Search results for retirement
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Posted
Oct 08 2008, 10:06 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Not that long ago I had about $130 to my name. I was struggling to balance a handful of part-time jobs with re-entry into college after 30 years away from higher ed.
Going back to school terrified me. But my life was already turned upside down: I'd left a long-term marriage and run through most of my savings to support myself while I dealt with health problems and also to help support my adult daughter, who is disabled. Why not throw college into the mix? As scared as I was, I knew if I didn't do it then I'd never do it.
Fast-forward to now. I managed to get through both logic and algebra, was accepted to the University of Washington on full scholarship, was awarded short-term alimony and was hired part time to write for this blog. I paid off all my divorce debt, started a Roth IRA, and have been able to help family members who are in financial trouble.
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Posted
Jan 02 2008, 05:08 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller. The simple truths in life are the most profound. Take Warren Buffett, for example. He can summarize all the investing advice anybody would ever need in a single sentence: "We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful." And in case you haven't noticed, Wall Street is fearful right now. Buffett isn't the only smart guy around. It turns out that famed Yankee catcher Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra is pretty smart, too. Let's see what seven secrets he can teach us about money and investing. "I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early." You will make mistakes when you're investing. Even Buffett has made mistakes, including (as he acknowledges) his 1993 purchase of Dexter Shoe. I've certainly made mistakes, including the purchase of my first mutual fund, which came with a 5.75% front load and hefty yearly expenses. Ouch! But just like Yogi, get on the investing train early, and you can still reach your destination on time.
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Posted
Dec 07 2007, 09:30 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
When I wrote "Surviving (and thriving) on $12,000 a year" in January, I promised to check in at the end of 2007 to let readers know how I was doing.
I could never have imagined how that article would change my life. It led to additional assignments for MSN Money, and eventually to hosting this blog, for which I earn a part-time salary.
My life changed. My lifestyle didn't.
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Posted
May 06 2008, 07:06 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
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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Posted
Jul 27 2008, 12:43 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The headline on JW's post at We Need To Be Debt Free says it all: "What's the use?" He's been working hard to aggressively pay off about $41,000 in non-mortgage debt, and then his wife revealed at a marriage-counseling session that she's been hiding -- and using -- two credit cards. "When she mentioned it, I felt completely broadsided. It was like being run over by a truck," he wrote. The damage to his debt-reduction plans? Just over $4,300.
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Posted
Jan 07 2008, 09:09 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Some readers thought the headline on "Earn $50 an hour: Change your own car battery" was misleading. Their basic gripe was semantic: "You're not earning the money, you're saving it." That's not how I see it. When you do a project, the money stays in your pocket instead of landing in someone else's. You are paying yourself. You are earning money. But when I thought it, I realized that the headline is misleading -- just not for the reason those readers thought.
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Posted
Aug 07 2009, 05:58 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
The memorial for Michael Jackson cost the city of Los Angeles $1.4 million, according to The Associated Press. While most of us won't be remembered at the Staples Center in front of 11,000 people, funerals are expensive.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, a traditional funeral costs about $6,000, and many funerals run well over $10,000. Costs include the casket, embalming, the service, cemetery site, and grave liner. In short, death is big business in the United States.
And to make matters worse, most of us plan a funeral while dealing with the emotional trauma of the death of a loved one. We find ourselves making important financial decisions in the midst of an emotional crisis with very little time to consider our options. Our sadness for the loss of a loved one, moreover, sometimes expresses itself in high cost funeral decisions.
With a little effort, however, we can plan a respectful memorial without breaking the bank. What follows are a number of tips, resources and links to help you plan a low-cost funeral.
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Posted
Sep 12 2008, 01:36 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Jacob at Early Retirement Extreme is about to cut his already spartan monthly living expenses in half. How? He and his wife are moving into an RV. This blog is called Early Retirement Extreme for a reason. Jacob, a guy in his early 30s, spent five years saving and investing 70% of his income on his way to a goal of quitting the rat race, and now he's going to save even more.
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Posted
Feb 27 2008, 09:49 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Picking lowbush cranberries is a challenge. They're about the size of the eraser on a new pencil and grow just a couple of inches off the ground. It was tough going until I learned how to put on what I now call "berry eyes." For a moment, I would concentrate on what lowbush cranberries looked like -- and suddenly, they seemed to be all over the place.
Frugal behavior can feel like that. Changing your spending habits seems difficult or frustrating at first. Then something clicks, and you see the possibilities for frugality just about everywhere you look.
Lunch is a good example. One day you decide to throw leftovers into a bowl and hit the workplace microwave at noon: five or six bucks saved. You start to do it twice a week, or three times. Then you start buying canned soda in the lunchroom because it's 50 cents cheaper than the bottled -- until you realize you could buy a 12-pack of pop for what you pay for a week's worth from the machine.
In time, you realize that a glass of water is better for you. It's also free. See?
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Posted
Jul 09 2008, 04:33 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller. Let's get right to the point: Saving for retirement in a Roth 401(k) likely will leave you with less money in retirement than if you had invested in a traditional 401(k). There are some exceptions to this rule. For example, a Roth 401(k) may be the right choice if you make more than $1 million a year or if you make so little that you pay no income tax or very little income tax. But for the majority of us, the Roth 401(k) is better left alone. Here's why.
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