Owner: A Personal Finance and Investing Blog URL:http://www.financialdominance.com Join Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:51:34 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: FinancialDominance.com is dedicated to educating others on matters related to personal finance and investing. Its goal is to give a unique perspective in dealing with everyday financial situations. Site statistics:Click here
6 Ways to Increase Your Kids’ Financial Intelligence 2007-07-31 16:14:14 My wife and I have been talking a bit lately about when the appropriate time would be to start educating our three year old about money. Thus far she has seemed too young to understand most money concepts, but she likes to put spare change in the money jar and marvel at how full it gets. While at the store, we explain to her that we can not buy the toy she wants because we haven’t set aside the money for it. She seems to be catching on, but we have a huge setback whenever any of her grandparents come for a visit. Overall, I think she has a fair grasp for her age on the basic concept of money. To that end, here are a few things my wife and I plan to do to keep her financially intelligent:
1. Start early
Never assume your child won’t understand anything you tell them. Keep reinforcing the basic fundamentals of money. One fundamental that applies at any age is the idea of limited resources. Don’t let them spend more than they have and explain before going to the Read more:Financial
Don’t Ask for a Raise or You Could Be Shot 2007-07-31 12:33:04 Apparently those looking to increase their income by asking their boss for a raise should be wary. The owner of a car dealership near Atlanta, Georgia shot and killed two employees after they repeatedly asked for raises.
I always tell my friends and family to ask for a raise if they feel the deserve it, because the worst the employer could do is say, “No.” I guess I was wrong.
See the full story.Share This
401(k) and Roth IRA Frequently Asked Questions 2007-07-31 08:44:07 This is a continuation of a post at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity called Six Roth IRA and 401(k) Questions Everyone Asks. The following are a few questions I hear often that are very basic but often require some explaining:
How much money can I put into my 401(k)/Roth IRA account?
The 2007 contribution limit for a 401(k) is $15,500. This amount is indexed for inflation and rises in $500 increments. Those 50 years old or older can contribute an additional $5,000 as a “catch up” contribution.
The 2007 contribution limit for a Roth IRA is $4,000. This amount is also indexed for inflation, although it has had the same limit for the past few years. Those 50 years old or older can contribute an additional $1,000 as a “catch up” contribution.
Can I take a loan out if I am strapped for cash?
Some 401(k) plans allow you to take out a loan and pay yourself back with interest. If, however, you are unable to repay the loan, the loan becomes a distribution and is Read more:Frequently Asked Questions
Banks Getting Rich(er) on Overdraft Fees 2007-07-30 09:44:19 According to the Center for Responsible Lending, Americans are getting hit harder than ever on overdraft fees. Their findings show that checking account holders pay more than $10.3 billion (and rising quickly) in overdraft fees every year. To give a sense of the impact to the checking account holders, overdraft fees for a debit card transaction are approximately $2.17 for each dollar “borrowed”, and the overdraft fees for a paper check purchase are approximately $.86 for each dollar “borrowed.”
It appears that as debit cards become more prevalent and paper checks go by the wayside, people are forgetting the fundamental skill of balancing their checkbook. Even with the myriad of tools available that allow you to check your balance instantly by phone, at an ATM, or online, many people are continually getting hit hard by these harsh fees. Is this laziness or cluelessness?
The banks themselves aren’t doing anything to mitigate these fees despite their abil
111th Carnival of Personal Finance is Up 2007-07-30 09:30:46 The 111th Carnival
of Personal
Finance is up at plonkee money. These are my top five from the carnival:
Saving Advice shows how lifestyle inflation can sneak up on you and how to avoid it.
Accumulating Money explains the many benefits of 529 plans (besides the financial ones).
Mighty Bargain Hunter ponders the point of raising the minimum wage.
Clever Dude explains that focusing on debt should be a part of reaching a future goal.
Million Dollar Journey talks about the 1% stock trading rule.
There were a LOT of great posts to read in the carnival this week that are not listed here, so please visit the 111th Carnival of Personal Finance at plonkee money and read a few. Also take a look at my entry for this week where I talk about the return on investment of an MBA.Share This
Weekly Highlights - July 27, 2007 2007-07-27 11:41:57 Here are some of the my favorite posts from the previous week:
The Simple Dollar answers a reader who asks if it is better to pay off debts now or avoid future debt.
Mighty Bargain Hunter shows that debt troubles are not just for low wage earners. Some of the high wage earners I know are in this exact position. They think retirement savings are a “middle class” problem.
Free Money Finance shows thathome prices may be falling faster than the statistics show.
