All About The Ben

I'm Learning To Be A Millionaire

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:35:35 -0400

Great news for All About The Ben readers! My application for Adrian Cartwood's 7 Millionaires In Training was selected into the finalist pool. The great news for you is that you can follow along on my journey and learn how to be a Millionaire yourself right along with me! Just visit http://7m7y.com/2008/05/27/meet-another-jason/ regularly!

Carnival of Personal Finance #153: the Q & A edition

Tue, 20 May 2008 02:00:51 -0400

Money and Values is hosting this week's Carnival of Personal Finance, Carnival #153: the Q & A edition. There are over 90 excellent articles on personal finance so be sure to visit. With the summer approaching and the grilling season ready to begin, one of my favorite articles from this week's carnival is Summer Barbecue Safety And Savings from American Consumer News. Money and Values connects personal finance with ethics, values, and priorities: frugal living, socially and eco-conscious consuming, and other financial choices for a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Great Reading For You: May 16 2008

Fri, 16 May 2008 20:20:00 -0400

Here's 8 great documents from around the web that are certain to tickle your brain and fatten your wallet. Enjoy! If I Could Re-write Rich Dad Poor Dad Thicken My Wallet rewrites the thesis of Rich Dad Poor Dad to help make the message of the book more understandable. Its worth a read. Why Most Investors Dont Make Money In The Stock Market This article reinforces the idea that for most investors, a low-cost index mutual fund is the way to go. Not sure which one to try? The Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX) may be a good choice. How To Talk To Your Teenager About Personal Finance Your kids are not going to learn about money in school. Use BripBlaps suggestions to help your teen learn about money and maybe they can avoid the typical college graduates five figure debt burden. Teach Preschoolers About Money Your children will learn about money from you. Here are some good strategies for starting to teach them, even when they are young. Why The First Million Is The Hardest Enough Wealth has a nice article on how disciplined investing and patience lead to huge rewards. Read the article and then glance at his Net Worth IQ graph. This article should definitely motivate you to start saving today! Prepaid Wireless Plan Comparison Million Dollar Journey writes a nice article about how you can save money on your cellular service with a prepaid wireless plan. Questions To Ask When The World Isnt Going Your Way We all get stuck at times. Chris Guillebau helps us get unstuck! Chasing Muni Yields Carries Risks With average interest rates on 5-year CDs at 3.5% and inflation at 4.4%, you'd actually be losing money by parking it in a CD right now. Muni Bonds currently have better looking interest rates, making them look attractive. But, as Aleksandra Todorova from SmartMoney points out, that attractivness does not come without risk.

Closed-end Funds May Present Opportunity

Thu, 15 May 2008 11:40:00 -0400

If youre like me, youre sick of looking at bank CD interest rates of 3.5%. With the current inflation rate at 4.3%, if you park your money in a CD for five years, youre actually losing money! Thus, I was thrilled to find Brett Arends article "Wall Street Overlooks Bullish News For Closed-End Investment Funds". Finally, a decent opportunity for putting my money to work for me in todays investment environment! A closed-end fund is like a mutual fund except for one major difference. A closed-end fund opens with a limited number of shares that trade on the stock exchanges; whereas, a mutual (open-end) fund, has an unlimited number of shares that redeem directly through the fund.

Get Ready For The Next Bubble

Wed, 14 May 2008 23:35:00 -0400

Were you on your way to a million dollar net worth during the Dot Com Bubble, only to have it all crash down on you in 2000? Did you recover by moving into housing, only to get caught holding a bunch of worthless subprime mortgages? Well, it's time to find the next bubble and prepare ourselves for impending wealth. And the next bubble is ....

Carnival of Personal Finance #152

Tue, 13 May 2008 01:01:41 -0400

Money Under Thirty is hosting this week's Carnival of Personal Finance, Carnival of Personal Finance #152. In this weeks carnival youll find money-saving tips, ideas for your investments, commentaries on taxes and the economy, and even a couple of financial posts inspired by Mothers Day! Money Under Thirty is personal finance advice blog for your twenties. Get saving and investing advice, credit pointers, career tips, and much more!

