Invest in Lean Hogs or Tesla?

We have reached the end of the first quarter of 2016 – oh my! Did you stick to your guns in this year of action and invest in the stock market when it was down in mid-February? If you did, you probably enjoyed a double-digit return over the last month and a half. Share your badass story in the comments section below so others will be encouraged. If you didn’t invest, ask yourself why you stayed on the sidelines. It’s OK because there are many reasons – fear, too many choices, or you just forgot – that prevent many people from jumping in. Or, maybe you just didn’t have the cash – very plausible and I’ve been there. Remember that you have to be intentional when it comes to investing and I’m here to help.

To keep it going or start, it’s important to know what you want to invest in (or not).

How About Those Lean Hogs & Teslas?

In case you didn’t see it, Lean Hogs futures were up over 35% during this quarter. This was the best performing group in the entire market, more than gold, utilities, or telecom stocks. I know ….what!?!

Lean Hogs futures are contract agreements to buy or sell a set amount of hog (AKA PORK) at a predetermined price in the future. The majority of pork meat consumed in the U.S. is first traded through these futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.  I covered exchanges in my video series on the market.

Given that lean hogs were up so much, I have no desire to invest here because I think prices are overvalued. Do you agree or not? Leave a comment below.

On the other hand, we learned that Tesla Motors’ new Model 3 electric car racked up over 276,000 reservations since the company announced it would take $1,000 per reservation starting on March 31. My goodness.

In anticipation of the release, the stock went from $141 on February 8^th to $237 last Friday, or almost a 68% return. Now, if you think Tesla will manufacture way more than expected, then Tesla’s stock may not be overvalued.

If you like Tesla cars, would you rather buy a Tesla or buy Tesla stock? Scroll down and leave a comment sharing your thoughts. Let’s just say that in my house, my husband asks me every day to look at the pretty picture of the Tesla – he wants to buy.

Your Action

If you want to learn how to evaluate investment opportunities like Lean Hog futures or Tesla Cars but don’t know how, drop me an email by clicking the "Contact Me" button below. I’d love to hear from you.  I think investing is super fun when one has a theme in mind to act on with the goal of making money.

Does Your Family Talk Moola?

If you celebrate, I hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday! I sure did. There is nothing more satisfying to me than spending time with family and friends. My family and I actually talked a lot about investing over the last few days. I am SO proud of my family for being open about their money. Unfortunately, family discussions around money tend to turn ugly, but rest assured that it doesn’t always have to be this way.

If you have kids, there are so many great ways to introduce financial concepts. I told my little 6-year-old cousin that he could only have the $20 cash gift if he saved $5 of it to do something with 6 months from now. He took that trade! Would you take that trade? Leave comment below letting me know what you’d do.

So, I wanted to share 3 tid bits I gathered around this year’s festivities:

1. Getting into an investment club is a powerful way to hold yourself accountable for investing consistently to other people who value investing.
2. Look into the injured spouse tax clause if you are in a situation where you owe child support and do not want it to suffer the financial consequences of filing jointly as a married couple. 
3. If you’re planning a wedding out of town, give your bridal party more than six months to prepare for the financial commitment of participating in the wedding.

If you have any other tidbits to add from this holiday weekend, please leave a comment below and share the goodies. Don’t keep them to yourself.

If You Missed It

This Thursday, March 31^st, I will be speaking on the topic of leadership in front of the Willow Creek Business Summit in Chicago. If you’re in town, I’d love for you to join me. This is the rescheduled event from the original speaking engagement I had in February, which was cancelled due to weather.

I hope you enjoy the rest of March – we’re flying by in 2016.

Let Madness Be Your Guide

Madness will drive you to new heights. Even if you are not immersed in this year’s NCAA basketball tournament, women’s or men’s, or March Madness, you cannot escape your friends like me who keep bringing it up.  Every NCAA basketball participant wants to win sooooo badly that they will go quite mad until they get the ultimate prize: winning.

When it comes to investing and your money, sometimes madness, or “the quality or state of being mad,” is just the kind of motivation you need to spur you into action. My mad state came yesterday when $553.69 was debited from my checking account for my Sprint bill. We have a family plan, and with all the taxes, hot spot, data, we typically pay close to $180 for 2 lines.

