Different Types of Investments (Camp Trader101- Tidbit Series)

Posted on July 3, 2009
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Surprisingly there are few different kinds of investments. They all fall under two basic headings. All investments are either tangible or intangible.
They are also either Short term or Long term investments. Under these headings the categories broaden out slightly to include Stocks, Bonds, Cash and Commodities. Sounds simple, right?  Unfortunately, it gets more complicated from there. Within each of the respective investment categories there are numerous sub-categories or types of investments.  There is quite a bit to learn about each of the different investment types.

Picture provided by Traveladventures.org
Picture courtesy of Traveladventures.org

The markets for the different investments can be a bit overwhelming for those who know little or nothing about investing.  Fortunately, the amount of information that you need to learn has a correlation to the type of investor that you are.

There are three types of investors:  conservative, moderate, and aggressive.  The different types of investments also cater to the two levels of risk tolerance:  “high risk” and “low risk”.


Conservative investors often invest in cash.  This means that they put their money in interest bearing savings accounts, money market accounts, mutual funds, US Treasury bills, and Certificates of Deposit. These are very safe investments that grow over a long period of time.  These are also low risk investments.

Moderate investors often invest in cash and bonds, and may dabble in the stock market. Moderate investing may be low or moderate risks. Moderate investors often also invest in real estate, providing that it is low risk real estate.

Aggressive investors commonly do most of their investing in the stock market, which is higher risk.  They also tend to invest in business ventures as well as higher risk real estate. For instance, if an aggressive investor puts his or her money into an older apartment building, then invests more money renovating the property, they are running a risk. They expect to be able to rent the apartments out for more money than the apartments are currently worth – or to sell the entire property for a profit on their initial investments.  In some cases, this works out just fine, and in other cases, it doesn’t.  It’s a risk.

Before you start investing, it is very important that you learn about the different types of investments, and what those investments can do for you.  Understand the risks involved, and pay attention to past trends as well. History does indeed repeat itself, and investors know this first hand!

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Lockdown (Preparedness Tips)

Posted on January 29, 2009
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Today after the World Trade Center is long gone but certainly not forgotten, after columbine, after Columbia university, after more mall shootings than I care to count, most schools in the U.S. have lock down guidelines. Every school, most malls and many businesses have taken safety of those who spend time in these places seriously enough to have in place rules and procedures that will cause them to “lock down” the establishment. When one of these places go on lock down, nobody can get in or out easily.

Going on Lockdown is meant to protect the people inside from any situation that may be harmful to life or limb. For instance, If a man with a gun enters a school, as soon as he is recognized as a threat, the alarm goes out and each teacher will shut and lock their classroom door then account for all students in their charge. Communication with the front office for further instruction is usually done over the intercom but may also be done with two way radio or cell phone. The outside doors are also shut and locked. In some places security guards take care of this task as well as provide other services.

Each student, teacher, business owner, employee etc. who have lockdown rules in place, have probably gone over or rehearsed their part a number of times so they know exactly what to do in case of trouble.

Its my opinion that every school, every business, every family home should have a lockdown program in place so if an emergency happens everyone knows what to do and what their part or responsibility is. Steps should be taken by you to work to put a lockdown program in place for your family. If one is not in place at your work then you need to urge them to put one in place there as well. At home a Lockdown program should be incorporated as part of your emergency plan. Practiced as part of your overall emergency plan, after all, if you ever need to have your home go on lockdown, it may indeed be an emergency.

Different Types of Bonds (Camp Trader101- Tidbit Series)

Posted on January 21, 2009
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Investing in bonds like any other investment can range in level of safety. There are four basic types of bonds available and they are sold through the Government, through corporations, state and local governments, and foreign governments.

The greatest thing about Government bonds is that you will get your initial investment back. This makes bonds the perfect investment vehicle for those who are new to investing, looking for safe investments or for those who have a low risk tolerance.

The United States Government sells Treasury Bonds through the Treasury Department. You can purchase Treasury Bonds with maturity dates ranging from three months to thirty years.

Treasury bonds include Treasury Notes (T-Notes), Treasury Bills (T-Bills), and Treasury Bonds. All Treasury bonds are backed by the United States Government, and tax is only charged on the interest that the bonds earn.

Corporate bonds are sold through public securities markets. A corporate bond is essentially a company selling its debt. Corporate bonds usually have higher interest rates. Higher because typically they are more risky. If the company goes belly-up, the bond is worthless. There is no taxing authority a corporation has like the U.S. Government or State or local Goverments have.


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Emergency Plans (Preparedness Tip)

Posted on January 21, 2009
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Emergency Plans

You should inquire about emergency plans at places where your family spends time: work, daycare, school, the gym. If no plans exist, consider volunteering to help create one. Talk to your neighbors or group of nearby friends about how you can work together in the event of an emergency. You will be better prepared to safely reunite your family and loved ones during an emergency if you think ahead and communicate with others in advance. It will probably be easier to make a long-distance phone calls than to call across town, so an out-of-town contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members.

DO NOT count on your cell phone to work in emergency situations. In an emergency where there are many people involved cell systems could be jammed also.

Be sure every member of your family knows the phone number and has coins or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency contact. You may have trouble getting through, or the telephone system may be down altogether, but be patient. Find out what kinds of disasters, both natural and man-made, are most likely to occur in your area and how you will be notified. Methods of getting your attention vary from community to community. One common method is to broadcast via emergency radio and TV broadcasts. You might hear a special siren, or get a telephone call, or emergency workers may go door-to-door.

Here is a good link for an Emergency Plan outline
Make an emergency plan as soon as possible. Go over it with each member of your family so each member knows their role and position they will plan as the plan unfolds if an emergency happens.





72 hr kit vs. 10 day kit (Preparedness Tip)

Posted on January 18, 2009
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YOU should have at least a 72 hr Emergency Preparedness kit in your home and also one in your car for each member of your family. This advice once thought to be an adequate standard, has now given way to more of a general guideline of a minimum standard that everyone should strive for. As experience has shown us, the “72hr kit” is NOT adequate in many cases. A growing community of preparedness professionals now say that an Emergency Preparedness kit for at least 10 days should now be the norm instead of 72hr kits. In fact most are now moving away from even saying 72hr or 10 day kits and simply calling them Emergency Preparedness kits. I go along with this thinking but would say that because everyone is different as is every emergency situation, assessing ones own needs and comfort level should take into account when determining ones needs. Possible emergency situations that may take place in the area that you live will help when tailoring your own Emergency Preparedness kit specifically designed for you. I would urge you to purchase or put together an Emergency Preparedness kit for yourself and for each member of your family.

When preparing for a possible emergency situations, it’s best to think first about the basics of survival: fresh water, food, air and warmth or shelter.

Here are 29 tips that will help get you started in preparing your Emergency Preparedness kit.

Be sure not to forget the special needs of older folks, the disabled, young children and pets. Plan for their needs as well when putting together Emergency Preparedness kit


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