Invest in Yourself

First and foremost, I want to give credit for this philosophy to Robert Kiyosaki. Basically its a fundamental change in the way we should think about money. This single paradigm can determine your future wealth, its that simple. The formula is this... invest in yourself and your assets FIRST no matter what, and then pay off bills and expenses. Take a minute and think about this:

think:think:think:think:think:think:think:think:think:think:think:think:think:think:think:think:

Okay come back. 

The way the average American uses his or her money is all flip flopped. The average person will use their weekly paycheck and use that money to first pay off debt, pay for rent, pay for gas, pay for food, pay for insurance, then if any money is left over, the average person will go to the mall and then buy a new pair of shoes or a new spring jacket. THEN after all of this, the average American will save whatever is left over for future use. This future use we will call "savings" and "assets".

An asset is fairly simple. Its something that you buy, purchase, put away, store away that creates returns. So an easy example would be a stock that pays a dividend (meaning each share you own, the company will give you a certain % of money in return), or a savings account that pays you 1% interest (worst option).  Many believe a car is an asset, however this is wrong. With a car, you always loose value unless its a classic antique or something. Many believe electronics are assets. Im sorry but electronics are not assets, they are money pits. 

SO back to this idea of investing in yourself and your assets first. From each paycheck, prioritize a certain % you will NO matter what set aside even in times of hardship. For example, say you have a weekly paycheck of $500. Make it a priority to invest 10%, so take $50 a week and open an ROTH IRA retirement account, or open an online broker account and buy stocks, buy precious metals, or stuff it in a sock and place it under your bed. Whatever it is, set aside money FIRST.

After investing and saving for YOURSELF, then use the other $450 and begin by paying off your rent, insurance, gas, car payments. If you start to do this, I believe you will slowly begin to see your life change. There will be times when you wont have enough to make a car payment, or fill up your gas tank, but then you will realize maybe you need to change your lifestyle to maintain your savings. Never change your savings plan to accommodate lifestyle habits!  Perhaps you can learn to carpool, or take a bus, or ride a bike. Perhaps its time to sell that nicer car and downgrade to something with better gas mileage and reduce monthly payments. In the meantime your assets will grow at a steady pace and before you know it, your money will begin to work for you instead of the other way around.

Like the top of my page reads, 

"It doesnt matter how much money you have, it matters how much you keep".

Let that quote sink in and really rattle around in your brain for a bit.

My hopes are that this post can change your life. That by simply reading this blog, this post, can change your spending habits. Take charge of your future and invest in yourself first.

Save Money Quick Tip #11

This may be because I love Netflix, but I truly believe that if you are like myself, and cannot live without watching movies, then going with Netflix will save you money. I am sure many of you already have Netflix and know what I am talking about here. For $10 a month (with tax) you can have unlimited streaming to your laptop, Xbox360, PS3, Wii, etc, and then the ability to rent out 1 dvd at a time (pretty much any movie). It sure beats the $3.50 you would pay at BlockBuster for a single film plus late fees.  However, if you normally only watch movies once a month or just head to the theaters, then perhaps $10 a month is not necessary. Either way, hope this helps!

www.netflix.com

Silver and Gold=Money

For those that are new to the Silver and Gold fever, then you better catch on quick. I wont go into detail now, but basically the overall view is this: The dollar is quickly being devalued daily as the FED continues to print U.S. Dollars to buy Treasury Debt. This is increasing the supply of dollars, thus basic economic principles equate this to inflation. Going the opposite direction is Gold and Silver. These precious metals have been the basis of money since the beginning of human history. In all religions Gold and Silver are used for barter and for rituals. If Gold and Silver have been around for thousands of years, it will also stay for thousands of more years. In the past decade, Gold and Silver have been on the rise as investors and countries turn to the safe haven of Gold and Silver as an alternative to the world reserve currency of the U.S. Dollar. 

Today, Gold hits a new all-time high of $1450.85

Silver hits another 31 year high of $39.11

A great way to save money is to go out and buy some physical Gold and Silver at your local coin stores or through online auction sites like Ebay. 

Have a great day everyone.

