Since that period, the economy had started to recover somewhat and the markets seemed to be operating within their normal capacity. As it turns out this was not the case, as once again what I call the ‘Gordon Gecko’ syndrome was plaguing the markets. With everyone working with their individual interests at heart, it soon spiralled out of control and in 2008 it was announced that we were in a global recession, which is still on-going!!

Since the advent of the global recession, investors’ confidence has been at an all-time low, ‘Gordon Gecko’ syndrome is no longer ‘cool’ (as can be seen with B. Madoff and other ‘Gecko alumni’). These days long term investing seems a ‘myth’ to many as they find it difficult to find secure investments. Most people are turning to commodities markets – especially precious metals (gold, silver) – as the only safe investments available; this has sent the cost of these investments skyrocketing with no clear end in sight. Gold prices are nearly at the $2000 a troy ounce mark, with some analysts saying that it could top $3000+, this is over a 400% increase in the last 5 years (around the start of the Recession).

As you can imagine the last ten years have been a literal ‘nightmare’ for many investors, especially private individuals, many of whom lost significant chunks of their fortunes when their brokerage firms/fund managers had to cease operations and file bankruptcy. If one were to start researching the markets from the year 2000 onward you would see that many investors, investment firms and banks have literally vanished from existence and most of the main players that we still hear about daily are technically only there because they were bailed out. In fact there are only a few key players in operation that did not benefit from a bailout or even need one for that matter, as they were not only able to survive but thrive during all these doom and gloom periods. Firms such as Lombard Odier have been able to successfully operate profitably through over 40 crises, as they base their strategies around diversification rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.

If we look at a definition for insanity it would say something like ‘repeating the same thing over and over whilst expecting a different result’. For example, would you repeatedly hit your head against a wall in the hope of curing a migraine? Exactly, you wouldn’t do that as it would probably make the situation worse!! Yet in the financial markets and banking sectors this seems to be the ‘normal’ way of doing business, as even after being bailed out they are carrying on a ‘business as usual’ routine that will no doubt cause the type of global economic meltdown that only a few will be able to survive. This is why as an investor you should only make informed decisions and do not rely on a fund manager to look after your assets unless they are from a reputable firm that fully understands the markets and puts their clients first!! This is especially important if either you do not have the time or you do not understand the markets enough to make a consistent profit on your investment. I personally believe that private independent firms are the best options if you find yourself in the latter situation. There are a few private independent firms that have a proven track record at managing and investing wealth, but alas even ‘track records’ can be misleading, and it’s best to check the firms balance sheet. For instance Lombard Odier has proven track records along with robust balance sheets, that makes it one of the most solid & secure financial institutions in Europe.

There are several factors to the rising cost of insurance premium-

1) Fraud- There are many people who stage deliberate collisions and extract money from the insurance company. This leads to increase in the fees charged via premiums, from honest policyholders.

2) Not having insurance- There are many people on the streets, who have not bought insurance. As per statistics, 23,000 people get injured owing to clumsiness of uninsured drivers every year. Although most insurances covers accident claims by uninsured drives, this comes with an additional premium fee, which may be quite high.

3) Increasing number of claims- The cost of claims has added approximately 10% to the premium as per Association of British Insurers. When insurance companies have to face a personal injury claim, they have to pay a significant amount as legal charges. Companies are often in search for quality personal injury solicitors. If you are in are in the UK, you can try out personal injury solicitors from Croftons Solicitors LLP, which has a reputation of being one of the best players in the niche.

It is important to understand some of the reasons as to why the auto premiums are rising throughout the country.

I am starting SEO Myth Breaker – Testing SEO Myths because building sites, doing SEO and profiting from that is one of the things I do with my time. And because the SEO is full of myths, I decided to test and them and burst the ones that are wrong.

The blog will be interesting and useful for people who want to make money online, to people who run small business, freelancers and companies. Without traffic from search engines your business will hardly succeed. Enjoy!

