Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
Six Reasons You Should Volunteer Your Way to A Job
By Kerry Hannon, Contributer Forbes
This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing three retirees, who are working part-time jobs they love– for pay.
All three were hired after spending time as a volunteer. One is a ranger with the National Park Service, another does social work at a hospital, and one pours wine in a tasting room at a winery in Walla Walla, WA.
I know you’re probably looking for full-time work, but it reminded me once again of the advice I like to give anyone who is out of work and feeling hopeless, frustrated, or simply pissed off at answering the question: How’s the job hunt going?
Go do something for someone else. (Okay, I know wine pouring isn’t exactly charity work.)
I recently learned that baby boomers today have the highest volunteer rate of any age group. They also volunteer at higher rates than past generations did when they were the same age, according to a report by the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Here’s why it’s in your best interest to volunteer if you’re looking for work right now.
To read the entire article from Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryhannon/2012/06/30/six-reasons-you-should-volunteer-your-way-to-a-job/
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Four things for success: work & pray, think & believe. -Norman Peale
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Personal Finance News Friday 6/29
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
Deal or dud?
How to get more bang for your buck at dollar store
Regina Novickes from Promotionalcodes.com goes over what to buy and what not to buy at Dollar stores on Fox and Friends Friday June 29th.
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1711724458001/deal-or-dud/?playlist_id=86912
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
In order to make anything a reality, you have to dream about it first. - Adora Svitak
Deal or dud?
How to get more bang for your buck at dollar store
Regina Novickes from Promotionalcodes.com goes over what to buy and what not to buy at Dollar stores on Fox and Friends Friday June 29th.
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1711724458001/deal-or-dud/?playlist_id=86912
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
In order to make anything a reality, you have to dream about it first. - Adora Svitak
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Personal Finance News Thursday 6/28
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
Making Your Goals Means Making A Plan
Okay, all you golfers—ever played a skins game? In simple terms: players during a round of golf wager on the best score for a single hole. If there’s a tie, the “pot” rolls over to the next hole. One result of a skins game can be to up the ante on each hole. The backlash is taking your eye off the long haul. In a skins game, you play for short-term stakes. As a result, strategy goes out the window.
Unfortunately, some people run their businesses that way. They muddle along in a never-ending skins game. This doesn’t just happen in tiny companies. An insider at a famous blue-chip giant once quipped: “Our idea of long-term planning here is deciding what we’ll do after lunch.”
Anyone who has participated in a skins game on a golf course knows the painstaking attention paid to the line of every putt. It’s a lot like what Peter Drucker describes as “the last of the deadly sins” of business, which he defines as “feeding problems and starving opportunities.”
Peter Drucker has long been considered the definitive authority on business planning. His principles are still widely used decades after his revolutionary writing on the concept of “Management by Objectives.” Drucker sorted out a baffling world.
Planning boils down to two fundamental processes: goals and objectives. It is important to distinguish between the two. Goals are considered the purely quantitative and mostly financial targets. Objectives are more qualitative and elusive.1
Make your goals, and you stay in business. Advance your objectives and you build a business worth having. The distinction between goals and objectives is hardly pure. Often objectives have quantitative measures attached to them as well. But they are rarely just numerical yardsticks.
To read the entire article from Harvey Mackay.com
http://harveymackay.com/column/making-your-goals-means-making-a-plan/
1 Samuel 2:30 — Those who honor me, I will honor.
Making Your Goals Means Making A Plan
June 28, 2012 By
Okay, all you golfers—ever played a skins game? In simple terms: players during a round of golf wager on the best score for a single hole. If there’s a tie, the “pot” rolls over to the next hole. One result of a skins game can be to up the ante on each hole. The backlash is taking your eye off the long haul. In a skins game, you play for short-term stakes. As a result, strategy goes out the window.
Unfortunately, some people run their businesses that way. They muddle along in a never-ending skins game. This doesn’t just happen in tiny companies. An insider at a famous blue-chip giant once quipped: “Our idea of long-term planning here is deciding what we’ll do after lunch.”
Anyone who has participated in a skins game on a golf course knows the painstaking attention paid to the line of every putt. It’s a lot like what Peter Drucker describes as “the last of the deadly sins” of business, which he defines as “feeding problems and starving opportunities.”
Peter Drucker has long been considered the definitive authority on business planning. His principles are still widely used decades after his revolutionary writing on the concept of “Management by Objectives.” Drucker sorted out a baffling world.
Planning boils down to two fundamental processes: goals and objectives. It is important to distinguish between the two. Goals are considered the purely quantitative and mostly financial targets. Objectives are more qualitative and elusive.1
Make your goals, and you stay in business. Advance your objectives and you build a business worth having. The distinction between goals and objectives is hardly pure. Often objectives have quantitative measures attached to them as well. But they are rarely just numerical yardsticks.
To read the entire article from Harvey Mackay.com
http://harveymackay.com/column/making-your-goals-means-making-a-plan/
1 Samuel 2:30 — Those who honor me, I will honor.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Personal Finance News Wednesday 6/27
Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
Basic Rules for Getting Rich
By Carla Fried, Anne C. Lee, Elaine Pofeldt, Susie Poppick and Penelope Wang | Money – Tue, Jun 26, 2012 10:40 AM EDT
Part of a special report on 101 ways to build wealth, readers and experts weigh in with advice that will help you lay a foundation for accumulating wealth.
1) Focus on what's most important
In achieving wealth, how you invest isn't nearly as important as how much you save.
Say you're 40, have $200,000 saved, with 60% in stocks, and are putting away 10% of a $100,000 salary (including company match). You have a 52% chance of retiring with 70% of your pre-retirement income, according to T. Rowe Price.
Boost your stock stake to 80%, and your chances improve modestly, to 57%. But if you boost your savings to 15% instead, you get to 69%.
[Related: Jobs with high lifetime earnings]
Message: Stretch to save the most you can.
2) Make a family decision
62% of couples don't agree on their expected retirement age.
The age at which each of you will retire determines how much money you'll need. If you're among the multitude of couples that the Fidelity survey (cited above) found were not on the same page, make some time to talk with your partner about when you'll quit and what you'd like your life to be like.
To read the entire article:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/basic-rules-for-getting-rich.html
Romans 12:10 — Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Basic Rules for Getting Rich
By Carla Fried, Anne C. Lee, Elaine Pofeldt, Susie Poppick and Penelope Wang | Money – Tue, Jun 26, 2012 10:40 AM EDT
Part of a special report on 101 ways to build wealth, readers and experts weigh in with advice that will help you lay a foundation for accumulating wealth.
