Financial Success for Young Adults

The Pros and Cons of Prepaid Debit Cards

LaTisha Styles — Tue, 29 May 2012 21:00:23 +0000

I recently got an offer for a prepaid debit card in the mail. I’ve heard a lot about the negatives and the positives of these cards, so I decided to do some of my own research.

If you’ve read my ranting article about banks you would know that I can’t stand greedy banks that exploit their customers.

I consider the prepaid debit card as modern day sharecropping because it doesn’t seem to add any value to the person who holds the card and there are always hidden fees. And by hidden I mean buried in the fine print. So today I went hunting for some of the features and benefits of the best prepaid debit cards.

Pros of Prepaid Debit Cards

From my research I was able to learn that prepaid debit cards can help build back your credit. There are certain cards that report back to the credit bureaus and as long as you use the card wisely, you can benefit from positive reporting.

Direct Deposit

Most of the prepaid debit cards offer direct deposit. You can get your check directly placed onto your card and have it ready for immediate use.

Accepted as Visa and Mastercard

Prepaid cards can be prepaid credit cards with a Visa or Mastercard logo. There are Mastercard prepaid debit card and Visa prepaid debit cards. This will give you more flexibility when shopping to have the convenience of a credit card without the debt.

Cons of Prepaid Debit Cards

The biggest con is the exploitive fees.

I consider them to be outrageous. Why should you get charged to use your own money?
Besides the bad fees, the detail on the fees are really difficult to find. I had to actually click through to the apply now button and search under fees to find the cardmember agreement.
Here are the Fees I was able to find for three popular cards.

Account Now

Activation Fee 4.95

Purchases with a PIN 1.00

Purchases with a Signature 1.00

Calls to a Customer Service Agent 1.00

Using ATM for Balance Check 1.00

Using ATM to Withdraw Money 2.50

ATM Deline fee .40

Closing Fees: If you decide to close your Card Account and request a check to bring your balance to zero, a $15.95 Check Fee will be applied per request.

ACE EliteTM FeeAdvantageTM Plan (Annual)

Activation Fee 0

Purchases with a PIN Included

Purchases with a Signature Included

Calls to a Customer Service Agent Free

Using ATM for Balance Check Free

Using ATM to Withdraw Money 2.50

ATM Deline fee 1.00

Closing Fees None

Account Maintenence Fee: $5.95 per month (waived if Card has debit or credit transaction and/or balance inquiry within 90 days.

UPside Visa® Prepaid Card

Activation Fee 0

Purchases with a PIN Included

Purchases with a Signature Included

Calls to a Customer Service Agent .99 (automated) 2.00 (Live person)

Using ATM for Balance Check .99

Using ATM to Withdraw Money 1.70

ATM Deline fee 2.00

Closing Fees None

Account Maintenence Fee: $0.99 if a minimum amount of $500 is loaded to the card within the calendar month. Otherwise a $2.99 fee applies each month.

After all of these fees, I would consider a prepaid debit card the worst possible choice for wise money management.

I read about personal finance speaker Sakina Spruell using a prepaid debit card to control spending. She experimented with loading the card and using it for everyday purchases. I hope she chose a card with little to no fees.

Whatever happened to cash?! You can use cash everywhere cards are accepted. I once had a coworker that only used cash and he always scolded us for using our debit cards for two dollars at QuickTrip. If you absolutely must open a prepaid debit card, make sure to read all of the fine print in the cardmember agreement before making any decisions. You should do this for credit cards as well. But more on that later.

How about you? Would you consider a prepaid debit card for budgeting?

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Common Stock vs Preferred Stock

LaTisha Styles — Sun, 27 May 2012 10:00:11 +0000

A lot of people do not know that there is an upper class when it comes to stock.
There are two basic classes of stock offered by companies. Common stock and preferred stock. They are also known as common shares and preferred shares. Common stock is the stock that is offered to most investors. It’s the stock that you see traded each day on the various exchanges. Preferred stock is sold directly to investors by the company but is then later traded on the secondary exchange like common stock.

Preferred Stock VS. Common Stock

BATTLE ROYALE!

So let’s take a look at the features and benefits of the two types of stock.

Ownership: Common Stock

As part owners, common stockholders benefit from the stock price increasing in value. Stockholders with preferred shares will not see the same profit potential that common shareholders will have.

Priority of Payment: Preferred Stock

The stockholders of preferred stock have a higher claim on the earnings than the holders of common stock. If the company declares bankruptcy the preferred stock holders will be paid before common stock holders.

Dividend Payments: Preferred Stock

The dividends paid on a preferred stock are guaranteed and paid at regular periods. These stock holders will get a dividend from the company before other stockholders.

Voting Rights: Common Stock

Preferred stockholders will not have the right to vote in the business. Common stockholders have the right to vote on the leadership team and usually one stock equals one vote.

Price Fluctuations: Preferred Stock

The characteristics of a preferred stock are somewhat similar to a bond. The price of preferred stock will fluctuate with interest rate levels. Preferred stock is considered less risky because the price will not fluctuate as much as the price of common stock.

Convertibility: Preferred Stock

There is even a type of preferred stock that can be changed into common stock. Convertible Preferred Stock allows the investor to change their preferred stock into common stock. Common stock cannot move up to the upper crust of preferred stock though, sorry.

And the winner is…..

PREFERRED STOCK!

“Yes, I’d like to thank my trainers and the company that outfitted me with so many features. I love you mom!”

Did you like this post? Check out the next in the Battle Royale series, mutual funds versus ETFs.

