mrfrugal

ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME!! Ben Bernanke is a stupid son of a bitch if he thinks that lowering interest rates will help the economy. The only benefit of lowering interest rates will go directly in the commercial banks pockets.  Banks are not willing to take on more risk right now so they will continue to offer the same loans they are offering now but the banks will have less costs since they will borrow at .25% and make loans at 6-7%.  Why is the federal government giving money and benefits to industries that started this credit crisis?  We should be sending the top dogs at these companies to jail or at least put their faces on a website titled or in a major magazine “Deadbeat CEOs”.

If the banks do not lower their borrowing rates within two weeks the fed should then raise the interest rates up 50 points to .75% and let the banks make less profit.

Once again top dogs at Wall Street take advantage of investors to create personal gains.  News broke out today that former NASDAQ chairman Bernie Madoff set up a huge Ponzi scheme with loses which could hit up to $50 billion dollars according to The Economist.  For years Madoff has been paying the investment returns to investors not with real gains but with new investor money creating a huge pyramid scheme.  If it were not for Bernie’s ego the sham would still be continuing.  But clients and analysts got suspicious when Bernie’s fund was still creating positive returns in this troubled market. The government should make an example of this piece of shit a give him the maximum time for mail fraud and theft.

Once again the unions are bringing down a US industry. The unions have been a burden on the US economy for more than forty years. These unions are greedy, lazy and unethical.  The US auto industry would be in good shape if union painters didn’t make $95k a year or machine operators take home six figure salaries.  I say the unions workers should take a pay cut to keep their jobs. I say “their jobs” because they sure as hell don’t care the company they work for.  We as Americans should not buy union products. But hek, just wait a few years and there will be know union shops left to create products.  I say damn the unions may the communist pigs burn.

I was extremely disappointed with the quality of Gucci’s signature collection canvas purse.  I bought this purse believing the higher the price tag the better quality I would receive.  I purchased my wife the Gucci purse for Christmas last year and quickly became her favorite purse even though the Burberry was 35% more expensive. My wife would only take out her Gucci when we would go out to dinner with our friends or out with her friends for lunches. And of course the day I tell her to use her Gucci purse while dining with our friends she noticed a hole in the fabric located between Gucci signature bands.  I must say we are very disappointed with the quality of Gucci.

On Saturday, December 6, 2008 my wife and I ventured to Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza Gucci store to verify if Gucci would stand by their product. To our dismay we were told that nothing could be done since the hole in the bag was not covered under Gucci’s repair policy. I have bought my wife several bags over the years including Coach, Burberry and Louis Vuitton which I have never had problems with their quality products. Gucci I believed was in that same category, sadly I was wrong.  My wife did not snag the purse on any bench or her belt as the sales rep at South Coast stated.  If you want to buy your wife a high “quality” purse then stick to Burberry or Coach.

What the hell do we do now? Our 401k’s have lost half their peak values in the span of three months.  The national unemployment rate is around 7.5%, companies are asking to have government handouts and to top it off Britney Spears is back in the tabloids. Again, I ask you what are we to do now.  Let’s start by cutting the fat around your house because let’s face it; the only people we care about are ourselves.

First, cut your energy costs. You must realize that once energy has been exhausted through an outlet it is gone and never coming back.  If we cut our energy costs we cut our reliance on the dirty companies such as oil and coal.  When these industries are brought back down to earth with lower profits the better it will be for all of us. Less medical bills to start and you’ll have more spending cash for that trip to Vegas.

Second, shit the hell if I know. This economic situation is new to me.

Just because gas prices now hover around $3.27 a gallon doesn’t mean you can go out and buy that SUV.  Well, the current economic conditions will help you keep that SUV on the lot anyway.  But even so, we must keep steady and continue to conserve gasoline to help our economy as a hole.  If you don’t waste money on gasoline we can add money to our savings accounts or buy some goods from the hardware store to keep our houses up.  With a recession on hand you can not afford to give you money to corrupt regimes such as Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. We must keep our economy growing along with emerging economies.  We must continue to be smart with our money and it starts with our consumption of fossil fuels.

Okay, did you listen to my Sunday night blog and keep the bulk of you financial assets in the stock market and/or via mutual funds. I’m not trying to paint a rosy picture about our current economic condition but it is not as bad as the media perceives it to be.  However, if you did sell you financial assets Monday and Tuesday I don’t blame you.  Scientific studies have a term for such actions it’s called “fight or flight.”  Those that left had fear in them and flew the cuckoos nest.  Next time stay a little crazy and have faith in the markets along with a huge socialist bailout of the American financial institution.

Do not expect to be in black this year, but stay due course and ride out the storm, you’ll thank me five years from now.  Keep in mind, unless you are a professional trader you are not living off any dividends or capital gains from the sale of financial assets.  Your goal is to cash in those dividends and capital gains when you retire 20 years from now. Godspeed fellow investors I wish you well.

Let’s not continue to panic with the economy crisis. Continue to pump money into the market via 401k, buy stocks individually or mutual funds. The interests at stake are not just America but the world’s economy but most important, your finances.  With interest rates recently being cut, falling oil and cash about to be pumped into the banking system indicates that now is the best time to fight for your financial future. 

Overall non added value costs for the production and shipping of goods will decrease with the drop of oil and company’s holding back costs.  Hopefully, the cuts will come from oversea sources for it will not put a damper on home jobs.  But I guess if home companies are inefficient then maybe they themselves are holding back the recovery of the US and world economy.  What’s my main message for today is to buy, buy and buy stocks (research your picks please).

OUCHHHH!!!! Have any of you seen you 401k’s lately.  Damn, my 401k is down 38% for the year.  Now I know a lot of you are thinking if not already taking your money out of stocks.  But if you are 45 are under take my advice and continue to contribute to your 401k because you have time on your side.  The best time to buy stocks is when they are cheap.  The stocks have actually reached a normal price earning ratio.  So keep buying those stocks and you may even want to contribute more to your 401k. Do not panic and sell low only to buy high five years from now.  Yes, five years to see your 401 get back in black from today’s starting line.  Remember, saving for retirement is a marathon not a sprint.  If you’re over 45 then it sucks to be you.

Paying property taxes in Orange County sucks.  I know paying taxes is as part as life as death but here in California these public officials take as much as they can before you go bankrupt.  The county assessed my house at $464,000 but my house has been on the market for three months at $440,000 with no takers.  What the hell kind of crap is that, the value of my house drops by about 20% but my property taxes goes up by 2%.  I should of stayed in Los Angeles County were the crime may be higher but at least my stolen money will go to buy iPods by kids than to have my funds go to city officials to put my money in their trust funds and offshore accounts. Screw Orange County, there are more white collars thieves in this county than all of San Diego and Los Angeles county combined.  And the crime starts in Placentia, CA.