Personal Finance

Did He Really Recommend Stock Picks?

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“He recommended Amazon and Apple. What is he recommending now?” “He predicted the market crash of 2007. Here’s what he says now.” And so on. You may have seen ad headlines just like the ones above recently. The specifics change, but the idea is always the same. Here is a person who predicted a certain event, or recommended certain stocks at the perfect time, and if you would have followed that advice, you would have made a ton of money. That being the case, shouldn’t your find out what they are recommending or predicting now? Did He Really Predict Stock Market Moves? If you doubt that these people made these recommendations, or predictions, I admire your skepticism. However, these ads and their subjects can often back up these statements with records showing that they did, indeed, predict or recommend the perfect stock moves at the perfect time. So, should you run out and give them your money and subscribe to their newsletters? To answer that question, let’s backup for a second. There is a scam whereby a company claims to be able to predict the winners in certain sporting events so you can bet on them and make money fast. …

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Real Estate Investor Seeks Trainee Signs

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Lately, around here, there are a lot of those really cheap signs like you use for garage sales saying, “Real Estate Investor Seeks Trainee.” Sometimes, there is a dollar figure mentioned like $125K per year, or something like that. As you can probably imagine, this is a scam. Making Money in Real Estate Signs Let’s start with the obvious. Do you really think it is hard to find people to work in training programs that pay $125,000 per year? I mean, so hard that you would have to resort to placing out dozens, or even hundreds, of cheapo signs by busy intersections. It’s true that the economy is recovering a little bit, but it isn’t like there aren’t people willing to work for six-figures. Anytime you see signs like this advertising anything other than a yard sale, estate sale, or maybe a car for sale, you can be pretty sure it isn’t a legitimate business opportunity of any kind. There are literally hundreds of job websites, message boards, and real estate forums, not to mention Craigslist, and local electronic bulletin boards where someone who really did need some form of real estate business trainee could find one. There is never …

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What Does Credit Card Fraud Look Like?

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credit card theif

You can do all the right things, and you will still probably, eventually, be a victim of some sort of credit card fraud. Sometimes, a person you give your card to willingly will somehow steal the information. You may lose a card, or someone may compromise your credit card another way. Or, like me, maybe a merchant will be compromised and your credit card company will call you, telling you that your card needs to be canceled. Credit Card Fraud Detection I have a Capital One Rewards card, among others. I like using it because the points seem to add up pretty fast, and I can always use them instantly just by logging in and using them to “erase” a travel purchase instead of having to get a Capital One Rewards catalog and pick some sort of reward out of it. Another reason I like it is that they seem to have pretty aggressive fraud protection. This annoys some people because it always seems to kick in when you are on vacation and their computers notice that you are buying a lot of stuff in Chicago all of the sudden when you live in Dallas. Recently, however, all that happens is …

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Market Still Crashing… Wait, No It Isn’t

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stock market back even

Still waiting for that market implosion everyone was certain was going to happen a few months ago? Looks like you’ll have to wait a little longer. I usually have to wait a little more to pull out the “I told you so,” on the stock market being a constant swirl of ups and downs that should be ignored by long-term investors. Long-term investors, of course, should be sticking to their long-term plans and only making adjustments to rebalance their portfolios. This is often easier said than done. Usually, in the middle of a down period, people start showing up or calling to tell me that they were, “right,” and that they pulled all of their money out of the stock market and now they weren’t losing anymore money and I am dumb for saying they would be better in the long run if they had just stayed put. They never call me to tell me they put their money back in right before things start going up, but that’s another matter *eyeroll*. This super, mega, down, recession is coming, batten down the hatches, plunge was too short for that to happen this time. Market Back To January 1 Levels Right …

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Avoid IRS and Tax Scams

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tax scams and crimes

The IRS is used as a way to scam Americans out of money every year. Some the tax scams are very sophisticated. Others, seem like they would defy common sense. This year, the IRS put out a list of the Dirty Dozen tax scams for people to look out for. Here are some of them. Promises of Big Refunds – This is where the complexity of the tax code bites the unwary. Yes, there are a lot of deductions, and tax credits out there, and yes, some of them can be pretty unknown, but don’t believe that you’ve been way overpaying your taxes all these years, if only you’d known about a tax loophole. Research and be sure you understand before you sign your name to any weird forms. IRS Phone Call Scams – Remember, the IRS is legally required to send you notifications of most actions before you get some phone call. Ask them to put it in writing. Also, IRS agents don’t threaten to arrest people out of the blue. Arrest, garnishment, and property forfeiture all require a court proceeding. Real IRS agents won’t tell you that this is your last chance and that you have to send money …

