Posts Tagged ‘not msn money’

Your Money Monday: Is Owning Cheaper?


29 Apr

When dealing with money, people often think it’s about the numbers, that you can do the math an instantly and empirically know if you have gained money or lost money. But that’s not quite true. Everything, even numbers, are subject to our perception of them.

Much like the arguments that “it’s cheaper to buy than to rent” right now, but only if you have a 10-20% down payment saved up (which is usually a pretty hefty chunk of money), we are facing the question of whether it is actually cheaper to buy and sell at a loss than to rent.

Your Money Monday: Preparing for a Lay Off


08 Apr

I started this thread over a month ago, when I first strongly suspecting that I would receive a layoff notice. I was right, and at the end of March, I was told that my last day with my company would be May 3, but that I would not have to show up every day until then.

If you are being laid off, or just think you might be, head on over for great advice from the other posters about the type of things you should be looking at- what your rights are regarding current benefits, and planning for the future.

Your Money Friday: Does Your Life Have Passion?


22 Mar

The big question this week was Does Your Life Have Passion? In this case, the poster felt like he was missing out on something because he doesn’t have any all consuming passion in his life- not at work (he works with scientists who still come to the lab after retiring) or in his personal life.

As always, there were arguments of definition, but it still comes down to taking control of your own life. And learning to be happy with who you are as a person. Just because there is nothing you feel passionate about doesn’t make you a failure.

Your Money Friday: Health Insurance Not Paying


08 Mar

Insurance companies make mistakes. No one is perfect. If your health insurance company isn’t paying claims it should, you cannot just keep sending documentation to the claims department. It won’t do any good. Before going (or threatening to go) to your state’s Insurance Commissioner, you should follow the process your insurance company has set up to fix mistakes. Look at the denial you were sent. There should be information on how to file an appeal. If you don’t still have that paperwork, call customer service and ask for appeals. Insurance companies make mistakes. Appeals departments are how they fix them.

Your Money Friday: Mortgage Payments


01 Mar

A reminder today that everything about personal finances is relative. A poster with a mortgage currently of under $700/month is considering one that is $2000/month. It is a huge jump, but it is for their dream home, and it is a jump the poster can afford.

When asking if she was “crazy” for considering it, most people reacted based on what housing costs are like where they live. Those in low cost of living areas cannot imagine a mortgage that high, whereas those who live in high COLAs dream about getting that kind of house for a mortgage that low.

Your Money Friday: Are You Happy with Your Finances?


22 Feb

The question this week: Are you happy where you are at financially?  Most people answered “yes but…”. The people on this board are almost certainly better off than the majority of people in this country for no other reason than they are paying attention. But because they are paying attention, they are also thinking about all the things that could go wrong, and feeling like they aren’t there yet.

My favorite response: I’m doing better than I ever thought I would.  Overall though, no I’m not completely happy.  It always seems like another $50k a year would make everything perfect.

Your Money Friday: Currency Isn’t Always Money


08 Feb

Do you remember the episode of Malcolm in the Middle where Reese discovered cooking, and his parents discovered they finally had something meaningful they could take away from Reese as a punishment?

Everyone has a personal currency. It turned out that Reese’s was cooking. For kids, it can sometimes be hard to figure out what it is they value. It might be TV time or video games, it might be a favorite doll, or it might be, as one of the posters discovered, the good opinion of another adult. Finding a child’s currency can be the key to good behavior.

Your Money Friday: What Can’t Your Money Do For You


01 Feb

Let’s talk about what online money message boards can do for you and what they cannot.

Your Money is really great at helping you figure out a budget or understanding the differences between a traditional IRA and a Roth. As a group, we have a lot of random knowledge.

What we cannot help with is legal situations. Yes, some posters are lawyers, but state laws vary and every case is different. We can give you emotional support during a divorce, and ideas you can follow up on with your lawyer, but we can never be a substitute for that lawyer.

Your Money Friday: Mortgage Talk


18 Jan

Talk this week at Your Money about mortgages and putting stricter limits on who can qualify for one and whether or not the standard should remain a 20% down payment. I agree that the housing market became a mess. But I don’t know when we decided that it was the fault of the homeowners instead of the predatory lenders.

I should admit, we bought our first two homes with 0 and 2.5% down respectively. We’ve never been behind on our payments, and we certainly don’t treat our property as if it were disposable. And I don’t think we’re the exception.

Your Money Friday: Parents, Adult Children, and Money


11 Jan

Today we look at the question of how parents help their children financially, both as adult children, how have our parents helped us, and as parents of adult children, how are we helping our kids.

Every family is different. Some parents pay for school; some help you pack your bags. Some parents gift down payments on first houses. Others make you get a job and pay rent at 16.

As parents, we want to be able to do more for our kids than our parents did for us (or at least as much), even if it is not always possible.

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