Your 401(k) Transfer Checklist

Mon, 12 May 2008 21:10:00 -0400

So, youve decided to move on to greener pastures. You start running through your First Day On The New Job preparation checklist. New shoes, Check. Shirt is pressed, Check. Remember new boss name, Check. Have travel arrangements in place for first day, Check. 401(k) from old job wait. What do I do about that? Well, youll probably want to consider transferring the 401(k) from your old employer into an IRA account. There are other options. You could leave it with your old employer, you could cash it out or your could transfer it into your new employers 401(k). At least one option, cashing out your 401(k), will result in stiff IRS penalties.

Slash your energy costs with these 6 money saving tips

Fri, 09 May 2008 05:50:00 -0400

Unless you received a larger than average raise for 2008, energy costs are starting to drain your budget. Household energy costs, like heating fuel and electricity, are up 6.8% over last year. And gasoline for your car is up a wallet busting 26.4% since last year. In order to keep your budget balanced, you're either cutting back elsewhere or finding ways to cut back on your energy usage. I much prefer the latter, so here are some tips for cutting on your energy usage:

Here Come The Stimulus Checks

Thu, 08 May 2008 09:55:00 -0400

If you filed a 2007 tax return by April 15, your IRS Stimulus Check will soon be on its way. Some of you may already have them because the IRS started mailing them on May 2. If youre single and making less than $75,000, youll get $600. Married couples making less than $150,000 will get $1,200. Each kid is worth $300. For a complete schedule of payment dates, see WTCH. Your stimulus check falls into the category of extra money where I advise that you do something financially wise with half of it and enjoy the other half. Do you have credit card? Use half of your stimulus check to reduce your balance. If your only debt is your home, consider investing half of your stimulus. What can you do with the remainder?

Extreme Gas Saving: Hypermiling

Tue, 06 May 2008 13:50:00 -0400

Have you heard of Hypermiling? This refers to radical driving techniques and practices used by motorists to greatly increase the gas mileage they get from their cars. What are some Hypermiling techniques? As Jon Hurdle points out in Web sites promote "hypermiling" to save on fuel, some drivers are: Inflating tires to the maximum manufacturer limit. Using low viscosity oil. Drafting.

Carnival Of Personal Finance #151 - Surviving The Squeeze

Tue, 06 May 2008 01:07:45 -0400

Alpha Consumer is hosting this week's Carnival of Personal Finance, Carnival #151 - Surviving The Squeeze edition. Be sure to visit for several excellent articles about managing money in tight times. Alpha Consumer is hosted by Kimberly Palmer. A senior editor for U.S. News & World Report, she writes about how to save money, avoid scams, manage debt, and be a savvy shopper.

Stock Review: PharmaNet Development Group Inc. (PDGI)

Fri, 02 May 2008 02:58:40 -0400

PharmaNet Development Group Inc. (PDGI), a drug development company, fell as low as $15.69 today. This is the lowest PharmaNet's stock has been since 2006. Does this signal a buying opportunity or is this a stock you should avoid?

7 Tips For Eating Well While Slashing Your Food Bill

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:14:04 -0400

Food! You’ve got to have it. You want it to taste good and be healthy for you. But, you certainly don’t want it to cost a fortune. Unfortunately, that’s what’s happening! Food costs have been skyrocketing during the past year. If you’re an average household earning $50,000 per year, your groceries are costing you $3,800 per year, which is at least $200 more per year compared to 2007. And some grocery categories have seen double digit percentage increases, so $200 is a conservative average.

Carnival of Personal Finance 149

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:30:18 -0400

The Happy Rock is hosting this week's Carnival or Personal Finance, Carnival 149 - Chasing Dreams Edition. With over 100 excellent personal finance articles, you're sure to find a handful of articles that you must read, so visit today.

Financial Success Can Be Yours

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:38:32 -0400

I just found a real gem over at Kiplinger’s! I highly recommend that everyone read Knight Kiplinger’s Eight Keys to Financial Security. This article has not been shared often, only twice in print over the past ten years. This article is well written and outlines exactly what you need for financial security.

