Computer Lovers:

If you’ve gotten a hold of some cool software program you know that learning all of its cool features can be fun…and time consuming.  It’s a perfect way to pass time and entertain yourself for days on end.  Well, http://www.giveawayoftheday.com has partnered up with these developers and offers one FREE licensed software everyday (24 hour period) to its visitors.  Go here for one of the best free entertainment ideas for computer lovers.

Game Lovers:

This is a sister site to giveawayoftheday.com and is tailored to the PC game enthusiast.  This site however does not give away a game everyday, so be sure to check back often, or just subscribe to their email list and be notified when a free game download is available.  Go here for one of the best free entertainment ideas for game lovers.

Movie Lovers:

Assuming you are viewing this on YOUR computer, you never have to pay for a movie ticket again (legally).  Get your popcorn ready because one of the best free entertainment ideas for movie lovers is a site called hulu.com.  This site is free for you because it is ad supported.  You’ll have a few commercial interruptions, but that’s when you refill your popcorn and take a bathroom break.

Hulu.com is also for U.S. viewers only.  To learn how to watch from abroad read http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-watch-movies-and-shows-on-hulu-sling-from-abroad/ .

The site is Adobe Flash based so you will need to download the player here (you could also read about the player at http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/ if you’d like).  Also, see if you meet hulu.com’s system requirements to watch movies.

Another site that is similar to hulu.com is sling.com so you can check their selections as well.

Outdoor Lovers:

If you’re a golfer, you know that in order to play on a course you have to pay what is known as a green fee.  This can run anywhere in the teens to over a hundred dollars, not to mention the cost of equipment.

Well, what has become really popular is something called Frisbee golf, or disc golf.  The best part about disc golf is the “green fees” are free at most courses.  If there is a charge, it’s minimal.  There are special discs made which are heavier than your typical Frisbee and fly further, but you still can play the game with Frisbees laying around your house.  In fact, all you need is a big park and you can create your own course.  Just select a tree or pole as a target and declare whether it is a par 3, 4, or, if you’re at a really big park, a par 5.  You can make the course simple or create your own out of bounds, water hazards, etc.

Pack a cooler with lunch and have a fun day in the sun with your family and friends.  This can entertain you for hours.

See if you can be entertained for free with a disc golf course near you (just pick your state and/or country and hit search.  A gold coin with a dollar sign indicates there is a fee).

If any of these free entertainment ideas do not suit you, go to Google and type in “100 free things to do in _______ (fill in your city)” and I’m sure you’ll find a list of the best free entertainment ideas sponsored by your local community.

Another simpler explanation of how to keep the markets in perspective was made popular in an oldie but a goody, “Secrets For Profiting In Bull and Bear Markets” by Stan Weinstein.

In it, he simply breaks the market into four stages.  Stage 1 = sideways, basing, bottoming phase, Stage 2 = up-trending, bull phase, Stage 3 = sideways, topping phase, and Stage 4 = down-trending, bear phase.

The main indicator he uses to determine the stages is the 150-day moving average and price.  Lately, however, he has switched to using the 200-day moving average due to the market’s increased volatility.

History proves that (stock) markets go in bull (up) trends and bear (down) trends. So it is up to the trader to recognize when that shift may be occurring.  If we can anticipate possible shifts in long-term trends, we can get ready to align ourselves with the trend and make money with very little effort.  As everyone knows, NO SYSTEM IS 100%, but that is not necessary to make money in the markets.

As long as you milk your winners as long as you can and cut your losers fast, all you need is a prudent money management strategy to keep you in the game.

Teacher, author, and ex-hedge fund manager Mike Swanson is one such trader that implements the T.W.i.T (Trade with Trend) philosophy and utilizes Stan Weinstein’s Stage analysis in his own trades.  You can start receiving his Free Newsletter and learn his trading philosophy because as you’ll learn in the following video, the most important thing you can do to gain financial freedom is educate yourself so that you can capitalize on bad times as well.

If you trade (stock) markets already and find yourself getting stopped out a lot, step back,  get perspective, and remember T.W.i.T … Trade with Trend!

The video points out some undisputed demographics.  Any comments?

What would you do if you “found” a hundred dollars?  Hopefully you would invest it in something that can make you more money…after all, this is a site to help you gain financial freedom.

Well, you’re about to learn how a dirt simple grocery shopping strategy can help you find that hundred (or more) dollars.  It takes no more than 30 minutes a week and is easy enough that your kid can do it for you )

It just involves finding the hot deals, matching up coupons, and buy what’s on your list.

Bonus Tip That Will Save You Hundreds Of Dollars More…If You Use It (not part of the strategy you’ll see soon)

Bonus Tip: If you see a deal that doesn’t come around too often and it’s something that can last a long time, i.e. paper towels, frozen foods, canned foods, etc. stock up for the year.  This strategy is called “Power Shopping” and if you know when to do it, you can save hundreds a month!  We’re talking deals that are 40%-50% cheaper than warehouse prices, i.e. Costco, Sam’s Club, etc.  If you become a pro at it, you can drop your membership.

Thanks for that awesome tip Daniel!  -Author of  “Saving Money Through Power Shopping”

Now to be a Power Shopper, you need multiple coupons.  There are 3 ways to round up a bunch of the same coupons, each with its pros and cons.

1. Print the Coupons

Pros:

• instant
• possibly cheaper, depending how much you print and your ink and paper cost

Cons:

• you can only print two (2) coupons per site which means you’ll have to go to 10 different sites if you wanted to print 20 coupons
• you need to install (free) printing software in order authenticate the coupons
• Searching for them takes time (some sites can be searched by pre-set names, but others you  must find them scrolling through multiple pages)

Here are some sites you can print coupons.  Notice the poor searching capability.  It may take some time to find a specific coupon.