1) Focus on what's most important
In achieving wealth, how you invest isn't nearly as important as how much you save.
Say you're 40, have $200,000 saved, with 60% in stocks, and are putting away 10% of a $100,000 salary (including company match). You have a 52% chance of retiring with 70% of your pre-retirement income, according to T. Rowe Price.
Boost your stock stake to 80%, and your chances improve modestly, to 57%. But if you boost your savings to 15% instead, you get to 69%.
[Related: Jobs with high lifetime earnings]
Message: Stretch to save the most you can.
2) Make a family decision
62% of couples don't agree on their expected retirement age.
The age at which each of you will retire determines how much money you'll need. If you're among the multitude of couples that the Fidelity survey (cited above) found were not on the same page, make some time to talk with your partner about when you'll quit and what you'd like your life to be like.
To read the entire article:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/basic-rules-for-getting-rich.html
Romans 12:10 — Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Personal Finance News Tuesday 6/26
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
Mac users being fed pricier hotel searches?
By Clark Howard
Mac users being fed pricier hotel searches?
By Clark Howard
Should you pay a higher rate for a hotel room just because you're a Mac user? Orbitz apparently thinks so.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Orbitz is experimenting with a 30% premium on Mac users when they search for select hotel rooms versus PC users. That effectively works out to be around $20 to $30 more than a PC user.
When asked for explanation, Orbitz basically stated that Mac users make more money and are interested in fancier hotels. (There were no happy campers in the Apple world based on those comments!)
I've found when you're searching for travel, you'll often see higher quotes when you try to book two or more hotel rooms than when you try to book two single rooms. You can actually save money doing two single room bookings instead of booking two rooms at once. That's just a little trick of the trade.
Meanwhile, there's a 24-hour sale started by AirTran that's been matched by pretty much everyone across the airline industry for the extended Fourth of July travel period.
No advance purchase is required and the sale is good for travel through July 9. (Though you can't fly on Saturday or Sunday.) Fares start at around $60 one-way and go up to $80 or $90 for most places in the country.
Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it. — David Starr Jordan
According to The Wall Street Journal, Orbitz is experimenting with a 30% premium on Mac users when they search for select hotel rooms versus PC users. That effectively works out to be around $20 to $30 more than a PC user.
When asked for explanation, Orbitz basically stated that Mac users make more money and are interested in fancier hotels. (There were no happy campers in the Apple world based on those comments!)
I've found when you're searching for travel, you'll often see higher quotes when you try to book two or more hotel rooms than when you try to book two single rooms. You can actually save money doing two single room bookings instead of booking two rooms at once. That's just a little trick of the trade.
Meanwhile, there's a 24-hour sale started by AirTran that's been matched by pretty much everyone across the airline industry for the extended Fourth of July travel period.
No advance purchase is required and the sale is good for travel through July 9. (Though you can't fly on Saturday or Sunday.) Fares start at around $60 one-way and go up to $80 or $90 for most places in the country.
Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it. — David Starr Jordan
Monday, June 25, 2012
Personal Finance News Monday 6/25
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
The Riskiest Day of Your Life
By Larry Swedroe | CBS MoneyWatch – Mon, Jun 25, 2012 6:03 PM EDT
The primary financial goal for most people is to make sure that their assets last as least as long as they do. The day on which there is the greatest risk of failing to meet that objective is the day you retire. The reasons, as "Someday Rich" authors Timothy Noonan and Matt Smith explain, are the day you get your gold watch, you have:
- Exhausted your human capital (ability to generate income from your labors)
- Assumed "longevity risk" (the need to fund your living expenses for the rest of your life)
Of the many risks we face when developing a financial plan, longevity risk is often the one most overlooked, or at least underestimated. And yet for many individuals, it might be the one that entails the greatest risk. Consider the following:
Today, while a 65-year-old male has a life expectancy of 19 years (to age 84), a 65-year-old couple has 50 percent chance of one surviving to age 92. That means half of all 65-year-old couples will have one spouse alive after 27 years. And they have a 25 percent chance of one reaching 97. Because being alive without the financial resources to support an acceptable living standard is too painful to even contemplate, we must plan for the possibility that we'll live longer than expected. We can reduce the risk of longevity by working longer, delaying taking Social Security benefits and buying longevity insurance (in the form of a payout annuity).
To read the entire article:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-riskiest-day-of-your-life.html
Do you know what real poverty is? It is never having a big thought or a generous impulse. — Jerome P. Fleishman
The Riskiest Day of Your Life
By Larry Swedroe | CBS MoneyWatch – Mon, Jun 25, 2012 6:03 PM EDT
The primary financial goal for most people is to make sure that their assets last as least as long as they do. The day on which there is the greatest risk of failing to meet that objective is the day you retire. The reasons, as "Someday Rich" authors Timothy Noonan and Matt Smith explain, are the day you get your gold watch, you have:
- Exhausted your human capital (ability to generate income from your labors)
- Assumed "longevity risk" (the need to fund your living expenses for the rest of your life)
Of the many risks we face when developing a financial plan, longevity risk is often the one most overlooked, or at least underestimated. And yet for many individuals, it might be the one that entails the greatest risk. Consider the following:
Today, while a 65-year-old male has a life expectancy of 19 years (to age 84), a 65-year-old couple has 50 percent chance of one surviving to age 92. That means half of all 65-year-old couples will have one spouse alive after 27 years. And they have a 25 percent chance of one reaching 97. Because being alive without the financial resources to support an acceptable living standard is too painful to even contemplate, we must plan for the possibility that we'll live longer than expected. We can reduce the risk of longevity by working longer, delaying taking Social Security benefits and buying longevity insurance (in the form of a payout annuity).
To read the entire article:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-riskiest-day-of-your-life.html
Do you know what real poverty is? It is never having a big thought or a generous impulse. — Jerome P. Fleishman
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Personal Finance News Saturday 6/23
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
Young Investors, Start With a Roth
By CAROLYN T. GEER/The Wall Street Journal
After my last column, on why young adults should start saving early if they hope to retire comfortably, some of you asked about how the money might be invested.
Cheryl McKinney of Sacramento, Calif., is typical. She is the mother of two young adults starting careers—one a full-time videogame designer with access to a 401(k) retirement plan at work, the other a geographer in search of full-time employment while working part-time jobs, none of which offers a 401(k).
Last year, Ms. McKinney gave each of her children $2,000 and helped them set up Roth individual retirement accounts. The contributions were allowed because each made at least that amount from working that year.
