After three months of gains, is the market finally ready to settle back down? It is stating look that way. Many financial analysts are starting to feel that this bull market run can’t be sustained. There are many unanswered questions in this “new” economy, and a continued bull market run just isn’t realistic.

Here are the top three questions that need to be answered before a great deal of confidence can be had.
1. Will the US toxic asset plan work? It sounds somewhat plausible, but so did Pepsi Clear. The banks are becoming less interested in the plan to buy their bad loans because they don’t want to fall under that much government control.

2.Is stagflation inevitable? The economy is stagnant and money is being printed at a breakneck pace. This can only mean one thing: stagflation. Stagflation (the garage band that never was) happens when an economy isn’t growing yet the cost of goods is. This is not a good thing, however it seems like a likely scenario.

3. How much of the US will China end up owning? This question doesn’t imply anti-China sentiment, but it does suggest that we are vulnerable to unsolicited financial partnerships. There is a fantastic irony in our quest for pure capitalism: the people who have the money make the rules. China has the money, therefore they will get to make more and more rules. And, of course, China is the furtherest thing from pure Capitalism.

The answers to these questions will most likely mean that the market is heading back down. What do you think? Comment.

About Green Candy™

Green Candy™ (www.GreenCandy.com) is an online financial assessment tool that helps Gen Y-ers and Millennials get on the right financial track before the “debt hits the fan.” Introduced by radio personality, comedian and financial expert Pete the Planner (www.PeteThePlanner.com), Green Candy’s ™ various “pods” allow users to assess their financial health and competency in common areas such as Debt, Budgeting, Investing, Charity, Risk Management and Major Purchases, as well as in areas unique to Gen Y. A subsequent series of targeted worksheets, podcasts, tip sheets, and action plans guides them to the financial promise land. Green Candy™: Get in control before the debt hits the fan.

About Pete the Planner

Pete the Planner (www.PeteThePlanner.com) is expert financial planner Peter Dunn’s super-saving alter ego. Peter is an award-winning comedian and rising star in the financial world. Named one of “Indy’s Best and Brightest” in finance in 2007 by KPMG, Peter was also declared one of NUVO magazine’s “30 under 30 to Watch in the Arts” for comedy. Peter is the author of What Your Dad Never Taught You About Budgeting (2006) and is the host of the popular radio show Skills Your Dad Never Taught You on News Talk 1430 (WXNT). He blogs regularly at www.petetheplanner.com/blog. Pete appears regularly on Fox News and Fox Business as well as various CBS stations. His newest book, 60 Days to Change, is due out in June.

Recently an old intern of mine called to ask some career advice. He is still in college, and is trying to secure a 4th internship before he graduates. I’m a big fan of this. My theory (correct or not) is that you need to fill your career plate with unique experiences. However, I may have just saved him from wasting copious amounts of time in the next few months. He has been trying to find internships at job fairs. This is a terrible idea, especially in this economic climate.

A job fair, in my opinion, is the absolute worst place to find a job. It is especially bad for securing a good internship. What’s the alternative? Outthink your competition. Write down a list of 10 companies that you would like to work for, and get on the phone. Call and tell them that you would like to apply for their internship position. Yes, they may say that they don’t have one, but then you can say, “well, get one.” You can create your own career path simply by asking. Every job that I have ever had has happened this way. I have created every position that I had ever applied for.

Don’t stand in line with 500 other people looking for lame jobs that you don’t want. Create your own!!!

There is stealing, and then there is stealing the “human spirit”. Every year we hear stories of charities being burglarized. That annual bit of news tends to affect me in two ways.

1. I feel sad that people simply don’t care about each other.
2. I start thinking that the person who stole the things from the charity obviously needed the things, thus the charity served its purpose.

Clearly my second though is ridiculous. But interesting nonetheless. But how do we try to classify the world’s biggest swindler, Bernard Madoff? Madoff, 70, recently was busted for defrauding investors out of over $50 billion. He was a former chairman of NASDAQ, and was (and I do mean WAS) one of the most well respected money managers in the world.

Cue the helicopter (you know the helicopter that flies over tornado ravaged ares.) Madoff has caused a massive (un)natural disaster. Many charities that trusted him with their money, have shutdown. Entire countries have lost millions of dollars. This is the lowest of the low. He wasn’t just stealing from charities, but his acts caused them to shutdown. He is preventing others from being functional members of this society. Enjoy your stay in the pokey, Bernard. Oh, and Merry Christmas.