Thoughts on my Generation

Its hard to grasp monetary issues from the perspective from my generation. My generation consists those who grew up in the 90's watching Power Rangers, Doug, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman, Wishbone, etc. Im talking about the generation that grew up with parents who went through the dot-com bubble, real estate boom, and made a crap ton of money. Im talking about the generation that has gone from work hard for money, to give-me-money. I believe the people in my generation are stuck in a paradigm of "Give me money, so I can spend money". I grew up in the 90's and saw all my friends around me never have to worry about money while I on the other hand did struggle. My family never had a windfall from the growing economy or lump of cash in the bank. Today I am so thankful I learned how to manage my money from a young age, not because I wanted too, but because I had too.  I look around at my friends now and they still receive money from their parents. Their parents pay for their rent, car insurance, phone bills, college tuition and food. Its depressing to watch my friends spend every dollar they earn at the bar and drugs. I believe in generational shifts; let me explain. Those who grew up in the 60's and 70's rebelled and did a whole lot of drugs. Ever wonder why? Its because their parents grew up in the 30's and 40's and experienced war, depression, death and chaos. This brought on the 50's and post war America didn't want to do anything related to war and death. This is why in the 50's we saw the "Little boxes on the hillside". The suburbs took off and those who went through the 30's and 40's now wanted to relax with a martini in hand. Now, the children who grew up with these parents rebelled to the mundane way of life. They saw their parents do nothing except work, drive their Cadillacs, live in their boring homes, and live in a happy-go-lucky way of life. For the teens, this was unbearable and we move on to the next generation. This is why the 60's and 70's was so wild and different from the 50's. The 80's saw lots of political problems and anarchy across many different countries. Which then produced the 90's. The 90's actually was stabilized due in part by better government and growth in the economy. This is when I was born. 1988. For the most part, the 90's was a money making decade and money flowed like honey. Now to get to my point about my generation. Because of this excess growth in wealth, we were spoiled. That's right, as a whole, my generation was spoiled hardcore. Finally we get to 2011. Where those born in the late 80's and 90's are now in their 20's and in college. We have no idea what money is, or how to treat it. This generation is lost when it comes to cash. So where do we go from here? What will the next generation learn from this generation? Well as many fear, a monetary crisis my be looming. Perhaps the next generation will learn from my generation. As for me and my family, I will teach my children the ways of investing, saving, keeping what I earn and passing down not only money but knowledge. So follow me on this journey of life, and keep up with my blog. Let me teach you what I learn as I go along. Im still in college and learning everyday about the world in which I live. I want to help others out there that grew up in the the 90's and feel completely lost on this touchy subject of money.

Have a good day, sorry about the long article.

 (^_^)

Save Money Quick Tip #10

Good morning! Another beautiful day here in Michigan. I know we all find ways to jump start our mornings and the best way for me is to start my day with a cup of coffee. Now even here we can find ways of saving money. Begin by buying coffee beans by the bag and grind and make your own coffee every morning! Instead of spending $2 for a cup of coffee and Starbucks or whatever, make your own pot of coffee. I guarantee savings if you do this! In one week you could save $5, meaning in one month you could save $20, meaning in one year you could save $240. 

Save Money Quick Tip #9

The issue with college students is not the issue of making money. The mid twenties are a great time to start a new job, meet friends, expand our social network and develop money making skills. The issue with college students today is this...Keeping the money that they have earned. This simple paradigm will turn a average college sucker (yes like a sucker fish) into a college student in charge of their hard earned money. I just read a article today from USA today, saying that 37% of those that received a tax refund will spend it all on consumer goods. Only 19% said they would use it to pay off debt. A even smaller % said they would invest it. Here is the issue fellow students! WE MUST LEARN TO KEEP  OUR MONEY AND INVEST IT. The world will tell you that the more "stuff" you have, the "richer" you are. This is FALSE! The key to wealth is the ability to keep the money you earn. So how can we apply this to our lives? The most basic way to begin this new path to saving will be to select a key % to save from each paycheck. Personally my % that I save from each work shift (I work in the restaurant business, taking home tips every night) is roughly 30%. For beginners I recommend saving AT LEAST 10% of your money and putting it aside. If you spend every dollar you make, what will happen if your car breaks down? If you lose your job? If your computer breaks? There are a million different scenarios where having money saved up will save your butt. Going into debt to pay for things is a horrible situation to get into. I feel as though I am ranting now. The main thing I am trying to say is this, stop buying clothes, going out to dinner 4 times a week, buying electronics, and start to save your money. In 10 years where do you want to be? Don't be a sucker, be a WINNER as Charlie Sheen would say. (But don't do drugs like Sheen...Please.)