"I left it to each to choose an investment for the $2,000, but neither has made any progress on deciding where to put the money, so it looks like a bit more leadership from Mom is in order," Ms. McKinney writes.
First, kudos to Ms. McKinney for starting out each child with a Roth. "I think it is absolutely the investment vehicle for young adults," says Barbara Taylor, a financial adviser with ING Financial Partners.
With a Roth, contributions are made after-tax, but withdrawals—including earnings—are tax-free if you follow certain rules. Single workers making less than $125,000 can contribute, though only those making less than $110,000 can contribute the max—$5,000 this year.
Since a young investor has many years until retirement and is likely to be in a higher tax bracket then, the investment gains inside a Roth should easily outstrip the upfront tax costs. (This is less certain the older you are and the higher your tax bracket when you contribute.)
To read the entire article from The Wal lStreet Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303703004577475043593994160.html?mod=WSJ_PersonalFinance_PF16
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
The will to succeed is important, but what's more important is the will to prepare. -Bobby Knight
Young Investors, Start With a Roth
By CAROLYN T. GEER/The Wall Street Journal
After my last column, on why young adults should start saving early if they hope to retire comfortably, some of you asked about how the money might be invested.
Cheryl McKinney of Sacramento, Calif., is typical. She is the mother of two young adults starting careers—one a full-time videogame designer with access to a 401(k) retirement plan at work, the other a geographer in search of full-time employment while working part-time jobs, none of which offers a 401(k).
Last year, Ms. McKinney gave each of her children $2,000 and helped them set up Roth individual retirement accounts. The contributions were allowed because each made at least that amount from working that year.
"I left it to each to choose an investment for the $2,000, but neither has made any progress on deciding where to put the money, so it looks like a bit more leadership from Mom is in order," Ms. McKinney writes.
First, kudos to Ms. McKinney for starting out each child with a Roth. "I think it is absolutely the investment vehicle for young adults," says Barbara Taylor, a financial adviser with ING Financial Partners.
With a Roth, contributions are made after-tax, but withdrawals—including earnings—are tax-free if you follow certain rules. Single workers making less than $125,000 can contribute, though only those making less than $110,000 can contribute the max—$5,000 this year.
Since a young investor has many years until retirement and is likely to be in a higher tax bracket then, the investment gains inside a Roth should easily outstrip the upfront tax costs. (This is less certain the older you are and the higher your tax bracket when you contribute.)
To read the entire article from The Wal lStreet Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303703004577475043593994160.html?mod=WSJ_PersonalFinance_PF16
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
The will to succeed is important, but what's more important is the will to prepare. -Bobby Knight
Friday, June 22, 2012
Personal Finance News Friday 6/22
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
How to investigate the rental market
To view the video from Fox and Friends:
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1699725535001/how-to-investigate-the-rental-market/?playlist_id=162383
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
The life of inner peace, being harmonious & without stress, is the easiest type of existence. -Norman Peale
How to investigate the rental market
Dangers to watch out for
Fox and Friends Shattered Dreams segment
Fox News legal analyst Bob Massi weighs in dangers to watch out for in the rental market.
Fox News legal analyst Bob Massi weighs in dangers to watch out for in the rental market.
To view the video from Fox and Friends:
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1699725535001/how-to-investigate-the-rental-market/?playlist_id=162383
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
The life of inner peace, being harmonious & without stress, is the easiest type of existence. -Norman Peale
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Personal Finance News Thursday 6/21
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
Your retirement health-care tab will run $240,000
Mistakes to avoid with your retirement health costs
By Andrea Coombes, MarketWatch
Live as you will have wished to have lived when you are dying. — Charles F. Gellert
Your retirement health-care tab will run $240,000
Mistakes to avoid with your retirement health costs
By Andrea Coombes, MarketWatch
Live as you will have wished to have lived when you are dying. — Charles F. Gellert
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Personal Finance News Wednesday 6/20
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
3 Ways to Take Control of Your Retirement
A prosperous future is well within your reach. Here's how to save smarter, invest better, live more fully -- and reach your goals.
We find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve. — Dr. Maxwell Maltz
3 Ways to Take Control of Your Retirement
A prosperous future is well within your reach. Here's how to save smarter, invest better, live more fully -- and reach your goals.
By Geoff Colvin | Fortune – Thu, Jun 14, 2012 1:41 PM EDT
England's blustery Dorset coast seems an unlikely setting for retirement planning lessons, but actually it's perfect. That's where this summer's Olympic sailboat races will take place, and viewers new to sailing will learn a surprising fact: You can sail into the wind. You need to tack in ways that aren't necessary when the wind is behind you, but do it right and you'll move bracingly fast.
That's retirement planning today. You're feeling virtually all the financial winds right in your face. Strapped governments at every level will be giving you fewer services and taking more from you in taxes and fees. Inflation may be creeping up. Employers will continue the long-term trend of whittling retirement security by freezing or abolishing the few remaining defined-benefit pension plans and reducing company contributions to 401(k) plans. As for your investment portfolio -- forget those reassuring historical stock market returns of around 11% annually and note that recent years have been far grimmer: The S&P 500 (SPX) is right where it was more than 12 years ago, in January 1999. Warren Buffett assumes Berkshire Hathaway's (BRKA) pension plan will earn a modest 7.1% a year.
[Related: Dreams of the Ideal Retirement Home]
One more fact: You'll probably live longer than you expect, a wonderful thing in every way except financially. New research from the Society of Actuaries finds that 57% of pre-retirees underestimate life expectancy from their current age, while only 28% overestimate. Your nest egg may have to last much longer than you thought.
Those are formidable headwinds. Yet as the Olympic sailors will remind us, you're not condemned to being blown backward. The right tactics will propel you ahead even now. Think of your practical next steps in three categories.
Save smarter
In today's low-yield environment, most of us must salt away more. Easy to say, hard to do. If your employer hasn't adopted the Save More Tomorrow program, urge it to do so; and if it won't, then follow the program on your own. Developed by UCLA business professor Schlomo Benartzi and behavioral economist Richard Thaler, it lets employees pre-commit to saving more every time they get a pay raise. It works -- participants save much more than nonparticipants.
In choosing your saving rate, face the new reality of inflation. Experts debate whether years of monetary loosening in the U.S. and other major economies will push up prices significantly, but ignoring the risk would be foolish. Suppose you'd like your portfolio to pay you $100,000 a year (in constant dollars) for 30 years. With an after-tax return of 6% and inflation at 2%, a nest egg of $1.82 million will do the job. But if inflation turns out to be just one point higher than you assumed, at 3%, you'll need another quarter million dollars.
