MoneyPros Index Fund Challenge Leader
So, back in December I was invited to take part in the MoneyPros Index Fund Challenge hosted by the fun folks over at MoneyPros. The game was simple. Just choose 3 stocks that you think are going to do the best in 2012. I am by no means a stock expert, but I do trade stocks and options occasionally so I jumped right in. I chose:
- INCY – Incyte Corporation (Incyte) is a drug discovery and development company, focused on developing small molecule drugs to treat serious unmet medical needs. The Company’s pipeline is focused in the areas of oncology and inflammation and includes compounds in various stages of development, ranging from preclinical to late-stage development. Its two advanced programs include janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors.
- YMI - YM BioSciences Inc. (YM) is a drug development company advancing a diverse portfolio of hematology and cancer-related products. The Company is advancing three clinical-stage products: CYT387, an oral small molecule oral dual inhibitor of the JAK1/JAK2 kinase; nimotuzumab, an EGFR-targeting monoclonal antibody, and CYT997, a potent oral vascular disrupting agent (VDA).
- YGE - Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited is a vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV), product manufacturer. The Company designs, manufactures and sells PV modules, and designs, assembles, sells and installs PV systems. Its products and services include the manufacture of polysilicon ingots and wafers, PV cells, PV modules and integrated PV systems.
I actually own the first 2 in my own portfolio. I don't own the third, and of course it's been the best performer so far. The contest only just started, but guess who was sitting atop the leader board at the first update? That's right, it was me. This prompted me to send the following note to the other participants:
Everyone,
I'm calling it now. My lead is insurmountable. There is absolutely no way I can lose at this point. Sure, it's less than 3 weeks into the new year, and I picked ridiculously speculative stocks that could tank at a moment's notice, but really there's no way I can lose….
Just wanted to say I'm happy to be here. I thought I would get all my trashtalking in now before one of my three blows up!
I certainly am glad I got my trashtalking in early because as of this post I've already been overtaken by SweatingTheBigStuff. My only solace comes from knowing he had to sell out and choose Bank of America (BAC) to get to this position! I would hope for a big mortgage scandal for them, but I can't since I own BAC in my real portfolio too. Argh.
Look for more posts on the MoneyPros Index Fund Challenge in the coming months (as long as I'm near the top of the leaderboard!).
5 Good Reasons to Autopay
I read a lot about personal finance. Much of this is at the message boards over at Bogleheads or SavingAdvice. One debate I'm tired of seeing is the one about AutoPay so I'm here to take a stand. You should AutoPay in full anything that allows it.
There, I said it. I feel better. But, this is the internet so of course I now must defend my position. Why should you AutoPay?
- You're never late with a payment. If the payment is set to automatically come out of your checking account, guess what? It does. This means you guarantee yourself no finance charges or late fees. I can almost guarantee you that I'll get a comment from someone with some very specific situation where they were autopaying but for some reason it didn't work and they got hit for a fee or interest because of it. What you're not going to see is a comment from the hundreds of thousands of other people who have been paying this way for years with no problem. Although I would welcome that!
- You open up space in your brain. You don't have to remember that your mortgage is due by the 3rd of the month so you need to initiate the online transfer or that the gas card is due on the 17th, but the 17th is a Sunday so you need to get it there by the 15th and you live in NY but the processing center is in Omaha so you need to mail it on the 11th just to be sure it gets there. And, do I have stamps? Yeah, that's a waste of my brain.
- You save money on stamps and checks (assuming you're one of those truly old school people that mails your payment). Do those people still exist? Should I admit this reminds of Ke$ha? Probably not.
- It serves a governor on spending. Hear me out here. If you're one of those people that doesn't have a lot of float in your checking account, you're going to pay more attention to your spending habits if you know that your bill is set to autopay every month. Sure, you could turn it off, but that's another hassle. So, you'll be more mindful, and that's good.
- No special calendar or spreadsheets. How many times do I hear from people who don't autopay say "I have a special calendar that has all my bills listed on it" of "I designed an Excel spreadsheet for that"? The following is an actual quote from what I believe is a real person:
"I have a system that I created. I got a pocket folder and on Word created a chart of all my bills going down and the months of the year going across. I put that on the front and then laminated the whole thing. So as I pay them, I can check them off down the list and I can easily see that the whole column for April has been paid. I used to write the amount in, instead of a check mark. Also, i took a file folder and cut it in half. I stick them inside the pocket folder (so it is like 2 file folders inside, with the tabs sticking out the top). On the tabs I have "Pay on the 1st" and "Pay on the 15th." When I receive a bill in the mail, I tear off the payment stub and stick it in the appropriate file so when I sit down to pay bills, I just grab that file and write the check."
If this is really how you want to spend your free time, then go ahead. I'll be playing LEGOs with my kid.
Next let's debunk some of the reasons people give for not Autopaying:
- I like to review my bills. Yeah, and…. This has nothing to do with autopaying. You can review your account online anytime you want. Even if you get a paper bill, you have plenty of time to review all of the charges prior to payment going through. That's not an excuse not to autopay, that's just laziness.
- I don't trust them to pull the money out. Um, yeah. Look I don't trust the banks or cable companies or phone companies or fitness clubs to do much of anything right, but believe me when you're willing to autopay, they extract that money every time just like they say they will. And, when they don't, they fix it. Twice I've had a Bank of America payment fall on a Sunday, and they pulled the money on the following Monday which of course results in a finance charge. I can see it all online. And, sure enough a couple of days later they reverse themselves. Again I would rather have these rare occurrences happen where I have to pay particular attention for a couple of days rather than worry about payments every month.