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How to Start a Business

LaTisha Styles — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:00:50 +0000

After interviewing several young entrepreneurs, I wanted to write a simple guide to starting your own business.

How to Start a Business

Start with an Idea

The first thing you need to do when starting a business is to start with a great idea. It could be something that you are good at doing or something you’ve been thinking of doing for a while. One piece of advice I received from a successful entrepreneur was to write down my business ideas as they came to me. I found that, over time, I was generating lots of new ideas without even trying. When you challenge your mind to continue thinking of ways to make everyday tasks easier or more enjoyable, you’ll be surprised how fast and frequently ideas come to you.

Add Value

What ideas are best? Your business should be one that adds value to the customer. Do I really need another set of knives? Probably not, but if your knives can cut better than the ones I have, you are adding value.

Find a Need

That brings me to the next point. Your business should serve a need. What if I’m a caveman and I don’t use knives to eat? Then your product would not be filling my need. But all you have to do is find the customers that do have the need. That’s the reason that I started this blog. I realized that young adults want to manage their own money, but they may not know where to start.

Write a Business Plan

The next step you need to take is writing a business plan. These are the general questions you’ll need to answer. How will my business make a profit? Who is my customer? When will I break even? How will I get to my potential customers? Inc.com has a really nice guide on how to write a great business plan. Remember that your business plan is a living document and it will change as your business grows and your needs change.

Write a Business Outline

Writing a business outline is a good starting point for writing your business plan. In your business outline you’ll write down every idea you have about your business and the answers to the general business plan questions. Use this outline as a brainstorm where you dump all of the ideas you have or want to have for the business. Then you can organize your thoughts in your actual business plan.

Pitch Angel Investors

Your financials show investors how they are going to make money. You will do this by telling the story with your financials to raise business capital. Investors want to know when you will break even and when they will get back their initial investment. If you’ve seen the show Shark Tank on ABC then you are familiar with pitching angel investors. You need to know your numbers. Deals are made on the numbers first then the business behind it. Without a solid financial plan your business will fail.

Market your Business

Your marketing plan details how you will reach your target customers. It will include the members of your target market and how you will reach them. You will need to conduct market research including taking surveys and polls to gather information relevant to your industry and business.

Set up a website

Your online presence is an important part of your overall branding strategy. Potential customers who are curious about you will usually do a quick Google search to find out more about you. If you don’t take control of your online presence you have no control over what results come up when someone does decide to Google you. I purchased my domain with a coupon I had through GoDaddy and I host the website with Hostgator. I’ve found these services to work well for the many websites that I own. Use the coupon code smallbiz01 to get $9.94 taken off the cost of your Hostgator hosting package.

Start a mailing list

“The money is in the list.” Companies like Godiva, who gives away free chocolate each month to customers on their mailing list, understand this concept. With a targeted mailing list you can stay in touch with your customers. Two popular online mailing software programs are MailChimp and Aweber. Both will allow you to create and design amazing newsletters. You should use your mailing list to provide even more value to your most engaged customers. You could offer discounts or coupon offers specifically to them.

Protect Your Assets

Choose the Right Legal Structure

Decide what sort of business structure you will want for your business. You might be best protected with an LLC, or an S Corp may work better for you. There are different benefits for each legal structure. Consult with your lawyers to get the structure that works best for you.

Get Insured

Depending on what your product is or what industry you are operating in, you will need to get some sort of business insurance. A general liability policy may work for most businesses but you should contact your insurance agent to find out what insurance you will need to protect your business in the event of a lawsuit.

Protect Your Intellectual Property

You should file for patents for any innovative products or processes that you have. You will also need to protect your business name and logos with trademarks and copyrights. The worst thing that could happen to your business would be someone stealing the rights to your proprietary products.

Open your Business!

Congratulations! You are open for business. Now you get to work your business and build an asset that will continue to generate income.

For a more detailed guide, visit the Small Business Administration. They have a step by step guide and links to the resources that will assist you along the way.

What did you do when you first decided to start your business?

Photo Credits: http://www.infobarrel.com/How_to_Raise_Money_to_Start_a_Business

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Polyphasic Sleep for Day Traders

LaTisha Styles — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:00:03 +0000

Imagine being able to trade the forex market all day and not exhaust yourself. I just read this article about Polyphasic Sleep over at Steve Pavlina’s blog and I think it would be perfect for a forex day trader.

What is Polyphasic Sleep?

Polyphasic sleep is the practice of regulating the frequency and length of your sleep.

From Wikipedia

Polyphasic sleep is a sleep pattern specification intended to compress sleep time to 2-5 hours daily. This is achieved by spreading out sleep into short (around 20-45 minute) naps throughout the day. This allows for more waking hours with relatively high alertness.

It is basically spreading out your sleep over the entire day so that you won’t have to sleep as much. Someone who only sleeps once a day would be considered a monophasic sleeper, sleeping twice a day would make them a biphasic sleeper. Polyphasic sleepers instead take multiple naps throughout the day, but overall they sleep less.

Polyphasic Sleep for Day Traders

I think this would be awesome for forex day traders! Or really anyone who just wanted more time in their day. The foreign exchange market is open literally 24 hours, and 6 days a week. You can trade from about 5pm EST on Sunday to 5pm EST on Friday. That’s because the currency exchanges are located around the world and each one is open during the day, their time. The only problem with the forex market being open so many hours is that even the most efficient trader will not be able to take advantage of all of the opportunities that are available while the market is open.

