1. Follow StockTwits for timely news on ETFs. Crowd-sourced information is an excellent way to get an edge on the market. 2. Don’t bother with index funds. They include way too many crappy stocks. 3. If you must use an index fund, make sure it’s enhanced. 4. Buy several mutual funds in each asset class. [...]
I got a pleasant surprise this week to find out that I was nominated for a Plutus Award for “Best Investing Blog.” (I’m new to this, but my best explanation is that the Plutus Awards are akin to the People’s Choice Awards, for personal finance blogs.) If you want to vote for me or any [...]
Austin Frakt at The Incidental Economist recently wrote an intriguing post using Charles B. Hatcher’s work to rationally set the size of an emergency fund. The basic idea of the post is that the ratio of the annual opportunity cost of forgoing a higher investment return to the cost of borrowing should an emergency occur [...]
While reading the comments on one of J.D.’s recent posts, I got the distinct impression that many of his readers (and likely mine as well) aren’t yet familiar with the concept of affiliate links or how to spot them. That’s unfortunate. It means that many savers/investors are being exposed to a significant conflict of interests [...]
Was a fun week for discussion here on the blog with 3 guest posts in addition to the normal posting schedule. (Thanks, by the way, to Michael, David, and Mr. C.!) For those who are curious: I didn’t do anything to solicit guest posts–they each were the idea of the guest writer. So it’s quite [...]
Index funds are–and probably will continue to be–the easiest way for an average Joe to invest. But contrary to popular belief, they’re not a “set and forget” type investment. With index funds, you still have to: Decide Which Index Funds to Use – Most people think of the Vanguard S&P 500 fund when they talk [...]