Stock markets continue to be volatile with weak jobs/economic data and especially fears over the Europe situation. The European debt crisis will have to come to a head at some point, so it probably makes sense to hold out until it does. What will that look like? A Greek restructuring of debt at a minimum.

The price of gold corrected 10% over the last few days. Here are the reasons why the run is not over.
1. First, a correction like we just got is actually very healthy. I would be more concerned if we didn’t have a correction and continued going up higher and higher. Corrections are needed to shake out weak hands and leverage and help to create a sustained bull run over longer than mere days and weeks.
2. The fundamentals that have supported this run are firmly in place. In fact, they are …

Fear has re-entered the markets and the economy as Americans are overwhelmingly responding to polls that they fear the economy is getting worse and possibly headed back into a recession. Meanwhile we have record long-term unemployed which speaks to the structural nature of our economic woes (versus cyclical). Yes, it’s by no means easy to get ahead in today’s economy, but we’re here to deliver the financial survival guide for those of you in your 20s (or 30s for that matter). Let’s jump in…
Income
Nothing at this stage is more important …

As gold approaches $1700, it’s safe to say that I’ve made a quality multi-year bet on the price of gold. I first got into gold in the $700 range, added to my position greatly during the 2008 crash and have essentially held on until now. Interestingly, the hard work is essentially just beginning.
Knowing when to exit a big winning position is tougher than buying a position in many cases. Gold is definitely an example of this.
This is much different than dividend stocks that I intend to hold for years and …

Continuing our series of the 20smoney Personal Finance rules, we get to big number three. This rule has more to do with investing and retirement saving versus the traditional personal finance topics of budgeting, saving, getting out of debt, etc.

On the issue of a gold standard, you have opinions all over the map. It’s impossible. It’s inevitable. Who knows? One thing is for certain, the role of gold is increasing and the role of the US dollar (and likely the Euro) is decreasing. The Euro & Dollar – essentially the two pillars of the current global financial system – are unraveling as the West finds itself in too much debt. The third pillar, the Japanese yen… same deal.
Earlier this week, Ron Paul asked Ben Bernanke (video here) why …

This principle is sort of a two-for-one principle.  It has two parts that are related.  They are as follows: 1) you will never get rich off a salary, unless you are in the .001% that are executives for gigantic companies and make salaries in the millions, and 2) the key to wealth is rate of return.
Let’s start with the first part. With very few exceptions, you will not get very wealthy from being a salaried employee.  Now there are high paying jobs, and you can be very frugal and do …

We’re going to go through a list of personal finance rules that I believe are necessary to get ahead financially. Some of these may not necessarily be in line with what we’re taught generally, but hey, most people are terrible with money, so let’s not get too worried about that. Today is rule #1.