Financial Frenzy

SWA TICKET GIVEAWAY!

2009-05-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

Have a great Mother's day!

Southwest is offering a family four pack of tickets to any family that posts this image! What a great deal!

http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/my-peanut-and-i-fly-southwest-contest

What is a Faxless Payday Advance?

2009-03-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

With today’s technology we have been able to advance industries in leaps and bounds. This includes the customer service industry. Making loans more convenient and available has allowed many people to connect to lenders giving them the opportunity to get the loans that they are looking for at competitive rates. Many payday lenders have not been able to keep up with the times and as payday advances move to the internet a revolution is developing. In the past you were supposed to fax in a document to payday lenders. Now it is much simpler. Instead of faxing in your information, simply connect online and get a loan as soon as the next day.

Faxless payday loans are quick and convenient loans that allow you to get the emergency cash that you need when you need it. Simply fill out an online form and several services such as Payday Tree can connect you to your loan as soon as the next day. Security is a number one priority when it comes to these services. Online payday loan services can quickly connect you to hundreds of lenders across the nation. They provide quick and easy access to lenders across the nation. This gives you the ability to connect to multiple lenders all in one convenient location.

Faxing in a payday loan is no longer the easiest and most convenient method of finding a payday lender. Instead connect to hundreds of lenders online through a payday loan service. You may find that it is much easier than originally thought. To learn more visit: http://www.paydaytree.com

Seven Online Payday Lenders Banned for Unethical Practices

2009-02-25T11:48:00.000-08:00

Is it illegal to default on your payday loan? This is the question many people have been asking as they have been falling on bad times. It is important to make sure that you can pay off your loan at the end of the period. Otherwise you may not be able to pay back the loan. Several online lenders were recently charged with threatening their customers for not paying back their loans on time.

It has been a major controversy across the nation today. These lenders have caused major concerns and disappointment to the rest of the payday industry. Payday loans already get a bad rap, this just sets the nail in the coffin. It is especially important that they don't do this as sub-prime loans fall under scrutiny. Several people still need these payday loans to pay off emergency bills.

These lenders have publicly ruined the reputation of online lenders and caused great harm to the payday loan industry. It is time for unethical and illegal lenders to stay out of the payday loan industry all together.

Visit Payday Tree News to find out more.

Does 2000% APR seem high?

2009-02-16T09:05:00.000-08:00

The in and out’s of payday loans may seem like complete loan sharking. These loans have steep APR’s and they all are extremely short term with high fees. These fees add up quick if you don’t pay back your loan as well. It is simple. Find a loan that is right for you. You may be surprised at how well off you may be. Why are these fees and interest rates so high? Why are these loans such a major concern and a problem?

Payday fees and interest rates are extremely high, unfortunately they are also necessarily so. Payday loans are so expensive because they are so short term. If you need money fast, you can easily access a payday loan and get the money you may need. When you are in an emergency, you may be surprised at how quickly you can access your money. Unfortunately it is also a problem when you aren’t able to pay the loan back. This is why it is so important to look at the terms and conditions and make sure that you can pay off the loan when completed. Payday loans are a great way to get the cash that you need if you aren’t able to pay for it at the time.

Most payday lenders aren’t a major concern. In fact most people are able to easily pay off their payday loans. Most people don’t understand what they are getting themselves into. Those that don’t know what they are doing find themselves falling into traps in times of dire concern. They get out a loan that they genuinely aren’t able to pay back. This causes major concerns and problems with those around the country, especially advocate groups.

It is very interesting how these loans can turn on you in an instant, to learn more about how to stay out of these high debt traps and away from these loans, visit Money Weekly’s tips for saving money and avoiding payday loans.

My Story in the Sub-prime Industry

2009-02-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

I’m guilty of it, like thousands of other people across the nation. The unspeakable faux pas, that several thousand Americans have been using for several years. Payday loans are looked upon as a form of legalized loan sharking in many people’s eyes. This is because of the extremely high interest rates (upwards of 400% APR) and terrorizing stories that you will hear from people unable to pay back their loans on time. Payday loans are also known for preying on the poor and helpless. So why are payday loans so popular? More importantly, why am I still using them?

The Straight Facts

I remember getting my first payday loan from a shop around the corner. I was absolutely scared rotten. I was flat broke, in fact I was worse than broke, I was in debt. I had about $15,000 in debt due, unfortunately it wasn’t getting any smaller. I was to the brink of falling apart, especially since my brother had just been involved in a serious car accident a few days before.

