Yes, Yes, it is >40 years off for us, but it's worth considering the myths vs. the reality of planning for retirement. Many of these same myths spill over into the rest of our financial planning.
CNN Money article.
http://tinyurl.com/2tqptz
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Sobering perspective on debt
Last week I watched a documentary entitled Maxed Out. There's a good book by the film maker that's pretty good too. It's a little on the long side, but well worth the time.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Mini Challenge - Debt Payment Plan
Hello all,
Most people here have some sort of debt (student loans, credit card, etc.) that we owe. We want to pay off debt, but that would take money that we could use for other things (such as saving for a rainy day/down payment on something fund, investing in stocks or bonds, or for enjoyment/doing stuff now that we have income coming in), thus creating competing priorities for our money.
The challenge - planning out how and when you will repay debts you owe. Will you pay the minimum on your debts and stretch out payments, or is paying off all of your debts your highest priority? Some factors to consider:
With respect to debts
1. What is the interest rate (cost) on your debt?
2. What, if any, are the tax advantages of your debt? (student loan interest is tax deductible for the most part).
3. What is the psychological burden of carrying the debt, if any? What relief would you feel, if any, if your debt were to be paid off?
With respect to other uses?
1. What is the return on investment of the other uses of your money?
2. How much more comfortable would you feel if you had a larger rainy day or downpayment fund?
3. What are the tax advantages of other investments or locations for your money?
4. Is there something that you want to do now that you have money coming in? Do these uses (and the benefit/enjoyment to you) outweigh paying down debts or using the money for other investments?
All of these are just thoughts to consider.
For your convenience, there are online calculators to use to figure out how long your debt repayment would take.
http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/debtplanner/debtplanner.jsp is one of these calculators. There are numerous others, both for debts and investments.
Please post a reply if you accept this challenge.
Good luck!
Most people here have some sort of debt (student loans, credit card, etc.) that we owe. We want to pay off debt, but that would take money that we could use for other things (such as saving for a rainy day/down payment on something fund, investing in stocks or bonds, or for enjoyment/doing stuff now that we have income coming in), thus creating competing priorities for our money.
The challenge - planning out how and when you will repay debts you owe. Will you pay the minimum on your debts and stretch out payments, or is paying off all of your debts your highest priority? Some factors to consider:
With respect to debts
1. What is the interest rate (cost) on your debt?
2. What, if any, are the tax advantages of your debt? (student loan interest is tax deductible for the most part).
3. What is the psychological burden of carrying the debt, if any? What relief would you feel, if any, if your debt were to be paid off?
With respect to other uses?
1. What is the return on investment of the other uses of your money?
2. How much more comfortable would you feel if you had a larger rainy day or downpayment fund?
3. What are the tax advantages of other investments or locations for your money?
4. Is there something that you want to do now that you have money coming in? Do these uses (and the benefit/enjoyment to you) outweigh paying down debts or using the money for other investments?
All of these are just thoughts to consider.
For your convenience, there are online calculators to use to figure out how long your debt repayment would take.
http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/debtplanner/debtplanner.jsp is one of these calculators. There are numerous others, both for debts and investments.
Please post a reply if you accept this challenge.
Good luck!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Some Goodies!!!!
New at stocks? Not sure where to look? Try "ShareBuilder.com". I checked out the site myself. It's pretty cool.
Don't want to let your hard earned dollars gather dust in a traditional bank account? Is your savings account just not earning you enough to keep up with the inflation monster? Try saving your money in ING:Direct. Right now the interest is 5.15% compared to the paltry numbers that US Bank, Wells Fargo, WaMu, and other traditional banks offer.
Don't want to let your hard earned dollars gather dust in a traditional bank account? Is your savings account just not earning you enough to keep up with the inflation monster? Try saving your money in ING:Direct. Right now the interest is 5.15% compared to the paltry numbers that US Bank, Wells Fargo, WaMu, and other traditional banks offer.
Meeting Minutes 8.20.07
Alrighty folks! This is the very first meeting that the minutes are posted on the blog. They will be posted immediately after every meeting hence forth. Members should take advantage of this public viewing, especially if a meeting is missed. It also would not be a bad idea for those who missed the meeting to add their thoughts as well.
Due to alot of people just not being in town, July was a "dark" month (no meeting). As a result, there was definitely no shortage of things to talk about in this meeting.
