MONEY CLIPPED

Everyone online is busting out their crystal balls and sharing their money and finance predictions for the coming year. Let’s cross our fingers the outlook is positive. We need it!

GENERAL ECONOMIC PREDICTIONS
Forecasters Share Predictions For Economy’s Outlook In 2009 (USA Today)

Worst of Times (Portfolio.com)

Ten Economic Predictions for 2009 (Seeking Alpha)

10 Predictions for 2009 (Yahoo! Finance)

HOUSING PREDICTIONS
The Housing Crisis Is Over!!! (Real Estate Bakery)

2009 Housing Predictions (The Move Channel)

EMPLOYMENT PREDICTIONS
Job market predictions for 2009 (Vault)

2009 Hiring Predictions (Cheezhead)

STOCK MARKET PREDICTIONS
Finding Hot Stocks in a Cold Market (CNBC)

Market Predictions for 2009 (Seeking Alpha)

ENERGY PREDICTIONS
Green Energy In 2009: Predictions And Things To Watch (Huffington Post)

10 Cleantech Predictions for 2009 (Earth2Tech)

BUSINESS PREDICTIONS
2009 Top 10 Small Business Trends (Small Business Labs)

Business Predictions for 2009 (U.S. News)

JUST FOR FUN
Science Fiction’s Predictions for the Year 2009 (io9)

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The Institute For Truth In Accounting has teamed up with mtvU to create InDebtEd, a national campaign to raise awareness among young Americans about our national debt, our personal debt, and how the two are related.

They present the harsh facts about how indebted our national government is, why, and what it means for young Americans in particular. This is supplemented by concrete actions individuals can take to help change things and provides links to additional resources.

In addition to all that, they are sponsoring a contest, the Indebted Digital Challenge in which $10,000 will be awarded to the person or team that comes up with the best “original idea for a video game that addresses the nation’s fiscal crisis”.

The website also lets you watch for free the 30 minute condensed version of the documentary I.O.U.S.A.. Here’s the trailer:

Even if you’re not a “young” American, you can and should educate yourself on America’s staggering debt troubles and find out how you can be part of the solution. I suggest you check out the web site of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The non-partisan foundations objective is to “…work to bring Americans together to find sensible, long-term solutions that transcend age, party lines and ideological divides in order to achieve real results” as related to national and personal debt.

Its going to take more than just a new president from a different party to tackle our current national debt issues. The financial future of America is in jeopardy and its time for all Americans to get informed on just how big the problem is what must to be done to turn the tide.

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On the morning my wife was laid off she was contacted by someone who wanted to interview her for an open position. On the way home from work on the day she was laid off, she got a phone call for someone else who wanted to fly her to their HQ for an interview.

Who gets that lucky on the day they are laid off? No one. Because it has nothing to do with luck. It happened because she did not wait for lay-offs to start to begin preparing for the possibility. As soon as the lay-offs began in her industry, she started laying the groundwork for landing a new job even though she was in an department that was considered “safe”. Here are the steps she took:

* We made sure we had 6 months living expenses in reserve cash.

* She got her resume in the hands of headhunters

If lay-offs never came, no harm no foul. But if they did come, she, and we, would be ready for it.

The lay-offs are not over. More will be coming. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you are immune from a possible layoff. Right now, everyone is vulnerable. Are you taking steps now to make sure you are ready if they hit your family?

Remember the maxim: hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

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The Business Cycle Dating Committee at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) official declaration of the U.S. recession has elicited cries of “No sh*t, Sherlock” around the nation. The reliance on NBER’s definition of recession may result in protracted economic hardship.

Here’s why: too many politicians and bureaucrats rely on NBER’s declarations. None of them wants to be seen as a panic-monger or worse, turn out to be wrong. So they wait til NBER makes a pronouncement or until we reach a crisis point to take action. Who knows how much trouble could have been avoided had they been able to acknowledge the recession back in say, April.

Instead we had politicians burying their heads in the sand about the state of our economic system and a continuance of the “business as usual” that has led to our current financial crisis.

Republican politicians should be particularly concerned about how and who defines recession as the economy cost them the Presidency and almost all Congressional power. Still, it is not a partisan issue. The economy is digital and global which means it is fast moving. Our politicians and bureaucrats have to become more informed, nimble, and proactive if we want to be able to head off future economic downturns. The first step is to re-examine how we analyze economic data and define conditions such as “recession”.

We’re operating using an out-dated model. It is time to recognize it for what it is and take action before it can fail us again.

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Its that time of year again…

BLACK FRIDAY
First, some tips on getting the most out of the Black Friday shopping mosh-pit:

Before you head out with all your cash and credit cards, take a few moments to look over these Holiday Shopping Safety Tips courtesy of the LAPD.

One of the best web sites you can visit to get ready for Black Friday is BlackFriday.info. Not only can you preview the stores’ Black Friday sales ads, you can also create a shopping list based on those ads!

CYBER MONDAY
If you don’t want to fight the crowds or don’t find what you need on Friday, there’s always Cyber Monday (I can’t believe we still use the word ‘Cyber’). I know some of you are still reluctant to shop online but its time to get over it. Don’t let the Cyber Monday Scaremongers keep you away from the great deals to be had online. If you’re still really worried, check out SafeShopping.com for online shopping security tips.

Here are a few sites to help you get started on planning your Cyber Monday shopping:

CyberMonday.com

CyberMonday.fm

Good luck and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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An occasional round-up of links to some of the wisdom and words of the web’s best personal finance blogs…

Don’t Compound Your Investment Losses by Investing Less in Down Markets and More in Up Markets
More smart advice from Generation X Finance

The Next Bailout: Handouts or Hybrids?
What do you think? Greenbacks for the auto industry in exchange for green cars?

How To Profit From The Obama Economy
Besides getting a job at the U.S. Mint printing money backed by nothing?

Some Thoughts on the Small House Movement: Is It Something Worth Considering?
The Simple Dollar makes a good argument for why smaller is better…

US Treasury Has Become The Personal Fiefdom Of King Henry Paulson
Why do we continue to let the fox guard the henhouse?

10 Opportunities Created by a Slowing Economy
20Something Finance helps you spot the silver linings…

Want a Better Financial Future? Consider Moving
Hell yes! Why can’t more Americans figure this out?

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As usual, The Onion scores a laugh by making the metaphorical literal.

In The Know: Should The Government Stop Dumping Money Into A Giant Hole?

I encourage everyone to e-mail this video to their elected officials!

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