Today’s post is a guest post by Greg Wildermuth from www.adviceconsolidationdebt.com.

There is nothing like retiring and having your working life all behind you, ready to enjoy your retirement money and relax, and then realizing that your credit card debts are going to keep you working longer.  Credit card debts can cause serious problems for seniors.  These companies don’t offer a senior discount and they don’t have special sympathy for those of us in our golden years.

Unfortunately, there’s no escaping paying them back.  But the good news is that there’s a method that can make it easier.  It’s called “debt consolidation.”

What Is Debt Consolidation?

Debt consolidation means taking all of your many monthly payments, and putting them into one easy monthly bill.  What really happens is that you take out a new debt that covers your old debts.  Your lender pays back all of your different debs, and then you’ve just got to make one monthly payment to them.

How It Can Help You With Your Monthly Finances

Debt consolidation is ideal for people who have many payments each month and the total number of all of them is enough to hurt.  In other words, you’ve got a stack of bills on the kitchen table and they put a huge bite into your monthly income.  Here are some of the advantages:

It’s Easy.  Because you just have to make one monthly payment, there’s no more chasing down bills and sending them all off – or even worse, logging onto a bunch of websites to pay them all off.

Your Monthly Bill Is Smaller.  Not only do you pay only one bill, it’s smaller and much more manageable.  You can negotiate a lower rate with your debt consolidation lender so that you don’t have to pay so much each month.

Lower Interest Rates.  Although not always the case, debt consolidation almost always offers lower interest rates.  This also makes it a better deal.

The Downsides To Debt Consolidation

At this point it probably sounds like a dream come true, but there are a few things that you should consider first before you run to the nearest debt consolidation company.  First of all, these will be lower monthly payments, and what this means is that the repayment period will be extended.  You’ll have to pay your loan back for many more years.

The other problem is that sometimes it’s a trap.  If you’ve got a habit of signing up for more credit even when you’re sinking in credit card debt, this is not for you.  By making your debts more manageable each month, it may tempt you to start borrowing again.  This often happens to even the most sensible people.  Before you decide it’s the thing for you, make sure that you’re committed to getting debt relief.

Beware Of Those Who Say They Want To Help

One more thing to watch out for is that you find a legitimate company to help you with your debt consolidation.  There are some companies out there that are less than ethical about how they do this.  They prey on your vulnerability and the fact that you’re in so much trouble.  Make sure you’ve got a company that has a good reputation for helping people.

How To Get Started

If it sounds like something you’re interested in, start looking on the web for companies that offer debt consolidation.  You can also ask at your local bank or credit union.  They often offer this type of plan.

When you need credit card debt relief, it seems like there’s nothing you can do except keep handing over the money each month.  Debt consolidation offers an easier option that can really help you enjoy your retirement years.

A couple of months ago I had a guest Post by Nilus Mattive titled: Will Social Security Last Through Your Retirement? Will Your Benefits be Reduced? It has been one of the most-read posts in this blog and I continue to get lots of email from fellow geezers who agree with Nilus.

So that got me to thinking:  What can folks do if their benefit are reduced which given the current debt crisis seems more and more likely?  Well – that is one of the things this website is about.  If you look in the sidebar you will see several books  that are designed to help us geezers find ways to earn extra money.  The one that is missing is a book about eBay and Amazon.

eBay and Amazon each have about 600,000 independent sellers who are making good money working from home –many of them part-time.  I don’t have a book on the Geezer site about how to do this but I do have two recommendations: the first two books are by me and the third one is from a friend of mine Steve Lindhorst who is a full time Amazon seller.

• The Complete eBay Marketing System.  This is a printed training course that takes a new user through everything they need to know to learn not only how to sell on eBay but how to do it consistently and make money doing it.
• Sell Used Books on eBay, Amazon.com and the Internet for Profit. The used book market is good anytime but it does especially well during a recession.  This book lays out a simple system for buying and selling used books, what books to buy, where to find them and how much to pay. This is a business you can start for $20 to $30 than can easily earn hundreds of dollar a week just working part time.
• Selling on The River – The River is internet slang for Amazon.  This book contains everything you need to know to get started selling on the single most successful online shopping site.  A lot of seniors like working on Amazon instead of eBay because Amazon does most of the work for you.

So, social security may –or may not last, but why take the chance? Start now earning that extra money now and be sure and put some of it away as you are going to need it.

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Lose Up To 29 Pounds of Stubborn Belly Fat.

