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400 point drop makes the seesaw tip the other way for commodities

June 6, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts, Real Estate | No comments

When stocks go down, oil goes up. When  stock go down BIG, oil really goes up! Just like a seesaw there are so many things that adjust when other things move. It is said that money does not just go away and disappear, it just finds a better place to move. Gold and oil spiked today due to the drop in the stock market getting news of unemployment and foreclosure numbers looking real sad. So money moved out of the market and into speculative oil. The move of this money was so large that the jump in oil was $10 barrel, and gold moved up $24 and ounce. I heard a story that hedge fund managers are taking advantage of a loophole in buying oil that is accelerating the upswing in price. Smart investors will now see that there is a HUGE imbalance in the supply and demand of oil that should make a large swing happen in the other direction to bring oil prices down. With production in the US slowing and airline companies slashing the amount of flights they normally have in the air, we’ll see the demand for oil dropping quickly. Oil prices are just way to overinflated to sustain its current level and the pendulum is beginning to make its turn and will gain the momentum it needs to get prices back in line. If you educate yourself in understanding how to make money when a market goes down, now is the time to initiate the trades for oil prices to retreat and make you profitable.

Too bad we couldn’t hedge our gas prices earlier. If we could have, I know my wife and I would have bought $2000 worth of gas in January. We knew prices were gonna continue to rise then, but we didn’t have a way to do it. I heard some states have ways to do it, maybe California should look into it.

Dollar Gains, but so does Gold?

May 23, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts, Real Estate

This is an odd sign. Big news today is that the dollar has gained some strength. Typically, this usually means that Gold prices should start to drop hard. For today this is not the case. What could this mean? My opinion is that commodities in general have a ton of momentum, so much so that even the standard norms which should have a affect on bringing prices down can stop the upswing in price. What this also means is that inflation trends have started gaining a lot of upward momentum and it will take a lot more work to slow it down.

As much as I like Gold and Silver as investments, knowing what outside forces have an affect on the price but are not holding to the trend greatly concerns me. Hopefully it just means that someone out there (with a lot of money) is buying while the going is good (meaning that the prices are still cheap) and that’s causing the increase. I like seeing Gold prices increase, but only because I have most of my investment in it. I don’t like what drives the prices of Gold though, because it means that our nations dollar is weakening and so is our economy overall.

In the end, all any of us can do is take advantage of what we hope is another cycle for any investment that might be at t low point. GREAT real estate deals are all over the place now. Learn to negotiate and buy property at great prices, and you’ll be able to stay ahead of the economic problems most Americans are facing today.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend, and take time to learn about what’s going on around you!

time vs. saving money

May 21, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts | No comments

Have you heard about the radio stations that have free gas offers here and there throughout the US? I listened to a lady say she went at 2am in the morning to wait for 10 gallons of free gas. She will wait for about 10 hours in her car to get her free gas. Is it really that worth it? KNX would have done better to do a promo show that gave $40 gas gift cards in my opinion, but that’s probably why they don’t ask me.

Gas prices will still continue to rise at least for the next few days, if not weeks. I gotta think that there has to be better ways for Americans to beat this problem. Gas is so high right now that even food is being used to create fuels and doing a double whammy on all of us with regards to food prices.

I saw that Gold and Silver prices are also once again taking off this week. Our government broadcasted a shortage on gas supplies and President Bush’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia to try to bring the price of oil down was unsuccessful. It at least shows that he is trying to address the issue, but most analyst knew it wouldn’t help. The fact of the matter is that we need address our dying dollar. That is the core problem to everything we experience. Address the dollar issue, our other problems will fix themselves. It may take a few years for the ship to turn, but we need to start the turn.

The same goes with our lives. If we are living paycheck to paycheck, we need to start a turn to head in a different direction. It may take a bit for the affects to be seen, but know it will be well worth it. I think of it like dieting. It takes a lot of suffering in the beginning, but working the plan will help to get you back on track and the result will be well worth it.

