Dividend Investing In an Uncertain Economic Climate
The economic recovery in the United States is hitting a major wall of resistance. In early 2010, the recovery seemed to be doing quite well. Unemployment was falling, retail sales were increasing, and economic growth as measured by GDP was expanding. It all seemed so rosy.
But when the European Debt Crisis fully erupted in the spring, the global economic recovery began to show signs of faltering. Then in June and July, key economic data out of the United States disappointed to the downside quite strongly. By mid-June it became very clear the U.S. recovery was in trouble, and in late July Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke basically sealed the deal and removed all doubt from the market when he stated before Congress that the economic outlook for the United States in the 2nd half of 2010 is “unusually uncertain.” It was official—the Federal Reserve had no clue how bad things were going to get.
Continue reading “Dividend Investing In an Uncertain Economic Climate” »
Hiring a Fee-Only Advisor for Major Life Changes
At my age, it doesn’t make sense to pursue a full-time advisor. First off, asset management tends to be for those with substantial holdings, and secondly, I’m pretty “healthy” financially as is. If you think about it in relation to doctor visits, it will make a lot of sense.
When you’re young, you don’t go any more than necessary. Occasionally you’ll stroll in for a check-up to make sure everything’s okay, but that’s about it. As you age, and you’re financial health becomes more complicated, it may make sense to go with something more regular.
There are those special occasions though when the advice of a professional is recommended – one of which is marriage! I’ve been scouting out resources online for newlyweds, but have been thoroughly disappointed with the results.
“ELIMINATE DEBT”
“START BUDGETING”
“SAVE MONEY”
and the worst…
“PAY OFF THAT HONEYMOON!” Continue reading “Hiring a Fee-Only Advisor for Major Life Changes” »
Changing Jobs? Consider a Roth Conversion
“What should I do with my 401k plan when I leave my job?”
The answer to that single question will lead you to an almost unhealthy number of resources offering the right solution for you. If you’ve asked this question before – as have Get Rich Slowly, Money Ning, Joe Taxpayer, Oblivious Investor, or Cash Money Life – then you probably are already familiar with the standard template.
Generally, you have four main options when deciding what to do with your plan.
- Cash Payout
- Leave in old plan
- Bring to new plan
- Convert to IRA*
Continue reading “Changing Jobs? Consider a Roth Conversion” »
Save with One Hand, Splurge with the Other
Do you know what type of spender you are?
Did you even know there were different categories?
Just do a search for any combination of: spending, personalities, or habits and you’ll be rewarded with dozens of links to quizzes and descriptions of the different categorizations. Probably the most entertaining breakout I found was over at Smart Cookies.
Turns out… I’m a YO-YO SPENDER.
Saving aggressively day-in and day-out, all of my efforts to maximize value and never pay full price can be undermined by these splurges. Continue reading “Save with One Hand, Splurge with the Other” »
Perils of Automation: One Personal Disaster
If you’ve already read about my sudden disappearance, then you’d know I’ve been out-of-pocket for a while now with personal matters. Well, I’ve got an interesting story to share which occurred during this transitory time.
All the way from the professional guru to the amateur blogger, anyone in personal finance has, at one point or another, touted the benefits of automation. Automatically diverting all of your money to whatever your financial cocktail includes – savings, college, paying bills, investments, mortgages, and so on.
And who could disagree! For those who have trouble saving, it forces them to adjust their spending to whatever’s leftover. For those looking to dollar-cost average their investments, it periodically purchases your holdings at pre-determined intervals, in pre-determined amounts. And what about those crazy late fees! Everybody hates paying those, and with automation you can eliminate them entirely by paying every bill on time.
Or so I thought. And herein lies the story… Continue reading “Perils of Automation: One Personal Disaster” »
Yakezie Carnival
Something must be going on with my contact form, because I received an odd amount of duplicate, triplicate, and fourteen-icate submissions from a few folks while others only had one… Where those who submitted more than once getting bounce-back messages or anything like that?
We got a few last minute submissions, but now we’ve also got a few extra articles to read. Since I’m hosting this quick little Yakezie Carnival, can’t help put plug my own work!
Enjoy the Carnival!
Interview with Saly Glassman author of It’s About More Than Money (giving you part II, but don’t forget to part with part I)!
If you’re in it to win it and Make Money Blogging Money Help for Christians offers us a 7,500+ guide for beginners on how to make money blogging.
Money Crush gives us 31 Days to a Better Bank Balance. Better wait for October unless you can do 2 a day now!
