September 2007

Chess and the Art of Personal Finance

September 16, 2007

They say that Bobby Fisher could play a game of chess, and one year later, see his opponent on the street and recount the game from memory. Warren Buffett has a phenomenal memory, too, and a mind for numbers that would marvel Deep Blue. So that brings us to the feature articles I have planned [...]

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Forum to Discuss Metro Dream Homes

September 15, 2007

A reader posted a comment to my article on How to Know Instantly You’re Being Conned. The comment linked to a discussion thread about Metro Dream Homes, an entity in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that claims to be able to pay off your mortgage on a new home with a minimal investment. Here is [...]

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Are Correlation Coefficents Converging Among Previously Disparate Asset Classes (i.e., is diversification dead?)

September 14, 2007

A reader (Al) recently asked whether the correlation among various asset classes had risen in the last few years: My frustration is that the Ferri data is for the period through 2001. My layman’s guess is that the impact of globalization really hit after 2001. If true, then the correlations are probably much higher since [...]

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WARNING: Converting an Index Fund to an ETF May Increase Your Wealth

September 12, 2007

For the young investor, ETF’s can be a real tease. They tempt you with their low costs and tax efficiency, only to whack you with commissions when you go to buy them. For those making small, monthly investments, the commission costs alone put ETFs out of reach. It turns out, though, that ETFs can be [...]

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The Daily Dough (What’s Up With Michigan’s Football Team edition)

September 12, 2007

NOTE: As a Buckeye fan, I root for two teams–Ohio State and whoever plays Michigan. That said, the last two weekends have been ugly. Michigan, we need you to start winning so that you’re ranked when we beat you at the end of the year! Now, on with today’s money management links: A Visual Guide [...]

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Helping a Marine Write His Will

September 11, 2007

Six years ago today the world changed forever. I vividly remember where I was when I first heard the news. Living close to the pentagon and having friends and family who work there, the day took on a special significance for me. One thing that 9-11 created was heroes. Firefighters, police, military, politicians, and just [...]

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Nifty Tricks with the Rule of 72, 71, 70, 69.3, 114, 144 and My Favorites, 1.5 and 1,080,000

September 10, 2007

If you read my article, Can You Solve this Math Problem, than you know I enjoy math. Numbers have always been my friend, and I have a few to share with you today. So let’s get to it. Rule of 72 Many of you have heard of the Rule of 72, but let’s review just [...]

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Why You Want Your Investments to Dance Like Elaine Benes, not Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire

September 6, 2007

A reader (we’ll call him Al since that’s his name) wrote a great comment in response to my article, Asset Allocation for Near and Active Retires, which is part of a longer series on Asset Allocation. Here is Al’s comment: Hi – I don’t know when Ferri wrote his book but my guess is that [...]

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Can You Solve This Math Problem?

September 4, 2007

I love stories about people who didn’t give up. Miles Levin is such a story. Stories of perseverance help to motivate us in all aspects of our life, including our financial lives. But how do we teach perseverance to our kids? That was my challenge this weekend when my son was trying to solve a [...]

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