re: Where we’re starting from

Howard Mack — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:17:46 GMT

I will recommend using http://www.DesktopBudget.com to manage personal finances and investment portfolio. Its the best, free, offline personal finance manager I have seen so far.

re: Where we’re starting from

Dewon Lawton — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:28:29 GMT

Learn The Art of Making Money.

re: Where we’re starting from

Leslie Erdiosy — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:49:16 GMT

There is no way to get rich quickly, but by corollary, you can get poor very quickly. E.g., the stock market from last September.

Anyhow, you need a roadmap to find your way to get there. I was fortunate to have been married to a frugal person. That did not ean that we never went anywhere. We took many vacations to the Cariibbean over the years, went on cruises etc. We just watched where our money went. We saved wherever and whenever we could.

In 2003 a friend of mine had retired. He went to live in Costa Rica. Years before then, I realized that the weather where I live is not conducive to me. After he went there, I was set on doing likewise. I found out the this person bought his property seven years earlier. I decided to invest someof my money there. Now I have my piece of Paradise. The hard part begins now. Rebuild my portfolio to the point where I can say "Hasta la vista" to the great white north.

My problems have recently been compounded by a layoff. I am not that worried. I have an emergency fund that will pay for everything for over six months. Besides, my fiancee is in a recession proof industry, weight loss, so money does keep flowing in. I remain confident that I will find alternate employment within a month. In the meantime, I have cut back on expenses. No more lunches out, no more liquor and cook everything by yourself.

We will manage.