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Posted
Sep 02 2008, 05:11 AM
by
Karen Datko
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This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Raiding your retirement is the second deadly sin of personal finance (the first deadly sin is failing to have an emergency fund) and one that some of our friends have been thinking about committing. We're all in our late 20s and buying our first homes. Despite what the experts say, home prices are still very high in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas, barely within reach for many people our age. So, our friends are looking for places they can tap to help with a down payment.
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Posted
Aug 27 2008, 05:06 AM
by
Karen Datko
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This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller. You've decided to invest in your future. You've picked the perfect mutual fund. You're ready to go. Now what? How do you actually go about buying shares of a mutual fund? The good news is that buying shares is quick and easy. If you've never invested in a mutual fund outside of your employer's 401(k), the process can seem overwhelming. But the truth is that for DIY investors there are only two options to consider, and both options are inexpensive. I'll cover them both in this article.
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Posted
Aug 25 2008, 05:46 AM
by
Karen Datko
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly. "The Mole" is a certified financial planner and public accountant who, in his spare time, provides a behind-the-scenes view of the financial-planning industry for Money magazine. In a recent column, the Mole explained how to deal with a bad 401(k) plan. "401(k) providers don't actually care how they make money," he writes, "just as long as they make a tidy profit." The providers can make money by:
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Posted
Aug 11 2008, 05:23 PM
by
Karen Datko
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What do you have to show for your last few pay raises (assuming you've been getting some)? Not sure, eh? Todd at Harvesting Dollars has a plan for getting real value from those raises while amassing retirement savings and preventing the insidious, invisible creep of lifestyle inflation. He calls it the Save Your Raise finance game.
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Posted
Jul 28 2008, 04:37 AM
by
Karen Datko
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This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly. A reader recently pointed me to a National Public Radio story about the frugal artists of New York City. Columbia University released a study of 213 visual artists over the age of 61. Their average income? About $30,000 a year. According to the NPR story: Most of them said they were satisfied with their lives. However, many reported that they also have had to make daily economic compromises. They don't eat out, buy clothes at flea markets and rarely travel. Many of these artists manage to make it in New York through frugal living. All they seem to need is some food, a roof overhead and the time and opportunity to practice their art. This is a nice story, with some lovely bits in the interviews with individual artists. More than that, it was just the shot in the arm I needed.
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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?
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Posted
Jun 12 2008, 07:03 AM
by
Karen Datko
This post comes from Nora Dunn at partner blog Wise Bread. There is no tomorrow. Tomorrow is really a euphemism for "I can't think about that right now." Have you ever caught yourself saying these things? "Tomorrow, I get paid, and things will be easier." "Next week, I won't have so many meetings at work and can spend more time with my family." "Next month, I'll have paid off one of my credit cards, and then I will have money to save for retirement."
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Posted
Jun 05 2008, 01:53 PM
by
Karen Datko
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Meg at All Financial Matters bemoans her friends' and associates' lack of knowledge about managing money. "Every single one of my friends and peers, it seems, are people who couldn't explain compound interest if they had to, ignore the 401(k) matches offered by their employers (despite my pleas), are comfortable having debt, and spend like they all have huge inheritances coming to them," she writes, adding, with hyperbole, we hope, "And these are my college-educated peers. Fellow finance majors, for crying out loud."
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Posted
May 19 2008, 07:14 PM
by
Karen Datko
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Do you want to be absolutely sure that you'll work many long years and retire with little more than a paltry Social Security check? Then make sure you read and obey Kevin's "10 steps to avoid becoming a millionaire" at No Debt Plan. This blogger manages to put a humorous spin on a very sobering topic. Here's No. 6: "Ignore work benefits. 401(k) plan? Sounds kind of funny to me. Why would the company want to give me money? Plus, I'd miss that 3% in every paycheck."
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Posted
May 06 2008, 07:06 AM
by
Karen Datko
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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.
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