My Money Blog

Subprime Mortgage Lenders Getting Hammered: What Does This Mean For Housing Prices?

Posted on March 10, 2007 // 32 Comments

Although I should be paying more attention to the mortgage market, I've only gotten a chance to catch up this weekend. Above is the stock chart for New Century Financial (NEW), the second-largest subprime lender in the country. It basically dropped … [Read the rest]

Buy Your Glasses Online For $28 at EyeGlassDirect

Posted on March 9, 2007 // 21 Comments

Here's an interesting entrepreneurial story from this month's SmartMoney magazine. Imagine that you work at LensCrafters making eyeglasses. You see the extremely large profit margins. You go home, buy the same equipment, and install it in your … [Read the rest]

Risk and Return Relationships For Different Asset Allocations

Posted on March 8, 2007 // 14 Comments

After looking at how other people and mutual fund companies choose their asset allocation, I'm a little conflicted. Both the Vanguard and T. Rowe Price mutual funds recommend holding nearly 80% in stocks at age 50. That's pretty aggressive in my … [Read the rest]

What Percentage Of Your Portfolio Should Be In Stocks?

Posted on March 7, 2007 // 26 Comments

One of the basic ways to adjust the risk and return characteristics of your investment portfolio is to decide what percentage to hold in stocks and bonds. This is another one of those hard questions for which there is no single best answer for … [Read the rest]

Stressed About Your Tax Return? Get an Automatic Filing Extension

Posted on March 7, 2007 // 8 Comments

If April 17th seems like it is approaching faster than ever this year, perhaps it is time to consider filing an extension. I myself am still waiting on several 1099 forms, some of which had to be corrected. Here's what I dug up for us … [Read the rest]

March 2007 Financial Status / Net Worth Update

Posted on March 6, 2007 // 24 Comments

About My Credit Card Debt Newer readers may be alarmed by my high levels of credit card debt. In short, I'm borrowing money for free and keeping it in safe investments while earning me 5-6% interest. Along with other things, this helps me earn extra … [Read the rest]

$100 TradeKing and TD Ameritrade Signup Bonuses

Posted on March 5, 2007 // 22 Comments

This promotion has expired. For more information on any current promotions, please see my TradeKing Review and Info Page. TD Ameritrade is offering $100 bonus (expired) for opening a non-retirement brokerage account funded by 12 monthly … [Read the rest]

Reasons To Watch Out For Stock Newsletters

Posted on March 5, 2007 // 15 Comments

Now and then, I get asked if I recommend any specific stock newsletters. I usually assume these people haven't read much of my blog ;) I'm often given specific examples, like one that touts a 145% supposed return last year, or another one run by a … [Read the rest]

Emigrant Direct Signup Bonus Update – January Payouts

Posted on March 4, 2007 // 7 Comments

Payouts for my Emigrant Direct Referral Bonus went out this week for those that sent me their final form in January. Emigrant Direct offers an online savings account paying 5.05% APY with no minimum balance. It only takes $1 to open, and you … [Read the rest]

Prosper.com Person-to-Person Lending Review, Part 2: The Numbers

Posted on March 3, 2007 // 45 Comments

Update: Prosper is currently offering a $25 sign-up bonus when joining! To recap the first half of this review, my initial impression of Prosper was that is a somewhat risky investment opportunity with poor liquidity. However, along with the risk … [Read the rest]

Prosper.com Person-to-Person Lending Review, Part 1: First Looks

Posted on March 2, 2007 // 53 Comments

Update: Prosper is currently offering a $25 sign-up bonus when joining! Prosper.com is a person-to-person lending service where you can lend out money to complete strangers. My first and only post about Prosper was back on February 13, 2006, when … [Read the rest]

Young Entrepreneur Interview: Dennis of Young Money Blog

Posted on February 28, 2007 // 7 Comments

Although many of us have thought about starting a small business, significantly less actually take the plunge. So when I read on Dennis' Young Money Blog back in July that he had opened up his own custom Greek Apparel store, I was intrigued and have … [Read the rest]