·
Welcome to the end of the week! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this weeks roundup of interesting reads in another edition of Happy Hour.
I don’t know to many people who buy a car on the spot based only on what the salesperson tells them. Yet, that’s exactly what many people do every year with their retirement money.
Bloomberg reported how people were duped by sketchy advisors to rollover their 401k money into terrible financial products. Continue Reading…
·
The first rule of wealth creation is to spend less than you earn. The result is extra money you can save and put to work. When choosing between whether to pay off debt or invest, what’s the best use of your money?
Both play a role in a smart financial plan. But basic math says – whatever gives the best return on your money. To simplify things, here’s a formula for dealing with this question.
I’ll explain below. Continue Reading…
·
Welcome to the end of the week! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this weeks roundup of interesting reads in another edition of Happy Hour.
As a kid, you were warned to stay away from the stove. It was hot. It would hurt. Yet, despite the warning, you felt the pain eventually. Everyone did. In that mistake you learned a lesson. Of course, it wasn’t that your parents were right. It was far to early for that one. Rather, the stove has hot things that burn. A simple lesson that caused you far less pain in the future. Continue Reading…
·
The commission-free ETF craze is a growing trend among brokers fighting for your investment dollars. Free is a big selling point.
With ETFs already a popular alternative to mutual funds, taking advantage of an opportunity to cut commissions is persuasive. Your current online broker may already offer commission-free ETFs as an investment choice. But is it the best option for you?
A $5 to $10 trading fee may not seem like much but brokerage commissions are just a cost to your portfolio’s returns. Every dollar you spend must be made back just to break even. The cost is relative when you consider the amount you’re investing. But as the table below shows, the return you need to break even can be very high. Continue Reading…
·
Welcome to the end of the week! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this weeks roundup of interesting reads in another edition of Happy Hour.
The European Central Bank announced negative rates this week, along with a few other measures, to help move it forward. Much like QE helped to lower rates, increase borrowing, and grow the economy, this is expected to do the same.
At the beginning of the year I pointed out how Europe is following a similar path as the US. If this is true, the results should be the same – higher stock prices, lower rates. Continue Reading…
·
Welcome to the end of the week! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this weeks roundup of interesting reads in another edition of Happy Hour.
We came one step closer to self driving cars when Google unveiled the first prototype this week. As someone who hasn’t driven in over a decade, I fully support this. The idea of being driven around as opposed to driving is refreshing, certainly less stressful, and more efficient than our current system. Continue Reading…