Chris

Explore Great Finance Blogs

Posted on by Chris

One of the things that really drew me into the blogosphere was the community that develops within networks of blogs. You become friends, share ideas, and help spread the word on great posts that are timely and informative. I spent a good deal of time over the weekend sniffing out other blogs in personal finance and investing that would be worth a visit, and so if you have some time, I would encourage you go see what else our fellow bloggers are writing about. You may just find it to be enlightening!

Frank

Teaching kids about money and credit

Posted on by Frank

I recently read an article in the Washington Post discussing, an issue facing many individuals today, credit cards. The article describes a birthday party in which the guest of honor recieved, at age 11 no less, a prepaid credit card. Understandably the author and her husband, denied their young daughter’s request for a credit card of her own. When the author goes on to state that it is equally as irresponsible to give a credit card to a high school or college aged young adult that I begin to question her rationale. It got me to thinking about what constitutes a sound financial upbringing.

Chris

The Importance of a Mentor

Posted on by Chris

Becoming wealthy is a full-time job. Successful entrepreneurs have worked for years to build a deep knowledge base in areas as diverse as sales, marketing, accounting, stock investing, real estate investing, leadership, team building and personal finance. For someone who is still laying his foundation, finding a mentor can help him avoid potholes he otherwise would not have seen, and is an invaluable asset as both a friend and a counselor.

A mentor is someone who has already done what you have set out to do. Whether that means becoming a successful stock investor, or real estate mogul, your mentor is an expert and is willing to share his experiences. Just as professional baseball players have pitching coaches and managers have leadership coaches, so should budding entrepreneurs have a mentor that can help steer them down the right path.

Frank

IRAs and HSAs

Posted on by Frank

I’d like to cover two topics with this post, and get some advice from our readers on them. The first being my Roth IRA, and then some musings regarding HSAs. So read on and let me know what you think.

Jason

401k Redux

Posted on by Jason

In this article I will discuss changing your future contributions, rebalancing your 401(k), and one “advanced” tactic you can use to take advantage of dips in the market.

Jason

Jose Anes’ Blog

Posted on by Jason

Jose Anes has a great personal finance blog you might be interested in. He’s a smart guy who covers a lot of ground in his writing. Some of his best articles are lifehack-style tips on how to save a few extra dollars here and there. My favorite article of his is from back in November (more…)

Jason

NetworthIQ

Posted on by Jason

I review of NetworthIQ, a website to keep track of your personal net worth. At its best, the site could usher in a new era of fiscally responsible citizens. In the least, you’ll be able to keep tabs on my financial growth.

Jason

Intro to 401k Part 2

Posted on by Jason

Last week, we introduced 401(k) retirement plans and focused on their main two benefits:

  1. Tax Benefits.
  2. Employer Match

This week we’ll close out the discussion with a little talk on Roth 401(k)s and some tips for choosing Funds inside your 401(k).

Chris

How to Get Started: The Basics

Posted on by Chris

In my last article, I discussed starting my portfolio, and a strategy for allocating assets efficiently while keeping the number of accounts and fees manageable. As I stated in that article I think it’s very important for those of us who want to eventually become more involved with individual stock investing to have only a small portion of our funds in a brokerage account. Because we’re very inexperienced, risking too much of our portfolio with individual stocks can leave us open to a lot of unnecessary risk. That’s why I advocate starting simply by learning the basics then building a foundation of a few stock and bond mutual funds, before allocating more to individual stocks.

This strategy may not be exciting, but to paraphrase Ben Graham, author of The Intelligent Investor, true investing should be boring. By learning the basics we can understand the full range of investments available and how to maximize their returns. We can then invest in relatively safe but consistently well-performing mutual funds. Not only do mutual funds provide instant diversification, but they also give us focus as we continue to learn about more advanced investing topics. As I will mention again, we have a lot to worry about when we’re just starting out. There’s no need to add risky investments to that list before we’re ready.