I was doing some research and found the 31 Day Belly Fat Cure that was designed by a former Army sergeant.  This simple and easy method will help you lose up to 29 pounds of stubborn belly fat. And anyone in reasonable physical condition can do this.  Its a no-stress method and it works. (No – I am not going to show you pictures, but I went to Costco yesterday and bought three pair of jeans and two pair of Dockers’ trousers two sizes smaller in the waist after only two weeks).

Here is a short video that explains the 31 Day Belly Fat Cure.  If you decide its for you, you are in good company as this is currently the best-selling belly fat loss program on the web today –and its perfect for us seniors.

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A lot of people are buying up Potassium Iodine tablets due to the Japanese Radiation scare.  It is pretty unlikely that the radiation will arrive here in dangerous amounts, but if we ever have our own nuclear plant disaster it would be good to have these on hand –and they are pretty cheap insurance.  Although most drug stores are out, Amazon has a pretty good supply of Potassium plus Iodine 180 tabs that sell for only $11.99 bottle.

This is a fairly new credit card scam that has been hitting us Geezers and others as well as we get closer to the holiday season. You can verify this with Snopes.Com.  To verify see this site: http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp

This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want.

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it… This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & Master Card Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you’ll be better prepared to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from ‘VISA’, and I was called on Thursday from ‘Master Card’. The scam works like this: Caller: “This is (name), and I’m calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I’m calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card, which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in?”

When you say ‘No’, the caller continues with, ‘Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?’

You say ‘yes’. The caller continues – ‘I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800 -VISA) and ask for Security.’

You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6-digit number. ‘Do you need me to read it again?’

They are really after your CVV number

Here’s the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works:

The caller then says, “I need to verify you are in possession of your card”.

He’ll ask you to ‘turn your card over and look for some numbers. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security   numbers (Your CVV Code) that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card.

The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he’ll say, ‘That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?’ After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, “Don’t hesitate to call back if you do,” and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.

Long story – short – we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don’t give it to them. Instead, tell them you’ll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card!

If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you’re receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you’ll see charges for purchases you didn’t make, and by then it’s almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

This particular fraud is really accelerating at Christmastime, so you may want to share this blog post with your friends and family.

Imagine you have a really nice home in Florida. You are sitting on your deck one day enjoying a Mojito, when the doorbell rings. You open the door and there stands a very nice smiling couple with luggage. “Hi – we’re your renters this week’”

“What?” you say. “We don’t rent our house out.”

“What do you mean? We rented this house from your classified ad in the New York Times. We prepaid $1700 for the whole week.”

This is what is happening all over the country, but mostly in hot vacation locations. Just last week a family of 6 showed up at a house in Orlando. They had paid a “vacation rental agent” $2000 for the week. The scammers set up a “vacation rental” site for a real home (complete with photos), and they rent it out for weekend and holiday getaways. The scammers don’t own the house.

Other popular scams this holiday season

Us Geezers are favorite targets of scammers and this holiday season is no exception.

Malware – Look out for animated holiday cards from people you don’t know. They almost always contain Malware that will sit in your email program and send out thousands of spam messages that appear to come from your email address.

The parcel waiting scam - You find a card on your door saying an attempt was made to deliver a package that you need to sign for. The card tells you to  call a particular number for more details.  Since most people expect parcels this time of year, so you call the number and get a recorded message or music that keeps you on the line for a while. you have just fallen for the 809 Area code scam.  The number you are calling is actually in the Caribbean and you are being charged $5 or $10 a minute while you hold and listen to the music.

Check the name of the company on the Internet. and check the phone area code. If the number is not a 1-800  it is probably a scam. Don’t give out personal details over the phone to someone you don’t know, and don’t tell them when you’re going to be away from home.

Fraudulent charities – These exist all year round, but they are really marketed during the holidays.  Before you donate to any charity that you find online or hear about in email or with a phone call, always check out the charity with BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

Online auctions & phony shopping websites – eBay and the other auction sites work really hard to combat fraud on their sites, but some of these people are very determined.  They are also setting up shopping websites that you get email about. The problem is they don’t have the merchandise.  You pay for the item and they just disappear.  If you use eBay be sure and use PayPal as they have a buyer protection program up to $2000. And never shop at sites you have never heard of before.  If you go to www.whois.com or www.alexa.com, you can type in the name of a website and it will tell you who owns it and when it was set up.

Phony surveys and polls – These are nothing more than a way to capture your name, email address and other info that can be used for identity fraud or just to sell your name as a sales lead.  Do not participate in any survey, contest or poll unless it is from a company that you know well and already do business with.

Here is another great guest article by Larry Edelson that gives his take on what the Fed may have in store for the economy (and us) in the months ahead.