Mood swings or just always moody

May 20, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts, Real Estate | No comments

It seems that the heat is on it’s way. Yesterday, here in California, it felt like mid-summer already. Temperatures have been about 100 degrees and moods seem to be flaring in correlation with the heat. Add a sprinkle of “high price stress” on top of it all, and you now have a population that is in need of anger management classes.

A new report today says that wholesale inflation rose very slowly, slower than expect. (yeah right) The government tweaked the numbers so bad, it wasn’t even worth really publishing.

Gold is back on the rise, but oil will soon peak and interest rates will have to go back up. This means that Gold may not maintain the strong price rise, but I am thinking it won’t go much lower all in all and a slow “continuous” rise is probable for the long term.

Inflation will be the biggest enemy of everyone’s wallet. (beside the cooling cost to beat the heat) BUT all in all, there is always a golden shining light at the end of the tunnel. Real estate prices continue to plummet, and this gives many opportunities for those who know how to play it.

Read up on things that gained a lot of popularity during depressions or recessions, and there is a lot of opportunity to get ahead. Think about it….

The BIG scam…

May 2, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts, Real Estate | No comments

A few days ago a new rally began for the stock market as our government reported that our economy actually grew by 0.6%, which was higher than expected. This has got to be one of the most common deceptions our government does to the american people to give us a false confidence about our nations true economic status. The report is a complete miscalculation since they didn’t seem to input the proper rate inflation. They say that the inflation rate entered to calculate the growth was not readjusted to the current inflation we as americans are really witnessing. Since gas prices and groceries have quickly become a hard to afford, it’s obvious to everyone that we are spending more for everyday living. There was a yahoo finance article that did a true estimate that stated we have actually taken a huge loss with regards to our economic growth and that the real estimates won’t be calculated till a week or so. The big questions is….will we see this new calculation?Our dollar has strengthened because of this news even though interest rates were recently cut. This has made the price of cold drop considerably, even though there are still many elements that should hold the price of gold steady or make it increase. I still hold firm that Gold will reach $1100 an ounce by the end of the year. We should see days ahead where Gold skyrockets in a vertical way.Keep an eye on the big news that come out daily. Unemployment, real estate, inflation,  and oil prices. Any negative news from these areas will push Gold back to where it balances out to support those who have holdings in this precious metal.

Out to Phoenix

April 16, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts, Real Estate | No comments

Waiting at the airport in Phoenix for my flight home. Haven’t got a chance to do much of anything with regards to looking at financial matters, but noticed that Gold jumped to a jump since Friday. I did see news that oil prices have hit a new high and the dollar has dropped lower again which are usually reasons for Gold to take a jump.

So while here in Phoenix, I’ve been asking the locals (clients that I met) about the economy here and what they thought of the real estate market. Most said it’s a great time to move out here if I was looking to buy a house because foreclosures are rampant here like everywhere else and deals are easily found. Spoke to one long time local who told me of very interesting zoning laws out here regarding having office space that could double as a residential house. These properties are usually corner lots and must have adequate parking (I think he said 8 stalls) and must follow other specific rules that are pretty stringent but understandable. Those who live here love it, and don’t really feel the heat much. (I felt it!) I can’t imagine what it must be like in the middle of summer.

One other interesting thing. As I met with clients out here, I found a strong willingness for many people to give referrals for others who might like our services, even if they were competitors. Also, everyone seemed to know each other, like this was a small town of 200 people. With everyone so willing to share knowledge, it helps everyone move ahead and have a great outlook to their. I haven’t seen it anywhere else yet, but it should definitely be practiced by more industries.

Gas, Gold, and the Dollar today

April 9, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts, Real Estate | No comments

Gas hits an all-time high here in California at $3.75 a gallon for regular unleaded, Gold predicted to hit $1100 by the end of the year, and our dollar is sinking once again.

