Financial Frontlines®

Question: What’s the difference between a lottery ticket and a share of General Motors stock?
Answer: They both cost about $1 but the lottery ticket might actually be worth something someday.

So-called investors are buying as many as 13 million shares a day of (bankrupt) General Motors stock which the company and the government have previously announced will ultimately be worthless.  See this news article for details.

“Everything in war is simple,” said the Prussian military strategist Karl von Clausewitz. “But,” he went on to say, “The simplest thing is difficult.” The same holds true for investing. The rules for successful investing are very simple – “Buy low, sell high” for example. It’s in the execution where things get a little tricky.

I have found that investors are much better served by applying simple rules of common sense we (should have?) learned as children than by following the advice of some current investment guru. These rules are part of what I call The Not-So-Secret Secrets of Successful Investing (future posts will feature other “not-so-secret secrets”).

We all know these rules but can easily ignore them when distracted by more compelling psychological stimuli – greed and fear being the top two.

Case in point: Bernie Madoff. Bernie “fooled” experienced investors, professional money managers, the SEC, (the list goes on) using a simple Ponzi scheme. His operation was not all that sophisticated. He simply promised regular, better-than-average returns without any risk. And he consistently provided those returns right up to the moment the whole thing blew up and everyone lost their money.

All of those sophisticated investors who gave Bernie money knew, in their heart of hearts, that “If it seems too good to be true, it is.” Unfortunately, human nature makes it difficult to follow that rule when we think we have found a sure thing. Nevertheless, by applying simple common sense to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities offered by scam artists like Bernie Madoff, investors can save themselves a considerable amount of grief – and money. But, as Clausewitz reminds us, just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Like so many aspects about a military career and lifestyle, Space-A travel benefits are what you make of them. I hear good (rarely) and not so good (mostly).

The military has, for the most part, the legal discretion to run the program as they see fit. So the Space-A travel program is primarily controlled by military policy. The program can flex as the mission allows.

The military runs the program according to mission requirements. Given the current age, use, and maintenance issues of the aircraft and the ongoing overseas commitment for the war efforts, Space-A is not a priority for the military. The Space-A program is limited and inconvenient for most travelers.

Most of the complaints we hear at MOAA have to do with eligibility and lack of customer friendly services for reservations and schedules. We don’t expect these non-customer friendly issues to change. We’ve tried with a few requests in the past and we are told it is what it is.

While some members may wish MOAA had the authority to demand military policy changes, we don’t. For some reason, the Services aren’t always keen on the idea of MOAA telling them how to do something—not to say we don’t ask “mother may I” sometimes.

When you use Space-A, it’s buyer beware. Have lots of time on your hands and have a flexible travel schedule.

Want to know the details? Check the official Space-A web site.

The VA announced a fix for the problem of paying for Post 9-11 GI Bill students at California’s private colleges.

The issue was GI Bill payments for both public and private colleges are based on in-state public college tuition rates. CA has no tuition for in-state public colleges and since there is no public college tuition rate on which to base private college payments, there was no private college payments.

See this VA press release for the details.

MOAA has just released in interactive e-book entitled “5 Simple Secrets to Maximizing Your Post 9-11 GI Bill Benefits.  Please feel free to forward this publication to anyone who might find it useful or link to it on your website or blog.

You can download your free copy here:

Post 9-11 GI Bill E-Book

In addition, MOAA will be conducting a 1-hour webinar the “ins and outs” of the Post 9-11 GI Bill on Tuesday, August 25th starting at 1200 hrs EST.  This webinar is free of charge, but you must register and space is limited.  The webinar will include approximately 50 minutes of prepared material and a 10-minute Q & A session.  All you need to participate in the webinar is a computer and a phone line.

Register for the Post 9-11 GI Bill webinar here:

Post 9-11 GI Bill Webinar on 8/25 at 1200 EST

We hope to see you on the webinar!