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Bought: 29 shares of ESLR @ $17.98














Yesterday's great rally for solar stocks brought upon by China's energy plans set up many profitable plays. Too bad I was relunctant to jump in on CSUN, AKNS, HOKU and many of the other stocks that soared.

I feel that solar plays aren't not totally done yet. The chart of ESLR shows what is believed to be the completion of a cup-and-handle pattern from yesterday's rally and today's profit-takers. I am expecting a breakout or at least an uptrend.

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Hope everyone had a merry Christmas!

This Christmas, as with many past years, gifts are hardly the main attraction of this holiday in my home. Brought up by first generation immigrant parents, we do not share the common American tradition of exchanging presents.

Our typical celebration, as with many other holidays, includes having a large family gathering where grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins come to spend time together. It gives us an opportunity to see the relatives and catch up on the latest happenings of their lives. A great time results from simply activities such as cooking, eating, gambling, talking, and playing. Oh, and what about the adorable baby twins?!

Society presents Christmas with as the day for GIFTS. While that may be just what is on everyone's minds, the day provides many things people rarely receive in a fast paced world such as a day of from work which they can then spend with family.

Though I did find a way to treat myself to something at the cost of $0. A free copy of Quicken Premier 2007 and virtually unlimited free PSP games!!!

"The best things in life are free."

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Saving money as early as possible is definitely a positive and beneficial attitude to have but sometimes, it may be better to start a little later.

Coming from a lower class income family with a household income of about $23,000 and two adults and two college children, paying for school wouldn't be easy (virtually impossible) without the help of financial aid.

During the spring, before every undergraduate school year, we must file a FAFSA form and the government compiles all relevant financial data and provides us with a number for my EFC (Estimated Family Contribution). The higher that number is, the more you'll have to pay out of your own pockets. So, we strive for the lowest EFC possible. A mere $500 in your bank account can make a big difference in this number.

If a hard working 13-year-old worked five years to save up $4000 in any bank account. The amound of financial aid that he receives would decrease dramatically. When applying for financial aid, personal assets have a larger effect on what you receive compared to parental assets. When I swiped my debit card for a few hundred bucks, I revised the application (which they allow you to do) and the EFC fell drastically.

This year, I will be filing my application for the last time as an undergrad while I just started getting serious about saving money. All the money in my brokerage, savings and checking accounts would have to be reported. What I have now is substantially more than what I had at the same time last year.

Fortunately, an individual retirement account is not a factor in the financial aid equation and that is great news since I was about to open a Roth IRA soon, after I find the right place to open it.

So, I've decided to cease depositing money into bank accounts (or take some out?). I'll resume after filing the application.

For those in families with low incomes desperately in need the financial aid and still in your early years of college, I suggest not putting to much into a bank account. Instead, open a Roth IRA.

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Sold: 4 shares of RIMM @ $120.07

Grabbed the profit from the large gap up from yesterday's after-market and today's pre-market due to a positively welcomed earnings report.

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Today, I received an email regarding my savings account that put a frown on my face.

We are writing to inform you that based on the recent drop by the Federal Reserve, HSBC Direct has adjusted your Online Savings Account rate to 4.25% APY*. At 9x the national savings average**, you are still earning one of America’s highest savings rates.

The rate has been reduced from 4.50% APY to 4.25% APY. There has been a 0.80% change in the past 3 months. This is not a small percentage since the interest after being compounded makes a big difference.

The drop didn't affect only HSBC Direct of course, all the other high-yield savings accounts would also have this change. Everyone else should be receiving emails that their bank is doing the same.

Maybe it is time to allocate more into CDs?

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Sold: 170 shares BRLC @ $2.55

Bought: 4 shares RIMM @ $106.81

Jumped on the upcoming earnings report from Research in Motion without doubting that they'd report any bad news.

Turned out great??

(P.S. My next phone is a Blackberry by the way. Heh.)

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Last month's Net Worth: $1492

This month's Net Worth: $1140














Hard hit in the investment game...

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Sorry for the lack of updates and lately. It's finals week and I have had only 4 hours of sleep in the past 60 hours due to about 18 pages worth of papers to write and more hours would be spent for some studying.

Here are some ramblings and posts on my mind which are yet to come:

  • Net Worth and Investment Portfolio Updates
  • Choosing my first credit card
  • How would opening an IRA now affect my future financial aid for college?
  • How to restrict yourself from overspending
Good luck to all others who are taking their exams and WATCH YOUR CHRISTMAS SPENDING!!

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Usually on eBay, I sell coupons, trading cards and sneakers. But one year ago, I discovered a profitable business. And... it is also what led my account to be SUSPENDED...
Here's the how it went:

I played this role-playing video game where a digital character had 'items'. After learning to exploit a bug within the game, I was able to create replicas of such items and used them for trading in the game's marketplace. Then, the newly acquired items would be sold on eBay. About 15 of them sold for an average of about $6 USD each within a week. These sales were all digital, quick, and required very little effort for a residual income of about $90/week!!

But... in the first 2 weeks that I begun to sell, eBay began banning these digital items for sale.

WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!

Other people have made tens of thousands of dollars in the past several years from selling them and they suspend my account when I just started to do so.

And so, I've been trying to reinstate my account for the last 11 months, which requires copies of a U.S. ID and a government or utility bill.

Where the heck am I supposed to get a government or utility bill? I've sent in a copy of my driver's license and my tuition bill... four times. They keep replying that the information I sent in was not legible. I printed in color AND I blew it up for them!!

Guess I'll wait for my new passport (or they need a magnifying glass)...