Steadfast Finances

 Credit Cards, ETFs, Index Funds         No comments

Charles Schwab wants to get into the index fund and ETF business. Badly!
In doing so, Schwab has created a series of funds to undercut the industry leader — Vanguard — by offering the lowest expense ratio ETFs and index funds on the market. With an expense ratio as low as …

 Banking, Online Savings Accounts, Personal Finance Tips         1 comment

As a young professional who came of age during the Internet boom, I was among the first wave of consumers to adopt the Internet banking meme. At that time, it was no where near mainstream and was generally considered to be another dot com fad.

Fairly quickly, the Internet banks began …

 Consumer Education, Frugal Living, Personal Finance Tips         6 comments

Since the recession began, I’ve been struggling with the concept of trading down versus trading down to better value. In other words, should I move to a policy of buying brands/goods that might be cheaper and lower in quality, or stick to brands/goods with a lower price but provide a …

 Frugal Living, Saving Money         14 comments

Most SF followers know by now that something of a foodie and a wannabe chef. I’m no where near chef level, but I do occasionally put together something that can draw a crowd.
I also suffer from a slight frugality complex and do what I can to keep my food budget …

 Administration         No comments

SF will be undergoing maintenance on October 29th during the evening hours. New theme changes, reorganization, etc.
Pardon the mess and confusion.
Related Posts 20 Reasons Why I Love the Recession Financial Planning 101: What To Do with Sudden or Unexpected Cash? …

 Consumer Education, Financial Crisis, Frugal Living, Public Awareness         2 comments

A fascinating talk on how 72% of the American Gross Domestic Product — consumers — are changing their spending behavior, relying on old school frugality tips to save more money, and deleveraging (e.g. saying goodbye to credit) to reduce their liability and financial risk. Mr. Gerzema compiles an enormous amount …

 Investing 101         5 comments

This week, Amazon.com released a great earnings report that propelled the most well known “internet stock” to a new all time high. As a person who experienced the internet stock bubble firsthand, Amazon’s stock popping 25 points in a single day gave me a little feeling of nostalgia considering that …

 Documentary Films, Public Awareness         1 comment

If you’ve never heard of Brooksley Born, you’re not alone. I followed the markets fairly closely in the late 1990s while this political battle over regulating the derivatives market was underway, and I honestly can’t remember hearing anything about it.
Like most people, I was probably too caught up with my …

 ETFs, Index Funds, Investing 101, Risk Management         10 comments

Earlier this week, everyone’s favorite emerging market — Brazil — gave a classic example of why it can be dangerous to invest in emerging markets. Out of the blue, the Brazilian government implemented a 2% tax on any incoming foreign investment to reduce the possibility of a speculative stock …

 Administration         3 comments

This year, I got a chance to play my first season of fantasy baseball. Like most rookies in their first year… I got my ass handed to me.
To be completely honest, I really didn’t have a clue what was going on until halfway through the season. And since I …