I am very glad to be home from western NY. This week MMD was on the road away on business for the latter part of the week. My apologies for not being able to post like I regularly do on Friday. Mrs MMD and I have a lot to do this weekend. Our son turns 7 soon and we still need to buy his birthday presents. We’ve also got our hardwood floor project that we started last weekend to get done now that the last of the boxes we ordered have arrived. Thank you to anyone that selflessly posts “how-to” projects on You Tube. You have no idea how much help you have been! … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 2/25/2012
Archives for February 2012
Is It Time to Change Up My Retirement Portfolio?
If you believe at all in the January Barometer (financial-folk-lore that if markets do well in January, the year will be good), then we’re in for a great year! The S&P 500 is up approximately 8% this year and most of the economic reports seem to be more upbeat than they have been in recent years. So what is there to worry about? Well, in the words of Warren Buffett: • “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful”. Looking for Safety: When my 401k dropped nearly 50% during the Great Recession, I decided it was time to stop playing offense and beef up my defense when it came to how I invest my money. … [Read more...] about Is It Time to Change Up My Retirement Portfolio?
What is Shorting a Stock?
The first time I watched the Oliver Stone movie Wall Street 2, I was confused about something: Josh Brolin’s company, Churchill Schwartz, makes a ton of money when the company that Shia LaBeouf works for, Kellar Zabel (KZI), starts to dramatically fall in stock price. Contrary to conventional investing, how is it that someone gets “rich” from stock prices going down? How Shorting a Stock Works: Although there were a lot of factors at play in the movie, the basic answer to this question is that Schwartz was “shorting” the Kellar Zabel stock. What does that mean? Let’s look at a simple example: … [Read more...] about What is Shorting a Stock?
Weekend Wind Down 2/18/2012
This has been one of those weeks where it feels like extra days got mixed in there somehow. Mrs. MMD and I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day early on Saturday night by going out to a local comedy club. If anyone is ever stumped on what to give someone as a gift, I highly recommend taking them to a comedy club. As long as you get a good comedian (which most of them are), it’s non-stop laughing for an hour and a half. On the real Valentine’s Day, we celebrated with our kids by having “Love Day” meal (which is a phrase they came up with). It consists of having spaghetti and meat sauce (I believe this is a Lady and the Tramp inspired cuisine). I’m also happy to report that we booked our annual family vacation. This year is Playa del … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 2/18/2012
Are We Fools for Saving Our Money?
What would be the point of a blog if we didn’t explore an idea that may be slightly controversial? Anyone who reads this blog knows that my quest for financial freedom heavily relies upon disciplined saving and planning for retirement. Like many people, I am using my employer-sponsored retirement plans, IRA’s, and personal savings to build up a fortune that I can one day live off of. All of that is fine and good in theory, but what if everything I just said was ALL WRONG! What if all the money I’m saving will one day be worthless? It sounds crazy, that’s exactly what one famous author is promoting in one of his new books. … [Read more...] about Are We Fools for Saving Our Money?
Don’t Quit Your Day Job Yet
Congratulations if you are an entrepreneur. Congratulations if you have already amassed great wealth. Congratulations if you have an early exit strategy all planned out for one day retiring from your job. As I read through many other personal finance blogs, there seems to be a great deal of people on the path to success. Some of our fellow bloggers are bringing in hundreds, if not thousands of extra dollars every month. That’s pretty impressive for simply finding new ways to share opinions and information, and through selling virtual real-estate to advertisers. Way to go! But whether its blogging, E-Products, real estate, investing, or anything else you’ve found some small success with, I think it’s very important to put things into … [Read more...] about Don’t Quit Your Day Job Yet
Weekend Wind Down 2/11/2012
Ah, the end of the week. How I look forward to it! Monday started off with something I’ve both waited for and feared at the same time – getting my home estimated. The estimator came and did whatever magic it is he does. I won’t know what he thinks until at least next week, but I’m hoping its good news for me. Mid-week was also pretty exciting. My daughter had her first slow dance with a boy. Later on at the same dance, my son stole the spotlight with his “break-dance” moves. Mrs MMD had the pictures up on Facebook the second we got home! Carnivals: This week, MyMoneyDesign was featured in 3 personal finance carnivals: • Personal Financial Management Articles from Personal Finance Blogs – 2 Articles • Carnival of Retirement – 5th … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 2/11/2012
Guess What – You Might Be Richer Than You Think!
Do you feel like you’re rich? When you talk to your friends or neighbors, do you feel like you’re at the same level? Or do you feel like you’re barely keeping up? This might sound crazy, but when you see all those “Occupy Wall-Street” demonstrations and other copy-cat protests on the News demanding equality against the privileged “1%”, there’s a good chance they might be talking about you! Okay, maybe not YOU directly. But it might surprise you to find out how close to the top 1% percentile you really are! Here’s how: … [Read more...] about Guess What – You Might Be Richer Than You Think!