Dial up some cellphone savings

I recently read a story about how more and more Americans are opting for prepaid wireless service over a monthly cellphone plan, and this is a great way for many of us to save money. If you're locked into a plan buying, say, 600 minutes a month, yet you only use 300, you might be able to save by paying only for the minutes that you use. Prepaid service may also be a good option for people who use their phones primarily for texting and leave a ton of minutes on the table at the end of each month.

The fact is, many of us are paying for minutes that we're not using, so shopping around is a smart money move. Try visiting billshrink.com or myrateplan.com to compare options and find a plan or prepaid carrier that fits your calling needs.

And while you're at it, consider whether you really still need a landline home phone. At the Capitalist Pug household, we recently canceled our home service. The only difference we've noticed? We don't get those three or four annoying telemarketer calls a day anymore.

DISCLAIMER: Wendell the Pug does not own a cellphone. In fact, he is incapable of using one for any purpose other than as a chew toy.

Benefit from falling oil prices

Oil prices have fallen sharply in recent weeks, which could mean less of a hit on motorists' pocketbooks during the summer driving season. The European debt crisis and growing oil stockpiles have pushed prices down to $70 a barrel, a decline of about $15 from recent highs.

This is good news for many of us. But if, like me, you believe that these lower prices are not here to stay, then it becomes wise to seek a hedge for the eventual return of higher prices. And the time to do that is now, when prices are depressed. 

One option is to invest in oil production -- my favorite choice right now is ExxonMobil (XOM). The world's largest oil company has seen its share price decline along with the price of oil, and on Friday it was flirting with its 52-week low. The company boasts a very reasonable 8.4 price-to-earnings ratio and a projected dividend yield of nearly 3 percent. As of this writing, ExxonMobil is at $60.88 a share. Morningstar.com, a site I use frequently, contends its fair value is $87 a share and gives the stock its highest five-star rating. 

The time to buy is when prices are low. Then, if oil prices start to rebound in a few months and our cost to fill up the tank starts to rise again, we can take solace in the increasing value of our stock portfolio. 

DISCLAIMER: Wendell the Pug owns Exxon-Mobile stock and recently added to his holdings. He is also a 2-year-old puppy.

Goldbugs, beware

Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-NY, has issued a report accusing gold retailer Goldline International of ripping off its customers. If you've spent five minutes listening to conservative talk radio, you've probably heard of Goldline -- the company is a frequent advertiser for hosts like Glenn Beck and Mark Levine. I don't care what your personal political views are. But as your financial adviser, I can say that it's a bad idea to buy any asset that's been marked up substantially beyond its true market value. You don't buy a car for $40,000 when a neighboring dealership has the same model for $30,000, you don't buy mutual funds with exorbitant expense ratios, and you don't buy gold from Goldline. 


If you must invest in gold (and given that it's been flirting with all-time highs, I'm dubious that it's a great time to buy), you'd be better off looking elsewhere. Consider an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of gold such as SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) or iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU), both of which feature a reasonable .40 percent expense ratio. 


DISCLAIMER: Wendell the Pug has not made any investments in gold, aside from his Mr. T starter set.