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
Niche Website Update 11 – Doubling the Size of NS1 and NS2
When they say “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, you can add niche sites to that assumption as well. All throughout October I spent the majority of my niche website effort getting content and uploading it to both of my sites, NS1 and NS2. As has been the goal for the past 2 months, I’m trying to build each one of these niche sites to be much larger than they are now – 50 or posts or more to be specific. My current theory (as observed in other people’s niche website developments) is that if I can build them up that high, they will rank for thousands of various keyword queries, attract far more organic traffic, and increase the potential for people to click through on the ads I have placed on them. So how is that assumption working out? … [Read more...] about Niche Website Update 11 – Doubling the Size of NS1 and NS2
Tax Deferred vs Taxable Retirement Income Strategies – How Big Are the Differences Really?
Pop quiz: If you could choose to save $10,000 using one of two retirement income strategies, either a 401k or a regular taxable stock brokerage account, which one would you choose? If you said “401k” (or really any other tax deferred savings account), then that’s what I would have expected you to say. Why? Because that’s what conventional financial planning advice teaches us. We all know that if we want to have a solid retirement income, then we need to max out our tax-deferred savings, let it grow, and then worry about paying the taxes later. And why not? Things like 401k’s and IRA’s are perfectly valid strategies for saving as much as you can and building up your nest egg. So you can imagine my hesitation and apprehension as … [Read more...] about Tax Deferred vs Taxable Retirement Income Strategies – How Big Are the Differences Really?
Great Recent Scary Movies to Watch This Halloween – 2013 Edition
It’s that time of year again to have some good, cheap fun and rent a whole bunch of great scary movies! In case you didn’t already know, I absolutely LOVE scary movies. I don’t know what it is about them, but I like watching ones that are well written or intriguing. So throughout the year I’ve collected the titles of a few of my favorite recent scary movies and thought I’d share them with you in time for Halloween. (Before you read on, make sure you check out Part 1 which was published last year. In that review, my scary movie picks were Trick ‘r Treat, Piranha, Drag Me to Hell, Silent Hill, The Ring, Saw I, House of a Thousand Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, The Ninth Gate, and Donnie Darko.) My Favorite Recent Scary … [Read more...] about Great Recent Scary Movies to Watch This Halloween – 2013 Edition
How Being Successful Might Include Leaning Out From Work
What do you consider to be someone who’s “made it”? Does that phrase bring up images of young fit people in business suits smiling as they rush to the next meeting holding their cell phone to their ear and a Starbucks treat in the other hand? While this is often a popular stereotype seen on TV and the media, for those of us that actually make it there it can come with a lot of sacrifices that we might not even be sure (or even aware) that we’re willing to make. So ask yourself this: Why does being successful have to stem from only your job? Aren’t there other ways or other things you can participate in that would be just as rewarding or fulfilling? You may not realize it, but developing a healthy separation between work and … [Read more...] about How Being Successful Might Include Leaning Out From Work
Your Plan for How to Become Financially Independent
If you don’t think you’ll be able to retire early, then YOU are your own biggest problem. The fact that millions of Americans out there are only saving 2% of their income and holding 401k balances less than $100,000 is not an average retirement savings target that you should strive for. That’s just a financial epidemic that you won’t want to have anything to do with. You can do better! In this post we’re going to walk through a step-by-step plan for how to become financially independent with the honest hopes that you will be able to copy of my method and decide for yourself what parts of it will work for you. … [Read more...] about Your Plan for How to Become Financially Independent
Niche Website Update 10 – NS3 is a Failure (So Far) and I’m Glad
When last we left in Update 9, I announced at the end of the post that I had just launched a brand new niche website. This one was going to micro-niche site meaning that it will have less than 10 pages of content. I've read a number of stories now about people who have created such sites and been able to make $100 or so per month from them. Plus 10 pages of content is extremely easy to create, upload, and then build links back to. Seems like a sure-thing, right? And so how’s that going? Terrible! … and I’m happy with that. Yeah, you read that correctly. I’m okay with NS3 performing terribly (for now) because I'm still getting a lot of value out the experiment. Here are the reasons why and what I plan to do about it: … [Read more...] about Niche Website Update 10 – NS3 is a Failure (So Far) and I’m Glad
How to Do Apartment Decorating on a Budget
Moving out on your own can be one of the biggest and most exciting times of your life! If it’s your first apartment, you get the thrill of finally being on your own and becoming an adult. But like most adult things, you’ll quickly realize that there are costs involved – big costs! Rent, food, utilities, parking, etc. And because your income is probably limited and held to a strict budget, the last thing on your mind is probably how you’ll furnish it. However, there is no need to worry. Plenty of college kids and young adults have long figured out how to do apartment decorating on a budget and they’ve been able to pull it off with some great success. So here are a few ways that you can do the same without having to put yourself … [Read more...] about How to Do Apartment Decorating on a Budget