The Federal Reserve’s Next Moves
By Larry Edelson ~ Real Wealth Management

We are now entering a period of time that I’ve been warning you about. A time when the majority begins to recognize that the U.S. and European economies are both plunging deep under water, drowning in debt …

While at the same time, leaders in both the U.S. and Europe face political nightmares … financial markets going haywire … gold soaring through the roof … and central banks beginning, yet again, to pull out their big guns.

And no central bank has bigger guns than our own Federal Reserve.

Make no mistake about it: In the weeks and months ahead, you are going to see Fed Chief Ben Bernanke pull out nuclear-sized bombs to try and destroy the debt crisis that is affecting the world.

But wait you say, hasn’t the Fed already shot all of its bullets?

My answer: No, it hasn’t. The Federal Reserve has far more fire power than almost anyone believes. Mind you: It will not alter the fate and destiny of the economy. But it will alter the way the economy goes down in flames.

Isn’t there anyone left who’ll just tell us the truth?

Politicians and pundits … bureaucrats and bankers … reporters, regulators and rating agencies: They all swore on a stack of bibles that the trillions of dollars Washington spent on bailout and stimulus would save the economy — and with it, your income, your stocks and your retirement.

Unfortunately, despite all the siren songs, the facts most Americans can see with their own eyes paint a very different, much darker, picture.

Understanding this is the single biggest key you need to know to protect your money — and build wealth — in the months ahead.

The Fed Has Plenty Of Ammo Left

Many believe that since the Fed has already printed trillions of dollars … pushed interest rates to near zero … and supported the mortgage and Treasury note and bond markets — that it is effectively “out of bullets.”

And to some extent, they are right. In the sense that their policies thus far have failed to create any real economic growth.

But the pundits who claim the Fed has no ammo left, are dead wrong. The Fed has some very heavy artillery that it can — and will — bring to the fight against the debt crisis in the weeks and months ahead.

Let me review them with you now …

Fed Weapon #1: The Fed can print as much money as it wants. There is no limit to how much it can print. Everyone knows that, but few believe the Fed will print unlimited amounts of money.

Don’t kid yourself. There is no legal or political body the Fed has to answer to. So it can and will print fiat money ad infinitum.

Ben Bernanke and the Fed still have plenty of tricks up their sleeve in a losing battle against the debt crisis.

Ben Bernanke and the Fed still have plenty of tricks up their sleeve in a losing battle against the debt crisis.

Fed Weapon #2: The Fed could also take some of that money and begin buying stocks and real estate for its own account. There is nothing to prevent the Fed from doing that either.

It could buy a trillion dollars or more of stocks and real estate. It can park those assets on its balance sheet, for as long as it wants. Investors who sell their stocks and real estate to the Fed effectively receive money that previously did not exist.

Moreover, the Fed could even set the prices at which it will buy stocks and real estate, at levels well above current market values. It could, in essence, buy anything it wants, at any price it wants, park the assets on its balance sheet, and wait for as long as it needs to before putting the assets back up for sale.

Mind you, the economy would still continue to sink in the interim. But the Fed is hoping that by buying time, the economy would eventually rebound enough for things “to get back to normal” — so to speak — and then, as I noted, it would unload its assets and drain money back out of the system.

Fed Weapon #3: The Fed could lower the bank reserve requirement — which is currently 10% for all bank liabilities over $55.2 million — all the way down to zero.

In effect, it could tell banks that for every $10 of customer deposits it holds, not one penny has to be parked at the Fed anymore as collateral.

While that does not guarantee that banks will start to aggressively lend again, it does add further liquidity to the system.

But that’s not all …

Fed Weapon #4: The Fed could penalize banks for not lending to the economy! Yes, that’s right. For instance, right now the Fed pays banks 0.25% on the excess funds they park with the Federal Reserve, funds that are above and beyond what is required to be held at the Fed as reserves.

But as we all know, banks have not been in a lending frame of mind. For a variety of reasons. One of those reasons however, is this current policy of paying banks a risk-free 0.25% on their excess funds that they’re keeping with the Fed.

So instead, the Fed could simply do a 180 — and tell banks that it is no longer going to pay them any interest on their excess reserve funds.

The Fed can even go a step further, and effectively tax or penalize banks for not making loans out to the general economy.

Worse comes to worst, the Fed could default on all government obligations by devaluing the U.S. dollar.

Worse comes to worst, the Fed could default on all government obligations by devaluing the U.S. dollar.

Fed Weapon #5: The Fed can engineer a “default on the sly” on all government obligations, effectively inflating away America’s debts, by DEVALUING THE U.S. DOLLAR, forcibly and clandestinely.

Of course, the consequences of the four preceding strategies will likely devalue the dollar.

