529s Putting money in is easy – getting it out, not so much!
Since the day they were born, I have had 529 accounts set up for each of my sons. My oldest son is starting college this week and I have suddenly realized that while putting money into a 529 account is…
Have you been Pwned?
If you are like me, you get what seems like 100 junk emails a day. Sometimes I don’t even stop to read them – if I don’t recognize the sender or the subject line I’m just hitting the delete key…
Big News For Investors – No Fee Funds!
With all of the political and financial noise of this week you would totally get a pass if you missed the most important small investor news for quite some time. What’s so important? In the blog entry titled “Tale of…
Student Debt – A Primer Pt. 2
IRB Plan In my previous treatment of loan repayment plans, I passed over the IRB with out so much as acknowledging it. So here we go – the IRB plan is somewhat confusing because there is the old IBR and…
Student Debt – A Primer Pt. 1
It’s the elephant in the room. According to the AVMA, the average veterinary student graduated in 2016 with $143,757 in student loans and if you exclude those with no debt the number goes up to $167,534. More than 20% of…
Necessary Financial Math
Math. Love it or hate it, if you want to understand your finances you’ll need to learn a little math. For example, in a previous post I told you that if you saved $503 a month, you could have 1 million dollars…
How mistakes in your insurance report could be costing you a bundle!
Ever since moving to Phoenix I’ve been suspicious that my car insurance premium was way too high, so when it came time to renew, I decided to shop around. My very first quote from a national insurance company looked like…
Your Credit Score & Why It’s So Important
There really is nothing very exciting about the lowly credit score – It’s just a three digit number; yet the information it conveys can influence virtually every aspect of your life: Banks use this information before approving a mortgage or…
How to Open a Roth IRA Even If You Don’t Qualify!
A short time ago I wrote about the Roth IRA. It’s a really sweet deal in which you save after tax income today and the money grows and is withdrawn tax-free at retirement! In 2018, you can contribute up to $5,500 ($6,500 if you’re…
Down Payments, PMIs and Physician’s Mortgages
Buying a house can be stressful – or at least it was for me. So many things to plan and coordinate – and then on top of it, the bank expects you to show up to the closing with 20%…
