I just added a new store to the Money Hacks site. I know, I'm a little late to the party, but that's my MO!

It's hosted by Amazon and it's filled with hundreds of personal finance books from authors like Jim Cramer, Andrew Tobias, George Soros, Peter Lynch, and Jim Rogers.

Check it out. There's still time to order before Christmas (I can say that, right)!

I've recently been very lax in keeping up with the news. Last I heard, Dubai caused a minor stir in the already-screwed up credit markets, sending markets into a tizzy.

I saw on today's newspaper the big headline, "Mortgage Rates at All-Time Lows." Sheesh. Haven't we seen this TV show before?

Must we go down the same stupid road that got us here? I know, the credit standards are supposedly much higher now than they were in 2006-2007, where anybody with a pulse (and some even without) could get a loan for a piece of property. But I have heard random radio spots that hint that things really haven't changed much. Stuff like "no money down," "seller financing," and "no doc" loans…

I'm afraid we haven't learned a thing from our very recent past. I can't say I'm surprised.

The fundamentals of the market psychology hasn't changed: It still seeks short-term profits over long-term prosperity. Slow and steady hasn't kept the market happy for decades. It likes the hare, not the tortoise.

I also saw that gold hit $1200.

So how does one protect himself during these times? I'd suggest that you stick with the same old, same old:

• Stocks – still the best bet for long-term prosperity
• Cash – in case all hell breaks out
• Bonds – if interest rates ever go up again, they might become a little more enticing
• Gold – in case it gets worse than all hell breaking out
• Real Estate – your real inflation hedge

Depending on where you are in your life, you would do best to keep the bullk of your investable assets in stocks, some in cash, a little in bonds, very little in gold, and a bit in real estate. Note that I am not including your home in this assessment. If I did, most of us would have more than 50 percent of our assets in real estate (which might be a big part of the problem, right).

I still think the US is the place to be for innovation: IT, bio tech, medicine. But I think you may want to invest a considerable portion in foreign markets. China will not stop growing for some time. India is still going to improve. Latin America still has lots left, as does Canada, Russia, and Europe.

The world, as they say, is your oyster. Choose wisely, or else you may get one that's toxic.

Now what?

In 12 years, Antoine Walker(notes) made more than $110 million playing professional basketball moderately well.

It always seems to happen.

Whatever the details, it was a big chunk of change, which, amazingly, wasn’t enough.

These guys seem to wind up in debtor’s prison or the poor house, or both. It’s a shame, in a way, to see all that money wind up gone, but at least these guys stimulate the economy, right? I mean, that money didn’t just vanish; it just moved from his pockets to everybody else’s.

I’m really surprised that the professional sports leagues haven’t really come up with a solution to this widespread problem. Why haven’t they employed the likes of American Express, Fidelity, or some of the better-known financial institutions to not only teach these guys how to manage their money, but why not even do more than that?

Don’t you see a very lucrative niche here? I guess much of this is handled by the athletes’ agents. But maybe therein lies the problem.

Why not employ financial planners? Why not, instead of giving them x percent (10 percent, is that the going rate for “talent?”) on the front end, give them 7 percent on the backend?

If I make you money as a financial guru, give me a piece of it when it’s bigger? Then, there is an incentive for both parties to utilize my services?

What am I missing here?

Is it that these guys are so toxic that nobody wants to touch them? Are the sports agents so powerful that nobody can “break in” to this aspect of an athlete’s life?

Why aren’t the players unions more involved? Or are they in on the money grab, too?

Just think what a really talented money manager could make out of an NBA star? It boggles the mind how much better off he could make not only the athlete, but the athlete’s community. And all without the extreme sadness experienced by the once highly-sought after athlete, once he is put out to pasture.

Banks, insurers head higher – MarketWatch

A quartet of top U.S. bank stocks rose on Wednesday after J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. reported earnings that surpassed Wall Street estimates, and the insurance sector also weighed in with gains to lift financial stocks more than 2%.

I suggest that the management at JPM horde all that cash, as the next big mortgage resets occur in 2012 (5 years after the peak of 2007, when everybody and their mother, dog, parakeet, and gerbil bought houses with no money down, poor credit, and insufficient income).

Now that many of those same people are now either unemployed or still making less money than their mortgage payment, the pressure is going to be HUGE on the housing market, banking sector, and overall economy. Let’s hope the news that the economy and employment pictures are improving, else we fall into a really nasty tailspin. Let’s also hope I’m wrong about the resets (here’s the good personal news: my mortgage from 2004 reset at a lower interest rate).

Welcome to the July 15, 2009 edition of kids and money.

Madison presents Summer Jobs for 11 Year Olds – Jobs for 11 Year Olds posted at Kids and Money.

Madison presents Student Loan Rates Will Drop to All Time Low posted at My Dollar Plan.

Finance Tips 101 presents Car Donations ? Knowing The Facts posted at Finance Tips 101.

Ishan @ ILoveFreeSoftware presents How to Setup Virtual Fax Machine for Free posted at I Love Free Software, saying, “Having a regular fax machine is expensive. The best alternative is to use Online fax services. However, most of the fax services come with a monthly fee. In this article I explain how to setup your own free online fax service completely free. No registration fee, no monthly fee, no setup charges. Totally Free.”
Yeah, not kids and money per se, but certainly a tip I wanted to pass along. FREE nowadays is a good thing (always has been, I suppose).

Pamela Parker presents Four Deaths, Four Different Reasons to Plan posted at Legacy.

Cindy Morus, The Money Mender presents Did Your Bank Flip You posted at Mend Your Money.com.

