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Viewing entries forView all blogs (popular) | Personal finance (popular) | Real estate (popular) | Investing (popular) | Visit Items 130 - 154 of 193
    Wednesday, January 30, 2008 The Basic Formula of Wealth (18 clicks)
From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 30, 2008 at 9:00 am ET One of my favorite subjects that I talk a lot about on this blog, is the subject of wealth. As you know, I share my net worth monthly. Although there are many beliefs and philosophies on how wealth could be accumulated, the mathematical nature of wealth is all the same: Wealth (Net Worth) = Assets - Liabilities.
Here’s a little graphic to help us visualize this concept:
So what are some basic facts that we could derive from this?
If I want to increase my net worth, all I have to do is increase my assets and reduce my liabilities
If my ... (more) Tuesday, January 29, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 29, 2008 at 9:00 am ET 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 LendingClub.com. The truth is, DTI is important; especially in the business of borrowing and lending money.
Two Kinds of Debt-To-Income Ratios (DTI)
Front ratio — This is the percentage of gross income that goes toward housing costs. For renters, this is rent divided by income. For homeowners this is PITI divided by income (PITI includes Mortgage Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurances).
Back ratio — This is the percentage of ... (more) Monday, January 28, 2008 TaxCut Online and 2007 Tax Law Changes (14 clicks)
From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 28, 2008 at 9:00 am ET 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 I am going to give TaxCut Online a try. The nice thing about the online version is that I don’t have to pay until I am ready to file. This means that I can peruse their help section and interactive video library free of charge.
For example, the first interactive ... (more) Friday, January 25, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 25, 2008 at 9:00 am ET So the stock market is doing badly and there’s fear of recession. To combat our economic downturn, the Fed slashed interest rate by three-fourths of a percentage point, and the Congress hammered out a deal for a $150 billion in economic stimulus package.
What does this mean? According to the news, Americans taxpayer making at least $3,000 per year and as much as $75,000 for individuals, or $150,000 per married couple, would receive a tax rebate check from the government. So, the good news is there might be a check anywhere from $300 to $1,200 coming to your ... (more) Thursday, January 24, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 24, 2008 at 9:00 am ET Recently, I wrote about lending money on Prosper, which is one of the many peer-to-peer lending networks that are popping up everywhere. The post itself didn’t say anything about socially responsible investing (also known as, SRI, morally responsible investing or ethical investing). However, a lively discussion on this topic came up when Kevin from Change Your Tree stated his opinion as follow:
“…If these people were in control of their finances, they wouldn’t be borrowing money on the internet. Basically, you’re choosing to profit off of people’s idiocy and desperation. I don’t think that I, in good conscience, could ... (more) Wednesday, January 23, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 23, 2008 at 9:00 am ET With the recent stock market volatility, I am sure a lot of us are having second thought about the stock market. Some may even ask, “Should I get out of the stock market?” The answer is it depends. Personally, I am holding steady and continuing to invest for the long-term. I can do this because I have the right asset allocation and investment mix for my investment time horizon and risk tolerance.
4 Steps to Evaluate Your Investment Strategy
Risk Tolerance Level
Did you take one of those risk tolerance tests, such as this ... (more) Tuesday, January 22, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 22, 2008 at 9:00 am ET There are a lot going on at Moolanomy’s ideas factory. Unfortunately, I can’t write them down fast enough, but I want to share everything now — talking about patience! Anyway, here is a list of topics that I will be talking about over the next few days, may be weeks. I just hope I have time to get around to everything. Here are the upcoming articles at Moolanomy:
H&R Block TaxCut and the Tax Season – I am a big fan of H&R Block TaxCut and I have been using it to prepare my taxes for ... (more) Monday, January 21, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 21, 2008 at 9:00 am ET This article is part of the Money Matters for All Ages group writing project being conducted by the M-Network and other blogging friends. See the bottom of this article for the full list of participants and links to their articles. Please check back daily, as I will update the links as new articles are posted! Also, if you are blogger and would like to join into the discussion, feel free!
