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Posted
Dec 29 2008, 05:39 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.
New visitors to Get Rich Slowly are sometimes skeptical. "Do the things you write about actually work?" they ask.
Absolutely, they work.
They work financially, but many of them also work psychologically. That last bit may be the most important. I frequently say that money is "more about mind than it is about math," and I mean it. We all know the basic arithmetic behind money management -- it's the psychological stuff that gets in our way.
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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, 11:05 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
To bail out or not to bail out -- what do personal-finance bloggers think Congress ought to do? Sorry to tell you this, folks, but they're as conflicted as the rest of the country. Few are fearful. More are confused. Many are angry that greedy people have put the country and the economy in the current situation. "There's little to feel good about," says "Lazy Man" at Lazy Man and Money. "It's like choosing between a rock and a hard place."
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Posted
Sep 29 2008, 02:04 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Krispy Kreme's business plan has been one we just can't understand. How could a company that sells hot, irresistibly mouth-watering doughnuts have declining sales? But it does, and now the company is hoping to heat up business by serving ice cream. Ice cream? We have to wonder, if delectable glazed -- did we mention hot? -- doughnuts aren't enough to get customers in the door, is another high-calorie indulgence you can find in lots of other stores going to help?
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Posted
Sep 19 2008, 11:02 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
With the stock market's crazy ups and downs, we decided to see what some clever personal-finance bloggers are doing with their retirement and nonretirement accounts. Does the phrase "stay the course" ring a bell? For instance, after some heavy-duty thinking, Nickel at Five Cent Nickel and Mr. ToughMoneyLove are changing nothing about their investment strategies.
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Posted
Sep 15 2008, 05:52 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
With the confluence of news about Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and AIG, the stock market today had its worst drop since 9/11. It's no wonder that former Fed chief Alan Greenspan on Sunday referred to the ongoing turmoil as a "once-in-a-century type of financial crisis." Other than the beating your retirement and investment accounts took today, what do these events mean for you? The best advice is: Don't panic.
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Posted
Jun 23 2008, 05:44 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
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
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
Jan 23 2008, 03:02 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The blogger at Grad Money Matters religiously funds his 401(k) retirement account at work. In fact, he maxed out his contribution last year. He was shocked when he checked his returns earlier this week and saw that they were negative. That's the day he finally understood "why people who have money still worry about money." He also learned some lessons about investing for retirement. First among them is not to check your returns every day if you want peace of mind. Don't fixate on the stock market's recent slide; investing requires a long-term outlook. In that context, his recent 5% loss "is but a ripple in the pond," he says.
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