21 Ways to Jump Start Your Career

Cnnfn has just published a very interesting and informing article on ways to jump start your career. The ideas range from "Fear Not the Blog" to "Redecorate." The article is a five minute read tops and worth the read. The article also contains a link on strategies to get ahead in your career. To read this article....Click Here.

The Bulls Finally Come Out to Play

At 10:00 a.m. PST the Dow is up 109 points and the NASDAQ up 28 points as oil futures drop and GDP growth slows slightly, easing worries that inflation is picking up. The GDP news is seen as positive because it indicates the FED will stay the course with their measured interest rate hikes. All of this is good news for investors who have seen their portfolios riding an up and down roller coaster since the first year.



For up to date information and for today's big movers click the link below.

All the Details - CnnFn

Rising Health Care Costs

Health care costs in this country have skyrocketed over the past ten years to an astonishing 15% of total GDP in the United States. That amounts to approximately $1.65 trillion dollars each year spent on health care. While most of us have definantly felt the effects of this rise in health care costs, very few of us are actually aware of the culprits behind this rise.

The true culprits behind the super sonic rise in health care costs in this country are outlined very concisely in an article written by David R. Francis for the Christian Science Monitor. See link below for complete article.

One of the major effects of the current health care crisis is that an estimated 44 million Americans are uninsured, and ultimately end up costing tax payers billions of dollars a year as federal, state, and local governments must spend millions of dollars on programs to assist the uninsured.






Related Links:

Dental Care Statistics

Christian Science Monitor Article

Financial Maturity

Cnnfn published a good article regarding financial maturity, and five ways to tell if you have reached financial maturity. The five ways are pretty straight forward and make logical sense. It is a quick five minute read, and worth reading. You can read the article by clicking here...CLICK HERE.

Hottest Jobs 2005

The following article provides good information on the hottest jobs in 2005...click here.

One hint...Accounting.

A Must Read Investing Article

This article written by David Nassar of Market Watch by Dow Jones is a must read for any investor. It highlights "Smart Money," and "Dumb Money." It is highly recommended and will be worth the 5 minutes it will take to read.

Investing Must Read

Managing Your Credit

It's a fact of life in modern society that your credit worthiness tends to affect just about everything you do. The ongoing joke tends to be that you don't need any money in today's society to buy goods and services, just good credit. That remark is becoming ever more true, and is reflected in stated income home loans to the simple act of getting a cell phone. It's all about your credit. Lenders are starting to believe that if you have good credit you'll either find a way to pay for the loan, or you must know what your doing to have a credit score that high. For the most part that is true. It is much less likely that someone with A++ (720 plus FICO Score)credit will default on a loan then someone with B rated credit (620 FICO Score).

The real problem with not maintaining a credit score of 720+ is the fact that the cost of credit increases significantly the lower your credit score goes. As seen the in the diagram below. For more information on credit and credit scores including what you can do to maintain good credit, follow the links below the diagram.




Related Articles:

8 Credit Score Myths

Related Wiser Money Article

Emigrant Direct Raises Rate!

Emigrant Direct raises interest rate on their American Dream Savings Account to 3.25% APY. After debuting the account in January after ING Direct proved the business model successful, Emigrant is determined to truly offer "America's Highest Rate." Currently it is the highest yielding account in the nation that has no minimum balances, and no fees. For those of you still on the fence about whether to open an account with ING Direct or Emigrant Direct, it appears at this point you will simply be throwing money away by not opening an account with Emigrant Direct. ING Direct's rate is currently at 2.60%. The difference in interest on a $10,000 deposit over a 12 month period is $67 more dollars of interest earned at the current rates at Emigrant Direct over ING Direct's rate.

Related Wiser Money Article:

Final Review of Emigrant Direct

The Herd Effect

Californians flush with home equity due to the astronomical rise in home values in their state over the past five years are now influencing many of the surrounding markets including Phoenix, Las Vegas, and parts of Oregon. Home values have increased so drastically over the past five years that many are borrowing upwards of $200,000 on a second mortgage, or a home equity line of credit and paying cash for starter homes in these other markets. It is this speculative investing that is driving home prices up in those markets. While this is great for those investing, it only worsens the situation for prospective first time homebuyers in those markets.

It is reminiscent of the tech bubble that burst in April 2001, which was driven to new heights by none other than speculative buyers hoping to make a quick buck. It seems when the prospects of making a quick buck are presented, that so many of us step outside our rational minds, and simply follow the herd to the edge of the cliff. This is exactly what happened to thousands when the tech bubble burst, many simply ran right off the cliff, and a few, while dangling from the cliff, were able in some way to salvage their portfolio before it was massacred.

We are now witnessing that same herd like behavior in real estate. The belief that real estate will forever go up at 10% to 20% per year seems to be permeating throughout society, and especially among Californians. While we agree that real estate is a great long-term investment, and over time you are certainly more likely to make money than lose money, we also caution that the herd tends to act irrational and can bring the market tumbling down.

Warren Buffett, the self-made billionaire investor and second richest person in the world sums up this situation best when he said,

“…Attempt to be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy only when others are fearful.”

This philosophy drives a stake right into the heart of the herd like mentality of making a quick buck. When you see the herd running like mad and the picture looks all so rosy, and your thinking of joining…remember…DON’T. And on the other hand when you see opportunities in the market place, and others are fearful, and you begin to doubt yourself…remember…DON’T. Warren Buffett made his billions by spotting opportunities that others overlooked, not by following the herd to the edge of the cliff.

The following is a related story from CnnFn:

The California Effect

Dow Post 107 Point Gain

It was a beautiful morning on Wall Street as investors reacted very positively to news about strong February payroll growth, which points to businesses believing the economy is strong and growing. The Dow closed up over 107 points. The Treasuries also went lower today as investors see the inflationary threat as mild, and not a major risk to economic growth. All of the four major indexes moved toward four year highs also.




Wiser Money is also recommending investors consider an investment into New Century Financial Mortgage Corportation (Ticker="NEW"). This morning we moved a portion of our portfolio into this stock, which is a Real Estate Investment Trust. The company has good growth prospects, and its stock is trading off its 52-week high of $66.95 to $53.03. What attracted us most to this stock was its 11.81% dividend yield at current prices. The company pays $6.20 dividend per share, and is a dominant player in the subprime lending markets, the fastest growing segment of the mortgage lending market.

New Century Market Quote

What's A Degree Worth?

The following tables will provide you with some interesting information regarding college degrees. Links to related articles are posted at the bottom.






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Most Lucrative College Degrees

Crude Oil Approaches Record Highs

The price of light sweed crude oil approached record highs today, almost topping $55 a barrel. There are many reasons for this oil price spike, but the most common are certainly OPEC's oil producing policies, China's record demand for oil, supply disruptions, and speculators buying up crude oil futures, which artificially push prices up.

What does this mean for consumers? In the simplest sense it means higher gas prices, and higher gas heating bills. Watch the pump closely this week and you will see your local prices rising.



CLICK HERE

Housing Prices in 125 Metro Areas

Home sales cooled in the 4th quarter of 2004, but prices were up 11.2% on average throughout the nation. For a complete list of home prices in 125 metro areas follow the link below:

Home Prices - 125 Metro Areas