That's retirement planning today. You're feeling virtually all the financial winds right in your face. Strapped governments at every level will be giving you fewer services and taking more from you in taxes and fees. Inflation may be creeping up. Employers will continue the long-term trend of whittling retirement security by freezing or abolishing the few remaining defined-benefit pension plans and reducing company contributions to 401(k) plans. As for your investment portfolio -- forget those reassuring historical stock market returns of around 11% annually and note that recent years have been far grimmer: The S&P 500 (SPX) is right where it was more than 12 years ago, in January 1999. Warren Buffett assumes Berkshire Hathaway's (BRKA) pension plan will earn a modest 7.1% a year.
[Related: Dreams of the Ideal Retirement Home]
One more fact: You'll probably live longer than you expect, a wonderful thing in every way except financially. New research from the Society of Actuaries finds that 57% of pre-retirees underestimate life expectancy from their current age, while only 28% overestimate. Your nest egg may have to last much longer than you thought.
Those are formidable headwinds. Yet as the Olympic sailors will remind us, you're not condemned to being blown backward. The right tactics will propel you ahead even now. Think of your practical next steps in three categories.
Save smarter
In today's low-yield environment, most of us must salt away more. Easy to say, hard to do. If your employer hasn't adopted the Save More Tomorrow program, urge it to do so; and if it won't, then follow the program on your own. Developed by UCLA business professor Schlomo Benartzi and behavioral economist Richard Thaler, it lets employees pre-commit to saving more every time they get a pay raise. It works -- participants save much more than nonparticipants.
In choosing your saving rate, face the new reality of inflation. Experts debate whether years of monetary loosening in the U.S. and other major economies will push up prices significantly, but ignoring the risk would be foolish. Suppose you'd like your portfolio to pay you $100,000 a year (in constant dollars) for 30 years. With an after-tax return of 6% and inflation at 2%, a nest egg of $1.82 million will do the job. But if inflation turns out to be just one point higher than you assumed, at 3%, you'll need another quarter million dollars.
To read the entire article:
We find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve. — Dr. Maxwell Maltz
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Personal Finance News Tuesday 6/19
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
New threat from automated viruses for online banking
From Clark Howard.com
RIP-OFF ALERT: Newly sophisticated Trojan horse viruses developed in Europe are expected to pose a threat to anyone who does online banking here in the United States.
Criminal rings out of Eastern Europe are bringing a new level of threat to web users who encounter the common SpyEye and Zeus viruses.
According to what I read in The Chicago Tribune, both viruses have been automated so that a criminal can breach your computer, get your information and then log into a bank or brokerage account to have money wired overseas -- almost without having to lift a finger!
This is currently a fast growing crime in Europe, and they're noted over there for having much more robust digital banking security in place than we do in America. So there's almost no doubt this new breed of automated virus will make its way to our shores.
Here's my advice to protect yourself:
Take special note of that last bullet point. If you're an individual and your computer is breached, you have protections under the law and your money must be restored to you. But that's not the case if you're a business owner. That's why entrepreneurs need to follow my advice carefully.
Meanwhile, a new analysis of web traffic for 75 million people shows that Internet search results are being tainted more and more by con artists. These crooks are manipulating search results and instantly loading viruses on your computer when you click on their bogus links.
As USA Today reports, "As a rule, it is wise to avoid clicking on links that include '.ru' (Russia) or '.cn' (China) in the address line, since attacks often originate from those nations."
Apparently, tainted search results have now surpassed email as the main gateway for crooks who want to hack your computer! Be careful out there.
Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it. — David Starr Jordan
New threat from automated viruses for online banking
From Clark Howard.com
RIP-OFF ALERT: Newly sophisticated Trojan horse viruses developed in Europe are expected to pose a threat to anyone who does online banking here in the United States.
Criminal rings out of Eastern Europe are bringing a new level of threat to web users who encounter the common SpyEye and Zeus viruses.
According to what I read in The Chicago Tribune, both viruses have been automated so that a criminal can breach your computer, get your information and then log into a bank or brokerage account to have money wired overseas -- almost without having to lift a finger!
This is currently a fast growing crime in Europe, and they're noted over there for having much more robust digital banking security in place than we do in America. So there's almost no doubt this new breed of automated virus will make its way to our shores.
Here's my advice to protect yourself:
- Use an antivirus program and keep it up to date. I have a list of free programs in my Virus, Spyware and Malware Protection Guide.
- If you're a business owner, you must have a dedicated computer that's only used for financial transactions.
Take special note of that last bullet point. If you're an individual and your computer is breached, you have protections under the law and your money must be restored to you. But that's not the case if you're a business owner. That's why entrepreneurs need to follow my advice carefully.
Meanwhile, a new analysis of web traffic for 75 million people shows that Internet search results are being tainted more and more by con artists. These crooks are manipulating search results and instantly loading viruses on your computer when you click on their bogus links.
As USA Today reports, "As a rule, it is wise to avoid clicking on links that include '.ru' (Russia) or '.cn' (China) in the address line, since attacks often originate from those nations."
Apparently, tainted search results have now surpassed email as the main gateway for crooks who want to hack your computer! Be careful out there.
Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it. — David Starr Jordan
Monday, June 18, 2012
Personal Finance News Monday 6/18
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
Eleven Dumb and Dumber Excuses Not to Save Money
It's easy to come up with reasons not to save money for an emergency, job loss, retirement or other need or goal, but not saving can cause considerable financial pain down the road. That's why it's smart to regularly put money in a savings account where it's available for whatever happens in the future.
"Saving is about mindset," says Bob Morrison, principal at Downing Street Wealth Management LLC, a financial planning firm in Littleton, Colo. "It doesn't matter whether you make minimal dollars or a significant amount, you should save a certain percentage and learn to live within that income because you have a responsibility to provide for yourself and your goals for the future."
With that in mind, here are 11 lame excuses not to save money and why they don't work:
I can't afford to save. "People work hard and feel they deserve to live in a certain neighborhood and drive a certain kind of car, but they don't understand that that (spending) comes out of the cost of other things," Morrison says. "If someone has too large a house payment or car payment, it's like a cancer. You want to get rid of it immediately and get on the path to appropriate saving levels."
I'll be earning more in the future, so I'll save then. The problem with this thinking is that tomorrow might not be rosier, or tomorrow's expenses might rise to consume any additional income.
A better approach is to put a little now into a savings account and increase the amount if that pay raise comes through next year, Morrison says. "Try to live on last year's income with today's expenses," he says.
