Personal Finance

From The Archives: Inflation, ESPP’s, and Capital Gains

Inflation - A Nexis search in 1996 found that inflation is the most commonly used economic term in the popular media. They found 872,000 news stories over the past twenty years that used the word inflation. ESPP - Many large companies offer Employee Stock Purchase Plans (ESPP) that let you buy your employer’s stock at a discount. These plans are offered as an employment incentive, giving you an opportunity to share in the growth potential of your company’s stock (and, by implication, work har...
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$19 Billion In Overdraft Fees

Overdraft fees have morphed into a big money-maker for banks. Kiplinger's recently reported that lenders collected more than $19 billion this year, up 85% from 2004. Banks charge as much as $35 for a check, ATM withdrawal or debit purchase when funds to cover them are lacking, even if it's a $2 cup of coffee that puts a customer into overdraft territory. Recently, my wife was charged a $20 overdraft fee, because her paycheck, which was supposed to be direct-deposited into her account, did...
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From The Archives: Leverage, The Efficient Market Hypothesis, and Emergency Funds

Lets Talk About Leverage -Leverage allows you to use a small amount of your own money to make an investment that you expect to increase in value. In that way, leverage can increase your buying power and give you control of potentially valuable assets. What is the Efficient Market Hypothesis? -EMH suggests that the army of analysts and fund managers whose job is to actively manage portfolios are engaged in a futile exercise because everything they find out is rapidly transmitted around the ma...
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We Have New Jobs!

My wife has worked for her current employer for over 4 years. I have worked for my current employer for almost 4 years. Strangely enough, within about a week of each other, we have both been offered new jobs, and we both have accepted them. My wife was was starting to dislike her work. Recent changes had made made the work environment less and less bearable for her. As I have mentioned before, she is currently going to college full time and she only stayed at the job because they were alw...
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From the Archives: International Investing, Investing Risks, Interest, and Taxes

How Taxes Affect Your Return - By considering taxes as an additional expense, you’ll be able to make informed decisions that, all else being equal, can help your portfolio’s returns over the long run. How much interest do you earn on one million dollars? - It depends on several factors including: What is the interest rate? Over what period of time? How often is the interest calculated and paid during the period? The Risks of Investing - All types of investments have risks, whether you’re i...
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From the Archives: Social Security, Rich Men, Investing Costs, and a Powerful Force

The Most Powerful Force in the Universe - Compound interest has also been called the eighth wonder of the world and the greatest mathematical discovery of all time. Why Costs Matter When Investing - The old adage “you get what you pay for” doesn’t apply to investing. Top 10 Richest Men Of All Time - Rankings of some of the most influential men in the history of humanity. Top Myths of Social Security - Social Security is a real problem and we need to fix it and that involves pain.
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Carnival of Personal Finance #95

Welcome to the 95th episode of the carnival of personal finance. Take a look around. If you like what you see, subscribe. Title Site Excerpt Self Employed Retirement Savings - Your Options Debt Free Being self employed affords you some advantages not enjoyed by the average person. Who Pays for Credit Card Rewards and Rebates? The Finance Buff The rewards and rebates from credit cards are not free lunch. There is no free lunch. What does 23 cents buy? Cents You Asked I do agree that t...
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