One logistical challenge in refinancing a mortgage is getting a certified check for the amount you have to bring to the table at the time you sign the closing papers. Even if you are doing a no-cost refinance, you still have to pay pre-paid interest for the partial month and escrow deposit. If you are […]
Latest Blog Posts
Get Overpaid For What You Do
I mentioned my Asset Rich Income Poor strategy in passing in a Friday roundup a few weeks ago. I’ve been formulating it for some time now. I gave an outline to reader Harry in the comments. Now it’s time to put it in the open. Step one in the strategy is: get overpaid for what […]
Buy Bond ETFs At Large Discounts To Net Asset Value (NAV)
For reasons I don’t completely understand, bond ETFs, especially ones investing in illiquid bonds such as munis, trade at a premium to the net asset value (NAV) most of the time. That means you will pay more to buy the ETF than the value of the illiquid bonds held by the ETF. Look at these […]
Don’t Be Afraid To Switch
My home Internet service deal expired. The rate jumped to $46 a month just for Internet. Like in most places in the country, two companies control the market: the monopoly phone company and the monopoly cable company. I’m not fond of either. Everybody knows you are supposed to call them, pretend to cancel, and get […]
Portfolio Diversifier: REIT vs Precious Metals Equity
After I have the core asset classes covered in my investment portfolio — US stocks, international stocks, and fixed income — if I’m looking for a good asset class for diversification, REIT and Precious Metal Equity (PME) are two good candidates. Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Yale endowment Chief Investment Officer David Swensen had REITs […]
How To Buy Gas With Credit Card And Still Get The Cash Price
The gas station I usually go to added a discount for cash. The prices posted high on the board are cash prices. Down at the street level, there is a small pavement board listing the prices for cash and for credit in two columns. For regular unleaded gas, the credit price is about 3% higher […]
Whole Life Insurance vs EE Bonds vs Munis
In a low interest rate environment, the long forgotten EE bonds come back as appealing again, because they offer a guarantee to double the nominal value in 20 years. That comes out to a 3.5% compound annual return if you have the fortitude to hold them for 20 years. After I wrote the previous post […]
401k Plan: From Bundled Fee To Explicit Fee
I received a notice from my employer about our 401k plan. The plan will soon start charging an administrative fee to employees’ accounts, estimated to be about $20 per quarter. Until now our plan didn’t charge any administrative fee explicitly. I was able to confirm that on my 401k plan statement. See previous post Find […]
Stable Value Fund vs Bond Fund vs CDs
CDs are better than bond funds these days even though financial advisors rarely recommend CDs. Many 401k or 403b plans include a stable value fund. How do those compare to CDs and regular bond funds? CDs are appealing for several reasons: higher yield, principal stability, and FDIC-insurance. Stable value funds share some of the same […]
Pay a Fee For Better Value
The word “fee” has a negative connotation. I’m not sure why, because a fee is just a price tag on a service. Brokerage firms have to advertise “no fee IRAs.” Credit card companies say “no annual fee.” Is a no-fee product necessarily better than a product with a fee? I see heirloom tomatoes selling for […]