Save Money Quick Tip #8

Did you know that McDonalds offer $1 drinks no matter what size? If you want fast food, I recommend saving some money and picking up a $1 drink from McDonalds. At Burger King, their large Pepsi is like $1.89. Anyways, just wanted to share this quick tip since I just got back from McDonalds.

Save Money Quick Tip #7

Don't make the fatal mistake I made today:

I paid $4.09 for this Red Bull...

If you want to buy energy drinks, then buy them in bulk or find them on sale! Don't make the mistake I did and overpay for energy! (I was extremely desperate at my college library, so I made a sacrifice of my money to study)

Save Money Quick Tip #6

Okay, so your in college and you work 10-20 hrs a week, you have class to go too, and now you want to spend time with your significant other. What a better way then to go on a classic date...watching a movie at the theater! Now if your one of the suckers that pays $4 for a coke and another $4 for sour patch kids, you are crazy. Before the show, run to a Wal-Mart or a 7-11 and buy a soda and candy for the fraction of the price. Sneak it in the theater and BAM! You just saved $5. Enjoy.

(If your really desperate, go through the trash cans in the theater and pick out the popcorn buckets that everyone throws away and get some free popcorn too, I did this when I was 16 so maybe your too old now!)

Silver Chart March 21st

 

Silver is back in the top channel looking strong! Lets see how long it takes silver to hit $40.

Have a good day! (Sorry this was quick) 

Save Money Quick Tip #5

The number one thing college students spend their money on...Alcohol! Now I know its tough to cut back in this area, and it might even seem impossible. However, I will share my two cents on how to save money when it comes to drinking. I love good beer so its difficult for me to buy the "light" beers, so if your like me, then buy yourself a nice beer for the first round (if your at the bar) and then after you get your buzz on, switch over to a light beer. Once your drunk, you cant really taste the difference anyway :) How if you are the liquor type, then I say pre-drink before hitting the bars. Its so much cheaper to buy liquor from a nearby shop and take a few shots before getting to the bar, then paying $6 for a mixed drink. 

Another key thing is to open a tab at the start. Instead of tipping the bar tender $1 every time you go get yourself or others a drink, (leaving $1 tip on a $3 beer is a 33% tip) keep the tab open and at the end of the night, leave a 20% tip on the tab. This will save you a few bucks guaranteed. 

 (My Girl----^ )

I am sure there are many other ways to save money at the bar, but these are just a couple things I do. Comment below for other drinking tips!

Save Money Quick Tip #4

If you are in college, then you know the headaches of buying textbooks. I know I personally save at least $200 a semester buy buying my textbooks online. Just this past semester, I went to my local college bookstore to pick up this book...

At the bookstore it was $59.99 used. Instead I went online and bought the exact same book for $5 including shipping. Here are couple places to buy online and save a crap ton of cash.

Amazon.com
textbooks.com
chegg.com

***If you are a student, you can apply for free Prime Membership at Amazon for one year. With the membership you receive free 2 day shipping on most items. Just go to your account settings and look for the Prime Membership section.

If your not in college, then you should still by your books from at least Amazon. You will be amazed how much you can save.

Save Money Quick Tip #3

Okay, Im sure some of you have heard of Groupon. Now Im not here to advertise for them in any way or am I affiliated with Groupon. Im just letting you know that this site rocks. Its customized for places around your city and you can find amazing deals daily. Its free to sign up and super easy to use. If you like to eat out, then this is a great way to save money when you go out for dinner. Anyways, check it out and save yourself some cash.

Click here to head to Groupon to register.

Have a good day. (^_^)

Silver Chart March 18th

For those interested in silver, here is a quick look at where the price stands today, March 18th. I wont go into great detail, however, I believe we will see a pull back tomorrow. By Looking at the Bollinger Band (a good indicator of price movement) we can see that right now, the price is near the top, meaning its not the best time to buy. A trader or invester will usually wait until the price gets closer to the bottom of the Bollinger Band. Take a look yourself.

 

So if you are planning on buying silver, make sure to buy when the price is near the bottom of the band! Alright have a good day.

Save Money Quick Tip #2

Since I am a college student, at a large university, I have discovered the glorious means of transportation by bicycle. If you live within 5 miles of the university or college, then ride a freaking bike. Its faster than driving (parking, waiting for lights, traffic) and heck a faster than a bus. Its free and fun, good for your health and its a stress re-leaver if you ask me. 

