First, we’d like to apologize to all our readers for the relatively light week, it’s been a crazy 7 days for us. We’d also like to thank those who have already submitted complete applications. Don’t worry for those still thinking about it, there is no preference or penalty based on when you submit an application (more…)
Attention! Attention! I’m pleased to announce our first call for applications to become an InvestorGeek! Starting June 16th at 12:00am (that’s the morning of next Friday) we will be accepting applications for 24 hours to fill 10 new InvestorGeek spots. It’s easy to apply, and we’re looking for anyone who wants to be part of building the Internet’s premiere investing blog!
In my previous article, Misconception: Renting is for Suckers, I wrote that there comes a point when it makes more sense to rent an apartment than buy a home. For myself, I have a rule of thumb that for every $1 dollars I spend in rent a month I can afford to buy up to $125 in property. Right now I pay $1000 in rent, so using my rule I shouldn’t spend more than $125,000 on a home. This created a surprising amount of controversy; some exclaiming me a heretic, and some accusing me of house-hating. For those of you who wanted to know where that number came from, wait no longer — and I’ve put together a calculator for you to figure out how much you should spend on a home.
You’ve heard all the reasons that people want to stop renting. “I don’t want to waste my money.” Heck, you may have even said them yourself. Many of my friends are reaching that point in their lives where they’re considering buying a home. However it’s unfortunate that so many choose to buy over rent, especially in this expensive market, because many well-intentioned people are buying homes that are actually damaging their finances.
Despite the fact that many people disagree with me that the real estate market is going to deflate, there is a rule of thumb that I use that should give you an idea about how much you should spend on a home no matter what the market looks like.
Tools are designed to help their users do their tasks more efficiently and crunching numbers is no exception. I’ve been humming along with Excel and my trusty scientific calculator just fine, but as I’m getting more involved with calculations such as discounting I’ve decided it may be worth the time to pick up a financial (more…)
I was doing some reading, and came across some great articles on Net Operating Income. NOI is an important gauge of a company’s ability to generate profit from its core business. While it’s only one piece of the puzzle when analyzing companies, understanding it can help you compare two firms who may have the same (more…)
Jason and Frank both purchased 100 share positions in Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) after its share price dropped 11% because of lower-than-expected earnings guidance. I wanted to chime in on my assessment of the company, and share why I think now is not the time to buy.
Let’s briefly talk about two indicators, ROC and Equity Growth, that are useful when looking at the strength of a company. Both these tools, used by Warren Buffett, demonstrate how fast a company can grow the money it has to invest in itself.
After the recent release of Phil Town’s book, Rule #1 (review), many people seem to be asking about “the arrows.” What are these mysterious arrows anyway? And can you make money just by using them?
Arrows are simply a visual way to show a chart reader that a key statistic has generated a buy or a sell signal. Buy signals are usually green arrows pointing up and sell signals are usually red arrows pointing down.
One of the things that really drew me into the blogosphere was the community that develops within networks of blogs. You become friends, share ideas, and help spread the word on great posts that are timely and informative. I spent a good deal of time over the weekend sniffing out other blogs in personal finance and investing that would be worth a visit, and so if you have some time, I would encourage you go see what else our fellow bloggers are writing about. You may just find it to be enlightening!