Business Cycles and Financial Moves For A Recession: Part 1 – Understandin

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:50:00 -0400

If you were to plot the trend of the U.S. economy over a long-term period, your trend line would travel straight upward showing a continuously growing economy. However, over shorter periods of time, the U.S. economy is more like a roller coaster. The economy grows for a period of time, then slows and declines for a period of time, then grows even higher again. This short-term activity can wreak havoc with your portfolio and create a lot of nervous tension for an investor, especially during a recession. Thus, the more we understand the business cycles and how they fit into the longer-term performance of the U.S. economy, the better decisions we can make about our investment portfolios to maximize our wealth and portfolio returns.

This Week's Carnival Of Personal Finance

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:26:29 -0400

MoneyNing is hosting this week's Carnival of Personal Finance. David's goal at MoneyNing is to help you earn money, save money and learn as much about money as possible. Be sure to visit at moneyning.com today!

Make $10,000 With AT&T Big Mobile On Campus Challenge

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:59:20 -0400

If you're in college, here's a great opportunity to win up to $10,000. AT&T is launching a challenge for full-time college students and staff to develop social networking, academic and safety and security mobile software applications. The contest is called the 2008 Big Mobile On Campus Challenge and the winner gets a $10,000 scholarship and the mobile device of their choice. Visit http://higheredcontest.wireless.att.com for more information about the contest and prizes.

Save Money On Your Home Purchase With The Broker’s Commission

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:40:00 -0400

I am looking at a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) home. In the advertisements, the owner specifies “Agents Protected.” What does this mean? Essentially, the owner of this home is guaranteeing payment of a commission to a real estate agent that brings in the eventual buyer of the home. Many real estate agents will not show For Sale By Owner homes to their potential buyers because the payment of a commission is often not part of the sale. In this case, the owner is trying to attract more potential buyers to the home by guaranteeing the commission to a buyer’s agent. You could use this to your advantage to save money on the purchase of the home. Here’s how:

How To Eliminate Your Credit Card Debt

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:00:00 -0400

Are you suffering from credit card debt? If you are strapped for cash after making the minimum monthly payments on your credit cards and then using them again because of your lack of cash, you may be in trouble. Even if you do not have cash problems, if you are carrying a balance on your cards, your average interest rate of 13.26 percent for every $1,000 of credit card balance is costing you $11 per month. Fortunately, you can get yourself out of trouble and save yourself those interest costs. Just follow these steps:

This Week's Carnival Of Personal Finance

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0400

Quest For Four Pillars is hosting this week's Carnival Of Personal Finance. This is an excellent Blog from a Canadian guy who has been inspired by The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio. Make sure you visit Quest For Four Pillars today.

Your Money Is Good

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:45:00 -0500

I have some torn bills. Are they any good? Can I replace them or am I simply “out” the value of the damaged bills? Good news! Yes, your money is good and can be replaced. In fact, money in much worse condition than yours is valued and replaced ever day by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Here is what you can do to get that valuable money back into your wallet:

The Financial Blogger

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:36:10 -0500

Who is a Prison Break fan, writes excellent personal finance articles, and hosted a recent Carnival of Personal Finance? The Financial Blogger, that's who! Make sure you visit. I especially like the Monthly Top Ten postings.

It’s America Saves Week 2008

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:38:44 -0500

All About The Ben Readers, it’s America Saves Week 2008. That means it’s time to think about how you are going to improve your financial situation in 2008. Do you have costly credit card debt? Consider reducing that debt. Do you have little savings? You can start saving toward an emergency fund today. Are your debt and savings in order? Then plan on beginning or increasing your investments. The best thing you can do this week is to set a financial goal. Once you have that goal, identify a plan to help you reach that goal during 2008. Here are my financial goals and what I am doing during 2008 to achieve them:

Trip Is An Opportunity Lost, Not An Opportunity Cost

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:30:00 -0500

I have an opportunity to do some work during Spring Break that will allow me to earn some money that I could invest. Should I stay home and work or go on Spring Break? Have you been making bad decisions with your money? Do you have credit cards that carry balances? Do you go buy more things that you charge to the credit cards because you cannot afford them? Will you need to charge the Spring Break trip to those same credit cards? If so, then you should not go.