What to Expect at the Closing Table

I'll be closing on my home next month and, I think, I have everything under control. But I'm still getting anxious about the whole deal. So, what am I anxious about ?

• Buying a house. The biggest investment I have ever made.
• 20% down payment. A very large chunk of my savings is going to vanish from savings account.
• The closing table, where there will be attorneys, Realtor, builder etc. who have done this quite a few times.

So I thought I'll get some more information about the whole closing process and what really happens at the closing table.

(Motley Fool Information)


Who will be present?

You, the buyer, will be present, along with your team, which likely includes your real estate agent and your settlement attorney. If you have an especially amiable and service-oriented mortgage broker, he may be there on your behalf as well, though that is unlikely.

On the other side of the table will be the seller(s), the seller's agent, and possibly an attorney for their team.

When the referee blows the whistle, the ball will be tossed straight up into the air. Generally, the tallest person on your team will want to do the jumping.

No, wait! That's something else. Never mind.

How long will this take?

This depends on how smoothly things go. It's likely to take about one hour for you to sign all the paperwork. (This is another reason that you do not want to go into something like this without some help. If you've bought the house without a real estate agent, you definitely want a good settlement attorney to be with you before and during closing.)

If there are surprises (see below) at closing, it will take longer.

What do you need to bring?

You're probably working with an agent, so she will be of help here. You'll need to have in hand your new home owner's insurance policy, showing that you have, indeed, insured the house, and a cashiers check.

The settlement sheet is a document which lists all of the closing costs and the particulars of your loan. If you'd like a preview of a settlement sheet, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has conveniently put one online. You'll find it by clicking here (and you'll need the Adobe Acrobat reader, available free online, to view it.)

The Passing of the Baton

The seller is advised not to cancel home owner's insurance until recordation has occurred, which is to say, the sale of the house has officially been recorded at city hall. This usually takes place within 24 hours of the sale.

The buyer, meanwhile, is advised that he should have his homeowners policy activated immediately (but you already arranged this, didn't you?) and he "takes possession" upon the completion of closing. What does "take possession" mean? It means the house is yours. It means that, after you've signed all these documents, the seller (or someone from the seller's team) is going to place the keys to the house in your hands.

At this point, the seller (or builder, if it's a new house) gives you whatever package of information he may have on equipment at the house. This includes things like the instruction booklet for the washing machine; information on how that timer-light above the front door works; how you re-code the automatic garage door opener; how-to manuals for the refrigerator and the food disposal. You get the idea -- everything you need to work and service and understand all of the major appliances of the house.

The good news is that an overwhelming majority of closings occur without a problem.

However, be sure to take the responsibility to examine the paperwork and examine it well. Ask whomever is handling the closing to explain it to you. You should be as prepared as possible for this transaction. Now is not the time to be shy or afraid of "looking stupid" by asking a question.


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Features that "DECREASE" the resale value of your home
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Switch Between Fixed and Variable Rate Mortgage with no Closing Costs

WaMu has come up with a new kind of mortgage product called Mortgage Plus, that allows you to Switch Between Fixed and Variable Rate Mortgage with no Closing Costs. Below is the article explaining this new product.

A new product from Washington Mutual lets borrowers shift from fixed to variable and back again on a dime.
By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- There's a new kind of mortgage in town - and it's very limber.

Usually, when borrowers want to restructure their mortgages - go from a fixed-rate to a variable rate, for example - they have to refinance, an onerous, expensive process. There are new closing costs, legal fees and title search and insurance fees that could add thousands of dollars to the mortgage principals.

But the new product from Washington Mutual (Charts, Fortune 500) (WaMu), called Mortgage Plus, gives customers the ability to switch the type of loan they have without going through a refinance.



Say that originally, a family is planning to spend only a few years in their new house - they may choose a low, variable rate loan. They plan to sell the home and move before rate resets to higher one.

But if they decide to stay in town longer, they can switch the terms of their variable-rate Mortgage Plus loan to a fixed rate.

Washington Mutual says the process should take no longer than 15 minutes. Basically, all borrowers have to do is call WaMu or stop into their bank and say they want to switch.

The first reset is free and subsequent ones will usually cost $250 (clients pay no fee ever for moving from a fixed to a variable rate). Changes can be made twice a year.

"It allows you to take advantage of opportunities as they arise," said Steve Rotella, WaMu CEO, in a press release.

All this flexibility comes at a price in the form of higher interest rates. But the Washington Mutual said rates will probably be less than a half percentage point above averages.
Foreclosures are surging on subprime woes

With, however, so much focus on the dangers of hybrid ARMs, which are contributing to a big rise in foreclosures this year, can these loans prove problematic?

