3 May, 2011
Card Credit Card
- List all of your credit card accounts: Make a list of your credit card accounts, jotting down your current balance, the minimum payment, and the interest rate. When I did this my list followed this format: BOA Visa – $2,500 – $75 – 9.99%. (16 seconds)
- Figure out which order you want to pay them off in: Next, decide what order you want to pay your credit cards off in. Either order it by starting with the lowest balance, or by starting with the highest interest rate. Paying of the high interest card will save you money in the long run, but there is something to be said for the emotional boost that comes from starting with the lowest balance and paying something of quickly. (7 se
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3 May, 2011
Stocks
How would you like to invest your hard-earned money in something that could give you similar returns to stocks while reducing your portfolio’s volatility and risk? An investment that helped you achieve your desired asset allocation AND diversify at the same time? Welcome to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Even though ETFs trade very similar to individual stocks, they have several advantages that distinguish from their riskier cousins:
- Lower volatility
- Reduced risk
- Instant asset allocation
- Quick and cost-effective diversification
You could be investing COMMISSION FREE
in FocusShares ETFs through Scottrade! C
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3 May, 2011
Loans Student Loans
I ran across this infographic at the Consumerist and was granted permission by CollegeScholarships.org to host it here on The Wisdom Journal.
Student loans are certainly unique in why they’re used and how they’re eventually collected, but this infographic crystallized the history and information surrounding this “gateway drug to debt slavery” in a way that really hit home for me. Personally, I’ve been making payments on student loans since 1988.
Infographic by College Scholarships.org. Used by permission.
3 May, 2011
Risk Tolerance Tolerance
A good investment advisor will help his or her client determine their personal tolerance for risk and then allocate their investments accordingly. What is “risk tolerance?” It’s the measure of volatility and uncertainty an investor can handle when faced with a negative change in the value of his or her portfolio (no one complains about positive changes).
Each investor’s personal risk tolerance is different and as such, the way they allocate their assets will differ. A good investment advisor will ask a lot of questions to determine your tolerance for the daily, weekly, monthly, or annual volatility you can stomach.
Risk tolerance varies by age, income needs, financial goals, . A 75 ye
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3 May, 2011
Risk Tolerance Tolerance
Yesterday, we analyzed ways to determine our tolerance for risk in our investment portfolios. That risk tolerance was based on when we needed the money, other income sources available, and our personal feelings and sensibilities regarding risk.
We also determined that there are three basic types of investors:
- Aggressive – long time horizon, multiple sources of income, willing to take risks
- Moderate – medium length time horizon, investing is a significant source of income, only somewhat risk averse
- Conservative – short time horizon, investments are the only source of income, very risk averse
Set up an investment account with only $500 at Scottrade
I’ve arranged these into a table:
Investment Class Aggressive Moderate Conservative Cash & Equivalents 0% 15% 20% Bond Index 10% 25% 40% US Stock Index 50% 40% 30% International Stock Index 25% 15% 10% REIT Index 10% 5% 0% Precious Metals Fund 5% 0% 0%
Cash (and its equivalents) are the safest of all investments. It’s bas
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2 May, 2011
Card Thieves Credit Card Credit Card Thieves Thieves
It is an alarming fact that credit card thieves account for 5 cents of every 100 dollars in transactions made through credit cards? Security features have come a long way since the inception of credit cards. At the very beginning, there wasn’t any protection for people with credit cards. If a thief got a hold of a card, that was all that was needed to commit fraud. Nowadays, however, thieves have less ability to make fraudulent transactions on a card, especially ones which harm the card holder.
These days, credit card companies have adopted a “zero-liability” policy. This means that the customer isn’t liable for any of the purchases that a thief makes. If the borrower didn’t authorize the purchase they are not held accountable. An investigation, which involves the credit card company and the police will ensue, allowing them to find the thieves and leave the consumer without any charges to pay. No matter what the thief does with a card, the customer is not liable.
Sometimes, thieves will try to gain access to credit card details through the borrower’s email inbox. This is called phishing, and is usually carried out by sending an email requesting the credit card number. Customers should be aware that neither Paypal nor credit card companies will ever ask for personal information.
Some websites on the Internet today are fraudulent, being created to make borrowers believe that they are making a purchase which will get a product delivered to their home. In reality, they can make exorbitant charges to the card and leave the customer with very little in their account at the end of the transaction. Consumer should be awa
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