Oct 29 2008
Stock bargains, travel bargains, and “investing” in something other than money.
As you’ve seen in this blog before, high yield dividend stocks are on sale now, and worth grabbing if you have any money to spare. They are among the first to bounce back whenever investors begin to buy again. High dividends are quite appealing. However, it’s only surrendipity that they go up even on days when the Dow goes down. Today was just such a day.
British Petroleum Prudhoe Bay Trust (BPT) was one such stock. The fact that it went up yesterday during an upward market was expected. But to go up $6 in one day when the Dow went down was terrific! In fact, it is now rated a “buy” by Argus, and a new article out by Marketwatch touted the terrific buys in the oil sector. Can’t decide which oil stock to buy and don’t care if you get a good dividend? Try XLE, the ETF oil sector SPDR, which is trading only ten dollars above its 52 week low. Grab if we have another day of big losses, because sooner or later this will all shake out and oil will bounce back.
Frontline (FRO) has bounced back from it low six days ago at $25 to its current $30. Euroseas Shipping (ESEA), which has gotten a true drubbing in this recent bearish market run, came roaring back today, up 7%. All of these shipping firms have been covered in a previous blog. But it’s nice to get that dividend to offset losses. Hopefully these stocks will bounce back even more that what anyone would expect.
__________
CNN’s travel reporter confirmed this blog yesterday that travel bargains abound. For a myriad of reasons, travelers are holding on to their money and not spending it on travel right now. Therefore, the reporter advised, you can bargain with hotel managers, and find bargains on cruises that are so cheap that you almost can’t live in one other place for that amount. If your job looks secure, you have an excellent financial cushion and you have put away a supply of goods that you would use in the event of a downturn, then travel is a good idea. It might be a long time again before you see these kinds of bargains.
_______________
Investing in money is easy to some extent because it’s fairly predictable. Investing in other things that are less tangible are more tricky. Investing in education, for example. Generally you can take classes , get a degree and expect employers to reward you with more pay. Now companies may be doing anything to pare back costs. Expect payments for classes to be on the cutting table in the future, if not already. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take classes to improve your career moves. In case of a layoff, guess who will get hired first: the person who is currently up on the most recent changes in their field or the one who has been going home to supper every night?
Another way people “invest” is in their children. Parents think that their children will take care of them in old age, but let’s face it. Some children fly the coup and never even call home! Others get bogged down in their own struggles in life. Have a back up plan such as long term care to help out with costs of living in case of illness.
Finally, offbeat “investments” such as invention, books, music royalties, and other creative endeavors can often bring in wealth. Don’t be afraid to branch out beyond the paycheck. To bring home the point, Elvis made 52 million dollars this last year, and he’s been dead for three decades! That’s something worth knowing when it comes to pursuing the creative side of life!
Welcome!