Every morning, I read the Wall Street Journal for a glimmer of hope for the US economy. On some days, today being one of them, the paper is filled with good news followed by a positive forecast and a upbeat market. Just when I think we have what it takes to get out of this economic stagnation, my hopes are dashed with one bad news after another. For myself and others following finance, this has been the common theme for the entire past year. We all face the same question: When will there be any certainty in forecasts?

Perhaps some of you know. I definitely don’t. My goal today is to give you write about some stability in the midst of volatility. Perhaps, investing in the stable is what it takes to revive the entire world market?

I. Agricultural Technology Stocks

The recent media hype around Potash Corporation and the hostile takeover bid by BHP Biliton LTD have brought to my attention the necessity of agricultural advancements to keep up with world demand. BHP has offered almost $40 billion in hopes of becoming a top producer of Potash (Potassium derived compounds used heavily in fertilizers). Several other small offers soon followed. The world will come out of the recession understanding that demand has exploded. Investing in innovative firms won’t make you a millionaire overnight, but will be a great producer in your portfolio.

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan

2. Pfizer

Health care stocks, namely Pharmaceuticals, have been underperforming ever since the health care reform bill was passed. There are two major reasons for this: $140 billion worth of the top blockbuster drug patents will expire in half a decade (Source: Money Magazine) and there are investor fears of profit declines as prices drop. Pfizer is the largest Pharmaceutical firm and has been actively pursuing the emerging drug markets (the likes of Iran, Turkey, Venezuela, Poland) and have bought out smaller and more innovative firms in hopes of developing new drugs. This health care giant pays off great dividends and will only be growing as health care costs increase in the near future.

3. Gold

Everyone is pessimistic about the short term prospects of gold. When it was 1,100 ‘experts’ were betting that it would fall. Now, gold is hovering around the  mid-1200s, and there haven’t been any signs of a price drop. Even in the worst case scenario, gold prices tend to be stable around inflation. In the long term, gold prices always increase as it is an unsustainable commodity used for jewelry and electronics.

4. Oil Companies

With all the hype surrounding massive losses by BP, people seem to forget that ExxonMobile is still the second highest grossing company in the world and oil prices are only going to increase. Modernized oil companies that can prove to state officials that their methods of offshore drilling are safe and environmentally friendly. Since the BP spill disaster, some drilling firms have lost up to 50% of their value. It’s a buyers market – once the media frenzy is over, these stocks are skyrocketing. You can’t go wrong with oil.

5. Express Scripts

One of the three largest PBM’s (Prescription Benefit Manager), Express Scripts has one of the lowest operating margin in the health care industry. A recent struggle between Walgreens’ and CVS’ respective PBM’s have disenchanted loyal customers and allowed Express Scripts to come out of fire unscathed. Now trading at a relative low, express scripts is a great stock to snatch (currently around $44 a share with a 52 week high of $54). PBM’s are only becoming more influential as drug costs increase and are now offering more services than ever before. Jumping on this bandwagon will provide you with a stable investment during these turbulent times.

I have highlighted 5 safe investment ideas above. What do you think about my choices? Do you have any to add yourself? Let the readers know!

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Most Rich People Share a Few Common Traits

There are several qualities that are shared by almost everyone who has “succeeded” in their career or hobby. Most of these skills can be acquired by everyone and must be closely followed. If you have ever wondered about the answer to the following questions, this article is for you:

What makes rich people “rich”?

What separated winners from losers?

1. Passion

You gotta love what you do! If you don’t enjoy and derive passion from what you do, the chances are you are not going to do a good job at it. So when you pick a profession or a job, think of what you love to do and not how much money you’re gonna make by doing it. Think of how fun it is to get paid for something you already love doing.

2. Creativity
Use your passion and think of new and unique ideas.

Before you even start thinking of any ideas, put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. No matter what it is that you are trying to create, always remember to ask yourself the question “What is it that I wish I could buy, read, watch, etc. ?”

3. Follow your instincts
Your instincts almost never lie to you. They are given to people, in order to guide them in decision making. So if your instinct tells you that buying a piece of real estate is a good idea, the chances are that it is. So believe in your basic instincts.

Sometimes, people have great ideas but are scared of the risk. Successful people always take good risks, while others always think about what they could have done. Never put yourself in that situation.

4. Risk Factor
Everyone has a gut feeling or an instinct that tells them what to do, but whether they listen to their instincts and go along with it, is called “risk taking.”

Risk taking is a critical factor in succeeding. There are many people who have great ideas but very few of them act upon those ideas. And almost no one has ever reached the top without taking some sort of a risk. Think of Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. They put their passions above the normal lifestyle, above education, and became the richest in the world.

