My Money Blog

EverBank Yield Pledge Money Market & Checking: Good Offer For $10k+ Balances

Posted on July 23, 2010 // 3 Comments

Everbank has 6-month bonus rates for their Yield Pledge Money Market and FreeNet Checking accounts. Both of these offers are targeted at new customers opening with at least $1,500, but in the end do offer some of the top rates available for an … [Read the rest]

Better Financial Motivator: Stick or Carrot?

Posted on July 23, 2010 // 6 Comments

We all have financial goals that we want to reach. Some of us do better with a reward attached to reaching our goal (carrot), while others may actually try harder if trying to avoid a punishment (stick). We are motivated by personal desire, by … [Read the rest]

Chart: Unemployment Lasting Way Too Long

Posted on July 22, 2010 // 35 Comments

Above is a chart of the median duration of unemployment from the past 50 years, based on data supplied by the US Department of Labor. That's quite a scary spike we have going right now. (Chart source, via The Atlantic and Greg Mankiw.) Not … [Read the rest]

FDIC and NCUA Insurance $250,000 Limits Now Permanent

Posted on July 21, 2010 // 5 Comments

The standard maximum insurance limits for both FDIC and NCUA-insured accounts have been permanently raised to $250,000 per depositor as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed July 21st, 2010. The limits were … [Read the rest]

Stable Value Funds – Exploring Risks and Rewards

Posted on July 21, 2010 // 13 Comments

The last time I wrote about stable value funds was in late 2008, both before the 2009 crash and a time when most of my 401k was in stocks. This time around, as I was trying to figure out how to rebalance my larger portfolio in a tax-efficient … [Read the rest]

Mortgage Loan Refinance Breakeven Points

Posted on July 20, 2010 // 16 Comments

Sometimes saving money just involves being lucky. I don't really keep up with mortgage rates anymore, but last week an e-mail subject line just happened to catch my eye that mortgage rates are at "record lows". I always figured that my 5.125% … [Read the rest]

Citibank Back-to-School Student Credit Cards

Posted on July 19, 2010 // 5 Comments

Going back to school? Citibank has some good card options for college students: Citi mtvU Platinum Select Visa Card Citi Forward Card for College Students - $75 Statement Credit Both the mtvU and Forward cards offer 5x rewards on bookstores, … [Read the rest]

Undo a Roth IRA Conversion For Profit – Tips & Tricks

Posted on July 18, 2010 // 2 Comments

Did you know that if you do a Traditional to Roth IRA conversion, that you can undo it? This "do-over" process is called recharacterization, and can come in very handy if the value of your investments drop significantly after your conversion since … [Read the rest]

Traditional to Roth IRA Conversion at Vanguard

Posted on July 16, 2010 // 9 Comments

So, you've done your research, read the articles, crunched the numbers, and you want to convert your Traditional IRA held at Vanguard into a Roth IRA. But, how do you actually do it at Vanguard.com? There is no explicit "Convert" button or link to … [Read the rest]

Is Generic Financial Advice Helpful or Hurtful?

Posted on July 15, 2010 // 17 Comments

Good financial advice is hard to come by. There are so many variables, such that you have to find the balance between providing enough information, and making things digestible enough that peoples' eyes don't glaze over. Check out this advice … [Read the rest]

Fun With Charts: P/E Ratios vs. Future 10-Year Returns

Posted on July 14, 2010 // 7 Comments

Here are another set of charts comparing the P/E10 Ratios for the S&P 500 and subsequent 10-year annualized real returns, courtesy of Mebane Faber based on Professor Shiller's data. Can we really decide if the market is "overvalued" or … [Read the rest]

Free Year of Amazon Prime For Students (.edu email)

Posted on July 13, 2010 // 11 Comments

Amazon.com has a new program called Amazon Student where you can get "exclusive deals", the best of which is a free one-year subscription to Amazon Prime. This allows you to get the convenience of free 2-day shipping on most products (including … [Read the rest]