Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
How Networking and Multi-Level Marketing is a Scam
Wk 1 1 (This person recruits 10)
Wk 2 10 (Each recruit tries to recruit at least 10 more each)
Wk 3 10x10=100
Wk 4 10x10x10=1,000
Wk 5 10x10x10x10=10,000
Wk 6 10x10x10x10x10=100,000
Wk 7 10x10x10x10x10x10=1,000,000
Wk 8 10x10x10x10x10x10x10=10,000,000
Wk 9 10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10=100,000,000 (pop of CA = 36,961,664 as of July 2009)
Wk 10 10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10=1,000,000,000 (pop of USA = 307,006,550 as of July 2009)
Wk 11 10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10=10,000,000,000 (pop of World = 6,697,254,041 as of 2008)
To maximize earnings potential, one has to recruit at least 10 people, who will then recruit 10 people each, who will then recruit 10 people each and so on and so forth. Watch as of week #9 when this recruiting strategy easily surpasses the population of CA, then week #10 when it surpasses the US population and lastly week #11 when it surpasses the world population.
Of course, these networking and MLM companies try to sell products as well. You can be a customer, yes. But when they present you an “opportunity” showing how by recruiting you can maximize your income and be self-employed, run the other way. Why? IT WILL NEVER WORK. Very few people will succeed, and those are the people on top. This is a pyramid however which way you look at it.
I write this to serve as a warning to anyone who wants to waste their time joining companies that operate their business model like this.
Wk 2 10 (Each recruit tries to recruit at least 10 more each)
Wk 3 10x10=100
Wk 4 10x10x10=1,000
Wk 5 10x10x10x10=10,000
Wk 6 10x10x10x10x10=100,000
Wk 7 10x10x10x10x10x10=1,000,000
Wk 8 10x10x10x10x10x10x10=10,000,000
Wk 9 10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10=100,000,000 (pop of CA = 36,961,664 as of July 2009)
Wk 10 10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10=1,000,000,000 (pop of USA = 307,006,550 as of July 2009)
Wk 11 10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10=10,000,000,000 (pop of World = 6,697,254,041 as of 2008)
To maximize earnings potential, one has to recruit at least 10 people, who will then recruit 10 people each, who will then recruit 10 people each and so on and so forth. Watch as of week #9 when this recruiting strategy easily surpasses the population of CA, then week #10 when it surpasses the US population and lastly week #11 when it surpasses the world population.
Of course, these networking and MLM companies try to sell products as well. You can be a customer, yes. But when they present you an “opportunity” showing how by recruiting you can maximize your income and be self-employed, run the other way. Why? IT WILL NEVER WORK. Very few people will succeed, and those are the people on top. This is a pyramid however which way you look at it.
I write this to serve as a warning to anyone who wants to waste their time joining companies that operate their business model like this.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Some Investment Strategies to Consider
Since the market has gone down quite a bit in the past two years, it pretty much got purged of companies that were not fundamentally sound. Not to say that the companies that stayed on are great, but I'm sure one can find some good deals. I'm not saying buy every single cheap stock out there. Cheap might be crap. What I'm saying is that you still need to commit time to researching companies that you're planning to invest in instead of just going with the flow.
ALWAYS REMEMBER too that whatever money you put in the stock market, consider it lost so you don't feel bad if your account does tank. But it will make you feel good if your investments do well.
One way to play the market is by trading options. To learn how to trade options, check out the learning center of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (www.cboe.com). The way options are priced is different from stocks. But most definitely cheaper. Options do expire though so you really have to learn your stuff before you even dive in. The good thing about options is that you can buy the rights to buy or sell a stock by paying a premium that could be significantly less than the price of the stock itself. Therefore, instead of paying full price for the stock and risking losing all that money anyway, it might be good to consider buying options. There are quite a few online brokerages that offer options trading. The ones with the lowest fees that I've seen are Scottrade, thinkorswim.com and OptionsXpress.
I have an account with OptionsXpress. I think I would transfer it somewhere else though when I find the time to go through the process so the commissions are cheaper (I'm leaning more towards thinkorswim.com). I currently own 300 options to buy Citi for $7.50 expiring in January 2011 and I paid $0.34 a share for it (plus commission). The current option price is $0.70. So the option price itself has doubled already and the stock hasn't even doubled in price yet. I also own 30 shares of IPATH S&P GSCI CRUDE OIL TOTAL RETURN, ticker symbol OIL that I bought for $20.69. The value now is $24.39. I'm making a little return on paper, or should I say, on my computer screen, until I sell them back to the market. It is a minor gain compared to the huge loss I incurred when the government took over Fannie Mae (about $4,000...yikes!).
Needless to say, there's huge risks in playing the market. You really have to know your stuff, or else be ready to lose a lot of money, and sleep to go with it.
ALWAYS REMEMBER too that whatever money you put in the stock market, consider it lost so you don't feel bad if your account does tank. But it will make you feel good if your investments do well.
