Costs Beyond the Mortgage

(The true cost of owning a home) Here is an article that explains the costs beyond the mortgage that you will incur when buying a home. I like the article because it actually gives the numbers encounter by the author. It isn't just a list with rough numbers and/or percents.

Mortgage Rates Rising

(Rate woes: The latest hit to home values) This article is about what will happen as the rise in mortgage rates takes affect in the next few months. It has a great numerical example that shows how much the same mortgage payment will buy as rates rise. It is interesting to see that just a little change in interest rates makes a persons buying power so much smaller.

Workplace Myths

(The Five Biggest Workplace Myths) Here is a quick read article about the new work place and how some different attitudes exist in our modern day.

The 80% Rule Could Be Wrong For Most

(Why your retirement won't be so bad) This article contains information on why you probably won't need the rule of thumb of 80% of your pre-retirement income in retirement. It has some good points, but you have to keep in mind that every one's situation is different. If you want to sail in your golden years you might need more that 100% of your pre-retirement income, but if you plan to just spend time with your grand children while living with your child, 10% of your pre-retirment income could cover you.

What To Do With an IRA

(Rev Up Your IRA). This article has some great ideas of what to do with your IRA. It also stresses the fact that a person should start saving young for retirement with the typical mathematical models. The reason I posted this article is that it has a great list of ways to diversify your IRA and it goes beyond more than just having more that one stock to tell you how to easily invest in things beyond stocks and bonds. This article is definitely worth reading if you need ideas for your IRA.

Start Saving in Your 20's

(To get rich, start saving in your 20s) This article goes over some good knowledge for a person in their 20's to hear about financial planning at your currently age. The basic idea is to start early and invest aggressively. It also covers the reasons for an emergency fund. It also covers the advantages of easy investments like mutual finds and target date funds.

Save Money By Not Wasting It On Your Car

(20 ways you waste money on your car) Here is a quick read article about saving some money. This article has some pretty basic ideas of how not to waste your money on your car, but good pointers about maintenance that should not be ignored.

Career Advice

The Worst Career Advice Parents Can Offer. Here is an article with some interesting advice, but as the comments show it does seem to good to be true. It would be nice to follow all her advice and take time off to find yourself, move back in with your parents, so that money doesn't matter. I think reality might be a little closer to the first article I posted today about student loans being too high not to be serious right from the start.

College Costs and the Market

How College Costs Could Lead to a Market Crash Here is an article with some reasoning about how student loan debt limits what a college graduate can do. It also goes on to say the solutions to the problem do not look good for graduates. The basic idea is that jobs are being outsourced and incomes are dropping for college graduates to compete against outsourcing.

Interesting Way to Make Money ~ Be Hated

(Casey Serin: The world's most hated blogger?) Here is an article with an interesting twist. It explains how a blogger who is being used as an example across many financial blogs is using this attention to build quite a well followed blog that keeps explaining his misfortunes and opinions. Maybe I just need to be abrasive and make bad choices to get a successful blog.

Try Cash For A Week

Overspending? Try a 7-day money challenge. Here is a Quick Read article about trying to use cash for a week. The idea is to see actual material depleting rather then an idea of your balance going down from your debit card.

No Emergency Funds?

Middle class living on the edge? This article shows how few middle class Americans have appropriate savings to over come job loss or a medical emergency. It is startling how few families have the amount need for a common length of three months of unemployment.

401K Rules

(10 golden rules for your 401(k)). A great article that covers the entire spectrum of 401K investing from starting young to taking your money out in retirement. It seems to have all the points that keep reoccurring in smaller articles all together in one place.

Survey About Retirement

(One of five people plan to work till they die) A great article analyzing a survey by bankrate.com. This is the first article in my recent memory that says that younger workers are doing a decent job of saving. It also bring some numbers to how people feel about their retirement savings lasting. A significant amount of people feel that their retirement will be worse off then their pre-retirement life. Interesting facts in this article with numbers behind it to make a few decent points.

