Be like Warren Buffett - Bargain Hunting

Warren Buffett is probably going to buy 20 % stake in Bear Stearns ( BSC). It could be a good moment to follow him and just purchase some stocks of BSC or for more wealthy try to look around and find some bargains in real estate market in the USA.
Good luck to all of you.

Take a look at homes of some billionaires

Today, thanks to Forbes and Yahoo we can compare our homes to these tiny huts owned by billionaires. Yes, their places look very modest. I`m sorry I have to leave you and call my butler George to order my servants lay the table for my fifty guests who are coming to my dinner tonight.

Silver coins - 2 more in my pocket.

Today I bought 2 more silver coins. They show a Haczow wooden church built more than 500 years ago. It`s on the UNESCO World Heritage list. I like the coins and I hope they will give me some profit, too. In Poland silver coins are a big hit and in the last months the prices have been going up madly. I hope you have some :)

The day I lost my faith in Lotto

I lost my faith in Santa Claus, then George Bush and now this :(

How to make money work for us ?

“The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest”

Albert Einstein

90 % people go to work because they have to work for money. Have you ever thought how to reverse it and make money work for you ?

First of all, you just have to start it from now on. Next week is a good time to begin.
How to do it ?
Use compound interest on your side. The first thing is to start repaying your credit cards immediately. This is a burden that doesn`t allow millions of people to live as they deserve it . You work for your bank. Just stop it and repay it as much as you can NOW.
The second idea is to build your own assets. Pay yourself first ! Then your bank, your landlord and so on. It doesn`t mean to burn money at all. You have to invest it.
$50 a week is enough. The point is to put it aside every week regularly, no matter what happens.
Try mutual funds. My idea is to buy index funds. They are cheap and better than most of the traditional funds.
If we assume that they make 10.6 % in an average year ( it was the real rate of return in the past 80 years) putting $50 in the index funds every week would make it $294 000 after 25 years.
Just $50 ...
So just do it next week !
Cheers !

The Richest Americans - 400 List

You can check your current position here.
Unfortunately, guys from Forbes didn`t include my name this time.

Anyway, Mexican Carlos Slim has more assets than any American citizen. Isn`t it ironic ?

Triple witching day is today

"Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches
First Witch
When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

Second Witch
When the hurlyburly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.

Third Witch
That will be ere the set of sun."

Who remembers three witches in "Macbeth" by Shakespeare ? Yes, they are involved in stock market today.
It happens on every third Friday of March, June, September and December. We call it triple witching day because stock options and futures contracts expire then. Therefore, the markets might be very volatile and most investors would rather stay away from trading. Computers are playing today.

Kiyosaki advises

Some people admire Kiyosaki, others mock him but everybody should read him from time to time in order to refresh ones views on investing. He writes regularly at Yahoo.
This week I haven`t found anything much inspiring but I will try to remember that in hard times cash is the king and it becomes magical at bargain hunting. Now probably real estate sector offers great opportunities in the States. Just look around.
I also share his view that too much intervention by the Fed is no good.

Natasza is watching.

My pug Natasza is really interested in everything I do, provided she has a minimum of comfort.

Northern Rock are going to pay a divdidend

They are going to pay their shareholders a dividend of £60 million, around 14 p a share.
This looks really ridiculous because Northern Rock received funds from Bank of England to keep them solvent. You can read more in the Times.

VOIP test and rates

I think before making a lot of money investing it`s always easier to find ways to economize our modest income. I really enjoy VOIP technology. I`ve been using a normal phone with a special connection to my computer.
Many people are only interested in how much they pay. I tried guys from Germany and they seem to have good rates. You can test the quality and speed of your connection at different sites like this.

The best investing blogs by Forbes.com

I`ve just read their reviews and visited some of those blogs.
I must admit they are great and I have no slightest chance to compete with them.
They have big minds and a great content.
The only way out seems to find some niche for myself. Trying to be in the mainstream of investment blogs doesn`t make any sense.

More Polish Silver Coins

I`ve just taken a few pictures of my silver coins :




Even if I don`t make a profit, I still will enjoy them.

Can I make any profit writing a blog ?

Well, many people probably wonder. In my opinion, if I have something interesting to say, there will be some readers who will click on ads or comment on the stuff here.
The best idea should not be expecting to make big bucks but just writing and working on the content. Should I offer any extra value for a reader, I will be rewarded.
It would be nice to have some fun at the same time.

Fed cuts key interest rate from 5.25 % to 4.75 %

It`s a very aggresive step. Many economists had expected only 0.25 % cut. Dow Jones and other indices are soaring now. I will wait till Monday. Stay calm.

Silver coins - great opportunity to make money

Polish silver coins` market is thriving. Last week I bought three of Haczów Wooden Church.
In reality this coin looks really great:


My photo is a bit imperfect, though.

I`m going to buy two more this or next week. I can buy them at a bargain price of 95 PLN
( ~ $35) a piece.

Here`s an example of a silver coin Szlak Bursztynowy ( Amber Road) which became an incredible investment. In 2001 it cost 57 PLN ( ~$21) . Now the price has reached and exceeded 3,000 PLN ( $ 1100).

Of course, I don`t expect to make $ 5,000 from these five coins.
$ 1,000 in five years would be fantastic.

If I don`t make a lot of money, I will not weep. I`ll have some nice coins at least.

Basics: Get rid of Credit Card debt

I must admit that I was so stupid that I still have a pending debt in my Credit Card account. It`s 19 % per year. Too much.
I have to get rid of it soon.
As a first step I decided to borrow some money from my revolving credit to pay most of my CC debt. My revolving credit equals 12 % so why I am so stupid to keep 19 % debt instead ? I am able to make 7 % per annum extra without leaving my flat.
Yes, writing really helps.

Working on different blogs or focusing and developing only one ?

I am quite new to this activity and have to check whether I should concentrate my efforts on one blog or work on several ones. I tend to think that I should try both Polish and English blogs and after a few months I will find my way.

My suspicion is that writing about everything in one place is not a good idea. Readers probably prefer consistent topics and wouldn`t like to see a recipe one day and some financial news next day.

Investments

I live in Poland and naturally most of my activities are focused on my country. I mean, I try to make money only in Polish markets. I`m sure that should I put my money say in England, I would go broke next month or so. Therefore, I stick to the place I know more or less.
On 1st September I decided to become well-organized and use blogs as a tool of making me more disciplined. Writing in English should also allow me polish my language skills.

At the moment my investments contain Polish stocks, Polish mutual funds and Polish silver coins. I like the idea that commodities will continue their rally and indirectly coins will bring satisfactory rate of return.

Now the total value of my portfolio is rather miserable and equals $ 1100.

At the end of this year I would like to double it at least putting aside some of my income and making some profits.

I will be rich soon !

Hi,

Well, my task isn`t easy. I am neither very young, nor hard-working. Unfortunately, I live in Eastern Europe. The only thing which looks clear to me is to become rich soon.
My resources are very limited. It won`t be easy, but who says that life should be easy ?
So, let`s get started. Focus on different ideas and think, think....