But lest the value of the dollar does not fall enough, the Fed can print up ever more dollars, sell them in the open market … buy other currencies … and put much more pressure on China to revalue its currency higher (and the dollar lower).

In short, the Fed can do whatever it wants, whenever it wants. It does have plenty of ammo left.

In fact, in my opinion, the Fed’s battle against the financial crisis (and deflation) has barely begun.

Which is all the more reason to own the only real form of money that has always maintained its purchasing power: Gold!

Larry Edelson

About Uncommon Wisdom

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I am all about saving money and staying out of debt.  Now that the summer is over its not only time to get back to work at work, but its time to get back to work managing your money.  Here are some tips to reduce expenditures and increase earnings.

1. Get rewards and cash back from your purchases — Although I hate debt, I am a big fan of credit cards that pay rewards.

As long as you buy only what you can afford, and pay off your balance in full every month, rewards cards can really stretch your budget.

For maximum effectiveness, I suggest choosing just one single card and using it for all your purchases.  For example I have a Visa card for our personal purchases with Wells Fargo Bank.  I like their plan because I can use the points for products, gift cards, travel or elect to get cash back at the end of the year. We do the same thing with an American Express Card for our business –we can’t get cash back, but the points can be used for any airline or hotel chain, dozens of resorts, products from large chain stores and we get a free companion ticket to anywhere in the world once a year.  Last year we managed a ten-day vacation that only cost us about $400 as all of our airline and hotel charges were covered by points.  And we had enough left over to buy about a dozen gift cards that became Christmas presents.

The card companies have become stingy, especially because of recent legislation changes. But look around — There are still a few no-annual-fee cards that offer good rewards.

The key here is to pay everything off in full each month. As an added bonus, when you pay for everything with a credit card, you also get a monthly inventory of all your spending. This can be a great help if you are budgeting (and you should be), and if you have a business it really simplifies your bookkeeping.

2. Have a late season garage or yard sale –  Most yard sales happen in the summer and for that reason they are very competitive. But September and October can also be great months for sales.  If you didn’t have on this summer, take a look around your house and plan one now.

It all depends on where you live and how much stuff you have, but I rarely earn less than $500 when I do a garage sale. One of the facts of life of getting older is that you just don’t need as much stuff.  So I am pretty brutal about going through the house and getting rid of stuff. And my wife is even tougher than me.  After I did my run through, she cam along behind me with even more stuff than I had found. The result – We generated just over $700 from our last sale and found three fairly expensive items we sold on eBay for another $322.  So that was over $1000 than went right into an extra mortgage payment on our house  (only 33 payments to go –less if we accelerate them).

3. Sell stuff on eBay — Garage sales are one way to make money, but we also sell on eBay. We have our regular eBay business where we sell new products, but we also like to visit garage sales, thrift shops and small country auctions where we find things to sell.  We don’t do this very often, but it adds up.  I looked back through last year’s sales and we earned an additional $7300 just doing that occasionally.

If you want to learn how to sell on eBay, here is a book I wrote that is very basic and will get you started:

4. Use Ebates for up to 25% cash back: Ebates is a free online coupon site that offers up to 25% cash back from top online stores like Target, eBay, Barnes & Noble, and the Gap. Registering on Ebates is free and takes just seconds. You can get more details at the Ebates website.

5. Combine your cable, Internet and telephone service. Cable and Satellite companies now offer combined services that not only cost less, but also offer the convenience of a single bill.  These combined service deals can save you a bundle.

6. Try Skype to reduce your phone costs — I was pretty slow to adopt Skype, but now I am hooked on it and even got my 87 year old mother using it.  Just last week she had a video conference with her great-granddaughter. Mom is in Virginia and can’t travel and our kids are in San Diego, so this was a real treat for both of them. And we have some friends who live overseas and can talk to them for 3Ë a minute.

7. Use Your Senior Discounts – I am always amazed when I go to buy something and see a senior discount. Last week I even learned that my city gives a discount on my trash and recycle hauling because I am a senior. OK – Its only $2.00 a month less but hey –I’ll take it.  Be sure and ask everyone. Even some cell phone companies now give senior discounts.

8. Improve your credit score. A good credit score can save you thousands of dollar in interest on everything from a home loan to a car loan, and from school loans to credit cards. If you’ve never focused on your credit score before, the place to start is to get your free FICO score. Once you know where you stand, you can begin to improve your score and lower your interest payments.

9. Convert to a gas water heater. If you have an electric water heater convert to gas. They are more efficient and will save you money in the long run. And you may want to look into the instant-on tankless water heaters that only heat water when you need it.  The most popular brand is Rinnai –which is heavily advertised, but there are several other cheaper brands.  Here is a link to a Tankless Heater Guide.