I spoke to a women looking for some advice on her finances. She owns a nice place in France that she wants to fix and rent out. There is no mortgage on it, but the bathroom is unusable and she has no funds to fix it. I asked if she was willing to sell it now while the real estate market has not totally crashed yet, and she said she wants to keep it because it is so beautiful even though it’s unusable. I offered her a solution that would take some time, but help to secure her future.

  1. sell the France condo (she might get $200,000 for it), then do either #2 or #3 below
  2. take that money and find an apartment building to buy, use the $200k as a down-payment or closing cost OR
  3. take the money and buy a few condos at $25,000 to $30,000 a piece and pay it all in cash so there would be no mortgages. (believe it or not, there are a lot of these places in the midwest)
  4. She could also rent her house here and use the income to sustain herself in France as she fixes up the place. If the rent gives her enough income, she could sustain herself for a long time. (the weak dollar is a concern on running the actual number that she would have to consider)

Investing in real estate has its risks, I am well aware of that. I’ve made my mistakes and had my homeruns. The key is knowing who to get help from. Success is usually done when good team is put together. Spend the time to find good professional help, and your risk goes dramatically down, and success rate up. I think referrals work best in finding good team members, but so does asking a lot of questions to see how they answer. A combination of getting a referral and interviewing them is even better.

Don’t forget to educate yourself as much as possible. The more you know personally, the better you’ll be able to see “red flags” in a deal. The future is yours to make and mold, you can’t do it by praying God drops everything in your lap.

Not a lot of action this week so far.

April 8, 2008 in Gold and Silver | No comments

Wel, with the same type of financial news we’ve heard all month long. There’s not a whole lot of new news going on other than the airline industry showing obvious signs of hurting with 3 airlines going into bankrupt, I decided to look for tools that you might find useful. I found that kitco.com has great resources to add to blogs or to websites to show current Gold and Silver prices


  [Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]

If you would like to add this to your site or blog, here is the code.

<A HREF=”http://www.kitco.com/connecting.html“>
  <IMG SRC=”http://www.kitconet.com/images/quotes_2a.gif” BORDER=”0″ ALT=”[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]“>
</A>

Or you can go to Kitco.com to get other styles available. Pretty cool stuff.

Putting his money where his mouth is…”Gold to hit $1650 by 2011″

April 4, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts | No comments

I love people who walk in so much confidence that they’re even willing to put their money where their mouth is. Here is an article where the author is willing to bet anyone $1000 that gold will have hit $1650 by 2011. He is asking people to look for those who write and disagree with his sentiment and to tell them of his wager. I only wish I had a way of knowing how many people take his bet.

I think gold will hit $1200 before the end of this year and $1500 by then end of 2009. My numbers may be more agressive than his, but I also think we could both be way off the mark and gold could be at $3000 by his due time. For me, I just think there are too many variables pushing Gold to skyrocket. Also, we haven’t seen the “mania” cycle yet where the masses go out and make silly purchases at the top of the market. The mania this time around could be outrageously ridiculous compared to the last time as baby boomers will scramble to protect their assets.

Today’s headlines are all about the unemployment report. Yesterday I mentioned that I felt it was a no brainer that the unemployment numbers would be increasing, but even I didn’t think it would hit as high as 80,000 new claims for March. I am afraid to think what next months numbers will be when the months starts with 5700+ employees losing their jobs to 2 airlines (Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines)going bankrupt. More and more companies are looking to do mergers lately to protect themselves from total collapse, and this causes layoffs as well. How bad can this get? I guess we can only wait and see. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Build a financial foundation for yourself as soon as possible!

The Stock Market is Foolin’ you

April 1, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts | No comments

If you know how to play it, this is a rally you good be making a killing in right now. Market news about banks getting into better shape have helped this jump. Is this really just an April Fool’s joke to get investors back in the market, or is it because people have been waiting for any excuse to recover their losses? If you had money in the S&P 9 years ago, you’d be right where you started today. Put in the cost of inflation, and you’ve lost a lot of worth, but also a bunch of time. Granted, dollar cost averaging would have done you “some” good, but was it enough?

