{"id":1545,"date":"2023-10-14T18:39:55","date_gmt":"2023-10-14T22:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rthomas.xyz\/?p=1545"},"modified":"2023-10-14T18:39:57","modified_gmt":"2023-10-14T22:39:57","slug":"financial-talk-war-talk-bond-market-follies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rthomas.xyz\/?p=1545","title":{"rendered":"Financial Talk, War Talk & Bond Market Follies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It’s a nice day to get rolling on some Q4 2023 Financial Talk from me, Rockin’ Robbie Thomas. Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20! Hell yeah, I like Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20, he has a lot of hits… wait, Robbie Thomas? Who the hell is Robbie Thomas!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel vs. Hamas Conflict<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

With this situation, my best guess is that Oil prices will jump. I drive a 2010 Ford Focus so I need the gasoline. One of my credit cards offers a 6% cash back to me if I fill up at Exxon Mobil. Plus, I’ll be filling up at Costco Gas. Besides this, I will be researching how War affects the stock market and also keeping an eye on my GTLR ETF that doesn’t pay dividends. That attack on that festival is awful with people being taken away by Hamas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve seen quite a few videos from the PBS NewsHour. PBS NewsHour is my weapon of choice when it comes to International News. I also have noticed Lester Holt was there at Tel Aviv, and later, PBS sent Amna Nawaz there as well. Like the Ukraine-Russia conflict, I don’t think this uptick in violence in Israel is going away anytime soon. Buckle up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, watch Capitol Trades<\/a> and keep an eye on US politicians buying defense stocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bond Market Follies<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the Israel conflict, I saw that VCIT<\/a> and AGG<\/a> were dropping for quite a few weeks. VCIT is a bond ETF and my largest investment. I do my finances every two weeks and I’ve seen that AGG had dropped straight for 16 weeks. VCIT, in the last 14 weeks, there has been one plus in between those, the other six were minuses. With that being said, I won’t be buying VCIT and AGG for a while. I’m also keeping an eye on FHMI<\/a> and I will still buy. But I have seen much minuses with FHMI lately. I’ll be buying FLOT<\/a> and TFLO<\/a> in the next couple of months. I’ve noticed politicians buying Treasury Bonds<\/a> and Bills<\/a> a lot lately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I’m Doing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I’m down to five days a week at my job and I’m having a hard time finding any other menial work via Bacon and Instawork. But all of the jobs are at least 30 miles away from me and some are in Cleveland or Middleburg Heights, Ohio. I’m not travelling 2 hours away for $14-15 bucks an hour. I did a few creative works that got me a couple of bucks and playing games on MistPlay. However, it isn’t bringing in the big bucks! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The six days a week is helpful when paying bills and also saving and investing. I’ve been on 5 days a week for a while before, so I’m not stranger to this. But, the 6-7 days a week is more helpful to me. Last month, I threw $500 in my savings account. This month, I’m going to try and throw $500 in the stock market, but I’m reducing which stocks and ETFs I’m buying. This is the list of stocks, ETFs and Mutual Funds I’m buying for now:<\/p>\n\n\n\n