most recent 30 from http://www.ourluckydime.com 2010-08-01T04:28:52Z http://www.ourluckydime.com/feeds/user/2 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/97/whats-your-favorite-money-cartoon/140#140 sefner 2009-10-23T03:47:38Z 2009-10-23T03:47:38Z

<p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/D3d2K.jpg" alt="alt text" /></p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/128/should-i-be-picking-my-own-stocks sefner 2009-10-19T05:52:25Z 2009-10-22T15:36:42Z

<p>If I have to ask the question then the answer is probably that I shouldn't be but alas.</p> <p>I've had success over the last couple years picking stocks. The gains from the winners have more than made up for the losers. Whereas the mutuals funds I own are all down. </p> <p>I've read quite a few blog posts and articles deploring amateur investors ability to pick stocks and it's got me thinking I've probably just been lucky. <a href="http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/a-good-example-of-why-you-shouldnt-try-to-pick-stocks/" rel="nofollow">Here's</a> a recent blog post by Ramit Sethi at iwillteachyoutoberich.com advocating lifecycle funds.</p> <p>What do you think, should amateur investors be picking their own stocks?</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/7/tools-for-organizing-your-financial-accounts sefner 2009-09-23T15:10:31Z 2009-10-21T22:09:32Z

<p>I'm currently using mint.com to keep track of my financial accounts and budget and really like the ease of use, categorization of my purchases and budgeting tools but have never been at ease storing all my bank passwords at one third party site. Do you use mint.com for this or have another way to easily manage your accounts?</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/125/how-do-you-beat-the-urge-to-buy-on-impulse/127#127 sefner 2009-10-19T05:14:22Z 2009-10-19T05:14:22Z

<p>I also find that after I got my finances in order and figured out what's really important I always have a monologue running through my head asking me why I'm buying something and whether it's something I really need. If the answer is yes I buy it, if it's no I put it back and move on.</p> <p>Maybe you can create a similar script that you'll remember when you're buying something you're not sure of.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/125/how-do-you-beat-the-urge-to-buy-on-impulse/126#126 sefner 2009-10-19T05:13:15Z 2009-10-19T05:13:15Z

<p>My personal preference is to avoid malls and shopping altogether :) But if you HAVE to go to a shop, make sure you always have a list and don't buy anything that's not on the list.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/120/what-is-a-derivitive sefner 2009-10-15T18:00:31Z 2009-10-16T23:13:45Z

<p>I keep hearing these mentioned all over the news but still haven't been able to get a simple answer as to what they are for.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/112/playing-the-credit-game/113#113 sefner 2009-10-14T17:55:25Z 2009-10-14T22:49:59Z

<p>Your FICO or credit score is roughly based on five categories:</p> <ul> <li>Payment history – 35% </li> <li>Amounts owed – 30%</li> <li>Length of credit history – 15%</li> <li>New credit searches – 10%</li> <li>Types of credit – 10%</li> </ul> <p><strong>Payment History:</strong> 35% of your score is determined by how punctual you are with your payments. As you already know, always pay your credit card/bills on time. This is big.</p> <p><strong>Amounts Owed:</strong> 30% of your score comes from the ratio of your credit card balance to your credit limits. This is why you shouldn't max out your credit cards, and why having higher limits on your cards with smaller balances will help your score. </p> <p><strong>Length of credit history:</strong> 15%, if you don't have any other credit sources older than 7 years, never cancel your oldest card. Hang on to them and put them in an ice block in the freezer if you no longer want to use them.</p> <p><strong>New Credit:</strong> 10%, Recent searches for credit, and credit report checks can have a negative effect on your score as well.</p> <p><strong>Types of credit used:</strong> 10% of your score also comes from the types of credit you use. If you have several different sources of revolving credit you can be seen as a credit risk because of your ability to rack up debt quickly.</p> <p>I don't think it matters whether you use your card for a lot of small purchases or a few large ones, again the main determinant here is your ratio of your credit card balance to your maximum credit limit.</p> <p>In general you want this ratio to be as low as possible, ideally having a $0 balance with the highest limit you can get (however, this limit shouldn't exceed 20-30% of your gross income).</p> <p>Money magazine says <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag%5Farchive/2006/11/01/8392426/index.htm" rel="nofollow">here:</a></p> <blockquote> <p>The best way to improve your credit score is to pay bills on time and to borrow no more than 30% of your available credit.</p> </blockquote> <p>I'm not sure how valid that number as credit scoring agencies only give us generalities of how scores are calculated but it's probably a good number to go by. </p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/110/which-online-broker-should-i-use/114#114 sefner 2009-10-14T18:51:42Z 2009-10-14T18:51:42Z

