May 2012

I Fibbed And Bought A Bar Of Gold – Five Crazy Safes

A few months ago, J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy showcased several very awesome manly piggy banks and crazy safes that people could buy on the internet. I fell in love with this bar of gold safe (see attached picture of my bar of gold below).

I have a theory that people will save more money if they have somewhere cool to put it. I have a jar labeled casino money that helps motivate me to save money! Just like nicknaming your savings accounts, naming your spare change jar can have a huge benefit and really drive your desire to save money for a specific purpose.

Here Are Five Cool Safes That Inspire Me To Save

1) Gold Bullion Bar Coin Bank

2) Grenade Bank

3) Vacation Fund Coin Jar

Harnessing The Power Of Compound Interest

by Hank Coleman

Compound interest is an amazing factor of investing and growing wealth. It is built into almost every financial calculation when looking at retirement, growing investments, and increasing your net worth. Even Warren Buffet said that compound interest played a large part in his accumulation of massive wealth.

Compound interest is what happens when the interest earned on an amount of money becomes part of the principal, and then more interest is then earned on that larger sum. You interest earns you interest. This continues to repeat, and the account is said to compound year after year with new interest being earned because you reinvested the old interest in your account.

Why Good Companies Do Not Always Make Good Investments

by Hank Coleman

There is a difference between a good company and a company’s stock that makes a good investment. How do you choose and know when a good company may be a poor investment choice? How do you keep from falling in love with a company? These are some of the tricky questions that individual stock investors wrestle with.

Here are a few things to consider when trying to identify when a good company may be a bad investment.

The Right Stock Valuation

Classic finance theory states that the valuation of a stock price over the long-term is based on the current value of its future earnings (cash flows). So, what does that even mean? It means that a company’s individual popularity unfortunately does not always translate into higher share prices. Wildly popular companies can have next to no profits. Just look at the earnings of internet companies like Facebook, Yelp, Groupon, and the like. Far too often, they are more popular than profitable.

Why I Bought Shares Of Facebook On Its IPO Opening Day

by Hank Coleman

I bought shares of Facebook yesterday on its opening day on the market after its initial public offering (IPO). Well…it was actually more like one single share of Facebook. I bought it from OneShare.com where I got one single share framed for my wife. Should you buy shares Facebook IPO? It all started on Thursday when my wife asked me if I would purchase any shares of Facebook on Friday when shares began trading on the public market. My wife and I do not really see eye to eye in most cases about finances and investing. She loves the idea of Facebook as a company but does not really care to look at the company’s fundamentals as an investment. Why Facebook … Read more

How Tickets Can Affect Your Car Insurance Rates

by Hank Coleman

What is one of the first things that you think about when you get pulled over by the police for speeding or some other traffic violation? I know that one of my first thoughts goes to my car insurance and how much my car insurance premium may go up if I get a ticket. We all understand that tickets affect insurance rates, but many of us do not know how do speeding tickets affect insurance rates and how other violations play into our rates. Now, Insurance.com has done the leg work for you with a new study that they have just published dissecting how much auto insurance rates increase for common driving violations. Insurance.com analyzed over than 490,000 car insurance … Read more

Skipping Home Maintenance Can Be Disastrous To Your Insurance

by Hank Coleman

If you are a homeowner, you know that it is expensive to maintain. I never realized how many things you are nickeled and dimed for until buying my first house. Not only do you have your mortgage, insurance, taxes, utilities, and possibly even association dues, but you’ve also got the little things you don’t dream of like home maintenance now falls on your shoulders. The yard or fence needs to be refurbished.

These were not issues when you were a renter. With all of these bills adding up, you may be wondering if you could skip out on something as minor as home maintenance or maybe cut a few corners here and there? Here are some reasons why home maintenance is so important and can affect your homeowner’s insurance.

Pay a Little Now, Or Pay More Later

Home maintenance can be expensive no matter what the project is. Maybe you are replacing a broken sprinkler or repairing some broken boards on your deck? No matter what the project happens to be, it takes time, effort, and money. Some projects are bigger than others, but every project requires all three.