Second in a 2-Part Series In part one you have madly scrambled to increase your retirement plan savings and sign up for your Flexible Spending Account during the last milliseconds of open enrollment. Now, let’s talk about the other 3 items on the list. #3 Harvest Tax Losses In your non-retirement (a.k.a. taxable) accounts, you report…
First in a 2-part Series Sorry folks, but your year-end madness is not limited to covering your house with decorations a la Clark Griswold or fighting the mongrel hordes at the mall. There are some financial items that need your attention, too! This time we’ll focus on items #1 and #2. In part 2 we’ll…
Last week, we saw how bond prices change based on the interest rate being paid by newer bonds in comparison with older ones that have already been bought by consumers. We also saw 2 weeks ago how you might diversify your bond holdings by having some that are super-safe (US Government issued), pretty safe (bonds…
Bonds do go up and down in price. One reason can be because of changes in interest rates. Let’s return to Kristi’s Ranger Cookie Food Truck. You’ve bought a $5,000 bond from me that matures in 5 years. My business is going well and I’m paying your 5% interest every year as promised. But, let’s…
Remember a few weeks ago I introduced the business of Kristi’s Ranger Cookie Food Truck? Let’s go back and visit that business to get a better understanding of how the bond market works. As we said before, a bond is simply a loan between two parties. The buyer of the bonds is the loaner and…
Last week, I wrote about choosing mutual funds based first on the area of the investment market where they specialize, not just based on returns. But how do you know if the fund you are researching is in the area of your portfolio that you are looking to fill? There is a well-known tool called…
Most of us are pretty good consumers. We use coupons, look for deals online, and buy on sale. Somehow, those good habits go out the window when we shop for investments. Avoidable Mistake #1: We buy when prices are high. Most people get into an investment based on its one year return that looks fantastic.…
Last week, we talked about the different ways that mutual fund sellers get paid. There are funds with loads, called A or B shares, that charge up-front or back-end commissions. There are also no-load funds that are sold directly from mutual fund companies or through discount brokers such as Fidelity, Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Vanguard, or E-trade.…
It shouldn’t surprise you that people in the business of investing money like to make money themselves. And that’s fine! As a consumer you should understand how your investments charge you and whether the price is reasonable. Today I’ll discuss two common ways that mutual fund companies make money: Loads and Expense Ratios. Loads…
Last week we talked about the difference between stocks and bonds. Today, we will talk about how we can use mutual funds to buy stocks and bonds. You’ve probably been told that it’s a good idea to have a diversified portfolio. This means that you shouldn’t invest all of your money in one company. …
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