All Entries in the "Personal Finance 101" Category
Risks in Real Estate Investing to Fund College
Here is some solid advice from Jeff Brown of Philly . com on the pros and cons of saving for college by buying and renting a condo versus investing a decent mutual fund. Before making the comparison, he offers some solid Real Estate investing advice: I know people who have invested successfully in real estate. They [...]
Reverse Mortgages – Any Catches?
From a conceptual viewpoint, reverse mortgages appear to be a viable option for home equity rich persons over 62 years of age. I mention age, because only persons over 62 qualify for this type of mortgage. Reverse mortgages are the inverse of traditional mortgages. The borrower borrows against their home equity. Instead of making payments to [...]
Avoid These Money Pitfalls on Path to Freedom
The following article addresses many common money management mistakes. I hear this one quite often. ”Why should I pay off my mortgage? It is one of the few tax deductions I have.” Source: The Cincinnati Post by Mary Hunt Misunderstanding deductibility: There is a myth that says you should not pay off your home mortgage. In [...]
Smart Year-End Tax Moves
Most wait until after the holidays to start thinking about taxes. Why ruin a joyous time of year with tax anxieties. Unfortunately, by waiting all you can do is to pray for a refund. Now is the time to start considering tax saving strategies. What about those cloths that you haven’t worn in years? There are many organizations [...]
New Push To Erase Financial Illiteracy Among Youth
If you are a parent and if this article doesn’t make you uncomfortable – I don’t know what will. Financial illiteracy among our youth is rampant. The majority of college seniors have 4 or more credit cards and the average college senior carries a credit card balance of $3000; one in every 10 college students have more than [...]
The Peace You Get From Being Debt-Free Is Priceless
If you received a $30,000 gift out of the blue – would you use it to payoff a $30,000 loan or invest the money? The analytics are saying that I did not provide enough information in the question. What are the terms of the loan? What is the interest rate? How many years remaining? OK, [...]
Lenders Gone Wild
No one cares more about your financial well-being than you. It is imperative to become financially educated or you will pay a steep price. Source: Market Watch Can U.S. curb the ‘exotic mortgages’ frenzy that puts homeowners at risk? …..In some instances, according to regulators, the lenders knew that the only way the loan could [...]
Blog Carnivals
Have you ever heard of a blog carnival? I just discovered them a few months ago, but they have been around for awhile. It is sort of a community run periodical. Topics vary from business to politics to travel. The concept has the potential to be the next generation of magazines. I have submitted two articles [...]
Women Need to Start Managing and Investing Money
Wow, this article is geared towards women – but has good advice for all of us. “If you want to consider your retirement as one big vacation, think about that in terms of how much your last vacation cost,” Cook said. “Most people want to eat out, and go out, and travel more after they [...]
Plan and Enjoy Your Retirement
Source: CNN Money by Pat Regnier Daniel Fish, a New York City lawyer who specializes in helping elderly clients, keeps a small collection of blank birthday cards in his desk drawer. The number 100 is on the front of each one. (Hallmark says it sells 85,000 such cards a year.) “I’m just waiting for the [...]