The bank says it's not likely; consumers should not be able to get into trouble simply by choosing Mortgage Plus. For one thing, it's only available to prime customers, people with solid credit scores. And the company says it will use tough underwriting standards. All approvals will be based on the ability to repay the loans at the highest, fully indexed levels, rather than the lower rates borrowers could be paying.

In addition, there will be no "negative amortization" options - borrowers must at least be paying the interest if not the principal of the loan. And there will be no zero-down payment options.

Don Sprague, a mortgage broker and financial planner whose company, Liberty Financial Services, is in Colorado, believes the loans can be very valuable, especially for fiscally seasoned consumers.

"To be able to switch to a variable rate when they are going down would be very advantageous," he says. "And the more flexibility, the better it is for people ready to enter retirement."

Retiring owners may decide they want to accelerate their mortgage payments, for example, since they will no longer reap tax benefits from mortgage interest.

There also is a home-equity line of credit (HELOC) component. It is accessible any time, although, there has to be a sufficient cushion in the home equity. The loan-to-value ratio - the amount owed compared to actual value of the home - may not exceed 90 percent.

If, for example, a new buyer puts down 20 percent on the house, she would automatically have access to 10 percent of the value of the property as a HELOC. If property values rise, the increase in value is available almost immediately for the owner to draw on.



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Use Software to Budget Money

The problem with most people these days is that they get so comfortable with their expenses through the aid of credit cards. They become so indulged with cashless shopping that more and more people are spending more than what they can afford.

For this reason, experts contend that budgeting can definitely alleviate the consumers from “financial strain” by managing their expenses and income instead of falling into the pit of liabilities.

However, some people just contend that they cannot simply do budgeting alone. They insist that they need some help in order to come up with a reliable and workable budget.


That’s why some financial experts have created some money budgeting software that will facilitate the creation of a good budget in order to promote wise money-saving strategies.

Basically, money budgeting software assists an individual in his or her expenditures and uses the money sensibly. These new technologies will help distribute the money into various aspects and areas and will also help add to savings.

So, if you still don’t know what the money budgeting software can do for you, here is a list of its advantages:

1. It helps you keep track of your expenses

Money budgeting software can definitely allow you to keep track of your expenses. With this kind of technology, you get to understand your cash flow and allow you to be aware of how much money you spend and earn.

2. It helps you to create some probable projections of the future

While some people are comfortable with the usual type of budgeting on paper, utilizing a money budgeting software can give you more than what you expect. You can even make some possible projections using your integrated money budgeting software. And if you are really into hard copies, you can even print them out for record keeping.

3. It gives you control

The problem with most people who do not have a budget to guide them is that they tend to overspend with what they have.

With this kind of help, you can gain control of your expenditures. You will be able to know when you are already overspending or not. Plus, you become attentive of the blow of every money decision that you make.

The bottom line is that money budgeting software can definitely give you the kind of assurance and control that you need to keep track of your expenses. In this way, you can be surer that all of your spending activities are based on reason and plan and not just sheer indulgences.

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• When did you start taking better care of your Finances ?

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Mortgage Escrow: To Do Or Not To Do

First, let me answer the 2 basic questions about Mortgage Escrow.

What is an escrow?
An escrow is when you include your taxes and insurance with your monthly mortgage payment.

How does Escrow work ?

1. Buyer, seller and the Escrow Agent sign the escrow agreement.
2. Buyer deposits money and/or documents in escrow.
3. The Escrow Agent manages the escrow account.
4. The Escrow Agent confirms to the seller that the escrow amount and/or documents have been received in the escrow account.
5. Seller performs the required services.
6. Buyer accepts delivery and proof of acceptance is sent to The Escrow Agent .
7. The Escrow Agent releases the money and/or documents in escrow.

Now here's my situation. I'm in the process of finalizing my mortgage for buying my first home. (I have to make a decision by the end of this month). I got Good Faith Estimates from a number of lenders and all of them had $2000 - $2500 going towards the escrow account. so I assumed thats how it has to be. But then during a conversation with one mortgage broker, he asked me if I wanted to escrow my taxes and insurance. I then asked him if that will help me get a better rate or if there are any other advantages to an escrow account. He said that if I don't escrow the lender sometimes charges a quarter point. But I have checked this and most big banks and lenders don't really care either way. So I negotiated with the broker and he said that he is willing to "eat up" that quarter point.

So that got me thinking. Should you, or should you not, go for an escrow account?

