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Save or Splurge? How to Spend Smart on Fitness Gear
Tweet Share on Facebook June 15, 2012 CommentHas beach season reinvigorated your goal to get fit? Whether you're picking back up on your workout routine or trying out the latest fitness craze for the first time, keep in mind that committing to a regular workout regimen doesn't have to involve condemning your savings account with expensive fitness gear.
Like many other products on the market, some activewear is worth the extra buck, while consumers can find more value scaling back on certain brand name exercise items. Being wooed into flashy brand name clothing and accessories, especially if you're trying out a foreign workout style like yoga, for example, is understandable but expensive.
Instead, learn which fitness gear and apparel are worth your time and money, and where it's perfectly acceptable to substitute big-name brands for cheap workout clothes for women and men.
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5 Ways to Increase Your Net Worth with Employee Benefits
Tweet Share on Facebook June 14, 2012 CommentWhen you get your offer letter from a prospective employer, what do you do? You find the salary number, wave the paper triumphantly in the air, and completely miss many of the other potential financial benefits contained in an employer’s benefits package.
It’s understandable to focus on your salary or wage when looking over your pay stub. You have a budget and you need income to support your spending. Raises are often based as a percentage of your salary, which means the larger your salary, the greater your earnings potential. However, many employers offer additional benefits and few realize how to set up those benefits to increase personal wealth.
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5 Simple Ways to Save on Summer Travel
Tweet Share on Facebook June 12, 2012 CommentThe kids are almost out of school and temperatures are heating up. That can only mean one thing: Summer vacation is almost upon us. Yet, as the cost of gas rises, financing a trip can be a challenge. For this reason, it's more important than ever to plan your vacation with a frugal mindset.
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Is Your 401(k) Robbing You Blind?
Tweet Share on Facebook June 8, 2012 CommentRecently there’s been a brouhaha stirring over 401(k) retirement accounts. In a report entitled, The Retirement Savings Drain—The Hidden and Excessive Costs of 401(k)s—research firm Demos makes some startling claims about our beloved retirement accounts.
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What’s More Important: Your Bank Statement or Credit Card Statement?
Tweet Share on Facebook June 8, 2012 Comment (3)Have you ever been hit by one of those massive credit card late fees for being a few hours late with your payment? Remember the expensive charge you received when you accidentally exceeded your credit limit?
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Checklist for Preparing Your Finances Prior to Military Deployment
Tweet Share on Facebook June 6, 2012 Comment (2)Military deployment can raise any number of questions an active duty soldier can't readily answer. There's no telling when you may be called to serve, where, for how long, or if you'll be placed into combat. For many servicemen and women, it can also mean leaving a family back home for extended, indefinite periods of time.
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When Overspending Is Smart
Tweet Share on Facebook June 6, 2012 CommentBelieve it or not, there are some situations when spending more than you earn is clever. Granted, there aren’t many cases when this makes sense. It is far better for most of us to focus on getting out of debt as quickly as possible. But in the following three cases, running a personal deficit could be brilliant.
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What are the Odds of Succeeding with a College Degree?
Tweet Share on Facebook June 5, 2012 Comment (1)Statistics lie, even when they relate to making choices in college.
Ever heard the math textbook definition of average or median? Both of these calculations are measurements of central location. Location might sound like an awkward word to describe a math formula, but it’s an accurate description.
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Facebook Shares—5 Lessons We All Can Learn
Tweet Share on Facebook June 1, 2012 Comment (1)Facebook went public less than two weeks ago and there are plenty of lessons investors can glean from that event. You probably already know what an IPO is. It’s simply the first offer to sell shares of a company directly from the owners. And unless you live under a rock, you already know that the IPO was widely expected to be a huge success. But after all the dust settled, the offering actually fell on its face.
The shares were offered on the IPO at $38 shares. The price did shoot up to $45 during the first day of trading, but then settled back to $38.15—only a tad more than its public offer. Over the next several days the shares continued to sink and as of May 30 the shares were offered at less than $29, which is more than 23 percent below what people paid who got in on the IPO.
What went wrong?
Because of the sheer volume of trades, there were some glitches. But with respect to the drop in price, nothing went wrong. The market functioned perfectly. If anything “went wrong” it was the expectations that investors had about the IPO. Most of the people I spoke with regarding these shares expected a huge initial spike in the price. In fact, most of the people who wanted me to buy Facebook shares for them on the IPO considered the IPO a “can’t miss” investment.
As a result of the Facebook dud, I think we can all derive a few very important investment lessons.
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