5. Create your own luck
Some people are just born luckier than others. It is not fair, but that’s the way of life. However, a lot of the unlucky people who were born into poverty and encountered many obstacles, still managed to succeed and make it big in this unfair world. The reason why these people succeeded is because they didn’t let their luck decide their destiny. They worked extra hard and went after their dreams.

6. Persistence
Don’t let anything or anyone get in the way of your goals. 99.9% of all rich people have failed at one point of their career. You must always remember that failing is part of the learning process. When your fail, use that to your advantage and learn from it, to make sure you never repeat that mistake again.

And Finally….

7) BELIEVE in Yourself

The most important step to success is learning how to love and believe in “you”. If you have ever paid attention during any game, people who let the opponent know about their confidence regarding that game, it always betters their chances of winning. There are many psychological reasons to why this happens, but the fact is that it does happen and it also happens in real life.

So no matter what your goals are, you have to believe that you are going to get on top of your game. You need to get rid of all of your insecurities, you have to stop caring about what other people think and most importantly let people know how much you value yourself.

Personal finances can be very hard to manage without the use of spreadsheets for simplification, organization, and error reduction. However, designing a spreadsheet takes a lot of time and often requires the expert hand of an accountant. This is true especially for business spreadsheets, which take into account lots of expenses and income.

I have selected the finest spreadsheets from around the Internet for your use. Enjoy!

1) 401K Planner

Take into account all the variables of your 401k saving to see your retirement amount. Change the amount saved per check or the age of retirement and even the expected annual return. Comes with a cool graph to visualize your earnings.

2) Personal Monthly Budget Planner

Includes incomes and a wide variety of expenses – including financial obligations such as loan repayments, subscriptions, entertainment, groceries, and more. A wonderful spreadsheet!

3) General & Administrative Expense Budget

A G+A Budget planner for your business. It includes all the major categories any business will spend money on per month, with a designated budget, and calculates the difference from the actual designated number.

4) Business Expense Report

The business expense report is a great spreadsheet for people spending money out of their own pocket knowing that they will be reimbursed by their business. It has a beautiful mileage based expense calculator, room for lodging, food, other expenses and more. Very useful.

5) Personal Wealth Analysis

This spreadsheet is very useful in helping you calculate your net worth. You can include your assets, debts and financial obligations, liabilities, and even your net worth as a goal. If you have a goal you would like to achieve, this is the best thing you can do.

6) Retirement Budget Calculator

Want to know how much money you need at retirement based on your expenses? This excellent retirement budget calculator spreadsheet is for you. Includes housing, living expenses, medical expenses and personal income.

7) Debt Reduction Spreadsheet

Are you stuck in a lot of debt? Want to calculate how you can reduce your debts and get your finances back in track? This free spreadsheet is for you.

Last year, I gave you the best and worst housing markets for the 2009 year, with the average percent fall (and very rarely, gain) in selling prices.

This year, real estate prices seem to follow no pattern. In some areas, they are recovering from their 2008 price lows and in other areas, foreclosures keep piling up. Investors have it tough… speculators are everywhere, pointing to positive signs in the economy one day and then predicting doomsday the next.

We like real hard facts at SmarterSpend.com… so let’s go over some of the best and worst housing markets of this coming year, and predict what will happen to them in the long run.

Let’s hear the good news first.

Best Housing Markets of 2010

1) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Growth rate: 2.67%
Foreclosure Rate: Under 1%
Affordability (Median House price vs Median Salary): Very High
Tidbits: Pittsburgh was hit adversely by a manufacturing slump before the current crisis. This helped it avoid the current recession. The city is being revitalized with service jobs and is a great place for investors.
Prediction: Pittsburgh will remain stable, but I don’t see any possibility of double digit growth because of  a low economic base.

2) Louisville, Kentucky
Growth rate: 1.05%
Foreclosure Rate: 1.15%
Affordability (Median House price vs Median Salary): Very High
Tidbits: The city never had any growth in prices to begin with and was not severely affected by a fall in prices.
Prediction: Louisville will slowly become a large urban center, but not until there is some easing of the lending policies and business can thrive. Look for steady growth in the future, around 5%.

3) Houston, Texas
Growth rate: 11%
Foreclosure Rate: Under 4.5%
Affordability (Median House price vs Median Salary): High
Tidbits: Houston had a foreclosure panic in 2008, but quickly recovered due to job creation in the energy sector, which allowed median home prices to remain stable.
Predictions: I believe Houston has the best chance of double digit growth for any city in America. It has a booming metropolitan area, fueled by net population migration from other cities and lots of job creation.

