Hagrin.com

Recently, when I heard that PayPal would be offering additional security through a keychain security key (or key fob), I immediately signed up that day even though I rarely use PayPal and Ebay. For me, I want to be an early adopter of two form authentication since most Internet users really should be protecting themselves in every available manner (from themselves in many cases). I applaud PayPal and Ebay for implementing this additional layer of security before any of my banks have and I hope that more institutions follow suit.

First, I paid $5 USD to get the security key. I ordered the security key over a month ago and was surprised when it came today in the mail. If you haven't seen an image of the key yet, I've included one below -

Activating your security key is extremely easy. All that you need to do is browse to PayPal's security key page, enter in the serial number on the back of your key fob, press the key's button to generate a 6 digit number, wait 30 seconds and then retrieve a second number. If successfully activated, your security key will be attached to your account. I logged out and logged back in to test the new system and loved the simplicity. After successfully entering in my email address and password, I was now presented with an additional screen asking for my 6 digit number instead of my normal Account status screen.

It's that simple.

With all of the talk of Ebay hackings and PayPal insecurity, any user that relies on either of these services would be foolish to not spend the 5 dollars to add yet another level of security. This security key provides protection against those phishing attempts that are lucky enough to catch you with your guard down since even if they sniff out your email and password, the 6 digit security code will prevent them from fully accessing your account. You'd have to say - PayPal is definitely on the right track and got "it" right this time.

"Whoever dies with the most money, wins" - Danny Devito in Other People's Money

I'll admit it - I want to have as much money as possible and I am always looking to make more money, save more money, work smarter, research the latest "get rich scheme" and put in the work to try and make those things happen. However, a lot of "let's make a lot of money" plans don't give entrepreneurs a virtual world to test their knowledge, strategies and "reaction" times. However, one popular method of investing money would be playing the stock market and the Virtual Stock Exchange allows beginning investors to practice their researching and pricing techniques.

Recently, a few friends have created portfolios and have been able to use this virtual world to evaluate exactly how accurate our research is and whether or not our instincts are correct. In addition, VSE teaches investors the patience needed to deal with a volatile market and to not overreact to poor stock performance. VSE allows users to create a group that your friends and you can use to create a competition based on each other's portfolios. VSE provides extensive trading options including long and short positions, limit and stop trading, margin accounts and commisison/interest calculations. If you're looking for a group to join, the group name is "Hagrin.com" so create your portfolio today and let's make this money!

Many of my close personal friends know that when Google came out and then again shortly after (my ex will testify that when it was at the 150 range that I said in the car to her that she should buy it because it would go to 400), I told everyone that this was the can't miss stock of our time. I, and many others, was proven right.

Now, I will give you the next big stock to invest in and hold onto for about 5-10 years: SHLD.

Sears Holdings Corporation, led by Chairman Edward S. Lampert, is described as a "broadline retailer", but many investors will call SHLD a "virtual hedge fund". To understand why this is important, we need a quick history lesson. For ease, I will quote this MarketWatch story:

So, he has the track record, the experience and the price is affordable to the common man. However, at around 175-180 dollars a share, isn't it priced out already? Not so if you believe Lampert who describes SHLD as a "$55 billion startup." How many startups do you know that have 55 billion dollars in assets to play with at its "inception"? In addition, the options market is generally a "big money" game led by those with the most to win and lose. When looking at option pricing, you can see that the 1 year and 2 year pricing targets are in the 200+ dollar range meaning at least a 10% increase in the next year or two. That's a pretty good ROI with a stock that has a Beta value of -0.13.

SHLD marks the first entry into the Hagrin.com Virtual Stock Picks tracker. I locked in my pick at the beginning of the day at 178 so we have -

We'll track the performance of my picks over time and see if we can make some people some money. And yes, I do plan on investing my own real money in my picks so my money does back these wild speculations.