Our 4-Hour Workweek

For the week:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3% (-7.0% year to date) to 12,337.22.
• The NASDAQ rose 0.1% (-13.0% year to date) to 2,306.20.
• The S&P 500 Index rose 1.3% (-8.1% year to date) to 1,348.78.
• The Power Women 50 Index rose 0.1% (-6.5% year to date) to $88,286.98 (details).
• The Magic Formula Index rose 1.2% (-9.4% year to date) to $88,724.62 (details).
• The Dogs of the Dow fell 0.5% (-4.3% year to date) to $95,734.44 (details).
• Our 4-Hour Workweek basket of stocks and cash rose 6.5% (-4.4% year to date) to $23,097.51.
• Pierre's 401K group of mutual funds rose 3.1% (-8.5% year to date) to $62,320.95.

Note: data is as of market close on February 19.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

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J.D. Roth at Get Rich Slowly was asked the question by one of his readers, “What motivated you to take control of your finances?”

Here’s J.D.’s response:

I started to answer but, as conversations will, our discussion lost its focus. I never gave a complete response. I thought about the question for the rest of the day, though, and concluded that for me, money represents freedom. In his book "Debt is Slavery", Michael Mihalik writes:

"Too many people hate their jobs but are afraid to leave, because they wouldn’t be able to pay their mortgage, credit card bills, car loans, or boat loans. Debt can turn a free, happy person into a bitter human being. Debt can turn you into a slave."

For fifteen years, I felt like a slave. Debt was the dominating force in my life. My choices were limited by the fact that I owed tens of thousands of dollars. For a long time, this burden only weakened me — I took on more debt in a futile attempt to ease the pain with more stuff.

Eventually I realized that what I wanted was freedom — freedom to work and live where I wanted, freedom to travel, freedom to retire early — and that the only way I could achieve this freedom was by eliminating debt. My non-mortgage debt is gone now, but this desire for freedom remains my primary motivation. It’s why I’m willing to live frugally. It’s why I want a huge emergency fund. It’s why I want to pay off the mortgage.

Click here for J.D.'s complete post.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

David Gardner, co-founder of The Motley Fool, reveals "The Greatest Secret Of All" to investing -

"Find good companies and hold those positions tenaciously over time to yield multiples upon multiples of your original investment."

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mr. Market gives and Mr. Market takes. This week he took back precisely what he gave the previous week. Last week the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 4.4% and this week the Dow fell 4.4%.

For the week:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.4% (-8.2% year to date) to 12,182.13.
• The NASDAQ fell 4.5% (-13.1% year to date) to 2,304.85.
• The S&P 500 Index fell 4.6% (-9.3% year to date) to 1,331.29.
• The Power Women 50 Index fell 2.4% (-6.6% year to date) to $88,168.83 (details).
• The Magic Formula Index fell 5.7% (-10.5% year to date) to $87,694.29 (details).
• The Dogs of the Dow fell 6.7% (-3.8% year to date) to $96,222.01 (details).
• Our 4-Hour Workweek basket of stocks and cash fell 1.9% (-10.2% year to date) to $21,680.01.
• Pierre's 401K group of mutual funds fell 4.8% (-11.3% year to date) to $60,445.49.

Upcoming this week – I plan to invest $1,043.30 in my 401K. du Pont (NYSE symbol DD) and General Motors (NYSE symbol GM) will announce their dividends. I expect du Pont will pay 41 cents per share (3.63% yield) and GM 25 cents per share (3.8% yield). The Dogs of the Dow offer great yields given the current market conditions.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I read four blogs with a 4-Hour Workweek flair on a regular basis.

1. Get Rich Slowly, authored by J.D. Roth; subscriber base of 47,147;
2. Problogger, authored by Darren Rowse; subscriber base of 41,530;
3. Think Simple Now, authored by Tina Su; subscriber base of 4,429;
4. Millionaire Mommy Next Door, author is anonymous; subscriber base of 2,585.

