Personal Finance for Young Professionals
When I bought my first real estate property in 2010, I had excellent credit. My score was over 760, but my mortgage broker told me they couldn't give me the best rate because my credit history was too short. At the time, I was 23, and the only … [Continue reading]
I know there are people struggling out there for a main source of income, but I think the job market has significantly picked up for college educated young professionals. If you've used any of my networking tips, you may have already landed your … [Continue reading]
With the large deficit our country is facing, politicians are starting to get creative. There's actually been some talk about getting rid of the mortgage interest deduction for homeowners. If you don't own property, then you may not know about one … [Continue reading]
As many of you know, I'm a big proponent of do it yourself credit monitoring and score checking. I don't think you should ever have to pay for something that is yours. Credit Karma is one of the only companies around that allows you to check your … [Continue reading]
The annual Comic Con convention was held this past weekend in San Diego, CA. 125,000 comic fans descended on San Diego and it was a pretty cool time to be walking around and exploring the city. I was able to get a Thursday and Sunday badge for the … [Continue reading]
As you know, I'm a big proponent of buying real estate right now. And after you've secured your property, one of the first things to consider is what type of mortgage you should get. There are all different types of loans and terms you can get, but … [Continue reading]
Site Re-Design You may have noticed that I completely changed the theme to the site over the past couple days. I wanted to make the site a little bit more aesthetically pleasing and easier to navigate so I added a logo, and a few other nifty … [Continue reading]
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 … [Continue reading]
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 … [Continue reading]
Reader JY writes in, "I was wondering if you have written anything regarding the Health Savings Account and high deductible health insurance plans. I have recently signed up for this through my new employer as the idea sounded really great. … [Continue reading]
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, … [Continue reading]
When you're not playing Angry Birds or Draw Something, your smartphone can actually be used to your advantage. Most of us take our phones for granted but there was a day when you had to print out directions from Mapquest or even look them up in a … [Continue reading]
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 … [Continue reading]
Update(5/28/2013): My 6 month promotion just ended so I called in to see what their offer would be this time. The CS rep only offered me free wireless boxes(2 x $7/month savings) so I told them I wanted to cancel. They transferred me to retention … [Continue reading]
Two years ago, I saw a huge investment opportunity in the real estate market and jumped on my first property at the age of 23. I couldn't be happier with the price I paid and what I got. The low sales price and mortgage rate have allowed me to max … [Continue reading]
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 … [Continue reading]
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 … [Continue reading]
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 … [Continue reading]
I never realized the value of a vacation until I started working full time. You could even say I took my travels to Thailand, Hungary & Turkey for granted. My trips during college were an awesome experience that I would recommend to anyone at … [Continue reading]
With unemployment at 8.2% as of March 2012, many Americans find themselves relying on the same unsuccessful job hunting tactics. Recent graduates are stuck looking for work in an extremely saturated job market where supply is high and demand is low. … [Continue reading]