I have always heard stories about how people were duped into payday loans, but in my case I felt fortunate to get one. I had nowhere else to turn. To be honest at the time it was kind of humiliating. I was a hard working person with morals. I remember thinking that “I really have hit the bottom now that I’m getting a payday loan.

In reality it was the best thing I had done. In order to get by, I needed that loan. Now I understand why payday loans are used by so many people. It was a scary and demoralizing event.

Statistics

I was kind of curious about how many people use payday loans. Obviously it seems to be a very popular industry, especially since there is one on just about every corner these days. I was very surprised to find that there are more payday loan stores than Mc Donald’s franchise locations!

The interest rate on these loans can reach up to 400%! I don’t remember mine being that high, but in reality my loan was only 2 weeks long, so while it was a large interest rate I don’t remember paying absolutely substantial fees. But be careful. I have heard horror stories of when people have applied for these loans and were unable to pay the loan back on time. When that happened, they were charged additional fees and their interest rates skyrocketed. Be careful when dealing with a lender. My suggestion, always know your terms before applying, just like you would do with any loan. Don’t let them call the terms unannounced to you.

My Findings

I know that many financial advisors would stick a shoe in their mouth before telling you to go to a payday loan store, but don’t be afraid to do it if you need one. With the information technology trend ever growing, many companies are switching to online stores. I would suggest Payday Tree and Yellow Leaf Financial. I have found both sites to be very easy to use. What makes them standout, however is that they connect you to hundreds of lenders and let you choose your terms, instead of applying to just one lender.

Be careful

As I have said, I have found payday loans to be very useful, however it is important to make sure that you understand what you are getting yourself into. I cannot stress this enough. If you are not careful, you can easily fall into a trap. Make sure that you READ the terms instead of just signing the document. Always know what you are signing beforehand. If a lender doesn’t show you your terms, or if they are intentionally trying to steer you away from reading them, then don’t use that lender. You don’t have to use a lender until you sign the agreement. So don’t get duped.

I hope that others realize that payday loans have always been a great help, even if it is demoralizing. Yet, contrary to popular belief they can help you. Just know what you are getting into before you do so.

A New Economic Stimulus Package

2009-01-28T11:48:00.000-08:00

As the next president, Barack Obama has been avidly tending to the economic crisis. Yesterday, he tried to plead his case for the economic stimulus package to the Republican Party. His economic stimulus package would include providing jobs, through funding of public projects. Many of those projects are designed to help vital sectors of the economy. The proposed bill will entail spending of close to $825 billion dollars and include tax cuts while valuable jobs in the economy.

The “American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill” will come in two fold. Firstly, it will provide a total of $550 billion dollars in investment spending in order to provide for projects such as:

Alternative Energy
Advancement of Technology
Updating Transportation Routes
Improving Education
Lowering Healthcare Costs

These campaigns are being designed to help out the well being of most Americans and to help with the overabundance of unemployed Americans in a job market that isn’t hiring. A major part of this bill is creating accountability in our community and businesses.

The second part of this bill will be to cut taxes to those needing it the most. It hasn’t been fully stated how these tax cuts will be placed. I am also unsure as to how the tax cuts will be spread out. I don’t think the policy has been completely laid out on this part, yet. Hopefully I will see a return on my taxes :)

It was a Great Inauguration

2009-01-22T12:11:00.000-08:00

We had a very interesting inauguration this year. The American Spirit seems to be running high as our next president, Barack Obama was inaugurated into the White house. I hope that President Obama can bring about change in the U.S. as he has coined.

Here are some interesting financial tools that can help you this tax season brought to you by Free from Broke.

Online Financial Planning Tools Brought to you by Yielding Wealth.

Social Security: The Largest Ponzi Scheme

2009-01-09T10:19:00.000-08:00

The Federal Bureau of Investigations has been unraveling a $50 billion Ponzi scheme started by the now infamous Bernie Madoff. The paper trail continues to add up and further developments continue to unravel.

What is a ponzi scheme?

A ponzi scheme is where new investors pay into an “investment” in hopes of receiving the same amount with a higher percentage in a few years. In reality new investors are just paying out to older investors. What is the problem with this? When any investor in the process wants their money back, they are in a sense - out of luck. This is because their money has already been redistributed and they need to hope that new investors will be able to pay out the old investors. When you can’t find new investors your pyramid falls apart.

