Search results for financial planning
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Posted
Sep 24 2007, 10:14 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
It's somewhat tricky, but you can estimate how much money to contribute to the medical reimbursement account that's part of your workplace flexible spending account. If you overestimate, you can treat yourself to a new pair of glasses or replace a crown at the end of the year.
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Posted
Sep 26 2007, 08:38 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Five Cent Nickel. Have you ever heard of "longevity insurance”? In short, longevity insurance is a relatively new form of insurance that provides you with a guaranteed stream of income later in life, typically starting after you turn 85. To get longevity insurance, you have to make a substantial up-front payment 20 or so years earlier. Longevity insurance is really just a repackaged deferred annuity that's targeted for retirement-age individuals concerned about whether they'll outlive their savings. There are differences.
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Posted
Sep 26 2007, 01:50 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Which makes more financial sense: applying extra cash to low-interest debt (we're assuming you're not carrying a credit card balance) or investing it? Investing will likely get you a better return, but freedom from debt is a powerful draw. The bottom line is it's a very personal decision.
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Posted
Oct 10 2007, 07:17 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity played some Texas Hold 'Em in college, so he's no stranger to the game. While watching the World Series of Poker on TV, he recognized similarities between managing the game and his own financial life . For instance, there's "stack management"-- picking the right time to put your money in the pot. Lessons 1 and 3: Have patience, and learn from your mistakes. Lesson 7? "It's a grind." Whether it's the poker table or whatever you do to earn a living, the grind can be OK. "Lots of people love the grind," Jim observes, "because it is enough to give you a very fulfilling life."
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Posted
Oct 25 2007, 06:47 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Sarah Winfrey at partner blog Wise Bread . Most of us have ideas we think might sell, and most of us think we'd love to work for ourselves. Is that really a good idea? Here are 10 things to consider if you're thinking about starting your own business. Do you care? You have a good idea that might make some money, and you envision yourself conducting business by cell phone while watching the waves in Fiji. But do you actually care? Do you want to make people's lives better, easier or more fulfilling through your new business? If you don't care, you'll run out of steam before the long haul of building a business even gets started. Do you have what it takes? The reality of an entrepreneur's life is, well ... craziness. Long hours. Disappointments. Patience even when the bills are piling up. You are investing all of yourself and much of your future in the public's response to a product. If you don't have the persistence, the blasted stick-with-it-ness to keep going no matter
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Posted
Oct 31 2007, 06:50 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We extend congratulations to partner blogger Trent Hamm , who is celebrating The Simple Dollar 's first anniversary. He's doing it by sharing vintage posts about the insights and life experiences that make this personal-finance blog such a valuable read. His offerings for the special occasion include " The 10 most important things I've learned about life and money in the last year " and " One year of The Simple Dollar: My 25 favorite articles ." In particular, we recommend his candid financial autobiography, " The road to financial Armageddon ," and Trent's account of a painful childhood experience that created fears about money and security he's found difficult to put to rest.
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Posted
Nov 01 2007, 07:34 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post was written by Philip Brewer at partner blog Wise Bread . When people resist the idea of budgets, the most common reason is that they view a budget as an unwelcome constraint. That's completely wrong. A budget is not a constraint. It's a tool for maximizing pleasure and satisfaction. People do operate under constraints. Everybody has limited resources and time. Everybody operates within a constellation of other constraints: legal, moral and social, as well as old obligations and family expectations. My point is that the constraints don't come from a budget; they come from the real world. A budget is a tool for managing your resource use in the face of those constraints. A budget allows you to plan how to allocate your limited resources so that your expenditures align with your values. If you attempt this without a plan, you easily can slip into a situation in which your spending doesn't match your values: You can't afford dinner out with your friends because you bought a book
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Posted
Nov 09 2007, 08:43 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar . My wife was leafing through David Bach’s " Smart Women Finish Rich " when she asked a very astute question: Is it really necessary for men and women to receive different personal-finance advice? I’ve puzzled over how to answer this for months, knowing what I want to say but realizing this issue is bound to get me in hot water with some segment of my readership. However, it’s a worthwhile issue to discuss, so here goes. It’s not necessary , but it is useful for men and women to receive different personal- finance advice. Why? Men and women simply think differently , and a big portion of personal-finance success is psychology. Even if there were a clearly optimal way to manage your finances, it would take psychological effort to achieve it. If men and women think differently, the advice that will help them achieve it will be different. Let’s look at this a bit more closely. From the article linked to above at LiveScience
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Posted
Nov 16 2007, 08:20 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar . Recently, one of my friends quit his job as an actuary for a large insurance company. He’s single, has a Ph.D. in mathematics, and has no debt. He quit for one reason and one reason alone. I’ll let him tell it to you: I got tired of going home every night mentally exhausted and sitting in front of the TV playing Xbox. It’s what I did almost every night, without a weekend. I made a lot of money, but I had no life to do anything at all. My job ate all of my energy. What’s he doing now? He works the night shift at a local factory, driving a forklift. Half the time he sits on the forklift waiting for a new load, so he has started reading a lot of the classics. He makes $11 an hour, far less than he earned as an actuary, but enough to live on, because he banked most of his income from his actuarial work. You know what? I applaud him. I think it was an excellent response to what I call professional exhaustion. Here’s why I think
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Posted
Nov 19 2007, 11:04 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Mighty Bargain Hunter takes on the notion that money should be your overwhelming concern when you're picking your college major . We're glad MBH did. Young people too often get advice to go with the bucks and not pursue their dreams. MBH is all for dreams, but believes people should not ignore the financial implications of their choices , and suggests you do a cost-benefit analysis before you proceed. In other words, what do you want in life and what are the choices you face to help you get there? MBH presents some specific questions to consider, whether you're thinking about English or some other major. But, in MBH's words, it all comes down to this: "Advice is almost never one-size-fits-all, and certainly choosing a major is not one-size-fits-all. But there certainly are better choices for us individually, and it’s up to us to figure them out for ourselves."
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