My Great Grandfather, Matej Karas, from Olešná, Havlíčkův Brod, Bohemia.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Way Too Long!!!
I almost forgot I had this blog spot out there. I thought I would resurrect it. Lots has changed since 2009 that is for sure. At the moment, I'm pretty deep into genealogy. I've had the opportunity to learn some things about my father's side of the family tree. I've essentially known nothing about my grandfather (William Karas) from Bohemia. I've made some wonderful breakthroughs in my research and it has given me a real desire to go even deeper.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Community
I've always been intriqued by the Amish and how they go about determining which aspects of modern life they allow into their culture. For example, one would think that the Amish would not be "borrowers", but, in fact, in order to own their land and farm equipment, they are bound to bank loans.
However, when it comes to "insurance" they stray away from this financial instrument. They have made a strong committment to building and maintaining "community" and "relationships" and have decided that an insurance policy is simply a means by which people work to avoid dependence on others.
As an example, if a farmer's barn were to burn down, the farmer would not allow an insurance agent to assess the damage and write him a check for the amount of the farmer's loss. Instead, all the other families in the community contribute their time, money and any other needed resources to all work together with the farmer to rebuild his barn. There is a lot to be said for this kind of thinking.
However, when it comes to "insurance" they stray away from this financial instrument. They have made a strong committment to building and maintaining "community" and "relationships" and have decided that an insurance policy is simply a means by which people work to avoid dependence on others.
As an example, if a farmer's barn were to burn down, the farmer would not allow an insurance agent to assess the damage and write him a check for the amount of the farmer's loss. Instead, all the other families in the community contribute their time, money and any other needed resources to all work together with the farmer to rebuild his barn. There is a lot to be said for this kind of thinking.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Economic Stimulus ( the sequel )
Last year our family received $1,800 from Uncle Sam as part of the 2008 Economic Stimulus Plan. That's $600 each for Dayna and myself and $600 for each of the kids. Pretty good deal for us. This year, it looks like things will be slightly different. I appears you have to have a paycheck to receive a $500 tax cut in your paycheck. From what I've heard so far, kids and stay-at-home moms are not included in the plan. This is unfortunate considering the significance of children and the value added to our country through moms that nuture children at home.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Building Net Worth
I believe the key to building real net worth is possessing the ability to make your assets work for you. Financial success is NOT about how much you can earn. There is a new acronym out there called HINRY ( High Income Not Rich Yet ). Making $350,000 a year does not make one wealthy.
What does the term "wealth" mean? The definition of wealth is "a great quantity or store of money, valuable possessions, property, or other riches". If a $500,000 object ( i.e. a house ) is possessed by someone, yet the debt they owe on the house is $450,000, then they truely only possess $50,000 in wealth ( i.e. Net Worth ).
What does the term "wealth" mean? The definition of wealth is "a great quantity or store of money, valuable possessions, property, or other riches". If a $500,000 object ( i.e. a house ) is possessed by someone, yet the debt they owe on the house is $450,000, then they truely only possess $50,000 in wealth ( i.e. Net Worth ).
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Vanguard's Emerging Markets (VWO)
I'm not convinced that equities have hit bottom, but I do know we must be very close. One area that has sunk faster than the S&P 500 is emerging markets. While the broader markets have been down about 35-40%, emerging markets have dropped 50-65%. Even though I don't know that we have seen the bottom yet, I do know that entering emerging markets at this time has become almost irresistible.
How can one possibly resist a graph like this...
Vanguard's Emerging Markets ( VWO ) Exchange Traded Fund is at its lowest point EVER since it's inception - $22.19 !!! Yes, emerging markets are perhaps one of the most risky areas, but it's going to be quite difficult to lose money at these prices.
Learn More About Emerging Markets
How can one possibly resist a graph like this...
Vanguard's Emerging Markets ( VWO ) Exchange Traded Fund is at its lowest point EVER since it's inception - $22.19 !!! Yes, emerging markets are perhaps one of the most risky areas, but it's going to be quite difficult to lose money at these prices.