10. Look into refinancing – Home interests rates are at 20-year lows; just over 4% for a 30-year loan and as low as 3.5% for a 15-year loan.  The breakeven point is 1.1%.  If the new rate is at least 1.1% lower than your current rate, you will save money by refinancing.

11. Request a reduction in the interest rate on your credit cards — As with home equity loans, credit card companies sometimes are willing to reduce the interest rate. It can’t hurt to ask. If your credit card company won’t help you, switch to a low interest credit card or a one of several 0% APR credit cards.

12. Get rid of Private Mortgage Insurance. If your down payment was less than 20%, you are probably paying PMI. Once you have a 20% cushion through reducing your debt and home appreciation (yes, prices do go up from time to time), contact your mortgage company to start the process of removing the PMI.

13. Read magazines at the library or online — Magazines today cost a fortune. And how many times have you bought a magazine based on the cover and been disappointed by the lack of substance. At the library you can read magazines for free. And many magazines now offer their content for free online. And while you are at the library check out their DVDs.  My local library doesn’t have as many DVDs as NetFlix, but they have a lot including lots of instructional (how-to) DVDs and all the classic movies.

14. Drive your car longer. Cars made in the last ten years are far more reliable than they used to be.  We drove our last car 236,000 miles before selling it. The new versus used debate often overlooks the most important factor–how long you own your car. Drive it as long as you safely can for substantial savings.  And when you buy a car, you can save a ton of money by purchasing a low-mileage one-year-old car, rather than a new one.

15. Pay your life insurance annually. Insurance companies charge you more if you pay monthly, quarterly or semi-annually. Pay once a year and you’ll pay less. My savings from doing this is just over 6% a year –more than I can earn in a savings account.

16. Pay car insurance semi-annually. At least with my car insurance, they offer quarterly and semi-annual payment options. It costs more to pay quarterly, and twice a year is more convenient anyway.

17. Increase insurance deductibles. Most of us don’t need to be insured for all losses over $100 on our car, for example. Although we wouldn’t want to pay a $250 or even $500 deductible, we could. If that’s you, find out how much you’d save from raising your deductible. I’ve raised my deductibles on my auto insurance and home owner’s insurance and saved a considerable amount.

18. Think before submitting an insurance claim. My rule of thumb is that I won’t submit a claim on a loss that is less than twice my deductible. So for a $250 deductible on an auto loss, I’ll pay out of pocket any loss up to $500. Why? The $250 I’d receive from my insurance company is not worth the increased premiums I’m likely to pay. You may want to call your insurance agent to find out how a claim will impact your premiums before filing the claim.

19. Pass on extended warranties — A $139 two-year extension on a $400 product is just not worth it. Warranties are insurance, and we rarely need to insure such a small amount. Computers may be the exception, as they seem to crash and break frequently.  My current computer is on its 3^rd hard drive –all paid for by warranty.

20. Create a budget and stick to it — And while you are at it, get organized and avoid missed payments. I’ve missed a payment or two because the bill got buried beneath a stack of papers. Get organized and avoid those late payment penalties. If you do miss a payment, call your creditor and ask to have the penalty removed. They’ll usually accommodate the request if you have a good payment record.

So that is 20 fairly painless tips you can use to save money.  Click on the comments below to leave your tips.

A Thirst for Clean Water

by Tony Sagami

About the same time I was traipsing around Singapore last month, around 14,000 of the world’s top business, academic, and government experts from 85 countries gathered in Singapore to learn the newest water-technology developments at the Singapore International Water Week 2010 conference.

The global economy may be filled with uncertainly, but the world’s thirst for water is growing like mad. FACT: A total of $2.8 BILLION worth of water infrastructure deals were concluded at the Singapore conference.

All those billions are being spent for one reason: Clean drinking water is in short supply. It is estimated that the lack of pure water is the single greatest killer in the world: Four children die each minute from illness caused by a lack of drinking water.

The problem is not that the world is running out of water. There is exactly the same amount of water today as there was a million years ago, but a soaring global population and groundwater pollution is creating an acute shortage.

Only 2.5% of the world’s water is fit for human consumption and two-thirds of that is locked away in icecaps and glaciers. This percentage has been fixed since the last ice age.

Water is not like gold or oil where a new discovery will suddenly increase the supply and there is no substitute for water.

Clean drinking water is in short supply, thus a potentially valuable commodity.

According to the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), one-third of the world’s population is short of water. In fact, water is expected to become so scarce in the future that the vice president of the World Bank warned that “the wars of the next century will be about water.”

Yikes!

