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PERSONAL FINANCE LESSONS_1

Personal Finance Lessons – Part 1

Want to become inspired to improve your money life? Read about influencers who are changing the financial literacy and education landscape. Long term investors know that trying to beat the market is a fool’s game because the market always reverts to its mean. So if I could teach the kids to start early, and be happy with the historical average of around 8.5% return, then by the time they were older and had a family, they would thank me. And since long term buy-and-hold investing isn’t necessa…

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where are the customer's yachts. ways the financial industry is trying to screw you.

20 Ways the Investing Industry is Trying to Scr*w You

Is the Investing Industry Trying to Scr*w You? Once in the dear dead days beyond recall, an out-of-town visitor was being shown the wonders of the New York financial district. When the party arrived at the Battery, one of his guides indicated some handsome ships riding at anchor. He said, “Look, those are the bankers’ and brokers’ yachts.” “Where are the customers’ yachts?” asked the naïve visitor. –Ancient story I started this website to give you a cheap alternative to build wealth with inv…

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Amanda Grossman-Frugal Confessions-Frugal Decadence

Frugal Confessions’ Amanda Grossman Tells All

Personal Finance Luminary Series Do you wonder how some people just seem more “money smart” than others? Do you know people who don’t make any more money than you do, but seem to live without money stress? There are those who seem to have the key to smart money management, living well, avoiding debt, and knowing the ways to avoid common money pitfalls. Amanda Grossman of the popular website, Frugal Confessions explains her “frugal decadence” money strategy. If you don’t learn something and be…

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Understand hidden investment risk to prepare for market corrections

8 Hidden Investment Risks

Don’t be nervous about investment risks. There are risks or possible negative outcomes in nearly everything you do. You might lose your job, have a huge unplanned bill or medical expense, or an automobile accident. You may undoubtedly buy the wrong sized shoes or clothes, your children might get sick or you might crack a tooth while eating something. In investing, some risks are apparent and obvious, while others may be hidden from your view, no matter how much time you spend managing your in…

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The Retiree Next Door success strategies

How to Retire Successfully; 14 Tips From The Retiree Next Door

So, what is the “Retiree Next Door” movement anyhow? In spite of the tongue in cheek opening, This initiative is designed to raise awareness of “successful retirement” and provide evidence of strategies and lifestyle choices which can make your retirement rewarding. This movement rung deep for me. In addition to the fact that I’m staring down the barrel of retirement myself, a large majority of letters I receive from my readers ask retirement questions. Many of those queries revolve around th…

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tactical asset allocation

What To Do With Your Investments Right Now

I advocate the Valuation-Informed Indexing Model for understanding how stock investing works. This is the model rooted in the research of Yale Economics Professor Robert Shiller. It is similar to the far more popular Buy-and-Hold Model in all respects but one — Valuation-Informed Indexers believe that risk increases with increases in valuations and that investors thus must adjust their stock allocations in response to big valuation shifts to have any hope of keeping their risk profiles consta…

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predicting the stock market

Predicting Stock Returns for Fun and Profit

The obvious question is — Given how hard it is to make good short-term predictions, how can it be that long-term predictions always work? I believe it is because investor emotion is not the primary influence on stock prices in the long term.

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