Learn More About Emerging Markets
Monday, October 13, 2008
Some Advice
Stay the Course
The last 9 business days have been quite a ride. Today we had some relief from the relentless 22 percent plus freefall of the Dow and S&P 500 over the course of two weeks. Many people paniced and sold their equities at a very low price in an attempt to salvage the remaining value of their shares. For those that held steady and remained in the equities market were rewarded for their patience. The markets gained back almost half today of what they gave up over the last two weeks.
Dollar Cost Averaging
In spite of the gains today, there remains great value right now. Now is the time to be buying. I do think we'll continue to see some erratic behavior in the markets, but one should seriously be considering buying as much as possible at these fire sale prices. These are certainly the times that the Warren Buffet's of the world get richer. The past 1+ year has been an opportunity to store up cash and wait for the existing real estate and credit bubbles to completely deflate. Now ( and the next several months ) is the time to pounce.
Not only is now a good time to buy large quantities of equities, but it's also a wonderful time for those slow and steady Dollar Cost Averagers to round up a greater number of shares with the same dollars. Case in point, I contribute $174 out of each pay check to my 401K. Although the value of my existing shares has dropped about 30 percent, I will now be able to get about 30 percent more shares with my same $174. I went from purchasing 8.4 shares last month for $174 to 12.9 shares purchased with $174. That is the power of Dollar Cost Average.
Diversification
Up until today, the Dow lost 38% of its value since July 2007. During the same period, the S&P 500 lost 42%. Me? I appeared to beat the markets with only a 26% reduction in asset values. As I stated toward the end of last year, I intentionally have been storing up cash this year in anticipation of the financial meltdown in this country that would bring buying opportunities. Fortunately, by the time the market crashed the last two weeks, I held about 27% of my portfolio in cash. I attribute my beating th market to the fact that I was not overexposed in equities. Additionally, over the past two years I've included gold and platinum bullion coins in my portfoliio. With equities tanking, commodities have gone up considerably. I've seen a 40+ percent increase in my bullion values over the past 9 months. Gold, too, has helped diversify myself such that my overall portfolio downturn did not match the S&P 500.
The last 9 business days have been quite a ride. Today we had some relief from the relentless 22 percent plus freefall of the Dow and S&P 500 over the course of two weeks. Many people paniced and sold their equities at a very low price in an attempt to salvage the remaining value of their shares. For those that held steady and remained in the equities market were rewarded for their patience. The markets gained back almost half today of what they gave up over the last two weeks.
Dollar Cost Averaging
In spite of the gains today, there remains great value right now. Now is the time to be buying. I do think we'll continue to see some erratic behavior in the markets, but one should seriously be considering buying as much as possible at these fire sale prices. These are certainly the times that the Warren Buffet's of the world get richer. The past 1+ year has been an opportunity to store up cash and wait for the existing real estate and credit bubbles to completely deflate. Now ( and the next several months ) is the time to pounce.
Not only is now a good time to buy large quantities of equities, but it's also a wonderful time for those slow and steady Dollar Cost Averagers to round up a greater number of shares with the same dollars. Case in point, I contribute $174 out of each pay check to my 401K. Although the value of my existing shares has dropped about 30 percent, I will now be able to get about 30 percent more shares with my same $174. I went from purchasing 8.4 shares last month for $174 to 12.9 shares purchased with $174. That is the power of Dollar Cost Average.
Diversification
Up until today, the Dow lost 38% of its value since July 2007. During the same period, the S&P 500 lost 42%. Me? I appeared to beat the markets with only a 26% reduction in asset values. As I stated toward the end of last year, I intentionally have been storing up cash this year in anticipation of the financial meltdown in this country that would bring buying opportunities. Fortunately, by the time the market crashed the last two weeks, I held about 27% of my portfolio in cash. I attribute my beating th market to the fact that I was not overexposed in equities. Additionally, over the past two years I've included gold and platinum bullion coins in my portfoliio. With equities tanking, commodities have gone up considerably. I've seen a 40+ percent increase in my bullion values over the past 9 months. Gold, too, has helped diversify myself such that my overall portfolio downturn did not match the S&P 500.
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