The Online Investing AI Blog

Pic by Alan Cleaver at Flickr Creative Commons

Mint.com, Wesabe, Bundle.com and other personal finance technology hubs were the first to recognize the democratizing power of technology in the money management sphere.

Online personal finance tools can unleash a team virtual accountants and analysts in your laptop.

You can now run reports and check graphs on everything from creating a budget to monitoring your spending habits to pinpointing your best investment returns.

Now, banks and credit card companies are growing wise to this tech trend and bolstering their own sites and online banking portals with personal finance technology.

Most customers are wondering, “what took you so long.”

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Accelerating Technology, Internet, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, Success, US Economy banks, credit union, finance, Money, money management, personal finance, technology

Pic courtesy s_husson @ Flickr CC

I’ll start off our weekly collection of wise posts with a question: why do we call these “lessons.” Aren’t you learning more? Then, shouldn’t the right word be more-ons… oh, maybe that explains it.

Anyways, I’ve scoured the web this week to find some of the best posts on investing and making money. And some other personal financial topics, too.  Please feel free to peruse and click.

Also, I get email after email asking me: why didn’t you include my post? “I’m wise,” they say. “I’m interesting. Validate me.” I just want to tell both of you that I included the posts this week. Sheesh.

If, however, you believe your post was wrongly rejected by my scientifically-powered roundup, please include the link in the comment section.

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sneakerdog @ Flickr

I’m not a big fan of spinach.

It doesn’t looks good. It doesn’t taste good. It rarely smells good.

But I can’t deny the healthy boost it gives you.  (And I’m not even referring to the power it gives under-sized Popeye the power to take on over-sized bullies.) It has lots of protein and vitamins. No denying it.

Sometimes it’s necessary to put up with short-term pain to create long-term strength. Same thing goes for your financial health.

In the world of personal finance, there’s no more willing taskmaster than a recession. A recession is painful and stressful. But it might also be the impetus that leads to our long-term financial freedom and well-being.

Here’s how.

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gbaku@Flickr

Economically, the recovery from the deep recession appears to be intact.The market’s back above 10,000 and company earnings have improved.

Although, economists are among those who are saying that the recovery isn’t nearly as strong as hoped–or promised.

A new administration with new ideas was the primary reason that most people expected a strong rebound. Plus, a historic worldwide stimulus effort by the global economic superpowers should have boosted the market precipitously.

Despite this, problems persist. Unemployment rates, although a lagging indicator, hasn’t crawled out of the basement. The housing market remains anemic. Business activity is skittish.

Some folks aren’t even expecting a recovery; they believe we’re heading from another crash.

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thebadastronomer@Flickr

So far this week…

We’ve hunted for Investing’s Holy Grail.

We were amazed by the Eighth Wonder of the World: Compound Interest.

And we discovered the Secret Number of Finance: 72.

Now in our quest to uncover the secrets and mysteries of investing, we’ll reveal investing’s version of the Golden Ratio.

The Golden Ratio, well known in the fields of science and math, indicates that there’s a symmetry that underlies the universe. In art, it can be seen in the placement of points of interest in art works. Scientists see the Golden Ratio in things as small as the Nautilus Shell, to the immensity of a spiral galaxy.

The Fibonacci sequence is investing’s golden ratio.

The Fibonacci sequence, named after Leonardo of Pisa, who was known as Fibonacci, starts with 0 and 1, and the remaining number is the sum of the previous two. 1+2=3, 2+3=5, 3+5=8, 5+8=13… and so on.

What does this have to do with investing?

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doviende@Flickr

Forbes Magazine has a list of traits common to billionaires.

Most we can’t help you with.

For example, Forbes reports that lots of billionaires belonged to the Skull and Bones Society in Yale or worked at Goldman Sachs. We can’t help you with that. (I guess we could look over your resume and college entrance essay…)

Weirdly, a big chunk of billionaires were born in September. Again, not sure what we can do about your birthday.

But we can assist you in obtaining at least one billionaire trait on the Forbes list.

