There are number of circumstances that can put you in a financial bind.  Maybe it is car repairs, a health issue, loss of income, or a significant unknown expense creeping up.  Unfortunately, most are prepared for these circumstances, and thus, they have to resort to debt or other means of handling the situation that doesn’t exactly put the person in a good situation.
In order to prepare for unforeseen circumstances, you should do your best to accumulate several months worth of expenses in a cash emergency fund.  Most people say 3-6 …

There are lots of things you can do to improve your finances.  It’s pretty much common sense.  However, let’s look at the big ones – what I call the four fundamentals of financial success.  Read my ideas and let me know where you differ.
#1 – Zero Debt
In a world drowning in debt, you must have none of it, if you want a high degree of financial success.  I’m actually going to throw in mortgage debt with this as well, since it’s such a common trend for people to live …

A big part of this website is showcasing the successes (and failures) of smart, young, ambitious people.  I want to hear from people who are doing things to improve their finances despite a tough economy.  I want to hear from people who are starting their own business while in their 20s.
Do you know any of these people?  Tell them to email me with their story and maybe we can give them a glimpse in the spotlight.

There are two main reasons people cite when arguing against paying off one’s mortgage.  They are:

You can invest the money at a higher rate of return than what you’re paying in terms of your mortgage rate.
Lose mortgage interest deduction

Let’s look at each briefly.
Investing the money at a higher rate of return is always assumed and isn’t really thought through much.  First, one should adjust their rate of return based upon the risk associated with it.  Clearly, the risk is much higher in investing versus paying off the mortgage debt.
Secondly, usually …

In the past I’ve compared online income versus real estate income. I’d like to comment on this further.

The words “deflation” and “inflation” are so loaded nowadays that I try to substitute “purchasing power” whenever possible.  Conceptually, we tend to lump all sorts of things into words which may or may not actually be related. So we have to separate asset deflation/inflation from resource/currency prices.
One way to understand this is to measure everything in terms of what an hour of work can buy, and how much real goods an asset can buy. If you sold your house in 1995, how many barrels of oil …

Stocks are performing fairly well, still very much higher from the bottoms hit in early 2009.  This of course has not come without a cost.  What is that cost?
Well, here’s a hint.  Gold is at $1400.  Silver is at $29.  Oil is above $80.  Food prices are at higher levels than they were previously.
There has definitely been a cost to orchestra this stock market rally which is exactly what the Federal Reserve has done.  The cost has been a weakened currency and lower purchasing power.  The Fed has bet that …

Despite a terrible economy and a tough business environment, 2010 was my best year financially I’ve had since entering “the real world.” several years ago.  Now in my late 20s, 2010 was very positive financially, and I’m encouraged heading into 2011.
First, every single reason why 2010 was good is due to my own doing.  Nothing happened for me, in fact, because of a weak business environment, my sales and overall performance in my career was slightly down from the previous year, so none of the positives came from my “job”.
So …