Archive for February, 2008
Lending Club Highlights and Giveaways
February 29, 2008 :: Investing :: 14 Comments
In my previous post on peer-to-peer lending, I indicated that these networks are not quite ready for prime time yet. One reason was the stability of these companies, which was promptly addressed in the comments section -- specifically, a 3rd party loan servicing agent will service the loans in case ...
Life Insurance Part 3: Is Term Life Insurance Right For Me?
February 28, 2008 :: Insurance :: 15 Comments
Okay, so I have walked you through the process of how to determine the right amount of life insurance coverage in part 1, and why whole life insurance doesn't make good financial sense in part 2. In the 3rd part, I am going to provide you with my analysis of ...
Life Insurance Part 2: Should I Buy Whole Life Insurance?
February 27, 2008 :: Insurance :: 11 Comments
In the first post "Life Insurance Part 1: How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?," I worked with my insurance sales agent on how much life insurance my wife and I need. One of his suggestions is to buy a minimal amount of whole life insurance so that we have ...
Life Insurance Part 1: How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
February 26, 2008 :: Insurance :: 28 Comments
Last year, I switched my car and home insurances to Liberty Mutual and started an umbrella policy with them as well. This move netted me a saving of over $1,000 per year and allowed me to pay the premium monthly without any fee. Last week, I agreed to meet with ...
2007 Tax Year Returns Are Done!
February 25, 2008 :: Taxes :: 17 Comments
I finally completed and filed my 2007 tax returns. Normally, I prepare my own taxes with TaxCut; however, this is the first year that I use the TaxCut Premium Online Federal + State + E-File version. I thought the online version was just as good as the desktop version, and ...
Free eBook, TaxCut Giveaway, Carnivals, and Dave Ramsey
February 24, 2008 :: Miscellaneous :: 10 Comments
Free eBooks -- Money Matters for All Ages Not long ago, I wrote "Money Matters for All Ages - The Chaotic Thirties" as part of a collaborative project with 15 other personal finance bloggers. Our cumulative efforts turned into a financial guidebook that spans an entire lifetime. From the innocent ...
Pay For College Or Make Them Work For It? (GP)
February 22, 2008 :: Education :: 34 Comments
Whenever the question of paying for college comes up, it seems to spark a heated debate. Some parents want to pay for it all, others are firm believers that their children should have to put themselves through college, and there is a third group that thinks half and half is ...
Investment Strategy, Chasing Performance, or Market Timing? Help!
February 21, 2008 :: Investing :: 11 Comments
A while ago, I asked the question: how much should we invest internationally? Ever since, I came to believe that I am over-weighted in U.S. equities at 72% invested. I believe that my international equities exposure should be closer to 50%, because both the U.S. Gross Domestic Product and market ...
I was interviewed at My Two Dollars
February 20, 2008 :: Miscellaneous :: Leave a Comment
David at My Two Dollars posted my interview this morning. Please have a look. Thank you David!
Beat the S&P500 and Earn Real Money at UpDown.com
February 20, 2008 :: Investing :: 15 Comments
Is it for real? Can you really invest $1 million virtually and earn real money with no fee and no risk attached. Apparently, it's possible and people are doing it at UpDown.com. In fact, I've already earned a small amount of money for beating the S&P500 in January. Today, I have ...
ABC of Wealth Building
February 19, 2008 :: Money :: 22 Comments
At the end of last month, I discussed how the basic net worth formula reveals several money management insights. As part of that article, I started a little game where I ask my readers and other bloggers to join in and list idea to increase income, reduce expenses, save ...
Living Stress Free Without Budgeting
February 18, 2008 :: Financial Planning :: 16 Comments
This article was part of the Money Blog Network February 2008 Group Writing Project. When it comes to budgeting, there are two main camps on this matter -- either you swear by it, or you believe budgeting doesn't work. For example, Nickel coined the term reverse budgeting and pretty ...
123 Book Meme: Winning Investment Strategy
February 17, 2008 :: Miscellaneous :: 4 Comments
I was tagged by DebtKid to participate in the 123 Book Meme. The rules: Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages). Open the book to page 123. Find the fifth sentence. Post the next three sentences. Tag five people. The book closest to me is The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You'll ...
Credit Safety On The College Campus (GP)
February 15, 2008 :: Credit and Debt :: 6 Comments
Students going off to college are in for a lot of new experiences. With a little common sense and by practicing good habits, stolen credit cards and identity theft will not be one of them. College students have many options when it comes to credit cards. There are many that ...
Health Insurance, Medical Expenses, and Unscrupulous Doctors
February 14, 2008 :: Life, Family, and Health :: 13 Comments
The other day, David at My Two Dollars lamented how he's falling further into debt due to his medical bills. The gauntlet of procedures he's going through just reminded me of my own situation. In fact, we just received my wife's first hospital bill -- $1,510 for her epidural! ...