- I only autopay fixed amount payments like a mortgage. Inevitably the follow up statement to this is something along the lines of I like to pay more attention to things like credit card bills. *SIGH* There is NOTHING of course that prevents you from already doing this online. Set it to autopay and simply review your charges.
What do I do? I autopay everything I can possibly autopay. That includes 10+ credit cards, my mortgage, my cable, my cell, my landline, and my gym. And, with all my extra time I write posts like this! 
Alright everybody, what do you think? Did I convince you?
Fidelity Retirement Rewards AMEX 5% Categories Q1 2012
I've already reported on the 2012 cash back categories for Discover and Chase Freedom, and I thought I was done. I'm delighted to report I was not. Yesterday I got an email from FIA Card Services who manages the Fidelity Retirement Rewards AMEX. As a reminder, this card already pays you back 2% on every purchase, and now they're offering 5% cash back on the following categories:
- Gas
- Groceries
- Drug Stores
- Restaurants
Those are some great categories, but you always have to read the fine print:
The key piece here is the UP TO $25 part. That means you're limited to $500 in spending which is consistent with when they made a similar offer back in Q2 of 2011. Additionally, the offer is not retroactive for Q1. So, if you've already made what would have been eligible purchases, those don't count. It only counts AFTER you enroll.
Even if you didn't get the offer in your email, it looks like you can work around that by clicking here and choosing "Don't have one" option at the registration area. Then, all you need is your last name, last 4 digits of your card, and your billing zip code.
Quest for a Million – Net Worth – 1/2012
There are 53,058 books on goal setting
Alright enough of my proselytizing, let's take a look at how 2012 is starting out. For the family, DW's practice is picking up the pace and will easily break even this month. It would be nice to see some more cash paying clients though. She continues to pursue additional marketing paths that will hopefully deliver that kind of clientele. For me, it's work as usual. There's nothing really exciting on the job front, but that could always change quickly. For now, I just continue to be grateful for a good job and a great boss. Also, since the transition, they have changed the way I'm paid from bi-weekly with a two week lag to bi-monthly with no lag. This essentially results in me getting an extra two week paycheck in January as they eliminate the lag. Nice. That will mostly go towards funding the 2011 Roth IRA's which still need over $3k.
ASSETS
On the asset side, my home value fell (again), but this is still meaningless to me since I'm not planning to sell in the foreseeable future. The value would have to fall another 20% for me to be underwater. For savings, many bills were paid and I made a Roth contribution so there are fewer liquid assets than I would like. DW is also sitting on lots of accounts receivable from Medicaid who has yet to pay her a cent from Oct.-present. Oh, to be the government and only pay bills when you feel like it.
Investment and retirement accounts are relatively flat which is in line with the markets. This will usually be the case since a large portion of my portfolio is tied to the S&P 500.
LIABILITIES
For liabilities, it's the same ol' story. Credit cards are still getting paid off every month, variable rate student loans are still getting paid down aggressively, and 1.08333 mortgage payments are being made. Liabilities reduced by 1% again this month.
What about you? How's your net worth shaping up this month? How does that look year over year?
Catch up on all my Net Worth posts here.
Maximizing What’s in Your Wallet Q1 2012
Happy new year and welcome to the Q1 2012 edition of Maximizing What's in Your Wallet!
As a reminder, this post is for all the credit card deadbeats out there looking to maximize cashback rewards. So, if you never carry a balance on your credit cards, have them set to auto-pay in full every month, and want to make the most of Q1 2012, then read on.
Here's how you should allocate your spending:
Gas - This is a no-brainer. It's the same card year round. It is the PenFed VISA Platinum Gas / Cash Rewards Card. You'll get 5% back all the time on gas purchases. Just make sure you pay at the pump. I used to use this card for a lot more, but the rewards have been really scaled back such that only the 5% gas reward makes sense. However, as a gas card, it's a great choice.
Groceries - I have been very pleased with my new American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card which pays me 6% back on all grocery purchases. It also pays 3% on gas and 1% on everything else, but I only use it at the grocery store. The downside to the card is the card carries a $75 annual fee, but it's worth it. Alternatively, the Fidelity Retirement Rewards AMEX is offering 5% with its special promotion
Restaurants - Use your Fidelity Retirement Rewards AMEX for 5% cash back with it's special promotion.
Drug Stores - Use your Fidelity Retirement Rewards AMEX for 5% cash back with it's special promotion.
Home Improvement - Neither the Discover® More Card! nor the Chase Freedom is offering this category in 2012. Your best bet is to buy gift cards for your favorite home improvement store using the American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card or use your 2% card.
Department Stores, and Clothing Stores - Use your Discover® More Card! for 10% cash back at Macy's, JC Penny, Land's End, Kohl's, & Gap.
Hotels and Airlines - Use your 2% card or your favorite hotel card (mine's the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card).
Movies - The Discover® More Card! is offering 5% back for all of 2012.
Gifts - For gifts I use the Amazon VISA year round. When you buy through Amazon with the Amazon VISA you get 3% back and the first time you sign up, they give you $40 off your purchase. It's well worth the sign up. I am tempted to use my new American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card to buy Amazon gift cards at a grocery store for the 6% cashback. If I can be more planful about such purchases, I will probably do this.
Museums - The Discover® More Card! is offering 5% back this quarter
Everything Else - I use the Fidelity Retirement Rewards AMEX and Sallie Mae Signature VISA interchangeably. They both offer 2% cashback.
Two final thoughts: Please remember to sign up at Chase and Discover to be eligible for their 5% rewards, and remember this advice is ONLY for people who don't carry a balance…EVER.
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