Business is Personal (Finance)

• Past financial doozies

  Nov 28, 2010
  I had a reader ask me where I learned about business and investing.  Well my background is in computers so most of what I write about is from lots of reading and plenty of doing -- which making mistakes is... 0

• Minimums eliminated for Vanguard Signal Shares

  Nov 23, 2010
  Woo hoo!  Vanguard just announced they are eliminating Signal Share minimum requirements.  I will contact Employee Fiduciary ASAP to get our funds upgraded.  The funds we have with Signal classes: Value (Large Cap) 0.14% <- 0.26%Growth (Large Cap) 0.14% <-... 0

• SPIA to the rescue?

  Nov 21, 2010
  So you're in the minority of fiscally responsible Americans saving 10% of your salary -- and after reading through my savings rate analysis, you probably said "we're all doomed".  Over a 30 year career, a 10% savings rate would require... 0

• Simplifying my portfolio

  Nov 18, 2010
  My portfolio is rather complex.  With many different accounts and account types, I have to choose investments based on plan options and next by tax efficiency.  Luckily, databases and software development is my specialty so I have the tools to... 0

• Savings rates analysis

  Nov 16, 2010
  Just 2 weeks ago, I mentioned the fear amongst common investors.  To be honest, there's always fear -- just the words people use are different when the market is either up or down.  You continually run into "financial porn" telling... 0

• Surprise ... California budget crisis again

  Nov 13, 2010
  Just last month, I posted a few links to federal government spending.  Now it's California's turn.  (Although I live overseas, I cannot get out of California income taxes at the moment -- you must truly retire and sever all ties.)Unfortunately,... 0

• China Money Transfer Followup

  Nov 11, 2010
  Earlier this year, I wrote about money transfer options for Americans living in China.  For the most part, using our Bank of America debit card at a China Construction Bank ATM was our primary method to pay for everyday living... 1

• Health insurance plan change

  Nov 10, 2010
  Back in 2007, we switch from a traditional health insurance plan from Blue Shield to a high deductible (HDHP) HSA-compatible plan from Blue Cross (as detailed in this previous entry).  From all our initial research, it appeared it would be... 1

• Consumerism in China

  Nov 9, 2010
  I ran across a few blog / forum threads about how people live outside the developed world. Specifically, the idea that people in the developing are a different kind of consumer because of their culture.  Well this is my visual... 0

• 401K plan checkup

  Nov 6, 2010
  With our 401k plan (administered by Employee Fiduciary) up and running for 4 years now, I decided it was time to re-check overall assets to see if we are close to qualifying for lower cost class shares. And after looking... 0

• (Fill in asset class) is over-priced

  Nov 4, 2010
  When browsing through investing forums, you can feel the angst amongst the participants.  After the precipitous drops of 2008 and early 2009, people are in general uneasy about the rebound. My liquid investment portfolio (previously 85/15 now rebalanced to 65/35)... 0

• Made it out of Prosper without a loss

  Nov 1, 2010
  Earlier this year, I wrote about the horrible investment of lending money to complete strangers over the internet.  I had transferred every cent remaining out of Prosper a few months ago and figuring there was little chance of Prosper's collections... 0