Posts tagged ebay
Investing in Palladium
Jul 30th
Palladium is a precious metal that is not traded as commonly as gold or silver. However, investing in palladium can present you with some definite advantages as an investor. Here are a few things to consider about investing in palladium.
Palladium
Palladium is a type of precious metal that is commonly used in many different products. The most common use for palladium is in the construction of catalytic converters for automobiles. The metal makes it possible to convert dangerous carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide. Palladium is also commonly used in jewelry products. It is not as common as some of the more well-known metals, but it is still very valuable.
Swings
If you plan on investing in palladium, you are going to need to be able to handle large price swings. Palladium is known for its high level of volatility. When compared to other types of investments, it can be much more volatile. It will be extremely high one day and plummet the next. Therefore, in order to get involved in this market, you need to have a high tolerance for risk.
Coins and Bars
One of the most common ways to invest in this metal is to purchase coins or bars. By doing this, you are going to be able to get pure palladium that you can keep yourself. One of the big advantages of this is that you are going to have full control over what happens to your investment. However, at the same time, you are going to have to protect it. Anytime that you keep a precious metal on hand, you have to be very careful. You might consider putting it in a safety deposit box or in a vault facility. There are a number of different ways that you can purchase palladium coins or bars. The easiest way to do this is to work with a precious metals broker. You can also purchase them online through a variety of different means. For example, you could access one of the many online auction sites like eBay to purchase palladium coins or bars.
Stocks
Another method that you can use to invest in palladium is to purchase stocks. You could potentially invest in mining companies that mine palladium. There are not many options in this area, but there are a few mining companies that you could invest in. By doing this, you are going to be able to speculate on the price of palladium without having to worry about warehousing it. You will also not have to open any type of special account in order to access these stocks. You should be able to work with any standard stock broker in order to make your purchases.
Asset Allocation
Investing in palladium can be a good investment for you. However, you do not want to allocate too much of your portfolio to this one choice. Many experts recommend putting about 5 to 10 percent of your portfolio into precious metals.
eBay: PayPal Enters Japan
Jul 28th
PayPal is entering the Japanese online payments market, a company executive told reports at a press conference in Tokyo, the AP reports. It will be the first time PayPal has moved into a market where parent eBay (EBAY) was not already doing business.
“We’re very, very new, we have a [...]
Keeping Track of Cash Flow – Your Household is Your Business
Jul 27th
You should create a budget to track your spending and get a handle on your finances. You plan out all of your bills, and the amounts look good. The budget is the first step in getting your finances under control. However, the budget is not the only step. There is one vital thing that needs to be handled for your budget to work.
That step is keeping track of cash flow. Having the money available to pay bills and debts that are due is something that needs to be managed and tracked. This is normally a business instrument to keep track of money. On paper, a business can show a profit, but this may be in stocks and customer debts. A bill that needs to be paid will not be settled by giving them stock. They need cash at hand to settle the bill. In a household, you do not have to manage stock. Rather, what is important is to have is cash on hand to pay bills.
The budget keeps track of the long term view of your finances. You know what is owed to each bill, and you know that your pay check is more than what you owe. All of that doesn’t do any good, however, if you do not have a savings or emergency fund, and three bills will be due.
There are two things you can do. First is to keep your focus on the long term. In addition to putting aside money for savings and your emergency fund, you should also work on making sure that bills get paid, instead of putting that money aside for next month. Before you reach the point where you can solely focus on getting ahead, you should make a list and prioritize what is due and what needs to be paid. This is playing it a little fast and loose, but hopefully, you will be able to start putting aside money for bills completely in three months to a half of a year. This path is rife with stress, and you may be playing it tight before getting ahead.
That is where the second option comes into play. Obtain one time payments. This can be done a variety of ways. You could sell items in your possession, on eBay, craigslist or in the local newspaper. A yard sale or garage sale is a great way to de-clutter and raise money. You can also find short term jobs or one time gigs that can give you money to pay to bills immediately. This can then combine with above to get you caught up.
Having a budget is only the first step in managing the household expenses. It is important to also manage cash flow to make sure that you have the money on hand to pay your bills and settle your debts. Doing this, you will be sure to be better off in the end, with less stress and better prepared for when the time comes. Making one-time money to get ahead or paying bills immediately are ways to get where you need.
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Originally posted 2009-04-20 05:01:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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Money Management Questions and Answers How can money management techniques be applied to my life? – The first step is to realize that you could possibly have an overspending problem. This is the number one reason why people get over their head financially. You can easily consult with a money management counselor that will help…… -
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Best Money Tips: 8 Cleaning Tips for Crusty Stove Tops
Jul 26th
Welcome to Wise Bread’s Best Money Tips roundup. Today, we’re giving you all you need to tackle that nasty stove top, some tips for picking a credit counselor, and a chance to reminisce about the joys of Pudding Pops!
