Advanced Pilates Mat Exercises for Musicians and Artists

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This is a great video demonstration of a more advanced Pilates mat workout. I wanted to show you just how much can be done with the human body to provide it with the necessary exercise to keep it toned and fit. Along with Yoga, Pilates is a terrific form of exercise that when complemented with food combining principles allow the body to transform itself into a high-performing engine for life.

In keeping with the theme “exercises that can be done anywhere and anytime” you’ll see that in this case our model, Jean-Claude Nelson, the founder and instructor of Bluebird Pilates, demonstrates the advanced Pilates mat exercises at the beach. So whether it’s dawn or sunset, at the beach or at home, a regular Pilates exercise routine can keep you energized and toned.

I found this video to be a great source of fitness inspiration. I hope you love this video demo as much as I did and that you’ll share your insights and comments below.

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Related Articles:

Smart Moves for Musicians: Basic Pilates Mat Exercises, Anywhere, Anytime

The Fuel of Excellence: How to Drink Your Water – A Musician’s Guide to Handling Thirst for Optimal Hydration

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P.S. To support Stereo Thesis with a financial donation, click here.

Marc

http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/

The Basics of Gold and Silver Investing: A Musician’s Guide to Speculating and Profiting with Precious Metals (Part 2)

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DOWNLOAD “SONIC WEAPONS: The Official Stereo Thesis Music Sampler FOR FREE.” To get your FREE full-length album…click here.
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(To read Part 1 of "The Basics of Gold and Silver Investing: A Musician’s Guide to Speculating and Profiting with Precious Metals," then click here.)

 

 

Gold and Silver Mining Company Stocks and ETF’s

This is a more direct asset play because the asset and the product of the company are one and the same – gold or silver in their raw forms. There are 2 ways I know of to approach this method of investing and they are to invest in individual gold and silver mining companies or to put your money into a gold or silver mining ETF. An ETF is an exchange-trading fund. It trades like a stock but sometimes the underlying asset is not a stock. Instead, sometimes it could be a collection of stocks of a certain classification, economic sector, or commodity. In this case, a gold or silver mining ETF would be a fund which holds the stock of several gold or silver mining companies. So instead of investing in a single mining company, you’d be diversified among several such companies.

It’s easy to find individual gold or silver mining companies in which to invest. A simple Google search or a look into the top holdings of a gold or silver ETF will yield many results. But in many cases you’ll notice that the Google searches and the top holdings inside a gold or silver ETF result in similar findings because there are so few gold and silver mining companies in the world.

To see what I found from a quick Google search for gold mining companies and their stock symbols, click here.

And to see an example of what company stocks make up the top holdings inside the gold ETF, GLDX, click here.

More on Gold and Silver ETF’s

The next approach to investing in gold and silver is a little more advanced than the earlier techniques. I strongly recommend that you gain some amount of experience investing or studying the earlier techniques before using these. This way you lessen the chance of making beginner mistakes with your money.

Without investing directly in the commodities exchange (futures market), you can get exposure in commodities by using commodity ETF’s. Commodity ETF’s allow you to invest in commodities such as coffee, tin, sugar, corn, oil, timber, natural gas, chocolate, livestock, as well as gold and silver. The only other way to invest in the commodities market is to find an investment firm or hedge fund that deals in this market. Usually an account with such a firm or private equity fund requires a high initial investment, high financial I.Q., or high net worth.

The most unique feature of the gold and silver ETF’s is that they attempt to track the price of both precious metals very closely. Two other benefits these investment instruments offer new and experienced investors is the ability to short drops in the price of gold or silver and also to capitalize on the power of leverage. “Shorting” is basically a trading technique that allows you to make money when the price of something is going down. “Leverage” on the other hand is simply a way to quickly multiply gains (and losses).

Now, the most fundamental way to start looking at investing in gold and silver using ETF’s is to simply place your money in one and watch its value go up and down, but hopefully higher and higher over time. Two ETF’s that provide this most basic form of gold and silver commodity exposure are SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and iShares Silver Trust (SLV). Neither of these ETF’s offers shorting or leverage as part of their characteristics.

Shorting Gold and Silver

As I already mentioned earlier “shorting” is a trading technique that allows you to make money when the price of something goes down. Below you’ll notice a chart with 2 lines that appear as mirror opposites of each other. The green line represents the gold ETF (GLD), which tracks the price gold, and the blue line is another gold ETF (DGZ) that shorts the price of gold. Using these 2 investment tools and an assortment of technical knowledge about trading and gold itself, you can make money all the time whether the price of gold is going up or down. Theoretically, you’d be in GLD when the price of gold is going up and switch to DGZ when the price of gold is going down. In both scenarios, you’d be making money. Some traders actually specialize in following the price fluctuations of gold and make a living trading and shorting gold. You can also take the same approach to trading silver.

