Most investors probably don’t have too many high yielding ‘safe’ investments lying around from the high interest rate days. The 5% CD’s that we all took for granted in 2007-2008 are a thing of the past and I know most people wish they would have locked in a couple more 5 year CD’s at these […]
Active vs Passive Investing: The $1,000 Stock Market Challenge
I’ve always liked to gamble, but at the same time, it’s hard for me to willingly throw away my money when I know I have a disadvantage. When I go to Vegas, I never gamble more than a couple hundred bucks and think of it more as entertainment. How many free drinks can I get […]
401k Plans Only Work if you Contribute
From time to time, I’ll read about how bad 401k plans are for investors like you and me. Apparently, most people don’t even realize they’re paying fees on top of other fees to invest in certain funds. And while a minority of companies do it right, by providing low cost index and ETF funds, most, […]
Is your Asset Allocation Too Risky?
Giving advice on asset allocation is one of the toughest things a financial advisor can do. How are they supposed to know how much risk another person can take? Asset allocation is an investment strategy that aims to diversify one’s portfolio holdings based on risk tolerance and time frame. Riskier assets generally include stocks (particularly […]
Should Young Professionals Invest in Dividend Stocks?
With fixed income investments like bonds and CD’s returning decade lows, some investors have turned to dividend stocks as a way to receive predictable income at regular intervals. Dividend stocks usually refer to companies that have a history of paying out dividends to shareholders. In fact, each year, the S&P 500 publishes a list of […]
Facebook IPO, Student Loan Debt Bubble and My Weekly Blog Round-Up
Facebook’s IPO The world’s largest social media site said Thursday that it had raised $16 billion for itself and early investors through an IPO that values Facebook at $104 billion. Starting friday, investors like you and me will be able to purchase stock in the social network giant. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to […]
How I Achieved a 13% Rate of Return Investing with Lending Club
I started investing with Lending Club in August of 2010. Two years later, I’ve seen an awesome 13% rate of return on my initial investment. Lending Club is a relatively new site that brokers peer to peer lending. In essence, you become a bank and you are free to browse and invest in thousands of […]
How a Mutual Fund’s Expense Ratio Impacts Your Bottom Line
There are literally thousands of mutual funds out there and many of them claim to be diversified, low cost, low fee, etc. But if there’s one thing that has the most direct impact on a fund’s return, it’s the expense ratio(ER). When comparing similar funds, I primarily look at the expense ratios first and foremost. […]
The Social Media Bubble: Facebook Just Bought Instagram for $1 Billion
No matter who you are, one billion dollars is a ton of money. But to Facebook, this is barely 1% of it’s estimated $100 billion value. Facebook’s looming IPO has drawn Google like valuations of the soon to be public company. This most recent absurd purchase is the latest to define the social media bubble. […]
Making the Switch to an Online Bank: Ally Bank Review
Update: See my update on why you should use Ally to hold all your cash in 5 year CD’s and get the highest rates possible. It should make sense for 99% of all people to follow this strategy and feel free to contact me with any questions: yourpfpro@gmail.com Keep Your CD’s Liquid and Still Earn […]
Reader Question: What Should I Do With My 401k?
David writes in, “I waste my money on having a personal Financial Advisor w/ Merrill Lynch. He gets 1% of everything invested annually. I cut him a quarterly check and he picks which mutual funds to invest in. The market has been sucking so my mutuals are only up about 4% cumulatively since inception. I don’t […]
Why Mitt Romney Still Pays Less Tax Than You
Mitt Romney’s federal tax rate has come under a lot of scrutiny with the battle for the republican primaries heating up. He released statements that showed his effective tax rate was around 15%. This number has come under attack from the White House and critics alike, pointing out that Romney, whose estimated net worth is […]
Why Everyone Should Have a Roth IRA
While a 401k is probably the most popular and well-known type of retirement account, there are a few others you may have heard about. In this article, you will learn what a Roth IRA is, and how it’s tax-favored status can be leveraged by investors at any income level. A Roth IRA is the only […]