New York Times Your Money columnist Ron Lieber wrote an interesting article Picking Stocks After Facebook. He had someone look up the best performing stocks since 1982 in the Wilshire 5000 Index, which is basically everything except very tiny ones. It turns out that most of the best performing stocks are largely unknown (to me […]
Latest Blog Posts
Three Secrets To A Fat 401k
Making your 401k work as well as a pension is not rocket science.
Diversify Stocks and Bonds Investments With Rental Property
A co-worker told me she bought a house as a rental property in Las Vegas (we are nowhere near Las Vegas). She said a few other co-workers thought it was a great idea and bought there too. Clark Howard, a consumer advocate and personal finance guru on radio, also says now it’s a great time […]
Clearing Firm: Your Broker’s Broker
You learn so many things if you pay close attention. On my recent brokerage account switch from Wells Fargo to TD Ameritrade, I noticed this in my transaction history: Transfer of security from First Clearing Who’s First Clearing? I thought I was transferring from Wells Fargo Advisors. It turns out that my account had been […]
Brokerage Account Closeout Fee Tax Deductible Or Not?
By moving my brokerage account from Wells Fargo to TD Ameritrade, I earned a signup bonus from TD Ameritrade, but I also had to pay a $95 account closeout fee to Wells Fargo. I could’ve left the minimum amount necessary to keep the Wells Fargo account open and free, but because the signup bonus more […]
Brokerage Account Signup Bonus Taxable Or Not?
I’m following the lead from my own post Huge Bonus Offers From Brokers: Fidelity, Schwab, TD Ameritrade, ETrade, Merrill Edge. Although I’m satisfied with the service of WellsTrade brokerage account provided by Wells Fargo Advisors, the huge bonus offered by its competitors is just too good to pass up. I moved my brokerage account from […]
Lifestyle Design: Choose Where You Live
Reader KD’s guest post about looking at the big financial picture really put many of my posts to shame. I post many small tips and tricks here and there but they often fall on the trees side rather than the forest. Most of them aren’t even trees, but twigs and leaves. Getting an extra $5,000 […]
Looking At the Big Financial Picture
[This is a guest post from long-time reader KD.] In this day and age of financial blogs, coupon sites, and one-click online shopping, savings are easy to find and easy to replicate. The question I end up asking myself is what difference did these savings have on my bottom line? More often than not, in […]
Sitting Out the Roth IRA Movement Party
I woke up this morning hearing there’s a Roth IRA Movement going on in the bloggers circle. I don’t have anything prepared, except I want to remind everyone not to forget The Forgotten Deductible IRA. Roth IRA is great if you aren’t eligible for a tax deduction for contributing to a traditional IRA, meaning you […]
1099 Tax Form Packages From Vanguard, Fidelity, Wells Fargo, and E*Trade
I’m done with my taxes. I mailed the returns last week. With taxable investments and selling stocks from vested RSUs and ESPP purchases, it can get complicated. Any help from the mutual fund companies and brokerage firms would be welcome. In this post I will review the 1099 packages I received from different companies — […]