Common Cents Finance

The Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft is acquiring video game juggernaut Activision-Blizzard for over $68 billion. This all-cash offer would be the largest acquisition in company history and make Microsoft the third largest video game company by revenue.

This could give Microsoft many interesting options in its future. The company could make Activision products, namely Call of Duty, exclusive content for the Xbox. Such a move could give Xbox a tremendous advantage over rival consoles like Sony’s PS5 and the Nintendo Switch.

Microsoft has been itching to make a big move like this. In the last year, the company failed to acquire TikTok after political concerns. Activision-Blizzard has been facing several allegations about having an unhealthy workplace environment, which probably made it an easier target for Microsoft to acquire.

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For many people, savings accounts appear to be a great place to put their money for growth. While savings accounts can serve their purposes, most of the time they are not worth your time. Savings accounts offer such low interest rates that it is not even worth using them. The return is so low, in fact, that money in a savings account actually loses its value over time. The average rate of inflation is about 2%. In comparison, the average return on a savings account is 0.06%. That means that money in a savings account loses about 2% of its value annually.

So, what should you do instead? Look to invest! The average annual return of the stock market is 8-10%. So, investing in the stock market would not only allow you to beat inflation, but allow your money to grow in value!

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In retirement, you have fewer expenses than you may realize. You might have to pay less in income taxes, mortgage payments, and retirement savings. (Think about it: you don’t need to save for retirement if you’re already in retirement).

Consider taking this into consideration when you plan for retirement. This can make your planning much more effective and your retirement goals much more attainable.

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It seems that more and more US employees are finding better career opportunities than ever before. Just in November of 2021, over 4 million people left their jobs, many of whom did so for a better position elsewhere.

I’d argue that the drastic changes to the US work environment could be a reason for this. Working from home has given people much more free time, which can be used to look for other job opportunities. There also has been an increase in consumer demand over the last year, which would require companies to hire more and offer more lucrative incentives.

Whatever the reason, a job market like this is definitely fantastic for employees.

What are your thoughts? 👇🏻

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Everyone dreams of the day they buy their first home, and they definitely should. It’s a great milestone to achieve in everyone’s life. However, don’t fall into the trap of thinking a primary residence is a worthwhile investment, because it isn’t.

Unless you rent parts of your home, a primary residence does not generate cash flow. Not only that, it comes with numerous expenses, like property taxes, utilities, and a mortgage.

It is probably best to avoid putting all your savings into a home. Instead, it’s a good practice to ensure that your retirement planning and other finances are in order before making such a purchase.

What do you think?

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The New Year is the perfect time to start setting goals for yourself. Here are 5 goals that would have tremendous impacts on your life if achieved.

Also check out the latest episode of the podcast for my personal finance goals to set this new year!

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Tesla announced its fourth quarter results, delivering 936,172 electric vehicles in 2021. This news marked a record for the company’s fourth quarter, delivering over 300k vehicles in Q4 alone.

This announcement beat all estimates analysts had, starting off 2022 very strong for the company. Upon the news, Musk took to Twitter to state his optimism for the future: “Let's make the roaring 20's happen!”

Tesla has experienced tremendous success in 2021, and it should be interesting to see what 2022 has in store for the company.

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Here’s a bit of humor to kick of your Friday! 😂

The reports that the increase in prices would be roughly $.025-0.50 for specific items. Regardless, I am definitely not looking forward to pay an extra quarter per item. That might just be my frugal side speaking.

It’s crazy to see how much supply chains have been disrupted over the last two years. All different industries have been impacted by shortages, and this is just a recent example. Companies like DollarTree are forced to raise prices, which completely goes against their business model. It just shows how dire it is for some of these companies for sure.

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Many people think you have to be lucky to find success. Often times, that is 100% true. However, you can never get lucky unless you put yourself out there. You still would have to put yourself in situations to even get lucky in the first place.

That can be seen here with Ronald Wayne. If he were just more patient and held onto his investment, he would be one of the richest men in the world today. Take calculated risks, and luck will find you!

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Our stock market is resilient. Year over year, it has an average return of 8%. This calculation includes all the low points the economy has seen over the last several decades.

Just remain calm in times of uncertainty, and stick to a long-term mindset. Markets will be more valuable in the long-term future than they are today. So, don’t worry about short-term performance at the expense of long-term gains!

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This week 13 years ago, Lehman Brothers closed its doors for good. The fall of Lehman Brothers is the largest corporate bankruptcy even to this day.

With such a tremendous collapse, the demise of this investment bank teaches the importance of diversification. No company is too big to fail, which is why investors should look to diversify their investments among a number of different assets.

With all of the news surrounding Evergrande and the real estate market in China, it’s important to look at history to see how we should handle these types of situations.

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