The best example of a ponzi scheme is run by the government and known by everyone. It’s Social Security. If new people don’t buy into social security the entire thing will completely fall apart.

Am I going to get my Social Security when I retire?

The latest projections show that Social security will be completely depleted by the year 2040 if not earlier. If this isn’t something I should be worried about I don’t know what is. I am currently in my twenties. I just recently graduated and I am fortunate enough to have a part time job. Unfortunately, there will be millions of baby boomers that will be retiring. When this happens it will completely deplete Social Security.

For many Americans such as myself it will mean that we are paying into something we will never receive. A large chunk of my paycheck goes to social security and it is frustrating to know I won’t be seeing a dime.

Social Security and the current economy

Because of the current economic crisis many retirees have lost a lot of their savings. Many will be forced to retire later or take on part time jobs in their retirement. Social Security will be a major part of their income in retirement.

It is a scary thought, but I am realistically buying into something that I will never see again. I find it very ironic that Bernie Madoff is being prosecuted by the same government that is offering the same services he was.

Tax Season: Tax Deductions

2008-12-29T12:25:00.000-08:00

The New year is a fresh beginning for millions of Americans. This year it has been rough for many Americans as the economy recedes further into turmoil. Many are hoping that next year, we won’t be in such a predicament and that our economy will be able to bounce back from the recession of 2008. The New year will also signify that filing for taxes is right around the corner.

Almost every American without a CPA certification is concerned about getting the most back from their taxes without getting an audit from the IRS. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of your tax returns this year.

Don’t Lie!

This is the toughest one for many people to understand. Those that think that they can get away with lying will find themselves in a financial crisis. Lying will only lead to more lies. Eventually they will find out about your “inconsistencies”. Count on an audit for sure.

Taxes Deduction for Education

There are several tax deductions that the IRS will allow. Tax deductions for education are extremely important. If you have a child that is in college right now, you may be surprised that you are capable of receiving large tax deductions. To find out more look into About.com’s site on tax deductions.

Other Tax Deductions

Charitable contributions can bring large tax deductions. If you give charitable contributions you are eligible to receive several large tax credits. Also, some mortgages can give you tax deductions, as well. Check with a local CPA or do further online research before filing for your taxes. Another important mention are deductions for having a mortgage. There are other certain qualifications that are necessary in order to qualify for this as well.

This tax season don’t worry about filing for taxes. You may be surprised how many deductions you are eligible to receive.

On a side note, you should check out ChristianPF’s site to be entered to win an iPod!

The Impact of the Auto industry on the US Economy

2008-12-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

The automotive industry is in a serious situation recently. As the economy sharply turns for the worst and car sales greatly slump, the auto industry worldwide has seen drastic changes in sales. Now they have been reaching out to capital hill for an ever increasing amount of money to bail them out of this crisis. As the problem grows hundreds of thousands of Union workers and suppliers to the U.S. auto industry have been watching intently on what will happen to their jobs.

The largest group of individuals watching are the unionized auto workers. They are comprised of over 350,000 members. This doesn’t include the members that have pension plans through the auto industry, and will have to find work even after retirement. So how will the auto industry be affected? I have compiled some facts about the power the big three has on the economy.

Jobs

With the unemployment rate reaching 6.5% last month and increasing this is one of the biggest factors involved in the bailout of the auto industry. As I mentioned earlier there are over 350,000 Union workers in the auto industry, which has been on a drastic decrease since 2001. This is a little fact that not many people know. It is at it’s lowest level since 1941. This does not include all of the suppliers that make parts for the automobile. This would include thousands of jobs inside the U.S. and several more outside, especially because NAFTA allows U.S. companies to freely transport and produce goods outside the U.S. with little tax repercussions.

Monetary Costs

The Big Three are major contributors to the U.S. economy. They constitute a large amount of the auto sales within the U.S. and foreign direct investment abroad, giving the U.S. great leverage in international markets, and strengthening our exports. By letting the Big Three fail the U.S. trade deficit will grow even further, as we rely on more foreign made products.

Innovation

With the loss of another auto company, especially an auto company that is so large there is more market share for auto manufacturers to gather. With this comes a lack of innovation. GM was becoming very innovative with hybrid vehicles and other alternative fuels such as hydrogen. With the loss of these companies many manufacturers will be less inclined to be more innovative in their designs.