1. Coupons.com
2. Coolsavings.com
3. Smartsource.com
4. Redplum.com
5. Shortcuts.com

2. Collect (or buy) multiple copies of Sunday’s paper, specifically the inserts

Pros:

• instant access to coupons (organization is a must)

Cons:

• cost of newspaper (if you buy them, compare what it would cost if you just bought the Sunday Paper from a stand vs ordering via a discounted service.
  
• need a little storage area for many weeks of circulars

3. Use a Coupon Clipping Service

Pros:

• get multiple coupons without clipping and organizing multiple circulars
• one stop shop

Cons:

• shipping times
• cost of service – minimum of $3.94 ($3.00 minimum for coupons+.50 processing fee+.44 shipping)

The best clipping service, in my opinion, is a family ran, home base business that was featured in Woman’s Day Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and The Today Show.  The sites interface and search makes finding coupons fast and their policies are very clear and upfront.  Plus, they are the only place I’ve seen that slips in an extra .50 coupon (if they find a relevant coupon for you) to offset your processing fee.  Very thoughtful, in my opinion.  They are called the CouponClippers.

3b. Semi-Coupon Clipping Service

Pros:

• often cheaper for more coupons
• no need to clip and collect newspaper circulars

Cons:

• shipping time
• must buy in set lots
• may have to buy from multiple sellers

You can find lots of coupons on eBay but usually from various sellers.  If you find a seller with a big inventory of coupons and ships fast, mark them as a favorite seller so you can go back to them later.  I found one that sold over 1600 items and has a 99.9% feedback score.  Check out The Corner Store For Coupons and see if they have coupons you use.

Tip: Manufacturer’s coupons are the best because you can layer them on top of a store’s coupon, for example, and get things REALLY cheap or even FREE!

How To Find Coupons Online For Groceries That Are On Sale

OK, now that you know how to get multiple coupons in case a great deal comes along, let’s check out an awesome FREE service that will 1) teach you a system that can save you up to 86% off your groceries consistently and 2) find awesome deals to implement the “Power Shopping” strategy (she doesn’t talk about this but her data base will find the deals for you).

1. Register FREE at CouponMom.com
2. Click on “Grocery Deals By State” on the menu, pick your store, and click “Go”
3. Sort by “% Saved,” make your list, and “Power Shop” your item is a steal!

Become a Professional Shopper With Tips From “Saving Money Through Power Shopping“

Tip: Coupons that just came out usually do not produce the best deals.  Stores know that they will get a bunch of shoppers coming in with those coupons so they will keep the prices higher.  Again, wait for killer deals, then ATTACK!

Tip: Keep a list of items you use throughout the year that have a long shelf (freezer) life.  Label each item with the best retail price you’ve seen.  When you come across a deal significantly lower relative to the best retail price, go in for KILL (Power Shop)! Only Power Shop at the right time…when prices are rock bottom.

Tip: Generally speaking, items will fall to rock bottom prices about every 3 months.  This is when you get things 50% to 100% off retail.

Tip: Walmart has a price matching guarantee so you could one stop shop if you bring the ads to Walmart.  Here’s there  Price Matching Policy.

Not many people look at it this way but finding coupons online for groceries and other items is just as good, if not better, than making money.  If it took you 10 minutes to find a $5 coupon, that is equivalent to a $30/hour job, and you’ll have to pay income tax on that.

Now that you know how easy it is to find coupons online (for groceries and other products), DON’T EVER PAY RETAIL AGAIN!

The short answer is yes, but it requires more than just knowledge.  There are people that have acquired enough knowledge about trading, but cannot apply them when real money is at stake.  They still have yet to master a level of self-control that often runs counter to natural human behavior, or at least come up with some way to control it.

Let me offer an example of self-control.  Let’s say Bob reads about and practices a rule that says invest no more than 20% of his total account in any given trade.  And let’s also say that he learned about a particular pattern and have traded that particular pattern for a year and found that 9 trades out of 10 have resulted in at least a 10% return over a 6 week period.

With that kind of return and a 90% success rate, he could make some serious money over a relatively short period of time if he just invested more per trade.  Sure, his chances of making a fortune is pretty darn good with a success rate like that.  Just make his millions and quit trading.  This, my friend, is greed talking.  Read page 42 in the classic trading book “Trading For A Living” and you’ll see the number one goal in money management is “long-term survival.”

But what happens when Bob suffers 10 losses in a row?  He will probably hesitate to jump back into the market and “wait and see,” only to find out that this was the moment he should have gotten back in.  Now this is only natural since after being beaten up several times, fear tells him to be cautious next time.

Can you see how becoming a successful trader will take time?  So, back to the question: Can you gain financial freedom trading?  Only if you’re willing to learn, make mistakes, lose money, learn more, never say “I got it,” and continue learning for the rest of your trading career.

Tip: If you’re expecting to make fast money, your are a gambler.  And you know who always ends up the winner, right?

Another thing, in order to gain financial freedom trading, one must build up enough capital (money) where the return on their total portfolio is enough to support their expenses and keep up with inflation.

For example, if one has $50,000 of trading capital and manages to realize a 20% return, he may set aside 5% for inflation and take only 15% of return for living expenses.  That’s only $7,500 a year (less taxes).  Is that enough to cover your expenses?  If yes, then you can gain financial freedom trading with only $50,000.  Not many people can live on $7,500 a year, but that’s why I wrote that cutting your expenses is one way to gain financial freedom faster.

So again, can you gain financial freedom trading?  It is possible but you need to realize that it is not easy money (although hot streaks may convince you that it is), learning about how you behave takes time, and you will have to build up a big chunk of change to support your living expenses.

Do you have experience with trading the markets?  Do you know what it means when they say the trader is the weakest link to any system?  Traders, please comment.