Clearly, there is some investment opportunity buried in that need for clean drinking water. The easiest way, as usual, is through exchange traded funds. There are four that specialize in water-related stocks.

* First Trust ISE Water Index Fund (FIW) has a 61.9% weighting in industrials; 22.4% in utilities.

* Claymore S&P Global Water Index ETF (CGW) has a 43.9% weighting in industrials; 32.5% in utilities.

* PowerShares Water Resources Portfolio (PHO) is the largest water ETF, with $1.04 billion in assets; 84.8% industrials; 12.3% utilities.

* PowerShares Global Water (PIO) has a 50.5% weighting in industrials; 32.7% weighting in utilities.

All have similar goals, so it pretty much depends on whether you want to invest in the water delivery companies (utilities) themselves or companies that are creating the hardware and technology to clean up the water.

Seven Unsettling Water Factoids:

1. The average American lets eight liters of water go down the sink while brushing their teeth.

2. Americans use 25 times the amount of water on a daily basis than emerging country counterparts.

3. Two-thirds of the world’s fresh water is used to irrigate crops.

4. Americans drench their gardens with seven billion gallons of water a day.

5. 80% of China’s rivers are too polluted to support fish life.

6. 1.1 billion people globally have no access to clean water.

7. China has 21% of the world’s population, but only 7% of the water.

If you’re more of an individual stock investor, you should take a look at Singapore-based Hyflux, one of the most exciting (but high-risk) water companies that I’ve found. Hyflux has developed advanced membrane technology that has modernized the water purification industry and is recognized as one of the world’s leading water treatment companies with operations in Singapore, China, India, and Dubai.

Hyflux was the first water treatment company to be listed on the Singapore stock exchange in 2001 and was added to the Straits Times Index — the Singapore equivalent of the Dow Jones — in March of 2005.

Hyflux’s secret weapon is its revolutionary seawater desalination technology. Desalination is the process that removes salt, minerals, and impurities from seawater to produce potable drinking water.

Hyflux’s patented reverse osmosis system uses permeable membranes to filter out dissolved material or fine solids.

Hyflux’s SingSpring desalination plant is Singapore’s first seawater desalination plant and delivers 10% of Singapore’s water needs. The plant produces 136,380 meters of clean drinking water a day and was recently awarded the Desalination Plant of the Year by Global Water Intelligence for its contribution to the international desalination industry.

Water purification and treatment facilities are the wave of the future.

In fact, the Singapore government is so enamored with the SingSpring plant that its government investment arm, Temasek Holdings, recently purchased a 50% stake in it. That tells you volumes about how central desalinization is to the future of Singapore.

Hyflux isn’t the only company in Singapore working on new water purification technologies. Singapore is already home to more than 50 water-engineering companies with an emphasis on innovation, research and development. They include GE, Siemens and Black & Veatch Corp. of the U.S.; Delft Hydraulics of the Netherlands; and Nitto Denko of Japan.

At least as important, Singapore has two world-class research universities and 12 research institutes dedicated to water engineering, employing hundreds of scientists.

It also touts its strategic location in Asia where India, China and Vietnam invest heavily. “A lack of clean water and the destruction of the environment are acute problems in Asia, a region home to almost three billion people,” according to Singapore’s Economic Development Board. “This presents vast opportunities.”

Hyflux does trade on the over-the-counter U.S. pink sheets market under the ticker HYFXF.PK and has very thin trading volume, but is actively traded on the Singapore stock exchange as 600.SI.

Don’t rush out and buy Hyflux tomorrow. The desalinization opportunity is a long, multi-decade story, so you will have plenty of time to wait for it to go on sale.

But make no mistake, water is going to be one of the most powerful and most lucrative investment trends you will see in your lifetime and Asian water companies, like Hyflux, should be some of the biggest winners.

Best wishes,

Tony

About Uncommon Wisdom

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This investment news is brought to you by Uncommon Wisdom. Uncommon Wisdom is a free daily investment newsletter from Weiss Research analysts offering the latest investing news and financial insights for the stock market, precious metals, natural resources, Asian and South American markets. From time to time, the authors of Uncommon Wisdom also cover other topics they feel can contribute to making you healthy, wealthy and wise. To view archives or subscribe, visit http://www.uncommonwisdomdaily.com.

From time to time I publish articles (with permission) of interest to Seniors from interesting newsletters I receive. This is a great article by Sean Brodrick who publishes the Uncommon Wisdom newsletter

Three Dividend Stealth Stocks
by Sean Brodrick

If you’re like me, you’re getting more and more worried about where the economy and the stock market might go next. One consolation is investing in stocks that pay nice dividends. Why? I’ll give you five powerful reasons …

1. Dividend stocks pay you. So if you’re waiting for the market to find its feet and go up again, it’s nice to be paid to wait. Dividends cushion losses during bear markets — potentially providing a source of revenue during bad times — and they add to returns when stocks go up again.

