MoneyMerc

Life Insurance Rats

(Warning: this article is long, and gets technical at times. In general, my mission is to state concepts simply and concisely, so this goes against that mantra. But I wanted to share my full experience because I think it is very similar to what you may experience in the future. If [...]

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Automate your financial life

One of the biggest time-wasters for me is checking my account balances online, and shifting money back and forth between checking and higher-interest savings to maximize my interest. It’s a delicate balance, since one $30 overdraft fee can kill increased interest very quickly. Last year I solved this problem and fully automated my [...]

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Get Thee a Plan – Part 3

[This is the last of a multi-part post.  To read from the beginning, start here.] Last time we created a general plan of bullet points. Now we’ll break that down into specific actionable items, and go off on our merry way checking them off (which helps me feel like I’ve accomplished something each time). [...]

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Get Thee a Plan – Part 2

[This is the second of a multi-part post.] Last time, we talked about the need for a life plan, and how to determine what your dreams are. Since dreams have a very fuzzy connotation to me, I like think of them in a more concrete sense, that is, as specific goals. In this post, [...]

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Get Thee a Plan

[This is the first of a multi-part post] Do you have a plan to accomplish your dreams? OK, so maybe you don’t like planning. You like spontaneity. After all, it’s the spice of life. Or, maybe you do like planning, but planning your finances or what you will do with your life seems too [...]

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Be a good information filter

A ton of information exists out there about personal finance, especially investing. May I recommend the following items to keep in mind: Be skeptical Question what you read and hear. Trust only facts. Verify from several sources any information you come across. I wish I had invested $1000 to short every stock that a client called [...]

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My Mission

I’m feeling oddly philosophical, so for my first post, why not: My Mission for this blog: To help readers reach their financial and life goals by sharing a pragmatic approach to financial planning that encourages personal reading, education and do-it-yourself planning. I believe that the monetary habits and decisions of today’s young adults more greatly affect [...]

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