I HATE when I get an unexpected surprise for a bill that should be fairly consistent from month-to-month. Don’t you? And, I was hot because that’s almost $350 that could go into my savings.

Well, I called Sprint this morning and gave them an ear full. I went over my minutes, which has never happened to me. But, Sprint failed to notify me that I was close to the limit NOR did they proactively offer me a better plan (which they are currently offering to new customers) that would have prevented this. As soon as I said I was going to switch to T-Mobile, which was offering $65 per line, after 19 years of being with them they suddenly told me about their new plan of $65 per line + taxes. My credible threat worked!

It just goes to show you that you have the upper-hand with your phone carriers. Call them and see what they can do for your plan. And, have some pep in your voice.

Here’s My Madness Advice:

If something is really bothering you, let that be your guide to taking action. In your year of action, it is so important that you have control of your own destination. Some of us are encouraged by fear and others are encouraged by positive outcomes. But, every now and then, it is the madness that is the true driver of change.

This week, examine what aspects of your life are driving you mad. I suspect that there is a financial implication associated with that madness.

Leave a comment below letting me know what it is so we can brainstorm together on how to tackle it. There’s HOPE!

Until then, be well.

You Got Entrepreneur Swag!

I hope you enjoyed the weekend. If you trekked down to the festivities at South By Southwest also known as SXSW, I hope you enjoyed it. If you don’t know what SXSW is, no sweat - it is an annual set of film, interactive media, music festivals and emerging technology conferences that takes place in mid-March in Austin, TX.

What I want for you is to get inspired by the goal of SXSW, which is to be the “premier destination for discovery.” This year, I read about a robot trash can – oh my!   

When I think of discovery, I think of entrepreneurship. I believe that you have a little bit of entrepreneurial swag. It’s that entrepreneurial swag that helps us stay focused on reaching the new investing goals that we’ve set for ourselves in this year of action.

Investing in your own business might be one of your goals for this year. You may have highlighted this in response to my question last week - What is something you claim you want to do involving investing this year but you haven’t been able to do it yet? If you missed the opportunity to respond, just reply to me as it’s not too late.

Well, guess what? It takes some amount of money (and dumb luck or what I call “favor”) to get it off the ground to be successful. If you are toying with the idea of investing in your own business, here’s one of my biggest pieces of advice:

Figure Out How Much Money You Need to Get-off the Ground

One of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs is to build that first product or service offering. One key question should be - HOW MUCH MONEY you need to get to that first milestone? Think about what that first milestone will accomplish for you. Do you have the money sitting in a savings account now, and if not, how many months will it take you to get to the required amount of money you need to hit the milestone?   

Leave a comment and share your approach of how you reached your financial goal. Did you abandon investing in the stock market, or pull money out of the market?

If you need help in coming up with this figure, just leave a comment on the blog and I’ll be sure to respond. You won’t be alone, so be brave and comment so that others can benefit too.

Onward,

Charisse

P.S. – Don’t keep this goodie to yourself. If investing in your own business is not on your list for this year, I know you know someone who does have it on their list. Share this blog with at least 1 friend. 

The Best Date Ever

I hope today has put a smile on your face - I know I can’t stop. Why? Because by the time you read this, I will be out on the town celebrating my birthday, which explains why it’s the BEST DATE EVER! In my family, birthdays are a big deal and I’m grateful for my XY year of life. Nope, I am not telling you my age…lol!

And, the best bday message you can give me is your response to this question:

What is something you claim you want to do involving investing this year but you haven’t been able to do it yet?

You see, I’m thinking about building out an online program on investing.

Before I do, however, I need your input so I can build something you actually value.

Just leave a comment to this message below. I am eager to see your response – and it better not be a “happy birthday” without being accompanied by an answer to this question.

The Birthday Gal,

Charisse

P.S. – Please share this post with 3 friends who you know face challenges when it comes to investing and want some help.

I Hate Taxes!