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In Pennsylvania, where I’m writing this, the leaves are now tipped with deep reds and flashes of yellows. On the mountains, a brush stroke of orange has exploded in spots.

There’s also a chill in the air.

Autumn officially arrived and so did the first thoughts of winter.

Historically, fall was the time you made preparations for winter. People stored up food and prepared their homes to keep out the invasion of cold weather that would soon be on the way.

This week, I’d like to pass on some financial preparation, so you’ll survive any monetary challenges that pass your way.

Here are some things to think about… but most of all act on.

Start your reading off with this post on It’s What You Do, Not What You Say from Fiscal Fizzle.

Scott Adams, the guy who created Dilbert, is dead-on when he writes about office life. Who knew he could be so perceptive about personal finance. Check out Dilbert’s Unified Financial Theory.Thanks to Joe Taxpayer for this.

When I went to high school, three of us rode in my friend’s 20-year-old Ford Fairlane. And loved every mile of it. So, I have some sympathy for FiscalGeek and this post on making his kids drive a piece of crap.

My Money Minute offers Five Things Jay Leno Has Taught Me About Finances.

Need to save money? Make money? Make some money to save? Here are some five minute financial fixes from Dumb Little Man.

Need a little more time in your life. Try cutting down on the Top Five Time Wasters, according to Five Cent Nickle.

Always a good spot for financial advice, Wallet Pop offers a few ways people are thriving in a recession. (Although the image of the ukulele nerds that accompanies the story has me a bit perplexed. Do I have to take up the uke to thrive? Anyhoo. Check it out.)

The Adventurous Writer offers five ways to make more money as a writer.

Dividend stocks are a popular investment for buy-and-holders and are good ideas for tempestuous markets. Seeking Alpha has a look at the best double-digi dividend stocks. If you’re new to investing, options can be a bit confusing. Check out Moolanomy for an introduction to options and put calls.

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If you’re like me, you care less what’s in your bank account than what will be in your bank account the day before payday.

Budgets are fluid and PocketSmith is one of the first online personal finance tools that helps watch the ebb and flow of your money situation. It can even predict what your fund level in your bank account will be on any given date, based on past money performance.

And if you’re not happy with the results, you can play around with your financial inputs to better balance your budget. Adjust how much money you’ll spend and when you’ll spend it. Adjust more income, if that’s in the cards.

It has a pretty wide predictive range, too. In case you want to see whether you can splurge for Christmas, PocketSmith can look into the future to generate six-month and a year forecast.

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Trading has always been either a lone-wolf endeavor, or a competitive group smash-up that looks like a rugby scrum.

The typical image of the daytrader is a guy or gal who sits at a messy desk stacked with pages of charts and graphs and who continually sips on highly caffeinated drinks. The daytrader stares at a screen and every few seconds clicks on the mouse, tallying another winning trade.

Another image is the trader in the pit. Juiced up on coffee and pepto-bismol, the pit trader screams and flashes what look like gang symbols  all day to make and lose money.

None of these stereotypes are very inspirational for people considering stock trading as a viable wealth generator. But, thanks to the Internet and the continual acceleration of technology, there’s a new way to look at trading: communal, cooperative, and collaborative. Social networks for stock traders are growing.

Here are nine of the most popular stock trading social networks and social bookmarking sites that have investors and traders in mind. (And please let me know if I missed any! Add them to the comment section.)

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Sidney Crosby hoists the Stanley Cup. AP

It’s been a pretty good year to be a fan of Pittsburgh sports. The Steelers won the Super Bowl in February and the Pittsburgh Penguins snatched the Stanley Cup just four months later.

Led by a rookie coach, who joined the team halfway into the Pens’ slumping season, and youthful hockey sensation, Sidney Crosby, the young team defied the odds, skated through the playoffs, and won the ultimate prize of hockey–Lord Stanley’s Cup.

What’s more, they beat the vaunted Detroit Red Wings, statistically the best team in hockey. The Red Wings have won five titles in 12 seasons.

I think the Pens unlikely championship season offers lessons for those seeking financial freedom.

Here are five financial tips from the new Stanley Cup hoisters:

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