Fix My Finances

With consumer debt apparently rising to 20 percent of household incomes, it’s not wonder there’s so many of us seeking assistance with learning how to fix our financial woes. A close friend of mine recently found herself in severe financial trouble, her credit card and student loan payments falling seriously behind. I advised […]

So, it’s my first post here, and I’ll hopefully be adding more as the ideas come to me.
One thing I thought I’d introduce here is my experience with refinancing a HELOC - a home equity line of credit. This was used as a ‘piggyback’ way of getting in to our current house with only […]

Did you know that identity theft is “more likely to occur as the result of a lost or stolen wallet or checkbook” than as the result of Internet-related fraud? I sure didn’t. It’s true, though–confirmed by a study conducted by the Council of Better Business Bureaus and Javelin Strategy & Research.
“The study also says […]

Suppose you find yourself drowning in debt: credit cards maxed out, the value of your home tapped out, utilities threatening to cut off your life lines. You don’t know what to do. Don’t call Ghost Busters! You might be tempted to turn to “debt relief” companies, consolidators, or other management plans. […]

I know Ben Stein mostly through Clear Eyes commercials and the Comedy Central show “Win Ben Stein’s Money.” Apparently, though, he is much more than that. Check out this Forbes article to see what I mean:

According to Ben Stein, the fault lies not with Social Security but with ourselves.
Stein is on a crusade to […]

Every year Forbes asks several money managers and analysts to play a stock-picking game: 12 of them try to pick a stock that will outperform the S&P 500 over the next year, while 5 others try to pick one that will be trailing the index within that same timeframe.
Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it? The […]

Forbes recently ran an article by Scott Reeves called What Not To Do In Retirement Planning. Here are some highlights:

Consider the basics when drafting a retirement plan–housing, transportation, routine living expenses and health care–but there are so many variables that putting together a plan cookbook-style is almost certain to create future financial problems.
“Retirement planning […]

Nice article summing up quite a few personal finance books the author has read recently. Getting out of debt seems like a really really good start.

Get Rich Slowly! (20)
Today’s entry is long and boring. It’s all about the keys to wealth, prosperity, and happiness. Over the past few months, I’ve read over a dozen […]

Not a CPA? That’s okay. Here is a primer from Forbes.com that details the “the top ten mutual fund terms you need to know” :

12B-1 fees
The percent of a mutual fund’s assets used to defray marketing and distribution expenses. The amount of the fee is stated in the fund’s prospectus. The Securities and Exchange Commission […]

I saw this article and found it interesting. It talks about investing your money in a simple way so that you will have a certain amount X amount of years from now. Read it; it certainly makes sense. If are financially able to put away some money each month and/or start off […]