Forbes Mutual Fund Survey Turns Up Mairs & Power Growth
September 4, 2007
When Forbes recently published its annual mutual fund survey one of the funds on its Honor Roll (top 10 funds) caught my eye. Since I pretty much stick to index funds for our portfolio I’m not invested in any of the top 10 but I’m going to take another look at #3, Mairs & Power […]
Subprime Mortgage Meltdown Has Far Reaching Effects
September 3, 2007
Lending money to high risk borrowers then packaging and re-selling the debt in ways that were supposed to reduce the risk didn’t turn out so well for the financial markets. A recent article in Business Week takes a look at these risky investments and Matthew Goldstein put together a list of the different areas affected by […]
Personal Finance Review – Macintosh Frustration Edition
September 2, 2007
I’ll keep this Labor Day weekend review short. I’m out of town and trying to write on an Apple laptop and it’s driving me crazy! None of the keyboard shortcuts I usually use work and I don’t know how to navigate around the operating system. Now I know how a brand new computer user must […]
eBay Domain Trademark Mistake
September 1, 2007
About a year ago, I registered a domain with the word ebay in the name. Just this week I received the email below from their legal department informing me I was violating their trademark. Luckily, I haven’t developed the site yet so no big loss to me. At the end of the email they ask […]
Are Credit Repair Companies Worth the Fees They Charge?
August 31, 2007
Are people wasting their money when they pay a company to repair their credit? This question came up today when I discovered a coworker had previously worked at a credit repair company. Credit Repair Services ProvidedBased on what my co-worker learned in his time with the credit restoration company they did not provide a service […]
Retirement Advice from Corporate Executives
August 30, 2007
If a wealthy retired corporate executive gave you retirement advice would be thankful or feel like they were rubbing your nose it in? Executive PrivilegeOur most recent company newsletter featured several former corporate executives that have retired from the business to pursue their life’s ambitions. I had mixed feelings as I read the article in […]
Warning, Loaning Out Your Identity May Be Harzardous to Your Wallet
August 29, 2007
Having someone steal your identity is bad enough, it really sucks when you loan it out to someone else and they do something stupid with it. A username and password are often all that’s needed to assume someone’s identity on the Internet, lending yours out can turn out to be an expensive or embarrassing mistake. […]
Investing in High Yield Corporate Bonds
August 28, 2007
We have some junk in our portfolio, junk bonds that is. About 5% of our portfolio is invested in junk bonds and today I’m taking a closer look at them due to their poor performance this year. What Makes Them Junky?When a company wants to sell bonds to raise money but their debt isn’t deemed […]
Which is a Better Gamble, Playing the Lottery or Starting a Business?
August 27, 2007
Have you ever heard a co-worker complain about their job then follow it up with something about quitting once they win the lottery? I feel bad for these people and would love to crawl into their head to read their thoughts. Do they really think they’ll win the lottery? If their life plan is based […]
Personal Finance Review – Invasion of the Ants Edition
August 26, 2007
Our kitchen is being invaded by ants! We’ve had a few ants here and there in summers past but over the last week they’ve shown up in full force. Last weekend I bought some insect spray at Home Depot and sprayed around the outside of the house but it doesn’t seem like it’s done much […]