Five Cent Nickel is looking for the very best 529 plans. I am currently participating in the Illinois plan he mentions and am very excited about their decision to switch to Vanguard index funds. Vanguard + index funds = super low fees.
Consumerism Commentary talks about the team experience in the University of Phoenix MBA program. I always wondered what the team experience would be like in a 100% online class. After reading his post, I am very happy I decided to obtain an MBA the normal way.
All Financi Read more:Weekly
, Highlights
Start Saving Today 2007-07-26 17:21:02 Last Sunday’s edition of the Chicago Tribune had an interesting article called The Time To Save is Now by Janet Kidd Stewart. It gave an overview of the lack of savings that many soon-to-be retirees currently have. Some of the worrisome points she makes:
More than a third of people over 55 aren’t saving for retirement
Fewer than half have tried to calculate how much they’ll need in retirement
Just over half have saved less than $100,000 excluding home equity and defined-benefit pensions
It’s unclear whether those not saving for retirement are depending mostly on defined-benefit pensions, social security, downsizing their home to turn their equity to cash, or some combination of these.
In any case, the most disturbing point to me was that fewer than half have actually tried to sit down and figure out how much money they will need. Despite the multitude of retirement planning tools and calculators on the Internet (which, to be fair, a lot of the older generat Read more:Start
, Saving
, Today
Wait! Don’t Pick Harvard Just Yet! 2007-07-25 07:17:12 Over the last decade or so, undergraduate degrees have changed from a differentiator to a near requirement in most business settings. That’s not to say the degree is worthless, however. Those with college degrees can expect to earn nearly 80% more than their high school counterparts. But in a business setting, the degree no longer sets you apart from nearly every person you work with who also has a college education.
Now, many are turning to MBAs to get that extra ‘edge’ over the competition. But there are several questions to be answered before selecting a school and program such as “Should I pick a top ranked school?” or “Which type of program will deliver the best results.” The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) set out to answer these questions in a December 2006 research report titled Examining the Value Added by Graduate Management Education. A few of the things I found interesting:
The overall return on investment (ROI) f Read more:Harvard
So Much for 14K 2007-07-24 22:57:47 Just as the DOW was approaching this elusive target, it changed its mind. The DOW fell 226 points to about 13,717 leaving the question open - what is driving this bull market in the first place? Will the bubble bust anytime soon?
Read more about it.
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Who Needs to Shower? 2007-07-23 14:43:04 After moving into my new home a few weeks ago I purchased this water heater from Sears. The total cost of the water heater including installation amounted to much less than I had budgeted during negotiations, and I had it installed within a week.
Cut to about a week ago when I was hit with a blast of cold water in the shower. My first thought was that the pilot flame had been extinguished thus requiring a relighting. After a half hour without any results, I called the Sears help line. The lady on the line said they would be happy to help me - they could have somebody out to my home in a week. SERIOUSLY? Cold showers and baths for my kids for a WEEK? The answer didn’t change by talking to her manager and her manager’s manager, so I broke down and hired someone independent of Sears.
While talking to the independent plumber who fixed the problem, I found out that they get a ton of business from people who are unhappy with Sears customer service. He said the best thing Read more:Needs
, Shower
How do I invest in the Chinese Yuan ? 2008-03-01 19:28:36 Apparently, if your thinking 10 to 20 years in advance the Chinese
Yuan might be a good choice… Pay close attention to Craig Karmin’s response to this question/statement: “How worried should we be about the rise of the Euro, I mean the Dollar look weak agaist the Euro.”
Some replies on Yahoo Answers
“Just buy [...] Read more:invest
Secret history of the credit card - UPDATED 2008-02-22 14:58:09 UPDATE
I added direct links to the videos below:
Over a Thousand Miles from Wall Street… How the unlikely state of South Dakota became the place where America’s credit
card industry first began to really take off
A Closer Look at the Industry’s Best Customers
The big profits come from [...]
FHA Home Loans 101 2008-02-12 21:34:46 Most Americans have little experience with financing a home, and even fewer have specific knowledge of an FHA Loan, versus various conventional loans. The initials FHA represent the Federal Housing Administration. This government corporation was established in 1934 for the sole purpose of helping Americans fulfill their dreams of home ownership.
A lot of hard [...] Read more:Loans
Must Read 10 Times Per Month 2008-02-08 11:10:03 Welcome to our first post in the category “Must Read 10 Times
Per Month
”. Within this category I’ll be posting links to useful articles I want to read almost everyday.