Photo by ane via stock.xchng
For me, I think the thirties is a chaotic decade for many of us. There are so many life events and important decisions packed into these 10 ... (more) Thursday, January 17, 2008 How To Protect Your Greatest Asset, 6 Ideas (6 clicks)
From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 17, 2008 at 9:00 am ET Recently, my friend Patrick from Cash Money Life wrote, “Your Greatest Asset is the Ability to Create Income.” In it, he said:
“What is your greatest asset? Most people think it is their house. They are wrong. Bank account? Wrong again. For the vast majority of people, the greatest asset they have is the ability to generate income“
Photo via Kansas City Public Library
What do you think? I agree with Patrick. Now, let’s explore this concept a little further. Your ability to generate income is not only your greatest asset, but also for everyone that depends on ... (more) From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 17, 2008 at 6:15 am ET This is a guest post I wrote for I’ve Paid For This Twice Already… on October 17, 2007.
This post is inspired by one of my readers, whom I will call Mr. M. This is not the usual improvement tips, so don’t follow these. If anything, please do the opposite. Here are 10 ways to completely ruin your credit score, waste a lot of money, and get yourself in trouble:
Respond to every pre-approved offer you can lay your hands on; especially those in-store cards
Buy everything you ever wanted with your credit
Pay your bills late
Don’t pay your bills if ... (more) Wednesday, January 16, 2008 Dave Ramsey Gives Bad College Savings Advice! (22 clicks)
From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 16, 2008 at 9:00 am ET On Monday night, I stumbled upon the Dave Ramsey Prime Time on Fox Business Network Show, and stopped channel surfing to watch it. I heard about Dave Ramsey through my friends; many of whom greatly admire him — e.g., Ana, Randall, Lynnae, Gibble, and Mrs. Micah. Personally, I like how he helps thousands of people get out of debt and live financially healthier lives. So, what I am about to tell you was a shocker to me.
Toward the end of the show, a viewer asked about the best way to save for college. I don’t ... (more) Tuesday, January 15, 2008 Personal Finance Blogosphere Best of 2007 (6 clicks)
From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 15, 2008 at 9:00 am ET When I started Moolanomy last July, I didn’t expect this level of success. I could fool myself and say that it’s due to my amazing intellect and superior command of the English language — but that wouldn’t be true. Actually, I am quite glad that so many of you stick around to read what I wrote, share your thoughts, and answer my questions when I didn’t know the answer.
In the end, 2007 was a great year for Moolanomy because of readers like you and other supportive bloggers. As a way to say thanks, I’d like to share some ... (more) Monday, January 14, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 14, 2008 at 9:00 am ET In my post, “My Foray into Prosper as a P2P Lender,” one of my readers (PeerLend.com) introduced me to LendingClub.com:
“In early December [2007], LendingClub.com opened their (formerly FaceBook users only) lending application to the wider public. They do things a bit differently than Prosper, as they underwrite the loans (i.e., bucket by credit grade and set interest rates for each bucket). They have a 640 FICO minimum for borrowers, as well as a max. 30% DTI, so maybe a better pool of borrowers. Plus they have a $25 minimum bid, which means you can diversify into twice the number of ... (more) Friday, January 11, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 11, 2008 at 9:00 am ET
This is part one of a three parts series where I will be reviewing The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You’ll Ever Need by Larry Swedroe — our resident Ask The Expert columnist. Part One of this book was entitled: “The Loser’s Game: The Game Wall Street Wants and Needs You to Play.”
Right off the gate, one of the things I enjoyed about Larry’s book is his use of qu ... (more) Thursday, January 10, 2008 6 Easy Ways To Simplify Your Finance (14 clicks)
From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 10, 2008 at 9:00 am ET One of my favorite motto is: “simpler is better.” I think it’s crazy how someone like Madison can have 181 accounts and still live a sane life (hi, Madison). Since she shared her strategy on how to manage her 181 accounts and complex finance, I’ll share how I simplified mine.
1. Start payroll deduction to fund your 401k
This is a no brainer. At the very least, everyone who has access to 401k should contribute enough to get all of the company matching fund. Why would anyone want to leave money on the table? Like my friend ... (more) Wednesday, January 9, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 9, 2008 at 9:00 am ET This is the 2nd 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 answers (please note that the emphases and links are mine).
+ + +
1. Is it best to get out of debt before you start investing?
From Lynnae @ Being Frugal
The issue is actually fairly complex, though some parts of the question are easy to answer.
