Housing, Retirement, Investing… and Michael Phelps!

I love watching the Olympics, especially seeing Michael Phelps get his 8th gold medal. Find out how much he can expect to earn from all the gold medals. Not only is he a superstar swimmer, but his swimming is inspiring others to get out of debt.

Housing

Forclosure Hell: Houses Selling For $1.
In addition to selling it for $1, the seller actually paid closing costs just to get rid of the property!

My Inexpensive “Do It Yourself” Geothermal Cooling System
I’m a sucker for fun frugal projects. I can’t wait to try this one out. It’s one of the “coolest” ideas I’ve seen in a long time!

Warning Signs of a Home Improvement Scam
This article reminded me that my parents recently let an out of town crew lay new blacktop in their driveway. I was a little nervous, but they were pleased. Ironically, the next day in the paper, there was an article about a fly-by-night blacktop operation. They ended up with a decent job at a discount, but I’m guessing some others never got their job finished.

Now is the Time to Start a Landscaping Project – Deals on Perennials and Equipment Abound
Find out about your hardiness zone and look for deals on landscaping. It’s a good reminder to always shop in the off season.

Retirement

Retirement Savings versus Student Loans
How to decide mathematically and psychologically where to put your money. I’ll give you a hint… I throw it all at retirement.

Poll: Do You Save in 401(k) Without Company Match?
I’ve always been fortunate to get a match. See what others have done when they didn’t get a match.

7 Deadly Sins of Personal Finance: Raiding Retirement
Just don’t do it! Even if you get the urge, your future self will thank you for finding another way to get the money.

Investing

The 120 Minus Your Age Stock Allocation Formula
Here’s a quick rule of thumb to determine how much you should hold in stocks versus bonds. At age 29, it ends up pretty close to our current allocation.

Investment Management Tips To Help You Stay The Course With Your Portfolio
Even when the market turns for the worst, remind yourself of your goals and stick with your plan! You’re investing for the long run, so don’t make split second decisions.

How to Become a Millionaire in 10 Years
Save $996 a week? A few examples how you might actually be able to find this kind of money to save for the future.

My First Year Being a Landlord
Any thoughts that I had about investing in real estate came to a screeching halt after reading this article. It sounds like a huge pain.

By The Numbers

• 5%+ Interest From a Checking Account? Yes!
• 25% Cashback on Anything* Bought at eBay
• 11 Cheap (and free!) Toys for Young Children
• 28 Astute Takes of Insight on Living a Prolific Life
• 11 Adventures Anyone Can Use To Spice Up Their Life
• Airborne Settlement Increased to $30M
• Changing Your Perspective About Work: The 2-Hour Work Day

More articles I enjoyed this week:

Does Thinking About Money Make You a Bad Person?
An interesting study that finds if you have money on your mind that you’ll be less helpful toward others. I’m going to have to keep this in mind… since I love to have money on my mind!

• How taxing is your state?
• Are you building your credit, or just going into debt?
• Putting Simplicity to the Test
• Why You Need a Will and The Basics of Estate Planning
• Free Membership Week at Freepeats
• Waiting To Have A Baby Because Of Finances
• Job Relocation Tips – How to Financially Evaluate a New City
• The truth about passive income

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