Should You Use a Job Offer to Negotiate a Raise?

Using a job offer to negotiate a raise from your current employer is hardly an unusual strategy. Some employers won’t give a significant raise unless they’re forced to by the prospect of an employee leaving. But if you do use this strategy to negotiate a raise, be aware of the risks involved and do what […]

Do You Really Need Car Rental Insurance?

If you ever rented a car you probably know about car rental insurance. More formally known as the loss damage waiver, or LDW, it most typically covers the deductible portion of damage to the rental car not covered by your regular insurance, but it can cover even more. The coverage is completely optional, but car […]

Why Early Retirement is About More than Retirement

Lots of people are hoping for and working toward early retirement. Some are hoping for retirement as early as age 35 or 40, but most are probably targeting something closer to 50 or 55. While we might think of early retirement as simply a version of traditional retirement that comes sooner in life, there other […]

Why Index Funds Are the Best Choice for Most Investors

There are two basic ways to invest in equities. One is to take on the life of an active investor by researching, selecting, and tracking your own stock holdings or those of various actively managed funds. The other is to invest your money in index funds and then sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. […]

Betterment, Kapitall and Motif – Which Will Work Best for You?

There are a number of relatively new online investment services coming to the market with unique approaches to investing. Three of the more popular are Betterment, Kapitall and Motif. Each has its own pluses and minuses and can work for a different investment purpose. Which one will be best for you? We’ll take a look […]

Is it Possible to Save Too Much for Retirement?

On the surface, this seems like a ridiculous question, but I‘m going to put on my contrarian’s hat here and dare to raise the question. There are probably far more people who are inadequately prepared for retirement than there are people who are over-funded for it. And yet retirement preparation can be a little bit […]

What to Do About a Stolen Debit Card

For the most part, debit cards are about as easy and convenient to use as credit cards. But a stolen debit card–that’s where things get a bit more complicated. When a credit card is lost or stolen, your liability is limited to no more than $50. When a debit card is lost or stolen, you […]

Motif Review | The Ultimate Antidote to Index Funds

This has got to be the most interesting investment proposition to come along in many years. If you’ve got some time — and some spare cash to invest — Motif is definitely something worth checking out. If you’re like me, the first question that comes to mind is the name — why motif? According to Dictionary.com, […]

Kapitall Review: A Closer Look

Kapitall began operations in 2008, starting out as an investing game that later became an investment brokerage service. The concept is to introduce people to investing with the game and — once they feel comfortable trading with artificial accounts — to move over to the real thing. It’s an exciting concept that may have a […]

Example Letter to a Mortgage Company Requesting a Loan Modification

If continuing to pay on your mortgage has become a hardship, as it has for millions of homeowners, you have some choices. You can of course let the property go into foreclosure, or you can apply for a loan modification from your lender that will make your monthly payments fit better in your current budget. […]

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