Twitter Acquires TapCommerce and I Reap the Benefits

Twitter, TWTR is up! Finally. This was one of the first of a handful of stocks that I bought about a month ago and traded 10 shares. I was waiting for the right time to sell this one almost as soon as I bought it since it's been going sideways with a downward slant for weeks, it seems! (This could just be my emotions talking.) But this past week something shifted and it has been on the rise. Yesterday it closed at $40.97 up from what I paid, $34.70. That's a 15% gain! A quick Google search lead me to believe that it could be due to reports of a deal to buy TapCommerce, a mobile advertising company. The price? A cool $100M.

My goal with the stock market is to make reduced risk and conservative trades, cap my loses, and get out while i'm up enough to make a profit. Twitter, you're on my watch list!

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Steps to Financial Freedom Recap

I'm so happy that it's Friday and I wanted to take a minute to recap what steps I have taken so far to get me on the path to financial freedom! I'm giving myself a little pat on the back here because I think I deserve it!

Step 1. I decided that I wanted to get out of debt. Big step! So I made a list of my debts, corresponding interest rates, balances due and ordered them from the highest to lowest interest rate. The credit card is at the very top of the list with a 19% APR. I moved the balance from that card to a card that has a 0% APR for the first 12 months,  making my monthly payment $300. That's doable. Then I automated this payment so I don't have to watch the $300 payment leaving my bank account every month. It just happens which is way less painful.

Step 2. I took a look at my savings account. If i'm paying them then I want to pay myself too. So I spoke to my payroll dept at work and changed my direct deposit to put all but $100 of every paycheck in my checking account and put that other $100 into a savings account. The savings account is a high yield savings account, it is not connected to my regular bank, lessening the temptation to dip into it, AND I automated the action. It's a small amount but it's better then nothing and it adds up.

Step 3. I took control of my 401k and feel like I really know what is happening there. I know how much i'm investing through every paycheck, what i'm investing in, and how to check my YTD earnings and my progress.

Step 4. I did my research and started investing an old 401(k), that I rolled into an IRA through Sharebuilder, in the stock market. My first stock purchase was only 5 shares. This keeps my potential loss and risk low and at the same time i'm learning so much by being an active participant. It's really exciting!

Future steps:
Continue getting out of debt. After the credit card is paid off, move on to the student loan debt.
Continue to save. Increase this amount after the credit card is paid off.
Continue to invest in the 401(k). Increase this amount after the credit card is paid off too.
Continue to invest in the stock market. Alway research new stocks and sectors.
Work on my passive income streams. Blogging, clothing line, new products. (More to come on this topic!)

What are the steps that you have taken so far towards financial freedom? What will your next steps be?

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Asset Classes - Diversification Or Bet It All On Black?

3 Asset classes
The 3 main asset classes are stocks or equities, bonds or fixed income, and money markets or cash equivalents. These are terms that I have seen over and over again in my research on investing in the stock market and at first was totally confused by them. What are they and whats the difference?

How does each one perform differently?
Each one performs differently depending on what the market is doing and how it is changing.
Equities or stocks have historically outperformed the other classes, however they tend to be more volatile and bring more risk.
Fixed income or bonds are investments that are set up to pay out at a set interest rate over a set period of time. They are safe but the potential return is less than that of equities.
Money markets or cash equivalents are the lowest returning of the 3 asset classes but the safest. They provide a minimum return on investment.

Diversifying across these three main classes can help to lower your risk and improve chances of steady gains. Mixing very safe with a little bit of risky has proved to be a better method than betting it all on black! I guess it depends on what kind of a gambler you are.

Are you diversifying your investments across asset classes?

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