risk management tool

There’s no shame in admitting it: It’s possible to make it through college and into the real world without having the first idea about investing, money management, or anything that deals even remotely with finances. But thanks to the growing number of Web sites and online tools devoted to fiscal responsibility, it’s easier than ever [...]

The other day, I wrote about getting cash through reverse mortgages.  Today, I want to explore refinancing to access money locked up in your home equity. I think it’s a good idea to learn about these options in face of the economic crisis and record high unemployment rate.  You never know when your home equity [...]

In doing your investment research, you may have come across a Tic-Tac-Toe-like box similar to the one below. This box is called the Morningstar Style Box. This particular one came from Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX) profile on Yahoo! Finance.

What Is a Morningstar Style Box?
Morningstar Style Box is a visual tool created by Morningstar, a premier [...]

Hello everyone and welcome to 155th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. Initially, I had a plan to make this a more unique and interesting carnival, but my sister and her family came up from Virginia for a surprised visit. As a result, I opted to spend more time with my family and less [...]

In the past few years, Americans average savings rate has declined precipitously — in fact the current savings rate is practically zero. This means that as a society, we are not saving any money. Worse, we have a habit of borrowing to fuel our consumption. We are spending more than we earn, and that’s a [...]

Neither one of my parents know how to invest in the stock market, and it wasn’t a part of my formal education. I had to learn everything on my own, so I know how intimidating it is for people who are new to investing. Where do I start? What do I invest in? How am [...]

Kent Irwin, who recently wrote a guest article: Is Suze Orman Right, Can You Be Your Own Financial Planner?, sent me a free license to use his eFinPLAN online financial planning software. In this post, I am going to provide you with my initial experience, and I will follow up with a second post to [...]

With the recent turn of events, I have been giving a lot of thought about what to do in event of economic slowdown — i.e., recession, stagflation, depression, financial doom, or whatever you want to call it. As I put this list of 5 strategies together, I realize that they are nothing more than responsible [...]

I’ve been investing since 1996. In the process, I have learned a lot, mainly from trial and error. I’d like to share my experience with you. Here are some of the mistakes I’ve made:

Not investing soon enough — I have been working part-time since my first year at college in 1991. If I had known [...]

Welcome to the Investors Blog Network (IBN) Festival #18. This carnival is a bi-weekly collection of commentary on personal finance, investing, and other business related topics. Articles are collected from member blogs of the Investors Blog Network (IBN).

Photo by Ken Kiser via morgueFile
Editor’s Top 5 Picks

A Great Way to Change Your Portfolio @ Free Money [...]