First, if you have any credit card debt ... (more) Tuesday, January 8, 2008 My Second P2P Loan On Prosper (1 click)
From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 8, 2008 at 9:00 am ET In the post, “My Foray into Prosper as a P2P Lender,” I shared my initial experience with Prosper. Since then, I have made a second loan and wanted to share some more information — the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Portfolio Plan Disappointment
The last time I wrote about Prosper, I decided to start off bidding $50 on the Balanced portfolio. At first, I thought a portfolio plan works similarly to mutual funds — i.e., you buy into the plan so that you can own a little bit of multiple loans — I wish this is the case. ... (more) Monday, January 7, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 7, 2008 at 9:00 am ET Just like Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” If you bought your holiday gifts less than 30 days ago, you may have some uncollected money waiting for you! Since I don’t know where you bought your gifts from, I will share my own experience with gifts bought from Amazon.com.
Remixed photo, sources via Flickr and morgueFile
PriceProtectr and Price Protection
A couple of weeks ago, I learned about a web site called PriceProtectr from my friend at Gather Little By Little. So I gave it a try, and registered my most recent purchase with Amazon into their ... (more) Friday, January 4, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 4, 2008 at 6:45 am ET This is a guest post I wrote for Consumerism Commentary on October 4, 2007.
I just completed my September net worth review and noticed that I am actually less wealthy. While my net worth went up 1.24%, the value of U.S. dollar went down by 2.26%. You may think that this doesn’t concern you, but it does because we are an integral part of the global economy. For my family, this is even more important because we have direct financial dealings outside of the United States.
Beating the S&P 500
The realization that my wealth went down got me interested enough to ... (more) Thursday, January 3, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 3, 2008 at 9:00 am ET As many of you know, I started this blog on July 15, 2007. During this time, I shared several goals with you, and there are some that I haven’t shared (at least until now). In this post, I will review my goals, make some revisions, and set up new milestones for 2008. By the way, I believe it’s essential to review and revise goals each year to keep it fresh and challenging.
1. My Goals for Moolanomy
Why did I start Moolanomy? Unfortunately, I can’t say that my sole intention was to help my readers, but I do hope ... (more) Wednesday, January 2, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 2, 2008 at 8:00 am ET 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 stock market, and the S&P 500 index dropped -0.86% from 1481.14 to 1468.36. According to NetworthIQ, my net worth went up +0.72% and net investable assets went up +1.25%, or from 23.64% to 23.93% of $1 million goal — that’s $10,615 short of the 25% goal.
Highlights
My wife gave birth ... (more) Tuesday, January 1, 2008 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 1, 2008 at 7:30 am ET Happy New Year! and welcome to the New Year Edition of the Festival of Frugality: “A blog carnival focused on the frugal life and getting that little extra edge out of the products you buy and the services you use.” Considering the holidays, there were quite a bit of submissions over the past two weeks. Without further delay, here is the Festival of Frugality #106.
Image by xymonau, conveniently stolen from Cash Money Life
Top 7 Editor’s Pick
Below are some of my favorite articles. At the top of each sub-section, I also highlighted my favorite post in that group.
Spend ... (more) From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
January 1, 2008 at 2:01 am ET December 2007
1/2 - Would You Like to Pay My Taxes? was featured in the Carnival of the Capitalists New Year’s Edition 2008 hosted by SEO ROI Consulting.
You may like these related posts:2008 News ArchiveWelcoming the Carnival of Financial GoalsMy 2008 Financial Resolution and a Chance to Win an iPod!December 2007 Site and Net Worth Review (+0.72%)Saving $250,000 for my son’s college e ... (more) Monday, December 31, 2007 Is Baby Insurance a Good Buy? (5 clicks)
From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
December 31, 2007 at 9:00 am ET Early in my wife’s pregnancy she registered on a couple of web sites to get free samples and discount coupons. One thing we get in the mail a lot was information about The GROW-UP Plan® from Gerber Life. Basically, it’s a whole life insurance plan that offers:
Whole Life Insurance up to $35,000
Automatically doubles at age 21
Low payments that never increase
According to Gerber Life:
“The GROW-UP Plan® is a whole life insurance policy designed for healthy children ages 14 days through 12 years. As a parent or grandparent, you can ensure the little ones who mean so much to you ... (more) Friday, December 28, 2007 From Moolanomy - view blog entries - visit this blog
December 28, 2007 at 9:00 am ET I got a strange call yesterday — yes, a cold call. Wait a minute…did my do not call status expired?!? Anyway, the guy claimed he works for Ambit Energy, and he wanted to put me on a savings plan that will shave 7% off my Con Edison electricity charges and eliminate the 4% sales tax.
At first I was tempted to hang up like I normally do when I get this type of calls. But he was persuasive enough that I continued to listen. I did a quick search on the web, and didn’t see anything bad from ... (more) Items 130 - 154 of 193
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