It’s official – we’ve moved! We’re finally all settled into our new house in our new city, and we’re loving every minute of it! This is only the second house my wife and I have purchased in our adult lives. Our first one was back when I was 24 years old. With our first house for sale on the market at almost the same price we paid for it back 11 years ago, this got me thinking: What if we hadn’t bought a house when we first got married, and did something else with our money? Would we be better off financially? Although this is a fun little question to ponder, it’s actually a very real and tough choice for lots of young working professionals today. Many of them are faced with the decision of whether to find a place to rent or … [Read more...] about Could Buying Your First House Be a Financial Mistake?
which is better
Ask MMD: Should I Do a Rollover, Pension Lump Sum or Annuity?
How do you know you’re a true financial geek? The answer: You get excited when one of your friends asks you a money question because it means crunching some numbers with Excel! Okay … maybe not to that extreme, but that’s pretty much how I felt recently for a friend who had a question about whether or not to cash out his pension with an old employer. Here was his email: So I attended a webinar today about the buyout (with my old employer). Attached is a snip of the five options they gave us and what the amounts would be. Rollover to an IRA or another employer’s plan = $33,165.41 Rollover to the old employer’s 401k plan = $33,165.41 Take a pension lump-sum cash payment = $23,215.79 (minus taxes) Begin collecting monthly … [Read more...] about Ask MMD: Should I Do a Rollover, Pension Lump Sum or Annuity?
What To Do With Extra Money In Your Budget – 3 Good Choices
At the beginning of every new year, one of the first things I do with our finances is to take a hard look at our budget and see where we can get the most bang for our buck. At first this usually involves doing the normal thing that most people do - taking a look at our bills and seeing where we can shave some expenses. But there’s something else I like to do with the extra money in our budget that I feel is just as important as cutting corners on expenses. I like to take a look at where we can best grow it! There are lots of good options for what to do with extra money if you’ve got it. You might apply it to some kind of debt you have so that you’ll end up saving a boat-load in interest payments (after all, saving money can … [Read more...] about What To Do With Extra Money In Your Budget – 3 Good Choices
