Lazy Man and Money

State of the Economy

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Most days, I try to avoid watching CNBC. I’m weird in that I often find it entertaining. I avoid it because I often get the feeling that I’ll be able to time the stock market. Yesterday, I couldn’t resist temptation and I flipped on CNBC for a few minutes.

The Price of Oil

The price of a barrel of oil jumped over $140. It seems like yesterday that people were wonder if oil would top $100. It came close for a while and would dance between $90 and $95. I expected $140 to happen at some point. Like most people, I just figured it would take a good 3 or 4 years.

As much as I wish we didn’t have to more than $4.00 for a gallon of gas, I’m extremely happy that this is spurring people to buy cars that get more miles to the gallon. Maybe I live in an idealistic world, but perhaps people will realize that it’s not so bad and make other cuts in their spending.

The Price of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

If you missed the news yesterday General Motors hit a 53-year low. For those unfamiliar with what that means, CNBC anchor Mark Haines put it best, “If you bought a share of General Motors 53 years ago, in 1955, you would not have made any money. In fact you would have lost a lot due to inflation.”

Think about that for a second. I realize that car companies have been put through the ringer for quite some time. However, I can’t imagine a company that my parents have grown up with to not grow shareholder value their entire lifetime. I picture what it might be like to crawl though an attic. There you find an old dusty box. Inside some long-lost shares stock certificates. You’re in luck! The company still exists. You’re not in as much luck as you thought though as it’s not likely worth a lot.

I thought these two points together add to something really interesting. The price of oil is rising so much, while the value of the car companies drop. Is this like 2000 when Internet companies were skyrocketing and energy stocks are low. I don’t think so, but crazy things happen in 8 years.

Net Worth Update – April 2008

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It’s the middle of the month, so it’s a time to reflect on my net worth. I’ve been very happy to break even lately as I focus on making my businesses grow – while trying to slow down from the rat race.

April came as a very pleasant surprise – the stock market rebound had boosted my net worth $10,000 – to $218,825. This is despite the value of my Boston property reaching an all-time low. If that returns to the norm, it would add another $20,000 to my net worth.

Last month, I had mentioned taking a part time job – around 20 hours a week. I haven’t been very good about my time sheets, so I’m leaving a little money on the table due to laziness. I am also doing contract work with another company which has been a little slow to cut checks. If I could get my act together and collect some of this money, I might see another $4,000 in net worth.