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Kyle Bumpus - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
Kyle is a young entrepreneur, software developer, and student of life with an interest in personal finance, investing, and languages.
[View Kyle Bumpus's Extended Author Bio]
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- CDs Versus Fixed Annuities
[Investing] There has been a lot of talk lately promoting fixed annuities over certificates of deposit (CDs). Does that mean fixed annuities are always the best choice? Absolutely not!
- Basic Portfolio Theory
[Investing] In essence, portfolio theory (or more commonly, asset allocation) is all about minimizing risk and maximizing returns. While stocks are expected to have the highest returns over the long term, that won't always be the case, especially over short periods of time.
- Do Annuities Have a Place in Your Portfolio?
[Insurance:Life-Annuities] The great crash of 2008 and subsequent recession has gotten people thinking about risk again, which is a very good thing. The downside of bringing risk back into the forefront, of course, is that the pendulum is beginning to swing a bit too far back in the other direction.
- How Insurance Saves You Money
[Insurance] Auto insurance, health insurance, life insurance, dental insurance, homeowners insurance...it seems like you pay and pay and pay and never get anything in return from all those premiums you've thrown on the window. Ideally, you would only buy insurance you will eventually actually need. The problem with that, of course, is for that to work you'd have to know the future. Since nobody knows the future, we are forced to buy insurance to protect ourselves from a variety of disasters that probably won't actually happen, such as an earthquake, flood, or maybe an auto accident.
- Does Refinancing Your Loan Make Sense?
[Real-Estate:Mortgage-Refinance] Refinancing doesn't always make sense. Here's a simple formula you can use to find out if refinancing makes sense for you.
- Save Money by Cutting Unnecessary Insurance Coverage
[Insurance] Let's face it, the insurance wouldn't exist if it wasn't a money-maker. The fact that there are so many different insurance companies insuring so many different kinds of risk implies that it's an extremely profitable endeavor. And if the insurance companies are making money, it's probably safe to assume that you're losing it.
- Investing For College - Choose the Right Account
[Investing] Choosing the right account for your child's college savings can go a long way towards either making or breaking your savings efforts. There are two primary accounts most families will want to consider, the 529 College Savings Plan or the Coverdell Education Savings Account.
- Get Back to the Basics of Personal Finance
[Finance:Personal-Finance] With all the conflicting financial advice you get from television, magazines, newspapers, and the internet, it's easy to conclude that personal finance is roughly as difficult as putting a man on the moon; however, nothing could be further from the truth. Fact is, the financial media has a vested interest in making things seem hard.
- Avoid Narrowly-Focused Insurance Policies
[Insurance] Insurance companies make a large portion of their profits from writing non-core, narrowly-focused insurance policies for hapless consumers. Why? Because these policies are almost always slanted in favor of the insurance company.
- Annuities 101 - Income Annuities
[Insurance:Life-Annuities] Annuities often get a bad rap, and deservedly so, but there's one type of annuity that deserves a place in many retirees' portfolio: the immediate (or income) annuity. Here's what you need to know to make an informed decision.
- Where Can I Get My Credit Report For Free Annually?
[Finance:Credit-Tips] With all the commercials out there advertising free credit reports, credit monitoring, etc, you might find it difficult to sort out which products are for real and which are scams. Annualcreditreport dot com is the official place to get the contents of your credit report for free as required by the U.S. government.
- Wise Investors Only Buy No-Load Mutual Funds
[Investing:Mutual-Funds] The invention of no-load mutual funds is among the best things to have happened to the American middle class in decades. Now more than ever before, small investors have an opportunity to grow their wealth without the drag of excessive fees.
- Managed Mutual Funds Vs Index Funds
[Investing:Mutual-Funds] Those of you who have just started investing may have heard the terms "actively-managed mutual fund" and "index fund" thrown around by personal finance advice columnists, bloggers, and the financial media. Knowing the difference could spell the difference between living in style or poverty in retirement!
- Improve Your Finances Dramatically With the Following Tips
[Finance:Personal-Finance] With consumer debt levels at an all-time high and personal savings rates near an all-time low, you'd think personal finance was rocket science. It's not. Use the following trips to dramatically improve your finances quicker than you think!
- Checking Your Credit Report Can Save You Money
[Finance:Credit-Tips] Did you know that one in four consumer credit reports contain errors serious enough for lenders to deny you access to the best rates or even refuse to lend you money entirely? Unbelievable as that may sound, it's true! And it can cost you thousands.
- Investing 101 - Taxes and Investing
[Investing] It is often said only two things in life are certain: death and taxes. Next to coming up with a proper asset allocation, taxes are probably the most important factor that will determine your long-term investing success. As you will see, when and how you pay taxes can have a dramatic impact on your long-term returns.
- 5 Ways to Lower Your Car Insurance Premiums
[Insurance:Car-Auto] While many things that affect your car insurance premiums are beyond your control (such as your past driving record, oops), there are some factors you can control. Here are 5 tips to that can help in lowering your car insurance premiums.
