The Online Investing AI Blog

This article on Yahoo Finance talks about how the housing market is continuing to decline. As with most government intervention, the effect of the first time buyer’s credit had a short term benefit and I think it will have a long term negative effect.

Besides that, it enticed the most naive and inexperienced buyers to buy at the worst time possible. The housing market is going down and there is nothing to slow it down. Unemployment is high and the economy is weak. It is quite easy to see that housing prices are not likely to rebound any time soon.

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Money, Success, US Economy business, buyers credit, entrepreneurship, foreclosure, government, housing, markets, unemployment, yahoo

When reading about finances or talking to people, I always hear the same useless advice: “You have to learn to save money.” or “It’s hard because the economy is so bad.”

This kind of talk is really just complaints and useless advice. Everyone already knows that saving money will improve their finances. But they have no idea how to do it.

After reading this great post that Matt found over at My Wife Quit Her Job, I noticed that the reason I like Steve’s blog is because it contains information that is fairly rare. It’s not about saving money, it’s about building a powerful positive cash flow asset. It’s not about lamenting about how hard life is and how hard it is to get a job. It is about how Steve’s profit is going up as unemployment rises and the economy goes down.

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Business Strategy, Internet, Investing, Money, Success, US Economy advice, blogs, business, economy, entrepreneurship, Internet, Money, my wife quit her job, saving, Success, unemployment

After reading this article on Forbes.com, I feel like the writing is on the wall, and I have posted about it before. The government’s massive spending may not have been enough to turn the economy around. It was enough to delay the destruction, but in doing so only makes it worse.

Many people who bought houses in the last year thought that they could get a free $8,000 just by buying a house. Hate to break it to you, but it’s not that simple. The reason the government was giving away the money was in an attempt to prop up the housing market. The only problem is that it was unlikely to work.

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Investing, Money, Success, US Economy houses, housing, markets, Money, real estate, Success, tax credit, unemployment

Graph from Investors.com

For those without jobs and those in positions they can’t stand, the Investor’s Business Daily had some good news… Finally.

According to the Labor Department, the U.S. economy has started to add jobs.

A senior analyst from Barclays, Michelle Meyer, concurs with the assessment.

“Before summer, the recovery should lose its jobless label. By the end of the year, the recovery will feel like a recovery not just to economists but on Main Street too,” she said.

Economists expect the job market will be adding 200,000 jobs a month by year-end.

That’s all great news. But it doesn’t mean anything if we haven’t learned from this.

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Business Strategy, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy career, emergency fund, jobs, mutual fun, personal financial freedom, unemployment, work, workers

PBA World Championship

Last Christmas, Tom Smallwood found himself in a position that millions of Americans are now facing.

After years of loyalty and hard work, he was laid off from the General Motors plant. That was bad enough, but the layoffs timing–right before Christmas–was just salt in the wound. He quickly applied for conventional jobs, but never heard back from the companies.

Tom, his wife, and his young daughter faced an uncertain future.

But Tom had a  secret weapon: bowling.

Tom believed he was a good bowler; he even won a few local tournaments. With his wife’s blessing, he tried out for the Pro Bowler’s tour. And made it!

Then he won a major tournament. Tom pocketed $50,000 during a championship match–making more in a single event than he ever earned in a year working at a conventional job.

So, if you’re laid-off, or worried that you will be laid-off, just remember: you can always bowl. At least in the allegorical sense. Maybe you can’t bowl, but, like Tom, you have talents and knowledge that can generate new careers and new sources of income.

You can even follow Tom’s method:

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Dreams Come True, Money, Online Investing AI, Success, US Economy bowling, dreams, financial freedom, hobbies, job, jobless, part-time, unemployment

Amazing photo by Zara @ Flickr

Despite the prodding of Tim Ferriss and Jonathan Fields, some folks don’t feel comfortable about quitting their day jobs, starting their own businesses, and traveling to Thailand to learn Thai stick fighting techniques.

We even talk about escaping the cubicle life.

That’s cool.

But the one thing that is true in the Wealth Singularity and the thing that drives us to create advanced Automated Trading technology is that lifestyle design is lifestyle design. You don’t have to shed your job. You don’t have to travel to exotic locales. You don’t have to become an Internet marketer.

You approach life on your terms and no one else’s.

If you’re ready to move toward lifestyle design, but aren’t prepared to dive in head-first, here’s a way to test your lifestyle design skills without a lot of risk.

I call it the 10 percent self-employment solution. Here’s how it works:

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Accelerating Technology, Online Investing AI employment, financial, Investing, job, jobless, Money, personal freedom, saving, unemployment, wealth singularity

Frozen Economy by lrargerich @ Flickr

The Fed’s Beige Book business survey, which reported that the economy is improving “modestly” the last few weeks. (You can read a report on the Beige Book at Forbes.)

The survey looks at economic condition in 12 markets. A total of eight of those markets are starting to show signs of increased economic activity.

That’s a little silver lining. The report also indicates that hiring remains weak and may not reach past levels in six to eight years.

That’s right: six to eight YEARS.

“But wait,” I hear you say, “I thought you said there was a silver lining. People losing their jobs and struggling to find work isn’t good news.”

You’re right. It’s not good news. At all. But, bear with me, because there is positive news in this trend.

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Business Strategy, Money, Online Investing AI, Success, US Economy beige book, economy, fed, job, jobs, reserve, unemployment, work

AndYaDontStop @ Flickr

There are more than 6 million people looking for work. The rest are looking at work and seeking signs that their job is safe.

The truth is that no job is safe. Jobs will become less safe because the confidence in the economy has crumbled and business leaders have become business leaners, hanging back and trying to predict the next move instead of driving that move.

That attitude is a  business disaster-in-the-making as the winds of creative destruction begin to turn into a hurricane-force gale, tossing non-performing companies into the dustbin of economic history.

Your job leaders will never tell you that they’re worried about the future and warn you to begin looking at other employment options. But you can tell it’s going to happen.

It’s called organizational panic. In the individual, you can see signs of panic. Sweat. Fingernail chewing. Shaking. Screaming. An organization is different. You have to look for other signs.

Here are some signs that panic has set in at your place of work.

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Business Strategy, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy economy, employment, job, occupation, organizational panic, panic, unemployment, work, workplace

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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Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy bad economy, business, economy, finance, personal finance, recession, strong, unemployment

R. S. @Flickr

The official unemployment rate bounded above 10 percent recently.

But, that’s the official rate. Some economists say that rate is deliberately doctored to make it sound better for politicians who earn their keep by promising us prosperity and endless economic opportunities. These economists say the rate is closer to 17 percent.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re one of the 10 percent, or one of the 17 percent, if you were cut from your job, you’re going through some financial and emotional upheaval. This sense of chaos and loss can lead to depression.

But, like any challenge, it can be the trigger for positive change that can create stunning success. Here are some tips to beat the unemployment blues and make this a situation that leads to real, honest change for the better.

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Dreams Come True, Great Books, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy blues, depression, happy, inspiration, job, job loss, unemployment