HSBC Direct is offering a promotional 6.00% APY on new money only between January 29, 2007 and April 30, 2007. This for both new and existing accounts. They are pretty restrictive on the meaning of "new" money, so you can't just take money out and … [Read the rest]
HSBC Direct Offering 6.00% APY On New Money Through 4/30
My Expense Tracking Plan Of Attack! (Join Me?)
I fell off the budgeting wagon months ago, and haven't been back on since. I'm still saving a good chunk of money each month, but it's high time that I drink my own Kool-Aid and start tracking my expenses. I haven't been overly impressed with … [Read the rest]
Free iPod Shuffle From Hedgestreet Arrived
For everyone that joined me in the Hedgestreet iPod promotion, your patience should be rewarded shortly. In fact, I'd check your inbox for an e-mail titled "HedgeStreet iPod Shuffle Promotion" if you haven't gotten it already. I think I should … [Read the rest]
Model Portfolio #4: The Intelligent Asset Allocator
(This is the fourth in my series of Model Portfolio Comparisons.) I hope people aren't getting overwhelmed by all of these portfolios. Remember, the law of diminishing returns applies to investment complexity as well. After a while, adding more … [Read the rest]
What’s Your Dream Job?
My wife and I are both job-hunting, and I've been thinking a lot about careers in general. I also recently watched the movie High Fidelity. If you haven't seen it, there is a scene where John Cusack has a list of his top 5 dream jobs if … [Read the rest]
NoPhoneTrees.com: GetHuman.com++
Most of us have heard of GetHuman.com, which offers people directions on navigating phone trees or direct-access phones numbers in order to reach a live person. Now a new service by NoPhoneTrees.com takes this one (small) step further. After … [Read the rest]
Model Portfolio #3: All About Asset Allocation
(This is the third in my series of Model Portfolio Comparisons.) All About Asset Allocation (my review) is written by Richard Ferri, CFA, who is also the president of his own investment advisory service. If you are interested in learning more … [Read the rest]
Mutual Fund and ETF Asset Class Definitions: Stocks
What do all these asset classes in the model portfolio comparisons mean, anyways? Total Market? Large-Cap? Value? One big hurdle is that there are no set definitions for any of these classes, and each individual mutual fund can and will use it's … [Read the rest]
Model Portfolio #2: The Boglehead’s Guide To Investing
(This is the second in my series of Model Portfolio Comparisons.) This next portfolio comes from The Boglehead's Guide To Investing by Larimore, Lindauer, and LeBoeuf. Taylor Larimore and Mel Lindauer are frequent and respected contributors at … [Read the rest]
Calculate Your Exact 2006/2007 Portfolio Rate Of Return
I sensed that people weren't quite satisfied with my Rate of Return Estimation Calculator. After wasting lots of time trying to program the internal-rate-of-return (IRR) function myself, I realized I could simply embed an online spreadsheet. Ain't … [Read the rest]
Model Portfolio #1: Couch Potato Portfolio
(This is the first in my series of Model Portfolio Comparisons.) The Couch Potato Portfolio is the invention of Scott Burns, a personal finance columnist at the Dallas Morning News. Originally, the portfolio consisted of just two funds - the … [Read the rest]
Model Retirement/Investment Portfolios: A Comparison
In my rough guide to investing, I suggested some all-in-one mutual funds for beginners. But what if you want to go a step further and design your own portfolio? Or you have a 401k with only limited choices? Of course, the best answer is always … [Read the rest]