Are You Middle Class?
by Juno MonetaJune 9th, 2008, 9:20 pm
When you listen to Senator McCain and Senator Obama talking about what they want to do for the middle class, it sounds pretty good. Senator McCain wants to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax for middle class families. Senator Obama wants ... more
Posted in Philosophy | No Comments »
Do You Really Need an Emergency Fund? Maybe Not.
by Juno MonetaJune 8th, 2008, 7:10 pm
We all know we're supposed to have an emergency fund with enough to cover 6-12 months of living expense. We know it's supposed to be a highly liquid account-either a high-interest savings account or money market fund-something that we can ... more
Posted in Dollar Dilemmas, Philosophy | 1 Comment »
What Happened Yesterday?
by Juno MonetaJune 7th, 2008, 8:05 am
The DJIA dropped by 400 points, oil prices shot up by $11/barrel, and unemployment in the U.S. increased by half a percent. What's going on and what should we do? Oil shot up because the value of the U.S. dollar ... more
Posted in Dollar Dilemmas, Philosophy | No Comments »
The Ins-and-Outs of Capital Gains Tax Part II
by Juno MonetaJune 4th, 2008, 5:40 pm
If you haven't read my last post introducing capital gains, you might want to do that first. With all these taxes, is it even worth it to invest in taxable accounts in the first place? Especially when you take inflation ... more
Posted in Dollar Dilemmas, Good to Know, My Greedy Uncle | No Comments »
The Ins-and-Outs of Capital Gains Tax Part I
by Juno MonetaJune 2nd, 2008, 9:11 pm
Someone posted a comment asking me to explain capital gains tax. I did a little digging and found an excellent article on SmartMoney.com that sums up the different capital gains tax rates depending on your income, the type of investment ... more
Posted in Good to Know, Lingo, My Greedy Uncle | 2 Comments »
Spice Up Your Life With International Investments
by Juno MonetaJune 1st, 2008, 12:18 pm
International investments make up half of my retirement portfolio, and I'm thinking of putting even more in this sector. Why? Despite volatility, developing markets are where you find the most growth. Mature markets like the U.S. are already, well, mature. According ... more
Posted in Hot Tips, Strategies | 1 Comment »
Investing in a Slippery Business
by Juno MonetaMay 31st, 2008, 2:03 pm
Why is the price of oil so high? And how can you get a cut of the action? The price of oil is mainly affected by four factors: 1) demand, 2) supply, 3) the value of the U.S. dollar, and 4) ... more
Posted in Good to Know, Hot Tips, Strategies | 4 Comments »
What’s Better, A Tax Credit or a Tax Deduction?
by Juno MonetaMay 30th, 2008, 6:06 am
I often use the word "deduction" to describe anything that might lower my tax bill. But there are actually two ways to save money on taxes: the tax credit and the tax deduction. A tax credit is a wonderful, simple thing-it ... more
Posted in Good to Know, Lingo, My Greedy Uncle | 1 Comment »
Are Exchange Traded Funds Right for You?
by Juno MonetaMay 26th, 2008, 12:26 pm
Today I saw a clip on CNN Money.com with Suze Orman, in which she explained why she's lost her faith in good old-fashioned index funds and is now a believer in the ETF. Which of course begs the question, ... more
Posted in Good to Know, Lingo, My Greedy Uncle | 2 Comments »
Shopping for a Home Loan
by Juno MonetaMay 25th, 2008, 7:15 am
Smart shoppers know when to buy and when to keep looking for a better deal. But can we apply these principles when it comes to mortgages? Originally, when I decided to get pre-approved for a home loan, I thought I'd ... more
Posted in Good to Know, Strategies | No Comments »
How to Become a Financial Know-It-All
by Juno MonetaMay 23rd, 2008, 5:45 am
I know a lot of financial whizzes, mainly those who majored in and work in finance. Easy for them. Fortunately, I've found a resource for the rest of us who want to know everything there is to know about investing- ... more
Posted in Good to Know, Reviews | 1 Comment »
Finding a Financial Planner
by Juno MonetaMay 21st, 2008, 6:12 am
Those ladies who liked my post on "F is For Fiduciary" might be interested in a couple of recent Marketplace stories on Finding a Financial Planner. In one, Chris Farrell first asks the important question of whether you actually need ... more
Posted in Good to Know | No Comments »
Book Review: Smart Women Finish Rich
by Juno MonetaMay 19th, 2008, 8:46 pm
I think book reviews will be a helpful way for me to 1) Let you know which money books are really worth your time and 2) Learn a whole bunch about investing. I started with David Bach’s Smart Women Finish ... more
Posted in Good to Know, Reviews, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Don’t Forget Your Umbrella!
by Juno MonetaMay 3rd, 2008, 7:56 pm
In the course of taking a quiz on my level of financial savvy today, I realized that one topic I don't know much about is umbrella insurance. This is not insurance to protect valuable umbrellas. Rather, it is something that can ... more
Posted in Good to Know, Hot Tips, Lingo | 1 Comment »
F Is For Fiduciary
by Juno MonetaMay 1st, 2008, 7:43 pm
That's good enough for me. There's a great article in the New York Times about choosing a financial planner, and the importance of choosing one that is a fiduciary. Fiduci-huh? It means they are legally obligated to put YOUR financial ... more
Posted in Good to Know, Hot Tips, Lingo | 1 Comment »
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