Something to be expected today is that Gold and Silver is taking a dive along with other commodities. This is because money is running to an illusion of a safer stock market. Does anyone see the other news out today?

  • UBS writes off $19 BILLION
  • Home building tumbles for the 24th straight month
  • Deutsche Bank expects a $4BILLION subprime hit
  • Ford Sales sink – “The month was expected to be one of the worst for automakers since 2005 because of consumers’ worries about the economy”

Our Dollar raised against the Euro today with word of 2 leading European banks having more issues with the subprime mess. If you didn’t know this, the European real estate market beat the US real estate market during the boom. Their crash is prepping to be harder than ours. Gold and silver drop when the Dollar Gains over the Euro. The problem is that the Euro got weaker because of US banking issues.

What can I say. The gains in today’s market do not make sense to me. I have a bad feeling this bounce up will only create an accelerated fall in the next few weeks. Gold and Silver are starting to really form strong supports for themselves. One expert was hoping to see it drop this low again to $870 an ounce. He speculated that if this happened, a solid support could be created that will prevent Gold from ever going lower.

Another way to take a second look at things…

March 27, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts

I came across an article today that I found interesting. Take a look at it here.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080327/doug-casey-monumental-monetary-crisis-can-place_all.htm

I am a strong believer that Americans are being kept in the dark about a lot of issues. Does anyone really believe that everything can still be fixed without the public making some kind of sacrifice? Is there really a solution that can found to save us all from entering another Depression greater than the one we had in 1930?

Sacrificing now will avoid greater pain later. Not a monumental concept. It’s what PUDG stands for, Prosperity Using Delayed Gratification. It’s how life should be lived with regards to everything we want to be successful or prosperous at.

Gold Bubble?!? Silver Bubble?!? Possibly…

March 24, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts | No comments

Last Monday, I recommended that a very good friend of mine move a small portion (5%) of her investments into precious metals. Our conversation went long and she moved some of her funds over just before the BIG drop occurred. Being seasoned in investing, she understands she’s in it for the long haul and that her investments in metals are for hedging against the inevitable inflation coming our way. She’s seen her account go down about 10% since Tuesday, but is taking it in stride and just waiting for the turn around. She asked me an interesting question in an email today.

Is the Gold and Silver Bubble over? Oddly, I was amazed that the thought of it being a “bubble” never occurred to me! Why haven’t I heard it being mentioned earlier? I read everything I can about all the financial markets, and the “bubble” word is hardly ever mentioned. Maybe I unconsciously ignore the word itself when I read? The only bubble talk out there predominately speaks of the housing bubble and how it has popped. Interesting enough, a new article popped up on Yahoo finance soon after I read her email that was from bankrate.com. I don’t know if would say Gold is in a “bubble” now, but it’s definitely inflating.

Click here to read the article on Bankrate.com.

We haven’t seen the masses jump in yet. When we see people lining up at the Gold shops to buy some, I believe that’s when it’s time to get out. I DO NOT plan to hold on to my gold and silver forever. I hope to liquidate it at the top of the market. Timing it will be tough, but when we start to see the word Gold Bubble all over the news, I’ll know the time is near to sell.

Sadly, I truly still hope that Gold and Silver do not get to point where their prices get ridiculous. If that happens, it will mean that our middle class and US economy as a whole has fallen into really really deep problems. It will also mean that inflation has gone out of control and our dollar has finally lost any power it once held.

Happy Easter! Another exciting week ahead of us…

March 24, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts, Real Estate | No comments

I hope everyone had a great Easter out there! This weekend for me was all about getting back in to reading more and watching more financial news and commentary, and dog sitting. I never owned a dog before, and after this weekend, I don’t know if I’ll ever own one in the near future. They’re definitely a lot of fun, but my house is a mess and I think I’ve come down with allergies.

