Investments for this decade and the next

January 10, 2012 By Joe Leave a Comment

Investing or even saving can be so confusing sometimes. You would think it was be easy, I mean all you have to do is sock some money away and don’t spend it, right? Wrong! I’ve been doing this exact thing and what I have seen is my saved money slowly evaporate.

I’m like most people who work for a company that offers a pension plan for the new millenia, otherwise known as the 401(k). As a matter of fact, most every company I have ever worked for has offered a 401(k). I have always participated in my company’s 401(k) plan no matter which company I have worked for. I have been putting anywhere from 6% to 11% of my annual salary into these 401(k) plans.

The problem is that, though I have been adding to these account they have not been earning any interest. I truly feel they have been earning negative interest (or losing money!).

Most 401(k) pool money together into mutual funds. The only choice you have is to pick one of the funds offered by the plan.

I try to invest in stocks when I can, but lately even stocks haven’t been very good vehicles for earning a decent return on your investment.

I think the only stable investment in todays economy for the next 5-10 years is commodities, namely GOLD AND SILVER.

“The way to protect yourself is to own real assets.” – Jim Rogers.

In the following article are some good points as to why gold and silver are the best investments today and over the next decade. I hope you enjoy it:

6 Reasons Why Gold Is Rising

Posted by Mike Tirone from WealthWire.com- Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

The price of gold is currently near all-time nominal highs. $1,540 an ounce, which 24% higher than last June’s numbers. While the number may seem high, remember: it’s not inflation-adjusted.

Smart investors look to gold as a safe haven, to put their money into something that will protect them as the economy continues to flounder. There are many reasons to invest in gold, especially since Bernanke is not really suprising us with any uplifting or hopeful news with the economy.

Forbes recently compiled a list of six reasons why gold could go higher, and I thought it was worth sharing.

Global Demand for Gold is Up
Large amounts of gold will probably continue to be bought and most of by private investors in foreign countries (like China) who make habit of hoarding gold. Demand in China over the past decade has grown by double digits, and it’s not stopping. It is projected to rise by 10-15% again in 2011 and some foresee China overtaking India as the world’s largest gold buyer this year.

According to Reuters, “Demand in China for physical gold and gold-related investments is growing at an ‘explosive’ pace and its appetite for the yellow metal is poised to remain robust amid inflation concerns.”
High Inflation is Rearing Its Ugly Head
The Federal Reserve’s economic stimulus plans had them dump tons of new money into the financial system and this drastic increase typically spikes inflation because it seriously devalues the dollar. Everyone is talking about high inflation coming around the corner because of this latest stimulus program. If that happens, you can bet that investors seeking an inflation hedge will sprint to gold, thus forcing the price through the roof.
The Dollar Isn’t what it Used to Be
You don’t need me to tell you that the dollar has been on a cold streak. The U.S. dollar index measures the strength of the dollar against a bunch of other currencies, and in June 2010, it had reached a peak of 86 on the index. This year it has taken a 14% hit and fallen to below 74. “Investors have always viewed gold as a hedge against a falling dollar, and there’s no reason to believe they won’t this time around”
Stocks are Not Looking too Hot
Just as the dollar is in a slump, so are stocks. In late April they peaked at 12,811 and since then the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped about 6% while the S&P 500 has stumbled more than 6.5% in that same time frame. With these waining stocks, andfinancial gloom-and-doom economists like Nouriel Roubini, investors may start prepping for another financial crisis which means more gold to be bought.
Buying Gold Has Become Central Banks New Past Time
Because of the weakening U.S. dollar – which is still the reserve currency all around the world– central banks have been buying gold to limit their reliance of the U.S. And this isn’t going to stop anytime soon. Ten years ago those same banks were selling gold by the bundle, now they are buying it all back and that is a strong, bullish indication for gold.
How High Will Gold Go?
The signs for gold to continue to rise are all around, but like with anything within the investing market, nothing is for certain. Even though the price of gold is quite high already, many investors still think it has room to grow, for example projecting a 30% price spike by the end of 2011, meaning the “yellow metal” will eclipse the $2,000 an ounce mark. Other projections are a little less dramatic, calling for a year-end price of $1,600 an ounce which is only a 4% jump…

Whatever projections you care to believe, the consensus is this… the price of gold is rising and there are far too many reasons to believe that this trend is only going to continue.

