My Money Blog

Marriage and Money: Joint Or Split Accounts?

Posted on March 7, 2006 // 69 Comments

An e-mailer asked a question that opened up a very interesting discussion for my wife and me. It was "I know you are married, but is the Net Worth for you only or for both?" My initial internal response was "Duh, of course it was for both of us. We … [Read the rest]

Current Portfolio Snapshot and Thoughts

Posted on March 6, 2006 // 8 Comments

Well if you're going to try and change your portfolio, you might as well take a 'Before' snapshot for comparison later. I entered our retirement account holdings as of today into Morningstar's X-Ray tool and got the following asset … [Read the rest]

Portfolio Rebuilding Reading List

Posted on March 5, 2006 // 10 Comments

Of course, as soon as I say how simple my investing is I go and try to complicate it. I spent this weekend reading my new copy of The Intelligent Asset Allocator as part of my upcoming portfolio recontruction. Man, it is some dense stuff. Let's just … [Read the rest]

A Bit of Clarification, Just In Case

Posted on March 5, 2006 // 8 Comments

Although I blog about everything money, I want to make perfectly clear that the amount of entries I devote to a particular topic does not directly correlate with its importance. For example, out of 20 posts I may talk about easy ways to make $100 or … [Read the rest]

Emigrant Direct Signup Bonus Update – January Payouts

Posted on March 5, 2006 // 2 Comments

Everyone who sent me their Form #2 in January as part of my Emigrant Direct Bonus should have gotten paid last week. If not, please e-mail me. Thanks to all who participated, I paid out over $100 this month. … [Read the rest]

Entitlement, and How I Paid Off My Student Loans

Posted on March 4, 2006 // 47 Comments

Wow, I just reread all the thought-provoking comments in my Don't Be A Victim post. After some good discussion with friends, I've put a finger on why I feel so strongly about this - Entitlement. When people feel entitled to things it just irks me. … [Read the rest]

U.S. Treasury Bills Still Attractive Cash Option

Posted on March 3, 2006 // 40 Comments

Although I messed up my Treasury Bill Ladder by switching to 6-month T-Bills, they continue to be a pretty good cash investment alternative for those people in states with high income taxes, as they are exempt from such taxes. For example, the most … [Read the rest]

Vanguard IRA Benefit For Joint Account Holders

Posted on March 2, 2006 // 5 Comments

For those that have an Roth, Traditional, or SEP IRA at Vanguard like me, you probably noticed that they charge a custodial fee of $10 a year for each mutual fund you have with a balance of less than $5,000. This can add up if you own multiple funds … [Read the rest]

March 2006 Financial Status / Net Worth Update

Posted on March 2, 2006 // 26 Comments

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$100 Bonus For Opening a TradeKing Brokerage Account

Posted on March 2, 2006 // 18 Comments

This promotion has expired. For more information on any current promotions, please see my TradeKing Review and Info Page. For those that are looking for a new discount brokerage, TradeKing is currently offering a $100 bonus for opening a new account … [Read the rest]

Learn Real Estate Investing At Community College?

Posted on February 28, 2006 // 14 Comments

It appears that housing prices are starting to flatten out in my area, while rents are rising. So my interest in learning how to find, buy, and manage a rental property of my own is back, but I'm getting tired of plodding through my Modern Real … [Read the rest]

Don’t Be A Victim

Posted on February 27, 2006 // 31 Comments

I just finished watching the end of the Winter Olympics on my TiVo, and I was struck by something. These athletes are inspiring not because they can go fast on snow, but because they did not focus on the fact that they were too short or too skinny, … [Read the rest]