The major advantage of a mortgage escrow is that the lender assumes responsibility for paying your property taxes and homeowners insurance. This is also the major disadvantage. In addition, with an escrow the lender gets to keep the interest on your account.

Many people don't want to get a big tax bill all at once. They prefer to pay a little bit every month and don't want the headache of paying it on time. Having said that, there have been cases where the lender failed to pay it on time causing an even bigger headache to the borrower.

So what will I do ? I'm going to pass on the escrow account. For control freaks like me, I like to be in charge of paying my dues on time and not lose any interest on my money. There are 2 big advantages I see by not escrowing. One I pay less at closing, and two, I pay less every month. Of course I'll get a big tax bill, but I think I can handle that.

Am I doing the right thing ?

Related Links
How much should your Monthly Mortgage Payment be ?
No Fee Mortgage from Bank of America !
Is Bank of America giving wrong advice ?
Switch Between Fixed and Variable Rate Mortgage with no Closing Costs



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Why Passive Investing beats Active Investing

I'm a big proponent of investing passively by maintaining a diversified portfolio of index funds. It definitely takes the fun out of investing, but as far as I'm concerned, taking risks with money that is earmarked for my daughter's education and our retirement is not meant to be fun anyway. Its serious business.

So what do I mean by passive investing. For me, it means that I don't stay awake at night thinking (and worrying) of ways I can beat the stock market and make millions of dollars or on the flip side, make sure that I don't gamble away all my hard earned money.

If you want to hear stories of why trying to beat the market is a waste of time, I would definitely recommend reading the book Wise Investing made Simple by Larry Swedroe.

The best definition for Passive Investing I have seen so far is: An investment strategy involving limited ongoing buying and selling actions. Passive investors will purchase investments with the intention of long-term appreciation and limited maintenance.

Investopedia adds to this by saying, Passive Investing is also known as a buy-and-hold or couch potato strategy, passive investing requires good initial research, patience and a well diversified portfolio. Unlike active investors, passive investors buy a security and typically don't actively attempt to profit from short-term price fluctuations. Passive investors instead rely on their belief that in the long term the investment will be profitable.

Passive investment management makes no attempt to distinguish attractive from unattractive securities, or forecast securities prices, or time markets and market sectors. Passive managers invest in broad sectors of the market, called asset classes or indexes, and, like active investors, want to make a profit, but accept the average returns various asset classes produce. Passive investors make little or no use of the information active investors seek out. Instead, they allocate assets based upon empirical research delineating probable asset class risks and returns, diversify widely within and across asset classes, and maintain allocations long-term through periodic re-balancing of asset classes.

Where as, Active management might best be described as an attempt to apply human intelligence to find "good deals" in the financial markets. Active management is the predominant model for investment strategy today. Active managers try to pick attractive stocks, bonds, mutual funds, time when to move into or out of markets or market sectors, and place leveraged bets on the future direction of securities and markets with options, futures, and other derivatives. Their objective is to make a profit, and, often without intention, to do better than they would have done if they simply accepted average market returns. In pursuing their objectives, active managers search out information they believe to be valuable, and often develop complex or proprietary selection and trading systems. Active management encompasses hundreds of methods, and includes fundamental analysis, technical analysis, and macroeconomic analysis, all having in common an attempt to determine profitable future investment trends.

So, in order to reach your financial goals, slow and steady wins the race! Hopefully, my review of the book "The Quiet Millionaire" written by Brett Wilder, can shed more light on the various aspects of saving and investing wisely.

Do you agree with me on this ?
If yes, please leave a comment. If you don't, then I insist you leave a comment !

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Carnival of Everything Finance: # 7 Edition

Welcome to the November 16, 2007 edition of Carnival of Everything Finance. We had over 80 really good articles submitted for this edition. As usual, the Editor favorites have a "*" on them.

Saving Money

Aahz presents A Bathroom Full Of Cash - Top 5 Tips For Saving posted at Philaahzophy

Mark U Runta presents Simple Frugality – Conservation posted at Smart Investing & Money Management

*Donna Freedman presents Desperately seeking dinner posted at Smart Spending

freefrombroke presents Loose Change Gets Us Free Meals On Vacation posted at Free From Broke

Spending Wisely

Kalyn presents How To Deal with Bad Credit posted at LifeEdit.net

The Career Counselor presents Seven Strategies to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck posted at ask the CareerCounselor

*ChristianPF presents 6 Tips for a Debt Free Christmas posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog

Stephen Miracle presents Remember These 6 Things And Never Worry About Donating To Charity posted at AltNoise.net

*Adam Zekmueller presents This is Why Glasses at Brick and Mortar Stores are so Expensive posted at Get Better Glasses!