Think about it, gas is $3.56 a gallon on average across the nation. Save some cash and whip out the old trusty bike and save some cash while getting some fresh air.

Have a good day.

 

Save Money Quick Tip #1

This is so easy... THE POWER OF POCKET CHANGE. I know it sounds simple, it does because it is. Take a large jar, and empty your pocket change everyday. Heck, make it a habit to break another dollar bill when something costs $1.09. Hand the clerk $2 and take the $.81 cents and toss it in the jar. I personally have been doing this for years now. Then every Christmas instead of pulling out my credit card and going into debt to buy presents, I take my change jar to my bank and like magic I have about $300-$400 dollars.

For those of you who are servers or waiters at restaurants, this is the easiest form of saving. I have been in the serving business for 5 years now and I know how much change you get after one night...

This is my jar. Its a glass pig about 3 feet tall. Probably around $150 already for this year.

Anyways, stay tuned for another Quick Tip.

Changing Gears

I wanted to start this blog to keep up with the price of silver by means of daily charts. However, I have noticed that my friends around me, who are all college students, are lost and out of control with their spending habits. I realized that there is a need for more information on how younger kids, mostly college students need some sort of guidance with their money. So I decided to change my blog from silver charts, to investment and money saving techniques. Dont get me wrong, I will probably still do some silver chart analysis because I find it very interesting, but I think people will enjoy this new route. So I hope if you are an adult and looking at my blog, you can direct your children to my site so I can give them a new perspective on cash $$$. If you are a college student, or high-school student, I believe I can help you stay out of debt and help you begin to grow your assets.

March 11th, Support Broke

First, I want to ask everyone to pray for the people in Japan. For those of you who dont know, there was a massive 8.9 earthquake off the coast of Japan which brought a massive tsunami to the east coast. I have family in Japan and they are safe, however many lives will be lost and extreme damage to their land and infrastructure.

Now unto silver. We saw silver today break the support line of $34.40 for a brief moment.

The black line shows the $34.40 support line and you can see how it dipped below it just for a moment. The top red line shows the top of the channel we are in, and the middle line shows the channel that silver was in for some time. Now that silver has retreated to lower levels, the bottom line is now the bottom of the channel. Im going to guess that the price will now bounce between the middle line and the bottom line. If we silver dip below the bottom (red) channel, it will signal a downward trend once again. Like I said in my last post, buy some silver today if possible. This is considered a dip, and as an investor, you want to buy on the dips.
Have a good day everyone.

***A few minutes after my post, we saw silver do what I said.

 

This is the same chart from above, just enlarged. See how the price took off from the bottom line and is now kissing the middle line. If the price breaks the middle line, we will see it trade between the top and middle.

March 10th, 2011

Hey everyone, silver is at it again. Over the past few days, we have seen silver almost hit $37 and not it has pulled back to around $35. With news that JP Morgan issuing 6,000 new contracts in paper silver, its not surprising that a pullback is occurring. Link to an article explaining that is here. Lets see what the charts are telling us.

 

For one, the vital $34.40 support is still intact. Using the fib. sequence, connecting the support with the top, shows us that there is a downtrend move. We see that the price jumped around the 38.2% line and then broke the line to fall to the 61.8% line. A move below this once again signaled a downward movement. Now currently we see it trading right at this marker. If silver can get about the 50% line, I think we will see a push upward once again. 

There was a downward triangle which was an indicator of a falling price, which is exactly what silver did.

Now I think this is the most important chart. Going all the way back to when silver was around $30. The current price is still inside the upward channel. If the price breaks the support line then expect a downward price movement. However I think we all know which way silver will end up moving.
By looking at this chart, I think now is a good time to be buying. In my opinion, this is a dip in the price. I think in the next few days, we will see the price make a movement back up to the resistance line.
Thanks guys and have a good day.
<---Great book btw.

**All of my advice is just that...Advice. Before you make a financial decision, make sure to ask your financial adviser.

March 7th Silver Almost @ $37

Hey everyone, the weekend is gone and silver is now almost at $37. The chart is positive for even more bullish prices. Its astounding how fast this thing is moving.

The top line and bottom line form a great channel. This chart is from March 1st till present time. I dont know how else to put it, but the price is just gonna keep climbing in IMO.

