Imagine this–
A successful 45 years old
A couple of children about to go off to college
The stay-at-home spouse is about to re-enter the work force even though the family doesn’t need the income
The mortgage-paid off
No auto loans, credit card debt, or home improvement loans
Several years of living expenses set aside [...]
Over the past decade or so, the fallacy that home equity should be “harvested” by means of mortgage refinancing or home equity loans and converted into equity in some other investment has been foisted upon Americans as a legitimate financial strategy.
The most common presentation of these schemes suggests that home equity should be redirected into what some advisors call ”investment grade life insurance.” Other schemes [...]
America needs neither the terrifying tsunami of new programs overwhelming it from the White House nor the violent volcanic eruption of legislative magma and ash under which the Congress is burying us…can you say “DEBT?”
Some Americans voted for “change” during last years presidential sweepstakes - clearly a gamble. However, a very small but not inconsequential minority of far left politicians, union bosses at the [...]
The MoneyforLife Blog will keep you posted on the progress of the almost century old Shenandoah Life Insurance Company as it emerges from receivership. What’s important to note is that this relatively small mutual insurer seems to have invested prudently and responsibly based on the support the US Congress gave to publicly held Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
Shenandoah Life has limited [...]
Originally posted on July 24, 2008 and worth repeating…
Americans have been bamboozled into thinking that they can get rich and retire comfortably by putting their money in the hands of people whose only aim is to move money from your pocket into some Behemoth’s accounts; IRA’s, mutual funds, variable annuities, variable insurance policies, ETF’s, and on [...]
It’s March 2009.
Americans are struggling with the cost of everything from mortgages to groceries. The struggle is the outcome of three decades of misinformation about how to handle the money that flows through the lives of American individuals and families.
Your personal economy succeeds when you control the money that comes into your life.
The Behmoths on Wall Street, Behemoth banks and insurance companies, [...]
Pundits and politicians are bemoaning the entiely predictable failure of America’s financial triplets’ [the banking, insurance and investment Behemoths] irresponsible financial behavior over the past two decades: Bear Stearns, Indymac, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Fannie and Freddie, WAMU, Morgan Stanley, other lesser knowns and others yet to come.
The pundits want to explain the situation by pointing at everthing from executive [...]
The seemingly never-ending housing and mortgage crises effect each of us every day whether we feel it or not. The fact that the federal government is taking them over in order to rein in their excesses demonstrates that the take-over of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac represents something much more than just a government bailout.
Fannie [...]
This post is longer than normal. It deals with an issue that does not lend itself to easy explanation. Lost opportunity cost deserves closer scrutiny than most because it is fundamental to understanding, building and maintaining a successful personal economy. In addition, since it’s difficult to address the topic piecemeal, it demands a single post rather [...]
By Dr Benjamin Franklin and Dr Agon Fly
In 1758 Benjamin Franklin published the final annual installment of Poor Richard’s Almanac. As a preface to this final edition he wrote The Way to Wealth and introduced Father Abraham as the main character in the tale.
Father Abraham embodied the financial wisdom that “Poor” Richard Saunders – Ben [...]