So why isn’t the U.S. government doing anything to protect the automotive industry in the U.S.? The Big Three are very large corporations. Because of this it is very difficult for them to make sudden movements. I will admit that they didn’t see the future of the auto industry and that had slowly choked them. They were still producing the same low quality vehicles. It was only recently that they changed the quality of their vehicles. In fact most J.D. Power and Associates reviews show American cars rated higher than most European cars, an unusual twist. Even so, most Americans are still pessimistic about the quality of American cars.

Can the American car companies bounce back? Is there a bailout or will the companies go Chapter 11?

Debit v. Credit: Why You Should Use Credit

2008-12-16T11:33:00.000-08:00

There are so many credit card offers these days, well not as many as there once were, but they gave us the opportunity to spend money when and almost anywhere we wanted to. Now credit card companies are beginning to pull back those offers, especially with people who have incurred a significant amount of debt. The other options are debit cards.

The reality is that debit and credit cards are almost identical. The only difference is that debit cards are registered through a PIN number as opposed to a signature. Debit cards are generally run through your bank as well, taking out money directly from your checking account as opposed to taking out the money eventually. They are even the exact same systems. So why do they always ask “debit or credit” you ask?, well it is because merchants are charged more for a purchase on a debit card.

Benefits of a debit card:

Debit cards are a great way to spend your money without having to worry about inquiring a large sum of debt down the road or spend more than you want. This is because your money is automatically deducted from your checking account.
Debit cards are also generally done through your bank, making it easy to put money into your checking account and keep up to date on transactions. For many people it is also an assurance that their bank is handling the transaction. Debit cards can also be used at ATM machines to easily extract money without incurring large cash advance fees that you would receive with a credit card.

What’s bad about a debit card?

Debit cards have many downsides that people don’t realize. The first is that merchants tend to frown upon debit cards as opposed to credit cards (even though they dislike both). This is because the fees for debit cards are generally much higher than with credit cards.

Debit cards can end up costing you more. This is because if you deduct more than is in your checking account you can incur a substantial overdraft fee, which can add up after several payments if you are unaware. It is also not as well protected as credit cards. The liability if your card is hijacked or fraud is committed is much better with a credit card as opposed to a debit card.

The moral of the story is to use CREDIT if you have to. Otherwise use cash. This is because credit gives so many more benefits than debit and is much better for the merchant as well. This makes everyone happy. Just make sure you don’t go over your limit, otherwise you may be in a lot of debt.

Bankruptcy 101

2008-12-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

With the big three facing bankruptcy today, many people are wondering what will happen if the government doesn’t give the automakers their bailout and are forced into bankruptcy. Thousands of people will be affected by these three companies going under. There is such an interwoven chain of supply from parts manufacturers all throughout the US and abroad that supply the big three.

Bankruptcy is used as a protection from creditors, when a debtor has become unable to pay back their debt. This can be anything from an individual “Joe Schmoe” to big corporations. Both of these are affected by bankruptcy for some time and it can cause serious repercussions to your credit and your ability to lend off of credit. For those individuals that go into bankruptcy, many times it is difficult to get a mortgage or car loan for 5 to 10 years after they have gone into bankruptcy and reestablished themselves. This is why it is so important to stay out of bankruptcy, pay off your debts and create reserves of money in case of emergencies.

The common misconception is that bankruptcy means you are completely finished, thrown to the dogs or completely helpless. This isn’t entirely true. If you have honestly tried to stay out of bankruptcy you have rights and in most cases courts will try to work with you in order to get you back on track and keep creditors off of your back.

Main types of Bankruptcy

Chapter 7:

This is the scariest type of bankruptcy for individuals and corporations alike it means complete liquidation of all of your assets. This means completely selling everything, from your house and car all the way down to your furniture and other valuables. Those assets are then sold and the money is distributed among the creditors that you owe money to.

Chapter 11

You may hear about companies that have entered into chapter 11 before. A good example of this is with the airline industry. Delta airlines went chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 14, 2005 for the first time in their history. During this time it went into a state of restructuring. Today Delta airlines has for the most part gotten back on their feet, restructured their management and even recently been in talks of merging with Northwest airlines. Delta is a classic example of a company that has fared through chapter 11 bankruptcy, however many other companies aren’t as fortunate.