Earning Money

Matthew Paulson presents How to Become a Millionaire 20 Years from Today (Even if You Have Nothing Now) posted at Getting Green

*Christine presents Me, My Kid and Life: The Single Mom and The Cost of Starting an Online Business posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France

Amanda presents PJM.Com October Earnings Report posted at the so called me

Ralph Jean-Paul presents Business and Money posted at Potential 2 Success

Tomaz Mencinger presents The PPL Strategy - How To Make The Most Of Your Time And Talents posted at Financial Freedom Ideas

Matthew Paulson presents Eight Tactics That Will Help You Win Any Negotiation posted at American Entrepreneurship

Shadox presents Employer Selection: a Strategic Career Decsion posted at Money and Such

Everything Else Finance

Noric Dilanchian presents Debt recovery DOs and DON'Ts posted at Lightbulb

*ISPF presents Cheaper Housing Options For The Mortgage-Battered posted at Grad Money Matters.

Jason Elder presents Chapter 7 Bankruptcy - 5 Good Reasons To File Bankruptcy posted at A Bankruptcy Lawyer's Blog

Allen Taylor presents Planning Retirement Stock - What You Need To Know To Make A Fortune With Your Investing posted at Investing World Today

Thomas Humes presents Financial Freedom - Learn How to Always Be Ahead of the Game posted at Wealth Building World

Lifuchi Kalechi presents Money Business - Eliminate Debt, Gain Financial Independence, Enjoy Your Money posted at Money Business - Eliminate Debt, Gain Financial Independence, Enjoy Your Money

Nadege presents Financially stAble posted at Financially stAble

Dereck Coatney presents How To Survive In A Bear Market--Warren Buffett Style posted at The Best Stock Trading in the World

Dorian Wales presents Personal Financier: Diversifying your risk in the stock market posted at Personal Financier

Mark U Runta presents Early Retirement – Illusion or Reality posted at Smart Investing & Money Management

freefrombroke presents WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY COST? posted at Free From Broke

Ian Welsh presents Bernanke Cuts Another Quarter posted at The Agonist"

Ted Reimers presents College Scholarships and the College Admission Essay posted at College Scholarships

Numerian presents As Wall Street Awaits its Destruction posted at The Agonist

*Madeleine Begun Kane presents Me Gamble? No Dice! posted at Mad Kane's Humor Blog

Robert D Flach presents ASK THE TAX PRO – THE “NANNY” TAX posted at THE WANDERING TAX PRO

Ralph Jean-Paul presents Managing Your money posted at Potential 2 Success

*Dhawal presents How much will you actually need?? posted at After-Grad.com.

Sagar presents 7 Countries Considering Abandoning the US Dollar (and what it means) posted at Currency Trading.net

James presents Escape the Payday Loan Debt Cycle posted at Payday Loan Cheapskate

Reggie, the black kid with good credit presents Why Money is Debt - Part 1 posted at Reggie, the black kid with good credit

Linsey B. Knerl presents Confessions of a Former Payday Loan Junkie | Wise Bread posted at Wise Bread

Investing

*The Dividend Guy presents How I Involve My Family in Investing posted at (Obsolete Feed)

David presents How to use this Blog to help you Start your own Business posted at Gaizer.com

TheWild1 presents Start an Investment Club posted at TheWild1

Leon Gettler presents Fear and loathing on Wall Street posted at Sox First

WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com presents Google Finance Beta: My new favourite website! posted at Wheredoesallmymoneygo.com

*FIRE Getters presents Are Banks Safe In A Falling Market? posted at FIRE Finance

Dirk Masuch Oesterreich presents The Location Risk in Mining Investing posted at Nevada Gold Investor

LIVING OFF DIVIDENDS presents LIVING OFF DIVIDENDS » Blog Archive » Buying A Stock For Its 16% Yield posted at LIVING OFF DIVIDENDS

KCLau presents Does Compound Interest Really Apply to Unit Trust Investment? posted at KCLau's Money Tips

Kurt Brouwer presents Top Mutual Funds Since 1987 posted at Fundmastery Blog

Jose DeJesus MD presents Banking Relationships Pay Long-Term Dividends posted at Physician Entrepreneur

TheWild1 presents Refocus on your goals posted at TheWild1

Real Estate & Mortgage

*Joshua Dorkin presents Buying New Construction? Don’t let those builders push you around!! | Real Estate Investing for Real Blog posted at Real Estate Investing For Real

Charles H. Green presents The Subprime Mortgage Crisis Viewed in the 12-Year Rear View Mirror posted at Trust Matters

The Money Moose presents Buying a country in Africa: Russian oligarchs are doing it - why not you? posted at MoneyMoose

Steve Faber presents - 4 Things to Check Before You Buy a House posted at DebtBlog

Nigel Swaby presents Lease Options in Utah - Four Things Every Buyer Should Do posted at Salt Lake Real Estate Blog

Tim presents HECM or HELOC? A Tool to Help You Decide posted at Reverse Mortgage Information

Bonnie Krueger presents What Types of Mortgages Could I Get? posted at Student Loan Consolidation

Shopping

ISPF presents Kicking off a Stress-Free Holiday Shopping Season posted at Grad Money Matters.