I want everyone to read this article and spread it to all of your families, friends, and anyone else you know. It is extremely informative.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/media-misleading-americans-about-inflation-says-nia-117475163.html

March 5th Silver Chart

Hey everyone, silver is almost at $36 now and I know some of you are starting to run away from buying since the prices are rising. Well, after looking at the chart, it only seems like its going one way. We may see a pull back, I sure hope we do. Anyways, take a look at the chart for the morning. Its about 11:25am Eastern time when I drew this.

Notice the WTF line, this is the $1 jump we had yesterday. It was insane. Now there is a nice channel building with the top being the current price of $35.64. Notice how the price hits the top blue resistance line 3 times while only hitting the bottom blue support line twice. This means that the price is still bullish at the price of $35.64.  Also, the old support of $34.40 is still there. So if we do see a pull back, it should be to this price. So if you see it drop today to that price, or near it, BUY BUY BUY!

Here is a link to my YouTube channel as well.
Also, if you still have not read Maloney's book on Gold and Silver...its a must read for everyone.

March 3rd, Silver Chart

Hey everyone, today we saw silver go over $35. My next few charts will show how it is still very bullish. Even if we see a pull back, which is natural, the overall price in silver going up is bullish. I hope everyone stocked up on silver when it was $26.50 just a month ago :) 

 

The first chart goes all the way back to the beginning of Feburary. You can clearly see the two red lines, (line 1 and line 2) create a channel where the price of silver bounced off the resistance (1) and came back up off the support line (2) . Then around Feb. 25th or so, the price broke the channel and dropped creating a new channel between line 2 and line 3 (green line). Since the price broke the resistance level of the second line, it now is the support line. Overall we just see this nice upward motion chart which obviously signals a bullish trend.

On this chart, we see the fib sequence start at the low around the 25th of Feb. From that low, to today's high, it is clear that the price broke through all the levels and now bounced off the 38.2% mark which also signals a bullish trend. To be honest, I think we all know where the price is headed. If you think you have still missed the boat on silver, then your wrong. Go out and buy a few ounces. Prepare yourself.



Some news from around the world today:
Liberia: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/libya/2011/03/201134162742713130.html
Silver: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26674.html
Gold: http://news.ph.msn.com/business/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4690042
Currency: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51364301-76/silver-gold-legal-tender.html.csp

Silver FIRST time in 31 years passes $35!

The day has come! Silver is trading above $35! I dont have much time right now to dive into any chart graphing, but here is a quick shot of the current trading! ENJOY! SILVER TO THE MOON!

March 3rd, Silver Chart

The top chart is showing clearly that there is some sort of support level at the $34.40 level. If that level is broken, then I believe the next support level to be tested would be around the $33.40 level. That difference is $1 and so if you see the price drop below $34.40, I would hold your hats and wait to buy more silver until it gets closer to the $33.40 price. 

Now at around 12:00pm Eastern time, we see that the downward trend from the top chart is confirmed. It has broken past the $34.40 support. The Fibonacci sequence here can be seen well here. There was some moments where the price was bouncing around the 38.2 and 61.8 range. 

The overall view on silver though is still very bullish. Remember this, buy on the dips in silver because you still want to buy at good prices while the overall price on silver is going to the moon!

We see a very small tight channel that silver is in right now. You could say it is very very bullish, but we all know that things could go crazy in the silver market anytime soon. This last chart goes back to mid January 2011 when the lows were hit. So we see a great uptrend since then.

Anyways, thanks for checking out my blog! I hope to let all the buyers out there when to buy! I hope to continue to do these charts and get better and thus be able to let my viewers get a better sense of when to buy.

BTW buy this book and read it! Its amazing. I honestly could not put the book down. It gave me a new look on life and how to create wealth. Robert Kiyosaki's view on money will blow your mind.

-SilverPott

Check out my YouTube channel as well Here

Welcome to my Blog

Hey everyone, if you are looking at my blog, then all I have to say is thank you, and you should also be patting your own back. If you are here at my blog, it means your smarter than everyone else around you. If you looking at my blog, then basically you know "whats up". If you looking at my blog, you physically own silver or gold or both or you intend too. If you looking at my blog, then you deserve to keep YOUR hard earned money. Welcome to my Blog! Here I will post links to news articles related to silver and gold, news related to our economy in the USA, news regarding about the world in which we all live in. 

Welcome to my blog, Enjoy.

-Alex