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Managing Your Money

One question we’ve gotten a few times from readers is “I’m new to investing. How do I get started managing my money for the future?” It’s a basic question, and you’ll find answers all over the Internet, but ours has a little twist. Today’s Cabot Wealth Advisory will attempt to answer that question, so if you’re just starting out or if you want to take the time to regroup, especially in light of the recent market decline, this issue is for you. It’s never too late to start preparing, saving and investing for your future.

One question we’ve gotten a few times from readers is “I’m new to investing. How do I get started managing my money for the future?” It’s a basic question, and you’ll find answers all over the Internet, but ours has a little twist.

Cabot Wealth Advisory will attempt to answer that question, so if you’re just starting out or if you want to take the time to regroup, especially in light of the recent market decline, this issue is for you. It’s never too late to start preparing, saving and investing for your future.

So what can you do if you want to be on the path to financial independence?

A huge issue for many Americans is the problem of debt, overspending, along with rising costs of everything from college to cars and groceries to health insurance has left many people with a lot of debt. The sooner you pay it off, the better.

Save and Invest

Construct a monthly budget and figure out how much money you have to work with each month for saving and investing. Looking back at old bank and credit card statements can reveal unbalanced spending habits and help correct them before things get out of control.

Then you need to come up with a savings plan. You should be saving money for retirement so that you will be able to leave the workforce when you want to and not end up in the poor house.

Figure out how much money you will need by the time you want to retire and then calculate how much you will need to save each month to reach that goal, assuming a reasonable rate of growth. Investing is n an important part of saving for retirement. By investing your money now, you’ll end up with a lot more later on.

The advice in our newsletters can help you achieve your financial goals, especially saving for retirement. If you follow our advice and invest your money, you will end up with a lot more than you put into your account each month.

Stocks offer much bigger returns than the paltry interest you’ll earn in your savings account at the bank, so do some research and put your money to work where you’ll get the most bang for your buck. Each of our newsletters is tailored to fit a different investing style and we have one that can help you achieve your financial goals, whether you have decades until retirement or you’ve already reached that stage of life.

This might seem daunting to you--some days it seems daunting to me--but saving and investing early are the best ways to ensure that your money will go as far as you need, and want, it to go. Don’t feel like you have to save every penny, enjoy life before retirement but not so much that you have nothing left when you get there. Some careful planning, saving and investing can help you live the life you want then and now.

The wild fluctuations in the market have made this a great time to evaluate where you are financially. At some point things will settle down and a new bull market will begin. The time to set up a plan for that is now.

I’d like to hear any advice our readers have to offer on this subject, whether you’re just starting out or well into retirement, send us your comments, questions and suggestions either by email or on our blog, http://www.iconoclast-investor.com/

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Profiting From Green Politics

At first, environmentalists were skeptical of Barack Obama’s support for coal-to-liquids technology and unvarnished enthusiasm for ethanol. But he earned their respect with his aggressive climate and energy plan, which includes a $150 billion investment to boost clean energy and create Green jobs, along with proposals to boost efficiency, build a smart electricity grid and encourage public transportation.

John McCain has a mixed record on the environment, but he’s long been outspoken about global warming, in fact, he introduced the first major bill in the Senate to address it: the Climate Stewardship Act of 2003, co-sponsored with Joe Lieberman. McCain wants to build 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030 and spend big on “clean coal” technology. He also expresses support for wind, solar, and other alternative energy sources, but doesn’t believe they need government assistance.

The bottom line is that matter who wins the election Green technologies will win big. Don’t you want to own Green stock before November 4? Click the link below to find out how you can take advantage of the candidates support for the Green sector.

http://www.cabot.net/info/cgi/cgiii05.aspx?source=wc01

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In case you didn’t get a chance to read all the issues of Cabot Wealth Advisory this week and want to catch up on any investing and stock tips you might have missed, we have links below to each issue.