Anyway, on one of our many walks (I am so paranoid the dog will relieve herself in the house, I take her out every 2.5 hours just to be sure she stays on empty), I went to see an open house in my condo complex to see how much property values have dropped. Here is where we can see what’s really going on in our Southern California area. Real numbers…

A 3bedroom/2bath condo that once sold for $330,000-$350,000 was now on sale for $219,000 and another for $199,000. That’s over a 33% drop in prices when you factor in that the realtor said we could probably negotiate even lower if we wanted too.

Most recessions follow the real estate and construction markets. Right now, with real estate dropping so rapidly, our construction industry is following suit. With this happening, rest assured that it won’t be long till it seems as though construction is at a halt. The real estate investor pros are preparing for the next boom coming. It won’t be for a few years, but when it happens, they’ll be jumping in and waiting to become exceptionally wealthy. For now, money is going into hiding. Some of it seems to be moving toward the stock market, but I don’t think it will stay there long. The stock market is unforgiving, and when a little negative news comes out, it reacts fast and hard. The gold market has also shown to be extra volatile, but the world is going to be dependent on it to hold value, so I am personally confident many wealthy people will continue to shelter their funds into this precious metal.

The good news is that oil prices are on their way down. However, I saw that OPEC will make sure that oil prices does not go below $85 or $80 a barrel. I think we might hear an announcement that OPEC may be planning to cut production soon. If that happens, we can expect even more volatility on our markets.

Metals & Oil prices dropping fast, but jobs are too…

March 20, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts | No comments

OUCH! The value of my precious gold and silver is down 10%! What should I DO?!?! You might be thinking it’s time for me to get out now. Go ahead, laugh away, make your jokes… Just know that I still stand firm in my beliefs that Gold will continue to get back in line with the trend channel. Take a look at this chart (I drew the trending channel):

Gold Chart Technicals - March 20th, 2008

Here is the the big news today supporting my claim that our economy is not getting better. Job loss claims jumped by 22,000, here is the opening statement from the yahoo financial article.

“WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of newly laid off workers filing for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level in nearly two months, providing more evidence that the weak economy is having an adverse impact on the labor market.”

Oil prices are sliding due to the fact that consumption will go down, so prices will slide. Hopefully that will hold true, even though that will affect the price of my gold and silver dramatically. I personally do not believe we will see gas prices drop too much and a friend of mine sent me a link that said Maui now hit $4 a gallon.

Know this:

  1. Inflation will be a BIG concern soon.
  2. The FED cannot drop rates much further to stimulate the economy any more.
  3. Gold is now being bought in BIG quantities by gold dealers and jewelry makers. Do you think they would buy now if they thought the price still has a long drop ahead of them?
  4. There are countries where smaller cities have stopped taking the US dollar for currency exchange because they are losing too much money in it’s value dropping.
  5. There is good news for some who have business overseas. Here is an article that came out today regarding Nike’s results:

“In earnings news, Nike Inc. reported late Wednesday a 30 percent gain in quarterly profit, signaling to Wall Street that some companies are faring well despite the credit crisis. Nike said sales overseas increased largely because of the weak dollar.”

Notice the last sentence of the paragraph?

Don’t worry if you bought gold and silver at the height of the last run, it will STILL be a blessing to you.

The REALLY big picture…

March 19, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts | No comments

I know, I know… You bought gold yesterday before the FED cut rates by ONLY .75%. Gold and silver are down by nearly 5% and you are probably worried that there will be a “run” on people selling their gold. All I can say is to take a step back at the BIG picture.

Here is what no one is reading about today.

“The market overlooked other data in the report that showed crude oil stockpiles grew by a much smaller than expected 200,000 barrels last week. Gasoline inventories fell by 3.5 million barrels, when analysts had expected a small increase, and supplies of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, fell by 2.9 million barrels, more than double the expected amount.

Greed has taken hold of a lot of amateur investors who are running to the gold shops to SELL their gold for what they think is a great move at this point. Honestly, these people will be kicking themselves for not seeing the “BIG PICTURE” by September when Gold will have touched $1500 an ounce and will still be climbing.

