Test Drive Your Home Ownership Experience
June 23, 2008 :: Home and Real Estate :: 11 Comments
Are you thinking about buying a house? With all the foreclosures and the housing market becoming more favorable for buyers, this may be a good time to buy. But how could you be sure that you'll be ready? The standard answers might be something like this: Your percentage of gross income ...
Ask The Expert with Larry Swedroe, June 2008 Issue
June 12, 2008 :: Financial Planning, Retirement :: 1 Comment
This is the 7th issue of the Ask The Expert column by Larry Swedroe. You can see Larry's full biography and important disclaimer below. If you are interested in having your question answered by Larry, please send me an email via the contact page. Now, let's get to the questions and ...
Weekend Reading: May 4, 2008
May 4, 2008 :: Weekly Roundups :: 8 Comments
I'd like to do a quick roundup this week to highlight some new features introduced in the past few days. I think you will really like these: Recent Discussions -- On the main navigation bar, the second link is "Discuss". This link displays 30 posts with recently added comment. ...
April 2008 Site and Net Worth Review (+6.22%)
May 2, 2008 :: Money :: 7 Comments
Net Worth Review We definitely saw good recovery in April, but you really have to ask how much more can the Fed cuts interest rates. The S&P 500 index went up +4.75% from 1322.70 to 1385.59. According to NetworthIQ, my net worth actually went up +1.70% and net investable ...
March 2008 Site and Net Worth Review (-1.01%)
April 4, 2008 :: Money :: 9 Comments
Net Worth Review March was another down month, but the second half certainly showed some promise for the stock market. For the month of March, the S&P 500 index dropped -0.60% from 1330.63 to 1322.70. According to NetworthIQ, my net worth actually went up +0.94% but net investable assets went ...
Meandering Into Real Estate Investing
March 19, 2008 :: Home and Real Estate :: 22 Comments
Investing in real estate, specifically small rental properties where I'd buy single-family or multi-family houses for the purpose of renting them out has been one of the things I wanted to do. However, the three musketeers of fear, doubt, and uncertainty discouraged me from taking any action toward residential real ...
Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step 6: Pay Off Home Early
March 5, 2008 :: Home and Real Estate, Investing :: 39 Comments
The M-Network is currently doing a series highlighting Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps for getting out of debt and getting your life on the right track financially. You can read about all of the steps over on Cash Money Life who kicked things off with a great introduction. As other ...
February 2008 Site and Net Worth Review (+0.63%)
March 3, 2008 :: Money, Weekly Roundups :: 10 Comments
Net Worth Review February was another roller coaster month for the stock market. If it wasn't for the -2.71% drop on February 29th, the monthly performance would have been mostly flat. In the end, the S&P 500 index dropped -3.48% from 1378.55 to 1330.63. According to NetworthIQ, my net worth actually ...
January 2008 Site and Net Worth Review (-7.35%)
February 4, 2008 :: Money :: 13 Comments
Net Worth Review January was a bad month for the stock market despite two rate cuts by the Fed. The S&P 500 index dropped -6.12% from 1468.36 to 1378.55. According to NetworthIQ, my net worth went down -1.66% and net investable assets went down -7.35%, or from 23.93% to ...
What is Debt-To-Income Ratio (DTI) and Why Does It Matter?
January 29, 2008 :: Credit and Debt :: 32 Comments
For someone who doesn't carry a lot of debt, I didn't give Debt-to-Income Ratio a serious thought until I start lending money on peer-to-peer lending networks -- i.e., Prosper and Lending Club. The truth is, DTI is important; especially in the business of borrowing and lending money. Two Kinds ...
TaxCut Online and 2007 Tax Law Changes
January 28, 2008 :: Taxes :: 8 Comments
There has been a lot of talk about the economic stimulus package and tax rebate among the personal finance bloggers last week. Today, I am going to shift gear a little and start talking about income tax return. Traditionally, I use TaxCut to prepare my tax, but this year ...
December 2007 Site and Net Worth Review (+0.72%)
January 2, 2008 :: Money :: 20 Comments
Before I begin, I'd like to say that this is a special edition of the net worth review, because following my review, I will be sharing what my friends are all saying about their net worth or the subject of net worth. Net Worth Review December was another weak month for the ...
November 2007 Site and Net Worth Review (-0.39%)
December 1, 2007 :: Money :: 6 Comments
November was a very volatile month for the stock market with pressure from the oil price, sub prime mortgages, and foreclosure problems. The negativity was further fueled by bad news from companies like Citigroup and E*Trade. As a result, the S&P 500 index dropped -4.40% from 1,549.38 to ...
22 Money Maximizing Moves You Can Do Today
November 20, 2007 :: Financial Planning :: 27 Comments
Now that the benefits enrollment for my company is over, I can start thinking about things that I could do before the end of the year to make my money work harder for me. Here are 22 ideas that I want to share with you. Photo from morgueFile Boost 401k contribution ...
October 2007 Net Worth Review (+1.75%)
November 1, 2007 :: Money :: 6 Comments
Aside from the big dip on October 19th, this was another good month for the stock market. The S&P 500 index rose +1.48% from 1,526.75 to 1,549.38 -- again, the Fed cuts rates by another quarter point. After I entered all my information into NetworthIQ, the result was +1.75% net ...