Can you see a bit of Tim Ferriss in each of these bloggers? I do. They make great online mentors. By studying each of their efforts, perhaps I will be able to learn and implement some of their successful techniques.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 3:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Recommended reading:

Tina Su's guest blog at the website of Darren Rowse, Problogger.net - "From 0 to 2000+ Subscribers In 90 Days"

After reading Tina's blog, I now declare to be her disciple. Her blog, Think Simple Now, has grown from 0 to 4,466 subscribers since September 27, 2007. In addition to her great advice on finding clarity, motivation, productivity, creativity and happiness, her recommended reading list is awesome; and, I just love her website name - Think Simple Now. It plays along with my desired lifestyle changes of "less is more", downsizing and "escape the 9 - 5, live anywhere".

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here's a fun technique that I've grown to like over time. Think of a subject and exercise a Google search to see what is out there. And so today I searched on the exact phrase "Quitting Your Day Job". Google search returned 27,700 hits.

Wow! A lot of people are writing and podcasting about the subject. It is a hot topic. In the first page of the search I found ten items worth exploring about Quitting Your Day Job.

1. Risks vs. Rewards - Quitting Your Day Job to Become an Entrepreneur
2. Quitting Your Day Job - Podcast 1 and Podcast 2
3. 5 Ways to Start A Company Without Quitting Your Day Job
4. Is It Wise To Quit Your Day Job And Depend On Your Website For Income?
5. How To Know When To Quit Your Day Job And Work From Home Full Time
6. My Blueprint For Quitting Your Day Job
7. Quitting The Day Job - Finding The Guts To Pursue Your Dreams
8. Seriously – Half Of The Secret To Quitting Your Day Job To Make Money Online – Spend Less
9. How To Quit Your Day Job In Six Not So Easy Steps
10. How To Quit Your Day Job

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 8:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Two months ago, I reported that J.D. Roth, blogger at Get Rich Slowly, had announced he was quitting his corporate sales job to devote 100% of his working efforts to his blogs Get Rich Slowly and Get Fit Slowly.

In the December 2nd post, it was noted that J.D. had 34,726 subscribers and was generating a monthly income of $5,000 (14 cents per subscriber - my math estimate). A quick check this morning at Get Rich Slowly shows he now has 45,305 subscribers. He grew readership by 30.5% in two months. Prorating his income at 14 cents per subscriber, I estimate his blog is now generating a monthly income of $6,340.

He launched Get Fit Slowly in October and now has 1,083 subscribers (estimated at $150 month income).

I wonder if he could have earned a 30% raise in pay at his corporate sales job the last two months?

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 6:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What did you do this past weekend? Was it productive? Or did you just goof off and get nothing done?

Tim Ferriss poses this question in his latest blog at "Experiments in Lifestyle Design". Read the blog The Weekend Retirement Test Drive: Groundhog Day and The Rest of Your Life (Plus: Competition) and enter his contest to win a valuable prize.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In today's "Wall Street Journal", Mark Gongloff reports: "After weeks of wallowing in gloom, Wall Street is suddenly full of optimists."

Wow! How fast the naysayers change!

The Dow Jones Industrial Average enjoyed a 4.4% gain this week - the best weekly performance since March 2003. The markets shook off more bad news during the week - a negative jobs report, bond insurers taking massive losses, and President Bush's comments about the weakening economy in his state of the Union address.

For the week:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.4% (-3.9% year to date) to 12,743.19.
• The NASDAQ rose 3.7% (-9.0% year to date) to 2,413.36.
• The S&P 500 Index rose 4.9% (-5.0% year to date) to 1395.42.
• The Power Women 50 Index rose 4.1% (-4.3% year to date) to $90,331.42 (details).
• The Magic Formula Index rose 5.5% (-5.0% year to date) to $93,027.26. (details).
• The Dogs of the Dow rose 7.1% (+3.2% year to date) to $103,163.09 (details).
• Our 4-Hour Workweek basket of stocks and cash rose 2.2% (-8.5 year to date) to $22,107.51.
• Pierre's 401K group of mutual funds rose 6.1% (-6.8% year to date) to $63,488.13.

I like the results of last week. There will be more good weeks ahead, but patience is in order. Don't panic. Stay the course. Keep investing. I did, contributing $1,043.30 last week to my 401K, and I won't stop investing. Count on me to invest $1,043.30 every two weeks. I have to be disciplined, regardless of the ups and downs of the market.

I am on a long journey. I may encounter detours and uphill climbs, but I know where I'm going. Remember, my strategy to reach my destination is two-fold - investments and owning businesses.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 6:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)