A topic that seems to be glossed over quite a bit is the beginning tangled financial mess people have when they begin trying to get a handle on things. Prior to creating a budget and determining expenses, we need to clearly lay out our current situation. I had the opportunity to help a family member [...]
It might seem like an odd place for it, but I noticed quite a bit of personal finance in action during the past weekend’s excursion to see N. If you’ve flown recently, you know how the air liners are trying desperately to nickel and dime us instead of simply charging more. The first step is [...]
I will be out for the remainder of the weekend for N‘s graduation ceremony but will be back Sunday with a post on stock valuation with a semi-automated valuation spreadsheet. I’m bringing along the first prototype of my “better Monopoly” game so maybe she’ll be kind enough to share her opinion later. May is turning [...]
It’s been quite a busy past two weeks (time flies when you’re busy)! The weekend before last a friend was given two tickets to the Oscar De La Hoya fight along with wrist bands for a buffet and open bar. Needless to say I was thrilled and the event more than lived up to my [...]
Investors who flew to ultra-safe investments amid fears of a recession are now facing a conundrum: what to do about razor-thin yields after several waves of interest-rate cuts. Says the Wall Street Journal this morning and I must agree. I’ve already reached my investments goals but with such low yields. I have a hard time [...]
At least I think this is a new theory. The goal of an inflation number is to give us a reference point for how much more or less things (goods and services) cost. Stated another way, it tells us how much money is needed to preserve our purchasing power. Ideally this amount could applied to [...]
I realize it sounds a bit odd but I regularly check how my portfolio is doing several times per day. I usually watch the first 10 minutes or so in real time on my Scottrade account. The reason I’m trying to break this habit is that all I really care about are my stock dividends, [...]