In one report, wait lines at the gold shops were as long as 4 hours to sell GOLD. People who were interviewed claimed that they needed to sell to pay taxes and the gas bill. Yikes… Wise investors are still buying at this low price today knowing GOLD IS ON SALE.

Don’t regret, and don’t panic. Be smart, take a look at the big picture as to why gold is so high today and think about the reasons it’s where it at. Those factors have not changed:

  1. Oil prices are still high, and although consumption is down, so is supply. (This means oil will probably not drop much more)
  2. Inflation is inevitable. Rate cuts cause inflation, yesterday was a HUGE cut. Rumor has it that they may still have to make more cuts.
  3. Other countries are starting to slowly liquidate their US Dollar supplies into GOLD and Silver.
  4. Our housing crisis is continuing with a vengeance, and the end is no where near in site.
  5. Our Dollar is reaching new lows day by day. Yesterday was just a really short spike for the dollar because the cut wasn’t as big.
  6. Oil supplying countries have lost so much faith in the US dollar, they are now selling oil for other currencies. This means they are putting their assets elsewhere. (gold)

I have no market thoughts for today. I am taking a wait and see approach and letting things settle to be able to get a bigger picture of where things are going.

It’s like pulling teeth…Literally!

March 18, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts | No comments

If you were waiting for a better time to get into gold, do it now. I just heard that the gold shop dealers are getting very busy with people trying to get cash for their gold. Someone actually went in and gave the gold dealer a tooth he just pulled out of his mouth to get cash for the gold. 8-O Can you believe that!

Poor guy, he should have waited a few more months and we would have got $50 more for his pain.

The FED just dropped rates another 3/4 point and gold is doing a pullback. It’s a good time to get some on sale now because the pullback will only cause gold to do a higher jump on the next bad news to come around.

If you get a chance, this will blow you away.

March 14, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts

Click here and watch this!

Pay special attention to Mike Maloney. The last one.

What I am hearing around me

March 14, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts, Real Estate | No comments

I am hearing so many crazy things around me lately. I do not understand why basic global economics is not taught in high school today. Maybe our kids would understand where our country is headed if they knew what was going on because they were taught the basics of how global economics works.

I am hearing very disturbing opinions of where people think our country is headed and also what they predict will happen soon. The general public does not pay attention to the “real” news out there, or they think it doesn’t apply to them. The news of Bear Stearns needing to be bailed out today should be a real concern to everyone. If the nations 5th largest investment bank can have such an emergency that the Federal Reserve and JP Morgan Chase need to bail them out of their financial problems, it’s just another sign that needs to be taken seriously. How much can the Federal Reserve really do to save our country if all our big investment firms start to collapse from mistakes made? Our FED knows that they are on the verge of causing hyperinflation. To save bad financial institutions with bail out money is necessary to prevent a run on the banks, but what will it cost us in the long run?

I predicted that Gold would do a pull back today, which it has…but not nearly as much as I think it should be pulling back. Those who are selling are also being offset by a lot more people buying in, so gold is almost stable right now. That’s scary…It means that confidence in our dollar is sinking more and inflation is about to probably get ready to pounce hard
on everyone.

***MARKET THOUGHT OF THE DAY*** Here is a little bit of news I am passing on some investments that should weather the storm of recession pretty well. BUY into Storage Facility Companies. Do your best research into each company first. Make sure they are solid in their balance sheets. The reason for the gains in these industries will be coming from those who get foreclosed on and need to take their stuff out of their homes to downsize. I am thinking this is a good theory, but I am not sure if people going through foreclosure will have enough money afford a storage place. What are your thoughts?***Disclaimer: I am not a “professional” and do not have a license to give advice and could be totally wrong in all my predictions or my feelings. If you decide to take my advice without doing your own research, that is not wise, and not recommended. Trade at your own risk and know that most individual investors (something like 90% +) lose money investing in the stock market.***

Gold hits a $1000 – how much did you own?

