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Which Is First: Paying Off Your Debt or Investing for Retirement?

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This question has plagued financial planners for years. Should you pay off debt, or should they start a retirement account first? This assumes that the same amount of money is involved in each transaction. We will use $5,000 for our examples. Below we will take a look at the pros and cons of each option, and give our opinion. Paying Off Debt First Paying off debt is a great way to use a lump sum of money. Being in debt can be burdensome to the individual in debt, and feeling like you are never going to get out can be awful. If you do not have a lump sum, you may want to consider a debt management plan to help … Read more

The Best Investing Advice I Ever Received

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The following is a part of Yakezie’s blog swap from Dannielle. She blogs about personal finance and Barbados at Odd Cents. You can check out my post on her site this morning as well about the best investment advice I ever received – Start Early!

The best investment advice I ever receivedFor someone that’s now getting acquainted with the investment world, I’ve been trying to get as much advice as I can. In the last six months, I’ve attended seminars, done research online and asked friends for specific investment advice. As a result of my persistence, I’ve received several helpful tips which I’m very excited to share.

Take Advantage Of A Disaster To Invest

The most recent bit of advice came from a post entitled Taking Advantage of Disaster to Invest on Bucksome Boomer. The post advised to buy stocks in companies which are going through a disaster. Kay Lynn, the author, recently bought stocks in Carnival Corp which owns the Costa Concordia ship ( the cruise ship in the horrific Italy accident). The accident caused share prices to drop significantly and opened up opportunities to buy shares at a “reduced” price. In a short space of time after her purchase, the stock prices were on their way back up.

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Five Creative Ways To Fund Your New Small Business

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This is a guest contribution from Bill Hazelton, CEO and Founder of Credit Card Assist, a leading pro-consumer, credit card information resource.

Creative ways to fund your new small business It takes a lot of guts to run a small business these days. You need to be your own boss, your own IT team, your own cleaning crew and, most importantly, your own accountant. Typically, money is always tight in the first year (or few years for some), and things will only get tougher if you can’t find sources of financing to support your early growth track. The problem is that ever since the economic implosion that started back in 2008, the banks have severely tightened their lending criteria. So, what does a small business owner have to do to find funding for his or her business? Get creative.

To successfully fund your new business these days, you’ll have to think outside the box, over the box and sometimes even on top of the box. We’re talking Zappa-style unorthodox here. If you’re not exactly the creative type though, it might be difficult to conjure up creative financing ideas. In order to help you kick-start the thought process, we’ve come up with a list of 5 creative ways to fund your small business.

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Four Overlooked Estate Planning Documents You Need

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The following is a guest post from Don at MoneySmartGuides.com where he posts about personal finance for the average person. Sadly, personal finance isn’t taught in school and many people are confused on the subject. Don is here to help educate everyone in hopes that they reach their personal finance goals! When it comes to estate planning, most people avoid the topic. It’s understandable, but there are four estate planning documents you need to have. It’s understandable since talking about your own death isn’t something most people look forward to. But estate planning isn’t completely about you. It’s about what you are leaving behind and the decisions that others will have to make in your absence. By having the proper … Read more

Counting The Cost Of Uninsured Drivers

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There is a cost of uninsured driversThere’s no denying it: car insurance is pricey, and the cost goes up year on year. Add to that the impact of the global economy, and some decide that they’ll simply drive around without car insurance and save themselves $1,000 or more. They figure that it’s a victimless crime, but they would be wrong. We are picking up the cost of their negligence.

There is a cost of uninsured drivers in America. The cost of uninsured drivers raises others insurance premiums.

Worse For All Of Us

In 2007, uninsured drivers cost the rest of us over $10 billion, and 13.8 per cent of Americans are estimated to be uninsured. This sparks off a vicious cycle of repetition – as insurance premiums go up, more people will decide to drive without insurance, which will push

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