| Money Fest

Don’t Be Afraid to Haggle

"If you aren’t in a rush to buy something, try offering a really low offer just to see what happens."

Until the past few years, I thought I just had to accept the asking price of an item, whether it be at a store like Sears or a private party sale. I wince at the thought of how much I surely overpaid all these years. While haggling at a big box store is not overly common, it is still an acceptable practice and can save you quite a bit of money. Read more about Don’t Be Afraid to Haggle

The economics behind Super Bowl commercials

It was Super Bowl XLVI last Sunday and probably one of the best Super Bowls that I had the privilege of watching. As for the ads that are always important, we had Clint Eastwood’s halftime commercial that I liked, Deion Sanders making an appearance in his du-rag with Troy Aikman for a Bridgestone ad and of course Danica Patrick for Go Daddy.

I was actually taking a marketing class back in college when I read that a 30-second ad costs a whopping $3.5 million. How this is even feasible from an economics standpoint was what was foremost in my mind. The sellers of the ads like this year’s home of the Super Bowl television network NBC seem to think that $3.5 million is a bargain from the research they have done looking at company stock prices, sales, etc after the Super Bowl.

I mentioned GoDaddy which I always liked and it is also a remarkable Super Bowl commercial success story. It actually had only 900 servers and then when it aired its first Super Bowl ad it had to expand and now has over 36,000 servers and facilities across the globe. Looking again at the GoDaddy example, the market share before the ad run was 16 percent and a week after the Super Bowl it was 25 percent. Read more about The economics behind Super Bowl commercials

Make These Phone Calls to Save Money

Don't be embarrassed to make these calls.

Saving money takes a lot of dedication, commitment, and restraint. But it also takes some action on your part. Just an hour of your time can lead to your saving hundreds of dollars a month.

In today's economy, monthly bills have been increasing. Everything from the price of food to the price of gas has been on the rise. With rising expenses, many families are deciding to simply pull the plug from services. Not so fast. You may be able to keep some of your services, along with a reduced rate, simply by making a few phone calls.
Read more about Make These Phone Calls to Save Money

Tax Refund Loan? You'll Pay for That

When you rely on your tax refund, it can be incredibly difficult to wait until it comes in. Tax preparation companies count on this, and offer a high fee tax refund loan, often called a refund anticipation loan, that will get your money to you quicker, but at a steep cost. Read more about Tax Refund Loan? You'll Pay for That

Learn from the Best: Clark Howard

Clark Howard is a money expert with a lot of great advice.

There are numerous ways for you to find ways to save money and spend less, but one of these ways is by listening to a man named Clark Howard. Read more about Learn from the Best: Clark Howard

Do Nothing with Your Tax Refund

If you are due for a tax refund this year, you have probably spent at least part of it in your head while you wait for it to arrive. Splurging with a tax refund seems to be a pretty typical way to celebrate this time of year. While it can be great fun to go buy a special treat with that extra money, a better option might be to do nothing at all. Read more about Do Nothing with Your Tax Refund

Financial Ratios that are mentioned regularly in Securities Research

"In this brief discussion of financial ratios, let me start with the Return on equity (ROE) which is a profitability ratio."

Financial ratios are of utmost importance in stock analysis and are used by analysts to relate the strengths and weaknesses in different firms.

In this brief discussion of financial ratios, let me start with the Return on equity (ROE) which is a profitability ratio. ROEs that are in the 15-20 percent range are pretty good.[1] They basically measure how good a firm is at generating an adequate rate of return. A company is doing great if it is reinvesting in its business at a high ROE rate.

When it comes to stock prices, a ratio that investors should become familiar with is earnings per share (EPS). This falls in the category of a market ratio and is defined as the earnings per outstanding share of a firm’s stock. There are actually three different ways to calculate earnings per share and they involve net income divided by average common shares for net income EPS and income from continuing operations divided by the weighted average common shares for the continuing operations EPS in addition to the usual profit divided by weighted average common shares calculation. Read more about Financial Ratios that are mentioned regularly in Securities Research

Saving Money by Switching Insurance Companies?

I have been paying almost $100 a month for insurance on my Chevy Trailblazer. I have full coverage and the vehicle is a 2003 model. I am 36 years old and have a perfect driving record. I started thinking that I was tired of paying this much so I started looking at options. Read more about Saving Money by Switching Insurance Companies?

Treat Your Savings Account Like a Bill

One of the biggest mistakes when it comes to contributing to a savings account is treating the contribution as optional. This makes skipping a deposit so much easier, especially when there are other needs or wants clamoring for that money. If you begin to treat your savings contribution like another monthly bill, it will become easier to make sure you really get it into the bank. Read more about Treat Your Savings Account Like a Bill

The trouble with Financial Ratios

I have talked about a variety of things in this blog as it relates to investment and how to earn and save money. In the next post, I really want to go into detail about financial ratios that are used to a great extent in financial statement analysis.

I think these financial ratios are a bit overrated from my point of view. I do agree that they give some insights into the past performance and future performance of a firm, but they don’t really give the broader picture is my one knock on them.

For instance, when analyzing the comparative performance of a business, it is hard to gather information when it needs a reference point from different time periods. The other criticism is that different accounting methods will result in wildly different ratio values. There is just something that seems to be more attractive about fundamental analysis and even technical analysis than by just simply looking at financial ratios to make important decisions about business valuation and other investment choices. Read more about The trouble with Financial Ratios

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