About Green Candy™

Green Candy™ (www.GreenCandy.com) is an online financial assessment tool that helps Gen Y-ers and Millennials get on the right financial track before the “debt hits the fan.”  Introduced by radio personality, comedian and financial expert Pete the Planner (www.PeteThePlanner.com), Green Candy’s ™ various “pods” allow users to assess their financial health and competency in common areas such as Debt, Budgeting, Investing, Charity, Risk Management and Major Purchases, as well as in areas unique to Gen Y. A subsequent series of targeted worksheets, podcasts, tip sheets, and action plans guides them to the financial promise land.  Green Candy™: Get in control before the debt hits the fan.   

About Pete the Planner

Pete the Planner (www.PeteThePlanner.com) is expert financial planner Peter Dunn’s super-saving alter ego.  Peter is an award-winning comedian and rising star in the financial world. Named one of “Indy’s Best and Brightest” in finance in 2007 by KPMG, Peter was also declared one of NUVO magazine’s “30 under 30 to Watch in the Arts” for comedy.  Peter is the author of What Your Dad Never Taught You About Budgeting (2006) and is the host of the popular radio show Skills Your Dad Never Taught You on News Talk 1430 (WXNT). He blogs regularly at www.petetheplanner.com/blog.

Growing up there were only a few real strict rule in my parents household. As long as I steered clear of these things, then life was pretty good. Well, I had some steering issues, and repeatedly slammed into some of the cardinal sins of the Dunn household. There were two main roles that I often transgressed. The first rule was don’t live for the sole purpose of annoying your big sister. Sorry Pops, no dice. That was exactly what I lived for. What little brother doesn’t? The second rule was don’t get a “no” from one parent and then go ask the parent for a “yes”. 

You know what I’m talking about. Let’s say that you want to go the movies with your friends, and your dad says, “No, Pete, you need to mow the lawn”.  While I certainly respected his authority (and disrespected my indentured servitude), I didn’t exactly want to accept “no” for an answer. Fortunately, I was in a two parent household. I could always talk mom into things like this. “Mom, I know that I need to mow the grass, and I think I’m going to tomorrow. Some friends are going to a movie, and I would like to go. My friend, Joey, is anti-social and I’m trying to save his parents from spending a bunch of money on counseling”, I would say.

“Sure Peachie Pie”, mom would say. (Dammit, why did I just tell you what my mom called me).

Anyway, dad would always get real bent out of shape when I would pull this. I finally understand this, and I hope you do it. But, most people don’t. As consumers, we pull this trick all the time. We get a “no” from a conventional loan officer, or from a car dealership finance director, and then we start getting creative. You can’t afford a conventional mortgage? Then ask someone else until you get the answer that you want. Even corporate America has gotten in the game. The big 3 auto companies recently asked Canada for a mulit-billion dollar bailout.

There is something to be said about perseverance, but ignoring authority or common sense, makes no sense. The phrase “can’t afford it” disappeared for years, and fortunately for everyone it is back. Do you keep looking for a yes?

About Green Candy™

Green Candy™ (www.GreenCandy.com) is an online financial assessment tool that helps Gen Y-ers and Millennials get on the right financial track before the “debt hits the fan.”  Introduced by radio personality, comedian and financial expert Pete the Planner (www.PeteThePlanner.com), Green Candy’s ™ various “pods” allow users to assess their financial health and competency in common areas such as Debt, Budgeting, Investing, Charity, Risk Management and Major Purchases, as well as in areas unique to Gen Y. A subsequent series of targeted worksheets, podcasts, tip sheets, and action plans guides them to the financial promise land.  Green Candy™: Get in control before the debt hits the fan.   

About Pete the Planner

Pete the Planner (www.PeteThePlanner.com) is expert financial planner Peter Dunn’s super-saving alter ego.  Peter is an award-winning comedian and rising star in the financial world. Named one of “Indy’s Best and Brightest” in finance in 2007 by KPMG, Peter was also declared one of NUVO magazine’s “30 under 30 to Watch in the Arts” for comedy.  Peter is the author of What Your Dad Never Taught You About Budgeting (2006) and is the host of the popular radio show Skills Your Dad Never Taught You on News Talk 1430 (WXNT). He blogs regularly at www.petetheplanner.com/blog.

This has officially gotten absurd. I would love to spend my time this morning detailing why this is absurd, but that won’t really help us address the problem. I have decided to write a new Bill of Rights (as related to our financial lives). Sometimes you just need to worry about yourself, and not look for someone else to drastically change your life. I waited for an NFL team to call me on Draft day for 6 years, and yet I am still not in the NFL. Waiting is wasting time. Here is the best way to get through these hard times.