Gold and shorting Gold ETF's:

SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)

DB Gold Short ETN (DGZ)

 
Silver and shorting Silver ETF's:

iShares Silver Trust (SLV)
 
ProShares Ultra Short Silver (ZSL)

[Note: Soon, I’ll provide a brief list of 2x leveraged short gold and silver ETF’s that give you twice the returns when the price of gold or silver is going down.]

Let it be known that it is virtually impossible for you to time both movements perfectly, so while lots of money could be made by using these 2 tools, lots of money can also be lost by using them without some training or guidance. The worst case scenario would be for you to incorrectly time the market and be in GLD when the price of gold is going down. Then once again time the market incorrectly and be in DGZ when the price of gold is going up, thereby losing money every time you trade. Read books on the subject or find a mentor and proceed with caution.

SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)

DB Gold Short ETN (DGZ)

Leveraged Gold and Silver ETF’s (2X)

Earlier I wrote that leverage is a way to quickly multiply gains (and losses). Well, here is an example of a silver ETF, which tracks the price of silver, as compared to a leveraged (2X) silver ETF, which tracks twice the value of the price of silver. Below you’ll see a chart with 2 lines that appear to be duplicates of one another, but one of them seems to have a greater magnitude than the other. That’s the 2x leveraged ETF indicating twice the returns.

If you look at the right hand side of the chart, you’ll see a series of percentages. Those numbers are telling you what the return rate is for each of those ETF’s on any day over a period of 6 months. While they both seem to be providing a decent rate of return, the point here is to notice the difference between a standard ETF and a 2X leveraged ETF. The idea is actually fairly simple to understand. Where (SLV) provides a 10% return on a given day, week, or month, the 2X leveraged ETF (AGQ), provides twice those returns for a total return rate of 20%. In another example, if SLV gives a return of 20%, AGQ gives 40%. These returns are what you’d get if the price is going up, but what happens when the price goes down?

Let’s assume that if the price does go down, you’d short gold or silver and keep making money. But, on the other hand, let’s say that you missed a signal or the indicators were unclear and you stayed in an ETF like AGQ, while the price of silver goes down 15%. The result would be that you just sustained a 30% drop in the value of your silver investment. So while using leveraged (2x) ETF’s are a great way to make more money faster, there is a downside and that’s you can also lose more money faster. Once again I strongly suggest that you read books on the subject or find a mentor and proceed with caution.

iShares Silver Trust (SLV)

Below are a pair of 2x leveraged ETF’s, one is for gold and the other is for silver. Now because I am not a financial advisor, these ETF’s are intended as a reference for study and analysis, they are NOT investments that I am recommending to you.

ProShares Ultra Gold (UGL)

ProShares Ultra Silver (AGQ)

Gold and Silver 2X Short ETF’s

The following is a short list of gold and silver 2X short ETF’s that I thought would be a valuable addition to the information I’ve presented in this article. This list is also intended as a reference for your study and analysis. For more information on how to use these trading tools refer to the earlier sections in this article on shorting gold and silver and the benefits and dangers of leveraged ETF’s.

ProShares UltraShort Silver (ZSL)

ProShares UltraShort Gold (GLL)

DB Gold Double Short ETN (DZZ)

Exit Strategy

Every good investor needs an exit strategy. An exit strategy is a plan an investor creates BEFORE he gets into an investment usually to do one of the following:

1. Cut their losses early

2. To secure their gains after achieving a financial target

If you’ve done the due diligence and your research has paid off with fair to excellent returns, then it makes no sense to have done the work without keeping the reward. This is why an exit strategy is so important because acting according to a plan eliminates some of the risk of investing. Having a plan prepares you in advance for removing your money out of an investment.

Too often a novice investor makes the mistake of watching their investment lose significant value, only to see it never regain it. In contrast, an exit strategy that includes achieving a 20% gain in the value of an investment protects that gain by alerting you to remove your money once that target has been achieved. Likewise, an exit strategy protects your money by planning for acceptable losses. In other words, an exit strategy can be stated in such a way that you are seeking a 20% gain in the value of your investment and that you will not sustain more than a 5% loss in the value of your investment. Now, you’re in a much better position to watch your investment make you money or to protect your investment money from taking on a catastrophic loss.

In general, an exit strategy should be composed of at least 4 parts. In addition, to cutting losses and hitting a financial target, you should also set a time frame and have a plan for where to move your money next. How long are you willing to keep your money in the investment or how fast do you want your money to appreciate? Your answers might range greatly from 2 weeks, 6 months, to 5 years. It’s up to you. Will you convert your gains to cash or find something new to invest in and keep your money growing? You should have some idea or know for sure what you’ll do with your money, afterwards, before you get into the investment.

