It is the end of May, which could be a huge MAYDAY for the stock market! You’ve all heard the saying: “sell in May and go away”. Well, that saying doesn’t matter a bit because this is the Carnival of Passive Investing, and we’re focused on passive investing strategies for the long term. Remember, 70% [...]
Cash Flow Investments: REITs and Agency Mortgages
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Real estate investment trusts are a favorite among cash flow-seeking investors. By law, REITs must return 90% of their operating earnings back to shareholders in the form of dividends. While this similarity makes REITs look like cookie-cutter investments, they are anything but. Let’s run through the several different types of mortgage REIT investments: Agency Mortgage [...]
Emergency Funds: How Much Do You Really Need?
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Freedom Fund. The “Oops” Account. A “Rainy Day” Fund. The “$h-t Hit the Fan” Account. However you refer to it, having an emergency fund is critical to anyone’s long-term financial well-being. In a pinch, an emergency fund is a safety net that can help you avoid taking on unnecessary debt, help you weather a financial [...]
Swing Trading Strategies with Alexander Elder: 3 Ways To Profit
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Swing trading has gained some interest lately because it is a popular strategy used to profit on price volatility. It was coined by Alexander Elder, a New York trader who lives off his trading profits and has written a book on rule-based swing trading. Swing trading is highly speculative, and a swing trading strategy to [...]
Disaster-Proof Your Household Finances
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While the most recent figures show that unemployment has unexpectedly fallen, many households are still worried about finding themselves out of work. The number of people unemployed in the UK fell by 45,000 between January and March 2012 – according to the Office of National Statistics. Yet much of this is being attributed to a [...]
Dogs of The Dow: Is This Strategy a Winner?
The Dogs of the Dow is an investment strategy with history. Michael B. O’Higgins suggested that one should purchase last year’s losers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The methodology is very simple: Each year investors are to: Find the dividend yields of all Dow Jones Industrial stocks. Invest 10% of their capital in 10 [...]
5 Warning Signs You’re Being Scammed
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I hate being pessimistic, but it can be hard NOT to be pessimistic sometimes, especially when it comes to people and crime. Millions of individuals are scammed each year in the United States, and they don’t have to be if they are just a little vigilant and know what to look for. Here are some things you [...]
First-Time Home Buying 101
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It’s official: Mortgage rates have again hit an all-time low. With rates falling and inventory levels building, there’s never been a better time to buy your first home. There are a lot of good deals out there, but you need to make sure that you know what you’re doing so that you don’t overpay or [...]
How Safe Are Your Finances From Your Kids?
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Having kids can be a a huge joy in life, but it is also a huge financial obligation. There are so many different costs involved in raising a child, from the added basics like food, to the costs of education, and more. The USDA has calculated the costs of raising a child for both single [...]
Which Country Has The Best Student Bank Accounts: UK vs. US
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I get a lot of UK readers on this site, so I thought that it would be fun to do a little research on UK banking and see which country has the best bank accounts for students: the United States or the United Kingdom? Even though both systems operate slightly differently, both countries have a public [...]
The Newbie Traders Guide to Investing Jargon
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Starting to trade stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or ETFs can be even harder and scarier if you don’t understand what all the investing jargon means! I mean, if you didn’t know better, a “call” is what you make using a phone, not an options trade. There are so many different random words, from when you [...]
Investing in Gold: A Pure Ponzi-Style Wager on Other Investors
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Gold’s seven-year performance is nothing short of amazing. Since 2005, bullion investors have enjoyed a return greater than 250%. Investors who made the move to bullion would show a compound annual growth rate of 14.56% on their investment capital in a period where the S&P500 index returned less than 2.8% annually, including dividends. So is [...]
Finding Financial Aid for College
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This is a guest post from Jonny Pean, who blogs about personal finance at Financial Wand. College life not only enriches, but also imposes a few burdens on college students. As you prepare to leave your mark in college, new horizon of responsibility and anxiety can choke your path. For example, how are you [...]
The College Freshman’s Guide to Money Management
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It’s finally here: The summer before your first year of college. As one chapter of your life closes and another begins to take root, it’s a prime opportunity to instill sound money management–and set yourself up for a lifetime of financial stability. As you decide which courses to take, start to find your textbooks, and [...]
Can You Get an International Student Loan?
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Getting some type of international education is extremely popular right now. Many students are spending at least one semester, if not an entire year, studying abroad. You can find study abroad programs at most major colleges and universities in the United States. These programs partner with universities in other countries so that you can get [...]
4 To-Dos When Starting a Small Business
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Have you ever considered starting a small business? Most people won’t consider starting a business because of lack of knowledge and fear of failure. There is a lot that goes into starting your own business. You’ve got to find what you love and figure out how to make money doing it, build up your clientele, [...]
Student Loan Interest Rates Doubling: A Bad Thing?
If you’ve been following the political news lately, you will have no doubt heard about the upcoming battle on student loan interest rates. Basically, Federal Student Loan interest rates were lowered 50% to 3.4% during the financial crisis. However, on July 1, 2012, they are set to go back up to their original 6.8%. What [...]
5 Steps Towards Post-College Financial Bliss
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Over my past few posts, I’ve highlighted key transitions that have financial ramifications in any college graduate’s life: The job search and managing life in your first apartment. Today, I will round out this series with some tips on how you can help solidify a strong financial foundation for years to come. Even if you [...]
Alternatives to PayPal
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If you do business online, no doubt that you use PayPal. It has become the most mainstream online payment service over the last few years, thanks, in part, to it collaboration (and then purchase) by eBay. However, it is not the only player in this space, and here are a few alternatives you should check [...]
Research The Board of Directors Of Your Company!
In the wake of the Chesapeake Energy’s CEO Aubrey McClendon’s gaff of personal loans and odd hedge fund dealings, it is more important than ever to research your company’s or your investment’s leaders and directors. You want to be certain, as an investor, that you know what you are getting into. The trouble with being [...]