__________________________________________________________
Attendees: Tye, Phyllis, Katy, Mable
Meeting Commenced: 8:05 pm
1. Brief Introductions
2. Book Discussion
Quick Ratings (may be expanded upon in respective follow-up blogs):
Tye: "Learn to Earn" by Peter Lynch ; ***** 2/5 stars
Phyllis: "In Spite of the Gods" by Edward Rice ***** 1/5 stars
Katy: "Rich Dad; Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki ***** 3/5 stars
Mable: "Everything Leadership" by ***** ?/5 stars
3. What have we done to get closer to our goals???
4. Which of the three is the most important (choose one, and tell us why)???
a) Increased Cash Flow
b) Increased Reserves (Savings, 401k, investment portfolio, etc)
c) Decreased Personal Debt (credit, school loans, car payment, etc.)
4. "Walk our Talk"... Do Something! Participate in an event or activity that is pertinent in what we discuss at out monthly meetings. By the end of the year, try to engage yourself in something meaningful at least once.
5. Assignment: Everyone needs to participate in blogging for this one. Propose a mini-challenge to be achieved or completed by the end of the year. Post that challenge on the blog. Someone may or may not accept your challenge. You are also to accept another person'd challenge of your choice. Try to pick one that will stretch you a tiny bit out of your comfort zone.
6. Blogging Responsibilities: Meeting minutes, more views, higher participation
7. Proposed September 2007 Meeting: 9.17.07 Hosted by Phyllis
Meeting Adjourned: 9:15 pm
Thank you Tye for hosting this meeting!
_____________________________________________________________
Due to alot of people just not being in town, July was a "dark" month (no meeting). As a result, there was definitely no shortage of things to talk about in this meeting.
__________________________________________________________
Attendees: Tye, Phyllis, Katy, Mable
Meeting Commenced: 8:05 pm
1. Brief Introductions
2. Book Discussion
Quick Ratings (may be expanded upon in respective follow-up blogs):
Tye: "Learn to Earn" by Peter Lynch ; ***** 2/5 stars
Phyllis: "In Spite of the Gods" by Edward Rice ***** 1/5 stars
Katy: "Rich Dad; Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki ***** 3/5 stars
Mable: "Everything Leadership" by ***** ?/5 stars
3. What have we done to get closer to our goals???
4. Which of the three is the most important (choose one, and tell us why)???
a) Increased Cash Flow
b) Increased Reserves (Savings, 401k, investment portfolio, etc)
c) Decreased Personal Debt (credit, school loans, car payment, etc.)
4. "Walk our Talk"... Do Something! Participate in an event or activity that is pertinent in what we discuss at out monthly meetings. By the end of the year, try to engage yourself in something meaningful at least once.
5. Assignment: Everyone needs to participate in blogging for this one. Propose a mini-challenge to be achieved or completed by the end of the year. Post that challenge on the blog. Someone may or may not accept your challenge. You are also to accept another person'd challenge of your choice. Try to pick one that will stretch you a tiny bit out of your comfort zone.
6. Blogging Responsibilities: Meeting minutes, more views, higher participation
7. Proposed September 2007 Meeting: 9.17.07 Hosted by Phyllis
Meeting Adjourned: 9:15 pm
Thank you Tye for hosting this meeting!
_____________________________________________________________
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Book Reviews - August 2007
Hello everyone,
In what is hopefully the first in a series, I am posting a book review on select books that I have read in the past month. My self-education goal is to read at least one book related to investment/money/finance (IMF book) and one book on something else. I will put up my take on the book as well as a link to the Amazon profile (so you can see more reviews, get details, etc.)
IMF Book
Basic Economics: a citizen's guide to the economy by Thomas Sowell, 3rd edition - 2007
Most introductory books on Economics are aimed for a classroom, and contain many formal equations, curves, phenomena names, etc. Besides being rather boring, many of these texts also paint a somewhat unrealistic picture of economics by sparsely covering the implications of governmental (and to a lesser extent, private) regulations, taxes, fees, and policies on market dynamics. Sowell's book is good in that it does a great job of qualitatively describing economic phenomena while providing an ample number of examples of past events and their impacts on the economic system. The examples serve as a good history lesson for current events (such as the collapse of the housing bubble and credit crunch) and for future trends (public debt, globalization, etc.).
Sowell brings a lassiez-faire, free market bias to this book, but, fortunately for most readers, it should become clear where this bias is apparent and to consider it appropriately. The conservative bias, however, is not my biggest problem with Sowell's book. My biggest disagreement (and disappointment) comes with his all too brief examination of externalities.
Overall, Basic Economics is a great book on the basics of our economic system. I would highly recommend it for those who want to develop a better broad understanding of economics. This book is available both at the UCI (3rd edition) and the OC Public (1st and 2nd editions) libraries.
Amazon.com description and reviews of Basic Economics.