Stocks

Logan Flatt, CFA presents "Growth Investing" Nothing More Than Rank Speculation posted at PowerWealth.com

Leon Gettler presents Wall Street to be hit by a Level Three Storm posted at Sox First

Dan Hung presents The Curious Investor » Picking Earnings Beats posted at The Curious Investor


That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Everything Finance using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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carnival of everything finance, blog carnival.

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ACHBUSINESS.COM - Review

Every time you pay a bill online, you transfer money into your online savings account or your employer direct deposits your paycheck, do you know what kind of a transaction is really taking place in the back end ?
Its called an ACH transaction. ACH stands for Automated Clearing House.

Today, I'm approaching ACH transactions from the perspective of a business owner and not a consumer.
Now, more and more businesses prefer transacting via ACH, because its fast and cost efficient. You also use less paper, so in turn, you help the environment cutting less trees.



The 2007 AFP Electronic Payments Survey, done by the Association for Financial Professionals, showed that while checks are still the dominant payment method for B2B payments, organizations are gradually overcoming the barriers and increasing their adoption of all electronic payment methods-ACH, cards and wire transfers.

The 2007 survey, underwritten by the Electronic Payments Network (EPN) is a follow up to an AFP survey on electronic payments conducted in 2004. In 2007, the typical organization makes 74 percent of its B2B payments by check, down from 81 percent in 2004. Electronic payments are gaining ground, especially at large organizations and those with high payment volumes.

Among the barriers to increased use of electronic payments, three issues stand out: information technology and integration constraints, inability of trading partners to send or receive automated remittance information, and difficulty in convincing customers and suppliers to adopt electronic payments. While similar barriers were cited in the 2004 survey, organizations have made progress in integrating electronic payment and accounting systems. For example, 59 percent of organizations have integrated their accounting systems with their ACH payment systems, while 40 percent have done the same for card payments.

Enter Achbusiness.com developed by SBT Business Technologies, Inc.

achbusiness.com is an online ACH origination software solution that makes it easy and affordable for financial institutions to meet the needs of business customers who want to make electronic payments. With achbusiness.com, banks and credit unions can offer a variety of ACH applications and even state of the art services such as e-checks (electronic checks) to their customers. achbusiness.com is the perfect solution for financial institutions who have converted from FedLine to Fed Advantage and no longer have ACH origination and manual/derived ACH return/NOC capabilities.

The basic package includes:

* ACH Origination
* News and Broadcast Messages
* Importing of NACHA Files or CSV/fixed data
* Miscellaneous File Transfer

Other Add-on Services include:
* ACH Notices of Change (NOC)
* ACH Returns
* FEDI Translation
* Wire Transfer Requests
* OFAC Verification
* Wire Confirmations
* Check Adjustments
* Report/Advice delivery
* Stop Payments
* Saving Bonds Orders
* Printed Report Delivery
* ACH/MICR File Delivery
* Balance and Transaction Reporting
* Incoming Wire Notifications
* TT&L Credit Advices

Since its a web based system, there is no clunky software to install. It works on both Firefox and Internet Explorer.

So I say, businesses, GO FOR IT !!
Hopefully, the businesses will then transfer those savings to us consumers!
Please visit ACH Business News

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What is ACH ?

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Visa or Mastercard: Which is Better ?

The two leading credit card companies in the world today are the competitors Visa and MasterCard. They both operate in a very similar way. While Visa claims to have almost a billion cards issued, MasterCard has over twenty five thousand banks issuing its cards and it is difficult to find any difference in the number of locations worldwide that accept the cards, which is now estimated at over twenty million.

CookBooks for Sale!

But, as far as most consumers are concerned, there is no real difference between the two. They are both very widely accepted in over one hundred and fifty countries and it is very rare to find a location that will accept one but not the other.


However, neither Visa nor MasterCard actually issue any credit cards themselves. They are both simply methods of payment. They rely on banks in various countries to issue credit cards that utilise these payment methods. Therefore, the interest rates, rewards, annual fees, and all other charges are issued by your bank and when you pay your bill you are paying it to the bank or institution that issued your card and not Visa or MasterCard.