1. Your life is not about purchases. Americans tend to buy one thing, and then spend the next several moments planning on how they are going to get more stuff. We are the U.S.A. (the Upgraders States of America). We are constantly upgrading perfectly good stuff. 

2. Stop perpetuating the Main Street/Wall Street cliche’. Part of the problem is that both Main Street and Wall Street are expecting to get bailed out for stuff that they can improve by simply changing their habits. The rhetoric, itself, is lame. I am part of both Wall Street and Main Street, and am insulted that this economic crises as been trivialized by using cutesy language.

3. Understand the importance of an emergency fund. At the bare minimum you need about $1000 that can handle most emergencies. This should keep you out of credit card debt.

4. Adopt the phrase “we can’t afford it”. It’s a healthy thing to do. Also add “we shouldn’t buy it” and “we don’t need it”.

5. People within 5 years of retirement shouldn’t be deep into the market. This is not an “I told you so”, but it is now quite obvious.

6. Don’t waste your time looking to blame someone.  Fight your way out of every ounce of debt you have. Equity is the new black.

Don’t freak out. You will remember yesterday for the rest of your life, but you need to make sure that you have learned from it.

“I have great, great confidence in our capital markets and in our financial institutions. Our financial institutions, banks and investment banks, are strong. Our capital markets are resilient. They’re efficient. They’re flexible.”

– Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, March 16, 2008

“Our policy in this administration — laws shouldn’t bail out lenders, laws shouldn’t help speculators.”

– President Bush, May 19, 2008

“Our economy has continued growing, consumers are spending, business are investing, exports continue increasing and American productivity remains strong. We can have confidence in the long-term foundation of our economy…I think the system basically is sound. I truly do.”

– President Bush, July 15, 2008

We are anxiously awaiting Congress’s decision on whether or not they will spend $700 billion on an economic bailout plan. I am not going to spend this time debating the merits of the plan. In fact, I have a great deal of mixed feelings in regards to this bailout plan. My biggest beef is that Henry Paulson will instantly become the most powerful man on the planet. That makes me uncomfortable. But I digress….

Here is the message that I feel is important for people to understand. If the bailout is approved, then THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THE ECONOMY WILL INSTANTLY TURN AROUND. We are still in a very bad place. The financial industry meltdown was caused by many factors, and many of the factors persist. Don’t be fooled by this bailout. The bailout is meant to stop the problem from getting worse. We still have a long way to go to get better. This bailout will instill short term confidence in the stock market, but the market will eventually find its way back to its appropriate level. I have a pea-sized brain so let me use an analogy here. Let’s say that the sprinkler system at your office building starts spraying water all over the office for a number of hours. Everyone is panicking because water is ruining all the furniture, carpet, and electronics. The fire department comes to your office and shuts down the water after it has been spraying for 5 hours. Well the water has stopped, but there is a ton of clean up left. That is where we will be folks after the bailout. The water will have stopped, but our chairs will be wet. But, eventually things will be just fine. Just be patient. By the way, sitting in a wet chair isn’t very fun.

There is an article in this week’s Indianapolis Business Journal that details the lawsuit filed by ex-employees of WellPoint charging that the company caused financial chaos when they slashed their earnings forecast. The lawsuit contends that the company should have warned employees who held the company stock that things weren’t looking good.

People. People. People. You should not be that much invested in your own company’s stock. Many company’s offer their stock within the 401k program. People tend to think that it is a good investment because they happen to know something about the company. They tend to think, “well, my department is doing well, that means that the whole company is doing well. I should invest more money in the company stock”. That is a really really bad idea. Your financial well being already hinges on your employer, you don’t want it to hinge on your employer even more by holding their stock.

Relax. Breathe. Divest yourself of your company stock if you have more than 10% of your balance there.

Check us out on iTunes. You can catch all our old podcasts.

Do you remember when driving a Hummer was cool? I don’t either. I never thought they were cool. They were the epitome of excess. They always have looked obnoxious. 

Now, they are officially obnoxious. GM is considering selling the Hummer brand. Car lots are jammed with them as people try to trade them in. Most people who own them are upside down on them because they are falling in value sooooo much. Therefore, while they use to only look ridiculous, they are now officially financially ridiculous.  See what happens when you buy a car that is meant to make you look cool.