Archive for December, 2008

Happy New Year!

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Happy New Year!

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
Happy New Year!
2009 is the Year of Bull in Chinese Lunar Calendar. After a miserable 2008, let’s hope for a better 2009!

Happy New Year To You All!

Best Personal Finance Articles From The Digerati Life: 2008 Wrap Up

As we await for the year to turn, I thought to do a little wrap up of the stuff we’ve published here in 2008. I realized after I looked through some of these articles that I tend to write novels at times, but if you don’t mind in-depth ramblings, then these posts may be [...]

Uncrunch America with Change.org

While most blogs are probably planning their New Year’s Resolutions, I’m taking action. I just voted to support Uncrunch America campaign in Change.org’s Solving the Credit Crisis From the Bottom Up. That’s quite a mouthful (or is it ten-fingersful since I’m typing?). Allow me to explain a bit.
Obtaining credit is getting more [...]

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Lazy Portfolios Built with ETFs

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Lazy Portfolios Built with ETFs

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
Lazy Portfolios Built with ETFs
Are you familiar with the idea of Lazy Portfolios?
I first read about Lazy Portfolios a few years on MarketWatch and since then have been following them. The idea of Lazy Portfolios is to use low-cost, index mutual funds to build well-diversified portfolios so that you [...]

Goodbye 2008!

Another year comes to an end! I had a fantastic year and I hope you did too! Have fun tonight, and stay safe!
I’m still on my “imaginary vacation,” and having a blast! I’ll be back next week week; until then, here are some of my favorite articles looking back at 2008 and getting ready for [...]

Best Money Posts of the Year

As part of the “best of” series I asked personal finance bloggers to submit their best post and share why they felt it was their best one.  Here’s the list of articles; each one tells the site it’s from, the article name, the author, and why they think it’s worth your time to read it, Enjoy!
Mighty Bargain [...]

December 2008 Net Worth Update (-0.45%)

Welcome to the recurring monthly net worth update – The December 2008 edition.
Well it looks like this will be the final net worth update for 2008! With the huge market correction in the 2nd half of 2008, it’s almost a relief that 2008 is over. However, who knows what 2009 will bring as [...]

New Years Resolution Two: Wake Up At 4:30AM

This is the second of a three-part series, New Year’s Resolutions for 2009.
It might go down as the most unique New Year’s resolution I’ve come up with to date.  You are probably asking yourself why getting up at 4:30am is important enough to be declared an official “resolution.”  Well, for a number of reasons, I [...]

Home Prices Kept Falling – Chart of the Day

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Home Prices Kept Falling – Chart of the Day

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
Home Prices Kept Falling – Chart of the Day
Has the housing market bottomed?
It doesn’t look like so, at least not from what we can see from the S&P/Case-Shiller Index. Standard & Poors today leased its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for October 2008 which shows a 18% plunge of U.S. [...]

Top Financial News and Business Stories That Shaped 2008

A look at the top financial news and business stories that shaped 2008 and had a hand in affecting our personal finances.
As I contemplated how the past year turned out for our family, I put things in perspective by seeing what this year has been like for the rest of the country. Here were [...]

2008 Goals: A Look Back

Yesterday I got a little ahead of myself as I looked at my blogging goals for 2009. I should have realized that with the dwindle hours of 2008, I should be looking back at my goals for 2008, and adjusting from there. I haven’t looked at them in a little while – a [...]

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Make a Guess Win a Prize Daily Giveaway – Last Day

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Make a Guess Win a Prize Daily Giveaway – Last Day

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
Make a Guess Win a Prize Daily Giveaway – Last Day
OK, it looks like it’s time to wrap up the annual Make a Guess Win a Prize Daily Giveaway with the last segment.
As I mentioned when the contest began that the last day will be difference from the previous [...]

How to Keep Your Job While Unemployment is on the Rise

5 Tips to Help You Increase the Chances of Keeping Your Job
Unemployment continues to rise, and jobs are getting harder to come by. The national average is approaching 7% while many areas are being hit with unemployment rates of about 10% already. Think about that for a minute. One out of every ten people you [...]

