Why is it SOOO hot outside? This heat wave is really making it hard to stay motivated to do anything in our yard. Fortunately, we did get our pool back to normal – after we emptied it and then refilled it with clean water. Being able to cool off in the pool has been pretty useful these last few weeks! Canadians – I’ll be visiting your sacred heartland of Niagara Falls next week for a short Me and the Mrs vacation. We’re very excited to be staying right in the middle of downtown near the action. It should be a lot of fun! … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 7/07/2012
Tips for Achieving Early Financial Independence
The following post is a guest contribution from Early Financial Freedom. Giving the state of the economy, can you really achieve early financial independence? Is it a mirage that you can only imagine? My wife and I would like to assure you that it is real and attainable if you are serious about it. The bottom line is that you need to desire financial freedom in order to achieve it. The desire is the driving force for making early scarifies for later pleasures. How We Got There: Let me introduce myself. I am an engineer from New York and am happily married with a wonderful 7-year-old son. After working 10+ years as a hands-on engineer and later as a supervisor, I resigned in April 2012 to stop working for others and join forces with my … [Read more...] about Tips for Achieving Early Financial Independence
Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate the Fourth of July
10. It inspired other countries not to put up with anyone else’s B.S. 9. The Revolutionary War gave us our fore-fathers. And our fore-fathers gave us something to put on our coins. … [Read more...] about Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate the Fourth of July
Which Is Better – Rental Income or a Stock Market Index Fund?
Who’s ready for some financial smack-down? If there’s any two groups of investors I can think of that are more divided, it’s those who invest in real estate and those who invest in stocks - like a North and the South of financial planning if you will. So the question here is this: Which one actually has a better chance of making you more money in the long run? This may be a controversial debate, but we’re going to settle this argument the MyMoneyDesign way – by running the numbers! So let's see what we come up with ... … [Read more...] about Which Is Better – Rental Income or a Stock Market Index Fund?
What Is A Stock?
Do you actually know what a “stock” is? Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t. I would bet that a lot of people who say they do (or think they do) do not in fact actually understand what one really is. One of the fundamentals I preach on MyMoneyDesign is to know what it is that you’re putting your money into when you invest. So if you invest in stocks, let’s explore of the introductory basics of what they are. … [Read more...] about What Is A Stock?
How Much Money Would I Make If I Rented Out A House?
When it comes to buying stocks, the old rule of thumb is to “buy low and sell high”. If you’re fortunate enough to understand this saying, then you’ll know that it doesn’t just apply to stocks. It’s meant to teach you to look for opportunities. So even though the value of my home seems to go down, down, down every year, perhaps therein lies an opportunity. As I walk the dog through my neighborhood, there is an abundance of houses for sale. And what’s more is that I KNOW they are selling for FAR less than what I paid for mine. So this gets me thinking: • If I have any aspirations to buy a house and rent it out, is now the time? … [Read more...] about How Much Money Would I Make If I Rented Out A House?
Weekend Wind Down 6/23/2012
Our week has been consumed by the nightmare that is our pool ... Let me be clear that the whole thing is our fault. During the winter, our pool cover kept blowing off. Eventually we gave up and that left parts of the pool exposed. So it should come as no surprise that when spring hit and we officially pulled the cover off, the water was puke green! Gross! We tried everything to bring it back. But there was NO coming back. We figured that out after a couple hundred dollars in chemicals. No matter what we tried, there was too much crud at the bottom. And it was impossible to vacuum it because the water was too dark to see through. So .... we emptied it and are starting over. I hate you pool. … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 6/23/2012
Life Lessons I Learned from Super Mario
When my son decided to get the vintage video game Super Mario All-Stars for the Nintendo Wii, I have to confess – I was pretty excited! It was in the same format as the one they made for the Super Nintendo back in the mid-90’s featuring Mario 1, 2, 3, and the Lost Levels. I can’t tell you how many hours upon hours I used to spend as a kid playing each one of these games level by level. Even as an grown-up they are still just as much fun to play. But also seeing this game again for the first time after so long through my adult eyes, I came to the realization of how much it was a metaphor for things you actually encounter in the real world. I had never noticed how much the Super Mario games prepared me with lessons for my adult life. … [Read more...] about Life Lessons I Learned from Super Mario
