My Money Blog

TradeKing and Scottrade Promotion: Reimbursed Account Transfer Fees

Posted on November 17, 2007 // 21 Comments

Looks like TradeKing is trying to convert some customers from "one of the larger online brokers"... I wonder who they are talking about? From an e-mail today: Due to the effect the sub-prime mortgage fallout has had on one of the larger online … [Read the rest]

Reader Question: Bear Market Worries, What About My Roth IRA?

Posted on November 16, 2007 // 41 Comments

Earlier this week I got a very good question from a reader: Last week I decided to take your advice and invest $4,000 in a Roth IRA. My Roth IRA holds only one fund: Vanguard Target Retirement 2050, which holds 90% stocks and 10% bonds. … [Read the rest]

Pet Peeve: Direct Marketing Based On Guilt Or Power

Posted on November 15, 2007 // 55 Comments

You've probably heard of "direct marketing" products - like Avon cosmetics, Cutco knives, or Amway health supplements. At the most basic level, I don't mind any of these companies. If you have the desire to sell directly to individuals and work … [Read the rest]

Is It Time To Get Rid Of My Old Car?

Posted on November 14, 2007 // 85 Comments

I like the idea of driving old cars into the ground, but sooner or later there must be a tipping point where the cost of upkeep outweighs the slow depreciation. I just can't tell if it's time yet. You always see a lot of used cars with ads like … [Read the rest]

Choosing An Asset Allocation, Step 3: Considering The Diversification Benefit Of Small and Value Stocks

Posted on November 12, 2007 // 6 Comments

So far we've looked into the stock/bond ratio and the domestic/international ratio. Instead of taking these total stock markets as whole, you can further subdivide them into "styles" or additional asset classes. Although these vary in specific … [Read the rest]

Weekend Reading: From Taco Bell to Mortgages

Posted on November 11, 2007 // 15 Comments

Hazzard points out the story of a Taco Bell employee fired after 30 years of service, including two robberies and being shot once. Seems a bit like ageism to me. I see very little loyalty to companies these days... I wonder why? Madame X … [Read the rest]

100 Examples and Ideas For Home-Based Businesses

Posted on November 10, 2007 // 6 Comments

The StartupNation Home-Based 100 is a list of the 100 "best" home-based business. More specifically, it's composed of ten Top-10 lists in these categories: Best Financial Performers, Most Innovative, Highest Vote Getters, Boomers Back In Business, … [Read the rest]

How Do You Budget For Holiday Spending?

Posted on November 9, 2007 // 33 Comments

Heard on the radio yesterday: "Hey people, there's only 3 paychecks left until Christmas!" The Holidays are coming! Black Friday ads are already being leaked. The new mantra is "Why not just buy it now?" You hear a lot of scolding about all … [Read the rest]

Washington Mutual Lowers Online Savings Rate To 4.75% APY

Posted on November 8, 2007 // 42 Comments

It had to happen eventually... WaMu appears to have lowered the interest rate on their online savings account from 5.0% to 4.75% APY: This brings them back in line with other online savings accounts, but I still enjoy having a local bank as … [Read the rest]

Choosing An Asset Allocation, Step 2: Deciding On The Domestic/International Ratio

Posted on November 8, 2007 // 35 Comments

I don't know if this is the proper next step, but after deciding on a stock/bond ratio for myself, I want to think about the specific breakdown of stocks (equity). As mentioned when talking about investing in total markets, you could simply "own … [Read the rest]

IRS: How Does Your Income Stack Up? What Portion of Taxes Do You Pay?

Posted on November 7, 2007 // 51 Comments

The IRS recently released the data from 2005 tax returns. Kiplinger has an article How Do You Rank as a Taxpayer? which digs into this new information: New data show that an income of $30,881 or more puts you in the top half of the class. … [Read the rest]

Choosing An Asset Allocation, Step 1: Deciding On The Stocks/Bonds Ratio

Posted on November 6, 2007 // 35 Comments

Last time I did a really simplified overview of Modern Portfolio Theory. Much of the credit for this is due to a fellow name Harry Markowitz, who figured out that if you combine two assets with the same return that aren't perfectly correlated, this … [Read the rest]