Barry presents Learn To Survive On A $100 Grocery Budget posted at Associate Money.

Steven Chang presents The Truth About Money – Money Blog – Money Making Tips and Money Management posted at Money Making Tips and Money Management, saying, “I hope this short blog post about wealth getting and preservation will benefit your readers.”

Chris McClelland presents In the long run, college will end up hurting your savings. posted at Lucrative Investing.

Chris McClelland presents The untimely death of celebrities has turned into quite a lucrative business posted at Lucrative Investing.

Jack Schmidt presents 7 Tools For Your Money Belt posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, “SectorMatic Money Site – Personal Finance | Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget. Now you can live like a fat cat, even if you’re on a money diet. Laugh all the way to the bank with Jack Schmidt and SectorMatic. It’s for you!”

jim presents What is the Average Credit Score? posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Ray @ Financial Highway presents Debt Reduction-Financial Planning Guide Step 10 posted at Financial Highway, saying, “Debt Reduction is the first step in building wealth, here are some strategies that can help you reduce your debt.”

Bobby Leong presents Tissa Godavitarne GDI Leaderboards Home Business posted at Global Domains International Tips.

Jack Schmidt presents Put A Little Passion In Your Wallet posted at SectorMatic Money Journal.

Praveen presents Students Beware! Colleges, Tuition, Loans, and Debt – Will Education Follow the Housing Bust? posted at My Simple Trading System.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents myFICO Score Watch: Equifax Credit Score Monitoring posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Teach your kids the basics of credit and credit scores.”

Joshua presents Re-Using For The Family Budget posted at Family and Parenting, saying, “Recycling is not only good for the environment but also good for your family finances.”

Finance Tips 101 presents Tips To Help You Qualify For A Home Mortgage | Finance Tips 101 posted at Finance Tips 101.

One Family presents Southwest Airlines (LUV) – Stock Analysis posted at One Family’s Blog, saying, “An analysis of Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock.”

Nancy Miller presents The Problems of Implementing ICT in Secondary Education posted at Accredited Online PHD Universities.

josh andreson presents All Boxed Up: Types of Flash Media Packaging posted at Flash Media Packaging.
Another non-kids and money topic, but interesting nonetheless. I use flash media all the time. It’s awesome. And really cheap. I can see a day really soon where ALL your day-to-day data (including OS) is on a stick.

Jack Schmidt presents Real Estate: The Time to “Buy Low” Is Now posted at SectorMatic Money Journal.

Martin Russell presents “Conspiracy of the Rich”- A Review posted at Word of Mouth Marketing.

KCLau presents MoneyWise Interview on BFM 89.9 – The Business Station posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “was chatting with Patrick Michael on Business FM (BFM) 89.90 – The Business Station yesterday regarding some money lessons we can learn from watching the Transformers movies”

Save Money presents Revising and Simplifying My Budget (One More Time) posted at How I Save Money.net.

Chris McClelland presents Estate lessons we can all learn from Michael Jackson posted at Lucrative Investing.
It’s amazing to me how MJ’s demise has inspired all sorts of stories. I hate to think what’s going to happen to me, my stuff, and my family when I die, EVEN with a will. I guess there’s one good thing about not being rich and/or famous — nobody’s probably going to contest my will or challenge any trusts I set up…small victories…

Chris McClelland presents Your credit score may soon lead to targeted Google ads posted at Lucrative Investing.

PicktheBrain presents Top 10 Ways for Grad Students to Save Cash posted at Online Doctoral Programs.

Dan presents Kids Birthday Parties – Better at Home or Out for Theme Party? | My Dad Blog posted at My Dad Blog, saying, “This article considers the pros/cons of home birthday parties vs. themed parties like Bounce-U and Little Gym with topics spanning costs, convenience and fun.”
This is timely for me personally. I have a soon-to-be 2-year-old…last year, we had a party at a park. Happened to be the hottest day of the year (110)! It would have been nice to be able to go inside and get out of the heat. But then again, our house is too small to contain more than 6-8 people (somewhat comfortably), so our giant gathering would have had to take turns. I really like the idea of the Party Palooza type places.

Daniel Drew presents Line of Credit posted at My Business is doing well should I choose an SBA Loan?, saying, “”Lines of credit are generally paid off by opting for a permanent source of financing. In case of commercial property line of credit, the sale of the old property may help repay the line of credit”"

Ray @ Financial Highway presents Canadian Discount Brokerage Review and Comparison for TFSA and RRSP posted at Financial Highway, saying, “A look at Canadian Discount Brokers”

Brian McKay presents Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for Dependent Care posted at MonitorBankRates.com, saying, “A dependent care flexible spending Account (FSA) allows you to save money pretax to pay for dependent care in the process also lowering your taxable income.”

Billeater presents Dorm Life – Cheap College Living Tips posted at Billeater.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Balance Transfer Credit Card Tips, Facts and Traps posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “One important area of finance to teach kids about? The use of credit cards. Here is some coverage on balance transfer cards to teach your kids.”
Credit nowadays is a necessity. But I wish it wasn’t. So easy to spend beyond your means.

The Smarter Wallet presents Best Security Software For Your Computer posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “We all need to protect our computers, even the ones used by our families. Here’s how to do it!”

Banker Saver presents How Safe Is Your Retirement Fund? posted at Banker Saver, saying, “Retirement is a ways away for your kids, but it’s something they should understand early on. Investing as early as possible pays off.”

Ray presents Is A Costco Executive Membership Worth It? posted at Money Blue Book.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of kids and money using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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