Top 5 Mis-Understood Finance Words
People often hear words in the finance world and because they hear them so frequently, they don’t truly understand their meaning. Below are the five most common misunderstood and misused words in finance world.
1. “Hedge”
You hear it most often when talking about hedge funds in the news. Hedging is a fancy way to say insurance. If you hedge a bet, you make sure something is there to back it up if it fails. If you are a hedge fund, you do the same thing but buying in bigger quantities at higher risk (and reward).
2. “Short”
You hear it when talking about the market, in the popular book “The Big Short.” It just means that you think something is going to fail or go down. So if you “short” a stock you think it’s going in the crapper. If you “short” America, you think it’s going to fail.
3. “Equity”
A stock is an equity. Period. It’s a fancy word to talk about stock or portion of a company you own. You are hearing it a lot in the media lately with regards to “private equity” — that’s just a way to own parts of company that isn’t available in public stock or equity exchanges.
4. “Bond”
You also hear it as “fixed income” or “paper.” It’s buying a portion of debt in turn for a percentage of profit. You can buy “paper” from the government, known as Treasury bonds, or “paper” from companies known as corporate bonds. The riskier the company or country you are buying from, the more income you will get in return. It’s fixed, unlike the profits in the stock market because you know what you are getting and it’s typically less risky that investing in public companies.
5. “AAA”
You get a credit score, so does a country. We are hearing a lot about countries losing the AAA rating. That’s a way to tell the risk of that particular country. So when you buy a “bond” that’s not AAA, which is the highest, it has more likelihood of failing. So AA+ is below AAA and then AA, AA-, A+, A, A-, then down to BBB…Greece, for example, which is bankrupt has CC. It’s a grade for anything we can invest in, just like the cleanliness grades at restaurants.
Written by, Nicole Lapin whose everyday financial insight is followed by millions through appearances on CNN, Morning Joe, NPR and more. Nicole is also the owner of website Recessionista.com which has lots of great female-friendly content. Nicole’s message is to “Remind women — rich or poor — that you don’t need to break the bank to be fabulous.”
Crispy Greens and FruitziO
Written by Role Mommy contributor Danielle Feigenbaum
We all know the deal, we’ve been hearing it our whole lives, “eat your fruits and veggies” so you can grow healthy and strong. As we get older and want to shed a few pounds, we look for healthy foods to help us loose. As parents, we want our children to eat healthy, which can be a problem for some… like me. My kids do not eat many fruits, especially as snacks, and I have tried everything.
Enter Crispy Greens! Crispy Green Crispy Fruit are made from 100-percent freeze-dried fruit with no additives or preservatives and are full of delicious fresh fruit taste. Crispy Fruit snacks are available in convenient single-serving bags and come in six delicious flavors: Crispy Apples, Crispy Asian Pears, Crispy Bananas, Crispy Cantaloupe, Crispy Mangoes and Crispy Pineapples. Made with the finest freeze-dried fruit slices, FruitziO snacks combine the wholesomeness of fresh fruit with a pinch of cane sugar. Packaged in convenient, travel-friendly, re-sealable pouches. Each package contains less than 100 calories with varieties including Apples & Strawberries, Apricots, Kiwi, Peaches and Strawberries. I have been enjoying them while trying to lose weight and believe it or not… my kids like them too! They love the Crispy Bananas, Crispy Cantaloupe, and Crispy Mangoes the best. I love them all.
“A great way to encourage kids to eat healthy foods is to make them fun and yummy,” said Angela Liu, President and Founder of Crispy Green. You can feel really good about having your kids eat them every day because all of Crispy Green Crispy Fruit and FruitziO products are free from preservatives, fat, cholesterol, and are vegan-friendly, peanut/tree-nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and are kosher-certified. The special packaging of Crispy Green Crispy Fruit and FruitziO provides children and adults with a nutritious go-anywhere snack that they can enjoy anytime.
To find a retailer in your area that carries Crispy Green Crispy Fruit and FruitziO products, go to www.crispygreen.com/where-to-buy.html. For more information, please visit www.crispygreen.com.
V-Day Gifts with a Tech Twist
Valentines Day is only a few weeks away, it’s time to think about gifts for the loves in your life. Those of you searching for alternatives to flowers and chocolates, look no further as Nintendo plays cupid this year with a variety of new game releases and technology that are perfect for best friends, family, and significant others.
For a gift with function and style, share one-of-a-kind gaming experiences with a match made in Valentine’s Day heaven: grab the latest games like Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7 or nintendogs + cats with “Hers” pink or “His” red flame Nintendo 3DS units, available at a new lower price with brand new system updates – including the ability to record 3D videos in continuous or stop-motion style, updated Nintendo eShop features and enhanced online gaming. Those who play together, stay together. The whole family can also enjoy friendly competition and fun with Wii games, as well as watch movies together through Netflix.
There’s nothing quite like surprising your kids with an adorable puppy or kitten on Valentine’s Day, but not everyone is ready for (or wants) a pet. Share the puppy (and kitty) love anywhere you go with virtual pets from nintendogs + cats. Moms can also feel good about buying their kids’ very first “pet” with this fun and educational experience (good practice before a real pet). The best gift of all is the gift of time so why not spend some family time together on Valentine’s Day doing the things you love! There are several Wii and Nintendo 3DS games families can enjoy together that are not only a blast to play but…shhhh, don’t tell the kids…it’s good for you! Check out multiplayer games such as Mario Kart 7 (3DS), Fortune Street (Wii) and Wii Fit Plus. These are gifts that last and are sure to put a smile on everyone’s face.