Browse by Tags
-
Posted
Jun 25 2008, 06:40 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Driving his pickup is now out of the question since $75 didn't even buy three-quarters of a tank -- and his plan to limit his driving to locations downhill from home has a serious flaw. So Kyle at Rather Be Shopping came up with "Frugality in practice (sorta): 5 great new uses for my truck." No. 1 on the list is "storage, baby!" His pickup has a shell, which makes it perfect for storing the lawn mower and other things you'd normally keep in a shed. Bonus: The gas tank serves as a storage tank for fuel for the mower. (Honestly, folks, complaining about gas prices gets us nowhere, so we might as well have a few laughs.)
Read More...
-
Posted
Jun 23 2008, 05:44 AM
by
Karen Datko
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly. Financial news can be dangerous to the health of your investment portfolio. I spent some time recently reading articles about the stock market. What I found was mostly hysterical hype ("Gasp! Dow Jones Industrials tumble 400 points!"). All the financial stories seemed to be written as if our investment horizons were days, not years. No wonder people panic when the stock market hits a rocky patch. But do daily market movements -- even 400-point drops -- really matter? How important is up-to-date financial news to the average investor?
Read More...
-
Posted
May 08 2008, 08:32 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
The cost of a first-class stamp is going up yet again on May 12, by one penny to be exact. The smart shopper will lock in the soon-to-be-departed 41-cent rate for a standard letter  by stocking up on the forever stamp. The U.S. Postal Service introduced the stamp about a year ago so people can avoid having to buy those annoying 1- or 2-cent stamps every time the rates go up. The forever stamps you buy now for 41 cents will cover the postage for a letter weighing no more than an ounce no matter how high the first-class rate climbs. Love may not be forever, but this stamp is.
Read More...
-
Posted
May 06 2008, 07:06 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Having grown up on Long Island, I didn't have many opportunities to watch NASCAR on television, so I never truly understood the intricacies of the sport. Since college, I've come to appreciate the difficulty of NASCAR and the skill it requires. Last weekend I was watching a few laps of the Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway, and I finally understood why NASCAR fans love the sport.
Read More...
-
Posted
May 05 2008, 04:08 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly. "Saving is the key to wealth," I wrote recently while trumpeting the extraordinary power of compound interest. "If you do not spend less than you earn, and if you do not save the difference, you cannot build the wealth you desire." The younger you are when you begin saving, the more time compounding has to work in your favor, and the wealthier you can become. "The next best thing to starting early," I wrote, "is starting now." Other options A few readers noted that while the mathematics of compounding makes sense, it's not motivational for those too old to take advantage of its full force. "This is pretty depressing for those of us who spent our 20s with practically no income thanks to universities," wrote one reader. Her sentiments were echoed by several others.
Read More...
-
Posted
Apr 25 2008, 08:04 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar. My big, overarching dream is to achieve true financial independence. By that, I mean that I have enough money saved and invested that I can live off the interest and investment income -- a point that I've discussed before as the crossover point. This is a huge goal, one that I won't achieve for many years no matter what path I choose. I dream about achieving this goal about the time my final child graduates from high school -- roughly 25 years from now.
Read More...
-
Posted
Apr 10 2008, 12:25 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
We sometimes have this discussion with our younger friends: You're not saving for retirement because ...? But young folks aren't the only ones thinking they won't live long enough or can't save enough, or otherwise are resigned to living out their days on meager Social Security payments. Michael B. Rubin at Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck excoriates just about every silly excuse people have for not saving for the future. (To read his post, click here.) No. 1 is "my house is my retirement savings." Michael says, "Oh c'mon! Open a freakin' newspaper."
Read More...
-
Posted
Apr 07 2008, 06:25 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly. When I was young and stupid, I became addicted to spending. I got my first credit card in college, and over the next 15 years, I accumulated $35,000 of debt. I'm debt-free now, and have even begun building a nest egg, but I didn't reach this place without making a lot of financial mistakes along the way. And I still make mistakes. Dealing with mistakes and setbacks is an important tool in your personal-finance arsenal. Preventing problems The best defense is a good offense. I used to spend a lot of time reacting to problems: bounced checks, car repairs, soccer injuries, and -- worst of all -- my own dumb choices. I never could seem to get ahead. Then I realized that the best way to defend against financial setbacks is to actually prepare for them before they arrive. Simple, I know, but it's the simple stuff like this that forms the basis of smart personal finance. Two methods in particular helped me deflect many setbacks.
Read More...
-
Posted
Mar 24 2008, 11:29 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Grace's post at GRACEful Retirement will sound familiar to many aging boomers watching the effect of Wall Street gyrations on their retirement accounts. Grace is 58 and playing catch-up after getting a late start on socking away money for her hopefully golden years. "I started this blog last July with $176,000 in retirement savings. Now I'm down to $146,000, notwithstanding the money I keep putting in," writes Grace, who plans to retire in 10 years. That drop, "when I allow myself to think about it, scares me to death." Yet she continues to invest $1,025 a month in index and growth funds. She tells herself she's right to keep buying when the market is down because it inevitably will come back up. She asks, "When do I find out if I passed the test?"
Read More...
-
Posted
Mar 19 2008, 07:16 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This guest post comes from Madison DuPaix at My Dollar Plan. Once you establish an investment plan, you can contribute regularly and watch your portfolio grow. What if there were a way to give it an additional boost without much extra effort? That's where investment snowflaking comes in. It's similar to the popular debt-snowflaking strategy, but focuses on building assets rather than eliminating debt. How it works Each time you receive extra money -- a sale on eBay, a bonus check, or repayment from a friend who borrowed $20 -- direct it toward your investments. These dollars do not replace your regular contributions, but are above and beyond them. Click here for a list of 20 places to find snowflakes to get you started.
Read More...
More Posts Next page »
|