March 13, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts | No comments

The momentum is moving hard and in full force for Gold prices to rise hard. I believe the $1000 mark was a resistance to breakthrough that will open the floodgates for higher prices through the end of the US recession we are in.

Realize this…most people who owned gold will be wondering if they should sell now, and many people foolishly they will. We could very well see a VERY LARGE (but temporary) pull back tomorrow on the price of gold bringing prices as low as $950 per ounce as fools take profits before the big run up really begins to happen. Hold on to what you have if you have any, and don’t be afraid to buy more now. It doesn’t take a whole lot for prices to make a move in either direction, but with the strong momentum gold has now it will be a great investment to have over the next 5 years.

Just in the last 6 years our US dollar has lost more than 30% of its value. Remember when a Snickers candy bar cost only 25 cents? It could very soon go to a dollar a bar. What this means is that Gold will be where the money will run too.

So what about silver? I personally think silver is a better investment than gold right now due to its shortage. There is very little silver left in the world, and it’s in mostly every electronic item made today. Put 2 and 2 together and you’ll see that the signs are all pointing to a huge run in silver one day and it will surpass gold in gains %.

Don’t get too comfortable…

March 11, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts | No comments

The Federal Reserve and Central banks have just made it easier to get to the money supply. There is a plan to also relieve bad loans from many banks’ books.

Those of you that have kids out there, what happens when your child does something wrong and has no consequence to pay? What if your 10 year old child took all their electronic toys and and put put them in the toilet? Or what if your teen (who doesn’t work yet) took their cell phone or ipod to use as a hockey puck in the back yard? Would you just go out and get them another one? Probably not.

This is exactly what is happening with our government doing too much to bail people out of their problems. Money has become too easy to get without working for it.

Our Fed was not responsible for the millions of people who took money out to refi their homes, nor was it responsible for the lenders making the bad loans. It was the everyday American man and woman who went out to use their homes as an ATM and didn’t worry about the consequences of not knowing how to handle their money. Now the money is gone, their house has lost its value, the rise in oil prices have made it difficult to fill the car with gas, and paycheck to paycheck living is now in jeopardy.

Please…Take responsibility…If money is getting tight, find ways to make more. Go out and borrow books at the library on how you can make more money at something. Educate yourselves. If you leave your head in the sand, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself for not getting ready for the worst economic situation our country is ever going to experience.

***MARKET THOUGHT OF THE DAY*** Let the financial sector have its ride and prepare to jump in and buy short. Wait a few days and keep an eye on what’s making the sector move. All it takes is a little bad news (which we hear daily) and the sector will start heading back down again. It will take a while before the $200 billion has an effect on the economy, and I truly do not believe the effect will stop the downward fall of the markets. Also, the news today has again put gold and silver on sale. Buy now if you can. Even getting some the ETF shares would be a good idea, SLV and GLD are the symbols to do your purchase.***Disclaimer: I am not a “professional” and do not have a license to give advice and could be totally wrong in all my predictions or my feelings. If you decide to take my advice without doing your own research, that is not wise, and not recommended. Trade at your own risk and know that most individual investors (something like 90% +) lose money investing in the stock market.***

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Buy it on sale

March 10, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts | No comments

Gold and Silver have done a short term pullback as investors have taken some of their profits off the table. Now is a great time to buy more while it’s on sale. At the time of this post, silver is at $19.53 an ounce, and gold is at $967.90 an ounce. Even if it goes down a little more after you do your purchase, don’t worry. This is a hold you won’t regret.

Remember, Gold and Silver are usually 5 year holds minimum and safety dictates that you should not invest more than 5% of your retirement portfolio. Though my wife and I hold nearly 50% of our investments in gold in silver, and the other 50% in real estate, this is not something most people would be able to stomach, nor would I recommend to anyone who cannot handle a loss, should one occur. One of our real estate properties is still cash-flowing for us and we bought our property in a place that has not “yet” been affected by the real estate market downturn. The our other “big” property investment has not done so well at the moment, and we are taking a wait and see position.