- Investing 101 - What is an IRA?
[Investing:IRA-401k] The Individual Retirement Account (or IRA), was created by Congress as a way to provide tax-advantaged retirement savings to workers not covered under an employer-sponsored plan. Here are the basics of what you need to know.
- Investing 101 - How to Buy and Sell Stocks
[Investing:Stocks] When it comes to investing in the stocks of public corporations, most Americans predominately buy mutual funds, which are professionally-managed investment pools in which you cast your lot with thousands if not millions of other small investors. Mutual funds are a great way to gain an instantly diversified portfolio for a relatively small initial investment, but some investors may want to venture outside the world of mutual funds and buy individual stocks.
- Investing 101 - What is a 401k?
[Investing:IRA-401k] In essence, your company's 401k plan allows you to save money for retirement while decreasing your current tax bill. This makes it a powerful savings tool practically every worker should take advantage of. Here are the basics.
- Investing 101 - Index Funds
[Investing:Mutual-Funds] Index funds are a special sort of mutual fund which seeks to track a market index, such as the S&P 500 and doesn't attempt to beat the market through shrewd trading. Here's why that's a good thing.
- Investing 101 - What is a Mutual Fund?
[Investing:Mutual-Funds] Mutual funds are a genuine miracle of modern finance. Without a doubt, every investor in America should own one if not more. Here's why.
- Most Actively-Managed Mutual Funds Fail To Beat The Market
[Investing:Mutual-Funds] Most investors attempt to beat the market at some point in their investing career. Many people think by looking at a fund manager's past record or carefully examining mutual fund statistics and ratings from companies such as Morningstar or Kiplinger, they can identify ahead of time which fund managers are likely to beat the market's return going forward and allocate their portfolio accordingly. This is a fool's errand.
- Increase Investment Returns and Decrease Risk With Proper Asset Allocation
[Investing] You've no doubt heard the expression "don't put all your eggs in one basket". Nowhere is this saying more relevant than in the realm of investing. Diversifying your investment portfolio can increase your returns and reduce your risk at the same time.
- Retire Rich By Dollar Cost Averaging
[Investing:Retirement-Planning] Dollar cost averaging is the process of investing a fixed sum of money in the market at fixed intervals, usually monthly or bi-monthly, regardless of market conditions, valuation, or economic outlook. As a small individual investor saving for retirement, dollar cost averaging monthly into your retirement account is your best bet for retiring rich.
- Two Ways To Hedge The Falling Dollar
[Investing] With the dollar getting weaker every day, prudent investors need to take action to hedge their exposure to the ailing greenback. I'm not suggesting you dump all your stocks and buy gold and wheat futures, but the trend is too strong to ignore. Here are two simple ways to hedge your bets.
- Concentrate On Investment Factors You Can Control
[Investing] Sure, everybody wants to buy the next Microsoft or find the next superstar mutual fund manager that will allow them to cruise comfortably into retirement without saving another dime, but what do you think are the chances of that happening? Probably no higher than winning the lottery or hitting the jackpot in Vegas. Instead of wasting time an effort pursuing the proverbial pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow, it's better to focus on what you CAN control in investing.
- How To Curb Lifestyle Inflation
[Finance:Personal-Finance] Lifestyle inflation is that nasty habit you have of raising your expenses every time you get a raise or a large bonus rather than pocketing the extra cash. Here are three tips to keep it under control.
- 7 Ways to Increase Your Investment Returns
[Investing] You don't have to be a financial genius to increase your investment returns. Here are some simple ways to increase your investment returns without much work.
- How Do You Know When To Sell An Investment?
[Investing] Sometimes, investments just don't work out the way we intended them to. How do you know when to sell? Like pretty much everything else, the answer is "it depends".
- Earn Above-Average Returns With Index Funds
[Investing] Practically everybody attempts to beat the market at some point in their investing career and sadly most will fail. Fortunately, there is a simple way to guarantee yourself above-average returns with virtually no work: investing in index funds.
- 4 Tips To Navigate A Volatile Market
[Finance:Personal-Finance] In difficult markets, we are bombarded with advice on how to preserve our nest egg. From timing the market to buying commodities to hedging with pork belly futures, there's no shortage of information. It really doesn't have to be that complicated. Here are four simple tips to guide you.
- Get Rich In 3 Easy Steps
[Finance:Wealth-Building] Getting rich in America has never been easier. Follow these 3 easy steps and you're sure to retire wealthy.
- 5 Ways to Make the Most of a Bad 401k Plan
[Investing:IRA-401k] Company 401k plans are notorious for being filled with expensive, sub-par mutual fund options more likely to line your fund provider's pocket than your own. If this is the case with your plan, you have two equally unpleasant choices: a.) you can forego the plan completely, forsaking the tax deduction and your future retirement security in the process or b.
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