If you’re day trading the Euro, you will want to be awake during the hours that their exchange is open; same thing with the Yen and the Swiss Franc. I’m on Eastern Standard time and I would always miss the big moves at about 3 or 4 in the morning when I was asleep. (That’s when Tokyo and London trading intersects.) But if I implemented Polyphasic Sleeping, I wouldn’t have to miss any of the major moves while I’m normally asleep.

When Steve Pavlina wrote about Polyphasic Sleep, he decided to try it out. He changed his sleep patterns by first waking up earlier and going to bed later. Then he incorporated short naps of about 30 minutes into his day. He was able to get more done and he was more alert when he was awake. You can read about what happened at the end of his experiement by reading his Polyphasic Sleep log.

Do you think you could rearrange your sleep schedule and break up 5 hours of sleep into short naps throughout the day?

Would you do it if you knew that you could make more money by doing it?

I’m curious to hear your feedback on this one.

Photo Credits: http://womantribune.com/normal-schedules-mojo-follow

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Review of Betterment.com How to Invest the Easy Way

LaTisha Styles — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:00:59 +0000

Let’s face it, most people are lazy including me and you. Yeah, we work at what is interesting to us, but otherwise, we’d rather keep things simple. Here at Financial Success for Young Adults I’ve been trying to teach how to research stocks, build a portfolio and invest for retirement, but some people just hate finance. And many Americans invest too little.

An Easy Way to Invest

I recently stumbled across a simple way to invest. It’s called Betterment.com. Betterment.com was founded in 2008 as a simpler, smarter, safer way to invest. The CEO and Founder John Stein said “I created Betterment because after years working in financial services I was amazed that no one made saving and investing money as simple as it ought to be.”.

How Does Betterment.com Work?

When you open a Betterment.com account, you will deposit or set up recurring deposits from a checking or savings account. Then the folks at Betterment will invest on your behalf into ETFs based on your portfolio allocation. Portfolio allocation just means where you want your money to go. There are two options, stocks and bonds. You don’t have to do any research or constant monitoring of your portfolio. They manage your everything for you. The only thing you have to do is decide whether you want a low risk portfolio or high return.

What Does it Cost?

I think this is my favorite feature of Betterment. There are no hidden costs, fees, or minimum balances. They simply charge a small percentage of funds under management. If you are familiar with hedge funds, you know that they charge anywhere from 2% to 20% of funds under management. Betterment.com charges anywhere from 0.3% to 0.9% based on how much you have deposited. This one fee covers everything. At most that’s 90 cents a year for every 100 dollars and you can open a trading account with as little as 300 dollars. Trading in a traditional brokerage account, even if you only made one trade a year, would cost you at least 5 bucks.

Is it Safe?

Betterment LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC. They have to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission and maintain fair dealings within the rules of the SEC. Remember that it is an investment account not a savings account so your funds are not protected by FDIC insurance. However, your investments are protected with SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation) just like with any broker-dealer. And Betterment.com has a systems and security team that works around the clock to protect your account from fraud or malicious activity.

If you already have an account that you actively trade stocks in, that’s ok. This is a great way for you to supercharge your long-term savings. A good way to use this account is to set up automatic transfers each month, making investing automatic and inexpensive will allow you to keep more money in your pocket.

I plan to use Betterment for my travel fund. It’s money that I would have sitting in a savings account earning a risk-free rate of pennies a day. But I am no stranger to risk, so I would rather have the opportunity to earn more for my money. And because I can withdraw funds at anytime without fees, it will give me nice flexibility.

Have you tried Betterment.com yet? Open an account today!

Please see our full disclosure regarding posts about companies that we partner with.

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Don’t Underestimate the Health Insurance Network

LaTisha Styles — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:00:48 +0000

This is a guest post.

Whether you are searching for new health insurance or just seeing what else is out there, the network could be the x-factor. Depending on your needs and matters of convenience, it could be worthy of close watch. Follow along for more on this dynamic element.

The All-Important Network

For some of you, the health insurance network is about as important as it gets. If you are in this category, perhaps some of the following statements are true:

You love your doctor(s)
You have access to specialists in your network that are extremely vital to your health needs
The network you have caters to your needs; whether you’re at home or visiting family, you have superior access to health services

Sound familiar? While some other health insurance plans may be able to work in your current standards, you may have gotten used to the benefits of having a great health insurance network. And whether it’s due to convenience or serious health reasons, there is a personal premium on your network. This could make things more difficult, as we will see later.

“It’s A Network…”

Maybe you don’t have warm and fuzzy feelings about your network. Perhaps you could easily adjust to new doctors and clinics in your area. Or…:

Rarely needing to see your doctor(s), you aren’t very attached to them
The service that you currently have – with regard to easy access from your network – is acceptable or subpar; again, nothing to “write home about”
It can be a pain to get in when you’re out of town

Rest assured, it’s alright to feel this way. After all, not all health insurance networks are perfectly tailored to match your every need. You also have to consider your health needs: you simply may not need that much, or anything special.
As we move on to how these categories affect health insurance plans, you can feel better knowing that this gives you maximum potential for saving money.

