Five Objections to FX Trading and Why You Shouldn’t Listen to Them

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Don’t know about you but I’ve heard enough objections to last me several life-times. You want to leave work? Oh, it is so hard to get another job. You want to start your own business? Oh, but most of them fail. You want to run an ultra-marathon? Do you know how many people don’t finish? You want to make enough money to retire in four years’ time? This is impossible. And so it goes about almost anything. You see, I may be an optimist but I’m not delusional; well, not usually, anyway. I know that some things are difficult to […] Read more »

3 Reasons To Never Borrow From Your 401k

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Have you ever needed a large amount of money and dipped into your 401k to get it?  Maybe you wanted to put a down payment on a house, had an emergency, or some other reason you needed the money. If you did dip into your 401k, was it really worth it?   Taking Money From Your 401k Has Consequences When you withdraw funds from your 401k account to take care of a present need, it can be very detrimental to your future.  Even if you take the money out with the best intentions, it can still have far reaching consequences […] Read more »

We Doubled Our Net Worth and You Can Too!

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Note from Travis:  I’m excited to announce a new addition to TeamEOD!   Steve Stewart, who hails from his home blog of MoneyPlanSOS, will be sharing with us a dose of no-nonsense personal finance once a month.  I’ve been a HUGE fan of Steve for several years, and know that he is an excellent addition to the team.   Please give him a warm EOD Nation welcome by leaving a comment below on his debut post here on Enemy Of Debt! Despite the blame-scream media’s coverage of The Great Recession and all the bad decisions Congress has made, my wife and I […] Read more »

Should You Buy or Rent a Home, Which is Better?

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Is it better to buy or rent” when it comes to finding a place to live?  If you read my last post “Buying a Home, Is It a Good Investment?’ , you discovered that buying a house is not always a good investment if you’re looking for investment-like return for building wealth. There are some cases where you can make a decent return over 30 years, but in many cases, the increase in value of the house doesn’t come anywhere near keeping up with the ongoing expenses such as maintenance, mortgage interest, insurance, and property taxes, which can actually result […] Read more »

Buying a Home- Is it a Good Investment?

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Buying a Home Is it a Good Investment

Most people have been told at some point that buying a home is a good investment.  We’ve heard from our parents, the media, relatives, and real estate pros that buying a house is a good investment that will help you to secure your financial future. We’re told that investing in a home that appreciates over time will help you secure your golden years by paying it off in your younger years and leaving you without a house payment when your older.  It also provides you with a large chunk of money once you sell it and downsize to a smaller […] Read more »

The Danger of Listening to the Crowd

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Thanks to Brad for finding this article in the Palm Beach Post, “Why are Americans avoiding stocks? Ask a Shrink”. Since the market drop in 1987, people have been focused on the market bottom instead of the top. In general, news focuses on the negative and the financial news of the past decade has lived down to expectations. But the reality of both short and long term market performance shows a different picture. Since the fall of 2007 and 2008, the major market indices are up and dramatically. The two year returns for domestic large, mid, and small cap stocks, […] Read more »

The Danger of Marketing

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According to the American Marketing Association, the definition of marketing is “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” Basically, the purpose of marketing is to let you know about the products and services companies offer that have value for you. The first problem with marketing is that the catch phrases are often misleading and may cause you to buy inappropriate and expensive products. The second problem is the marketing message may blind you to the reality that no product is, in itself, […] Read more »

Happy New Year!

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Here are a few thoughts to consider as we begin 2012. The majority of the money and investing related news for the past week are either focused on the past or the future. Every media outlet will have reviews of 2011 and predictions for 2012. This news trend will continue for the rest of January. While it is helpful to look back at the past, don’t spend too much of your time looking in the rear view mirror. As you know, you may learn from the past but you cannot change it. Congratulate yourself for your successes and good decisions. […] Read more »

Where Do You Focus When You Invest?

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Let’s have a little fun and begin with an exercise. Begin by taking a break and go sit anywhere outside. Once your comfortable, take your hand and hold it about a foot in front of your eyes. It’s probably been a while since you really looked at your hands so focus for at least a minute on every detail. Study your nails or the lines in your skin for at least a minute. This next step may be challenging but it is critical that you keep your focus on your hand without allowing your eyes to refocus. Now while focusing […] Read more »

Managing your Investments is Like Baking a Souffle

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I love to cook! A few years ago, I decided to try to bake the often dreaded souffle. NPR had a feature on The Science of the Perfect Souffle that made me crave the delicate and light texture of the aerated eggs for a nice brunch. There are a few challenges if you want a perfect souffle and NPR’s Joe Palca turned to Jeffrey Buben, owner and head chef at Vidalia, a restaurant in Washington, D.C, for the perfect souffle. The really neat thing about souffles is they can be a main dish when the eggs are mixed with herbs […] Read more »

Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Week 10

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This week's class is called From Fruition to Tuition, it's about planning for retirement and college. Dave talked about all the different kinds of retirement plans including traditional and Roth IRAs, SEPs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and 457s. He says you should invest 15% of your income in "qualified plans", which are the plans mentioned. Hey lays out the order of that you should attack your retirement planning; employer plan up to the match, max out a Roth IRA, then max out your employer plan. Read more »

Investing Tip: Don’t Be Like an “Overly Emotional Teenaged Girl”

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CNNMoney features an excellent column by Paul R. La Monica today contrasting the “overly emotional teenaged girl with an unrequited crush. OMG! My life is over!” stock market investors with the seemingly apathetic and “too-cool-for-school kids that don’t get bothered by anything” bond market investors. I encourage you to read the column as Paul, (who has a really great first name), hits the nail firmly on the head. You can find it here: The United States of Apathy. Investing in the stock market is a long term process. In any given year the market may rise or fall significantly and, […] Read more »

2 Sure-Fire Ways to Lose Your Money…Guaranteed

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A few years ago, I bought my daughters a fun, entertaining, and great inspirational book. The title is, How to Be Totally Miserable: A Self-Hinder Book by John Bytheway (Clearly a pen name). I highly recommend it! Inspired by this book, I am writing a short book focused on money. Thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of books have been written on making money. Few, if any, help you find fun, innovative, creative and entertaining ways to lose money. Soon, at least one book will address this very needed niche for those who have grown tired of the constant battle to […] Read more »

With a Falling Market Should I Bail on my Investments?

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The markets fell, for the most part, during the third quarter continuing the challenge for many people to remain invested. Some investors moved out of the market already and will eventually have to decide when to invest again. That is the challenge for short-term investors and for those who attempt to time the market. The advantage of long term investing is the stress and strain of rapidly fluctuating markets is something you can ignore. Here are a few important questions you should consider. First, do you have adequate savings and emergency funds? (At least 6 months of your net take […] Read more »