MMD: Today we have a mega guest post from fellow personal finance blogger ARB. Take it away! Hello, readers of My Money Design! I am ARB, the Angry Retail Banker! Over on my blog, I offer what I call “An Insider's Take On Retail Banking”, which means that between bouts of raging out and threatening my entire customer base with physical harm, I talk about both life as a branch banker and ways for you to maximize your banking relationship. I am here today to talk about absolutely none of that stuff. Before you all hit the back button on your browser and type “funny cat videos” into a Google search, know that I'd like to discuss an awesome form of passive income that I think doesn't get covered a whole lot. I'm talking about … [Read more...] about Countering The Arguments Against P2P Lending
How to Remove Disputes from Credit Report History and Get a Higher Score
It is always a good idea to keep an eye on your credit score and credit report. I have been been doing my homework in this area, and I am thrilled to report that my credit score has risen dramatically due to some simple efforts I made. Here’s what was holding me back. I’m pretty conscientious when it comes to paying my bills on time. But a year ago my wife and I moved to a new city. Though we canceled our utility accounts only after the final balances had been paid, my credit report showed an unpaid partial month. Because we changed addresses twice in 3 months, I guess written confirmation never found me, and we were never notified any other way. I only noticed the negative mark on my credit report when I checked … [Read more...] about How to Remove Disputes from Credit Report History and Get a Higher Score
Some Unconventional Thoughts on Investing for Your Retirement
When I first started in financial planning, this would be back in the 1980’s, investing for your retirement was simple. When you were young, the theory went, you dutifully started putting away a little bit of your salary each month. The amount was as high a percentage of your income as you could manage. It was supposed to be a sacrifice. Give up something now to have something later. You invested in the stock market, of course. Equity returns were the way to go and you had plenty of time to ride out cyclical fluctuations. Your risk return profile indicated a higher acceptance of risk. You also bought a home. This was more a place to live than a retirement investment. Still, it increased your net worth. As you got older you … [Read more...] about Some Unconventional Thoughts on Investing for Your Retirement
When Conventional Wisdom About Money Clashes With Conviction
My understanding and beliefs about money began at the same place most do - with one’s parents. My parents' handling of their personal financial life was truly a work of art. Transferring money from one budget envelope to the next to meet a need, hitting all the local auctions and thrift stores, and using the credit card for emergencies were all the norm in our household. One can’t help but carry those same patterns of behavior into early adulthood. Parental modeling of behavior has that much impact. So after college, I tried to follow the conventional wisdom about money by being as frugal and disciplined with spending just the same as it was instilled in me during childhood. I also became more in tune with what society had to say … [Read more...] about When Conventional Wisdom About Money Clashes With Conviction
Tips for Getting by Without Borrowing Money
The following contribution is from a reader of My Money Design. If you’d like to write for us, please feel free to contact me. Borrowing money is usually one of those things that sounds great at first, until the bills start coming in. If you take a look at just how much money you have to repay for the amount you borrowed, you will realise how much money you may have wasted on interest. If you would have planned ahead before borrowing money, you would now have more cash available to purchase other things you want. The problem is that debt often turns into a never-ending cycle of outstanding debt as you continue to accrue more and more interest. Many people may spend their entire lifetime trying to climb out from under their pile of … [Read more...] about Tips for Getting by Without Borrowing Money
Putting Your Hobbies on Hold
The following post is a guest contribution from Jefferson at See Debt Run. If you would like to write for My Money Design, please feel free to contact me. People often ask us about the sacrifices that my family had to make when we were paying off over $20,000 in credit card debt. I usually respond by telling them about how we cancelled vacations, stopped eating out, and figured out ways to slash our utility bills. We also found ourselves having to get creative to find ways to spend our free time that didn't involve spending any money. Even many of our traditional hobbies that we used to pour ourselves into in our free time were no longer an option for us. With so much of our cash flow tied up in your repayment efforts, there was … [Read more...] about Putting Your Hobbies on Hold
A Crash Course on Annuities and How They Can Help You
The following post is a guest contribution. If you would like to write for My Money Design, please feel free to contact me. There's all sorts of things to do when it comes to retiring, and it's important to understand what annuities are. Here's a crash course on understanding their benefits. … [Read more...] about A Crash Course on Annuities and How They Can Help You
How to Make Money with a Website and Why Most Personal Finance Sites Don’t
MMD - Today we are very honored to be featuring a guest contribution from successful niche website creator Jon Haver. Jon's posts and ideas have recently been featured on a number of niche site blogs including a podcast interview on Niche Pursuits. If you're wondering right now how to make money with a website or why your's isn't doing as well as you hope, then you really need to hear Jon's story! Here it is: It wasn’t long ago (1 year ago) where I thought making $3k/month from 1 personal finance website I worked on part time would be too hard to achieve. I had always enjoyed reading personal finance sites and had been making smaller niche websites for a while but my plan was to combine these passions and make a larger website … [Read more...] about How to Make Money with a Website and Why Most Personal Finance Sites Don’t