Window Shopping For Health Insurance

Maybe it’s time you switched health insurance policies. Alternatively, maybe it’s time to just see if there are better policies that can stretch the dollar a bit more. In either case, it pays to think about your network-related needs when you set out on your search to compare health insurance.
If you found yourself in the latter category, this will give you a great leg up on your search. While you shouldn’t neglect any particular needs regarding doctors and your overall network, you can feel free to loosen up a bit in this area. What can result may be well worth any concessions – perhaps a great premium that will be well worth switching doctors.
Do you have a network that you know and love – and maybe even need? Indeed, it may be a bit of a reach to switch policies, but don’t lose hope. Here are some ideas to consider:

See if other insurers, or your current insurer, offer other policies that have the exact same network. It can happen.
If you have a couple of needed practitioners, you could search for networks that have the essential components of your beloved network.
You may just need to stick with your current insurer. Look for discounts, such as multi-policy discounts, and other ways to save money on insurance. Exhaust all of these great health insurance tips (pay for the year in full to save on interest/protect rate increases, use savings accounts and raise deductibles, consider prescription and other plans to complement your policy and reduce costs, etc.).

Overall, it is easy to see the role your health insurance network can play. Recognize your needs and allow them to help you in the search for a better policy – even if it is where you currently stand.

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Yakezie Carnival Will Smith Slap Edition

LaTisha Styles — Sun, 20 May 2012 10:00:28 +0000

Welcome to the Yakezie Carnival! Yakezie is a group of personal finance and lifestyle bloggers. If you would like to be included in a future edition, please submit your post here. Now on to the good stuff. This is the Will Smith Slap Edition or “Things That Will Get You Slapped Edition.”

From what I understand based on the video documenting the occurrence, a reporter tried to kiss Will Smith on the lips and got a quick backhand slap. So I started to think about other things that may cause you to get slapped and here is what I came up with. Enjoy! (Caution: Violence follows)

An Unwelcome Kiss on the Lips

Roshawn Watson @ Watson Inc writes Are There Any Safe Investments Anymore? – Rules that were seemingly unequivocal began to no longer apply to the new economy, where historical annualized returns weren’t predictable, home values had net depreciation, and gold had a tremendous ride to the top. Many understandably want to flee for cover, but therein lies the most important question: “Where to: are there any safe investments anymore?”

Glen Craig @ Free From Broke writes The Best Small Business Credit Cards – Does your small business need a line of credit? The best small business credit cards will offer up credit and much more to help you and your business.

Timothy @ Wealth Artisan writes Square Video Review – Credit Card Processing – Square Credit Card App Review – Square is a service that allows small businesses to accept credit cards. We did a video review of the Square Credit Card App. Watch it to see how it works and what we think.

Paul Vachon @ The Frugal Toad writes The Cost of Currency: Is it Time to Ditch the Penny? – Is it time to ditch the penny? Since 2006, it has cost the United States Treasury more to produce the penny and nickel than the value of the coins themselves. For 2011, each penny cost American Taxpayers almost 2 1/2 cents while each nickel cost taxpayers 11 cents.

TTMK @ Tie the Money Knot writes 7 Ways to Teach Kids the Value of Money – It’s better to learn many life lessons as early as safely possible. Money is no different, as learning how to value it when young can prevent a a lifetime of mistakes from being made. This post discusses ways to teach kids about money.

Jessica @ Budget for Health writes Incline Training: Part 1 of 2 – Looking to spice up your exercise routine? Incline training is a great way to get a solid, quick workout.

Kurt Fischer @ Money Counselor writes Fund Fees: Nest Egg Killer – Paying high fees for the privilege of investing in actively managed mutual funds is not worth the cost. The likely effect of those fees will be to slash your standard of living in retirement. Stick with passively managed index funds.

Lena Gott @ Taxes and Stuff writes President Obama’s 2011 Tax Return – You can learn a LOT about someone by looking at their tax return. Wanna know how much Barack Obama made in 2011 from his job as President and from book royalties? Wanna know what kinds of tax deductions he takes and how he allocates his charitable contributions? Read on to learn these and other highlights from Obama’s 2011 income tax return. You’ll even be able to pull up several years’ worth of presidential tax returns to see them for yourself!

Squirrelers @ Squirrelers writes Managing Financial Risks: The Tricky Math Behind Losing Money – We often hear about the need to take risks, but recovering from financial losses can be more challenging than meets the eye. Actually, it’s grounded in math!

Dr. Dean @ The Millionaire Nurse Blog writes Talking About Ourselves: A Turn On? – Does talking about ourselves really give us pleasure? And how can that knowledge help us increase our income?

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes The Money Conversation for Couples – I found this article at US News. It lists six topics related to money that you should have with your significant other before getting married.

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes What is Manilla & Why Should You Try It? – Manilla is a free (yes, that’s right! 100 percent free) web based service to make our financial lives more organized and easier to manage.

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes What to Do When an Investment Pays Out – This Post was Originally published at What to Do When an Investment Pays Out on Start Investing Money.

Lying to Tami Roman

Basketball Wives star Tami Roman has been known to throw an open hand or two if she is lied to. In Season three she slapped co-star Meeka.

101 Centavos @ 101 Centavos writes Career Tips For Young Folks – This is a series of blog posts, dormant for a while, resurrected for a while. These would be career tips #15, #16 and #17, meant for young people entering…

Lorillia @ Your Money Mentor writes How to recognize the signs of Debt Related Depression – This article discusses the signs of DRD.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes How to Finance Your Start Up – The following is a guest post. Starting a new company is an expensive proposition. A new business owner has to pay for land, supplies and employees. Financing all of these purchases is not easy considering there is little revenue coming in.

TRL @ The Retired Landlord writes Important Traits of a Successful Landlord – Find out what it takes to be a successful landlord. Do you have these important traits to make a profit in real estate investing?

