Day 232: Take the Quiz

Mother's Little Helper portfolio was UP today +$3,559.18 (+0.46%).

Overall GAIN YTD: +$198,908.14 (+34.07%).

According to CNN Money our benchmark index, the S&P 500 is up +10.24% Year To Date. http://money.cnn.com/data/markets/sandp/

We're Not Saving, and We're Not Learning to Save

Financial literacy in the U.S. is not getting better, in fact it's getting much worse, even in the wake of the financial crisis. A survey conducted at George Washington University and the University of Pennsylvania found that 70% of American's cannot answer 3 basic questions about their money with respect to saving and investing. With only 30% answer these questions correctly we clearly have a lot of work to do.

Less than of the U.S. states require high school students to pass a personal finance course in order to graduate. In many cases high school graduates are unable to balance a checkbook or even know how to fill in the blanks in the check register.

61% of American's acknowledged that they do not have enough money in an emergency fund to cover 6 months of expenses. While only 35% report having only a few hundred dollars in their savings account. These statistics suggest several conclusions that we're not learning to save, this condition leads to individuals not learning to invest and ultimately large numbers of people end up unprepared for retirement.

Since financial literacy, even at the most basic level is not being taught in our school we need to take it upon ourselves to teach ourselves and our children. One of my favorite books on the subject is "How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000". This book is directed at children, but is a great place for any beginner to start. The most important message the book delivers is all the great social benefits of making a million dollars. They ignite the imagination with great ideas on how to give back. Available at Amazon.com: "How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000"

You can test you skills by taking the quiz

CLICK HERE TO TAKE QUIZ

PORTFOLIO COMPANIES REPORTING EARNINGS THIS MONTH

Cisco Systems, Inc. is expected to report earnings on 08/16/2017 after market close. The consensus EPS forecast for the quarter is $0.55.

Applied Materials, Inc. is expected to report earnings on 08/17/2017 after market close. The consensus EPS forecast for the quarter is $0.83.

Veeva Systems Inc. is expected to report earnings on 08/24/2017 after market close. The consensus EPS forecast for the quarter is $0.15.

Ulta Beauty, Inc. is expected to report earnings on 08/24/2017 after market close. The consensus EPS forecast for the quarter is $1.78.

Analog Devices, Inc. is expected to report earnings on 08/30/2017 before market open. The consensus EPS forecast for the quarter is $1.15.

Stay Invested

Clay Baker

Disclosure: I am personally invested long in these stocks that appear in the MLH portfolio and may purchase or sell shares within the next 72 hours. I am also invested in other stocks that do not appear in the MLH portfolio: BA, BRK.B, CELG, CSCO, CTXS, CVX, DOW, DVAX, FB, IBM, NTES, NVDA, OMER, PFE, PG, RDHL, SCHW, THO, TWX, VEEV, VZ, XLNX, XOM

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. This article is not intended to offer investing advice, guarantee 100% accurate predictions, or to be interpreted as providing a personal recommendation.