2. Dividends don’t lie. Wall Street can lie about many things — just look at the latest headlines about the sleazy shenanigans of the bankster crowd. But a company can’t fake a dividend. A company also can’t fake a record of dividend growth. So, dividends are Wall Street’s lie detectors.

3. Dividends are where the money is. Over the past 80 years, stocks have returned almost 10% annually. Here’s the interesting part: Dividends accounted for approximately 40% of average annual returns.

4. Dividends beat inflation. Over that same 80-year time frame, inflation has averaged 3%. Dividend-paying stocks provide a nice inflation hedge since their revenues and net income should go up with overall prices.

5. Dividends can outperform in any kind of markets. Look at this data from Ned Davis Research, which shows what would happen to $100 invested in 1972 in a range of dividend payers, dividend growers, and non-dividend paying stocks in the S&P 500 index …

The best performers of all were companies GROWING their dividends. They turned $100 into $2,945 over the length of the study, while an investment in non-dividend payers turned into just $165. Still, the Ned Davis study also shows you have to be careful with dividends. An investment in companies that cut dividends ended up losing money.

These are all good reasons to invest in the right dividend-paying stocks — the kind of stocks we target in Crisis Profit Hunter. My Crisis Profit Hunter picks tend to be in natural resources, and they’re doing well. Oil prices are rising. China just passed the U.S. as the world’s biggest energy consumer, so the upward trend in energy prices should continue.

Today, I’m going to tell you about three stocks that should be on every dividend investor’s watch-list. I’ve cast my net wide to find three picks that are “stealthy” dividend plays — providing value and opportunity that is hidden at first glance.

Pick #1: The Dividend Doubler

Walgreen Co (WAG) is the nation’s largest drugstore chain, with more than 6,900 drugstores in all 50 states. It only has a dividend of 2.4% — so why would an investor want to pick it up for its dividend? Well, despite the low yield, Walgreen has a lot going for it:

The company has paid dividends for more than 76 years and consistently increased payments to common shareholders every year for 35 years.

On July 14, the company raised distributions by 27.3% (to 17.50 cents per share). The dividend is payable September 11 to shareholders of record August 19.

Now here’s something really interesting. The company has also grown their dividend at a compound rate of 24.3% over the past six years. That means it is doubling its dividend every three years. Looking back at historical data to 1972, Walgreen has actually managed to double its dividend payment every six years on average. So, the pace of its dividend rises is increasing.

Not everything is rosy for this stock. Over the past 10 years, Walgreen’s share price has gone down by 1%. But the fact that it is a dividend grower, it’s in a business that should be recession proof, and it is trading at just 14.3 times trailing earnings and 12 times forward earnings makes it worth considering.

Pick #2: Betting on Overseas Growth

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) is a diversified company that provides industrial gasses, medical and specialty gases, chemicals, electronics and services to a customer base worldwide. It dishes up a dividend yield of only 2.8%. So why should it be on your radar? This company is making huge inroads into emerging markets, most recently India and the Middle East. If those regions of the world continue to grow while the U.S. stagnates — a definite possibility for the rest of 2010 and potentially 2011 — Air Products will deliver both price appreciation and dividend growth.

The market for industrial gas increases at double the rate of the global economy. The International Monetary Fund recently raised its forecast for global economic growth to 4.6%.

Air Products’ dividend payments have increased by an average of 10.3% since 2000. A 10% growth in dividends translates to the dividend doubling every seven years. The company hiked its dividend by 8.9% in February, for the 28th year in a row.

Going forward, the company is expected to increase its dividend by 7.9% over the next three years.

The stock recently traded at 17.3 times trailing earnings and 12.6 times forward earnings.

Pick #3: Rising Dividend AND a Potential Boost from Energy Prices

Crude oil grabs all the headlines, so many people don’t notice that natural gas is putting in a bottom, too. That should be a big boost for ONEOK (OKE), an integrated natural gas company that also has an energy marketing and trading business. The company distributes gas all over the Kansas and Oklahoma, as well as the Austin and El Paso areas of Texas. It also owns 42% of ONEOK Partners, a natural gas gathering, processing, storage and transportation company. And OKE recently paid a 4% dividend yield.

This month, the company raised its quarterly dividend by 2 cents to 46 cents a share. The dividend is payable August 13 to shareholders of record at the close of business July 30.

ONEOK’s dividend is expected to keep growing by 8.55% over the next three years.

