Ideas to help preserve and grow your money
Disturbing piece by John Bussey in the WSJ, noting how, as Congress dithers on free trade pacts regarding Colombia, Panama and South Korea, our competitors are moving ahead with their own and on that basis expanding their export presence, while US firms cannot due to the higher tariffs suffered. The US soybean industry alone thinks …
Continue reading A Reason We’re Losing the Globalization Game
When I started this series, I began with some definitions to help the reader understand some of the jargon inherent to the discussion. One word I forgot to define is “correlation”. In financial terms, it refers to the extent to which the value of different asset classes (bonds, stocks, gold, etc.) move in relation to …
Continue reading The Case for Alternative Investments – Part VI
From time to time I get word from one of the money management programs we use that I think will give you some guidance if you are intent on managing your own money. Here's what arrived today... "After trading sideways for a majority of June, the markets rallied beginning in the last week of the …
Ever since I took Economics 101 some 42 years ago, I have understood that "interest", in the financial sense, was the price you paid for the use of someone else's money. If you had money, and someone else wanted it, you could charge "interest" and in time, you would get back what you loaned to …
Washington’s fight over the debt ceiling has obscured a larger reality: Government has lost its ability to influence the economy. A nice analysis that explores the concensus that the state pulls the levers that determine economic health. Zachary Karabell suggests that is no longer true. The essence of his summary: "What, then, can nations and …
In an unusual mid-month commentary, PIMCO chairman Bill Gross says fiscal balance alone will not likely produce 20 million jobs over the next decade. He said the government must re-think how it approaches job creation, and said that a college education was a waste of money. “It is becoming obvious that the 2012 election will …
Here’s your Weekly Insights update from Curian’s Asset Management Group. This informative capital market update is designed to help you stay informed about important developments from the past week, as well as provide thoughtful commentary on how these events might… CONTINUE...
By now I hope you have found the video presentation under the CollegeMoneyNow.info tab above. If you haven’t, take a few minutes and explore this idea. I’m going to write today about the college process itself. Unknown to parents and students, colleges accept far more students than they can admit. For example, if a college …
This calculator estimates your life expectancy. It was developed by Northwestern Mutual Life. It's interesting that there are only 13 questions; yet, they can predict how long you're likely to live. CALCULATOR
For many readers, the term "Long-Term Care" belongs in a foreign dictionary. Its an obscure concept that has very little relevance to them. At least until one of their parents faces the prospect of assisted living or perhaps something more serious. Or something unexpected and bad happens to you. In the traditional sense, you can …
Helping Define Your Financial Future 