tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82395474827443179802024-09-14T01:27:25.002-07:00Saving Money | Budgeting Tips | Best Money Management | Investing | Retirement Planning | Tax | Debt Reduction | InsuranceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-10967824330848766522009-08-19T04:48:00.000-07:002009-08-19T04:53:19.785-07:00

Warren Buffett has written a very interesting and timely article in the New York Times today. For those unfamiliar with Warren Buffett, he is one of the world's greatest investors, having made his fortune in the stock market. He now runs the corporate conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway.In the article, Buffett compares the current budget deficit to those of years gone by. As a percentage of GDP

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-13146516138735523872009-08-13T05:34:00.000-07:002009-08-19T05:41:24.706-07:00

I'm a big fan of the returns the big Ivy League endowment funds have been able to produce over the years. Yale has been able to produce a compound return of almost 16% over a 20 year period. Harvard produced a compound return of just over 14% over the same time frame. So it is with interest that I study the asset allocation of these funds each year.However, as a small investor, I've always

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-90983941692593076342009-05-15T05:19:00.000-07:002009-08-18T05:25:00.652-07:00

There are different approaches to saving money. Whether it's saving for a short term goal or saving for your retirement, people go about it in a variety of ways. I admire those who have a set amount which they put aside each week (or each month) before they spend any money. I call these people conscious savers. It's a regular savings plan. The money is normally deducted from their pay or

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-19014066617323174372009-04-28T05:35:00.000-07:002009-08-13T05:41:30.868-07:00

Some personal finance blogs discuss at great length the benefits of reducing your debts and cutting your cost of living. The reason is that this will free up more of your money to be saved and invested for the long term. This is perfectly rational reasoning and should be the first step to getting your personal finances in order. But it's only one side of the equation.I was recently browsing

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-23999802281376058132009-04-02T04:23:00.000-07:002009-08-02T04:30:27.063-07:00

Central to the subject of personal finance is the concept of living within your means. In a nutshell, to live within your means is to spend less money than you earn. It's a basic concept which I'm sure most of us know and understand but for whatever reason we occasionally (or sometimes frequently) like to ignore it.So many of the basic problems we all face with our money can be traced back to a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-87637847421504604772009-03-14T05:21:00.000-07:002009-07-29T05:32:51.605-07:00

You have your budget in place. You're spending less than you earn. You've started to save money on a regular basis and you're starting to accumulate a handy little pile of cash. So what's next? It's time to start thinking about another very important part of personal finance - investing.Investing is the mechanism by which you will make your money grow. It is the act of buying assets which

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-52795770367523644142009-02-24T04:23:00.000-08:002009-07-28T04:27:51.087-07:00

The stock market is plummeting. I can't believe the turnaround in investor sentiment in the last year or so. The Dow was over 14,000 just 18 months ago and now it looks like it might go down below 7,000 again. I know the economic outlook is not as rosy as it used to be but has the underlying value of the companies which make up the Dow really halved?You could well argue that the stock market

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-84530533205267209122009-01-02T05:17:00.000-08:002009-07-27T05:22:17.378-07:00

I find that personal finance and money is no different to any other area of my life. Planning and goal setting are essential in enabling me to reach the outcomes I aspire to.With the arrival of the new year, now is a good to revisit some of your goals and maybe set a few new ones. In this post I thought I would outline some of my personal finance goals for 2009.Diversify My Income StreamsLike

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-8417703389736365762008-12-15T04:09:00.000-08:002009-07-26T04:18:06.473-07:00

A little while back, in my post about building wealth, I mentioned that I thought it was important to re-invest any income derived from your investment portfolio. It is an example of the compounding effect at work. Today I'd like to share my thoughts on dividend reinvestment plans (sometimes referred to as DRIPs). Dividend re-investment is touted by many a being a great strategy for growing

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-73583548821035992322008-11-02T02:30:00.000-08:002009-07-23T05:35:03.568-07:00

When you put your money into a savings account at the bank, it is on the understanding that you will earn some interest on that deposit. It's your reward for letting bank use your money for a while. Alternatively, you could say it's the cost a bank incurs when borrowing your money. Dividends are a little bit like interest but with a number of subtle yet important differences.A dividend is a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-26040205607456605642008-10-23T05:13:00.000-07:002009-07-23T05:18:12.816-07:00

