Two readers commented about avoiding the worst days on my post about the meaningless stats on missing the best days. The stock market had some bad days since then. I think some might be interested in reading about avoiding the worst days. First I want to emphasize that the whole point of my previous post […]
Personal Rate of Return: Dollar Weighted Or Time Weighted
After reading my post about estimating overall personal rate of return, a reader Brian asked: “I have a Fidelity serviced 401(k) and I had always wondered about how they calculated the personal rate of return. Do you know how/if other providers calculate personal rates of return? If I were to open a brokerage account, is […]
Out of the Market and Meaningless Stats
The stock market had a field day last Thursday (7/12/2007). The Dow rose 284 points, its biggest point gain in nearly five years. It reminded me of the stats about the risk of being out of the market. It goes like if you missed the best X days in Y years in the stock market, […]
The Commutative Law of Multiplication
The Commutative Law of Multiplication is a fancy way of saying when you multiply two numbers, it doesn’t matter which number you put down first and which number you put down second. a * b = b * a This basic law of arithmetic is taught in the second grade in elementary school. Yet it’s […]
Estimate Your Personal Rate of Return for Multiple Years
Since I wrote about a simple formula for estimating your personal rate of return, someone asked whether the same formula works for multiple years as well. The answer is yes and no. It works well, provided that the net investments during the period are roughly even; and the beginning balance is large relative to the […]
Estimate Your Overall Personal Rate of Return With 3 Numbers
It’s easy to estimate the overall rate of return on all your savings and investments to keep you ontrack toward your goals. You only need these 3 numbers.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) Is A Fantastic Deal
If you work for a publicly-traded company that offers an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), you’ve got yourself a fantastic deal. How ESPP Works An ESPP typically works this way: 1. You contribute to the ESPP from 1% to 10% of your salary. The contribution is taken out from your paycheck. This is calculated on […]
Finance Charge in Insurance Payment Plans
I often read on the blogs when someone talks about their insurance my ___________ (life, car, home, …) insurance is $______ a month. or I saved $_______ a month on my ____________ insurance. So it seems that a lot of people pay their insurance by month. I’ve always paid my insurance in a single payment […]
Calculator for 401(k), Roth IRA, then Back at 401(k)
[Last updated on July 10, 2008 with 2008 tax year IRA contribution limit.] I searched on the Internet for a calculator that implements the strategy outlined in my previous post 401(k), Roth IRA, then Back at 401(k). But to my surprise I couldn’t find any. There are calculators for 401(k), calculators for Roth IRA, but […]
Interest Rate: APY and APR
When the bank pays you interest on a savings account, it quotes the interest rate in APY — Annual Percentage Yield. When the bank charges you interest on a loan (car loan, credit card, mortgage, etc.), it quotes the interest in APR — Annual Percentage Rate. So, if you have a savings account that the […]