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
All glory comes from daring to begin. -Alexander Graham Bell
Eleven Dumb and Dumber Excuses Not to Save Money
Published June 15, 2012
Bankrate.com
"Saving is about mindset," says Bob Morrison, principal at Downing Street Wealth Management LLC, a financial planning firm in Littleton, Colo. "It doesn't matter whether you make minimal dollars or a significant amount, you should save a certain percentage and learn to live within that income because you have a responsibility to provide for yourself and your goals for the future."
With that in mind, here are 11 lame excuses not to save money and why they don't work:
I can't afford to save. "People work hard and feel they deserve to live in a certain neighborhood and drive a certain kind of car, but they don't understand that that (spending) comes out of the cost of other things," Morrison says. "If someone has too large a house payment or car payment, it's like a cancer. You want to get rid of it immediately and get on the path to appropriate saving levels."
I'll be earning more in the future, so I'll save then. The problem with this thinking is that tomorrow might not be rosier, or tomorrow's expenses might rise to consume any additional income.
A better approach is to put a little now into a savings account and increase the amount if that pay raise comes through next year, Morrison says. "Try to live on last year's income with today's expenses," he says.
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
All glory comes from daring to begin. -Alexander Graham Bell
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Personal Finance News Sunday 6/10
Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the
Day:
Counting on an Inheritance? Count Again.
The bad news: Many baby boomers are likely to get less money from Mom and Dad than they thought. The worse news: They may have to help their parents financially instead.
By ANNE TERGESEN/The Wall Street Journal
Baby boomers: Get ready for a double whammy.
For years now, there's been a lot of talk about boomers getting tremendous windfalls as their parents pass on. Many boomers, in fact, have been lagging behind in their savings, betting on—hoping for—big bequests, especially since many of them suffered big losses in 2008.
But for a growing number of boomers, things aren't going according to plan. The postwar generation is living longer—and many are spending their savings along the way. And, of course, many of them also took a hit in 2008.
The result is that, as a group, boomers likely won't be getting as much of an inheritance as they hoped. Even worse, far from receiving a bequest, a growing number are tapping some of their own savings to help their cash-strapped parents make ends meet.
For families, the result is often a lot of scrambling, dashed dreams, and conflict and angst as parents and children try to come to grips with the lean new reality—and divide up a smaller pie.
To read the entire article from The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303990604577370001234970954.html?mod=WSJ_PersonalFinance_PF4
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
If you do not enjoy what you are doing, you will never be good at it. -Luke Parker
Counting on an Inheritance? Count Again.
The bad news: Many baby boomers are likely to get less money from Mom and Dad than they thought. The worse news: They may have to help their parents financially instead.
By ANNE TERGESEN/The Wall Street Journal
Baby boomers: Get ready for a double whammy.
For years now, there's been a lot of talk about boomers getting tremendous windfalls as their parents pass on. Many boomers, in fact, have been lagging behind in their savings, betting on—hoping for—big bequests, especially since many of them suffered big losses in 2008.
But for a growing number of boomers, things aren't going according to plan. The postwar generation is living longer—and many are spending their savings along the way. And, of course, many of them also took a hit in 2008.
The result is that, as a group, boomers likely won't be getting as much of an inheritance as they hoped. Even worse, far from receiving a bequest, a growing number are tapping some of their own savings to help their cash-strapped parents make ends meet.
For families, the result is often a lot of scrambling, dashed dreams, and conflict and angst as parents and children try to come to grips with the lean new reality—and divide up a smaller pie.
To read the entire article from The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303990604577370001234970954.html?mod=WSJ_PersonalFinance_PF4
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
If you do not enjoy what you are doing, you will never be good at it. -Luke Parker
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Personal Finance News Saturday 6/9
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
What is Chapter 13 bankruptcy?
Fox and Friends Shattered Dreams segment
Fox News legal analyst Bob Massi weighs in on Chapter 13 possibly being an option for some over Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
To view the video from Fox and Friends:
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1677625131001/what-is-chapter-13-bankruptcy/?playlist_id=162383
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. -CS Lewis
What is Chapter 13 bankruptcy?
Fox and Friends Shattered Dreams segment
Fox News legal analyst Bob Massi weighs in on Chapter 13 possibly being an option for some over Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
To view the video from Fox and Friends:
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1677625131001/what-is-chapter-13-bankruptcy/?playlist_id=162383
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. -CS Lewis
Friday, June 8, 2012
Personal Finance News Friday 6/8
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
How Couples Sabotage Their Finances
By Chris Taylor | Reuters – Thu, Jun 7, 2012 2:28 PM EDT
With a wedding coming up, you'd think Jay Buerck would be obsessing about the usual details: Writing vows, choosing appetizers, or figuring out seating charts to accommodate challenging relatives.
But what worries the 29-year-old St. Louis marketing professional isn't any of those things: It's money.
Not that he and his bride-to-be Liz Downey won't have enough; they earn comfortable salaries. What really freaks him out is the inherent challenge of joining two people's finances.
"Money is the reason why many people get divorced," says Buerck. "I have a buddy who got married and didn't tell his wife about the extent of his debt, and they had a rough go of it when he came clean. That's something I want to try and avoid."
[Related: Marriage Problems that Are Actually Good for Your Relationship]
The couple has already taken steps to prepare their finances. That's a smart strategy, according to financial experts, especially now that U.S. couples are waiting longer to marry, and many people have thousands of dollars in student loans and credit card debt by the time they take their vows.
Money causes more arguments than other typical flashpoints, according to a recent survey by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Harris Interactive.
A full 27 percent of respondents said their spats started over money, more than problems with kids (16 percent) or chores (13 percent).
Couples who lock horns over finances at least once a week are 30 percent more likely to get divorced, according to a 2009 study by researchers at Utah State University,
"I probably spend 15 percent of my time with couples actually talking about money, and the other 85 percent talking about personal issues," says Chris Kimball, a certified financial planner in Lakewood, Washington, who also has a Masters of Divinity degree.
"It all ties into money. It's a very powerful thing that can do great things in people's lives, or can really mess them up."
Shockingly, nearly one-half of all people have lied to their significant other about money, according to an April poll by Self Magazine and Today.com. (For a graphic representation of our financial State of the Union, click (link.reuters.com/zyw58s)
And a survey conducted this spring by CreditCards.com revealed that 6 million Americans have hidden financial accounts from their spouses or live-in partners.
The deception isn't usually malicious. Often it's prompted by guilt and embarrassment about spending. Compounding the problem is that financial behavior is very deeply set, and can't be altered easily.
So where do couples go wrong, when it comes to money -- and how can they make it right?
