Steadfast Finances

 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 …

 Bargain Hunting, Saving Money Online         1 comment

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With those crisp fall mornings becoming more commonplace, and Christmas just two months away, it’s time for every self-proclaimed real man to begin preparing for the deed he hates most in life.  Shopping!
I hate Christmas shopping!  I loathe it!
So much in fact, that I generally start making my gift list …

 Buy on the Dips, Dividend Investing, Index Funds, Long-Term Stocks, Retirement         5 comments

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Since Wall Street has thrown us such an unexpected curve ball and subsequently slammed the S&P 500 down ~35% (2008 YTD), most of us are justifiably thinking about readjusting our portfolios, reviewing our asset allocations, or even reducing our 401k / IRA contributions until this financial crisis is resolved.
For my …

 Debt Reduction, Financial Crisis         3 comments

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With near saturation of Doom & Gloom headlines in the previous week, I feel that it’s important to focus on some of the positives.
Last night, amid the round the clock media coverage of the global financial crisis, CNBC aired some fairly recent data released by the Federal Reserve Board with …

 Consumer Education, Cutting Expenses, Green Living         3 comments

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I’ve finally decided to exchange all of my standard light bulbs for Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs.
I realize I’m a few years late in joining the Going Green energy movement, but after spending the last two weeks reading about everyone’s retirement accounts being in the crapper (Moolanomy and No Debt …

 Consumer Education, Financial Crisis         2 comments

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If ever there was a headline to make you scream “What The [expletive]?“… this is it!
Roughly one week after AIG came calling for a cool $85 Billion in taxpayer money to prevent filing for bankruptcy, AIG’s management team decided they (and their best performing sales agents) needed a week off …

 Auto Sales, Bargain Hunting, Energy crisis, Financial Crisis, Green Living, Index Funds, Retirement         2 comments

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The S&P 500 is below 1000.  Do you know where your investments are?
For edification purposes only, if you haven’t received your quarterly statements through the good ol’ fashioned snail mail just yet, take a quick peek into your online retirement account.
Feeling Hulk-ish yet?  Good!  Me too!
If you’re not into watching …

 Auto Sales, Bargain Hunting, Financial Crisis         3 comments

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60 Minutes just aired one of the best video segments I’ve seen (to date) that sheds some new light on the 700 Billion Dollar Bailout Question:
What caused the current financial crisis?
In the segment, 60 Minutes tapped credit market expert (Jim Grant from Grant’s Interest Rate Observer) to delve into …

 Bargain Hunting, Personal Finance Tips         6 comments

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Microsoft’s Live Search Cashback program is for real, and it saved me 20% on my new laptop.
I was initially skeptical of Microsoft’s claim that simply using their Live.com search engine would actually save me money, because quite honestly, it’s a pretty desperate business move for Microsoft to throw away cash …

 Financial Crisis, Market Themes         11 comments

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Many people are under the assumption that Wall Street’s business transactions, particularly the transactions requiring a liquid credit market, have little to no affect on our daily lives.
This is a false assumption.
In fact, so many details of our daily lives are impacted by Wall Street that it is difficult …

 Banking, Financial Crisis, Index Funds, Investor Psychology, Market Themes         1 comment

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Earlier today, I heard a financial journalist say one of the most peculiar statements I’ve ever heard about a down day in the stock market.
It’s good to have something bad happen to keep you on your toes.
I’m not sure who came up with that old adage, but I’m not sure …

 Personal Finance Tips         9 comments

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As if the cost of college tuition wasn’t prohibitive enough, the most basic of college essentials – the college textbook – has steadily been increasing over the last 2 decades.
According to data published by the General Accountability Office (GAO), the price of college textbooks has risen an average of 6% …