Here we go:
The Top 10 Mistakes People Make When Starting A Business
How to Make Yourself INSANELY Useful
How to Make a Million - Strategies for saving [...]
Focus on Your Goals to Achieve Retirement Readiness 2008-02-07 17:48:13 A guest post by Mark J. Smith. Want to be a guest writer on Financial Dominance ? Contact Marcel
People may fail to properly plan for their retirement needs because they focus exclusively on money. Retirement goals aren’t just financial. Knowing the lifestyle you want during retirement is the beginning of a successful wealth [...] Read more:Focus
, Goals
Is the US Dollar on it’s Death Bed ? 2008-01-15 00:32:51 This comment by James Turk caught my attention.
“When you look at a currency crisis, and there have been dozens since the end of the Second World War where currencies have disappeared and been completed destroyed. The people who react last are the people in the country where the currency is being destroyed. It’s a natural [...] Read more:Dollar
Should you consider avoiding probate? 2008-01-02 10:44:33 Our first article in 2008 is a guest post by Alex T. Roshuk. Want to be a guest writer on Financial Dominance ? Contact Marcel
Probate is the process of having your will accepted by a Probate or
Surrogate Court so that the estate will be administered and all the
claims and distributions on the estate will be [...]
X Ways To Save Money with Your Credit Card 2007-12-27 10:50:18 Being perpetually in debt seems to be a way of life these days, as I am sure many of you are aware. Credit cards are usually the main source of debt because they are so convenient to use and difficult to keep track of, but did you know that there are ways of using credit [...] Read more:Money
, Credit Card
Is the US Federal Reserve a government or commercial entity ? 2007-12-21 09:55:04 Is the US FederalReserve
owned by private bank ? This video claims it’s a commercial entity designed to turn the public into indebted serfs.
You might also enjoy our article on “6 Ways to destroy our need for Bank loans.”
Another reason to engage in People to People lending and borrowing
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The price of Gold briefly hits $1,030 an ounce 2008-03-17 12:19:17 Oil and gold jump to new records
The spot price
for gold also briefly hit a record above $1,030 an ounce. Oil also hit $109.00. Some say oil will reach $200.00 in a few years. Are you planning to invest in commodities yet ? I’m still learning how…
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Oh No !!! 5 Tools to Track How Much Time I Waste Online 2008-03-19 09:33:40 Ready to quantify how much time you waste/ online ? I hope that question didn’t offend you. Let me rephrase that. Are you ready to quantify your time on the computer ? Then read the following article: 5 Tools
to Track
How Much Time you Waste while Online
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GOLD VS DOLLAR 2008-04-07 01:25:49 The value of the dollar is dropping like a rock and this video is to show how this is affecting the prices of everything from gas to milk. This is the first of several videos to show what is really happening to the ecomy of the United States and why this country is in a [...]
I am a Lender on Kiva 2008-04-08 09:30:28 I lent 50.00 on Kiva yesterday. Lending is not the same as Giving, but I still got a warm fuzzy feeling about my 50.00.
What is Kiva ? I took the liberty of quoting them wholesale:
See Kiva
”
We Let You Loan to the Working Poor
Kiva’s mission is to connect people through lending for the sake [...] Read more:Lender
Financial infidelity: The marriage breaker 2008-04-23 11:13:10 I hope you enjoyed the last not-so-serious Onion video. Alright, sit up and get ready for something important.
Financial
infidelity: The marriage
breaker. Secretly overspending from the family coffers can be a deadly to your marriage.Share This
Ten Steps To Financial Success For A Minimum Wage Earner 2008-04-28 02:38:52 There’s an individual who comments on The Simple Dollar (and a few other personal finance blogs) who identifies him- or herself as “Minimum
Wage.” This person is singularly focused on the issues of low wage earners, and while his/her comments can be frustrating, sometimes Minimum Wage
is really effective at pointing out how some advice [...] Read more:Financial
, Success
, Financial Success
Should I become a Certified Financial Planner ? 2008-06-26 13:50:37 Blame it on this blog but owning Financial
Dominance has turned my attention toward a career in Financial planning. Should I become a Certified
Financial Planner ?
I am a Web developer with a Bachelor degree in Computer Information Systems. I am deeply interested personal finance/money management and obviously want to broaden my career. [...]
How to save time by batching your work - 5 links 2008-06-20 01:58:40 I discovered the concept of batching “Batching Work” last week. I say discovered because I didn’t read the full article. I was too busy. But I did scan it. I’ll take a full read sometime soon be returning to this blog post.
The concept is simple, work on a group of similar [...] Read more:links
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