The Finance Buff

Autopay Bank of America Credit Card

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I have autopay set up on all my bills: credit cards, utilities, insurance, everything. Whatever amount comes due, the company pulls the money from my checking account on the due date. Some people worry that this gives the companies too much privilege over their bank account. I can only say that in over 10 years among all the companies that I had autopay with, no one ever pulled the wrong amount or a duplicate from my bank account. I like autopay because I don't ever have to worry about paying [...]

Best Index Funds and ETFs at Fidelity

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[Updated in August 2018 after Fidelity lowered fees and removed minimum investments on its index funds.] What are the best index funds and ETFs for long-term investors using Fidelity? I have more money in Fidelity accounts than in Vanguard [...]

Know Your Edge

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Note from the Editor: This is a guest post from long-time reader Horton. I love Horton's thesis and the tight wrap! Remember if you have something to share and you don't want to bother creating a blog of your own, please contact me. Enjoy! *** Many [...]

Extra Mortgage Payment: Do Dates Matter?

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Regular mortgage payments are set up such that you pay the same amount each month but the breakdown between principal and interest changes every month. You first pay the interest calculated from the previous balance. The remainder then goes toward [...]

Social Security Claiming Strategy Calculators Compared

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[Updated with new calculator. Removed calculators that are no longer available.] Mike Piper is the author of the book Social Security Made Simple. In addition to explaining how Social Security works, he recently created an interactive calculator [...]

You Can’t Eat Your House. Or Can You?

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The purpose of my recent absence was to look into a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) for my aging mom. In a CCRC, residents start with independent living, and as their need for assistance progresses, they will receive increasing levels of [...]