Invest It Wisely @ Invest It Wisely writes Getting Screwed Out of Your Hard-Earned Capital: How CDs and GICs Are Rip-Offs for Long-term Investing – Is there such a thing as a guaranteed rate of return? There seems to be a trend for people to flock to safety by buying certificates of deposit

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes 6 Hidden Money Wasters – We think of many ways to save but what most people don’t know is that many everyday things that they buy on a regular basis are money wasters.

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes Do You have a Future as the Woman Who Lived in Her Shoes, or the Man Who Lived with His Tools? – Thirty-Five year old Carrie Bradshaw had a stunning financial realization during an episode of Sex and the City.

MR @ Money Reasons writes Debt Free… Now What? Real Estate – I’ve been debt free for a while now! It’s time to pickup debt to buy assets instead of expenses.

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes University Will Pay You $3,500 to Eat Only Fast Food for 3 Months – Oh, brother… A new study at Washington University in St.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Green Tip #242: Sharing Toys – Share toys, keep your baby stimulated but save money.

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes Secure Your Future by Developing Multiple Streams of Income – If you are like most people, you work hard at your day job. Maybe you used to make what you considered a good salary, but now, with the economy, your income seems to be dwindling. Perhaps you haven’t gotten a raise in several years, or if you have gotten a raise, you simultaneously face an increase in health.

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes Convenient Banking Technology – Banking used to be an incredible hassle. I hated going to the bank, waiting in line, making sure that your forms or deposit slip was filled out properly, being lectured by the teller if it wasn’t, having to deal with specific hours…the list goes on and on.

Evan @ My Journey to Millions writes I Am Very Disappointed in Myself – In the beginning of the year, I created my goals and objectives for 2012 and while I’ll do a full review in a couple weeks I was thinking about just one aspect of that post the other day and got pretty angry with myself.

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Keeping Up With The Joneses In The Digital Age – As the internet has evolved and we truly enter the digital age as a society, the biggest enemy of our personal finances has been quietly growing stronger and stronger. No it’s not inflation. It’s not government taxes. It’s something much less obvious. It’s those pesky Joneses!

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes Life Lessons From My Mother – Yesterday was Mothers Day. You all know that. I don’t live near my mom, so I was sad I wasn’t able to take her out for breakfast or anything like that.

PITR @ Passive Income To Retire writes Why Quality is Important – Find out why quality content is important to help your site’s traffic grow and how I am changing my writing strategy.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Cash Gift Registries for Weddings – Maybe this dates me a bit since my wedding was over 10 years ago and most of my friends and family married years ago as well (my sister is a lot younger than me), but cash gift registries seem like a terrific idea for a bride and groom who prefer cash gifts over home goods.

PPlan @ Provident Plan writes Would Jesus Support the Buffet Tax Law? – Find out if Jesus supports the Warren Buffet Tax law and what the Christian response to paying taxes should be.

Jason @ Live Real, Now writes Reason #45,682 Why It’s Good to Have an Emergency Fund – My mother-in-law died two weeks ago. It’s sad, but I’m not going to get into the emotional devastation that comes with the death of a loved one here. At least, not today. Today, I’m going to talk about the money, but not the funeral expenses. I’m talking about the expense of taking over her stuff. When she died, she was living in her own home, paying her own bills. Now, we have a small stack of expenses we weren’t planning for. She had 2 cars. She actively drove one,

Matt @ Living in Financial Excellence writes What I Have Learned by Interviewing People Who Are Debt Free – For the past six months now I have had the pleasure of being able to interview debt free individuals and couples on the Debt Free Living Podcast. So far I have released about 20 episodes and it amazes me how unique each story is regarding how they got debt free. It also is interesting to me to see what each person’s “Why” is. Some got their finances together in order to travel more, some do it to quit a job they hate and do something they love, and for others it was to stay at home with t

MMD @ MyMoneyDesign writes Yes, People Still Fall for Pyramid Schemes – Do people still fall for get-rich quick schemes? This group of people I came across in OH did. While traveling for business, I stumbled upon a meeting of people at a restaurant who were being given a sales pitch for something that clearly sounded like a pyramid scheme. Here is my story.

Jason @ Work Save Live writes Should You Buy a Car Through CarMax? – Rust buckets, over-sized purses, methods of transportation, and a means of showing worth and status. Maybe it’s needless to say, but there isn’t a topic I detest more. When I hear the word “car” all I can think about are over-priced machines that have gone from performing a function to being status symbols.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes How to Access Cash in a Hurry – Your home is equipped with smoke detectors, and your car carries a spare tire in the trunk, but are you equipped for a financial emergency?

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Our Food Fight – Month 1 Results – We are trying to cut back our expenses where it won’t hurt much to build up some padding once we close on our new house. Here are our month one results.

Jon Rhodes @ Affiliate Tips writes Should I Submit To Directories? – This article discusses whether there is any value in submitting your site to directories. The answer could surprise you!

John @ Married (with Debt) writes Give Yourself a Raise (No Boss Required) – When my boss revealed how shitty my raise was going to be, it didn’t bother me that much because I already had a plan to give myself a $1,800 per month raise.

KT @ Personal Finance Journey writes Can You Afford NOT to Save for Retirement? – Saving for retirement can be difficult. With the recent increases in the cost of gas and groceries and other basics combined with a loss of income because of the economy (or a lack of raises over the last few years), saving for retirement can seem like a goal that is out of reach.

