The topic of safe withdrawal rates is critically important to retirees. Earlier this week we talked about retirement withdrawal strategies, but that was a discussion of how to access your money rather than how much money you can safely distribute per year.
What’s a “safe” withdrawal rate?
While there are no easy answers, the stakes couldn’t be [...]

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Not quite a year ago, we started building a CD ladder. We’re building a five year ladder, and that first rung is nearly up for renewal. I’ve thus been looking around for the best CD rates.
In doing so, I ran across the ten day CD rate guarantee at Ally Bank. In short, if you open [...]

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The latest issue of Time Magazine featured an article that was very critical of the 401(k) system. In it, they argued that “the 401(k) is a lousy idea, a financial flop, a rotten repository for our retirement reserves.”
Why all the hate?
So just what is it that Time hates about 401(k) plans? For starters, 401(k) plans [...]

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In honor of National Save for Retirement Week, I wanted to take a minute to point out some excellent books about investing. Truth be told, I thoroughly enjoy reading about money and finance, but I’m a bit of a freak when it comes to these things.
With that in mind, here are three great books that [...]

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We’ve talked in the past about the merits of index funds vs. ETFs. Today I wanted to highlight the views of one my favorite financial authors, William Bernstein.
In his book “The Intelligent Asset Allocator,” Bernstein said the following about ETFs in general, and SPDRs (i.e., ETFs that track the S&P 500) in particular:
“They have both [...]

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It’s widely recognized that the transaction costs incurred by investors are made up of two primary components: brokerage fees (i.e., commissions), and the bid-ask spread. While most people are familiar with brokerage fees, fewer people are familiar with the concept of the bid-ask spread.
The bid-ask spread, sometimes referred to as the bid-offer spread, refers to [...]

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Earlier this week, ING Direct announced a new promotion aimed at generating more deposits. Dubbed the “Added Value” CD, they are offering a 12 month CD that pays a 0.15% premium over and above their standard rate. As of right now, that means you’ll get 2.25% APY vs. the standard 2.10% APY.
The catch here is [...]

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As September came to a close, I was enjoying an 11.98% net annualized return with Lending Club. Once again, I spent the month expanding my holdings beyond my original “High Risk” and “Low Risk” test portfolios. My overall rate of return has slipped a bit as the loans I’ve been investing in recently are, on [...]

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As August came to a close, I was enjoying a 12.40% net annualized return with Lending Club. Throughout the month, I focused on expanding my holdings beyond my original “High Risk” and “Low Risk” test portfolios. In addition to those two portfolios, each of which has 20 loans, I’ve created an “Ongoing” portfolio with an [...]

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Readers often e-mail me for tips on how to keep their finances manageable. There are so many options out there that it can be overwhelming. I was speaking with my mom about this some time ago, and she felt the same way.
My mom has been responsible with her money, but she felt that she could [...]

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