Smart Saving Investing

Author: Bill

  • [Smart Saving and Investing] Comment: “5 Index Funds You Must Own”

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  • What is an Index Fund?

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    To describe an Index Fund I’ll use the classic Vanguard 500 Index fund, symbol VFINX. The VFINX fund is made up of stock in the 500 companies that the S&P 500 tracks. You would own a piece of all the 500 companies in the S&P 500. 🙂 The S&P stands for Standard and Poor’s. Standard…

  • The Downs of The Market

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    On Wednesday, I wrote about the ups and downs of the market and how that affects the way you invest, sleep and keep your sanity. Well, everyone is being tested after today with the DOW closing down -311.50. WOW!! Well, this is what happens sometimes. The markets have been going crazy all year long and…

  • Hanging Out With Multi-Millionaires

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    Let’s start with, “I’m not a Multi-Millionaire…yet.” 🙂 But I played one recently when I was on the East coast visiting family and friends. Multi-Millionaire friends. One was a medical specialist, one inherited boat loads of money, old money, one sold helicopters internationally, one flew private jets that hauled wealthy families around the world, still…

  • The Ups and Downs of The Market

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    Can you stomach this market? The DOW took a dive today to the tune of -226 points. How does that make you feel? Will you sleep okay tonight or be miserable about what investments you’re in and how they dropped along with the market? Does this remind you of earlier this decade when the likes…

  • What is a Mutual Fund?

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    So what is a Mutual Fund anyway? There are many ways to answer this question but here are a few definitions from some excellent sources: “A mutual fund is a form of collective investments that pools money from many investors and invests their money in stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, and/or other securities. In…

  • Why You Only Need Term Life Insurance

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    This is a post in a series about young single, married folks or life partners and their financial lives. How should it look? I call these folks, Mad, Slammin’ & Cheddar!! So let’s get some definitions out of the way: Mad – as in “Mad Props”, “Extreme”, paying or giving proper respect…to yourself in this…

  • How to Select Mutual Funds

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    When you sign up for your employer’s retirement plan and it allows you to select mutual funds, you could be presented with a laundry list of mutual funds or a very limited choice of mutual funds. So what do we do? We ask friends and possibly relatives for advice and go to Smart Saving and…

  • Saving Money for Christmas and The Holidays

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    Ok, I know it’s early to be talking about Christmas and the holidays but here’s a sure fire way NOT to spend too much money during the holidays. Alter how much you deposit in your online savings accounts at HSBCDirect or EmigrantDirect.com or wherever you automatically save money for your “Rainy Day” or “Emergency” account.…

  • What is a SIMPLE IRA?

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    A family member of mine will be reviewing what it will take to participate in her employer’s SIMPLE IRA soon. So what do we know about the SIMPLE IRA? The SIMPLE part is Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Employers. The SIMPLE IRA is a retirement plan for small businesses with less than…