A Quick Read to Help Your 401K

(5 Ways to Whip Your 401(k) Into Shape) Here is a nice simple quick read article for this morning. It is simple it is quick and to the 5 points it makes.

How The Credit Mess Squeezes You

Here is a great article that puts the credit crisis at a level the typical person can understand. It shows the small places that it could effect the average person's financial life. Student loans and credit card rates are going up due to a lack of available money to loan out. (How the Credit Mess Squeezes You)

6 Money Dilemmas

Here is a good quick article with advice on six common questions in the personal finance world.

1. Pay off a credit card OR fund your 401(k)
2. Save in a Roth 401(k) OR a regular 401(k)
3. Lease a car OR buy a car
4. Prepay your mortgage OR invest
5. Buy a home OR rent a home
6. Take Social Security early OR late

(6 money dilemmas)

Roth IRA or Not?

This is the best article I have found to date that address the debate over using Roth accounts as opposed to traditional tax differed accounts. The last section of the article is what makes the biggest statements to me. It said that an economist ran several senerios with both a Roth and regular retirement accounts. The results were more wins for one then the other, but the differences being rather insignificant. Remember in the end not stating to save to wait for the answer to this debate is your worst choice. Waiting a month, year, or decade is going to have a far worst result on your retirement savings that putting your money in a Traditional or Roth IRA. (Roth IRAs: Good for You or Not?)

A Guide For Your December Spending

Here is a good little quick read article about how to keep yourself under control during the holiday season. The author start by suggesting some great things to do with your holiday bonus. Then the author goes on to give tips on how to stay on track and not over spend in December. (A December Spending Survival Guide)

Good Ideas For Your Average 401K

Here is an article I found helpful on what to do with an average to poor 401K plan. This first point is that you make sure to use it if your are getting an employer match. The cardinal sin of a 401K plan is to no participate and lose out on a match. This article does a good job of pointing out easy strategies for directing your money in a weak 401K. (Don't Panic If Your 401(k) Plan Stinks)

Rent vs. Buy

The debate rages on with the currently falling real estate values. Does the subprime effect change which side wins? This author has a few good examples of places where renters are winning in this market. I tend to like the idea of buying for more non-financial related reasons. I want the feeling of owning what I live in. I don't want to have to worry about what the rent will go up this year. Or for any half way decent reason being asked to leave or not being able to resign a lease when my term is up. I see the argument financially that you could save money by renting and the money invested properly could be worth a lot more if it is put in the stock market. Just remember if you are going to use this as your excuse for renting to actual put that "saved" money in the stock market. Too many times we use the idea that we can save money by doing something, but they we throw the money away in another wasteful place. Then at the end of the month we are in the same boat of wondering where all our money went. Read this article for a little light on how current events are shaping the rent vs. buy debate. (Now That Housing Has Soured, Renters Are Glad They Didn't Buy)

Retire Rich: Beat the Market by Doing Nothing

(Retire Rich: Beat the Market by Doing Nothing) Here is a good article for our now volatile market. It is the first article in a while that I have read that talks about dollar cost averaging. This is a good concept to keep in mind as the market turns down and you have a long horizon for your retirement earnings to work themselves out.

Two New 401K Options

(Harvest a Rich 401(k)) This article talks about two new options for 401K's. The first is a Roth 401K which lets you take tax free withdraws in retirement, but there is no tax advantage up front. The second options is a 401K annuity. This is a product you buy through your 401K that gives you guaranteed income for the rest of your life once you retire. The article does a good job of explaining where each of these could make sense in your retirement planning. They also do a good job of giving you numbers for how much a good amount to stick in the 401K annuity would be. This article gives a good amount of advice along with producing the facts on these products.

Your 5-minute guide to money in your 20s

(Your 5-minute guide to money in your 20s) Good quick read article. Article name explains it all.

10 Little Expenses That Add Up

Coffee: According to the National Coffee Association, the average price for a cup of brewed coffee is $1.38. There are roughly 260 weekdays per year, so buying one coffee every weekday morning costs almost $360 per year.

Cigarettes: The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids reports that the average price for a pack of cigarettes in the United States is $4.54. Pack-a-day smokers fork out $1,650 a year. Weekend smoker? Buying a pack once a week adds up, too: $236.

Alcohol: Drink prices vary based on the location. But assuming an average of $5 per beer including tip, buying two beers per day adds up to $3,650 per year. Figure twice that for two mixed drinks a day at the local bar. That's not chump change.

