Where to find the extra money to fund your financial goals.
In an effort to bring our spending down and to cushion our income shortfall over the last year or two, we’ve been working on stretching our budgets a little further. Unfortunately though, I have the nagging feeling that our budget is still not quite [...]
Wesabe tracks your spending… let’s you know where your money went.
If you are regular reader of personal finance sites, you’ve probably heard of Wesabe. It’s one of many personal finance start-ups that track your spending in order to help you maximize your dollar. I first heard of Wesabe over a year ago. I signed up to give it a shot. I had planned to write about Wesabe then, but I came away underwhelmed. The way Wesabe works is that it analyzes your spending and gives you suggestions from other members on things you could do [...]
Look no further than the IndyMac failure, and many people have come to realize that it can happen to them. Bank failures are usually far and few between, but this year’s credit problems are forcing more banks to fail than usual. Some experts say that IndyMac was only the beginning, and many more failures could [...]
I will begin early Roth IRA withdrawals later this year. When I said that I’ll be living off my retirement funds and making withdrawals, SVB at The Digerati Life wanted more information. There are a few options on how to access funds while I’m still in my 20s.
Roth IRA Withdrawals
It’s easy to get confused [...]
If you read my primer yesterday on biotechnology investing you found out the basics of what comprises biotech and probably thought, “That’s great, but where do I put my money?” I’ll tailor this to those investors who aren’t independently wealthy or otherwise come to investing with a lot of capital. Those investors can’t [...]
Welcome to the traditional monthly net worth update – The July 2008 edition.
In terms of expenses, this month was a little higher than expected. We typically funnel all of our spending through our credit card (for the rewards points) and we ended up with a $2,500 bill for the month (paid in full of [...]
Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
WaMu Increases Its Rate to 3.75% APY
Washington Mutual now pays 3.75% APY for their online savings account. Banks are competing for our money.
Looks like the competition is heating up.
I just got an email from Washington Mutual with the latest change to the interest rate of WaMu online savings account. [...]
political news is a disease
Stay away from the news. I’ve given that advice over and over. It does not entertain or educate or enlighten. Unless you plan to do something about it, reading about a tragedy on the other side of the globe will only depress you. Yet I have a confession to make. [...]
Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
EverBank Direct President Answers Some Questions about EverBank
EverBank Direct President Frank Trotter introduces the bank’s products and assures customers that EverBank has no business in the sub-prime market.
I didn’t pay attention to EverBank (though it was included in my online savings and checking account interest rates table) until early [...]
A Credit Card Survey
A while back, Mr Credit Card invited me to provide some responses to a survey he was conducting about the credit card habits of financial bloggers. I gave him my replies and now he’s published the results in his article entitled “Personal Finance Bloggers Credit Card Survey“.
Here’s a [...]
Extreme Makeover Home Foreclosure. What went wrong?
There was a little foreclosure in the news that caught my eye yesterday. A home featured on Extreme Makeover Home Edition is facing foreclosure. Milton and Patricia Harper of Lake City, Georgia were the lucky recipients of a complete home makeover turning their old home into a 5500 sq. ft. mansion. It took 1,800 people to get it accomplished. The estimated cost of the home and donated materials? $450,000. It looks like the dream is over for the Harpers.
Though this is somewhat original, I feel I’ve read [...]
How SIPC Insurance Can Protect Your Brokerage Account
With news of banks such as IndyMac failing and being taken over by FDIC, a lot of people are questioning not only how safe their deposits are, but their investments in brokerage accounts and mutual fund companies as well. One thing you have to remember is that FDIC [...]
Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
Did You Splurge?
So the economy is pretty bad and families are struggling to make ends meet, but many people still splurged.
Last week, HSBC Direct released a consumer survey of 1,000 U.S. households on their spending in June. The results show that, despite the financial hardship caused by the economy, [...]
Now that I quit my job, it’s about time that you get to know me a little better. Because of my career and my industry, I’ve steered clear from some great financial topics. Once I no longer have a conflict of interest, I’ll be able to write much more on some topics that I have [...]
What on earth is biotechnology? Think of it as ways that man controls nature. That could be read negatively, but it doesn’t have to be. Biotechnology comprises all of the ways that humans try to overcome natural limitations be more cost-efficient. Examples of biotechnology are pest-resistant crops, new animal breeding, or [...]
Part of the fabric of a modern life is access to the internet. You don’t really think about it but you rely on it more heavily than you know. In addition, you rely on simple and quick fixes to problems with your access. You could say the same for most services. Most of us don’t [...]
You’ve asked for him and now he’s back. QCash, the 37 year old retired millionaire, goes through his history of net worth updates to show us how he progressed to where he is today.
A while back, I promised FT that I would pull out my net worth totals from 2000 (the year I [...]
The stock market is in a slump. Here’s how some financial bloggers have fared in this investment climate.
With the middle of the year upon us, I expected the equity markets, and thereby our investment portfolio, to experience a dip. The summer period is usually the time in the year when markets take a [...]
Wondering if Your 401k Sucks? A Few Tips to Help You Spot a Bad Plan
CNN Money recently featured another piece by ‘The Mole’ that discusses what to do if you have a bad 401k plan, and this was followed up by J.D. at Get Rich Slowly with a few more tips. There is a lot [...]
Note To Businesses: Consumers Don’t like Forced Bundling of Products
With football season coming up, my thoughts have started to slowly turn to blocking, blind-side blitzes, and blackouts. Recently tickets for next seasons AFC Championship rematch, New England Patriots vs. San Deigo Chargers went on sale. Though it’s a mere 8-hour drive, I was prepared to call in and try my luck at getting tickets. Then a friend told me something that I couldn’t believe. In order to purchase tickets for that game, you must buy tickets for two preseason games (see press release for details). [...]
Starting an investment club is much easier if you can see how others have done it in the past. I reviewed the goals, responsibilities, and club business in how to start an investment club and covered our investment club portfolio and returns.
A reader, Kevin, is interested in starting his own investment club. He emailed [...]
When it comes to commodities investing there are an unbelievable number of scams out there.
I am not kidding when I say that there are literally hundreds of companies out there just waiting to railroad you through the door, part you from your money, and happily send you straight to the gas chamber.
I know [...]
photo credit: thengineer
Today’s post is a guest post from my wife, Bubelah.
Last night we watched a movie – “Last Holiday” – and it made me think. Starring Queen Latifah as Georgia Byrd, a Louisiana retail clerk, the premise is simple: Georgia’s doctor tells her that she has three weeks to live and she changes [...]
To continue on with my buying and selling stocks for beginners series, lets get into the basics of how stock margin and margin accounts work. When the application to open a discount brokerage account is initiated, there is a choice of whether to open a margin or cash account.
I typically open a margin account [...]
The Money Writers is having a group writing project. Each of us have decided to share our asset allocation and performance from the first of the year to last Friday. You might want to put the children to sleep, this could get ugly.
Asset Allocation
I would like to say that I put together a great graph for you, but I didn’t. My only excuse is what you already know… I’m Lazy. Instead I’ve put together my portfolio holdings inside my retirement accounts. You may ask why I don’t have significant money invested outside of retirement accounts. [...]
