My Money Blog

Dollar Cost Averaging: A Poor Way To Reduce Risk?

Posted on January 6, 2007 // 35 Comments

Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) involves investing a fixed amount at a regular interval. Lump-Sum Investing (LSI) involves putting in all the money you have available to invest at once. These are not mutually exclusive! If you are investing a portion … [Read the rest]

Do You Have A Water Leak?

Posted on January 6, 2007 // 11 Comments

Is your water bill higher than it should be? Toilet leaks may be silent, but account for about 95% of increased water use that shows up on bills. How to tell if you have a leak in your plumbing: Turn off all the water inside and outside the … [Read the rest]

Emigrant Direct Signup Bonus Update – November Payouts

Posted on January 5, 2007 // 2 Comments

Everyone who sent me their Form #2 in November for my Emigrant Direct Signup Bonus Promotion was paid this week. If you're interested in opening an account with Emigrant Direct's 5.05% APY with no minimums, why not get yourself an extra $20 out of … [Read the rest]

Free 8-Week Membership At Bally’s Gym

Posted on January 5, 2007 // 13 Comments

As I sign of my psychic genius, I will predict your New Year's Resolutions. They are: 1. I will save or earn more money. 2. I will become more healthy. 3. I will be less cluttered and more organized. Hopefully I can help with the first one … [Read the rest]

If Real Estate Prices Are Cyclic, Where Are We Now?

Posted on January 4, 2007 // 21 Comments

I'd say I'm somewhere between anxiety and denial now. If you can't tell, I'm thinking of buying a house in a large West Coast city sometime late in 2007. Hurry up despondency! :) This chart would be funnier if it didn't hit so close to home. … [Read the rest]

Controversial Rent vs. Own Housing Calculator

Posted on January 4, 2007 // 25 Comments

The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), a non-governmental economic think-tank, is very upfront about its views on the housing bubble. For a clue as to what they are, check out this article titled "The Menace of an Unchecked Housing … [Read the rest]

Does Your Income Vary? Get Around Roth IRA Income Limits

Posted on January 3, 2007 // 8 Comments

In my post about Roth IRA conversions, commenter JT pointed out a good way to get around the Roth IRA income limits if your income varies from year to year. Simply put contribute to a non-deductible Traditional IRA, and wait until your modified AGI … [Read the rest]

Redeemed Savings Bond Online

Posted on January 3, 2007 // 6 Comments

As suggested by my When Should You Redeem I Savings Bonds Calculator, I redeemed a $5,000 I-Bond purchased in October 2005 on Tuesday. I ended up receiving $298 in interest over a holding period of 14 months (I bought at the very end of October). … [Read the rest]

Taking Advantage of After Christmas Clearance Sales

Posted on January 3, 2007 // 8 Comments

We just cleaned up at the After-Christmas sale at a local drugstore chain (Longs Drugs). They had everything marked down for 10 cents each! We stocked up on enough tissue paper, holiday gift bags, and rolls of wrapping paper to last us for years … [Read the rest]

My Traditional to Roth IRA Conversion Decision Process

Posted on January 1, 2007 // 25 Comments

For the best site that I've found to the Traditional-to-Roth IRA conversion process (and more clear than the IRS instructions), see the Fairmark guide. Reading through it, you can see there are a ton of variables to consider, including evaluating … [Read the rest]

2006 Financial Goals Final Recap – How Did I Do?

Posted on December 31, 2006 // 4 Comments

A year ago I set myself some specific financial goals to reach in 2006. Let's see what I managed to accomplish: Separate business and personal financial worlds. Done, I have separate business checking accounts and credit cards, and I run all of … [Read the rest]

Pentagon Federal Offering 3-Year CDs at 6.25% APY

Posted on December 28, 2006 // 22 Comments

Pentagon Federal Credit Union is now offering a generous 6.25% APY rate on it's 3, 4, 5, and 7-year CDs (they call it a Money Market Certificate). These rates probably won't last, so if this looks good to you you may want to jump in now. These … [Read the rest]