How Visa and MasterCard make their money is by charging the retailer for using their payment method. So the truth of the matter is that a Visa issued by say the Bank of New York will have very little to do with a Visa issued by other banks and may in fact by more similar to the Bank of New York’s MasterCard.

What this means for the vast majority of customers is that you do not have to overly concern yourself with whether a credit card is MasterCard or Visa. You would be better off concentrating on the interest and other charges on the card, the balance transfer possibilities or their reward scheme. You are very unlikely to ever be effected by the fact that it is one and not the other.

If you prefer, if you are going to have two credit cards, you may decide that you want one of them to be Visa and the other MasterCard, this means that if something drastic were to happen to one company, or if you were in the unlikely position of finding a location that accepts one but not the other, then you would have the option of paying with either.

At the end of the day however, much more depends on the bank that gave you the card, than on the type of card it is.

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Handy Budgeting Tools that Work

Budgeting your monthly expenses in order to get the greatest return on your income (and perhaps, even put aside some for saving!) doesn’t have to be extremely hard.

Various budgeting programs are available for use. Money management programs provide you with a usual package that allows you to enter your cash inflows and outflows, categorizes your expenditures, and at times, presents to you analysis of your spending behavior. Through these programs you can also input the various payments you have to make monthly, and subsequently track if you’ve paid your dues on time. Moreover, some programs also offer you a tax form draft that will help you make sure you’re not missing out on any dues or any deductibles, for that matter.



Another budgeting tool that you can utilize are coupons. Various stores and magazines contain coupons that you can use to get discounts on various products. Should there be a need to purchase a particular product for which you have a coupon for, you will end up saving a fraction of what you might have had to spend on a regular purchase.

Lists—whether on a piece of paper, on your cellular phone, or on your personal digital assistant (PDA) will help you keep focused on what you have to buy, and in effect, keep track of the purchases you make. A classic example is your regular grocery trip. Prior to making the trip, plan out the week’s entire menu and identify what food items and materials you need to purchase that are unavailable in your pantry. Then, make a list of other household items that you’ve run out of (or are eventually going to run out of before you can make the next trip to the grocery). Armed with these lists, you can go to the grocery and know exactly where to go and what you’re going to buy. Without these lists, you will walk idly along aisles, and will likely pick up various food items that you won’t likely need in the immediate future, or already have at home.

A filing system is perhaps one of the best budgeting tools you can have in your home. With simple, labeled file folders, you can put together your bills, your receipts, and whatever bank documents are issued to you when you save or pay. By putting together your bills, your credit card receipts, and the like, you are able to keep track of how much you owe and when your payments are due.

Effective budgeting tools are those that best address your needs as a consumer. Create your own budgeting tool or find a program to do it for you—just make sure it suits your lifestyle.

So which works best for you ?

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Investing is boring. Well, It should be!

Investing is boring. Well, It should be !

Thats the message I got after reading Larry Swedroe's "Wise Investing Made Simple". I totally agree with this assessment.

You are not supposed to have fun with a serious thing like investing for your future goals. Also, trying to beat the market is a really futile. All you need to do is have a well diversified portfolio of index funds and leave it.



Author
Larry Swedroe is Principal and Director of Research for Buckingham Asset Management Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor firm in St. Louis, Missouri. He is also Principal of BAM Advisor Services LLC, a service provider to CPA investment advisors across the country. Previously, Larry was Vice-Chairman of Prudential Home Mortgage. He has held positions at Citicorp as Senior Vice-President and Regional Treasurer, responsible for treasury, foreign exchange and
investment banking activities, including risk management strategies. Larry holds an MBA in Finance and Investment from NYU, and a bachelor’s in Finance from Baruch College.

Book Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Charter Financial Pub Network (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976657422
• ISBN-13: 978-0976657422
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces

In a series of stories that are clear and simple yet profound in their meaning, Larry explains how the financial markets really work and how any investor who comes to understand this will be able to make more informed and better investment decisions, no matter how intelligent he/she is.

As the title suggests, Larry takes complicated concepts, and breaks them down into simple to follow stories. He uses scenarios relating to sports strategies and other ordinary life examples to relate the reader to the given financial concept he is explaining. One of my favorites stories was about how bets are placed on sporting events (points, spread, etc.) and how that compares to many of the market transactions. He weaves thru all these concepts with humor as he endeavors to welcome the reader to what he calls "the winning game." New and experienced investors will enjoy and learn from this book. If you want more depth in any given area, read one of his other books that will tell you more in detail about the broad concepts he presents here.