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10 Things That Rich People Supposedly Do

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There is an article over on Marketwatch title 10 Things Rich People Know That You Don’t. It is complete and utter garbage. Articles like this are one of the reasons I started Finance Gourmet. They give the impression that there is a trick to money and wealth, while throwing out meaningless advice. It not only doesn’t help, it makes people feel worse because it feels like they are not rich because of something they are doing, when that isn’t the case. The subtitle is that people don’t become wealthy by accident, and here’s how they do it. That’s a lie too. There is nothing in this article that tells you how people become wealthy, unless you count a guy retiring with a nice 401k as wealthy. But wait! You can stoop even lower for a few extra clicks. The URL for the article ends in 10-habits-of-high-net-worth-women, and it is even LESS about that. First, let’s start with the basic premise that rich people know something you don’t, and that’s why they are rich. This is just not true. We love to think that there is some sort of insider secret, or conspiracy, that if you could just figure it out …

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What Is Middle Class?

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middle class or not

Who is middle class in America, and why does it matter? Middle Class Politics One favorite political maneuver is to come out in favor of the middle class. There are a lot of reasons for this. First, and foremost is that numerous studies have shown that no matter how much money they actually make, most Americans think that they are middle class. Thus, when a politician says they care about the middle class, most people make the assumption that the politician is talking about them. On a secondary level, the value in favoring the middle class, is that there is a deeply American assumption that the middle class is where you will find the normal, hard-working American people. Those who are wealthy, can be assumed to be either exceptionally lucky, exceptionally hard working, or exceptionally smart, depending on who you ask. Realistically, it is all three. One need only look at the number of seemingly less than intelligent, or motivated, celebutaunt children who just luckily have wealthy parents, compared to the rags to riches stories of various immigrants or sons and daughters who were born into poverty. Whereas, the poor are the exceptionally unlucky, unhard working, or unintelligent. The fact that …

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Personal Finance Index Card Advice

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Back in 2013 on a show, a professor named Harold Pollack made the suggestion that everything the average person actually needed to know about personal finance could fit on an index card. He “proved” his theory by handwriting a list of personal financial advice on an index card, which then made the internet rounds. Now, he’s back with a co-author, and a $25, 256-page book called The Index Card. Wow. Could this be the most cynical book ever written?   Free Financial Advice and Reality It always seems that when finance experts are talking about OTHER finance experts, that THOSE guys are over-priced crooks who you don’t need. THEY are just out to take your hard earned money. THEY don’t want you to know that finance is actually super easy and that you don’t need THEM. Funny, how that always changes dramatically when the opportunity for money or notary for their own self comes up. Back when I was a professional financial advisor, Susie Orman would stand up in front of as many people as she possibly could and say that all financial planners and advisors were crooks and you knew it because we took money from companies that offer financial products …

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New Year Finance Checklist

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annual personal finance checklist

It’s a new year. Contrary to popular opinion, for the most part, when it comes to money, finances, banking and investing, it doesn’t really matter if the year is new or not. That being said, plenty of people take the opportunity of a fresh calendar to take a fresh look at things like personal finance and their financial plans. So, here is a checklist of things to start thinking about to make sure you personal finances are lined up for 2016. 2016 Personal Finance Checklist Don’t get overwhelmed. Not all of this stuff needs to be done at once. Put a section on your calendar each week or two, and by the end of the first quarter, your finances will be reviewed, tuned-up, and ready for the year ahead. Banking Checklist Review your checking account statements and make sure your bank isn’t charging you fees just for having a checking or savings account. If you are paying monthly fees, or minimum balance fees, find a new account. Check with your current bank first, you might just be signed up for the wrong account. Remember, at today’s interest rates, there is no way having a higher rate compensates for having to …

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Money Investing and Personal Finance End of Year

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end of year december finance money

Here comes the end of 2015, are you ready? Are your finances and investments ready? On the one hand, the end of the year means absolutely nothing to your money. Those twenties in your wallet don’t care what year it is, and your bank accounts don’t either. The stock market goes up and down before December 31st, just like it will after January 1st. That being said, there are some end of year tax issues to be aware of, as well as some smart money moves to make before the end of the year. What To Do With Money Before Year Ends Step One: Don’t Panic. Seriously. Too many people get all wrapped up in the end of the year and the start of a new year. I think that some of that comes from the added stress of the holidays, or the vacuum left behind when they end. The reality is that you and your money are probably fine, even if you don’t do anything at all before the year ends. Yes, tax deductions matter, but probably not as much as you might think. And, yes, there are deadlines, but many of them may not apply to you. With that …

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