Corey @ 20s Finances writes How to Increase Net Worth – As many of you know, several months ago, I challenged myself with several short-term financial goals. One of them, which I haven’t talked about too much is to increase my net worth by 50%. For those who don’t know, net worth is the difference between your assets and liabilities.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes How A Little Preparation And One Question Saved Me Over $1,000 – I hate buying a new car, but a little preparation and one simple question he me save money buying a new car this time with a little preparation.

Telling Your Husband You Threw Away Everything in His Man Cave

There are a few things that you just don’t mess with and one of them includes the Man Cave.

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes How to Lose Friends and Alienate People – This post is presented by Beaker. If you want to see more posts written by him, make sure to check out Under Beaker’s Microscope tag at the end of this post. Money is very important in our society. We are all working very hard for all the money we can get our hands on.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes Why You Should Be Debt-Free on Your Car – There are many reasons why you should be debt free on your car. You can spend the money elsewhere instead of on a car payment.

Kevin @ Thousandaire writes How to Save Money on a Date – Save money on your dates by using daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social to find interesting cheap dates.

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes Why Hobbies Save You Money – Staying active and finding things that you enjoy can actually save you money. Find out how to define yourself not by the things you buy.

Cash Flow Mantra @ Cash Flow Mantra writes What Is the Gold Market Trying to Tell Us? – With the gold price having backed off from a high of over $1900 per ounce last August and September, is there something that we should be expecting?

Robert @ The College Investor writes 4 To-Dos When Starting a Small Business – Starting a small business is not for everyone. Some people just don’t have the drive or self-discipline to keep up with a business, while others are better suited working a 9-5. For the ones who are business-minded, and have a talent that they would like to share with others, a small business can be just the thing. The important thing is to make sure that you are fully dedicated and willing to learn the tricks of the trade, and you are well on your way.

Robert @ My Multiple Incomes writes My Home Appraisal Was Wrong – Now I Have to Appeal! – Last week, after a period of waiting, we got the appraisal back on the house we are looking to buy, and it ended up coming in a full $70,000 below our offer price, and well below fair market value to similar properties inside the same development. SO IRRITATING!!!!!

Jeffrey @ Money Spruce writes Setting Financial Goals 101 – The following is a guest post The most fundamental step in setting financial goals is to gain control over your daily financial affairs by setting up and sticking to a budget. Thereafter, you will need to set longer-term financial goals. At this point, you will need to build a financial safety net to ensure financial independence.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes Should you buy Supplemental Unemployment Insurance – Should you buy Supplemental Unemployment Insurance is a post from: Broke Professionals if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed. Unemployment is one of life’s setbacks that can seriously damage a person’s financial security. It can happen to anyone, even you.

YFS @ Your Finances Simplified writes 10 Common Characteristics of Millionaires You Can Follow – Back in 2007, Forbes Magazine reported that all over the world there are a total of 946 billionaires, and according to Capegemini, a financial consultancy firm, in 2011 there are about 10 million millionaires. All of us probably have this dream of becoming millionaires ourselves, and sometimes we’re left wondering how these once ordinary people manage to make it big.

Jeremy Waller @ Personal Finance Whiz writes Top Personal Finance Posts Of The Week – Big Fat J.P. Morgan Losses Edition – Last week JP Morgan Chase announced it was sitting on at least $2.3 billion in paper losses stemming from trading naked credit default swaps. These high risk derivatives are analogous to buying insurance on a house you don’t own – doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes Facing Foreclosure? Here are Some Programs that Might Be Available for You – Here are several programs that you can take advantage of when facing foreclosure. The possibility of foreclosure isn’t without hope to evade it.

Ashley @ Money Talks Coaching writes The Envelope System Works: Even on a 10 Year Old – I’ve talked quite a bit about my frustration with my daughter and her lack of concern when it comes to money. She wouldn’t save money to save her life.

Being an Evil Person and Trying to Kiss a Baby

And the last thing that will get you slapped is being… well Hitler. I’m sure if he tried to kiss someone, he would get slapped too.

Beating Broke @ Beating Broke writes The Work Revolution – In The Work Revolution, Dr. Clow lays down the argument that it isn’t that you need to find an escape from work, but that work as we know it is in need of a revolution.

Everything Finance @ Everything Finance Blog writes How Much Money Does It Take to Be Happy? – According to a recent survey by WSL/Strategic Retail, most Americans believe it takes $150,000 a year to buy what they need, afford some extras, and save too. This salary is more than three times the national median salary of $49,445 in 2010, and it’s enough to put a household into the top 10% nationally. But do we really need that much?

Earth and Money @ Earth and Money writes Planning a Green Frugal Wedding – Guests – At most weddings, there is a fixed cost associated with every guest that attends – food, dishes, venue, all these things are related to the number of guests that you have. So that begs the question – do you really want to invite your dad’s cousin’s nephew’s boyfriend who winds up getting drunk at the open bar?

Maria @ The Money Principle writes Politics and economy in the Eurozone part 2 – The immediate response of the markets last week was quite muted. They assumed that with Germany in charge of the Euro and Merkel in charge of Germany, the austerity programmes will continue to the bitter end. Simpletons.

Ted Jenkin @ Your Smart Money Moves writes Are My Withholdings For Taxes Correct? – Since tax season has just passed, you are probably in one of two states of minds. Either a) you love your CPA because you got a big refund, or b) you hate your CPA because you owed money. It generally falls into one of those two camps when returns are filed. Remember, if you get a tax refund that means you essentially gave an interest free loan to the Government. Some people see this as an effective way to force savings during the year, but you really lose out on the opportunity cost of

Dave @ Financial Conflict Coach writes Fighting About Money? Remember The 3 P’s! – If you find yourself fighting with a spouse/partner, parent, child, family or friends about money- try using the “3 P’s” to calm things down.