Bottled water from convenience stores: A 20-ounce bottle of Aquafina bottled water costs about $1. One bottle of water per day costs $365 per year. It costs the environment plenty, too.

Manicures: The Day Spa Magazine Price Survey of 2004 found that the average cost of a manicure is $20.53. A weekly manicure sets you back about $1,068 per year.

Car washes: The average cost for a basic auto detailing package is $58, according to Costhelper.com. The tab for getting your car detailed every two months: $348 per year.

Weekday lunches out: $9 will generally cover a decent lunch most workdays. If you buy, rather than pack, a lunch five days a week for one year, you shell out about $2,340 a year.

Vending-machines snacks: The average vending machine snack costs $1. Buy a pack of cookies every afternoon at work and pay $260 per year.

Interest charges on credit card bills: According to a survey released at the end of May, the median amount of credit card debt carried by Americans is $6,600. The average interest rate on a standard card is about 13%. Making the minimum payment each month, it will take 250 months (almost 21 years) to pay off the debt and cost $4,868 in interest. Ouch!

Unused gym memberships: Costhelper.com reports that the monthly service fee at gyms averages between $35 and $40. At $40 per month, an unused gym membership runs $480 per year.

Mistakes in Retirement Planning

(Nine Dumbest Retirement Moves) This article has a good list of common mistakes that take place on the way to retiring. It brings out some good points about what people do and what people think about retirement that can change how they exist in retirement. It also mentions several times that miss planning for retirement can turn your dream into a nightmare. When you don't save and plan adequately your dream of life in the beach house can turn in to a place of struggling to make your payments and looking for help from your family. Even when you are young simple things like cashing out of a 401K plan when leaving your job can create a financial hole when you retire. When you are young you should consider how your descisions are going to affect the long term.
The key to this advice is to learn from the problems that are being found commonly in those that have already retired. People struggling from payment to payment due to inflation is a lot more common then you might think.

Make Your Advice Column Change Me.

(Is Carrie Bradshaw a Crock?) More interesting than the article this time are the comments about the article. The article talks about gender pay gaps and how women should prepare themselves for financial success. It has some great points that should motivate women to start savings now and look beyond some of the typical reasons they aren't saving. The article should be taken at face value the author is giving good information to women in their 20's. I'm not sure the article takes the best approach. She seems to forget that you can't just point out the problems without providing a solution. Everyone in a America can see and knows that Social Security is in trouble, but no one can seems to set out a plan to fix it. If you are going to write an advice column I want more than what the problems are I want to know how to fix them. Her article seems to tell you to ignore every feeling you might have against starting savings today and there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of why I should do that. The whole idea of an advice article to show me how to move past all my worries and stumbling blocks.

The Declining Dollar

(What the falling dollar means for you) I keep hearing about the declining dollar and no one will stop to take the time to explain what it means to the average person. This article gives a short list of how this affects the average person.

Saving When Your in Your 20s

(Financial Tips for 20-Somethings) Here is a quick read article talking to a guy with some good insight into personal finance in your 20s.

Retirement is More Than a 401K Plan

(The Five Stages of Retirement) When your saving all your life for your retirement keep in mind what you are going to do for the potentially 35 years after you retire. This article talk about what to expect through retirement. It breaks retirement up into pieces and explains how the people surveyed felt in each of these stages. The article also shows how the average person needs to remember that there is a lot of time in retirement and TV will not produce a happy and healthy person. You need to consider how you will keep your body and maybe even more importantly your mind in good condition.

Hanging with the money crowd

(Hanging with the money crowd) Your mother's advice of making good friends could go beyond keeping you out of trouble as a teen. This article shows a studies that found out that when the people around you do something you are more likely to do that same things. The article discusses how this works with finances. This is a good read and something to think about when trying to make good financial habits. You friend could be part of the reason you aren't savings as much as you want to.

Tips for Saving

(How to save $200,000 in 6 months) Here is an article with few personal example stories and some simple advice for savings. The 2nd page has the tips if you would like to skip the personal stories.

New Rules of Credit Crunch

(The new rules of the credit crunch) Here is a quick read article about how the credit crunch is affecting the average consumer so far.

401K Information

(Five Things You Should Know About Your 401(k)) Here is a quick read with some good information that you should think about for your 401K plan.