Steadfast Finances

 Investing 101, Lessons Learned, Politics         No comments

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Today I ran across an article from the Wall Street Journal saying Maybe There Is an Upside to This Mess, which as the title suggests, is trying to make a lemons to lemonade argument.
While I firmly believe that every crappy situation has lessons to be learned, I couldn’t help but …

 Financial Planning, Investing 101, Retirement         4 comments

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A friend and reader of this blog posed an interesting scenario to me this week.  One that I, or almost anyone else for that matter, would be rather shocked to see waiting for them in their email inbox prior to their ritualistic 8 AM cup of java.
Matt – What would …

 Personal Finance Tips         5 comments

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I like to think I’m fairly immune to soft-hearted stories about people who are struggling to make ends meet or some other type of financial hardship that pushes them into the downward spiral of never ending debt.  It’s a tough world, and it often pays to have a thick skin.
Most …

 Personal Finance Tips         10 comments

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In late summer, I wrote about the first non-snoozefest documentary on economics ever produced — I.O.U.S.A. The Movie.
It has now been released in a 30 minute condensed version and placed on YouTube.com (see video below) for all to see.
If you haven’t watched it yet, it is probably the most jaw …

 Frugal Living, Green Living, Personal Finance Tips         25 comments

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I’m probably the most unlikely Green Living advocate on the planet.
I’m an advocate of offshore drilling, I voted for Bush in 2004 (bad call I know), and I drive a crossover SUV.
Yet, more and more these days, I find myself being slowly taken in by the tree hugger movement.
Why?
Because every …

 Consumer Education, Politics         2 comments

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And I thought equities trading was the fastest way to make a killer profit… boy was I wrong!
The Election 2008 morning-after print edition of the New York Times sold out of their daily edition morning paper only hours after being released.  Newspaper organizations all across the country were forced to …

 Fixed Income, Municipal Bonds, Personal Finance Tips         1 comment

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Nothing like a terrible year in the stock market to bring back the most boring investment choice out there… bonds!
As an active investor, the very thought of bonds makes me drowsy.  All they do, is sit idle in your brokerage account and collect interest at a slightly higher interest rate …

 Politics, Taxes         2 comments

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I’ve finally found a chart that displays a side by side comparison of the tax plans from Presidential candidates Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain.

Many of my Republican friends won’t like this graphic from The Washington Post, but that’s just one of the many benefits of being an independent.  …

 Banking, Online Savings Accounts         4 comments

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Apparently, there is one positive to be found amid the constant news coverage of the Doom & Gloom outlook for the U.S. economy and our retirement funds losing 40% of their value… we have finally been scared into submission!
I say this because ING Direct, the web’s largest internet bank, is …

 Consumer Education, Personal Finance Tips         No comments

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It would appear that an old custom which predated the days of quick and easy credit has began a revival of sorts.  Albeit a small one.
Kmart has officially reinstated their layaway plan specifically for the Christmas Holiday Season.
If you’re too young to remember, a layaway plan is essentially a delayed …

 Consumer Education         24 comments

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For several weeks now, I’ve noticed an increasing number of hard sell advertisements in my Sunday newspaper, the websites I frequent, and the few TV shows I take the time to watch.
One gold coin commercial in particular has drawn my attention, or should I say disapproval, that has been running …

 Index Funds         1 comment

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Vanguard’s CEO, Bill McNabb, gave a CNBC interview yesterday discussing the poor performance of his Vanguard index funds during the last decade after the recent stock market crash.
If you have been reading this blog for a while, you would know I’ve been rather outspoken on index funds calling them bad …