After I took out roughly $7,500 out of my P2P lending experiment, I started looking for another place to put my money at risk. :) I decided on trying out real-estate crowdfunding, which tries to make real estate investing (either through equity or … [Read the rest]
Real Estate Crowdfunding Experiment #1 – Background and Introduction
Savings I-Bonds May 2015 Interest Rate Update: Negative 1.6% Variable
New inflation numbers were just announced, which allows us to make an early estimate of May 2015 savings bond rates before their official semi-annual announcement. This also allows us the opportunity to know exactly what a April 2015 savings bond … [Read the rest]
Navy Federal Credit Union Youth Week $100 Bonus
Navy Federal Credit Union has solid bank and loan products, including checking accounts with ATM rebates, competitive mortgage rates, and limited-time 0% balance transfer promotions. Membership eligibility for NavyFed is primarily restricted to … [Read the rest]
LendingClub Realistic Return Expectations Chart
Thinking about investing in P2P loans? Even though I still believe that decent returns are possible, I think it is important to have realistic expectations. I've given out the following warnings since they started: You won't get the stated … [Read the rest]
Prosper vs. LendingClub Investor Experiment: 2.5 Year Update
In November 2012, I invested $10,000 into person-to-person loans split evenly between Prosper Lending and Lending Club, both out of curiosity and for a chance at higher returns from a new asset class. After diligently reinvesting my earned interest … [Read the rest]
Best Interest Rates for Cash Reserves – Updated April 2015
Our family keeps a year's worth of expenses (not income) put aside in cash reserves; it provides financial insurance with the side benefits of lower stress and less concern about stock market gyrations. In my opinion, emergency funds can actually … [Read the rest]
Lowe’s $10 off $50 Coupon Code
Updated with new coupon. As a homeowner, unfortunately there's always a use for these... Lowe's has a new $10 off $50 coupon available to everyone if you sign up for their promotional e-mails. You can use a secondary e-mail or simply unsubscribe … [Read the rest]
Wealthfront Offers Tax Loss Harvesting With No Minimums
Automated portfolio managers like Wealthfront will set you up with a diversified mix of index funds and manage it for you for a small fee. I'm an investing geek, so I always lean towards keeping the small fee and manage things myself. But an … [Read the rest]
Betterment Offers Tax Loss Harvesting With No Minimums
Automated portfolio managers like Betterment will set you up with a diversified mix of index funds and manage it for you for a small fee. I'm an investing geek, so I always lean towards keeping the small fee and manage things myself. But an … [Read the rest]
ComputerShare and Company-Specific DRIP Plans: Still A Good Option in 2015?
Here's a reader question that arrived this week: I know you write a lot about investing, but can you write a little more about ComputerShare as a way to save money vs buying stock with online brokerages. I just read in WSJ how its cheaper if you … [Read the rest]
NAPFA: Warnings When Finding a Financial Advisor
Many people feel more comfortable with someone else helping them with their finances. A common piece of advice these days is to find a fee-only advisor that doesn't work on commission. Many times this leads to a recommendation of the National … [Read the rest]
Portfolio Rebalancing Frequency: Even Less Than Annually?
Here's another data point on the debate on how often to rebalance your portfolio to your target asset allocation. Econompic Data writes about rebalancing a portfolio back to 60% S&P 500 / 40% Barclays Aggregate Bond index from 1976-2014 and finds … [Read the rest]