Welcome to MoneyTrack

Pam Krueger and Jack Gallagher

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MoneyTrack is about real people and real stories, what works and what doesn't work. Tell us your story...For example, are you considering bankruptcy? Are you afraid of the stock market? Do you have a success story to share with us? Have you been the victim of a scam? Are you speculating on real estate?



 

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Why You Want to be an Educated Investor

Mrs. Marian Blanton
Million Dollar Teacher

The premiere episode covers the benefits of becoming an educated investor. You don’t have to know everything about how Wall Street works to build wealth by investing over a lifetime. Knowing and applying the basics is the key to success!

An educated investor is someone who understands that it is smarter to start now, even with a small amount of money than to put off investing for fear of not knowing enough about the stock market.

The stock market has worked seven out of ten years for last one hundred years. History is on your side. The stock market is risky on the short term basis.  Investing works over time.  You’re not going to turn $10,000 dollars into a million dollars over five years, but you will turn $10,000 dollars into a million over 30 years. How Marian did it!

 
What Type of Mortgage Should You Get?

There are dozens of home loans and financing options available. Each has it's own set of pro's and con's. An interest only loan offers a very low rate and can save you lots of money, but when rates creep up, your house could depreciate.  Click here to continue.

Click here to find out more about mortgages from the Federal Reserve Bank's web site.

Each Week MoneyTrack Alerts you
to Common Scams across the Country

Investigate before you Invest. Always.

Beware of promissory notes.  According to the North American Securities Administrators Association. "In almost all cases, the only profits go to the promoters of these schemes, and investors are left holding the bag." Promissory notes are number four on the list of top ten scams. Certain promissory notes can be good investments for corporate investors and sophisticated investors, but the promissory notes marketed broadly to the public often turn out to be bogus.

One woman in Georgia invested her life savings with a salesman who pitched fraudulent promissory notes that he said were guaranteed. He claimed her funds would help build hospitals and be used for other humanitarian purposes. By the time she became suspicious, the con artist had fled. Fortunately, in this case the State Investigator caught the crook who is now spending his time in jail.

Remember, before you invest even one penny, make sure the investment is the real deal, visit the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) Fraud Center. You need to investigate before you invest so you don't waste your hard-earned money needlessly.

Virgil Womack sentenced
 to 5 years in Federal Prison




 

"Getting on the MoneyTrack"
Paperback
197 pages
September 2005

MoneyTrack Is Made Possible With The Generous Support Of

The Investor Protection Trust

Founded in 1993 as part of a multi-state settlement to resolve charges of misconduct, the Investor Protection Trust serves as an independent source of noncommercial investor education materials to help equip investors, and would-be investors, with the armor they'll need to protect them from ever sophisticated scams, and the knowledge they'll need to better navigate their travel through the securities market.

The California Department of Corporations

The California Department of Corporations is California’s Investment and Financing Authority. Since 1913, the Department of Corporations has worked to educate the public about the risks and rewards of investing and finances and has worked to enforce the law to protect people from fraud.

MoneyTrack's Presenting Television Station Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

About the Bay Area Video Coalition

One great way to accumulate assets is to join an investment club.

There are over 20,000 registered investment clubs in the United States. The Bullish Babes of Colorado Springs is one of them. 

Twelve women comprise this group who meet monthly to research what to buy and what to sell in their portfolio.  Each member contributes $50 per month.  A member can pull out of the club anytime they wish.  For the last several years the club has gotten a 24% increase in the worth of their stocks.  What is the secret to their success?  These are their investing principles:  they invest regularly, reinvest their dividends, only buy growth companies with good management, they diversify and they watch stocks for a period of time before they decide to buy.

For more information about investment clubs, click here to visit the National Association of Investors Corporation. 

Rob Black Says, Don't Throw Away Those
Annual Reports

If you do want to do the research yourself, a valuable place to look is in the company's annual report.  First, you start at the back of the report.  There is  Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, this means that an independent firm has looked at all of the company's numbers and is it true to the best of their belief.

Next, go to the Footnotes section, there you will find the Earnings information.  You will need to look at the company's Assets and Liabilities, on the Assets side there are Sales, Income and Growth.  On the Liabilities side there are Debt and Costs.  If the Sales have grown, that means the company is on the rise, if the Debt has grown, this indicates an unhealthy company.  You should look for trends inside of the company and compare companies within the same sector.