One way to play the market is by trading options. To learn how to trade options, check out the learning center of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (www.cboe.com). The way options are priced is different from stocks. But most definitely cheaper. Options do expire though so you really have to learn your stuff before you even dive in. The good thing about options is that you can buy the rights to buy or sell a stock by paying a premium that could be significantly less than the price of the stock itself. Therefore, instead of paying full price for the stock and risking losing all that money anyway, it might be good to consider buying options. There are quite a few online brokerages that offer options trading. The ones with the lowest fees that I've seen are Scottrade, thinkorswim.com and OptionsXpress.
I have an account with OptionsXpress. I think I would transfer it somewhere else though when I find the time to go through the process so the commissions are cheaper (I'm leaning more towards thinkorswim.com). I currently own 300 options to buy Citi for $7.50 expiring in January 2011 and I paid $0.34 a share for it (plus commission). The current option price is $0.70. So the option price itself has doubled already and the stock hasn't even doubled in price yet. I also own 30 shares of IPATH S&P GSCI CRUDE OIL TOTAL RETURN, ticker symbol OIL that I bought for $20.69. The value now is $24.39. I'm making a little return on paper, or should I say, on my computer screen, until I sell them back to the market. It is a minor gain compared to the huge loss I incurred when the government took over Fannie Mae (about $4,000...yikes!).
Needless to say, there's huge risks in playing the market. You really have to know your stuff, or else be ready to lose a lot of money, and sleep to go with it.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Where Are You At With Your Finances This Year?
Are you going to pay more taxes this year? Were you able to start up that savings plan that you've been meaning to do? Did you overspend this year on your vacations? Did you not take a single vacation? Did you lower your debt?
Lots of questions...hopefully you've got some good answers.
There's roughly 3 months left this year. Maybe it's time to dig deep into your finances and see where you stand.
Lots of questions...hopefully you've got some good answers.
There's roughly 3 months left this year. Maybe it's time to dig deep into your finances and see where you stand.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Fixing Your 401k
Although it might be a bit too late to move money out of your 401k, it might still make sense to step on the sidelines just in case the worst is not over yet. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, one of the common indicators of the health of the stock market, is close to 6500 points, its lowest point in years.
Most financial advisors will tell you the stock market has its ups and downs. I will most likely tell you the same thing. However, putting most of your money in the stock market hoping to make huge returns for your retirement is just like gambling right now. The market is not following any trends at all.
I would suggest to put whatever money you have in your 401k that you CANNOT afford to lose (in case you lose your job and need to live on it until you find a new job) into a fixed income type of investment, or some sort of a balanced or stable fund to prevent any further losses. Leave whatever money you have left after this spread out to mutual funds. Look into moving into mutual funds that track indexes (usually they will say large cap S&P 500, midcap S&P 400 or something to that effect) since the expense ratio is lower. What this means -- if the expense ratio is low, the fund doesn't need to make huge returns to make up for the expenses it incurs.
As for myself, I put 90% of my 401k funds into a fixed income fund paying 3.5% and left 10% scattered all over large cap, mid cap, real estate and international funds. My future contributions I left alone with the same ratio for now (just because I CANNOT afford to lose this money).
For your future 401k contributions though, I would suggest taking your age from 100, then using that number as a percentage of mutual funds you need to be invested in. The main reason for this is that you already have set aside money that you CANNOT afford to lose in a stable investment, so you CAN now afford to buy cheaper mutual funds. When the market comes back in full swing, you will still be able to catch that wave and make generous returns. Just be careful about market comebacks. Don't put back all of your stable investments into the market unless, and I repeat, UNLESS you can now afford to lose this money.
Most financial advisors will tell you the stock market has its ups and downs. I will most likely tell you the same thing. However, putting most of your money in the stock market hoping to make huge returns for your retirement is just like gambling right now. The market is not following any trends at all.
I would suggest to put whatever money you have in your 401k that you CANNOT afford to lose (in case you lose your job and need to live on it until you find a new job) into a fixed income type of investment, or some sort of a balanced or stable fund to prevent any further losses. Leave whatever money you have left after this spread out to mutual funds. Look into moving into mutual funds that track indexes (usually they will say large cap S&P 500, midcap S&P 400 or something to that effect) since the expense ratio is lower. What this means -- if the expense ratio is low, the fund doesn't need to make huge returns to make up for the expenses it incurs.
As for myself, I put 90% of my 401k funds into a fixed income fund paying 3.5% and left 10% scattered all over large cap, mid cap, real estate and international funds. My future contributions I left alone with the same ratio for now (just because I CANNOT afford to lose this money).
For your future 401k contributions though, I would suggest taking your age from 100, then using that number as a percentage of mutual funds you need to be invested in. The main reason for this is that you already have set aside money that you CANNOT afford to lose in a stable investment, so you CAN now afford to buy cheaper mutual funds. When the market comes back in full swing, you will still be able to catch that wave and make generous returns. Just be careful about market comebacks. Don't put back all of your stable investments into the market unless, and I repeat, UNLESS you can now afford to lose this money.
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