bond

January!  Time to once again set lofty goals. While glancing through a fitness book (Fit and Well: Core Concepts and Labs in Physical Fitness and Wellness) I noticed a subtitle — Reaching Wellness through lifestyle management.  The section “introduces the general process of behavior change and highlights the decisions and challenges you’ll face at each [...]

We all hate the money talk. Whether you are working out the details of your financial lives before you commit, or whether you have been in a committed relationship for years, talking about money always seems to be fraught with the makings of relationship peril. Even if you don’t plan to marry, if you are [...]

The first step to buying a used car is choosing a vehicle, or at least narrowing your options. Ask yourself: How many passengers do you regularly carry? What sort of trunk or cargo space do you need? What is the minimum gas mileage a car has that will stay within your budget? What would your [...]

Many Americans find themselves in quite the situation financially these days.  Their situation is nothing short of bondage.  They are completely trapped because of years of borrowing money to finance a lifestyle that was unattainable without debt.  They aren’t the only guilty party.  The government has encouraged it and the banking system was more than [...]

We’ve all heard the stories of lotto winners who win millions, think they’re set for life, and then go broke within a decade. Or people who inherit large sums of money and end up in financial ruin, family feuds, or both. The word “windfall” can mean different things to different people — if you’re young [...]

With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking of ways to fashion a costume that is creative without being expensive. I’ve created a list of 25 Halloween costumes that can be made with things you have around the house and maybe a purchase or two from the dollar store. Some of these [...]

Investment advisers and the investment industry has continuously stressed the importance of diversification and asset allocation, however investors have often ignored this, as they were too busy chasing high returns. Since the market meltdown over a year ago investors have learned a hard lesson that asset allocation is vital to an investment portfolio. In this [...]

With the recent stock market crash, many people are understandably wary about investing. Concerns about the volatility of the stock market, and the prospect of losses during downturn, have convinced many that stock investing is not for them. However, “safer” investments like cash and bonds may not provide the needed returns for your portfolio to [...]

We hear a lot about diversifying across asset classes — owning stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. We also hear a lot about diversifying within asset classes — owning mutual funds of hundreds of stocks rather than owning a few individual stocks. But there’s another, lesser-known form of diversification from which you could benefit: Tax diversification.

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Over the past few years, options trading have become more mainstream with many discount brokers advertising options trading along with other investments such as mutual funds, stocks and bonds. There are even online discount brokers with the word “options” in their names — e.g., OptionsXpress and OptionsHouse. But what exactly are options? An option is [...]