This concludes my presentation of “The Basics of Gold and Silver Investing: A Musician’s Guide to Speculating and Profiting with Precious Metals.” I hope you found this article helpful and will refer to it often should you decide to begin an adventure investing in gold and silver. Post your comments and questions below and good luck.

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Related Articles:

The Basics of Gold and Silver Investing: A Musician’s Guide to Speculating and Profiting with Precious Metals (Part 1)

The Cash Flow Quadrant - What Is It? And What Should It Mean to Musicians and other Artists
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P.S. To support Stereo Thesis with a financial donation, click here.

Marc

http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/

The Basics of Gold and Silver Investing: A Musician’s Guide to Speculating and Profiting with Precious Metals (Part 1)

_________________________________________________________________________

DOWNLOAD “SONIC WEAPONS: The Official Stereo Thesis Music Sampler FOR FREE.” To get your FREE full-length album…click here.
_________________________________________________________________________

In line with other articles I’ve written about financial issues musicians face, I thought you might benefit from getting a basic education about investing in gold and silver. Because there’s been so much attention and hype surrounding the devaluing of the dollar and the sharp rise in the price of these two precious metals, having a basic understanding about how to make money from these metals is crucial. Besides if you’ve had some success with your music career and you’ve got the extra cash to invest why not expose yourself to opportunities for growing and protecting your hard earned income? So here’s my synopsis about some of the best techniques for speculating and profiting by investing (or trading) in gold and silver.

Today, you’ll learn how to formulate an investment strategy (for getting in and exiting the market) in line with your financial goals. You’ll also find out about several approaches for collecting gold and silver coins. Not only that, but you’ll also get a basic orientation about gold and silver’s industrial uses and investment opportunities that are available from gold and silver mining company stocks, jewelry firms, electronics, and much more. I’ll also give you a fundamental education in more advanced trading techniques such as gold and silver mining and commodity ETF’s, gold and silver shorting ETF’s, as well as gold and silver leveraged ETF’s for doubling your profits. Because there’s so much to cover let’s begin right away.

Strategy: Capital Preservation or Capital Gains

First and foremost, you will have to decide what your reason is for investing (or trading) in gold or silver. In general, there are two strategies by which to profit from gold and silver. The first is to protect your wealth or purchasing power from loss via inflation through capital preservation. And the other, is to make short or long-term gains from sharp or gradual rises in the price of gold or silver. So you’ll have to decide for yourself what type of investing your personality jibes with best. I strongly suggest that you base this decision on any research you can do or by financially educating yourself as much as possible before you make your final conclusion. 

Gold and Silver Coins

 

 

 

Buying collectible and investment grade gold and silver coins (bullion) is one of the greatest American pastimes and its popularity seems to ever be increasing with time. Especially now that we find ourselves in the midst of a financial meltdown, interest in owning gold and silver coins to replace devalued dollars has been a great boon to many investors who’ve maintained a careful eye on the price and demand for these metals.

There are actually several ways to get gold jewelry, gold and silver coins and bullion into your possession, but here’s just a few. The first is to simply walk into any rare coin, collectible coin, or even pawn shop and buy whatever you can afford. The process is very easy and quick. But the only complication you might experience is them asking for your personal information for tax or legal purposes. If you can avoid it try to convince the seller to go through with the purchase without providing your information to keep the transaction anonymous. The reason why this is important is because the U.S. government already has a history of legally confiscating gold from its citizens by making it a crime to possess it and manipulating the price of gold for its own benefit.

Another way to purchase investment gold coins is to order on-line or through a coin catalogue. The reason why this is also a good alternative to the coin or pawn shop is not because the transaction can remain anonymous, but rather because you can use your credit card to make the purchase. In most cases, the coin or pawn shop will not allow you to buy gold and silver coins with a debit or credit card, so this may be your only option if a card is your preferred method of payment. Now, if you use a credit card or go into debt to acquire gold or silver you’ll have to assess whether or not the interest rate you’ll be charged is lower than the rate of return you’ll receive from your investment in gold or silver. Ideally, you’d come out ahead, be able to pay back the debt, and keep the gains for a new round of investing.

One other way I know of to get gold and silver coins or jewelry is to become a wholesale buyer. You will need to get some training on how to test the quality and value of any gold or silver pieces sellers bring to you. You’ll also need some start-up capital to begin to run advertisements and generate sales leads. An extension to this approach is to use the training you’ve received in testing the authenticity gold and silver to frequent yard and estate sales to find bargains in precious metals, jewelry, coin collections, and more.