How to Keep Your Job While Unemployment is on the Rise

2008: A Year in Review

With the year winding down, it’s always fun to look back and see all the things you have done during the year. It’s also a good way to make plans for the new year.
Here’s a look back at 2008 for My Dollar Plan:
January

I caught an episode of a popular TV show and couldn’t resist [...]

2008: A Year in Review

With the year winding down, it’s always fun to look back and see all the things you have done during the year. It’s also a good way to make plans for the new year.
Here’s a look back at 2008 for My Dollar Plan:
January

I caught an episode of a popular TV show and couldn’t resist [...]

Year End Finances & Technology

I spent last night and this morning digging out receipts, filling out forms and spreadsheets, paying bills, paying home owner association fees, and paying property taxes online.  Of course if I didn’t save it until the last minute then year end finances wouldn’t be such a drag but I did so I lost a whole [...]

New Years Resolution One: Downsizing Our Home

This year I am declaring three New Year’s Resolutions in three categories:  finances, personal and blog-related.  These resolutions are really just big goals, but since the idea of declaring New Year’s resolutions this time of year is popular I’ll play along.
Our 2009 New Year’s resolution for finances is quite simple, but will take some effort [...]

The Road Not Taken – A Tale of Engagement

The following is a guest post from frequent commenter Curmudgeon. This post is his second guest post (”who am I?” was his first). Enjoy!

Here’s a situation you may find yourself in at some time in your life. I have a job. It’s a moderately responsible, moderately stressful, yet moderately enjoyable [...]

Smith Manoeuvre Portfolio – Dec 2008

For those of you just joining us, this is my portfolio that is leveraged with money borrowed from my home equity line of credit (HELOC). As the money borrowed is used to invest, the interest charged is tax deductible. For more details, check out the modified smith manoeuvre strategy.
It’s been a couple months since I’ve [...]

Family Life In America: Report on Lifestyle, Economic Trends From The Trenches

What’s family life in America like these days? Here’s one older, middle class family’s report on their lifestyle, economic trends and status, in the midst of recession.
Ready for the New Year? Not sure that many people really are. I got a hold of this ditty that somehow found its way to my [...]

Blogging Goals: What You’ll See Here in 2009

Thanks to Green Panda Treehouse for pointing me to Visionary Blogging’s 7 Strategic Blog Improvement Questions. That article serves as an outline for my blogging goals for 2009.

What will I accomplish with my blog in 2009? How will I make my blog more valuable in 2009?
There are a number of ways to determine the [...]

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Year-End Tax Considerations

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Year-End Tax Considerations

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
Year-End Tax Considerations
For many investors, 2008 will be a year to forget: With all three major indexes down close to 40% this year, investors are left nowhere to hide. However, if you suffered big losses from your investments in 2008, there are tax moves that you can take to [...]

5 Year-End Financial Tips to Make 2009 Your Best Year Ever

A Few Quick Tips to Put Your Money on Track for 2009
Whether you like it or not, 2008 is coming to an end quickly. As the last few days of the year go by, we’ll soon be presented with a new year, and that means many people will be making resolutions and promises to improve [...]

5 Year-End Financial Tips to Make 2009 Your Best Year Ever

Sports Thoughts and Personal Finance Links

I hope your holidays have been good so far. Outside of the outcome of some sporting events they’ve been great for me. Nothing specific, just spending good family time.
My wife and I went to the Celtics game against the Golden State Warriors on the 26th. We love to go to any Boston [...]

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Donating Bodily Fluids for Cash

The following is a guest post from Tina at Frugal Sisters. Tina found that while she was paying off debts, she wasn’t getting anywhere fast. She has gotten serious about her finances, and is working hard to pay off debt and make better choices.
Hard Times and Desperate Measures
People are having a harder time raising the [...]

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