The basics of FirsTrade.com is that they offer $6.95 Stock Trades, free real-time quotes and research tools. The company has been very good to work with. I have had to call customer service only once, and I had a real person on the phone within 5 minutes…which is acceptable.

FirsTrade.com has a clean, easy to follow trading platform. The only issue that I’ve run into is that when I try to place a market order, I get an error message, and I’m, basically, required to place my order as a limit order. Other than that, I’m quite impressed with FirsTrade.com and have recommended them to friends.

My only suggestion to the company is that they allow you to make a trade order, and view a real time quote, on the same screen. As their software is currently configured, you are sent to a different screen when you request a quote.

For what it is worth, I had been sitting on about 50% cash in my retirement account for almost a year.  I went heavy into the market on last Wednesday after the “mini crash” that we experienced.  I picked up some great companies at pretty nice discounts to what I feel they are truly worth, and I’m hopeful they will grow nicely over the long term.

I would love to have a comment about what you were investing in last week!!!

Happy Trading and Investing!

As many of you know, this is my 4th child, and my first son! We named him Dekker, after my favorite author, Ted Dekker…(look him up, his books are worth a read)!

Little Dekk has three older sisters who are crazy excited to have a brother in the family. My boss put it best this week, I have “Over the Moon” with joy and excitement!

Keep us in your prayers.

Best,

TAM

I’ve been involved with CP Federal Credit Union since 2004, and up until this week, I had nothing but good things to say about them. 

My how quickly perceptions can change…Here’s what happened:

I went into my credit union this week to take advantage of what I thought was an AMAZING DEAL…2.1% Auto Loans for up to 6 Years! 

I was very excited to lock in some very low interest loans, and pay off a couple of higher interest loans (3.9% approx.)  I KNEW that I would have no problem getting approved, as I have damn near perfect credit (in my own, humble, opinion) . 

After an hour of so of paperwork, I hit a snag.  CP Federal didn’t want to give me any additional loans…they said because I already had two loans with them (one vehicle and one RV).  I said, “No problem, I will pay off the higher interest rate loans today!”  I thought this would be perfect, but then the story changed…now they said that I could not replace a higher interest rate loan with a lower rate.  I said, “No Problem, I own other vehicles that are free and clear, let’s finance them so that I can lock in such an attractively low interest rate!” 

I thought that this would be perfect, but then the story changed again and they said that they could not finance any vehicle that they had previously financed…even if it had been paid off years ago. 

At this point, I’m getting pretty upset, because I clearly recognize when I’m being given “double speak” and the “run-a-round”. 

I believe that the bottom line is that they did not want to give me the best deal possible, even though I clearly qualified for it.  They wanted to continue to charge me interest rates that were 75% higher than they were offering to new customers. 

The sad part is that many credit unions advertise that they make decisions that are in the best interest of the individual, not just their bottom line.  I get that they would prefer to charge me 3.9% on my loans instead of 2.1%, but HOW UNFAIR to not let me finance other vehicles that are not currently with them…and use a portion of those proceeds to pay off my higher interest loans that are already on the books.  IT WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE TO MEET ME SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE!  At least that is what I would have done!

Anyone else out there having trouble with their local financial institution?  Your thoughts and comments are appreciated!

First of all, SORRY that I’m been away from the site for so long!  I’ve had little to no time at all to blog.  LIFE HAS BEEN CRAZY!!!

Here is what has been going on, in a nut shell:

Our house was hit by lightning about two months ago and caught on fire.  It is currently being rebuilt!

The private equity and capital markets representation firm that I started 14 months ago has absolutly taken off, we are crazy busy!  We now have 6 partners and an office intern.  Business is outstanding!

The two restaurants have been doing extremely well!

My iphone app is 90% finished, and it is a work of art.  I can’t wait to share it…very soon.

The web development/Hyper-local e-commerce/social media company is getting some significant traction.

My wife is about three months away from giving birth to our fourth kid. 

Anyways, lots of other crazy and exciting stuff going on too, but the big ones are truly the new baby and the house fire.  Crazy stuff, but as they say with a house fire…

When life throws you lemons…squeeze them into a cup, add ice and Vodka

“The intelligent man learns from his own experience; the wise man learns from the experience of others.”

I’ve spent the last week rereading this post and rethinking this old adage. It is one that I’ve tried to keep close to my heart as a business guy and entrepreneur. I think that the marginal success that I have enjoyed has been because I have always assumed that I possess intelligence (though my wife may often beg to differ). As I reflect on the good choices that I’ve made, they were most often not attempts to “re-invent” anything. Good stuff for me has happened when I tried hard to follow the wisdom and experience of others. (I don’t seem to be able to do this enough though, God gave me a sense of “do-it-yourselfism” that runs deep and needs to be constantly kept in check).

I guess I continue to look for balance in my life. It seems appropriate for an entrepreneur to have the guts to make things happen, but it also seems important to be able to step back and evaluate opportunities through the lens of wisdom.

The BEST TIME to work hard and lay the foundations for future success is when times are tough.  While everyone else is crying and complaining, I hope we can take the lead from others who have gone before us and seize the opportunity to do great things in life.  Now is the time to charge forward with your passions and take a risk.  DO YOUR HOMEWORK…THEN TRY SOMETHING NEW, DO SOMETHING BIG! 

YOU WILL NEVER REGRET IT!

This credit card program must have it all.  Great rates, awesome customer service, and particularly an amazing rewards program.  The current title goes to my Chase Freedom Card…but I’ve recently found out that they are lowering their rewards points for new customers.  (As of now they are not changing the terms of their existing customers.)

Credit Cards have long been a significant tool for me on my personal financial journey and in my business endeavors.  But it seems like a good card is becoming more and more hard to come by.  I remember when Citibank would give you 2.99% fixed for life with NO FEES.  Those were the good old days!

I’LL KEEP YOU POSTED ON MY PROGRESS!

IF YOU HAVE KIDS, YOU WILL APPRECIATE THIS. NOTHING BETTER THAN A LITTLE UNSCRIPTED FUN WHEN YOU HAD THE KIDS THE VIDEO CAMERA!

I took my almost 5 year old daughter to our first “Daddy/Daughter” dance this evening.  The night was magical, beyond words.  If you have kids you are in love with, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  This whole evening, I felt like a billion bucks…but even that is a bad way to describe it, because there is Nothing in the world that I would trade for the love and respect of my girls.

This might sound pie in the sky to you, and that is ok.  I love to think and dream big, and then focus my energies there.  I have finally realized that I’ve already attained a HUGE amount of personal, spiritual, and relational wealth.  With that as my foundation, the work now that I CHOOSE to do is focused on expanding those things. 

I work because I LOVE to do fulfilling work. 

I plan, strategize, and save because I will provide for my family, no matter what…and time enjoying tender moments is worth more than gold.

I want to be able to give GENEROUSLY of myself to endeavors that make the world a better place.  People are struggling all over the world right now.  I can’t solve every problem, and I understand that.  But ANYONE that I can give to in ANY WAY is a step in the right direction…becuase as much as I fight it, I know that life isn’t about just ME, ME, ME. 

ANYWAYS, this probably makes no sense…it’s way to late.  Love your family!  Work Hard for Worthy Endeavors!  Have Faith, and never fear the unknown!  Seek wise counsel in all you do!  Strive every day to leave your corner of the world just a little bit better than you found it!  I think these actions will lead to true wealth, regardless of your bank account!