I received a stack of envelopes in the mail last week. I almost tossed the papers since they looked sort of like junk mail. Apparently we’re involved in a class action mutual fund settlement, but is it a scam? Honestly, that was the first thing that crossed my mind. Good thing I didn’t toss the […]
This is the final article in a 3-part series on bonds. Today we’ll discuss how to cash in your saving bonds. When Paul and I moved into our new home, my mother flew down from Pennsylvania and spent a long weekend with us. As a present, she gave me several bonds she had saved from […]
Series I Bonds offer a low cost, incremental, and low risk investment for your portfolio. I Bonds also protect your money against inflation, as their yield has both a fixed rate as well as a variable rate that changes every six months according to inflation and deflation. I Bonds were once only available in paper […]
This is the first article in a series focusing on bonds. I’ll start by discussing four different types of bonds: Series EE, Series I, Treasury Bonds (T-Bond), and Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS). Future articles in this series will be focused on Series I Bonds and how to purchase and redeem them. With the stock […]
I’m reevaluating the discount broker scene to add to our emerging market holdings, specifically looking for the best discount brokers. When we made changes to our most recent asset allocation to include more international exposure I identified the need to pick up more emerging markets, in an ETF instead of index funds. I hold a […]
This week’s Free Money Friday is a great one for anyone looking for a new brokerage. OptionsXpress is offering $100 for new customers when they open an account! How to Get Your Sign Up Bonus Open and fund an OptionsXpress account with $500 by December 31, 2012. Execute three trades within 12 months of opening […]
It’s that time of year again! Time when I look at our asset allocation and convince myself to take on more international exposure in our portfolio. After making the update, here’s what our target asset allocation looks like. Update: Here is my most recent asset allocation update. International Asset Allocation Changes When we started using […]
Social lending arbitrage. It’s the newest finance game in town. A reader, Derek, shares the details of how to pull off this fascinating arbitrage strategy. A special thanks to Derek for sharing his story with all of us! Social Lending Arbitrage Explained Let me tell you about my arbitrage strategy that I’ve used successfully for […]
It’s Free Money Friday and this week’s is a good one! TradeKing is offering existing customers $100 for referring a friend. Hurry because the offer only lasts until February 11, 2010. How to Get Your TradeKing Referral Bonus Log into your TradeKing account, or sign up for a new TradeKing account if you don’t have […]
Almost two years ago I opened a P2P lending account with Prosper. I invested in about 20 loans before they shut down for SEC registration. I switched to more stringent lending criteria after having a few loans default early on, but still had many defaults. Those defaults made me a little turned off by the […]
