My single largest stock holding is Apple, Inc. (AAPL). In fact, AAPL has become such a large part of my portfolio that I had to stop buying in, despite loving the stock and the company, because I was concerned it would become larger than 5% of my portfolio. I was actually thinking about selling some but decided that just not buying any more would likely work over the course of a year.
And now, AAPL has hit another all time high on the news that its iPad tablet, long awaited and recently announced, will be shipping–late.
Sometimes I’m just amazed by what causes a stock to soar.
Tags: Investing, Stocks, Technology
February, of course, is the shortest month of the year, but it seems it was long on gains for our model portfolio. Let’s look at how our funds did last month:
The Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (VTSMX) was up 1.86% in February, while still paying that 1.94% yield. In our international segment, the Vanguard Total International Stock Index (VGTSX) was down 1.44% and paying a 2.51% yield, meaning that while not having a spectacular month, the stock portion of our portfolio had a positive gain.
In the fixed income section of our portfolio, the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index (VBMFX) was essentially flat, up a penny, but a statistical 0.00% increase, with a yield of 3.96%. Our other fixed income fund, the Vanguard GNMA Fund (VFIIX) was up a little more, 0.12% and yielding 3.71%.
So, while it wasn’t a great month, it was a positive one for three of our four funds and the majority of our portfolio. Let’s hope March keeps building on these gains!
Tags: Bonds, Investing, Mutual funds, Stocks
The jobs number is not about Apple and Steve Jobs; rather it’s the number of jobs created or lost in the United States every month. With the unemployment rate still near a horrid 10%, it’s concerning that despite improvements in corporate earnings and the stock market, there still doesn’t appear to be more jobs on the way.
It is, of course, quite possible that part of the reason why we have seen improvements in corporate earnings and the stock market is because there are fewer employees for companies to pay for, but it’s tough to imagine that an economic recovery is sustainable without more jobs.
And for those of you who are out of work, I’m certain there’s nothing you want more than a job to work. So here’s hoping we’ll see the light at the end of this tunnel starting with this week’s jobs report.
Tags: Economy
After Furlough Fridays (which affect just about all state of Hawai’i employees but most equate with schools), apparently it’s believed that more blood can be squeezed out of the rock that is known as the public school system.
The Hawai’i legislature asked for 5% more in spending cuts for public schools; they were presented with about half that. Which means $37.7 million dollars.
It’s hard to imagine that the schools can endure much more without considerably negative effects to the education of our schoolchildren. As they say in the poorest countries of the world–we can’t afford education, but we really can’t afford to be uneducated.
Tags: Economy, Social aspects
Many Geeks, myself included, use mobile broadband–quite frankly, for me, it’s a bit of a necessity given how often I’m on the road. There are national providers of such services (the big telecoms–AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and TMobile) who typically charge about $60 for the bogus “unlimited up to five gigabytes” plans; I currently have a MobiPCS Hele which is truly unlimited (or so they claim) but not the best coverage–and restricted to the islands, but a lot cheaper at $30 a month plus tax.
Recently there’s a different option that’s become available here–Clear (formerly Clearwire) 4G, and they are pricing it aggressively. Currently, if I find a friend who is wanting to sign up as well, we can get two mobile connections for a fine price per month for life.
That might be worthwhile.
Clear is also available in other areas of the US, although not in nearly as many as the big players; for instance, I can get coverage in Philadelphia where I’ll be for the Livestrong Challenge, but not in California.
I’m thinking seriously about this one.
Tags: Budgeting, Frugality, Social aspects, Technology
Government budgets continue to be ugly. Not only are our state employees furloughed many Fridays through our year, now programs are outright being cut. In particular, performing art programs.
For instance, the 127 year old Hawaii County Band on the big island is reported to be unfunded in the budget coming out on Monday, March 1, 2010, reducing their spending by 1%. Kaimuki High School’s performing arts program is reportedly facing a similar fate.
I’m sure there’s no one out there who is going to say they want these programs to end, but I’m also sure that something has to give and figuring out what it is is not an easy task for anyone.
Tough times call for tough decisions. What to cut, what to cut? It’s a decision that very few of us want to make.
Tags: Economy, Social aspects
I have now had one tax document–the W2 from my primary employer–revised twice, and one other tax document–from Google–revised once.
I’m really surprised by this as I cannot remember ever having tax documents updated before.
My tax document from Google–and the amount of money I made from Google was very, very small–was also incorrect. To their credit it was only revised once.
At least one of my documents–Sharebuilder–came out later than I expected, in the middle of February, and another, from iGoBanking, was late due to my being locked out of my account and being unable to contact them to get access again due to the time difference between here and there.
Fortunately there’s still a lot of time before taxes are due. I have to get working on those.
Tags: Taxes, Technology
Hawai’i dodged a bullet on Saturday when a tsunami passed through the islands with no damage reported. Positive energies to those in Chile and anywhere else that was not so lucky.
Having lived through a few other near miss tsunami warnings as well as a few tropical storms, hurricanes, and all day (or longer) island wide power outages, I may be better prepared for these disasters than many. Quite frankly, if you’re a Hawai’i resident, you better know the hurricane drill by now! A hurricane preparedness guide is available here and speaks of having enough canned goods for a few days, water, a first aid kit, flashlights, batteries, a radio, and lots of other necessities (and close to necessities). For some of us, our kits are more comprehensive, including a generator and camping stoves.
Interestingly, these are just about the same things needed for a tsunami.
So we were ready. And interestingly, so was much of the island. While I drove around a little to see if I could bolster our bottled water supply, traffic was mostly light, shopping center parking lots were a bit more crowded than average but people were courteous and polite, and only one rumor of illegal price gouging was heard. And Costco and Sam’s Club not only opened early but at least for awhile allowed non members to shop.
Fortunately, we didn’t need any of those things. But being prepared for a natural disaster is worth anything. I’m quite proud of how the people of Hawai’i did in this challenging time. Because sooner or later, there’ll be a bullet we don’t dodge.
Tags: Social aspects
Yes, there’s possibly a tsunami bearing down on the islands here, so no Uncommon Cents until this passes! Thanks for your prayers…
Costco is my usual default place to get toilet paper–like most members, I believe non perishables tend to cost less there. But I recently decided to compare the price of a local cleaning supply store–Crestek–to Costco for toilet paper. Crestek, I believe, supplies many local businesses (maybe hotels) with toilet paper.
I am not going to compare per sheet or per ply, just how much a roll comes out to.
This past week Costco had their Kirkland house brand of toilet paper selling at 36 rolls for $20.49.
Crestek has 96 rolls selling for $63.00.
A little math says that Costco’s rolls go for about 57 cents each; Crestek’s for 66 cents.
So, at least in this case, Costco wins.
Tags: Frugality