Ok, time for the most interesting personal finance posts from February:

wellheeled asks whether paying with credit card equals spending more money. My answer is yes, but see what others think.

Andy at Tight Fisted Miser plans to live on $10k a year. I can do it here (Bulgaria, East Europe), but what about you in your country?

Trent at The Simple Dollar shares interesting lessons he learned from his family tree.

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The Silicon Valley Blogger shares ideas for dining under $10 and even under $1. We are just making dinner for 2 this evening costing $6, electricity included.

Worried about getting fired? The Rocket Finance can’t wait for this to happen.

Most financial problems are not related to real poverty. They come because people have supersized lifestyle. By David at Money Ning.

Madison at My Dollar Plan makes some money blogging and shares how.

Pinyo at Moolanomy explained in what is a reverse mortgage simple words.

Erik at Money Smart Life shows how to find freelance jobs. There are many more channels to be added to this.

Jeremy at Generation X Finance discusses what is it to be a part of the “gig economy”.

There’s a quick post on Free Money Finance giving some ideas to make money by growing stuff.

Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity calculated that a penny saved is a penny and a third earned. Good, let’s go save some money.

Jim at Blueprint For Financial Prosperity suggests that you should not worry for the stock market, but invest in family. And yourself, I would add.

Patrick at Cash Money Life gives one simple to follow and efficient advice – save money and the nature with reusable shopping bags. We usually do it.

Jeremy at Generation X Finance explores an interesting angle of the recession – more people learn how to cook.

In the beginning of the month The Lazy Man shared his ideas about how to be successful in the new year. Most of the suggestions look reasonable to me.

Him at Make Love, Not Debt has another interesting question – does recession equal romance? I personally would prefer romance without recession, but we can never be 100% happy, can we?

Being a DYI fan, I enjoyed Madison’s post at My Dollar Plan: 16 Ways To Do It Yourself.

David at My Two Dollars is not a consumer, but a person. How about you?

David at MoneyNing gives the secret of dealing with the financial crisis.

Here is one provocative post from Rocket Finance: he believes that Paris Hilton will create more jobs than Obama. Do you agree?

A guest blogger at The Digerati Life explains how trading stocks can make you poor. Unfortunately many already know that by own experience.

Trent at The Simple Dollar has a lot of great posts as usually. I had to pick just one, so it’s this one.

Jeremy Day at Insight Writer published an excellent post How To Create Outstanding Value.

Steve Olson is not exactly a PF blogger, but his wife has a post that I want to share with you, because it really contains very useful insights – Want to Start a Small Business on the Internet? The Myths and the Reality.

Trent at The Simple Dollar asks a very good question – Is Debt Necessary For Generating Income?. He has also reviewed the first book by Steve Pavlina, it’s a great review and book to check.

David at MomeyNing is warning about 8 Bad Things You Are Teaching Your Kids About Money.

Pinyo at Moolanomy is giving 7 Ideas To Turbo Charge Your Career Toda.

Money Crashers also talk about job and career – 10 Reasons Why You Are Still At The Job You Hate.

You’ve certainly heard the mantra to pay yourself first. Well, Jamie at Paid Twice is giving Five Concrete Ways To Pay Yourself First.

Gather Little By Little has a cool frugal idea – you can move to a rural area.

The Clever Dude wrote a nice post about Toronto’s Smallest House.

Patrick at Cash Money Life muses about the alternative income importance.

Jim at Blueprint For Financial Prosperity shares 5 things he wish he knew when he graduated. How many are the things you wish you knew?

Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has compiled a cool list of 50 Financial Skills Every Person Needs To Know.

Patrick at Cash Money Life just wrote a killer post about Applying National Security Measures to Your Personal Finances.

Jaime at Paid Twice asks an interesting question: Is The Economy Affecting Your Mentality?

Pinyo at Moolanomy gives 7 Ideas To Turbo Charge Your Career Today.