Also, since this book is written for US readers, Canadians need only make a few minor adjustments to limit foreign exchange exposure and include additional domestic asset classes to end up with comparable portfolios that he recommends.

I would strongly recommend reading this book, if you feel that you are smart enough to beat the stock market by choosing the right stocks at the right time.


You might also like reading this book Do you want to be a Quiet Millionaire ?


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Checking, Savings, and Money Market Accounts...whats the difference ?

Facts About Checking, Savings, and Money Market Accounts

First of all, why do savings account usually have higher interest rates than checking accounts? I think most of us know that banks make money by using our cash deposits and lending it out to others via mortgages, personal loans, or credit cards. However, we also expect that if we do want to withdraw our money, it will be there. To achieve this, each country sets its own reserve requirements, essentially how much cash the bank must physically keep in a vault somewhere to meet expected withdrawal demands.

As of 2006, the required reserve ratio in the United States was 10% on transaction deposits (checking accounts), and zero on time deposits (savings accounts). Due to fractional-reserve banking, having no reserve requirement allows the banks to lend out much more than their actual deposits.



Added: A quick explanation… At a reserve ratio of 10%, let’s say I put in $100. That means the bank can lend out $90. If whoever borrows that $90 put it in a bank, then the new bank can lend out 90% of that, or $81. This could repeat forever, leading to banks lending out 100+90+81+… = $1,000 for each $100 in deposits. This is just for a checking account. For a savings account, with zero required reserves, a bank could theoretically lend out an infinite amount of money (100+100+100+…). Aren’t you glad your money is insured now? ;)

The main difference between checking and savings accounts are their transaction limitations, as outlined by Regulation D. You can only transfer funds out of your savings account up to six times per month by any pre-authorized method like online or telephone transfers, even to a checking account within the same bank. A max of three of these can be via check or debit card. You can still make unlimited withdrawals in person via a teller or ATM.

This is why it can be difficult to use your online savings account (at over 5% interest) as your sole account for paying bills and such instead of your checking account (often at 0%). Bank often charge fees for breaking this rule, and must close accounts where this transaction limit is repeatedly exceeded.

Back to the initial question - Is there a difference between a FDIC-insured “savings” account and an FDIC-insured “money market” account? From what I could find, no. They are both time deposit accounts, just with different naming conventions. Traditionally, money market accounts have a higher minimum balance requirement, and are more likely to offer checkwriting or a debit card (subject to the limits above). These both remain different from money market mutual funds, which are usually not FDIC-insured and are instead a collection of short-term debt instruments.

You can read the original MyMoneyBlog article here

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Carnival of Everything Finance: # 6 Edition

Welcome to the November 2nd, 2007 Edition of Carnival of Everything Finance.

We had over 80 really good articles submitted for this edition.
Editor favorites have a "*" on them.

Earning Money

Liz presents The 13 Top Financial Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make posted at Nitro Marketing Blog

Charles Bennington presents Sign of The Times... posted at Chuck Boobs- Thinking Outloud...Really Outloud

David presents How to get a Business Loan posted at Gaizer.com

James D. Brausch presents You Don’t Need Any Money posted at jamesbrausch.com

*Shadox presents If You Could Make an Extra $10K... posted at Money and Such

Everything Else Finance

Allen Taylor presents Doubling Stocks With A Small Bankroll posted at Investing World Today
Tim Ramsey presents 5 Ways to Try and Reduce Your Debts and Outgoings posted at My Debt Relief Blog





Eric Stanley presents Three Rules for Financial Freedom posted at Personal Finance Blog Articles

Thomas Humes presents To Be A Millionaire posted at Wealth Building World

Tracy Coenen presents Mandatory arbitration with credit card companies posted at FRAUDfiles.

Joy Miller presents Ivy League universities now offer online degrees and certificates posted at Online College Blog

Karen Halls presents Bankruptcy Vs Bankruptcy Alternatives posted at A Bankruptcy Lawyer's Blog

*Aaron Wakling presents Improving Your Credit Score - Fundamental Factors posted at The Credit & Credit Card Blog

Eric Hudin presents Estate Planning Tax Advice - Why You Need It and Where to Find It posted at My Estate Planning Career Blog

* Allen Taylor presents Investing - Determining Your Goals posted at Investing World Today

Tim Ramsey presents 7 Steps to Debt Freedom posted at My Debt Relief Blog

Eric Stanley presents How The Recent ?Credit Crunch? Could Affect You posted at Personal Finance Blog Articles

