You Have More Money in Your Pocket Than You Think

Written by Gabriel Nijmeh


You Have More Money in Your Pocket Than You Think... by Gabriel Nijmeh

Let me berepparttar first person to say, "Why wasn't I smarter with my money?" I look back overrepparttar 112789 years in amazement at how my money "innocently" slipped through my hands.

Ultimately, beyond those fleeting moments of gratification, I can't really say I have much to show for some of my misspent money. I certainly don't want to be a killjoy or anything and I don't advocate being a penny-pinching scrooge that doesn't enjoy life but there are small, yet significant steps you can take to keep more money in your pocket.

Just offrepparttar 112790 top of my head I came up with these and you can probably add a heck of a lot more torepparttar 112791 list. Here we go:

Bank Service Charges:

We all know how our banks love to nickel and dime us. For reasons such as not maintaining a $1000 monthly balance or using another banks ATM machine. Whateverrepparttar 112792 reason these small fees quickly add up over time. Pay attention to your bank statements and review all bank documentation regarding service fees. You are looking at savings of $4 to $15/month.

Magazine/newspaper subscriptions:

Visit your local library or subscribe to magazines that offer professional/courtesy subscriptions. Tradepub.com lists various free publications across a range of subjects. Otherwise, carefully pick and chooserepparttar 112793 magazines you really want to subscribe to and look out for introductory subscription rates.

Stop smoking:

Preachy, I know... but that's a lot of money going up in smoke (pun intended!). Not only is this good for your wallet but for your health as well and if you are applying for life insurance, your premiums will be lower because you are classified as a lower risk individual. At $4 a pack and two packs a week that's $32/month.

Telephone services:

Do you need all those bundled services (call waiting, call answer, call forward). Pick onlyrepparttar 112794 services you absolutely need otherwise save at least $5-10/month.

Books and CDs:

Why pay full price when you can get a "gently used" or "previously enjoyed" copy of that best seller for a fraction ofrepparttar 112795 price. I have bought CDs from local used CD stores that were almost brand new and saved $8-9 offrepparttar 112796 retail price for each CD.

Rebate Programs:

Always take advantage of rebate programs. It might be a hassle to fill outrepparttar 112797 forms and send them off but your savings will add up. Check out Rebateplace.com or AsmartShop.com

Index Funds - Are they right for you?

Written by Gabriel Nijmeh


Index Funds - Are they right for you? by Gabriel Nijmeh

Indexing is an investment approach that seeks to matchrepparttar investment returns of a stock or bond index. An investment manager tries to duplicaterepparttar 112788 target index by holding allrepparttar 112789 securities inrepparttar 112790 index. This is what is called a passive management approach which emphasizes broad diversification and low portfolio turnover.

There are a variety of indexes to suit each investment style. The largest and well known index isrepparttar 112791 S&P 500. This index is dominated byrepparttar 112792 largest blue chip companies and accounts for close to 75% ofrepparttar 112793 U.S. stock market value. Other indexes includerepparttar 112794 Nasdaq, Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index, S&P MidCap 400, Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australasia, Far East (MSCUI EAFE) and various bond indexes.

Since 1926,repparttar 112795 stock market has an average rate of return of 11.3%. Investors have earned more or less depending onrepparttar 112796 type of investments and risks taken. It is very important to note that this return is before costs have been factored. Therefore, those investing in actively managed mutual funds may have a net return lower due to these costs and thus will earn significantly less thanrepparttar 112797 market average.

These costs include:

- Management expense ratio (including advisory fees, distribution charges and operating expenses)

- Transaction costs (brokerage and other trading costs)

Index fund expense ratios are typically 1 percent and usually even less, compared with 1.5 to 3 percent for actively managed funds. Fund expenses and transaction costs for a typical mutual fund can take a big bite out of your net investment returns. Add sales commissions to your purchases and even more of your returns are swallowed. Typically, index funds can be purchased on a no- load basis thus saving you sales charges.

Of course, there is always a caveat... during periods of market decline, index funds can be expected to suffer somewhat larger declines over actively managed funds. A fund manager can make adjustments in anticipation of market declines by selling stocks and also hasrepparttar 112798 option of holding a cash reserve. This is not something that occurs within an index fund because you are fully invested inrepparttar 112799 market and potentially corrective actions are not taken. Accordingly they may be regarded as a riskier option for some investors during market declines.

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use