Top 5 Articles
8 Cleaning Tips for Crusty Stove Tops — Ewww…We’ll let you get started on your nasty cooking surfaces, after a few tips from this article! Tip Nut
How NOT To Buy Gift Cards on Ebay — Paying $569 for a $500 gift card is ridiculous. Find out how you can profit from the method behind the madness here. Mighty Bargain Hunter
Homemade Dry Laundry Detergent — We’ve seen quite a few posts on making homemade liquid laundry detergent, but if you have small children in the home, the idea of having large containers of liquid setting around may not be appealing. Learn about this method of making a dry version! Eliminate the Muda
Home Loan Documentation Checklist — It’s best to bring everything you need before you meet with a mortgage company for the first time. This quick list tells you what you’ll have to gather, as well as what you will likely be asked to sign. Money Smart Life
Which Discontinued Foods Do You Miss Most? I can distinctly remember how happy Pudding Pops made me as a kid (and I would give anything to try them again). What long-gone treats to you wish would make a comeback? Confections of a Dangerous Mind via The Consumerist
Other Essential Reading
9 Job-Hunting Tips for Facebook Users — There’s more to the social media platform than playing Farmville all day (seriously). Try using it to find a job! Moolanomy
How to Pick a Credit Counselor — If you’ve found yourself in need of a credit counselor, it’s a decision that can’t be made lightly. Picking one is equally important, and these tips can help you make the right choice! Bible Money Matters
What to Expect (from your insurance) When You’re Expecting — There’s plenty of steps you can take before the baby is born to be sure you’re fully covered. Have you done all you can to be sure you have no surprises on your medical bill? Health Harbor
How to Find Unclaimed Money (and unclaimed property) — Things haven’t changed too much since we first covered this topic. Since people often forget about it, you may want to revisit it, however. (And don’t EVER pay to have your property found.) Get Rich Slowly
90’s Stars with Money Problems — The point of this article isn’t to sensationalize the lives of stars — we’ll leave that to someone else. But there is a good lesson to be learned here: more money can mean more problems. Forbes
How Twist Ties Saved Me Thousands of Dollars in Repairs — The mighty twist tie can save you thousands of dollars. Julie tells us how a MacGyver moment taught her the value of self-reliance, and that there is hardly a household problem that twist ties can’t solve. Julie Rains
How not to buy gift cards on eBay
Jul 25th
I don’t remember what prompted me to poke around on eBay to check for gift cards. I do remember that there had been some restrictions placed on gift card sales on eBay because of rising occurrence of fraudulent activity.
However, I did find a new practice that I found a little hard to believe. It was hard to believe because I couldn’t imagine too many people buying a gift card this way. Yet a number of sellers were doing it.
Here’s the idea:
- List a gift card (say, $500 face value)
- Charge more than the face value (one I saw listed a $500 card for $569.00 + $4.00 shipping)
- Explain in the auction how to get cash back by going through rebate sites to bring the price down below retail
So, you start in the hole — $73 in the hole for this particular auction — and then it’s your job to work your way back up to even, or maybe a little bit ahead.
Doing it that way sounds more than a little dumb to me. I’d rather buy the card with the discount up front. Wouldn’t you?
But, I’m glad that there are some sellers that tried to sell gift cards this way, because they were almost required to show how to do it right in the auction. No one would pay $569 for a $500 gift card unless it was fairly clear before they bought the card how that this could be made to be a good deal for them.
Which means the following: We can now get great deals on gift cards by (a) using the information in these overpriced auctions BUT (b) applying them to auctions where people are already selling the card for less than face value. Here’s the right way to go about it:
- Find someone selling gift cards for the store you want. Ignore anyone trying to sell a card for more than face value. You want to be ahead from the start! (Also of course do due diligence like checking feedback ratings, track record, etc.)
- If you haven’t signed up for eBay Bucks, do that. It’s 2% back on qualifying eBay purchases, courtesy of eBay and PayPal.
- This one has a time crunch on it (30 July 2010) but you get 8% back from Bing if the purchase qualifies and it’s a Buy It Now.
- If there’s no time to do the Bing thing, then you can check out other rebate programs to see which one treats you the best. Be sure to click through the links to eBay from the appropriate sites to get the rebates:
- MrRebates.com offers 3% back on most eBay Winning Bid and Buy It Now purchases (up to a rebate of $30 per order) plus a $5 signup bonus
- EBates.com offers 1-3% back on most purchases, with some categories allowing up to $100 back per transaction
- Cashbaq,com offers 2% back on most purchases, with a $25 limit per order
- BigCrumbs.com offers 36% of whatever seller’s fees eBay earns on the transaction (this can be over 5% of the purchase price!) along with certain restrictions
- The icing on the cake is using a rewards credit card to make your purchase through PayPal. Add an extra 1% or 2% right there.
That’s the right way to by gift cards on eBay. Start with a discount with a lower-than-face-value purchase price, and go down from there!
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Ways To Invest In Silver
Jul 24th
We all see the advertisements for gold on television, but silver is now quietly catching on as the popular public investment. The reason is simple, silver is easier for the average person to get started with due to the fact that the cost of silver is much less than gold.
The big reason for this is that silver supplies have fallen back in the last 4 years. This means that as less silver is used, the higher the demand and cost goes up. Unlike gold, silver acts as both a precious and industrial metal, and is therefore useful in a number of ways that makes the demand highly desirable for investors.
A glance at such sites as eBay or a visit to a local flea market or swap meet will show that silver coins can be found at prices sometimes below market value. Low cost “junk” silver such as silverware or damaged silver coins can be found at garage sales or small antique stores. The silver may be tarnished and therefore a seller may not realize just what they have. A knowledgeable buyer should be able to quickly separate the good from the bad deals in silver buying.
Other important ways to invest in silver is through silver-based stocks and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) like silver futures. Be aware, however, that there is a big difference in these two investments. Silver-based stocks are not leveraged, which means that they will move up or down with the stock market. Like regular offerings this stock may pay off over a period of time, but like all over-the-counter exchanges there is no guarantee. Never-the-less, this is the preferred type for the regular investor due to it’s availability. Because of it’s status as a precious/industrial metal many investors consider it a safe-haven investment.
Silver Futures are favored by speculators more then “safe” investors in that it is based on fast jumps in the market. These leveraged futures have a very quick turnaround period and the chance that there may be a more rapid loss. Silver futures are generally traded in one day as an unexpected crisis could turn the price around overnight.
Whether you are the casual buyer, who finds those great deals at the swap meets, or wish to invest in the current silver market trend it should be quite obvious that you should first invest your time in researching the different markets and have a plan.