Thomas Humes presents Guidelines for Building Wealth posted at Wealth Building World

JASMBA presents Getting Ahead posted at Getting Ahead

*Kevin Fleming presents Why I Switched From Cable TV to Satellite posted at Satellite TV Guru

Eric D. Wills presents What's a Dollar? posted at One Away

Roshawn Watson presents 10 Money Lessons I Learned From The Movies posted at Watson Inc

Kalyn presents Tracking and Maintaining Finances posted at LifeEdit

Sagar Satapathy presents How China Could Crash the US Dollar on a Whim posted at Currency Trading.net


Brip Blap presents how to become a billionaire posted at brip blap

chica with issues presents Getting on the road to financial success posted at One Snarky Chica with Issues

Michael Bass presents Bankruptcy or Debt Settlement? posted at Debt Prison

*WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com presents Many Employers will MATCH your Charitable Contributions - all you have to do is apply... posted at WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com

Mark U Runta presents Who Is In Charge Here? posted at Smart Investing & Money Management

Kevin Surbaugh presents Job Shift - What's Next? posted at Becoming & Staying Debt Free

wilson ng presents The Yin and Yang - It Goes Both Ways posted at Reflections of a BizDrivenLife

Juan Millon (1mil) presents Clearly, You Are An Ass. posted at Millionster.com

Abel Cheng presents Nurture Your Budding Little Capitalist posted at Parent Wonder

Robert D Flach presents SOCIAL SECURITY UPDATE posted at THE WANDERING TAX PRO

*Clever Dude presents Are You In The (Financial) Loop? at Clever Dude Personal Finance & Money posted at Clever Dude

Larry Russell presents Diversify To Avoid Investment Fraud posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog

Mr Credit Card presents Balance Transfer Credit Cards Video Tutorial and Guide posted at Ask Mr Credit Card

Brip Blap presents follow the white rabbit to financial freedom posted at brip blap

Raymond presents Life Comes At You Fast - Be Organized and Financially Prepared posted at Money Blue Book.

Michael Fowke presents A vision of Canary Wharf posted at Money is the way

Investing

TheWild1 presents Start an Investment Club posted at TheWild1

*TheMonthlyPick presents How to Beat the Fund Managers in 1 Easy Step posted at The Monthly Pick

The Investor's Journal presents How to Avoid Stock Market Corrections and Crashes - The Investor's Journal posted at The Investor's Journal

Kurt Brouwer presents The Stock Market Crash of 1987 posted at Fundmastery Blog

FIRE Getters presents Tax FREE Money Market Mutual Funds! posted at FIRE Finance

Ray Chong presents Protecting Profits - The Art Of The Trailing Stop posted at Trading Tips, Strategies and Insights

The Dividend Guy presents My Current Top 25 Websites for Stock Research posted at (Obsolete Feed)

Leon Gettler presents Faulty forecasts posted at Sox First

Charles Bennington presents The Next Big Trend. posted at Project One Million

Kurt Brouwer presents Traders versus Investors ? Who Does Better? posted at Fundmastery Blog

Real Estate & Mortgage

ted presents e-book - Why Trade Lines? posted at TradeLine Solutions.com

Jimmy Atkinson presents How to: Sell Your Home Without an Agent posted at Ask the Advisor

Tim presents Crucial Reverse Mortgage Facts No Is Telling You About posted at Reverse Mortgage Information

R.Pettinger presents Reduce mortgage or save? posted at Mortgage Blog

*John Crenshaw presents What’s the Point in Paying Points? posted at Truthful Lending dot Com

BrandonL presents Did you know this about FHA Loans? posted at FHA Mortgage Center Blog

Bentley Humphreys presents How to maximize “flip” profits through smart renovations posted at boozwatt.com

Kenneth presents So, what kind of loan personality do you have? | InvestorBlogger posted at InvestorBlogger

John Crenshaw presents Is Real Estate Really A Good Investment? posted at Truthful Lending dot Com

Joshua Dorkin presents Investors Working on Foreclosure Deals: Avoid Fraud Suspicion - Disclose! posted at Real Estate Investing For Real

Maria Fernandez presents Learn a foreign language - blog: Have an enemy? Buy him a timeshare! posted at Learn a foreign language - blog

Saving Money

karyn presents Top 3 Car Buying Tips Every Consumer Should Know posted at Finance 123

*Adam Zekmueller presents Where it all began.... - Get Better Glasses! posted at Get Better Glasses!

Steve Faber presents - How to Save Money on Car Insurance posted at DebtBlog

Shopping

Dave presents Free Halloween Candy - Vox posted at Cheapo Groovo<