Should you buy a house?

(Should newlyweds buy a house?) This article explains some good and bad points of buying a home right after you get married. I like some of the time table references in the article.

Money Rules

(9 money rules to live by) This article has some good basic advice. It has some easily forgotten basic econ lessons briefly outlined which make it worth reading.

Saving Money By Lowering Insurance Costs

(The 10 costliest cars to insure). A great way to save money is to pay less for insurance, so next time you are looking to buy a car keep these reasons for higher insurance rates in mind. This article does a great job of explaining some of less apparent, but logical reasons for insurance rates.

IQ Does Not Give You Higher Net Worth

Why Smart People Make Bad Financial Moves This article looks at a study that concludes that IQ does not necessarily give you financial sense.

Mortgage Considerations

(Six Ways to Avoid a Mortgage Mess) This article has six well explained points about what you should be considering when thinking about mortgages.

Getting a Roommate for Extra Spensing Money

(Let someone else pay half your bills) This is some good advice about getting a roommate in your younger years, so that your money can stretch further for whatever your desires might be for extra cash. The part that I like in the article is the author's list of ways to cover yourself, so you don't end up getting burned by a roommate.

Young Adults Don't Use Retirement Vehicles

(Young adults all but ignore 401(k)s, IRAs). This article explains nothing that we have not heard before about people not saving enough, but it does share some good tips about how to get started and keep escalating savings for retirement.

Rent vs. Buy

(Why rent? To get richer) Here is an article that made me think. Do we put too much emotion into out investments? Should we only be looking at making the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time? Should investment have warm fuzzy feelings? I loving owning a home. Aren't the intangibles worth something? This article takes a numerical look at home ownership vs. renting. I think the author has some good points, but I think the author might be missing some intangibles.

Notes About Buying Your Employer's Life Insurance

Here is another article on insurance (Evaluating Life Insurance Offered at Work). It explains a few things to think about when considering how to deal with life insurance offered by your employer.

Term Life Insurance Rates Going Down

(Suddenly, life insurance is cheap) This is great news for anyone with people that depend on them for their financial well being. The article discusses how term life insurance rates have dramatically declined in recent years. The main reason being that selling these policies is no longer lucrative for insurance agents. An agent would rather sell you a more advanced insurance product that they get higher commissions on. Something to think about if you visit a financial planner and they gloss over a term policy and move on to other options.

Go a Little Bit Greener By Using Less Energy

Here is a quick read about saving some ways to save energy (Easy ways to cut your energy bill).

Pay Down Mortgage vs. Invest for Retirement

This article covers a question I have always wondered (The Cost of Peace of Mind). The idea centers around the prospect that you end up with more money in the end investing in a retirement plan then sending in extra mortgage payments. The author makes a clear argument that there is a good chance you will come out on top investing for retirement, but most people find the piece of mind of paying more on a mortgage better for them.

An Interesting Look at Procrastination

I found this article useful (Breaking the Perfection Habit). The idea is that perfection gets in the way of starting and accomplishing tasks. The worry someone has about getting something exactly right prevents them from starting tasks. This could be something that can be applied to retirement savings. The questions I seem to read are people asking where and why they should put money in a certain place. Maybe if we were a little less worried about getting our savings in the perfect place to get the best possible return, we might see that just having savings in some vessel might be better than waiting until we feel we have the perfect vessel to put our money in.

No More Pure Handouts From Parents

Here is an article worth reading (Meet the Parents-Backed Mortgage). I always hate hearing stories about parents giving their children huge gifts. This creates a situation where the parent gets something in return. I like the idea of this type of arrangement instead of a gift.

Solar Panels that Look Like Shingles

This article caught my attention and turned out to be informative (Solar Power Without Solar Panels). It explains how it is possible to get roof shingles and other common building materials that can collect solar energy. I am eager for all this green push to become more affordable to the average person.

Fiancial Urban Legends

Just a quick article with some short and interesting facts (10 Financial Urban Legends).