Family’s Will Suffer, Mortgage Lenders & Investors Will Profit
January 31, 2007
Robert Reich reported on Marketplace today that home foreclosures were up 42% last year resulting in over a million families losing their homes. Many of these people had signed up for adjustable-rate mortgages or interest-only loans with no down payments and sometimes 100% financing. Rough Times Ahead The bad news for families that borrowed with […]
Stop Comparing Your Finances With Others. Five Financial Ratios To Keep You On Track.
January 31, 2007
Get Rich Slowly recently told Flexo’s story of how he’s become the Chief Financial Officer of his own life. Flexo tracks his finances with the same financial statements that businesses use, net worth and income/expense worksheets. Financial Ratios So as the CFO of your own life, how can you measure your financial progress against other […]
Applying eBay Profit Models to Personal Finance
January 30, 2007
Why do we shop on eBay? Oftentimes it’s because the price is right. A common business model on eBay is to sell a large amount of products at a low price. This low margin, high volume business model can also be applied to our personal finances. The Pennies Add Up Think about how many financial […]
Lazy, Forgetful, and Careless Ways to Lose Money
January 29, 2007
We work hard to earn our money and grow our net worth. Watch out for the silly mistakes listed below to help avoid losing your money. In each case, a simple act can save you lots of cash: Mistake: Leaving your curling iron or iron plugged in. Cost: Bye-bye house. Mistake: Backing up without looking […]
How To Lower Your Homeowners Insurance Premiums Without Even Trying
January 29, 2007
I just received the best letter from my insurance company that I’ve ever seen. Here’s what they said: “In a few days, you’ll receive your homeowners policy renewal packet. We recently changed the way we price homeowners insurance to ensure your premium reflects the risk your policy presents to us. As a result, your policy […]
RecycleBank Pays You To Recycle! Save Money While Saving The Environment!
January 28, 2007
A company called RecycleBank will give you credit (RecycleBank Dollars) at participating vendor stores when you recycle paper, plastic, glass, tin, and aluminum. Once you sign up with RecycleBank you place your recyclable items in a bar-coded recycling container that is read when the truck picks up the “trash”. Each item earns a certain number […]
Money Saving Pop Quiz. How Frugal Are You?
January 28, 2007
If you called into the Suze Orman show and she asked if you were frugal how would you answer? Below are some questions that can help you figure out how thrifty you really are. Meals Do you bring your lunch or go out to eat? Do you take home leftovers or leave them on the […]
Lifecycle Funds – A Smart Way To Invest In Your Child’s Future
January 27, 2007
We often think of lifecycle or target date mutual funds in terms of investing for retirement. A recent article by Mapgirl reviews a Kiplinger magazine piece about why these funds aren’t for everyone. One demographic that they might be good for are people under the age of 5. Generous Parents Parents that want to put […]
Get Out of Debt and Sink the Economy?
January 26, 2007
During a recent late night visit to the store I had a “deep thought” as I walked down aisles full of stuff and void of people. What would happen if the store was this empty all the time? If people stopped buying all this stuff what would happen to our economy? No More Stuff! In […]
Writer’s Constipation – Personal Finance Blockage
January 26, 2007
When you have so much to say but just can’t get it out! That’s how I describe my personal finance writing over the last several months. Around one hundred documents representing unrealized articles are languishing in the ideas folder, eagerly waiting to jump onto the web. Fortunately not everyone has this problem. Some people are […]