Cabot Wealth Advisory 9/15/08 - Wind Power Big and Small

On Monday, Brendan Coffey wrote about how proposals to use lampposts with wind turbines and to build a windfarm in Texas are propelling the alternative energy industry forward. China is aiming to use more wind energy by 2020 and oil is hovering around $100, which means there are more opportunities for companies in the alternative energy sector. Stock featured in this issue: American Superconductor (NSDQ: AMSC).

http://www.cabot.net/Issues/CWA/Archives/2008/09/Wind-Power-Big-and-Small.aspx

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Cabot Wealth Advisory 9/16/08 - 10 Observations About This Financial Storm

On Tuesday, Michael Cintolo wrote a special News Alert edition of Cabot Wealth Advisory to keep you in touch with our thinking about the current upheaval in financial stocks. These last several weeks have been history in the making--granted not the kind of history we want to see--but they have been critically important nonetheless. Stocks featured in this issue: Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), First Solar (NSDQ: FSLR), Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU), Dell (NSDQ: DELL), Cisco (NSDQ: CSCO), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Hudson City (SDQ: HCBK), Northern Trust (NSDQ: NTRS) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC).

http://www.cabot.net/Issues/CWA/Archives/2008/09/Observations-About-Financial-Storm.aspx

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Cabot Wealth Advisory 9/18/08 - The #1 Stock on my Watch List

On Thursday, Michael Cintolo wrote about how it’s not necessary to be the smartest guy in the room when investing, it’s important to have a system that works. Mike answered readers’ questions about the current turmoil in the financial sector and all of the changes that have happened this week. Mike also wrote about the #1 stock on his watch list. Stock featured in this issue: Concur Technologies (NSDQ: CNQR).

http://www.cabot.net/Issues/CWA/Archives/2008/09/Watch-List-Stock.aspx

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Keep Your Money Safe

The wild fluctuations of the market this year have investors scrambling for what to do with their money. We have a solution: Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter. If you want to safely invest your money over the long term, this method is for you. It’s how Warren Buffett achieved his billionaire status and how you can protect your investments while still seeing big returns.

Since the 1930s, Benjamin Graham’s timeless value investing approach has achieved returns of 20% per year with low risk regardless of the market’s ups and downs. Today, Roy applies his system to two models in the Value Letter. Since inception in 1996, Roy’s Wise Owl Model has achieved a compound annual return of 16%, and since inception in 2003, Roy’s Classic Benjamin Graham Value Model has achieved a compound annual return of 22.4%

Click the link below to start safely investing and earning money the Warren Buffett way.

http://www.cabot.net/info/bgv/bgvir01.aspx?source=wc01

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Value Investing Book Recommendations

Part of becoming an experienced investor is reading great investment books. Today I have not one, but two books to recommend to you, both by Benjamin Graham.

Benjamin Graham’s classic book, “Security Analysis,” laid the framework for the value investing system. Individuals and Wall Street professionals consider the timeless book, published in 1934, an investing bible. Security Analysis thoroughly explains Graham’s value investing methods, including how to value stocks, the margin of safety and guidelines for successful investing.

Benjamin Graham penned “The Intelligent Investor” in 1949, and the book has since been called “by far the best book on investing ever written,” by Warren Buffet, one of Graham’s students and followers. Editor and analyst J. Royden Ward uses the criteria outlined in the book to select the stocks for the Classic Benjamin Graham Model found in the Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter.

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Editor’s Note: If you’re just starting out in the market and unsure of where to begin, Cabot can help. Cabot Stock of the Month Report is perfect for new investors because it lets you sample each publication. How is this possible? Each month, Editor Timothy Lutts selects the best stock for current market conditions from across the spectrum of Cabot publications. It could be a value stock, Green stock, momentum stock, growth stock or emerging markets stock, but it will always be the best one from our stable of publications. Click the link below to get started today.

http://www.cabot.net/info/som/somid00.aspx?source=wc02

Until next time,

Elyse Andrews
Editor of Cabot Wealth Advisory

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Elyse Andrews, is a contributor and former editor of Cabot Wealth Daily, focusing on educational topics on finance, the stock market and individual stocks.