<p>If you're not looking to do many trades, <a href="http://www.sharebuilder.com" rel="nofollow">sharebuilder</a> now owned by ING works well for me. I have contributions and trades setup to automatically purchase stock on the 3rd tuesday of the month and I believe the transaction rate is $4 a trade which is quite good. You can also make real time trades it'll cost more. It really depends on your investing style, since you're asking the question I assume you're a beginner and I think sharebuilder works quite well for those just starting out.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/28/simplifying-your-finances sefner 2009-09-28T22:01:02Z 2009-10-11T16:39:12Z

<p>What types of things have you done to simplify your personal finances?</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/81/steps-to-take-when-buying-a-house sefner 2009-10-06T19:06:39Z 2009-10-10T17:15:36Z

<p>My family and I are in the very early stages of buying a house. I think the first step is to get pre-approved for the mortgage but how do you know the best place for that? What are the steps I should take to ensure I get the most for my money?</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/71/which-personal-finance-blogs-do-you-follow/92#92 sefner 2009-10-10T00:05:48Z 2009-10-10T00:05:48Z

<p><a href="http://mint.com/blog" rel="nofollow">mint.com/blog</a></p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/71/which-personal-finance-blogs-do-you-follow sefner 2009-10-04T06:35:00Z 2009-10-10T00:05:48Z

<p>I'm interested to know personal finance blogs you follow. </p> <p>(if a blog you follow is already listed upvote it rather than re-listing it so we can see the most popular)</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/86/if-i-want-to-hold-some-of-my-cash-reserves-in-other-currencies-how-would-i-do-it sefner 2009-10-08T18:03:50Z 2009-10-09T21:19:08Z

<p>What's the best way to convert some of my cash to other currencies to diversify away from the dollar? Or should I just buy gold?</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/84/how-to-decide-on-mutual-funds/85#85 sefner 2009-10-08T16:05:50Z 2009-10-08T16:05:50Z

<p><a href="http://screen.yahoo.com/funds.html" rel="nofollow">Yahoo Fund Screener</a> is a great tool for this. My Suggestion is use the tool to find funds with:</p> <ul> <li>A long manager tenure (5 years at least) </li> <li>No Load</li> <li>And a very low expense ratio</li> </ul> <p>There's plenty of good ones out there that fit this criteria so I see no point of paying high fees. Other than this just change the other options to match your risk tolerance etc.. and you're all set. </p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/67/visiting-disneyland-on-the-cheap/82#82 sefner 2009-10-07T20:43:40Z 2009-10-07T20:43:40Z

<p>Most online travel agencies offer Disneyland packages. For instance here is a link to the Travelocity offer: <a href="http://leisure.travelocity.com/Promotions/0,,TRAVELOCITY%7C3658%7Cvacations%5Fmain,00.html" rel="nofollow">Travelocity Disneyland Packages</a></p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/71/which-personal-finance-blogs-do-you-follow/74#74 sefner 2009-10-04T06:36:49Z 2009-10-04T06:36:49Z

<p><a href="http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com" rel="nofollow">www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com</a></p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/71/which-personal-finance-blogs-do-you-follow/73#73 sefner 2009-10-04T06:36:21Z 2009-10-04T06:36:21Z

