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TD Ameritrade Review – The Best Online Broker?

By Jon on April 25, 2013 1 Comment

TD Ameritrade ReviewTD Ameritrade is one of the biggest online brokers. It’s won many awards and received high ratings from the financial press. That all sounds great, but it’s not why I use it.

The broker you use is just as important as how you invest your money. While there are a lot of good online brokers to choose from, it makes sense to choose the broker that best fits your investment needs.

If I started from scratch and had to find a new broker today, these would be the key requirements I’d look for:

  • No Minimum Deposit Requirement
  • Great Research Tools
  • Easy to Use Trading Platform
  • Commission Free ETFs
  • Great Customer Support
  • Competitive Costs
  • Easy Tax Reporting

In the end, TD Ameritrade meets all of these and it’s why I use it today. I’ve been a TD Ameritrade user since 2005. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the best online broker around. It’s great for beginners, long-term investors, and has the advanced tools any trader needs. Continue Reading…

H&R Block At Home Review

By Jon on January 31, 2013 Leave a Comment

H&R Block at HomeH&R Block is one of the world’s largest tax service providers with offices all over the country. Their H&R Block at Home tax software is the online version of sitting down with one of their tax pros. Now you can get your tax return done without ever leaving your house.

I should preface this before we start. I’ve been a loyal user of a competitor’s software for years. So I could easily say it’s not worth the effort. But I’ve been digging through their online software for a few days. While I don’t think I’ll switch, because I’m comfortable with what I use, H&R Block at Home does have some nice features.

Besides, what is nice about online tax software, you don’t pay until you’re done. So if it doesn’t work the way you want, it’s hard to figure out, or you have problems with it, just stop, head down their tax office or use a competitor. Continue Reading…

TurboTax Review: Tax Prep Made Easy

By Jon on January 17, 2013 Leave a Comment

Turbotax ReviewTurboTax is one of the most popular online tax preparation and filing services around. During tax season, it’s nice to have tax software that makes finishing that return as quick and painless as possible.

I’ve used TurboTax to do my tax returns for over a decade now. Back when the only option was to buy the software in a store, I was using it.  That was before the internet, by the way. Of course now, TurboTax offers online tax software and makes those dreaded tax returns that much easier to finish and file quickly.

With TurboTax, you’ll find a range of products that fit the easiest return to the most complicated. If you’re looking for simple, easy to use and understand tax software, this is the product I recommend. Continue Reading…

Book Review: Millionaire Teacher

By Jon on April 26, 2012 1 Comment

With Financial Literacy month coming to an end, its difficult not to mention the total lack of financial education we receive at the elementary and high school level.  The reality is, it’s non-existent and nothing seems to be changing any time soon to correct it.  So it comes down to us, as individuals, to pick up a book and teach ourselves.

The question is where do we start?

The Approach

I was recently approached to do a book review.  It’s not a rare occurrence and I’ve had my fill of financial books over the years.  So when the Millionaire Teacher finally showed up in the mail, I honestly wasn’t overly excited about reading it.  Despite my misgivings, I gave it a shot and quickly found it was not your typical investment book.

The Millionaire Teacher is an investing autobiography of sorts by the author Andrew Hallam.  He is a successful high school English teacher, investor and writer.  Did I mention he’s a self-made millionaire on a teacher’s salary? Continue Reading…