Worst Housing Markets of 2010

1) Las Vegas, Nevada
Growth rate: -33%
Foreclosure Rate: 12% (Five times the national Average)
Affordability (Median House price vs Median Salary): Average
Tidbits: Las Vegas is the prime example of housing bust. In fact, according to Forbes, the average mortgage on a house in Vegas is greater than how much an average house is worth.
Predictions: I feel like  a turnaround will eventually happen for one reason: There is so much investment value and money at stake in Vegas. I just can’t imagine Vegas losing in the long run.

2) Phoenix, Arizona

Growth rate: -25.9%
Foreclosure Rate: 12.5% (Five times the national Average)
Affordability (Median House price vs Median Salary): Average
Tidbits: In Phoenix the fallout from the financial crisis is deflating home prices rapidly due to the overabundance of homes in the city. Phoenix has been suffering through the housing depression in one of the worst crashes in the nation and has one of the highest foreclosure rate in the country.
Predictions: Phoenix will need a lot to recover and it will take almost a decade for home prices to be at their pre-2008 respectable levels. It seems that the worst is over, but there are so many homes for sale, its unbelievable. Again, this can only be achieved by allowing residents of Phoenix access to loans on a wider level.

3) Detroit, Michigan
Growth rate: -21.66% (average house price is $6,500.. yes… SIX thousand)
Foreclosure Rate: 6.6% (Five times the national Average, Delinquencies at 18%)
Affordability (Median House price vs Median Salary): For people that have a job, a home is virtually free.
Tidbits: Detroit’s median house price was close to $100,000 before the recession and the real estate bubble burst. It has been speculated that Detroit was actually what caused the recession. Although investors are buying houses by the dozen, will there be a Detroit as we know it in the future?
Predictions: I feel like Detroit needs government intervention to survive. What does this mean? The Fed’s should put up some companies and jobs there. If there is no job creation in the near future, this could mean an end to the city as an American metropolitan giant.

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How do the rest of you feel about the current real estate market? Will it turn around in 2010? What are the hottest cities to buy a house in? Join the discussion.

Applying for the correct loan depending on your particular situation seems to be essential. If you apply for the correct loan, but request a short term loan with high monthly payments you obviously cannot afford, chances are nobody will be willing to fund you. It is as simple as that. But besides these evident considerations, there is a loan eligibility criteria which is universal and might help you obtain a better understanding of the process and hopefully assist you in achieving loan approval.

Employment Status

Before I start describing what I mean by employment status, I want to break down three factors that are looked at when a creditor checks your employment- job security, length of time on the job, and who your employer is.
This is something lenders will take into account when assessing your application for any loan. Unfortunately, sometimes you do not have the chance to choose over many job opportunities and might end up with one which does not certainly scream “risk free applicant”, but this is beyond your control. If your job is unstable (provided that you have changed jobs many times in the last few years, it will be considered unstable by financial institutions), if you are self-employed or if you are unemployed, you might be considered somewhat of a risk factor, only because loan repayment capabilities in your particular situation might fluctuate, and lenders are looking for financial stability. What I recommend is to meet the lender personally and let him or her know in detail about your employment circumstances. They will feel more at ease.

Current Salary

It is only natural that this variable be taken into consideration for the approval of your loan. It is the most tangible evidence the lender has regarding your repayment abilities. You will also be required to show proof of income if you are employed, and tax returns if you are self-employed (so as to check your monthly income). Nowadays, incomes over $70,000 combined with good credit almost guarantees the loan.

Possession Of Assets

This is essential if you are applying for a secured loan. If you have a property to pledge as security or even a car, your chances of approval will be better. You might feel that it is not worth it to risk the security of your asset, but provided that you need a large loan or that you are sure you will be able to repay it timely, then a secured loan is definitely the way to go.

Age Limits

The applicant must be older than 18 years of age when applying for a loan. And you must not be older than 65 years of age at the completion of the loan. The reasoning behind this particular criterion is pretty obvious. Banks want their money and they know its hard to collect when age is an issue.

Best Areas: Montana, South Dakota, and Missouri, states which really didn’t participate in America’s subprime mortgage blunder, all registered positive growth in the last quarter (Montana leading with an exrapolated annual increase of 3.1%)

Worst Areas: It’s no one surprise that Detroit is the worst area to buy a house right now. With the future of thousands of workers on thin ice and the largest employers in the city teetering on the brink of an economic tsunami, it would be foolish to buy a house here. The Inland Empire, Central Valley, and Southern California round out the top list due to a frenzy of foreclosures and artificial inflation. Houses in my area (Los Angeles) that were about 300,000 in 2003 skyrocketed to near 700,000 before the crisis and are now hovering around the 460,000 mark. Las Vegas and Phoenix also crashed after a decade of steadily increasing home values.