Seize The Day With Your Investments: Mint’s Personal Finance Roundup

photo: AMagill 

In this anxiety-inducing economy, many working class citizens seem to have lost their zest for investing. Things are much different today than when the stock market was on a constant uptrend with stock prices soaring higher each day.

These days, people are preoccupied with other matters: high on the list is simply making ends meet, making more money in a practical, conservative way, and stretching what income they already have.

But there’s a silver lining to living in a time of financial insecurity: you can actually buy more shares of stock at attractive prices. Remember the investor’s mantra: “buy low, sell high.” Stock shares that we accumulate during this period can be worth much more once the market recovers.

For those thinking about investing, here’s what some popular financial bloggers have to say:

The Oblivous Investor shares with us some intriguing investment ideas when he talks about investing outside of your comfort zone. Are You A Long Tail Investor? states that long-tail investing refers to “looking outside the norm regarding potential investments.” And indeed, some of the suggestions are pretty novel. Look into some of these ideas and get ready to find new ways to grow your money.

For more on investments that are out of the ordinary, check out Seeking Alpha’s article entitled Five Offbeat Ways to Generate 10% Yields. You don’t need to settle for low interest returns from CDs and savings accounts if you’re comfortable with pushing the envelope a little bit. Some esoteric investment ideas may yield higher returns — but buyer beware: some of those investments are much riskier than they sound.

Panic ran high when the stock market reached a low in 2008. Two years have passed and people are still wondering if the economy will ever regain its footing. If you are one of those investors who is currently unsure about how to deal with your nest egg, then this article, The Investment Risk-Return Correlation by Millionaire Mommy Next Door can help you evaluate your investments.

If you need more strategies to help you deal with the current market and adjust when the tide turns, The Digerati Life shows us some insights in her article on Stock Market Strategies: Trading In A Bull vs Bear Market. These are approaches you can use if you have some experience with picking stocks.

My Journey To Millions gives us some clarity on What to Consider When Choosing Dividend Paying Stocks. High dividend stocks are a good way to hedge against stock price fluctuations. The article offers some effective approaches on how to build your dividend stock portfolio.

Gold has always been a traditional symbol of success and wealth, but it’s one asset class that has had some pretty good returns lately. Given its contrarian qualities as a hedge to equities, it’s no surprise that it has performed quite well as an investment. However, before you think about investing in gold, give it a closer look and consider the points made by 1st Million at 33 in the article The “Fair Price” For Gold. Read about one investor’s analysis of how gold has been performing as an investment, and see how it figures in your portfolio at this time.

As you select investments that are geared for growth, stop and consider the trends. Check out what Personal Dividends has to say about Taking a Contrarian Approach to Today’s Stock Market.

If you’re looking for ways to make your money grow, you may want to pick up some of these ideas and seize the day!

Silicon Valley Blogger (SVB) runs The Digerati Life and The Smarter Wallet, where she writes about  general personal finance topics such as investing, budgeting, debt management and small business ideas.