Chapter 13

This form of bankruptcy is more geared toward “income earners” in the sense that if you are bringing in a wage it is able to protect you as an individual and help you get back on your feet. Of course there are some requirements before you can enter into chapter 13 bankruptcy, including having under a certain amount in debt.
There are many other types of bankruptcy that can be filed including chapter 12 which is restructuring for farmers and fishers and Chapter 9 bankruptcy which involves bankruptcy of municipalities.

If you as an individual are entering into bankruptcy or your company is entering into bankruptcy knowing your rights is very important. Bankruptcy can ruin your or your company’s ability to receive credit in the future and many other serious repercussions.

Black Friday: What do you think?

2008-12-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

This holiday season is already being kicked off to a wild start. One person was killed this black Friday at a Wal-mart store in New York. He was trampled to death as customers tried to bum rush the store to get their discounted gifts for the holidays. In my opinion Wal-mart customers are not being paid enough to put their lives at risk especially during the holiday season. Think about how the families of that individual will feel this holiday season.

Black Friday is getting out of hand. Part of the reason is the nasty economic recession that we are entering into. Several people have lost their jobs, savings and credit is becoming ever tighter, which means that consumers are trying to find cheap gifts for the holidays. That means fighting for the best deals possible.

This entire event poses several questions. What happened to the security during Black Friday? Should stores be responsible for any damages caused to individuals and their employees? Could better security and protection be contracted by the companies to protect their employees and customers during the holidays?

I'm to Blame for the Financial Crisis

2008-11-26T07:32:00.000-08:00

As we enter into the Christmas holiday, consumers all across the nation are going to be paying for gifts. In fact, this time of the year is when most retailers do their best business. Our obsession with credit has grown with our need to inflate our wealth beyond our means.

Credit cards are a great asset so long as you realize what you are using it for. Credit cards have really become a way of life and we have used them for everything, I’m guilty of it too. I always hear horror stories of people who have racked up $25,000 or more in credit card debt. Almost everyone has a little debt, whether it be your car, home mortgage, credit card debt or more. The problem is that with the invention of credit we don’t realize how much we’ve spent until it’s gone.

I didn’t realize how important credit was and how interwoven it is with our society. As our credit markets began to diminish and those who were riding the wave for too long take a hit (companies like AIG, Lehman Bros., Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), everyone else who hasn’t been affected by their shady lending practices is hurt by the entire situation. But the question still remains, Whose fault is this whole mess?

To come back full force, the answer is the consumer. The consumer is the one that accepted the credit burden when they signed that credit card form. The consumer is the one that racked up that debt without checking their books. In the end it is all the consumer’s fault, and I am guilty of this as much as the next man.

I have over $5,000 in credit card debt. I got caught up in the spending habit, getting comfortable saying I’ll fix it later. Then, when the creditors started calling, I wanted to blame someone else. The credit company for letting me sign up without knowing what I was really getting myself into, even the stores that I went shopping at for letting me purchase items I couldn’t afford. Then I came to realize that I was alone in the debt that I had racked up (fortunately I have an apartment and didn’t tack on a mortgage). I didn’t think about rationalizing what I was doing and then as all thing come around, I began to blame myself. It was hard to do and took quite a while but as soon as I realized it was my fault it was almost like one of those cartoons where a light bulb went off in my head. I was the only one that could fix my problems. I sat down one day and figured out exactly what I had to spend to stay alive and tried to cut out unnecessary spending as much as possible.

So to answer my previous question, the real problem lies in you, the person purchasing all of that crap that you don’t need. Everyone wants to point fingers at the government, but what they don’t realize is that the government isn’t the one to blame. Consumers, like myself are the ones that ultimately brought down this economy.

Big Government

2008-11-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

Being a titan of Wall Street used to be a great upstanding job. Now unfortunately it is just a quick way to make cash. Big risks unfortunately seem to always yield big rewards. Unfortunately these big risks put inconspicuous consumer dollars on the line.

In order for me to explain this we need to take a look back in time. During the great depression, most of the country wasn’t involved in the stock market. Most of wall street was composed of banks, large corporations, and very wealthy individuals. When the stock market crashed, several banks were no longer accountable for the money that they had collected. Many individuals found out that the banks couldn’t pay out their savings funds. There was mass panic at the banks as everybody tried to withdraw their money as soon as possible.

Of course, now it is completely different. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was created after the depression in order to protect against this. When do you draw the line, though? Is the government going to be held accountable for everything?

Within the past few years more people have relied on the government to solve their problems. Personally I believe that people should be accountable to some extent for what they do. Many people have filed for bankruptcy giving them protection from creditors after being driven into debt by bad decisions.

