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Posted
Oct 05 2008, 08:59 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly. How much do you know about millionaires? My wife recently had dinner with her friend Linda, who is a high school social studies teacher. As they ate, Linda bemoaned the lack of personal-finance and economics education in the United States. She mentioned that every year she gives her economics students a short "millionaire quiz" to see just how much they know about wealth and where it comes from. They do poorly at it, which surprises them. Linda says they always pay attention to the follow-up discussion. Because I asked nicely, Linda sent me a copy of the millionaire quiz in the mail. Here are the questions that give the kids so much trouble:
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Posted
Oct 02 2008, 02:17 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Plenty of news stories point to gloom and doom in the U.S. economy, and "FMF" at Free Money Finance informed his readers about three: Car sales have tanked, bidding for a date with tennis star Maria Sharapova topped out at a mere $10,000, and -- the craziest by far -- a woman bought an old vacant house in Michigan for $1.75.
FMF said in his tongue-in-cheek way, "I knew things were bad in Michigan, but never thought they were this bad."
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Posted
Sep 24 2008, 03:54 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller. Are you on your way to becoming a millionaire? For some, the thought of having a million bucks seems ridiculous. But the fact is that becoming a millionaire is simple, even on a modest income. If you have the discipline, building your net worth to $1 million or more takes nothing more than time. If you do not have the discipline, then even a $100,000 job will not help you reach a seven-figure goal. You've probably seen the show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Believe it or not, it is easier to become a millionaire in real life than it is on TV.
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Posted
Aug 14 2008, 04:40 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Philip Brewer at partner blog Wise Bread. People might look at how I spend money and say I'm cheap or a tightwad. If they do, they're missing the point. The fact is, I'm much more interested in simplicity than I am in saving money. In many cases, it works out about the same: The simple choice is often frugal. The cheapest choice, though, is often not the simple one.
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Posted
Aug 06 2008, 06:23 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life. We live with them all the time -- those money leaks that burn holes in our pockets ever so slowly. Often, we find ourselves spending a little bit here and there, and before we know it, we're scratching our heads wondering where our money went. But it could be worse: Our credit card bills can grow to the point when they can be unmanageable, a situation we should all try to avoid before debt becomes too overwhelming to handle. At my household, we're trying much harder to be economical as we face financial uncertainties over the next few years. Both my husband and I are now self-employed and facing a short-term income shortfall until we get our business ventures off the ground. This has prompted us to work on optimizing our family budget much more carefully and to keep a closer eye on those extra costs that add up. In doing so, I've realized something -- that money leaks don't just lead to growing debt. It has dawned on me that even if we can seemingly afford these small outlays -- what's an extra $2 for a pack of gum and a bottle of Calistoga? -- the money we spend actually has an opportunity cost, which in itself can be quite huge.
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Posted
May 08 2008, 08:32 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
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.
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Posted
Apr 08 2008, 07:40 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. I'm a fan of casinos. I don't know whether it's the pumped-in oxygen, the bright lights, the sounds of excitement and joy, or the free drinks flowing throughout, but I love going to casinos. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose, but I almost always have a good time putting my hard-earned money on a felt table and seeing if it'll grow and multiply. When I go to casinos, I usually take a set amount I'm willing to lose -- say a few hundred bucks -- and then I enjoy myself. I understand that when I go to a casino, I'm there to have a good time. I'm not there to make money. Sadly, the stock market is nothing like that. It involves pressing a few keys on a keyboard or clicking a few buttons with a mouse. The transactions happen with no fanfare, and there is often little anticipation. Yet, if you try to time the market or day trade, you're essentially gambling. Why would anyone gamble if you can't at least get some free drinks out of it?
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Posted
Apr 07 2008, 06:25 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
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.
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Posted
Mar 19 2008, 05:59 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. So let's not waste ours today. Here are four useful financial calculations that you can perform in your head: What am I giving up in retirement savings when I spend money today? This is an easy one: Add a zero to the price tag. Assuming you have 30 years until retirement and earn 8% annually on your investments, that $3,000 watch would have been worth $30,000 in retirement if you had invested the money instead. Coming down to earth a bit, the $4 latte (it's always the latte) purchased five days a week costs about $1,040 a year, or $10,040 in your retirement account 30 years later. How much do I need to earn before taxes to buy stuff that I want? Assuming you're in the 28% federal tax bracket, multiply the cost by 1.4. That means a $20,000 car costs $28,000 before taxes. Yikes! Of course, this doesn't account for state tax and Social Security and Medicare taxes, all of which would make the multiplier even higher.
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Posted
Mar 03 2008, 05:57 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly. Do you save for one thing at a time, or do you pursue several goals at once? If you're like me, you work toward several financial goals simultaneously, but you dump most of your money in one account. It's easy to forget how much you've saved for each goal. And it's easy to borrow money from one objective to pay for something else. In his book "The Six-Day Financial Makeover," Robert Pagliarini advocates "purpose-driven investing." I've found that I can apply that concept to my personal bank accounts as well.
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