Happy leap year! I started gathering all of my husband’s and my tax data this weekend to file our returns for 2015. I was reminded of how much I hate the process of getting all the W2s, 1099s, giving statements, and other forms together.  It wasn’t always like this - when I was younger, I looked forward to a refund, so the process was smooth and fast - not the case lately! You know how it goes – the more combined income, investments, and/or savings you have, the more taxes you pay. But, you are also motivated to work more closely with a tax advisor to lower the tax amount (Thanks Frank – our advisor). I don’t mind paying my fair share, but boy, it’s hard to drum up excitement when Uncle Sam takes a big hunk L

Strategies to Get Those Taxes Done

It’s the year of action, however, so I’m taking it a little bit at a time so I don’t get overwhelmed. If you’re already done, comment below and share some tips you used to keep you going during tax season. Better yet, share this blog with a friend who is not done yet.

I read a couple of timely articles and did a few things differently to take away some of the mental anguish. I’m sharing the love:

1. Productivity Wins – We’ve used Dropbox to store our tax files and we share the links/folder so easily with our tax advisor.

2. Online Resources for You Business Owners – I’ve used Efile4Biz the last few years to send out my 1099s and it’s super-easy.

3. Great reads:

   1. 7 Mistakes You Will Never Make Again – Yes, some of these will surprise even the tax whizzes. My favorite? Staying Current on Obamacare.

   2. Avoiding the Estimated Taxes Death Spiral – For you business owners to keep up with payments, don’t miss this read.

End of Black History Month

It’s the last day of Black History month, so I’ll leave you with this quote from one of my favorite businesswomen – Madame C.J. Walker – to help get you in gear.

“I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”

Get Yours. I Will Be Getting Mine!

What are you saving it for?

I felt really fortunate this weekend because I got the chance to spend lots of QT with my goddaughter. She’s cute, cuddly, and always coaxing me to play a game or turn myself into some animal that she can ride. It’s hard to believe that she’s already 2-years-old. Whether you have your own children, godchildren, nieces, nephews, and/or other kids that play a significant part in your life, I know you shell out money left and right for them. Kids are expensive! For most of us, they are a worthy investment (unless you got some bad ones – just joking).

But, are you making the smartest choice when you put away savings for a child? Well, I recently read a study, “Saving For A Purpose: The Financial Consequences of Protecting Savings.” I’ll spare you the academic jargon and simply highlight 3 findings for people with kids in their lives:

1. People are less likely to raid savings funds set aside for children;
2. In making savings sacred through earmarking (e.g. for a child’s education), people are willing to incur high credit card debt instead of using their savings; and,
3. People are motivated to do so because drawing down the savings would make them feel financially irresponsible.

Interesting, right? It’s good to know research like this because we then become aware of our own biases and behaviors. Leave a comment below sharing what mechanism you’re using to save for your kid’s (or other children’s) future.

The Promised Tip: Last week, I promised to share a tip on hitting your investment goal for 2016: Set up an automated direct deposit (or transfer) to the account that you want to build the investment dollars. Then divide your number by the frequency of the transfer, and then begin putting money into the account.

There’s Still Time I will be speaking at a Business Leadership Summit dinner this Wednesday, February 24^th at 6pm, hosted by Willow Creek Church in Chicago. You are welcome. You can sign-up here.

Best,

Charisse

How Much Money for Love?

Valentine’s weekend came and went but the love stays. I hope you told someone you love, romantic, platonic, or familial, that you love them. If not, stop reading this email, go do it, and come back. Go on! That person may not be here tomorrow. Each of us deserves to know that we are loved.

And, it’s because of our love for others that many of us go to work, although I hope you were off today, want to build wealth, and make sure we stay healthy. There’s no shame in this – as my grandmother told me yesterday, “I work because I like a nice lifestyle.” She’s the ultimate Badass.

But, how much money is enough to support a lifestyle today or ensure that your beloved future generations will be adequately provided for? If you’ve pondered this question,  you’re not alone. So…

Determine How Much You Will Invest This Year.

So, talk is cheap unless you take action. Write down how much you’re allocating for investing, which is separate from savings. This could be $1,000 or $10,000. Next week, I’ll share a great tip on hitting the goal. For now, write it down, ponder it, and envision it over the week.