Drew @ Objective Wealth writes Keep It Simple Stupid – I’m not for one minute calling investors stupid, but it’s so easy to overcomplicate things when trying to figure out the optimum portfolio. Maybe keeping it ultra-simple is the smartest choice?

Brent Pittman @ On Target Coaching writes S.H.I.E.L.D. Your Finances from Total Destruction – Protect your finances like Nick Fury and The Avengers are protecting the Earth.

Sicorra @ Tackling Our Debt writes Do Side Hustles Really Help You Make Money? – A side hustle can be a way for you to make some extra money so that you can pay off a few bills, or take a short vacation, or save up for Christmas. I bet there are a few good ones in this post that you haven’t heard of yet.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes Reader Story: It’s Never too Late to Start: Personal Finance Planning for Over-40s – It turns out that over 40s can successfully plan for retirement; it’s just much better if you start earlier. I am proof that it’s never too late too start.

J Wayne @ All Things Finance writes Options Are Complicated For A Reason – Options are perceived as a very complex investment tool, but I break down the basics and detail why they are not that hard to understand.

Kraig @ Young, Cheap Living writes How to Achieve Balance and Do What You Care About – How well do your values and what you care about line up with what you actually spend your time and money on? My definition of life balance here is based on if you’re doing what’s important to you, or other things which are throwing your balance off.

Jeff Rose @ Good Financial Cents writes How a $75 Parking Ticket Almost Ruined My Life – I was quickly on the path to becoming a loser all because of a stupid parking ticket.

Steve Zussino @ Canadian Personal Finance writes Why Facebook should be scared with its Revenue Strategy – We all know the Facebook IPO is happening soon but some big news happened yesterday that, GM (the third largest advertiser in the US) pulled a $10 million dollar order because they figured out that Facebook ads don’t work.

Eric J. Nisall @ DollarVersity writes A Business Is Not Your Personal Piggy Bank – The money in a business account is for business expenses. Your personal money is for personal expenses. Mix the two and you ask for trouble!

vh @ Funny about Money writes What a Lender Is Thinking – Hotly pursuing a new career, Funny learns some useful factoids of general interest in a real estate licensing course.

Emma-Lou @ TotallyMoney writes 5 easy tricks to slash the cost of travel – 5 simple ways to save money when you go travelling

Sean @ One Smart Dollar writes How is My Credit Limit Determined? – Understanding how your credit line is determined can be a great way to start understanding your finances.

Aaron @ Aaron Hung.com writes How to be extraordinary – Have you ever stopped and wonder how people like Mozart, Shakespeare, DaVinci and even Jordan became such an influence in our everyday lives? How is it that they became so creative and talented that it seems almost impossible for anyone to try to be like them?

PK @ Don’t Quit Your Day Job… writes Who Will Rate the Raters? The Analyst Crisis on Wall Street. – Something funny about stock analysts? The sheer number of positive ratings on stocks – the the point where only single digit percentages of ratings will ever be negative. Read more!

Eric @ Narrow Bridge Finance writes Money Tips for New Grads – This weekend, I had the pleasure of watching my sister graduate Summa Cum Lade from the University of Arkansas. While in Fayetteville, I watched thousands of students receive their degrees, but I realized that most did not get a financial education on par with their newly minted degrees. Here are some top tips for new graduates around the world.

Philip @ PT Money Personal Finance writes Your Mileage (and Costs) May Vary on Hybrid Cars – Includes some hidden costs and factors about hybrid cars that you should consider before purchasing one.

JB @ My University Money writes Are Banks Really In It For You? – Learn from my mistakes and never assume the banks are in it for you. They aren’t, in fact they make a killing off you so don’t make it easy on them whenever they try to push a product on you.

Young @ Young And Thrifty writes RRSP vs RESP Accounts – There are obviously numerous aspects of each person’s financial situation that will come into play when looking at whether a RRSP or an RESP contribution is right for them.

Khaleef Crumbley @ Faithful With A Few writes 4 Reasons Why I Will Not File For Bankruptcy – To file for bankruptcy is not an easy decision. Even though it has become more common, here are 4 reasons why I will never do it!

Jefferson @ See Debt Run writes Using Credit Cards and Paying Them Off Immediately…Too Dangerous? – It is said that your should avoid using all credit cards when trying to get out of debt, but I have started using the Target Red Card and Chase Freedom card.

Kim Luu @ Money and Risk writes How to Get a Hot New IPO and Why You Did Not Get In on Facebook – Ever wonder how you can get shares of a hot IPO – initial stock offering? Here’s the scoop.

Khaleef Crumbley @ Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet writes Planning A Financial Diet – Eat Healthy And Spend Less – Eat healthy and spend less…something that seems impossible However, if you follow these tips you can do both!

Edward Antrobus @ Edward Antrobus writes How to Use Craigslist Gigs for Side Income – If your looking to make some extra money on the side and possibly build your portfolio, Craigslist Gigs can be a goldmine.

Tyler @ Poor Student writes You Do Not Have To Work Forever – If you didn’t have to work, would you? Regardless of your answer, the truth is that you do not need to work if you play your cards right.

