Welcome!

Welcome!


I’d like to welcome everyone to my newest endeavor and New Year’s resolution: A blog about investing and various topics relevant to personal investors. Really, it’s a blog about what’s on my mind and, as such, I may talk about things other than investing once in a while. But, as many of you already know, investing is something I do…all the time. It’s something that I’ve been doing over 10 years now and, along the way, I’ve learned a whole boatload of stuff that I sometimes don’t know what to do with. Well, this blog is just a way for me to get my brain on paper and share it with people with the hope that others can learn as well. Hopefully you’ll check back regularly to see what’s one here and even contribute by commenting on my posts with suggestions/feedback, etc.


Why would you ever want to read this?

Good question. Why would anyone want to read about investing – especially if you don’t do it regularly? Well, my goal here is to take some of the most complicated and confusing things about investing and simplify it for you. Over the years, I’ve had countless friends and family ask me questions about investing and money management. These questions ranged from how to allocate a 401K, to what an ETF is, to why did the current financial crisis happen. Answers to questions like these are something I realized I was taking for granted – I realized that these are important questions to people and I have answers to them in my brain, which they can’t see unless they ask me. Most people will at some point have similar questions, and I want this blog to be one of the sources where they can get answers. In other words, this blog is to answer questions, some of which you may not have even asked yet. At the end of the day, though, I just hope to impart a little wisdom that has been imparted to me over the years.


Why even listen to me?

Another good question. First off, I am not a professional investor…far from it. For those of you who don’t know already, I’m a consultant at Accenture who has an undergraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering. A reasonable conclusion here would be I don’t know enough about finance/investing in order to be giving advice, and I agree. Like I said earlier, this is just me spilling my mind on a blog. Please please please think for yourself before acting on any of my advice. I even think it’s worth consulting a financial advisor.

With that said, many of you already know that investing is probably the biggest single hobby that I have. I’ve been doing it since I was 14 and have been active in it since then. My dad has entrusted me with all of his investments, and I don’t take the responsibility lightly, nor do I mind spending hours on end every week managing that money. I keep very very close tabs on the market. I’m always thinking of new ideas…new stocks…new industries, because it excites me and keeps my brain occupied. Some people paint, others read books, while others play video games. I spend my time on Yahoo Finance, Businessweek, Forbes, Bloomberg, thestreet.com, yadda yadda yadda, all while having CNBC on TV. As nerdy as it sounds (yes, I can admit it), it’s what I like to do. Through the years, I’ve picked up knowledge that even people I know who are in finance as a profession are impressed with. Do I know as much as a professional, definitely not. But I hope to share what I do know in the hopes of it will at least help others answer questions they might have. And I will do my best to make it simplified so everyone can understand what I’m talking about. At the same time, I really feel writing about many of the topics will help me learn myself, so that’s another goal right there.


How will this work?

I will try to post on this blog at least once a week. I will be posting about a topic that could fall into any of these categories:

• Recent news in the business/investing world
• A stock/investing idea I may have
• A topic in investing that’s worth talking about
• Other random things that are in my head (may not be investing, but I’ll try to tie it to investing somehow)

For all those loyal readers out there, I will definitely appreciate any feedback/comments/suggestions you may have for topics to talk about and those not too. If I can help one person, my time will be worth it. I would even love a good debate with someone if he/she disagrees with me since I believe that’s one of the best ways for people to learn.


Other Stuff

Please note that everything I write is how I understand it (which is why it’s in the title of the blog itself). I in no way guarantee any of the stuff I say is correct, although I will try my best to be as accurate as possible. Also, this is a blog and, as such, my writing style may be a little stream of conscious and lacking structure. Again, I will try to be as logical and ordered as possible, but I apologize if I’m not. If I do confuse people, please don’t hesitate to ask for clarification! Chances are, more than one person will be confused and I’m always up for improving my writing style.

Finally, thank you for reading my first-ever blog post. Keep an eye out for my first topic. I’m thinking it’s going be a good one: ‘The Current Financial Crisis – What the Heck Happened?’ Have a great start to the year!


The Standard Disclaimer:

The stuff I just wrote above is my opinion and my opinion only. Please do not take it as fact. Perform all necessary research and analysis prior to acting on anything I’ve said above. This includes consulting with a financial advisor.


Questions/Comments/Feedback?
Please don’t hesitate to let me know of any questions or comments you have about this post or any other. If you want me to write about something else investing related, do let me know!