What Does Procrastination Really Cost

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Guest

The following is a guest post. If interested in submitting a guest post, please read my guest posting policy and then contact me.

Not Now

How many times have you heard it: “You have to invest!”

What has your response been? If you’ve ever said something like: “Sure… just not now,” you’re with me. I said that for many years. Most people probably don’t say it out loud, but their actions (you know, those things that speak louder than words) do their speaking for them.

Why do we procrastinate? How does this play out in our brains? We say something like “I know I have to brush my teeth, but I’ll get caught up tomorrow. One day (or month or year) isn’t going to make a difference. Just leave me alone!” Continue reading →

How Home Buying Fits Into My Retirement Plans

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Jeremy

Photo: 401(K) 2013

As I get closer to closer to buying my first home, I’m getting pretty excited. It’s not just the extra freedom and satisfaction that I’m excited about though. I’m also excited about how this plays into eventual retirement plans.

Many people just think of stocks, bonds and mutual fund investments when saving for retirement is mentioned. Really there is so much more than just market related investments. Physical assets such as your home should definitely be considered.

For people like me who live in an expensive city this is especially true. The home we are buying now will go a long way to fulfilling our retirement savings needs. Eventually we can sell off this condo, downgrade to something cheaper and use the cash for day to day needs. With any luck, the housing market keeps growing here and we even net a nice profit from that sale.

There is the possibility that the housing market collapses in the meantime though. So we cannot count on definitely getting the full amount back down the road. With that in mind we’ll still need to save as much money as possible on top of the value of our home. Most likely the condo will keep its value, but it’s best to play it safe. Continue reading →

Making Your Blog More Attractive for Blog Advertising

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Jeremy

Photo: R/DV/RS

Check out my new guide for starting a blog to learn how to go about properly creating your own blog.

Since you guys and gals seem to be appreciating my posts relating to blog advertising, I figure I might as well keep that theme going for a bit. It is an area that I feel quite comfortable with since I have experience on both sides of the business.

If there’s something in particular you want me to cover related to blog advertising or anything else to do with blogging, just let me know. Or if you want to contribute a future blogging tips post yourself, that would be awesome too. It’s been a while since I’ve had a guest writer for this series.

If you’re new to this series, check out some of the previous blogging tips posts:

Continue reading →

Getting My First Home Mortgage

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Jeremy

Photo: nikcname

As some of you may recall, my girlfriend and I are in the midst of purchasing our first home. Previously I wrote about the importance of a good realtor and the benefits of quality home inspection.

Our home buying story wouldn’t be complete without telling you about how our mortgage process went.

Despite how others have warned about various hassles of buying a home, I have to say it’s gone incredibly smooth so far. Besides the initial minor problems with the other realtors we tried, there have been virtually no problems. That says a lot about the realtor that we were lucky enough to work with – he was a true professional. Getting the mortgage may have been the only difficult part.

It’s not that the bank wasn’t willing to lend me enough money to buy a home. No they were quite willing to lend me about 50% more than we needed. Getting the interest rate I wanted was another story. Continue reading →

Top 5 Things Mutual Fund Companies Don’t Really Want You to Know

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Guest

The following is a guest post. If interested in submitting a guest post, please read my guest posting policy and then contact me.

1. The majority of mutual funds underperform the stock market

Historically the majority of mutual funds continue to underperform the stock market; this is partly due to their cost overhead, and the strategies employed by their fund managers.

“Over time, because of their costs, approximately 80% of mutual funds will underperform the stock market’s returns.”*

“Over the past five years, fully 91 percent of all mutual funds have underperformed the market’s average return.”** Continue reading →

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