Posts Tagged ‘Emergency Fund’

Think You Can’t Afford an Emergency Fund? Think Again!

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This post is from new GRS staff writer Donna Freedman. Donna writes the Living With Less personal finance column for MSN Money, and writes about frugality and intentional living at Surviving And Thriving. Once upon a time it was enough to have a three-month emergency fund; now I hear we should aim for enough to cover a year’s worth of food, shelter, and other basics. A swell idea in theory, but this could actually discourage saving. Many people feel they could never set aside that much money, so why bother trying. Why? Because even a moderate emergency fund helps keep… Read the whole article...

Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by Robert Wilkinson - January 19, 2011 at 5:08 pm

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Review: Psych Yourself Rich

Every Sunday, The Simple Dollar reviews a personal finance book or other book of interest. A couple years ago, Farnoosh Torabi wrote You’re So Money, I book I succinctly described by saying “this book pitches personal finance advice for consumerism addicts.” Nevertheless, I concluded that the book did offer some very solid advice to the crowd that would not allow their Gucci handbags to be pried from their cold, dead hands. Torabi’s follow-up book takes a decidedly different tack on the arena of personal finance, moving on to the idea that your personal mindset has a good deal to do… Read the whole article...

1 comment - What do you think?  Posted by Robert Wilkinson - November 7, 2010 at 5:20 pm

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Reader Mailbag: Emotional Control

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. Costs of going to seminary 2. Is vehicle trade worth it? 3. Are we doing okay? 4. Roth IRA versus Roth 401(k) 5. Dealing with an overzealous client 6. Best “safe” option for money 7. Cash flow in big city 8. Wedding versus emergency fund 9. Habits for handling life instability 10. Frugal video gaming habits One of the biggest challenges of parenting – at least for me – is teaching… Read the whole article...

Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by Robert Wilkinson - September 16, 2010 at 2:20 pm

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Reader Mailbag: Friends

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. GTD for stay-at-home moms 2. Loaning money to parents 3. Prepaying property taxes 4. Emergency fund or debt repayment 5. Starting a Roth IRA 6. Small business encouragement 7. Thinking ahead for college 8. Out of college, no job 9. Apprehensive about mortgage prepayment 10. CFPA thoughts As I’ve mentioned before, my wife and I have strongly considered moving to be closer to various family members. What keeps us from doing… Read the whole article...

Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by Robert Wilkinson - August 23, 2010 at 3:20 pm

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Reader Mailbag: Impromptu Travel

What’s inside? Here are five word summaries of the questions answered inside this mailbag. Click on the number to skip straight to that question. 1. Co-signing with bad credit father 2. How many people read TSD? 3. Removing stains from cloth diapers 4. Percentage for emergency fund 5. Personal loan for adoption 6. Gloom, doom, and e-funds 7. Difficult job search 8. Frugality, clutter, and hoarding 9. Regular IRA versus Roth IRA 10. Which debt to pay first? This weekend, we went to a wedding of an old friend in the middle of Wisconsin. On the way back, Sarah says,… Read the whole article...

1 comment - What do you think?  Posted by Robert Wilkinson - June 28, 2010 at 11:20 am

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Why You Should Be Reinvesting Dividends

I’ve been investing in a few dividend stocks lately because savings account rates have been pretty abysmal. The prospect of earning a percent or two on my money is great for an emergency fund but lousy for anything long term. One of the important ideas behind dividend investing is that you should reinvest the dividends if you don’t need the income. Public companies offered dividend reinvestment plans, or DRIPs, that let you buy shares directly from them and have your dividends reinvested for free. Nowadays, many brokers offer this service for free and I take advantage of them. However,… Read the whole article...

1 comment - What do you think?  Posted by Robert Wilkinson - March 16, 2010 at 2:20 am

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Best Online High Interest Rate Savings Accounts, January 2010

For January 2010, the average interest rate on high yield savings accounts remained relatively unchanged — remaining in the below 2% APY range. Although the rates are not as high as they once were, high yield savings (or online savings) is still a good place for short-term savings, such as an emergency fund. This article contains a list of nationally available highest yields savings and money market accounts. All of these accounts are FDIC insured up to $250,000. Your principal is protected and you’re guarantee a positive nominal return on investment. Savings Banks With Highest Interest Rate As of 1/2/2010… Read the whole article...

Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by Robert Wilkinson - January 2, 2010 at 2:20 pm

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What To Do When Your CD Matures

We put our emergency fund into a CD ladder and every month one of those certificates of deposit matures and is automatically renewed. As an added bonus, ING Direct, where our CDs live, gives us a CD rollover bonus whenever we renew (currently the bonus is 0.15% on CDs of at least 12-months long). For us, the decision is simple. It’s a CD ladder and you simply renew the CD each month for the 12 month term. What if you’re money isn’t in a CD because it’s part of a CD ladder, what should you… Read the whole article...

1 comment - What do you think?  Posted by Robert Wilkinson - October 22, 2009 at 7:20 pm

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