Yet another excellent list: Cap at Stop Buying Crap offers 10 Simple Ways to Feel Rich Without Materialistic Means.

Jacques at The Digerati Life looks for the positive and shows How To Run A Small Business In Time Of Crisis.

Here is another interesting guide, this time from Trent at The Simple Dollar: How to Plan Ahead for Next Week’s Meals (And Save Significant Money): A Step-By-Step Guide.

There are not much entries this time. If you have published something great and it’s not here, I’d like to hear!

Connie at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity thinks that babies are expensive. Can you argue with her?

If the dropped prices of the houses are still too high for you, check out what does it cost to build a house yourself. Carl‘s blog have a lot of information about that as well.

Jeremy at FMF is giving Two Steps to Being a Millionaire and Retiring in Your 40’s. Easier said than done, but not impossible.

glblguy at Gather Little by Little has published a kind of tutorial about envelope budget method.

The Lazy Man is sharing ideas about making money on ebay. I have never tried to do business there so far, but maybe some day.

The Money Crashers have completed a list of The 5 Best Cars For College Students. May I add one suggestion for college students? Take the bus.

Pinyo at Moolanomy has a lovely article saying why and how to become a part time entrepreneur. He has collected a bunch of very good links along with the article.

Jonathan at My Money Blog has published a good interview with the balloon art entrepreneur Irina Patterson.

David at My Two Dollars offers 13 ways to save money and go green. There are few excellent tips inside.

Can public speaking be a source of alternative income? Of course, it can. Some make thousands per hour doing it.

Alan has posted a guide on starting an investment club at his money blog.

Trent at The Simple Dollar always has a ton of interesting articles. In my eyes the most important from the past month was The Big Debate #5: Chasing the Dreams or Chasing the Money?. What’s your choice in the debate?

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Tricia @ Blogging Away Debt suggests that you should let your kids make money mistakes. Trying to guard them too much doesn’t help in other areas of life either.

Jim @ Blueprint For Financial Prosperity gives five good reasons to start your own garden. We are on our way to do that, what about you?

Trent at The Simple Dollar shares good thoughts on The Value (and Cost) of Experiences.

You may want to check out my guest post at Cash Money Life. I am trying to figure out the remarkable approach to your finances. Patrick himself has published a great How to Become A Millionaire article series.

The DINKs have shared few good ideas for Inexpensive Organic Alternatives.

FMF asks Would You Like a Four-Day Work Week?. The post is from the beginning of the month, but you can still comment if you have something else to say.

Jeremy @ Generation X Finance warns about the Top 12 Money Mistakes Most People Make. Do you make some of them too?

I have one unfinished post about biotechnology investing sitting in drafts. I believe this is a very profitable niche. Henry @ Money Smart Life has been quicker than me and posted A Beginner’s Guide to Biotechnology Investments.

Pinyo @ Moolanomy has always been a great promoter of the idea to build streams of alternative income. Now he even suggests that this is the career of the future.

If you read the my article about India you may already think about riding a bike. David @ My Two Dollars thinks about applying the same strategy in USA.

Do you dream about passive income? David @ MoneyNing gives an intro to it and a lot more. That’s indeed a good summary.

And what can I say about Punny Money except that he’s always extraordinarily cool: Five Incredibly Stupid Ways People Are Trying To Save Money on Gas. Don’t ever think about skipping his blog.

There is a lovely guest post on Stop Buying Crap: Four Things That Are Crap. May I add some?

Another guest blog that deserves attention is published on The Difgerati Life – The Cost of Being Overweight. If you wonder if this relates to you, try checking with this overweight calculator.

And finally I want to finish with a must read article by Steve Pavlina – What I Learned From Going Bankrupt in My 20s That Proves to Be Immensely Valuable in My 30s.

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When I am back, I’ll share with you how people in India manage their finances. Trust me, there is what to learn from them (I’ve been there before).

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