One of the biggest “life events” many of us experience during our 20s (or 30s) is the arrival of a new member of the family.  A new baby can bring a great deal of excitement and responsibility.  The great thing about a new baby is that you have about 9 months to prepare for him or her.  Your financial preperations are very important.  Here’s what I’ve learned going through the process.
There are a number of expenses that come with a new baby.  Some of the major ones are:

Medical expenses with …

If you’re curious about the Yakezie Challenge, I describe it in my Allure of Alexa article.  Here are some great articles from some of the participants.

I love Net worth statements.  Check out Money Funk’s February net worth statement
Punch Debt In The Face asks the question: Are you an account whore?
Check out the Hidden Gem of Life Insurance over at the Evolution of Wealth
Savings Account or Buying Shares? Good article at Planting Dollars
Find our your magic number at Eliminate the Muda
Life in the cheap lane at Sweating The Big Stuff
Financial Samurai …

An entire city built by the government in China is empty. A clear example of the disaster of non-market driven projects.

The following video shows the world’s largest mall called the South China Mall. It has over 1500 stores, and almost all are… completely empty. A colossal commercial real estate debacle.

While I’m definitely bullish on China over the long term (real long term), there are definite bubbles and massive misallocations of capital and resources that need to be worked out in China. Follow my China investments on …

I recently received a notice from my lender that I had overpaid my Escrow account last year and I was due a refund.  Woohoo!  Due to my plunging home values, my property taxes have been decreased.  Even better, my mortgage payment was adjusted to $55 less per month (double woohoo).
These are obviously welcome developments, although I’m not sure how much there is to be excited about in light of the vaporated equity in my home.  Oh well.  I live in Florida, therefore have higher property taxes than many other states, …

I’m thinking of launching a new online income experiment by writing at Hubpages.com.  If you have in the past or are currently creating hubs, can you leave a comment or contact me and describe your experience in the following areas:

What kind of money are you making?
How many hubs have you made?
Would you be interested in participating in a hub challenge (group writing exercises designed to help each other out)?

Be sure to include the link to your profile page.  If I launch this experiment, I will become a “fan” of yours …

It’s been a while since I’ve done an update on gold.  Maybe part of that is because it’s been fairly boring in recent months.  Since it’s massive run above $1200/oz. in early December, gold has settled into a fairly narrow range around $1100.  You can take a look at the following chart for SPDR Gold Trust (GLD):

So where does gold go from here?  I still hang on to the belief that the overall market / economy will experience a “double dip” or a correction (doesn’t matter how you label it) …

Since the 7% correction last month, stocks have shot higher coming close to highs for the year.  Consumer discretionary stocks have helped lead the charge higher with big gains recently in stocks like Macy’s (M), Brunswick Corp (BC) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM).
I’m a firm believer that the U.S. consumer will not, I repeat NOT, get back to previous levels.  It’s simply impossible.  Therefore, I’m very negative on these stocks like the ones mentioned above.  Nevertheless, these stocks have been on fire in recent days and weeks.
Maybe people are still buying crap …

If you have a mortgage that is only a few years old, then likely the majority of the payment goes towards interest.  While mortgage interest is tax deductible, it definitely is deflating to see how much money is going towards the bank and not toward paying down your mortgage.  It takes several years of paying out massive interest before you actually start putting a dent in your loan balance.
I have been thinking a great deal about paying down my mortgage and what that might look like.  The encouraging aspect of …