Rising natural gas prices should also boost the company’s share price.

ONEOK recently traded at 14.4 times trailing earnings and 14.3 times forward earnings.

These are just three examples of the kind of stocks that should be on your dividend watch-list. Their dividends aren’t huge, but they all have plenty of potential — immune to a recession while at the same time growing dividends rapidly (Walgreen) or leveraged to the booming overseas economies (Air Products) or leveraged to energy prices (ONEOK). Stealthy stocks like this can fly under the radar, and wise investors will pick them up for potential long-term price appreciation.

Yours for trading profits,
Sean

__________________________________________________

This investment news is brought to you by Uncommon Wisdom. Uncommon Wisdom is a free daily investment newsletter from Weiss Research analysts offering the latest investing news and financial insights for the stock market, precious metals, natural resources, Asian and South American markets. From time to time, the authors of Uncommon Wisdom also cover other topics they feel can contribute to making you healthy, wealthy and wise. To view archives or subscribe, visit http://www.uncommonwisdomdaily.com.

The risk of a double-dip recession is no longer in doubt.  It is looking more and more like various government stimulus programs, free money from the Fed and housing incentives caused all of the recent gains.  Those have now expired and we are seeing the real economy. Consider:

• Despite low record interest rates, mortgage applications have now fallen to 1996 levels
• Federal Reserve rates are between 0% and 0.25%. There is no more room to lower rates
• Job growth has stalled. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 15 million unemployed people are competing for 3.2 million job openings — a ratio of unemployed to jobs of nearly 5 to 1
• Wholesale Purchasing has stalled
• Consumer confidence has tanked
• Total inflation is 0% and core inflation (less food and gasoline) is at 0.2%
• Retail sales are falling.  US savings rates are at a 20-year high. People are repairing their personal balance sheets by paying off debts and cutting spending.

So where is one to invest?

The two areas that look good on a worldwide basis are energy and materials.  Hot economies such as India, China, Russia and Brazil and moderate growth economies in Eastern Europe, Australia and Canada are growing enough to increase the worldwide demand for oil and critical materials such as aluminum, copper, iron ore and so on.

Lets look at a few opportunities:

Energy

Individual stocks in the energy patch can still be risky –i.e. BP.  One of the investments I like are the multiple limited partnerships (MLPs) in pipeline companies. According to research from Morgan Keegan, MLPs have delivered compound annual returns of 18.5% over the last 10 years. That’s about 6% more than income trusts and 7% better than utilities. They pay large and steady dividends and make money no matter what the price of oil is.  My favorites are MarkWest Energy Partners (MWE) that now pays a 7.5% yield and DCP Midstream Partners (DPM) at 7.1% yield.

As for the overall energy play, I like the ETFs Energy Select SPDR (XLE), which tracks a basket of leading energy stocks and the United States Oil Fund (USO).

Materials

For materials I like the Peru Country fund. Peru is a major producer of copper, gold, silver and even lithium used in all the new electric car and computer batteries. And the country of Peru is enjoying excellent economic growth.  the Peru country fund (EPU) tends to tank whenever the US market tanks, but then it detaches itself and starts acting like a growth fund that it is. It can be a little volatile, but should do well in the long term.

Gold Investing

The other area I am in is Gold.  Gold has consolidated a bit to the 1160 range down from a recent high of 1266. It could consolidate a little more to 1140 or so. This is typical – Gold always retreats and tests support after a large sudden run up. And the summer is seasonally not strong for gold –sometimes called the summer goldrums by experienced investors.  But even Forbes Magazine who very conservative is predicting gold prices of $1320 by the Fall while most professional gold investors are forecasting a run up to $1390 before consolidating again with an eventual target of $1500 by the end of the year.  the State of Texas Teacher’s retirement fund just purchased $500 million dollars of gold -almost three percent of their total holdings.

My favorite gold plays are the physical gold ETF with the symbol GLD and the basket of gold mining stocks, symbol GTX.  If you want a little risk, I have done really well with a junior gold miner New Gold.  It has been as high as $7 but has now settled back to the $4.50 to $5.00 range where I added to my original position of 500 shares bought at $3.30.

Caution

As I have pointed out in previous posts – I am not a professional investor or investment advisor, so do your own research –but I just rebalanced my portfolio and put a lot of the stocks and funds mentioned here today into play.

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This is a great business for us Geezers.  Social media is hot. Even though its been around several years now, the business potential for social media sites like FaceBook and Twitter is still where eBay and Amazon were ten years ago.

Earlier this week, I purchased a great program by Ryan Diess that was just what I was looking for to make some money and  expand my business via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

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If the link doesn’t work, you can copy/paste it:

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