Now that I’ve been on my soap box I am going to ask you the same questions:

Do you think the government has the responsibility to protect us when things go wrong?

Do you believe that we should grow the middle class or do you think we should all be responsible for our own well beings?

I know these are big questions to tackle, but I think it is an important question to ask ourselves…

The Big 3: Why the auto industry needs a bankruptcy

2008-11-24T06:39:00.000-08:00

This has been all over the news now and if you haven't heard about it you literally must be living under a rock. The Big three U.S. automakers (GM, Ford and Chrysler) are looking for a little cash infusion in order to help them get back on their feet. Their singing to a tune of US$25 billion! Many of course are concerned that we won’t see this money again. So the question stands, why do we need to bail out the automakers?

Unemployment will skyrocket

This is a very important part of the auto industry. Unemployment is a major concern right now especially since credit is tight and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a job right now. In fact 1 in 5 people are estimated to be in the auto industry right now. That is a large chunk of the U.S. economy.

Our nation will lose controlling factor of the Auto industry

In the global realm of things the auto industry is a major business and so much of our Foreign Direct Investment (The investments that businesses in the U.S. make outside the U.S.) is in the auto industry, which includes the components that make up the vehicles.

Losing National Icons

Ok this one is a little more of a patriotic theme, but I believe that losing these three major companies will be a disaster for the national moral. Ford, GM and Chrysler are an important symbols of American ingenuity (or disaster).

These are all important reasons why the auto industry should stay around, right? Well why are so many people talking about bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is Good!

Several large companies have come out of bankruptcy. For instance, Delta airlines has gone bankrupt and fully (or at least mostly) recovered from their losses. What many people don’t realize is that Bankruptcy doesn’t necessarily mean the company is going out of business. Put simply, Bankruptcy is protection from creditors, or at least for a short period of time until the company can get itself back on it’s feet.

Chapter 11 isn’t all that Bad

When a company enters into chapter 11, the company is basically handed over to the courts which then decide how to restructure the company. This is why the top level management and Unions are looking to get a bailout plan, because it doesn’t require them to be restructured or disband.

Get their act in gear

By filing for bankruptcy and being restructured the company will be able to liquidate some of their inventory, and pay off some of their debt and restructure their product lines. The downside is that several companies may be forced to sell off their subsidiaries to overseas companies. Consumers have also been frustrated with the quality of products from American made vehicles and rightly so. They have purchased them in hopes that they will last for several years only to have a major breakdown when the warranty expires. This restructuring will hopefully be able to help these companies make their products right the first time.

I’m going to get down from my soapbox now. Hopefully a solution will be resolved soon in order to correct these problems. I did really mean what I said about a national icon, the big three are almost as American as the hamburger and baseball.

Welcome to the Financial Frenzy Blog

2008-11-21T12:15:00.001-08:00

WELCOME!

I'm always jumpy with too much caffeine and I love the financial industry. I thought I would mix to two to make one radially wicked blog that integrated the two. I also wanted to put the fun back into the financial crowd out there especially since most of you are feeling the pinch in the market right now.

I am currently an MBA student that just recently received my undergrad degree in Business Administration. I am just beginning to learn about the market (and what a time to do it). I am excited about working with everyone to learn more about not only the financial side of business, but also hear opinions and suggestions on the market and tips for becoming a savvier investor.

To start I would like to pose a few questions to everyone (you can keep them to yourselves).

What is your risk tolerance?

This is very important because many people don't know the difference between a very risky and low risk investment. "Blue chip stocks" are something that I would suggest to new comers in the market. Blue Chip Stocks are industry leaders and generally give out low returns and good dividends. These are some great investments especially for those with a low risk tolerance.

How old are you?

Ladies, don't be offended by this question. This is important in terms of how much time you have before you retire. For those that are about to retire soon, you should have had built a good investment portfolio. For those who are younger like myself it is important to look more at long term stocks that will project decent returns, yet keep continual pace for years to come.

Do you have your financial situation in line?

In order to be an investor you must have your money situation in order. If you are stacking up debt, then maybe you should focus on that before moving into investing. I am a firm beleiver that you should focus on debt first (I have a TON of school debt right now).

With these three questions you can set a foundation for your investing future. Knowing yourself is extremely important in the financial world and getting yourself on track can give you a path to becoming a wealthier individual.

Good Luck and let me know what you think...