since the 1920s
This list got me thinking;
Are these 5 things something that all 1%ers do? Does the list provide us a glimpse of some “secret” school of thought that the “rich” teach their children (aka Robert Kiyosaki and Rich Dad Poor Dad)?
-Or-
Are “1%ers” created by doing these 5 things? Is a path to wealth that any one of us can execute and reach the 1%?
Thoughts?
Sources:
The Top 5 Facts About America’s Richest 1%
Stacy Curtin | Daily Ticker – Oct 11, 2011
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/top-5-facts-america-richest-1-183022655.html
Posted in Current Events, Personal Finance
Tagged 1%, 99%, occupy wall st, personal finance
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Who are the 99%?
Who are the 99%? I was asked this and realized that it is a tough question to answer – the 99% is comprised of a lot of different people. I decided to start with what they have in common. In other words, what they are not; the top 1%. I found an article on Yahoo! Finance the had some interesting data points:
The Top 5 Facts about the 1%:
1) Owns 40% of US wealth
2) Takes home 24% of the nations income
3) Owns 50% of the country’s stocks, bonds and mutual funds
4) Has only 5% of the nation’s personal debt
5) Takes in more off the nation’s income than at any other time since the 1920s
For the full article, click here.
Sources:
The Top 5 Facts About America’s Richest 1%
Stacy Curtin | Daily Ticker – Oct 11, 2011
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/top-5-facts-america-richest-1-183022655.html
Top 10 Stocks – Congressional Edition
The US Congress is not the most popular group of people these days. Recently, they’ve come under fire for questionable purchases of US stocks and the potential for insider trading.
Which got me wondering about the stocks owned by members of the US Congress. I’ve learned that the Center for Responsive Politics makes this type of data available to the public each year! (Hat tip to Barry Ritholtz).
Knowing the top 10 stocks owned by the US Congress will NOT make you rich. But it is an interesting list, nonetheless. How many do you have in common?
1. General Electric (GE)
2. Procter & Gamble (PG)
3. Bank of America (BAC)
4. Microsoft (MSFT)
5. Cisco Systems (CSCO)
6. Pfizer (PFE)
7. Intel (INTC)
8. Wells Fargo (WFC)
9. AT&T (ATT)
10. Exxon Mobil (XOM)
Sources:
The 10 Favorite Stocks of the U.S. Congress
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45307704
Personal Finance Disclosure
http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/index.php
Making Money – Investing for Cashflow Blog
Check out Troy’s progress (Investing for Cashflow Blog) using an income investing strategy based on covered calls (option trading).
Posted in Investing, Other Blogs
Tagged investing process, investing strategies, money, personal investing strategies
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Bank of America Drops Debit Card Fee
By the time last week ended, Chase, Wells Fargo, SunTrust, Regions Banks, and several others had called off plans to add a debit card fee or ended current pilot programs. Bank of America was the lone hold-out, but bowed to pressure today.
A little over a month after announcing a fee to use their debit cards, Bank of America reversed it’s plans, citing “negative customer feedback”.
A small victory, to be sure, but not the end of the war. This just means that banks will find sneakier, less obvious ways to make money. With the restrictions placed on the amount of money banks can charge merchants for credit card transactions, profits will need to come from somewhere. So I still think that credit unions are the place to be.
Sources:
Bank of America axes $5 debit card fee
Jason Kessler and Blake Ellis | Nov 1, 2011
http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/01/pf/bank_of_america_debit_fee/
Bank of America Customers – Time to Move Your Money!
Invest-Safely | September 19, 2011
Banks Charge for Deposits – Part 2
Invest-Safely | September 19, 2011
Banks Charge for Deposits
Invest-Safely | August 20, 2011
Safe Investing Principles In Action
A recent article for the Portfolioist (Asset Allocation: An Alternative View) is a great example of Safe Investing Principles in action.
- 6 – Continually measure the performance of your plan or system; there is always something that can be improved
- 9 – Improving your results requires improving your system; tools alone will not improve your profits
To summarize, the author takes an example portfolio used in financial publications (specifically Money magazine), and investigates:
- 1) Whether you and I could make this type of portfolio on our own
- 2) Whether you and I could improve this type of portfolio, from a risk/return standpoint
The result?
Using standard mathematical techniques one can optimize a portfolio (such as the Money magazine portfolio), and produce an arguably “better” (will achieve greater return for the same risk) investment result.
So don’t just rely on the magazine’s to tell you how to invest. Take a look for yourself and come up with your own plan and your own conclusions.
Sources:
Asset Allocation: An Alternative View
Geoff Considine | October 21, 2011
http://portfolioist.com/2011/10/21/asset-allocation-an-alternative-view/
Posted in Historical Data, Investing, Money Management
Tagged asset allocation, investing process, investing strategies, money, personal finance
3 Comments
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