Moneynews RSS FeedMon, 13 Apr 2009 11:27:49 EDTSome people try to defend the practice of earmarks with three arguments: First that earmarks only account for 1.9 percent of the budget; second that earmarks stimulate the economy; and third that earmarks support many worthy causes. But in each case, the harm done by...Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:22:19 EDTThe various congressional bailouts have been touted as essential to the nation's economic security. So long as the notion of economic security remains vague and abstract, it has wide support. But anyone who examines the details should realize this so-called security...Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:38:05 EDTTo safeguard your money, you must be able to extricate yourself from any bad investment quickly. Of course, the companies that sell mistakes don't want you to be able to do that, so they use financial hooks to hold your money captive. Any financial product with a surrender...Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:10:56 EDTEvery year, many of us make New Year's resolutions and then can't follow through because we claim we're too busy. The most common priority — if another hour can be found in the day — is to spend more time with family and friends. The second one on the list is to find time...Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:39:01 EDTMany investors are panicking. From its peak in March 2000, the major market indexes still show significant losses. Even looking back over the past 10 years provides little comfort. The news media is calling it "the lost decade."The lament began with a front-page Wall Street...Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:03:14 EDTIf you think the $700 billion bailout of the mortgage crisis was expensive, wait until we need to bail out Social Security. Between 2037 and 2075, the Social Security program is projected to run deficits totaling $30 trillion. Annual shortfalls are projected to start as...Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:43:27 EDTThink of confidence as a continuum: Lack of confidence is paralyzing, self-confidence is good, but overconfidence is deadly. Successful investors seek to find a balance between rashness and timidity. Understanding the psychology that causes us to act overconfidently will...Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:56:38 EDTIf you put the same assumptions into 10 different retirement calculators, you will most likely get 10 different results. The largest number may be more than twice as much as the smallest. But retirement doesn't give you a second chance — measure twice and retire once. The...Fri, 02 May 2008 14:21:03 EDTThe average college student graduates with almost $20,000 in student loans. While this is a daunting sum, it is still possible to build wealth even while paying off student debt. But earning the degree and paying for the degree require two different kinds of smarts. In...Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:50:18 EDTIt used to be that becoming a millionaire was regarded as a huge achievement. In today's dollars, however, it is fairly trivial, thanks to inflation. In fact, today's new rich is over $5 million.According to the Department of Labor's inflation calculator, $1 million today...Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:52:47 EDTInvestors are fickle. Investing should not be.Even with a brilliant investment plan, it takes diligence to overcome emotional biases and avoid making investing mistakes. Naturally you love it when your portfolio values go up. But when they go down, even slightly, you may be...Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:56:44 EDTEven with a brilliant investment plan, it takes diligence to overcome our emotional biases and avoid making investing mistakes. Here is the wisdom that both advisors and investors need to bear in mind to avoid succumbing to the fallacies of behavioral economics. It doesn't...Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:54:23 EDTIf you are eligible, make sure you fund your Roth IRA or your Roth 401k, this year with the maximum contribution possible. It may be your last chance to pay a reasonable tax rate before the prevailing winds of class envy swamp your retirement sailboat. Money put in a...Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:58:55 EDTI've decided to run a mock campaign for president again as a forum to talk about public policy. Every four years I look for a candidate who understands economics, only to find politicians instead. My political bias, like many economists, leans toward freedom. The unintended...Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:04:10 EDTNormal market volatility has returned and with it, investors are tempted once again to jump in and out of the markets. Shifting a significant portion of your assets between different types of investments to try and maximize profits may seem like a smart investment strategy....Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:09:59 EDTA valuable exercise this time of year is to review your investment returns to analyze what occurred in the broader asset classes. First, check to see if your specific investments are capturing a majority of the potential market return of their asset class. Second, evaluate...Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:13:56 EDTOne of my favorite Christmas movies is the version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" starring George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge. I must confess that I understand Scrooge's character. Scrooge — a denizen of early Victorian London — is a solitary and miserly businessman. He...Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:12:10 EDTWe all want to be slim, eat healthy and get our financial house in order, but few of us are disciplined enough to accomplish all that without help. After the indulgences of the holidays, both gustatory and financial, inevitably you'll probably resolve once again to make...Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:00:57 EDTWhen you're building wealth, saving a penny on your taxes is just as important as earning a penny in the markets. You can use both investment losses and investment gains to good tax advantage. For example, in November some U.S. stocks experienced a significant drop....Sat, 01 Dec 2007 16:03:40 EDTIf you think hiding money under your mattress is a risk-free way of building wealth, think again. Cash, it turns out, has been the riskiest investment since 2002. Many investors try to avoid risk by putting their money in a bank account or investing in CDs. But like any...