Words of wisdom from Peter Lynch:
“The real key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them.”
-Peter Lynch

And if you don’t trust Peter’s judgment, consider this…

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Now this is brilliant. Instead of simply using their customer’s shopping history data for marketing purposes, grocery chain Meijer has decided to put their Orwellian insights to good use… They’ve started printing product recall information on the bottoms of receipts when a customer that has previously purchased a recalled product comes through the checkstand. Now [...]

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If you’ve ever applied for a mortgage, you’re almost certainly familiar with a “Good Faith Estimate,” which gives you a rundown of costs associated with your mortgage. According to a recent sidebar in Money Magazine, the average costs associated with a $200,000 mortgage (excluding taxes, prepaid interest, and insurance) are $3,024 (roughly 1.5% of the [...]

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Over the weekend, I was reading up on 403(b) plans (yes, I lead a very exciting life) when I ran across an interesting bit of news on TIAA-CREF. It seems that the University of Minnesota has dropped TIAA-CREF as a retirement savings option, saying that:
The University must require that vendors of retirement plan-related recordkeeping services [...]

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With all the recent market volatility, it’s natural to wonder if the bull market that we’ve been enjoying has come to an end. CNN/Money recently looked at this exact issue in light of five signs of an impending bear market.
Before a bear: Oil prices often surge
Happened yet? Yes
It happened in the early- to mid-1970s and [...]

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Here are some of my favorite FiveCentNickel (subscribe) posts from a year ago this week:
» Solving Firefox Problems on Intel-Powered Macs
» Choosing a Health Insurance Plan
» Newspaper One, Craigslist Zero
» Accidental Death & Dismemberment: What’s the Point?
» Newspaper TWO, Craigslist Zero
And here’s what was going on two years ago:
» Rental Car Insurance
» Press Any Key
» [...]

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Putting Market Volatility in Perspective
“There’s no doubt that a big drop in stocks can be tough on your nerves… But in a period like this, it’s important to maintain a long-term outlook.”
(tags: finance investing economy)

Countrywide, the Mortgage Mess and You
“As questions swirl around the nation’s largest provider of home loans, we answer common questions that [...]

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Last night I noted that Blockbuster is revamping their online movie rental service. In short, they’re cutting back on what their plans offer and/or raising their prices. One thing that they didn’t mention was what would be happening to the monthly, printable free rental coupons. These were particularly valuable because they could be used for [...]

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Well, I managed to make it through the day without doing any of the odd jobs that I need to get done. I have two light switches to replace, a new faucet to install, and a variety of other tasks to complete. And yet the best I could do today was to hit Home Depot [...]

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Just a few minutes ago I received an e-mail from Blockbuster regarding changes to their online movie rental service. Up to this point, we’ve been receiving their Total Access service for $17.99/month. That includes unlimited online rentals (3 at-a-time) as well as unlimited in-store exchanges — i.e., if you turn your movie in at a [...]

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