Weekend wind down??? Yeah right!! Tell that to the 6 tons of flagstone that the semi-truck dropped off on Friday morning! Phase 1 of our landscape remodeling project was in full effect. For a long time now we’ve wanted to line our gardens with flagstone pavers and fill the beds with slate rock. It took about 8 hours to move it all and get it in place, but in the end it looks great. Fortunately it was exactly the right amount of stone we needed. Unfortunately, my back and hamstrings are killing me! Here are some more pics: … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 4/07/2012
Do You Fake It?
Fake. Phony. Plastic. Two-faced. Poser. Any of these sound familiar? They’re the names we give to people who are pretending to be something they’re not. Perhaps even you’ve been called these once before! But does faking it just have a bad rap? Or can there really be some benefit and well-placed intentions to pretending to be something you’re not – both in your personal life and professional career? Is it possible to really become the thing you’re pretending to be? … [Read more...] about Do You Fake It?
How to Buy a Stock Market Index Fund
If you're wondering how you can buy an index fund, then you're in the right place! Index funds have become a favorite investment choice for people from all walks of life. Thanks to their simplicity and performance, you could easily grow all the money you'll ever need by consistently investing in an index fund. Even legendary investment guru Warren Buffett famously bet (for charity) a group of hedge fund managers that they could not outperform a simple index fund. And you know what? He was right! Even though these guys were supposed to have all the right connections and information to beat the market, they still managed to lose to an index fund. 10 years later, the index fund gained a 94% return while the hedge fund only … [Read more...] about How to Buy a Stock Market Index Fund
Will Dividend Stocks Help Me Retire Early?
If you have any hopes and dreams at all of retiring early, then you know that one of the biggest challenges you face is the fact that there are penalties for withdrawing your money too early from your retirement accounts. For most of them, this will be age 59 ½ (click here for a complete list). So one of the re-occurring questions that we keep asking on MyMoneyDesign is: • How do I bridge the gap between early retirement and age 59 ½? In previous posts, we’ve reviewed the following non-employment, investment-style options available: • File for a 72t or “SEPP - Substantially Equal Periodic Payments” to get penalty free portions of your nest egg money out. • Quit working at age 55 to get your 401k’s and 403b’s, but NOT earlier. • … [Read more...] about Will Dividend Stocks Help Me Retire Early?
Weekend Wind Down 3/31/2012
Another exhausting week of work! I’m glad to be finally sleeping in this morning. The week started off with the actual birthday of our daughter. Unfortunately because we had already celebrated her birthday in the combined party with her brother (and because it fell on a Monday), we gave her her presents and brownies and that was pretty much it. During the school week you’ve still got homework and spelling words to study for even on your birthday. It was the end of the marking period for our kids – one more to go until Summer Vacation! Both of them did really well on their report cards. And what does every 7 and 9 year old want for getting good grades? – Red Lobster! Yes, they love Red Lobster. It’s been a fascination for them since … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 3/31/2012
How to Improve Alexa Ranking and Get Your Score Below 200,000
After a great deal of effort, I have finally been able to improve Alexa ranking and get a score below 200,000! Chances are if you’re reading this post, then you already realize the relevance of obtaining a low Alexa ranking. When I first started my blog, I had never even heard of Alexa nor knew anything about its rating system. But as I started networking with other bloggers and recognizing what statistics they felt were important, I realized that having a great Alexa ranking was one of the areas I needed to pay attention to. Two and a half months ago was the first time I checked my Alexa ranking. It was somewhere north of 2,700,000. “This is going to be impossible” I thought. I felt discouraged. But yet I stuck to it and achieved … [Read more...] about How to Improve Alexa Ranking and Get Your Score Below 200,000
Which is Better – Term or Permanent Life Insurance? – Part 2
In Part 1, we reviewed the fundamental differences between Term and Permanent Life Insurance. Basically Term is cheaper but it expires and gets more expensive as time goes on. Permanent life is way more expensive, but it lasts forever and has the potential to build up cash value. We concluded with me learning a fact about life insurance that made me question my Variable policy. I’ll explain below what exactly that was and how it caused me to request two new quotes so I could crunch the numbers to determine whether the Term or Variable Life Insurance policy was truly the better deal. … [Read more...] about Which is Better – Term or Permanent Life Insurance? – Part 2
Which is Better – Term or Permanent Life Insurance? – Part 1
Some of you may wonder “What in the world does life insurance got to do with my personal finances?” The truth is that it plays a more significant role in your money than you think for 2 reasons: 1) Life Insurance is about taking care of those you leave behind. Do you have a spouse? Children? Dependents? If something were to happen to you, who would take of the bills? Pay the mortgage so they can stay in their house? Pay for your kids’ college? Life insurance is part of your safety net for protecting those you love. 2) Choose poorly and you can significantly over-pay! There are thousands of life insurance products available, and the costs can vary dramatically. If you learn about what the differences are, then you can select the … [Read more...] about Which is Better – Term or Permanent Life Insurance? – Part 1