Other Book
Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas by Kevn Merida and Michael A. Fletcher - 2007
Amazon.com description and reviews
This is a very well written biography on the most enigmatic and controversial member of an enigmatic (and often controversial) government body. Merida and Fletcher and trace Thomas' personal and ideological journey from a small, backwater Georgia town to the highest court. They try to examine the origin of the traits that, to his supporters, make Thomas courageous and, to his detractors, make him a hypocrite. In doing so, the authors' exam the forces that contribute to the most conservative jurisprudence on the Supreme Court; a tenure that has lasted a decade and a half, and which could last another 25-30 years.
I enjoyed reading this book very much as it is one of the best written books that I have read lately. Even if you don't follow government or politics very much, this story is intriguing.
That's my reading for this month.
Ray
In what is hopefully the first in a series, I am posting a book review on select books that I have read in the past month. My self-education goal is to read at least one book related to investment/money/finance (IMF book) and one book on something else. I will put up my take on the book as well as a link to the Amazon profile (so you can see more reviews, get details, etc.)
IMF Book
Basic Economics: a citizen's guide to the economy by Thomas Sowell, 3rd edition - 2007
Most introductory books on Economics are aimed for a classroom, and contain many formal equations, curves, phenomena names, etc. Besides being rather boring, many of these texts also paint a somewhat unrealistic picture of economics by sparsely covering the implications of governmental (and to a lesser extent, private) regulations, taxes, fees, and policies on market dynamics. Sowell's book is good in that it does a great job of qualitatively describing economic phenomena while providing an ample number of examples of past events and their impacts on the economic system. The examples serve as a good history lesson for current events (such as the collapse of the housing bubble and credit crunch) and for future trends (public debt, globalization, etc.).
Sowell brings a lassiez-faire, free market bias to this book, but, fortunately for most readers, it should become clear where this bias is apparent and to consider it appropriately. The conservative bias, however, is not my biggest problem with Sowell's book. My biggest disagreement (and disappointment) comes with his all too brief examination of externalities.
Overall, Basic Economics is a great book on the basics of our economic system. I would highly recommend it for those who want to develop a better broad understanding of economics. This book is available both at the UCI (3rd edition) and the OC Public (1st and 2nd editions) libraries.
Amazon.com description and reviews of Basic Economics.
Other Book
Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas by Kevn Merida and Michael A. Fletcher - 2007
Amazon.com description and reviews
This is a very well written biography on the most enigmatic and controversial member of an enigmatic (and often controversial) government body. Merida and Fletcher and trace Thomas' personal and ideological journey from a small, backwater Georgia town to the highest court. They try to examine the origin of the traits that, to his supporters, make Thomas courageous and, to his detractors, make him a hypocrite. In doing so, the authors' exam the forces that contribute to the most conservative jurisprudence on the Supreme Court; a tenure that has lasted a decade and a half, and which could last another 25-30 years.
I enjoyed reading this book very much as it is one of the best written books that I have read lately. Even if you don't follow government or politics very much, this story is intriguing.
That's my reading for this month.
Ray
Sunday, July 8, 2007
And another thought...
Tye and I (Phyllis) were toying with the idea of investing in one potential "Big One" as a joint group venture. I also spoke briefly about it with Ray. I don't know how possible this is, but I would like to see about investing in the company Katy and I currently work for. They are not currently public yet, and the potential for growth on our inital investment is sky high.
I would like to talk about that at next meeting, segueing into "active investing".
Also, since this July month is a period in which many people are going to be out and about all over the place. The original quartet (Tye, Ray, Katy, Phyllis) have concluded that we should not host a monthly meeting for July, but instead, check in via blog space, and record our thoughts, and what we've individually done for "homework" and "field work".
I have been reading this one book in particular "In Spite of the Gods". It's written by a British national, who is married to an Indian spouse, and they currently reside in India. The author talks about paradox of India's "great leap forward", and the mysticism that seems to have been forced upon India by the West. Also, it delves into great detail about the corrupted politics of India (especially the northern region), and how it played a part in how India is today. I just started reading it, but I am already enthralled with it. When I continue on with it, I will definitely update my thoughts on it!
I would like to talk about that at next meeting, segueing into "active investing".
Also, since this July month is a period in which many people are going to be out and about all over the place. The original quartet (Tye, Ray, Katy, Phyllis) have concluded that we should not host a monthly meeting for July, but instead, check in via blog space, and record our thoughts, and what we've individually done for "homework" and "field work".
I have been reading this one book in particular "In Spite of the Gods". It's written by a British national, who is married to an Indian spouse, and they currently reside in India. The author talks about paradox of India's "great leap forward", and the mysticism that seems to have been forced upon India by the West. Also, it delves into great detail about the corrupted politics of India (especially the northern region), and how it played a part in how India is today. I just started reading it, but I am already enthralled with it. When I continue on with it, I will definitely update my thoughts on it!
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