To read the entire article:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/how-couples-sabotage-their-finances.html
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it & staying with that plan. -Tom Landry
How Couples Sabotage Their Finances
By Chris Taylor | Reuters – Thu, Jun 7, 2012 2:28 PM EDT
With a wedding coming up, you'd think Jay Buerck would be obsessing about the usual details: Writing vows, choosing appetizers, or figuring out seating charts to accommodate challenging relatives.
But what worries the 29-year-old St. Louis marketing professional isn't any of those things: It's money.
Not that he and his bride-to-be Liz Downey won't have enough; they earn comfortable salaries. What really freaks him out is the inherent challenge of joining two people's finances.
"Money is the reason why many people get divorced," says Buerck. "I have a buddy who got married and didn't tell his wife about the extent of his debt, and they had a rough go of it when he came clean. That's something I want to try and avoid."
[Related: Marriage Problems that Are Actually Good for Your Relationship]
The couple has already taken steps to prepare their finances. That's a smart strategy, according to financial experts, especially now that U.S. couples are waiting longer to marry, and many people have thousands of dollars in student loans and credit card debt by the time they take their vows.
Money causes more arguments than other typical flashpoints, according to a recent survey by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Harris Interactive.
A full 27 percent of respondents said their spats started over money, more than problems with kids (16 percent) or chores (13 percent).
Couples who lock horns over finances at least once a week are 30 percent more likely to get divorced, according to a 2009 study by researchers at Utah State University,
"I probably spend 15 percent of my time with couples actually talking about money, and the other 85 percent talking about personal issues," says Chris Kimball, a certified financial planner in Lakewood, Washington, who also has a Masters of Divinity degree.
"It all ties into money. It's a very powerful thing that can do great things in people's lives, or can really mess them up."
Shockingly, nearly one-half of all people have lied to their significant other about money, according to an April poll by Self Magazine and Today.com. (For a graphic representation of our financial State of the Union, click (link.reuters.com/zyw58s)
And a survey conducted this spring by CreditCards.com revealed that 6 million Americans have hidden financial accounts from their spouses or live-in partners.
The deception isn't usually malicious. Often it's prompted by guilt and embarrassment about spending. Compounding the problem is that financial behavior is very deeply set, and can't be altered easily.
So where do couples go wrong, when it comes to money -- and how can they make it right?
To read the entire article:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/how-couples-sabotage-their-finances.html
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it & staying with that plan. -Tom Landry
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Personal Finance News Thursday 6/7
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
10 Overlooked Retirement Tips
An essential checklist for retirement savers
By Robert Powell | MarketWatch – Tue, Jun 5, 2012 3:23 PM EDT
The best way to save for retirement is to follow the usual advice: save more, work longer, delay Social Security and so on. But experts also say there are many little-known retirement tips worth following, too. Here’s a look at 10 such tips that advisers say you shouldn’t overlook.
1. Forget ‘The Number’
You are more than welcome to go about your life worrying whether you’ve saved enough—say $1 million or $2 million—to retire. But that’s not the number you should focus on, said Wade Pfau, an economics professor at the National Graduate Institute for Public Policies in Japan and a frequent blogger on retirement issues. “There is no such thing as a specific wealth number that will suddenly allow you to retire,” Pfau said. “The income stream your wealth can support matters much more than how much wealth you have. The income stream supportable by a given amount of wealth varies with interest rates and other factors.”
2. Don’t rely too much on the 4% rule
Speaking of income, David Blanchett, a research consultant at Morningstar Investment Management, said taking out 4% from your retirement accounts might be a good starting place for an initial withdrawal rate. “But revisit this withdrawal amount regularly, ideally on an annual basis, to make sure whatever the target income goal is still achievable,” he said.
3. Think tax-efficient income
Think also about the tax efficiency of your retirement income, Blanchett said. Dividends, for instance, can be far more tax-efficient than bonds from an after-tax income perspective if they are qualified—that is, taxed at a maximum rate 15% vs. 35% for ordinary income. That’s yet another reason to hold them in an after-tax account.
But don’t think only about generating tax-efficient income in retirement. Consider your withdrawal strategy from a “happiness” perspective. “Ignoring required minimum distributions rules, common tax wisdom suggests drawing from taxable accounts first, then a Traditional IRA, and finally from a Roth IRA,” Blanchett said. “I think this makes sense and can definitely increase the available income, but it’s also important to have some ‘tax diversification’ with respect to withdrawal moneys.”
4. Social Security is a household decision
For married couples, research the various ways spouses can take Social Security, said Pfau. “The week spent studying this matter could result in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of extra lifetime Social Security benefits,” he said, noting that it’s not usually a good idea for both spouses to begin Social Security as early as possible.
To read the entire article from MarketWatch/Yahoo Finance:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-overlooked-retirement-tips-040110903.html
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Failure doesn't mean you are a failure... it just means you haven't succeeded yet. -Robert Schuller
10 Overlooked Retirement Tips
An essential checklist for retirement savers
By Robert Powell | MarketWatch – Tue, Jun 5, 2012 3:23 PM EDT
The best way to save for retirement is to follow the usual advice: save more, work longer, delay Social Security and so on. But experts also say there are many little-known retirement tips worth following, too. Here’s a look at 10 such tips that advisers say you shouldn’t overlook.
1. Forget ‘The Number’
You are more than welcome to go about your life worrying whether you’ve saved enough—say $1 million or $2 million—to retire. But that’s not the number you should focus on, said Wade Pfau, an economics professor at the National Graduate Institute for Public Policies in Japan and a frequent blogger on retirement issues. “There is no such thing as a specific wealth number that will suddenly allow you to retire,” Pfau said. “The income stream your wealth can support matters much more than how much wealth you have. The income stream supportable by a given amount of wealth varies with interest rates and other factors.”
2. Don’t rely too much on the 4% rule
Speaking of income, David Blanchett, a research consultant at Morningstar Investment Management, said taking out 4% from your retirement accounts might be a good starting place for an initial withdrawal rate. “But revisit this withdrawal amount regularly, ideally on an annual basis, to make sure whatever the target income goal is still achievable,” he said.
3. Think tax-efficient income
Think also about the tax efficiency of your retirement income, Blanchett said. Dividends, for instance, can be far more tax-efficient than bonds from an after-tax income perspective if they are qualified—that is, taxed at a maximum rate 15% vs. 35% for ordinary income. That’s yet another reason to hold them in an after-tax account.
