p500

During the huge bull, too many of us got too caught up in considering the implications of the first important reality. If stocks offer better returns, then investing in stocks gets you to retirement faster. That really is so and that really is important. But to make investing choices that will work for the long [...]

Net Worth Review
The S&P 500 gained +0.8% in December and went from 896.24 to 903.25. But for a full year, the S&P 500 dropped -38.5% from 1468.36 to 903.25 — ouch!  According to NetworthIQ, my net worth rose +3.44% and my net investable assets increased +6.54%.

Highlights

Home value actually went up slightly in December, but for [...]

My company made Vanguard Target Retirement Funds available for our 401k accounts about two years ago. However, I have not used them preferring to manually manage my own portfolio using traditional funds that include bond, large-cap, small-cap, international stock, and REIT funds. However, Target Retirement Funds are not without merits — in fact, I’ve been [...]

I stumbled upon a site today called, Wall Street Survivor.  The premise seems to be the same as UpDown, but it looks like you could potentially earn more money since Wall Street Survivor touts $250,000 in prizes.  I am not a trader by nature, but if there’s an opportunity to earn money without risk — [...]

Before I begin my net worth review, I would like to point out that Larry Swedroe recently published The Only Guide to Alternative Investments You’ll Ever Need.  The book got several great reviews on Amazon.com and my copy is on order.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to share some insight from the book with you soon. [...]

Before I begin my review, I’d like to remind you that tomorrow is Election Day — please exercise your right and VOTE!  If you receive a flyer that tries to convince you “Republicans vote on the 4th and Democrats vote on the 5th”, please DO NOT believe it.  We all vote on November 4th.  I [...]

My 401k dropped precipitously. It’s heart wrenching to see several years of diligent savings wiped away. There are many bloggers that are in the same boat — e.g., Gather Little By Little, Paid Twice, My Two Dollars, Blueprint, Bible Money Matters, Financial Nut, etc.  And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that many [...]

Net Worth Review
September was a rough month! The U.S. economy suffered from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Major failures in our financial system forced the U.S. government to take over Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG. On top of that we saw the end of Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, and Wachovia. All [...]

Net Worth Review
The daily fluctuations aside, August was relatively good month with the S&P500 up 1.2% from 1,267.38 to 1,282.83.  This gain covered the loss in July and then some. According to NetworthIQ, my net worth dropped another -1.43% — again due to the declining value of my house. But my net investable assets went [...]

Net Worth Review
The S&P500 basically traded sideway in July going from 1280.00 to 1267.38, or a -1% decline in value. According to NetworthIQ, my net worth dropped another -2.04% — mostly due to the value of my house. Fortunately, my net investable assets actually went up +1.61%, or from 22.59% to 22.94% of $1 million [...]