I’ve had a Citi AAdvantage card for years that gives me American Airlines AAdvantage miles when I use my card. Effectively I get 1 mile for every $1 I spend. It sounds like a great deal, and it would be, if using miles for travel weren’t subject to blackout dates and other restrictions.

I’ve accumulated enough miles to take a nice vacation somewhere, but the restrictions on when I can go make it impractical to use the miles.

So I’m in the market for a new card that will pay me cash back at the end of the year. I’m not too worried …

I’m starting to see a little uncertainty in Ford (F: chart, Y!) with the stock dropping $0.07 today. This is actually good news for a guy who’s trying to get in the game.

Additionally, the company expects to see January sales down 20% over the same month a year ago due to a drop in sales to rental car companies.

Interestingly enough, Ford is watching the real estate market to see how their F150 truck sales will do for the rest of the year.

Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, said what happens to the F-series this year is largely dependent on how the housing industry fares.

I can …

As a landlord, I don’t mind being called in to fix a problem, so long as it’s an easy problem to solve!

My tenants sent me an email last night stating that the bathtub wouldn’t drain after taking a shower. I wrote back and asked if any water had drained between last night and this morning, and they replied that not a single drop had drained from the tub during that period.

This is some pretty useful information. If a pipe clogs due to hair, grease or other buildup on the inside wall of the pipe, it does so over time, not all of a …

I was in Best Buy this afternoon looking to upgrade my Norton Internet Security program to a newer version.

After checking out the latest in big screens, I strolled over to the computer section. For the women out there, regardless of why us guys go to Best Buy in the first place, checking in at the television and computer department is a requirement for every trip. Gotta keep up with the latest and greatest you know, even if it’s only for informative purposes only…

I digress.

So I stroll over to the computer department, and low and behold, they don’t have a single computer on display. …

For a company who lost $12.7 Billion in 2006, Ford stock sure is resilient.

The stock opened the day down $0.20 from the previous close, was up $0.32 before closing up just two pennies.

To be absolutely honest, I was hoping the stock wouldn’t fare so well so I could start picking up a few shares. I had a near term price target of under $8, and with forecasts of a lousy ‘06 earnings report, I thought I was sure to find some easy shares today. Not so.

In taking a deeper look into my analysis, I have a feeling that the terrible performance was …

Tomorrow my market focus will be on Ford (F: chart). They’re hosting an earnings call at 9am to detail a record loss for 2006.

While this will surely have an adverse affect on the market short term, I’m still bullish on the stock through 2009 when Alan Mulally anticipates being back in the black.

I’ve been waiting for a pull back in the stock for the last week or so, and until yesterday couldn’t find one. Todays trading compounded the affects of a slight retreat, and I have a feeling the earnings report out tomorrow won’t have a gentle effect. …

After last years healthy bill from my CPA, I vowed to do more this year to cut down on the amount of time needed to do my taxes. Last year, I basically stuffed all my information into an envelope and said “here ya go…”. $800 later I was at the post office mailing off my return… and my additional check to the IRS…

This year, I’m trying to organize my tax information for easy review.

In this effort, I came across a great 2006 Tax Organizer that asks the important questions required for filling out the tax documents.

You can see and print an example …

The President stated in tonights State of the Union address that the US will double the size of the strategic petroleum reserve over the next 20 years.

Effectively, the US will buy 100,000 barrels of crude per day for the next 20 years, increasing the total capacity to 1.5 billion barrels.

It will be interesting to see how the market reacts to this decision, but I suspect that the price of crude will go up.

On another note, Ford (F: chart) finally had a down day. I’d like to see it retrace a little bit more and get the technicals down just a bit before I buy in, but at …

In our effort to save money for a new(er) car, the thought of buying not only a Honda car, but Honda stock also crossed my mind. Gas prices are high and those looking for a new car are now taking a closer look at mileage and reliability.

Honda Motor Company (HMC: Chart, web, Y!) has been climbing ever so slowly for the last few years. I imagine that if you could overlay a crude oil chart ($wtic: chart) with a Honda chart you’d be able to see some trends.

I will continue to look at Honda, but if you’ve got some …

Dividends or no dividends, I finally saw the light in Cornerstone. It’s tough to walk away from a 14% return on your money, but if you learn all your lessons the hard way, it’ll be a rough road to the finish. Assuming you do finish the race!

Now that I’ve cashed out, I need to find a good place to put my money to work. Ford is attractive, but carries some inherent risk. I’m overweight in Provident Energy and need to find a sector separated from oil and gas…

Gold is also attractive, but the direction of the economy is still hanging in the …