Barter is another way to get more gold and silver into your possession. The way to do this would be to simply ask others to pay you in gold or silver coins for products delivered or services rendered instead of in dollars. So whether you’re selling a used car, lawn mower, or a house, you can try to arrange to make the sale by agreeing to be paid in gold and silver instead.

As a small or large investor, you’ll not only have the option to buy gold and silver bullion, but also the more affordable “junk silver.” If you have little money to start with and want to get started immediately, then you may want to begin with buying junk silver. Junk silver coins are pre-1965 U.S. minted coins that were once in circulation, but have since been discontinued. “Junk silver,” along with the gold backed dollar, are relics of a time when the U.S. dollar was money. All of the methods I’ve already shared with you are also ways of acquiring more junk silver. The only difference is a matter of focus (or diversification) on which form of gold or silver you will choose to acquire.

Gold and Silver Asset Plays

Here’s another great approach for finding profits in gold and silver by investing in wonderful companies that use gold and silver in their manufacturing processes. This method of investment allows you to invest in gold and silver in an indirect manner. Any company that requires large amounts of gold or silver for their products needs a massive stockpile of these precious metals on hand at all times. In other words, they can’t run out of the metals or else they can’t make products to sell so they’ll go out of business.

Now because these stockpiles of gold and silver are essential to their manufacturing of jewelry and many other industrial purposes, for example, investing in companies with large stockpiles of these metals is known as an “asset play.” An asset play is an investing strategy where the investment isn’t necessarily in the business, but rather in the assets of the company. The assumption underlying this approach is that the commodities or assets the company owns will appreciate quickly, thereby adding value to the company, and consequently bringing the stock price higher. An asset play can be done with any commodity including rubber with a shoe company (Nike), sugar with a candy manufacturer (Nestle), and coffee with a chain of coffee shops (Starbuck’s).

Almost everyone understands that gold and silver are used to make jewelry. So one thing you can easily do is look into jewelry companies to find ones that are publicly traded in order to research their stock price, performance and company information. DGSE Companies Inc. (DGSE: AMEX) is an example of just such a company. Currently, the company is trading around $6.50 a share and for last 3 months has outperformed the S&P 500 by roughly 13%.

Here’s part of DGSE company profile, courtesy of Yahoo! Finance:

DGSE Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, buys and sells jewelry and bullion products for individual consumers, dealers, and institutions in the United States. The company provides jewelry products, including bridal jewelry, fashion jewelry, custom-made jewelry, diamonds, and other gemstones, as well as watches and findings; and jewelry repair services. It also offers gold, silver, platinum, and palladium precious metals products comprising the United States and other government coins, private mint medallions, wafers, art bars, and trade unit bars; and numismatic items, such as rare coins, currency, medals, tokens, and other collectibles. The company markets its products through its 34 retail locations in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas under Bullion Express, Charleston Gold & Diamond Exchange, Dallas Gold & Silver Exchange, and Southern Bullion Coin & Jewelry banners, as well as through various Websites comprising BullionExpress.com, CGDEinc.com, DGSE.com, SouthernBullion.com, AmericanGoldAndSilverExchange.com, and Fairchildwatches.com.

To learn more about this company and to see its stock chart, click here.

What this means is that you do some research into gold and silver to find out how it’s used for industrial purposes. In other words, find companies within those industries that are thriving either by analyzing their stock information, financial statements, or calling their investor relations department to get as much information as you need to make an informed decision about the company, its management, and ultimately the stock.

Opportunities to profit from gold’s industrial uses include, but are not limited to companies that manufacture metal alloys that require gold for their processes, companies that supply medical companies with the gold they need for crowns and bridges in dentistry, colloidal gold preparations for applications in biology, companies that prepare the gold flakes which are used in gourmet foods, as well as companies that use gold to create electronics devices such as electronic wiring for high-energy applications, spacecraft, jet engines, semiconductor devices, and so much more.

Similarly, silver’s industrial purposes range from jewelry and silverware, use in dentistry for dental instruments and dental fillings, electrical contacts for computer keyboards, the production of mirrors and architectural glass, the construction of high quality musical wind instruments such as flutes, and medical purposes for its antimicrobial qualities.

 

Use these links to learn more about gold’s industrial purposes or silver’s industrial purposes.

 

This concludes "The Basics of Gold and Silver Investing: A Musician’s Guide to Speculating and Profiting with Precious Metals" (Part 1). Part 2 will be published later this month, so stay tuned.

 

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Related Articles:
 
The Basics of Gold and SilverInvesting: A Musician’s Guide to Speculating and Profiting with Precious Metals (Part 2)

The Cash Flow Quadrant - What Is It? And What Should It Mean to Musicians and other Artists

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P.S. To support Stereo Thesis with a financial donation, click here.

 

Marc

http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/