louisgray.com - Latest Comments in louisgray.com: Mint.com Says I'll Be Bankrupt In Sixty Days At This Pace

Re: louisgray.com: Mint.com Says I'll Be Bankrupt In Sixty Days At This Pace

jerry — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:57:04 -0000

Mint.com is the most informative and helpful financial planning site on the web today. Another site I really like is http://www.chillmybills.com.

Re: louisgray.com: Mint.com Says I'll Be Bankrupt In Sixty Days At This Pace

seanreiser — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:42:02 -0000

Nik-

Define unnecessary. Through churches tithing tends to support a number of charitable institutions, soup kitchens and shelters. To be honest, I feel is more people donated 10% of their income there would be less of a demand on the Government to provide social services to those who need them. I see the work my church does on a regular basis for those who need it and wish I had more money to give them. Tithing isn't about money coming back to you 7 fold. It's about making the world a better place.

As the economy falls to pot, the only way out is to help each other.

Louis, I'm sorry for hijacking the thread. But I wanted to address this. It's rather important to me.

Re: louisgray.com: Mint.com Says I'll Be Bankrupt In Sixty Days At This Pace

Jesse Stay — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:57:49 -0000

Some of the smartest Financial Analysts I know encourage payment of tithing, Mormon or not. They all say they have seen nothing but benefits by doing so - I'd like to see someone prove otherwise that is smarter than these people.

Re: louisgray.com: Mint.com Says I'll Be Bankrupt In Sixty Days At This Pace

Louis Gray — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:37:51 -0000

Nik, I appreciate your visit, but you have a few assumptions here.

1) I have no credit card debt. I pay it off every month.
2) Therefore, it would not impact any gains from stocks.

Also, your comment on tithing is ignorant at best. It's a personal choice, and one my wife and I are happy to participate in. But it, like any expenditure, takes planning.

Re: louisgray.com: Mint.com Says I'll Be Bankrupt In Sixty Days At This Pace

Louis Gray — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:36:11 -0000

One of the easiest, yet intellectually lazy things to do, is to give up when the market is near its bottom. In 2002, I almost gave up on investing entirely. My portfolio had whittled down so low, I could have cashed out and gotten my fiance (now wife) a good engagement ring. But I actually kept the money in eTrade and paid for the ring the old fashioned way (with a new credit card that got airline miles!).

I am trying to not give up this time too. I don't want to sell low... but most stocks seemed pretty low last month and the one before that as well, so who knows what next month will bring?

Re: louisgray.com: Mint.com Says I'll Be Bankrupt In Sixty Days At This Pace

Louis Gray — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:34:04 -0000

eTrade does offer a good number of services, which is why I've used them as my broker for years, and why I opened a checking account with them last year. But they, like many, were too aggressive, and it has cost them dearly. Now, news reports have them needing a bailout or they'll be out of business, and that's not too exciting for those of us with accounts there.

Re: louisgray.com: Mint.com Says I'll Be Bankrupt In Sixty Days At This Pace

nik — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:09:50 -0000

Dude, you have credit card debt AND stocks? PAY OFF YOUR DEBT. Any return from stocks would be negated by interest on your debt. None of your stocks will be paying off anyways.

And stop tithing. It's a ridiculous expenditure, and completely unnecessary.

Re: louisgray.com: Mint.com Says I'll Be Bankrupt In Sixty Days At This Pace

Byron Gibson — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:46:28 -0000

Safe investments:

1) Treasury bills (not notes or bonds).
2) Suppliers of cheap necessities, like McDonalds.
3) Short & Ultrashort ETFs (not exactly safe, but less risky than GM).
4) Put options on your current holdings to hedge against further declines.

Stop being a sheeple, stop listening to your idiot broker when he tells you 'buy & hold' or 'ride it out', resurrect your survival instinct and street smarts, and be proactive about not losing your hard-earned money.

Re: louisgray.com: Mint.com Says I'll Be Bankrupt In Sixty Days At This Pace

Catherine Rhodes — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:20:07 -0000

We're all in the same boat, my friend. My house has lost $120K in value, my business is off 20 percent and when I see a Fidelity statement in my inbox, I immediately hit delete to save myself a day of masochistic torture for not following my impulse to cash out when the market dropped to 12,000.

Re: louisgray.com: Mint.com Says I'll Be Bankrupt In Sixty Days At This Pace

Arthur — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 06:48:17 -0000

eTrade offers a very consolidated group of statements for banking and trading.