Remember, your investing dollars reflects funds you hope will earn a return and you are building for the future. The markets are giving you a gift – low prices and a buying opportunity. If you’re in between jobs or have a loss of income, hit pause on this action because you’re in survival mode to find more income. Go get it!

The Bonus

If you’ve got a few hours to spare watch Where to Invade Next, directed and produced by Michael Moore. Check out the trailer here. I loved it! The movie will make you rethink your money priorities and expose how other countries have rebounded post the 2008 recession. 

You Can Come

And, finally, I want to personally invite all the Chicagoans to a Business Leadership Summit dinner on Wednesday, February 24th at 6pm, hosted by Willow Creek Church. I have been invited as the keynote speaker to share life and leadership lessons. You can sign-up here.

Are You Like a Bronco or Panther?

Are you like a Bronco or Panther? The football fan in me could not resist today’s question. By now, you know that the Denver Broncos crushed the Carolina Panthers in Sunday night’s Superbowl. I’m a big Peyton Manning fan, so go Broncos! In my opinion, the Broncos played harder, were more physical, and outplayed a Carolina team that was expected to dominate them on the field. And, oh yes, Denver played better defense and Cam was a no-show! When it comes to managing your money well, however, you should ask yourself if you have characteristics like a bronco or panther. Panthers are often described as incredibly intelligent and agile animals, but very quiet and cautious. On the other hand, broncos are aggressive, exert their brute strength when they need to, and often described as having a high level of endurance.

So, which of these characteristics would you use to describe yourself? Be honest.

Once you got this in your head, think about the way in which you handle your money. Are you overly aggressive when it comes to investing your money, or do you tend to be cautious? Do you like to have a lot of information before you make a decision, or do you just make a decision without gathering any intelligence?

The point is – your attitude and approach matter to how you handle your money. You need to be self-aware of so you can act appropriately for the right situation. In other cases, you might need someone else out to balance you out. Here’s my action-tip for this week…

Find Someone in Your Circle With the Opposite Disposition

Identify someone in your social circle who has a very different approach to money than you. Ask them 3 money tips they’ve used in the past year and share yours with them.

If you hang around with only people who handle their money with a panther approach, you might be too cautious. If you hang around with people who handle their money with a bronco approach, you might be too aggressive. We are influenced by our social circle and friends.

The trick is – to learn from others who have a different money perspective from you and keep the knowledge increasing!

Do you know someone who can use some encouragement on their finances today? Send them this email blog post or leave a comment to share whether or steer more toward a Bronco or Panther.

Sometimes You Miss It

So, it’s February and we have already completed one month of 2016. My goodness, why is time moving so quickly? Now, I’m sure you’re wondering what I missed this week, right?  The truth is that I missed buying an exchange traded fund, or ETF, at a cheap price. Don’t roll your eyes at this first world problem because when it comes to your money, acting swiftly on investment decisions will help you build wealth over time. And, you can empathize with missing sale, albeit an airline flight or a winter coat.  In my case, I had been eyeing the price of an energy ETF (Ticker: XLE) all last week so that I could buy it on the cheap. I think energy stocks will be a solid bet over the long-term. Things got so busy at work and while the ETF got down to $54.35, I did not buy it. The very next day, the ETF’s price was up big and I felt like I missed the boat.

Feeling like you’ve missed the boat on your investment decisions is completely NATURAL and expected, whether you’re buying an ETF, planning a date with a financial advisor, or rebalancing your 401k retirement plan. Here’s my tip…

Set Up an Appointment With Yourself

One of the best ways to increase your chances of executing on one of your investment “to dos” is to set up a calendar alert for yourself for successive days. I did this in the days following my own mishap, and….I bought my ETF. I did not buy it exactly at the cheapest price over the last week because it is hard to time the market, but I did get it near its 52-week low.

The key thing is to not get caught in the self-pity glut, but instead prepare to execute the next time an opportunity presents itself.  Even the best money managers miss the boat on any given day. And, one of the reasons why they’re “the best” is because they get over their mistakes very, very quickly.

Share the Good News

Do you know someone who’s missed the train on an investment decision? Please send them this blog or leave a comment below on what you are doing to not miss the train.