My Money Blog

2010 Q3 Investment Portfolio Update – Fund Holdings

Posted on September 10, 2010 // 17 Comments

I've already posted my target asset allocation, now here's my actual portfolio holdings. Again, these are my own choices, governed by the size of my tax-advantaged accounts like IRAs/403b/401ks, the brokerage firms that I use, and my preference of … [Read the rest]

OptionsXpress Review: Application, Broker Commissions, Trading Features, $100 Bonus

Posted on September 9, 2010 // 9 Comments

OptionsXpress.com (OX) is a online brokerage site that specialized in options and futures trading, but has since expanded their offering to be one-stop-shop - offering stocks, bonds, brokered CDs, and mutual funds. Like some of you, I signed up a … [Read the rest]

Target Asset Allocation for Investment Portfolio

Posted on September 8, 2010 // 21 Comments

Asset allocation (AA) is an important part of portfolio design, and I like pinning down a target asset allocation for personal reference. This helps keep me focused as my portfolio shifts over time and makes it easy to re-balance back. For some … [Read the rest]

Amazon Mom: Free 3 Months of Amazon Prime + Diaper Discounts

Posted on September 7, 2010 // 5 Comments

Amazon is promoting their new Amazon Mom service, which is aimed at all moms, dads, and primary caregivers. (They don't make you send in a picture of your kid or anything.) It's free to join, and here are the benefits: 30% off select diapers … [Read the rest]

My First Shares Of Stock Ever Purchased

Posted on September 3, 2010 // 25 Comments

I was going through some old financial files and came across an old E-Trade statement which was my first brokerage account and found my first shares of stocks ever purchased in August of 2001. This was after the dot-com bubble burst, and I was still … [Read the rest]

Continental OnePass Plus Card: Free 25,000 Miles, Free Checked Bag, Primary Rental Car Insurance

Posted on September 2, 2010 // 13 Comments

Now that I'm flying a lot more again, I'm back in the hunt for some frequent flier perks. I just came across the new Continental Airlines OnePass Plus Card from Chase, which has a pretty nice mix of perks for travelers. Sign-Up Bonus: Free … [Read the rest]

Updated 529 College Savings Asset Allocation: Added Stocks, 10-Year 5% APY CD

Posted on September 1, 2010 // 19 Comments

Since we're on the topic of college tuitions, I have recently adjusted the investment mix in my Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan. As I've mentioned before, I choose a very conservative mix because I think a 20-year or less horizon with a 4-year or … [Read the rest]

Charts: College Tuition vs. Housing Bubble

Posted on August 31, 2010 // 55 Comments

This chart from Clusterstock (via Carpe Diem) shows the cost of college tuition comparison to historical housing prices and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the same period. The CPI is designed to track our cost of living by estimating the … [Read the rest]

How To Sue a Telemarketer (Book Summary)

Posted on August 30, 2010 // 15 Comments

I've been getting an increasing number of telemarketing calls recently, so I readily agreed to a review copy of How To Sue a Telemarketer by Stephen Ostrow, lawyer and judge. I had a vague recollection that you can get $500 every time a … [Read the rest]

Updated myFICO Coupon Codes & Twitter Tip

Posted on August 27, 2010 // 3 Comments

Update February 2011: Use coupon code FICO25 for 25% off! The last time I actually paid for my credit score was before I bought my house, and that was basically a fit of paranoia to make sure it was crazy-awesome before the lender pulled it. There … [Read the rest]

Google Offers Free PC-to-Phone Calls To US & Canada

Posted on August 27, 2010 // 14 Comments

There was a lot of media coverage yesterday when Google announced that they would offer PC-to-Phone calls to US and Canada numbers for free from their Gmail interface. To try it out if you haven't already, just log into your Gmail email … [Read the rest]

Getting Organized In The Google Era (Book Summary)

Posted on August 26, 2010 // 8 Comments

I ran across Getting Organized in the Google Era in an airport bookstore last month, and while I wasn't enamored enough to pay the $23 retail hardcover price, I did add it to my library want list. The author Douglas Merrill was formerly the Chief … [Read the rest]