Both real estate and metals investing are a passion of mine. I’m planning to start a new category on this blog focusing on tips and tricks for those who want to get into real estate investing. If you have any experience in investing in either precious metals or in real estate, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the market!

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mmmm. I feel kinda smart.

March 7, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts | No comments

Not to toot my own horn, but I just found a very good article about what I tell a lot of my friends.

If you want to know about what I feel about investing in Gold and Silver, click here or cut and paste this to your browser: http://www.kitco.com/ind/willie/mar072008.html

My OPINION is to buy now, even if it goes down a little, don’t worry. Give it at least 5 years and you won’t be disappointed.

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GREAT NEWS! Take advantage of this if you can!

March 7, 2008 in Gold and Silver, Money Thoughts | No comments

I’ve been dying for a chance to give some positive thoughts amidst all the negative economic news. Well, today there are many Americans who might be able to fix a problem and better prepare themselves financially for the recession we are in. (YES, we ARE in a recession. I don’t care what the FED calls the “true definition” of a recession, we are already there.)

So here’s the good news. Some of you who bought homes or refinanced and fell within the “Jumbo Loan” category may have a chance to refinance and switch that mortgage to something that will be better suited for you and more affordable. There has been a big adjustment in the way a Jumbo Loan is now defined and you may no longer be in a jumbo loan category which will give you a lot better interest rate than you would have got last week. Whether or not this is a good thing for you is contingent on many factors, but if you can take advantage of it, do it soon! The only thing you might want to wait for is the official announcement that the Federal Reserve is dropping the interest again. I think the next announcement is on the 16th of this month, but you might want to check the date. Here is a link to check what your area’s jumbo loan rate is. Before you decide to do any changes to your mortgage, find a friend or relative (someone you really trust) who understands the true affect of what the mortgage refinance will do for you. Then make sure YOU HAVE A PLAN. I mean a REAL PLAN on how you will prepare for harder economic times to come. We all have the ability to surf this wave that is just beginning to form. If you plan early enough, this wave will pick you up and can even give you a nice ride that is comfortable and profitable. Here are my Basic Rules before you Refinance.

***Disclaimer, the following is just an opinion. If you decide to take the advice below, seek trusted professional help first and get educated. If you take the advice below and do not seek trusted professional help first, you could end up worse off than where you are today. ALWAYS VERIFY.***

1. Work with people you trust. Get at least 2 referrals before you work with them from people who will brutally honest.

2. Spend time looking for a good mortgage broker and don’t be cheap when it comes to paying for good service. I use a broker and she gets paid very well when we do loans with her. I am glad she gets paid well, because we have saved thousands of dollars over what she would have gotten in fees because of her looking out for our better interests. In fact, I have also LOST thousands of dollars when I chose not to listen to her advice and decided to do things on my own. I like “good brokers” over going straight to a lender because they shop around for you for the best loan and fight for you. Be wary of BAD brokers though, because bad ones can really really hurt you. They are one of the reasons our country is in this economic mess we are in. Unfortunately, I still personally hear many horror stories from people I meet who got hurt by their bad mortgage broker.

3. Seek help from trusted friends if you do not understand the loan. I recommend finding people who are in the real estate business. Especially investors. If you have a friend who does real estate investing well, ask them for help to review your loan. The best person to review your loan is a person who sells these loans but is not involved in your finances or selling you this loan. Some financial consultants could be a good source as well, but make sure they really understand what they are reading and that they don’t try to make you take equity out just to invest with them.

4. Make sure you have your spending in check. This is an opportunity to prepare for the future and maybe fix a problem. If you know you don’t know how to control your spending, you will probably end up losing your house…seriously. Take a serious look as to what got you into a mess (if you are in a mess now). If it’s because of your spending, seek counseling.

Good luck!

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