<p><a href="http://www.getrichslowly.org" rel="nofollow">www.getrichslowly.org</a></p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/71/which-personal-finance-blogs-do-you-follow/72#72 sefner 2009-10-04T06:35:39Z 2009-10-04T06:35:39Z

<p><a href="http://www.manvsdebt.com" rel="nofollow">www.manvsdebt.com</a></p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/67/visiting-disneyland-on-the-cheap/68#68 sefner 2009-10-02T21:34:41Z 2009-10-02T21:34:41Z

<p>Although the actual disneyland hotels are nice they're also very expensive, stay at a hotel just outside the park, you still get the convenience of being close such as shuttle service to the park but you also save a bunch on the rate. We've done this both times we went and I don't think we missed out on much.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/6/best-credit-card-rewards-program sefner 2009-09-23T15:03:42Z 2009-10-02T21:06:08Z

<p>What credit cards are you using for rewards points of some kind and what are the best ones out there?</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/54/what-is-a-bond/57#57 sefner 2009-10-01T06:41:52Z 2009-10-01T06:41:52Z

<p>A bond is a loan an investor gives the government or a corporation to finance a debt. In return the bond issuer agrees to pay regular interest payments to the investor and return the loan principal when the bond matures.</p> <p>For example, a state government issues a bond to raise money for new highways, an investor buys a $1000 bond set to mature in 10 years. The government then pays the investor regular payments and returns the principal at maturity.</p> <p>Bonds are typically considered safer than stocks as they aren't as volatile.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/55/david-ramseys-financial-university/56#56 sefner 2009-10-01T04:14:46Z 2009-10-01T04:14:46Z

<p>The main benefits of these programs is the coaching and positive reinforcement they provide and a classroom atmosphere complete with lectures and assignments.</p> <p>That said, this only appeals to certain type of people who need constant prodding to keep on top of their debt and budget. If that's you the courses are a godsend, if not, they're a bit pricey when much of the same information is available online for free.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/40/envelope-system sefner 2009-09-30T05:33:54Z 2009-09-30T13:39:34Z

<p>I've seen a couple references to the envelope system in the answers to other questions, could someone using this method of budgeting describe your process in detail and why it's effective? I've been trying my best to use almost no cash so that all my spending shows up in my bank statement.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/37/whats-a-fair-budget-for-a-halloween-costume/39#39 sefner 2009-09-30T05:10:13Z 2009-09-30T05:10:13Z

<p>I'll say my oldest is 5 and I've never spent over $30 on a costume, sometimes we enhance them with wigs or makeup and such from home. As with all budgeting matters it depends on your income but the kids will have fun no matter what you spend. People spending more than they're comfortable with is probably more from social pressure than making kids happy. </p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/21/what-is-the-difference-between-apr-and-apy sefner 2009-09-28T06:35:23Z 2009-09-29T03:43:51Z

<p>Interest rates are often listed with both an APR and APY rate, what's the difference?</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/28/simplifying-your-finances/30#30 sefner 2009-09-28T22:10:05Z 2009-09-28T22:10:05Z

<p>Paperless billing. I've authorized all my vendors that offer it to send me emails rather than paper bills. This not only helps the environment but it puts all my bills in one place, easy to categorize and search when needed. </p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/28/simplifying-your-finances/29#29 sefner 2009-09-28T22:02:44Z 2009-09-28T22:08:18Z

<p>Mint.com. Not only has it put all my various accounts in one location but the dead simple budgeting aspect has allowed me to keep an actual budget for the first time without getting bored.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/8/what-are-your-favorite-stock-market-investment-books sefner 2009-09-23T15:25:20Z 2009-09-28T06:06:09Z

<p>I've read a lot of these types of finance books over the years but only a few have stuck with me, what are your favorites?</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/2/529-college-savings-plan sefner 2009-09-19T16:20:46Z 2009-09-28T03:26:21Z

<p>Which state offers the best 529 plan if my state doesn't offer any tax advantages for their plan?</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/9/best-prepaid-by-paypal-credit-card/10#10 sefner 2009-09-25T06:29:57Z 2009-09-25T06:29:57Z

