photo credit: jdurchenWelcome to PFI and the weekly updates. Now that the election is finally over, focus has shifted back to the global economic crisis. The auto industry, which has always been close to my heart is in near collapse at this point. I grew up and lived most of my life in the Detroit area and it is very sad to see what has happened to the industry over the last decade. Several retailers are predicting very soft sales for the upcoming holiday shopping season and Circuit City is declaring bankruptcy. There are signs in the global economy that things are deteriorating at a rapid pace. It seems that every time I turn on the television or listen to the radio that another company is laying off employees. With all this uncertainty, I believe it is imperative that one works to create alternative income streams. In the event that you lose your job, you may need to rely on these income streams to keep you afloat.
Speaking of extra income, several of my established alternative income streams have been decreasing recently. The most obvious is the stock market downturn and its impact on selling covered calls and dividend yielding stocks. In addition, the number of available sponsored posts on PayPerPost and SocialSpark have become limited. I am not sure if this is a trickle down effect of the economy or not. Finally, as I recently pointed out, I am starting to see some loans from my Prosper.com lending account go into bankruptcy or charge-off status. I am not discouraged by these events but have become more motivated to build and grow these income streams along with new opportunities that may come along in the future!
Carnivals
November 10, 2008 - I had an article included in the Fierce Financial Tips: The Carnival of Personal Finance #178, Struwwelpeter Edition hosted by The Digerati Life. I would like to thank The Digerati Life for including my post - 4 Free Holiday Gift Ideas.
November 5, 2008 - I participated in the 37th Carnival of Money Hacks: Wonders of the World hosted by Living Almost Large. A very special thanks to Living Almost Large for including my post - eHow - A Passive Income Stream.
Articles I liked this week
Here are some of the articles I enjoyed reading over the past week -
1 - On a Quest To Be Debt Free gives us some tips on budgeting for the holidays. I will be looking to use some of these for our upcoming gift purchases.
2 - Dividend Growth Investor provides some analysis on the top 5 performing dividend stocks this year.
3 - Free From Broke discusses how eating out less has made their family better. While saving money made the list, there were several other excellent points that every family should consider!
Have an excellent week!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
FFB 11.11.08 at 12:40 pm
The auto industry is looking bad but I wonder if they are crying wolf a bit in order to get govt funding? I guess we’ll see. Thanks for the mention too!
Dawn 11.11.08 at 12:45 pm
I was over in Detroit recently, the empty buildings and vacant lots are getting more and more depressing. Signs of the times are everywhere.
I agree with you on passive (and for me not-so-passive) income streams. I wish this was something I had been doing all along. Still, I am building them now and excited about the future, rather than being scared like many folks.
Maria@ WAHM blog 11.11.08 at 5:00 pm
I know we’re eHow friends (I’m WriterGig) but this is the first time I’ve seen your blog. Fun stuff!
passivefamilyincome 11.12.08 at 10:17 pm
FFB - The auto industry has been bad for a long time. I blame a lot of it on over production and how they ignored producing more energy efficient vehicles.
Dawn - My mother-in-law teachers in Detroit and she just hopes she gets her paycheck every week it has gotten so bad.
Maria - Thanks for the visit!!!