Filed Under: Caught My eye

Electronic Arts – EA – My New Job

July 8, 2011 By Joe Leave a Comment

I just got excepted for a new position within EA. For those of you who are not into gaming EA stands for Electronic Arts. They are one of the largest gaming companies in existence.

I’ve been wanting to work for a gaming company for a long while. One fo the first companies I ever interviewed for was Origin Systems in Austin. I was so dead set on working for them that, at the time, I was willing to take a paycut from $28,000 a year to $6.00/hr. (hind site: its probably about the same thing).

But in my excitement, like I usually do, I flubbed the interview. I kept trying to tell them what they wanted to hear rather than simply tell them how I felt and what I thought. Simply questions like what your favorite game, I just drew a blank. At the time my first thought was Wolfenstein 3D, but for some reason I thought that game was cool enough for Origin.

Needless to say I never did get the job.

That was then, This is Now

So, today begins my last day of unemployment. On Monday I start work for EA.

My position is Sr. Network Engineer working on customer facing online projects. This means I’ll be working with the websites, load balancers, routers and switches for the company.

I’m very excited and hope this is everything I always thought it would be.

Of course it is work. It is a job. It won’t be ALL fun and games. but it sure will be a cool place to work.

Filed Under: Network Engineering

Death and Life – Theories from a Fever

July 8, 2011 By Joe Leave a Comment

I often think about what is gong to happen when death comes for me.

Is it a transformation of some sort, a metamorphosis?
Will I be reincarnated into some higher being?
or will it be a lower being?
Is Karma real?
Are all of the crazy Christians right?
Will I see Jesus?
Or will there simply be nothing at all

Heh.

Are the billions of popular religious minions correct in their faith, is there a pearly gate?

The real truth is, right now there is no way for anyone to know what exactly happens when you die. No one has died and returned to tell us what has happened. Except possibly Jesus, if you believe the story. And of course there are those that have had what is called a near death experience.

But none of these stories or experiences are exactly the same. They all vary from person to person. So its really unclear what happens when you die.

Scientist say its all just a natural biological process that creates the lights and images that people who have had near death experiences see. But to those people who have experienced it, is/was very much real.

So since there is REAL no way to know where we are going to go when we die, my thought was that maybe we can get a hint of the future by looking at where we came from?

Now this is my personal theory, and that all it is. Its not a belief in anyway, or is an implication of my faith in some way. No this is just Joe’s good ole plain logical mind trying to figure it out.

We Are Born

Its hard to think back to your first memory. To your first thought. When each of us are born, we just sort of fade in to this reality. Slowly images we see, sounds we hear become more clear everyday. Our thoughts coalesce into memories and ideas and eventually become the foundation for who we are.

As we grow we realize our individuality. The ID forms and we understand we are alive… and eventually we will die someday.

I AM ALIVE – and So Are you!

Right now as I write this, I am Alive. I know I am Alive. I am self aware. I think, therefore I am… I think.

And I know that you the reader is alive. I know this because you tell me you are! You communicate with me and I am a witness to this fact. My friends and my family are alive, again because I can talk to them and witness that they are. Of course when I asked them if they were alive, they all laughed at me, but everyone one of them answered unequivocally YES!.

So first fact: We are Alive.

Now if we are alive, where did we come from? I dont know about you, but I came from my mother. My mother had sex, incubated a fertilized egg and eventually gave birth to me. So my mother is alive. (plus I asked her and she said, after she stopped laughing, yes).

Fact two: My Mother is Alive.

Now where did my Mother come from, well of course her mother. And where did my grandmother come from? Well from her mother… and so on and so on. You get the point.

Rewinding through the EONs

So if you can envision racing backward through time, generation after generation, each person very much alive. If you keep racing back where do you end up?

(I guess it depends on whether evolution or creation is your belief)

Well, either way… the Earth. The original Mother. Gaia. Nature.

So if I am alive, then the Earth has got to be alive! Not every part of the Earth is alive, just like not every part of our bodies are alive. But the Earth gave birth to us all, supports us, gives us food, water, air. It is alive.

So, if the Earth is alive, then the universe must also be alive. Pulsing, thriving and very much alive. The universe gave birth to our planet.

If the universe is alive then everything is alive. It may not be able to communicate with us like we do with each other, but it must be alive. Full of life energy. Source Energy.

It is this source energy that make us who we are. Gives us our consciousness. Gives us our SOUL!

So where do we go when we die? We go back to the source. We go back to the Earth.

Filed Under: Personal

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