<p>Paypal's browser plug-in has a Secure Cards feature that lets you generate a single use Mastercard number for your purchase if the site doesn't accept Paypal.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/143/diversified-portfolio-question/144#144 sefner 2009-10-29T06:15:51Z 2009-10-29T06:15:51Z

-1: this isn't at all an answer to his question

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/143/diversified-portfolio-question sefner 2009-10-25T05:47:15Z 2009-10-25T05:47:15Z

I'm curious where did you come across this chart from, the mix looks really interesting.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/128/should-i-be-picking-my-own-stocks/135#135 sefner 2009-10-22T16:35:41Z 2009-10-22T16:35:41Z

Yep thanks, I've actually read all his books and initially got into investing in stocks as a result.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/7/tools-for-organizing-your-financial-accounts/133#133 sefner 2009-10-21T22:15:03Z 2009-10-21T22:15:03Z

Interesting, I wonder why you don't just recategorize anything mint gets wrong? I've found now it takes only a few minutes a month to do this. Thanks for the clearcheckbook tip, I'll have to check it out as I'm looking at mint alternatives for other reasons.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/122/how-to-budget-holidays-spendings/124#124 sefner 2009-10-19T05:16:49Z 2009-10-19T05:16:49Z

Only getting gifts for kids is big and really helps not only with the money but also the stress, they're so much easier to buy for. We've done the same thing in my family.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/112/playing-the-credit-game/113#113 sefner 2009-10-14T22:50:23Z 2009-10-14T22:50:23Z

I've updated the post to give a little more information. Thanks for participating!

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/112/playing-the-credit-game/115#115 sefner 2009-10-14T19:50:25Z 2009-10-14T19:50:25Z

Yep I've used this as well only because I saw it on getrichslowly so I was pretty sure it wasn't a scam. It was quick and worked exactly as advertised and surprisingly I haven't received any spam as a result. Thanks for the reminder.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/28/simplifying-your-finances/107#107 sefner 2009-10-12T03:54:42Z 2009-10-12T03:54:42Z

Awesome thanks, I love the simplicity of mints budget and the alerts to the wifes phone is priceless.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/84/how-to-decide-on-mutual-funds/85#85 sefner 2009-10-11T20:45:27Z 2009-10-11T20:45:27Z

For me personally I tend to then look at what the manager is investing in to be sure I feel comfortable with the choices because although I'm not a savvy investor I still like to follow my gut to a certain degree and have done pretty well by that.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/28/simplifying-your-finances/107#107 sefner 2009-10-11T15:55:48Z 2009-10-11T15:55:48Z

I'm curious why don't you use the budgeting tools mint provides? I've found them to be the only way I can stick to the budget thing. But I've never used quicken is it better for budgeting?

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/81/steps-to-take-when-buying-a-house/99#99 sefner 2009-10-11T07:09:47Z 2009-10-11T07:09:47Z

Great advice I really do appreciate it, all things I've heard at one time or another but great to have it consolidated here. We're off to check out more houses tomorrow.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/28/simplifying-your-finances/34#34 sefner 2009-10-10T05:37:20Z 2009-10-10T05:37:20Z

definitely agree with the 20 min remark, this is what I'm trying to work toward.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/86/if-i-want-to-hold-some-of-my-cash-reserves-in-other-currencies-how-would-i-do-it/87#87 sefner 2009-10-09T15:12:28Z 2009-10-09T15:12:28Z

Very interesting thanks, I hadn't even thought of paypal for this seems simple and that's what I'm looking for.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/6/best-credit-card-rewards-program/16#16 sefner 2009-10-07T21:13:38Z 2009-10-07T21:13:38Z

Thanks, I didn't realize mint offered credit card recommendations based on spending habits.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/48/on-line-personal-finance-management-tool/78#78 sefner 2009-10-05T06:17:53Z 2009-10-05T06:17:53Z

Never seen the first two, I'll check em out thanks.