Bonds or bond funds? For anyone who has more than a slight interest in bonds, that’s a perennial question. Money guru on TV Suze Orman says you should buy bonds not bond funds because a bond fund doesn’t have a set maturity date. When you sell from a bond fund, you can get back less […]
Latest Blog Posts
Mortgage Refinance and Resetting the Clock
Today’s installment on mortgage refinance appears as a guest post on My Money Blog. The conclusion: "Don’t let the fear for resetting the clock stop you from refinancing to a lower rate." I’ve been reading My Money Blog since 2006. It offers a good combination of deals and practical approaches to personal finance. If you […]
Cost Basis Tracking After Converting Vanguard Mutual Funds to Admiral Shares
Forget about what I said about having both Vanguard mutual funds and ETFs. Vanguard just announced they lowered the minimum investment requirement for Admiral shares in most broad index funds from $100,000 to $10,000. Admiral shares are a different share class in the same Vanguard fund but with a lower expense ratio. In most funds […]
FirstIB Mortgage Refinance Review
My mortgage refinance with First Internet Bank of Indiana ("First IB") is done. The new loan paid off the old loan. All done. I thought I would update the progress as it moved along but it went so uneventful there wasn’t much to update. Here’s the timeline: Day Activity 1 Submitted application online. Didn’t get […]
Mortgage Refinance: Before and After Closing
After an appraisal is done, an underwriter will review the documents. Chances are the loan will be approved and I will be asked to pick a date for closing. It’s almost done. Pick the Best Day of the Week for Closing Does it make a difference which day you close the refi besides the convenience […]
Mortgage Refinance: What If Rate Drops After You Lock?
The Fed announced that it’s prepared to provide additional easing if needed. The bond market responded positively, which brought down the mortgage rate, again. If you are doing a mortgage refinance, and you already locked your rate and fees, what do you do if you see the rate and fees drop after you lock? There […]
How Much Money Does a Bank or Broker Make From a Mortgage Refinance?
Have you wondered how much money a bank or a mortgage broker makes when you do a mortgage refinance with them? By law, a mortgage broker must disclose their compensation but you often don’t see it until you get the final closing statement (“HUD-1”). In a post last year, Mortgage Broker vs Mortgage Lender, I […]
Credit Card Rental Car Insurance Coverage Gaps
I said I have a weak point for sob stories because I keep getting drawn to them. Someone on Twitter led me to this story on CreditCards.com: Don’t automatically refuse extra rental car insurance coverage Kim rented a car from Alamo. She paid with her Discover card. Kim damaged the rental car when she backed […]
Vanguard New S&P ETF Ticker Symbols
With some fanfare, Vanguard launched nine new ETFs based on S&P indexes last week. When I first looked at the ticker symbols, I see a mess. All nine funds use a combination of V, I, O, and G. They are VOO, VOOV, VOOG, IVOO, IVOV, IVOG, VIOO, VIOV, and VIOG. After staring at them for […]
Mortgage Refinance: When to Lock?
I showed this chart in my previous post about comparing the total closing cost from different lenders. In addition to the cost difference across lenders, it also shows the total closing costs go up and down quite significantly from one day to another. Even with the least expensive lender, choosing when you lock your rate […]