MoneyWiseWomen

Getting Started With Evaluating Mutual Fund Performance

When it comes to mutual fund investing, many people ask me how to evaluate the performance and quality of their mutual funds in their brokerage account, 401(k) IRAs, etc. Simply evaluating performance in terms of rates of return can be disappointing in our current environment; additionally, it doesn’t speak to an overall investment philosophy or guideline that you can refer to when times are tough. Therefore, when I help clients with their mutual fund investing, I use these four guidelines to help them decide how to move forward when building their investment portfolio:

5 Perks of Owning a Hybrid

There's a lot to love about driving a hybrid. Aside from the warm fuzzy feelings associated with leaving less waste behind, many drivers will save money by owning a hybrid, even though the initial cost is more. The hybrid begins paying for itself even before you start to drive it.

Car Insurance: When is it Wiser not to Claim?

Car insurance is there to help you cover the costs of any damages to your car, but sometimes filing a claim is not worth the potential consequences. The claim you file will show up on your insurance record and it could affect everything from your insurance rates to your good driving history. If you find yourself in the following situations, think twice about filing that claim.

Save Money When You Leave Behind these 6 Travel Unnecessary Items

When you pack for a trip to the city, keep it light and leave plenty of room for the souvenirs you'll want to buy once you get there. Here are some things you can leave at home on your next city trip.

1. Your Own Towels - A good towel is soft and fluffy and can take up more space in a travel bag than two days' worth of clothes. Trust that your hotel will have decent towels available and save the suitcase space for more important items. You'll avoid extra bag fees.

Buying a Car Painlessly

Buying a new car can be painless if you do your homework. The last two cars we’ve bought have been kind of a spur of moment decision. Actually, my husband, Steve and I have talked about the make and model of car we wanted but that’s about it. A couple of weeks ago I came home from running errands and announced to my husband I wanted to buy a new car. Our 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee had 143,000 miles on it and had done a great job for 12 years but I was ready for a new Jeep. That’s all it took to get Steve on the hunt for a Jeep Grand Cherokee. And today you can do your home and shopping in the comfort of your own home on the Internet. Steve began by visiting www.truecar.com , a website that helps consumers determine the true price of a car. You simply enter the year, make and model of the car you’re looking for and you’ll get the sticker price listed at local dealerships. You’ll also get a graph with the best local price along with great, good and market prices.

8 Step Plan to avoiding the post-holiday spending hangover

Here’s a question– Did you wake up last January with a spending hangover? You know what I mean- come January, when all the gifts are opened and the parties are over, the Visa, MasterCard, Macy’s and Nordstrom’s bills begin to arrive.

Credit card use is up 7% this holiday season. And sadly, it takes the average American who uses credit cards to finance Christmas six to seven months to pay off the holidays. Who wants to be basking in the summer sunshine while still paying for the gifts you gave your kids, family and friends?

Applying Spousonomics To Money Problems

Always telling the truth about money is something to aspire to, but it may be unrealistic marriage advice. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned in a blog post that it is absolutely essential that couples are 100% transparent about their money, or else the relationship probably won’t survive. How silly I am.

Spousonomics shows that this just isn’t true! The book, by Paula Szuchman and Jenny Anderson, offers a hilarious and valid twist to standard marriage advice by showing how economics—yes, economics—is the key to a happy marriage. What it also showed me is that married people aren’t 100% honest with each other, especially not about money.

In what the call their Exhaustive, Groundbreaking and Very Expensive Marriage Survey, Szuchman and Anderson discovered that based on economics, there are actually incentives for spouses to lie to one other. One such principle is Asymmetrical Information. This means that if you’re totally honest about a topic you might be penalized, so consequently, you withhold information when communicating. For example, you might fudge on the amount of time it takes you to complete a task you were asked to perform by your spouse because you want to build in enough time to goof off before you actually do it. So you lie about it instead of being nagged by your spouse or assigned additional tasks. By withholding information, you get what you want from the spousal transaction.

5 Storage Solutions for Your Small Apartment

Storage is always a problem with small and cheap apartments. If you want more than a few possessions and pieces of furniture, you must address this issue. Some people are perfectly happy living in a cluttered environment, but for those who are not, de-cluttering and organizing is the way to go.

Three Simple Storage Solutions

Maximize wall space for optimal holding capacity. You can use a variety of shelves to increase the holding capacity of any apartment. Adjustable wire or plastic shelves, wall shelves and bookshelves are just a few possibilities. Free hanging shelves that do not stand on the floor are useful over couches and other large pieces of furniture.

Use baskets under coffee tables to hold remotes, magazines and other sundries you need close-at-hand. Although there are tables you can purchase that include baskets, a few decorative baskets from a department store work just as well. This clears off the table and makes your home feel less cluttered and messy.

You can maximize cabinet space using a variety of the many kitchen organizers available. Most cabinets have wasted space you can use. Storing spices in bins, when a spice rack is not available condenses these small and inefficient bottles. Spice bottles seldom reach the bottom of the shelf above, so, if possible, lower that shelf to increase the space above it.

Nets, Totes and More

Ceiling nets hold light yet bulky items. If you do not want to invest in a net, hang an attractive sheet from the ceiling to keep these larger items out of the way. Keep the sheet high enough that people will not walk into it. Toss stuffed animals, extra linens and pillows into the net and they will be easily accessible when needed.

You can never have too many stackable plastic totes. Try to find totes that are the same size so to stack efficiently. Use under-the-bed boxes to save even more space. Do not stack any totes or boxes so high that you cannot get to them without creating an avalanche. Space saving should not cause a concussion. Place heavier totes at the bottom and lighter ones toward the top. This will keep the stacked boxes secure and stable.

An Easier-to-Manage Routine

Anything you do not use on a daily basis should have a home. This home may be in a tote, on a shelf or in a basket. As you begin to create a more efficient home, your daily routine will become easier to manage. Cleaning tasks will be easier because you won’t have to uncover every surface to clean it. Do not limit the possibilities. Use your imagination and discover new and unique ways to increase the storage of your home.

7 Best Affordable Online Colleges

College students have many reasons to prefer online schools to traditional universities. Cost is one of the biggest motivations for students to pursue their education online. With traditional colleges now averaging well over $10,000 per year, student loans are almost unavoidable if you wish to attain a degree. Online colleges offer lower costs paired with the convenience of studying from home. Based on information from the Project on Student Debt, here ere are seven of the best online colleges with the most affordable price tags.

1.) Baker College

At $200 per undergraduate credit hour, you can practically pay for your tuition out of your wallet. Despite this, there are a number of financial aid programs available for qualified students. With a wide selection of degree programs, Baker College is a good choice for the career motivated, but budget conscious student.

The Power of Tracking Your Numbers: Step #3

This is the 3rd in a series on creating a financially healthy life. If you jumped in and did the first two steps, Just Do It and Reality, Get a Dose, this one might be the one you might need extra support in accomplishing. Lots of us like to do projects. We like to plan. The first two steps were projects.

This 3rd step requires consistency. Yes, consistency. This is where many of us jump off the financial band wagon.

I liken it to the health band wagon. Most people can stick to a diet for awhile. It might be challenging, you may not like it, but if we knew that we only had to change our eating habits for 3 months to impact our physical health for the rest of our lives, would we do it? Most of us would.