Lance @ Money Life & More writes How I Paid for My Hobby – Hobbies are a lot of fun, but there is one thing that prohibits many from taking part in their favorite hobby as much as they would like to. Cost. Hobbies, while fun, can be expensive. In this post I describe how I paid for my hobby.

Glen Craig @ Free From Broke writes United MileagePlus® Explorer Card Review – Fly United Airlines? Then you need to check out the slew of benefits the United MileagePlus Explorer Card offers up to cardholders. See more in our review.

Glen @ Parenting Family Money writes Is a Child’s Gift Registry a Good Idea? – Retailers are getting better at helping people shop, aren’t they? One great example is a child’s gift registry for their birthday. But is it really such a bad idea?

SB @ One Cent at a Time writes How to shop at Garage Sales – A Guide to Garage Sale Shopping – A shoppers guide to garage sales. What to buy, what not to buy and tips for a successful treasure hunt at a garage sale is included in this post.

SB @ Finance Product Reviews writes PerkStreet Platinum Visa Debit Card Review – An honest and case based review of PerkStreet financials Platinum Visa debit card. Read to find out more.

Tim @ Brilliant Finances Personal Finance How To writes Real Estate Investment Strategies That Work – Have you ever wondered what real estate investment strategies work for the big boys. This article breaks down the investment strategies that a proven success time and time again in any market.

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How to Use Yahoo Finance to Research Stocks

LaTisha Styles — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:00:01 +0000

When I wrote last week’s Money Minute on Shorting Best Buy, I mentioned that I used Yahoo Finance to get the ratios and numbers for my quick evaluation. I like using finance.yahoo.com because it has a very clutter free interface with just the right amount of information I need to make a quick decision of whether or not I want to move forward with more in depth research.

So I decided to post a video tutorial on how to use Yahoo Finance to begin your online equity research. You can get information on how to use the information you find on their Key Statistics page in our previous article about using financial ratios to invest.

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The VIX: I go this way, you go that way

LaTisha Styles — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Remember that scene in Rush Hour when Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan teamed up to kick some butt? They stayed together but fought in different directions to maximize their attack. Their method of attack is similar to the VIX and the S&P 500.

The VIX is the Volatility Index. It is managed by the Chicago Board of Options Exchange and it measures the market’s expectation of 30 day volatility based on S&P 500 options prices. Volatility is basically movement. Just like Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, prices can go up or down in wild swings. The more wildly the price swings, the more volatile that price is.

The VIX was introduced as recently as 1993. It is based on the prices of both S&P 500 calls and puts. The idea is that investors trade based on fear and the VIX tracks the fear and uncertainty of investors through the option volume.

http://www.cboe.com/micro/VIX/vixintro.aspx

As you can see, the VIX tends to spike each time the S&P 500 index drops. The highest spike was during the recession and market drop in 2008. Traders can use this information to their advantage to plan a strategy for volatility. There are VIX options, VIX futures and options on VIX futures. So there are numerous ways to use this tool in your portfolio.

Before you start to trade the VIX, you should know that the CBOE plans to update the VIX methodology to reflect “the way financial theorists, risk managers and volatility traders think about – and trade – volatility.” The new symbol will be VXO. Also remember that options can be risky. Visit the Chicago Board of Options Exchange website at CBOE.com for more educational resources.

Standard & Poor’s, S&P, S&P 100, S&P 500, and S&P SmallCap 600 are registered trademarks of McGraw-Hill Inc. CBOE Volatility Index, FLEX, FLexible EXchange, LEAPS, MNX, OEX, VIX, XEO CBOE, and Chicago Board Options Exchange, are registered trademarks of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated. VXN(SM) and SPX(SM) are trademarks of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated. The methodology of the CBOE Volatility Index is owned by CBOE and may be covered by one or more patents or pending patent applications.

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Debt: The Elephant in the Room

LaTisha Styles — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

So far we haven’t talked to much about debt. I hate my debt. But most college graduates have debt and some more than others. Think about it. We go to college for 4 years, and often times more just to get our degree so we can join the workforce. That college degree can be pretty expensive, especially if you decided to go to a private school or if you had a hard time settling on a major. Some people successfully worked their way through college and did not have to take on any student loan debt, but for many graduates, student loan debt burden is common.

First I am of the belief that there is a difference between good debt and bad debt. Good debt is called leverage. Leverage is a way for you to do more than you normally would be able to and you experience a benefit far greater than what the debt cost you. Businesses use leverage all of the time to finance new projects because they’ve determined that the payoff from the new project will more than cover the cost to undertake the project. That is how you have to look at the debt you took on to get a degree. The expecting salary of a college graduate is higher than that of someone who only graduated high school.

Examples of good debt include student loans and certain business loans for example.
Examples of bad debt would include personal loans and credit card debt so you can go shopping. (Really? How important were those new shoes?) You should not borrow money to pay for something that will have less value as time goes on. I’m sure there are several bankruptcy lawyers in San Diego that could help you reduce or eliminate your debt, but bankruptcy is not the best solution all the time.

If you want to be a financially successful investor then you need to manage your debt the same way you manage your investments. You should monitor your credit score each month. You can get your credit score free once each year from annualcreditreport.com and there is also a free service called Credit Sesame that will give you your score each month. If you want to improve your credit score there are two key things you need to do.

Reduce the outstanding balance on credit cards. The less of your available credit that you actually use, the better.
Pay each card on time each month. On time payments have a great effect on your score.

The best advice is to pay off debt so you won’t have to make decisions based on money or fear. Then you will be really free.

How are you managing your debt?