Dividends are payments a company makes to its shareholders out of corporate profits. It is the income you receive for investing in the stock market.Typically the returns derived from equity based investments like stocks take the form of capital growth (through a rising stock price) and income through dividends.It's important to note that not all companies pay dividends. Newer companies and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-65587203172205024042008-09-12T06:16:00.000-07:002009-07-22T06:25:55.674-07:00

I firmly believe that a personal or household budget is one of the fundamental building blocks when it comes to the subject of personal finance. A budget allows you to see clearly where your money comes from and where it goes. This is the very first step you need to take if you want to get in control of your finances.Having said that, I've been a somewhat sporadic user of a budget as a personal

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-82734218235772622402008-08-07T04:31:00.000-07:002009-07-21T08:35:14.196-07:00

Most of us go into debt at some point in our lives, either by choice or out of necessity. It might be a car loan to finance the purchase of your dream car. It could be the mortgage you need to buy a home for you and your family. It might even be the credit card debt you build up each month (and hopefully pay off within the interest-free period).But I'm surprised at how many people I've met who

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-86376521190396687422008-07-21T06:10:00.000-07:002009-07-21T06:20:40.788-07:00

I know that get rich quick schemes are enticing. The lure of making money fast is too tempting for some people to resist. Maybe there are some methods out there which you can use successfully to generate significant wealth over a short period of time. However, I suspect there is either a certain amount of luck, a large amount of risk involved or both. In fact the cynic in me suspects that the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-25129117614475462122008-06-17T01:22:00.000-07:002008-06-17T01:26:17.916-07:00

One of the key features of a personal finance plan is the section aimed at building wealth. And investing in the stock market can be a great way to accumulate wealth over the long term. And there are plenty of options to help you get started. You don't need to go out and buy a heap of shares straight away. In this post I'll examine some of the ways you can go about investing in the stock

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-27748233166038619312008-06-10T04:12:00.000-07:002008-06-10T04:22:45.947-07:00

With rising oil prices many of us are feeling the pinch at the pump. And for most of us the cost of running a car is taking up more of that monthly personal finance budget - no doubt eating into our discretionary spending. And discretionary spending is where the fun is after all. So in this post I'm going to share 7 tips to help you cut the cost of running your car.1. Drive LessSounds obvious

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-44156413996745114522008-03-12T02:46:00.000-07:002008-03-12T05:10:36.940-07:00

What is an emergency cash fund and what does it have to do with personal finance?What if you lost your job tomorrow? What about if your car broke down - or your fridge or washing machine. Would you be able to cope with this unplanned expense without undue financial stress? Would you need to borrow money at some exorbitant interest rate to cover the cost until the next payday?An emergency

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-63495513202796810642008-03-06T02:32:00.000-08:002008-03-06T03:09:41.126-08:00

Are you trying to get your personal finances organized? This article will help get you started.Lots of people have good intentions when it comes to personal finance - they just don't know where to start. And it's not always easy. Everyone's situation is different - there's no one-size-fits-all solution. You may be in a situation where you have trouble making ends meet from week to week. Or

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-42593262641006206902008-03-04T03:34:00.000-08:002008-03-04T03:43:14.770-08:00

How does budgeting apply to personal finance?Budgeting is one of the most basic personal finance tasks you can undertake. A surprising number of people have never even given this subject any thought and fewer still have even attempted to prepare one. So I have deciding to write a series of posts on personal finance budgets - what are they, why do you need one and how do you create one?Today I

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-42225887203794095412008-02-28T20:19:00.000-08:002008-03-06T02:54:40.671-08:00

What is the definition of personal finance?Personal finance is a remarkably broad subject. The simplest way to define personal finance might be to take a look at each of the topics which come under the personal finance umbrella.Record Keeping.One of the fundamentals of personal finance is record keeping. It provides the foundation for everything else to build on. Keeping records means keeping

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-45166553471827053192008-02-26T04:18:00.000-08:002009-08-02T04:23:45.568-07:00

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions you can reach me at: Feel free to drop me a line.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239547482744317980.post-37867728174413183252008-02-25T20:07:00.000-08:002008-03-06T02:53:26.425-08:00

What is the Money Management Personal Finance Blog about?I have finally decided to start a Money Management and Personal Finance blog. After many months of reading the writings of other personal finance bloggers and many years of successfully managing my own finances, I thought I would share what I've learned with the world at large.But before I start, I need to make one thing clear. I am not a

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