But don’t think only about generating tax-efficient income in retirement. Consider your withdrawal strategy from a “happiness” perspective. “Ignoring required minimum distributions rules, common tax wisdom suggests drawing from taxable accounts first, then a Traditional IRA, and finally from a Roth IRA,” Blanchett said. “I think this makes sense and can definitely increase the available income, but it’s also important to have some ‘tax diversification’ with respect to withdrawal moneys.”
4. Social Security is a household decision
For married couples, research the various ways spouses can take Social Security, said Pfau. “The week spent studying this matter could result in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of extra lifetime Social Security benefits,” he said, noting that it’s not usually a good idea for both spouses to begin Social Security as early as possible.
To read the entire article from MarketWatch/Yahoo Finance:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-overlooked-retirement-tips-040110903.html
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Failure doesn't mean you are a failure... it just means you haven't succeeded yet. -Robert Schuller
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Personal Finance News Wednesday 6/6
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
Mike Holmes' home inspection checklist
Everything you need to know before you buy or sell a home from home inspection specialist Mike Holmes.
To view the video from Fox and Friends:
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1673502703001/mike-holmes-home-inspection-checklist/?playlist_id=86912
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else. -Winston Churchill
Mike Holmes' home inspection checklist
From Fox and Friends
Everything you need to know before you buy or sell a home from home inspection specialist Mike Holmes.
To view the video from Fox and Friends:
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1673502703001/mike-holmes-home-inspection-checklist/?playlist_id=86912
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else. -Winston Churchill
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Personal Finance News Tuesday 6/5
Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
FreedomPop, Cricket offer new ways for iPhone users to save money
From Clark Howard.com
Love the iPhone but hate the high monthly service price? There are a couple new options coming that could save you money.
Months ago, I told you about new startup from one of the Skype founders called FreedomPop. Among the things FreedomPop is doing is selling a $99 sleeve for the iPhone that's due out later this summer. But this is no mere protective case for that kind of money.
This sleeve will significantly increase your battery life by up to six hours. And it comes with a freemium offer of half a gigabyte of data for free. (You pay $10 for each additional GB.) That means you can reduce your data plan with your cell phone provider and save yourself a meaningful amount of money with your iPhone -- unless you're on Sprint which has no data cap for now.
Meanwhile, struggling wireless company Cricket has a signed deal to buy $900 million worth of iPhones from Apple. The goal is to launch no contract unlimited talk and text service with a generous amount of data for $55 a month in select zip codes around the country. No word yet on which zip codes those will be. (If you exceed your monthly data limit, you'll be throttled.)
Because Cricket is no contract, you'll pay the real unsubsidized prices for the phone, so that means either $399 or $499 depending on which model you get. But the monthly service is almost less than half what you might pay for AT&T and Verizon, both of which average out to be about in the upper $80s or more a month.
Based on what you pay for the Cricket phone, you should be able to figure out when you'll break even by paying $55 a month to them instead of $80 a month to the big guys.
Please listen to the Clark Howard show live from 1-3 EST daily:
http://www.clarkhoward.com/
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. - Oscar Wilde
FreedomPop, Cricket offer new ways for iPhone users to save money
From Clark Howard.com
Love the iPhone but hate the high monthly service price? There are a couple new options coming that could save you money.
Months ago, I told you about new startup from one of the Skype founders called FreedomPop. Among the things FreedomPop is doing is selling a $99 sleeve for the iPhone that's due out later this summer. But this is no mere protective case for that kind of money.
This sleeve will significantly increase your battery life by up to six hours. And it comes with a freemium offer of half a gigabyte of data for free. (You pay $10 for each additional GB.) That means you can reduce your data plan with your cell phone provider and save yourself a meaningful amount of money with your iPhone -- unless you're on Sprint which has no data cap for now.
Meanwhile, struggling wireless company Cricket has a signed deal to buy $900 million worth of iPhones from Apple. The goal is to launch no contract unlimited talk and text service with a generous amount of data for $55 a month in select zip codes around the country. No word yet on which zip codes those will be. (If you exceed your monthly data limit, you'll be throttled.)
Because Cricket is no contract, you'll pay the real unsubsidized prices for the phone, so that means either $399 or $499 depending on which model you get. But the monthly service is almost less than half what you might pay for AT&T and Verizon, both of which average out to be about in the upper $80s or more a month.
Based on what you pay for the Cricket phone, you should be able to figure out when you'll break even by paying $55 a month to them instead of $80 a month to the big guys.
Please listen to the Clark Howard show live from 1-3 EST daily:
http://www.clarkhoward.com/
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. - Oscar Wilde
Monday, June 4, 2012
Personal Finance News Monday 6/4
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
Vacation Budgeting: Don't Forget About These 5 Necessities
From Dave Ramsey.com
Look at your left arm.
Do you like it? Do you really like your left arm? Isn't it just awesome?
Now imagine your left arm with a red, nasty sunburn—the really painful kind of sunburn. You know, the type that leaves you bathing in aloe for a week and cursing anyone who breathes in your general direction.
Isn't that an awful thing to do to your awesome left arm? It absolutely is.
But those are the types of things that happen when you don't budget for your summer vacation. You get stuck on a beautiful beach without sunscreen because you spent all your pre-vacation money on flip-flops and sunglasses.
Your eyes love the protection, and your feet are free to breathe—all while your poor, once-colorless, naturally pale left arm must endure the sun's fiery flames.
Vacation doesn't have to be that way. You can keep your left arm happy and healthy by simply planning ahead.
Here are a few things to keep in mind while budgeting for your summer vacation:
To read the entire article from Dave Ramsey.com:
http://www.daveramsey.com/newsletters/online/edition/personal-finance-newsletter-june-2012?ectid=1206cnl_5#feature
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with. - Mark Twain
Vacation Budgeting: Don't Forget About These 5 Necessities
From Dave Ramsey.com
Look at your left arm.
Do you like it? Do you really like your left arm? Isn't it just awesome?
Now imagine your left arm with a red, nasty sunburn—the really painful kind of sunburn. You know, the type that leaves you bathing in aloe for a week and cursing anyone who breathes in your general direction.
Isn't that an awful thing to do to your awesome left arm? It absolutely is.
But those are the types of things that happen when you don't budget for your summer vacation. You get stuck on a beautiful beach without sunscreen because you spent all your pre-vacation money on flip-flops and sunglasses.
Your eyes love the protection, and your feet are free to breathe—all while your poor, once-colorless, naturally pale left arm must endure the sun's fiery flames.
Vacation doesn't have to be that way. You can keep your left arm happy and healthy by simply planning ahead.
