Smart investing is not very difficult. It is in the interest of the securities industry to convince you otherwise so you will use its services. I have distilled intelligent investing and financial planning down to these ten golden rules. They are easy to understand and to implement. If everyone followed them, the misery index for [...]
You have worked hard all your life. You love your heirs and want to provide for them after your death. You have good intentions. Yet most Americans make critical mistakes in their estate planning that eviscerate their wealth and leave their heirs scrambling to figure out what went wrong. Here are the biggest estate-planning mistakes [...]
The recession and market turbulence have made the dire financial situation facing some baby boomers much worse. Few were prepared for retirement before the financial crisis. Most are hopelessly behind in their retirement savings. Consider these statistics: By some estimates, almost 10 percent of retirees have children dependent on them for financial support. Almost 33 [...]
Bonds confuse most investors. The securities industry likes it that way. The more you believe investing is just too complex to figure out on your own, the likelier it is that you will need the services of a “financial consultant.” Going down that road is often the beginning of a frustrating journey (for you-the consultant [...]
You have no doubt been reading a lot about the volatility index lately. Before I tell you why I believe it is irrelevant, let me first tell you what it is. The Chicago Board Options Exchange established a volatility index (VIX). The VIX is not a measure of how volatile the markets have been. It [...]
This summer, you can easily save money on your utility bills, energy bills, and power bills. Some energy saving tips: to save money on your utility bills and save money, install energy saving products that use less energy: like a programmable thermostat or energy saving light bulbs. By using less energy, you slash utility bills, lowering your payments and go green at the same time. This article discusses more energy saving ideas and money saving strategies.
There’s a lot of misinformation about annuities. That’s not surprising, since the term “annuity” is applied to a variety of dissimilar investments. These investments are also quite complex, which seems to suit the insurance industry. Complexity makes it more difficult for investors to separate good annuity investments from the bad. I divide annuities into three [...]
The question I get asked most often is should I buy gold? My answer? You are asking the wrong question. Investors buy and sell gold at the wrong times. If you are talking about making a short-term profit by buying gold and then selling it at a higher price, the issue is very simple. You [...]
I get a lot of requests from investors who want to know what to invest in now. I have to confess that I don’t understand the question. Investing is not like eating. You don’t want to try something new every day. Your investing strategy should be like eating the same meal day after day. The [...]
While we all have seen shows on dream homes, we may not be able to afford those homes and may not want to actually live in those dream homes. You need to know how much you can afford when buying a house. When you know the amount, you still need to feel comfortable spending that amount on a monthly basis. A big mistake home buyers make is thinking they can afford a home and then realizing that they are spending too much of their money trying to keep their home. It's a common home buying mistake to buy more than you can comfortably afford. Make sure you are comfortable with your monthly home budget.