Here are a few things to keep in mind while budgeting for your summer vacation:
Pet Care
Is your chihuahua, Tinkerbell, going on the trip with you? If not, who's keeping her? Will she be staying at a doggie hotel or at a friend's house? Do you dare leave Tinkerbell to fend for herself in the backyard? Does she have a week's worth of food? All of that costs money. Don't forget about Tinkerbell.Snacks
Few things in life are more disgusting than a dry mouth on the beach. Okay, maybe it's more than just a few things. But you've got to admit, in the middle of all that grainy sand, dry heat and wind, a cooler filled with crackers, sandwiches and refreshing water is a welcome treat. If you can buy all that stuff in bulk before you leave, then do it—especially if you have kids. As you probably know, kids tend to eat a lot of food.To read the entire article from Dave Ramsey.com:
http://www.daveramsey.com/newsletters/online/edition/personal-finance-newsletter-june-2012?ectid=1206cnl_5#feature
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with. - Mark Twain
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Personal Finance News Sunday 6/3
Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the
Day:
College: Worth the debt?
A look at staggering student loan
From the Huckabee Show Fox News
2 more examples of students who incurred staggering amounts of college debt.
Please watch the video from the Huckabee Show Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/huckabee/index.html#/v/1670073620001/college-worth-the-debt/?playlist_id=86920
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. - Thomas Edison
College: Worth the debt?
A look at staggering student loan
From the Huckabee Show Fox News
2 more examples of students who incurred staggering amounts of college debt.
Please watch the video from the Huckabee Show Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/huckabee/index.html#/v/1670073620001/college-worth-the-debt/?playlist_id=86920
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. - Thomas Edison
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Personal Finance News Saturday 6/2
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the
Day:
Fighting Back Against Lowball Home Appraisals
Record-low interest rates are a boon for home buyers and for homeowners seeking to refinance. But low appraisals are making it difficult or even impossible for some borrowers to take advantage.
To read the entire article from The Wall Street Journal:
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Fighting Back Against Lowball Home Appraisals
From The Wall Street Journal By RUTH SIMON
Record-low interest rates are a boon for home buyers and for homeowners seeking to refinance. But low appraisals are making it difficult or even impossible for some borrowers to take advantage.
Samara Glassman and her husband David knew their ranch house in Phoenix had fallen in value. But they were surprised by a September 2011 appraisal valuing the four-bedroom home at $385,000, down from the $604,000 they paid in 2008. The appraisal put the couple underwater on their $402,000 mortgage—and threatened to sink their plans to refinance.
When they examined the appraisal, they saw it was based on older homes a few blocks away that weren't directly comparable, says Ms. Glassman, a real-estate agent. They got a second appraisal in January that placed a $500,000 value on the property. That number was high enough for them to refinance into a new mortgage that will save them an estimated $250,000 over the life of the loan.
To read the entire article from The Wall Street Journal:
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Don't take tomorrow to bed with you. -Norman Peale
Friday, June 1, 2012
Personal Finance News Friday 6/1
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
I was listening to Adam Goldfein, a Radio and Television Talk Show Host, attorney, business owner, author, and corporate trainer, filling in for Clark Howard the other day. He came up with an excellent thought. He said how we handle money shows what our moral standards are. It makes sense since people with great credit scores have made a contract with their lender to pay back their obligations and have kept them.
Keeping with that thought, Harvey Mackay's column this week:
There’s No Substitute For Integrity
A father who had been laid off from his job had been watching expenses closely for months. But he’d made a promise to his two sons – twins – that he’d take them to a nearby amusement park to celebrate their 10th birthday.
When the day came, the father withdrew some money from his savings, and he took his two sons on the bus to the amusement park. When they reached the front gate, he saw a sign:
“General admission: (ages 10 and up) $10. Children under 10: $5.”
If he’d come a day earlier, the father realized, he could have saved $10 – $5 for each of his twin sons.
But with a sigh he led the boys up to the ticket window and said, “Three general admission tickets, please.”
The woman in the booth looked them over and smiled. “How old are you boys?”
“I’m 10 years old today,” said one son.
“So am I,” said the other. “We’re twins!”
The woman leaned forward. “You know,” she whispered, “you could have asked for two ‘Under 10’ tickets, and I never would have known.”
“Yeah,” said the father, “but they would have.”
Why do so many executives and employees apparently go along with blatantly unethical and illegal conduct in their organizations? The answer may be that people don’t always know what to do when confronted with requests (or demands) that aren’t on the straight and narrow. But that’s not a good enough answer. Organizations need to be completely clear and specific about what is acceptable and what is expected.
To read the entire article from Harvey Mackay.com:
http://harveymackay.com/column/theres-no-substitute-for-integrity/
Instead of worrying about what people say of you, why not spend time trying to accomplish something they will admire. — Dale Carnegie
I was listening to Adam Goldfein, a Radio and Television Talk Show Host, attorney, business owner, author, and corporate trainer, filling in for Clark Howard the other day. He came up with an excellent thought. He said how we handle money shows what our moral standards are. It makes sense since people with great credit scores have made a contract with their lender to pay back their obligations and have kept them.
Keeping with that thought, Harvey Mackay's column this week:
Why do so many executives and employees apparently go along with blatantly unethical and illegal conduct in their organizations?
There’s No Substitute For Integrity
May 31, 2012 By
A father who had been laid off from his job had been watching expenses closely for months. But he’d made a promise to his two sons – twins – that he’d take them to a nearby amusement park to celebrate their 10th birthday.
When the day came, the father withdrew some money from his savings, and he took his two sons on the bus to the amusement park. When they reached the front gate, he saw a sign:
“General admission: (ages 10 and up) $10. Children under 10: $5.”
If he’d come a day earlier, the father realized, he could have saved $10 – $5 for each of his twin sons.
But with a sigh he led the boys up to the ticket window and said, “Three general admission tickets, please.”
The woman in the booth looked them over and smiled. “How old are you boys?”
“I’m 10 years old today,” said one son.
“So am I,” said the other. “We’re twins!”
The woman leaned forward. “You know,” she whispered, “you could have asked for two ‘Under 10’ tickets, and I never would have known.”
“Yeah,” said the father, “but they would have.”
Why do so many executives and employees apparently go along with blatantly unethical and illegal conduct in their organizations? The answer may be that people don’t always know what to do when confronted with requests (or demands) that aren’t on the straight and narrow. But that’s not a good enough answer. Organizations need to be completely clear and specific about what is acceptable and what is expected.
To read the entire article from Harvey Mackay.com:
http://harveymackay.com/column/theres-no-substitute-for-integrity/
Instead of worrying about what people say of you, why not spend time trying to accomplish something they will admire. — Dale Carnegie
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