Stocks Erase 2012 Gains and Links

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After an unexpectedly low jobs report the stock market dropped more than 2% on Friday.

Added in with the losses from the rest of the month of May, put the S&P 500 down 9.1% for the month.  Nearly all of the gains in the S&P 500 from the rest of the year have been wiped out — the index is only up 1.63% YTD.

If you’re nearing retirement, you just took a significant hit to your portfolio and should adjust accordingly.

However, for those with many years left to retirement the idea of the stock market going down should be soon as a good thing because the same amount of investment will buy more shares at lower prices than they would have at the beginning of May.

It can be difficult to see stocks as being “on sale”, but that mentality can help you significantly in your retirement planning.  These great reads will help you, too:

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The Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards

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Do you find yourself traveling often, perhaps for work or pleasure?

A travel rewards credit card is a great way to earn extra perks or get a little back for your trips.  Traveling can be expensive and a travel rewards card can go a long way to earning something back for your spending.

Do you like benefits such as:

  • Earning free nights at hotels;
  • Earning free flights;
  • Not paying foreign transaction fees;
  • Earning free car rentals;
  • and more?

The cards below offer a variety of these benefits as well as others.

These are the best travel rewards credit cards that I’ve found (if you know of others, please let me know so I can add them!).  Look through each of the cards and see which benefits mean the most to you.

Make sure you are actually going to use the benefits!

If you aren’t taking advantage of what a particular card offers then you are wasting the usefulness of a travel rewards credit card.  Some of these have annual fees, so you need to make sure you are making up for that fee in the card’s use (yes, I’d prefer there were no fees, but these cards will quickly pay for themselves if you are using the benefits).

Finding the best credit card to fit your particular traveling needs is a great way to maximize your credit card and your spending.

Take a look at the list below and find the best travel rewards credit card with benefits to match your travel habits.

Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards

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What is Passive Investing?

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For some, the idea of investing conjures up images of crazed traders on the floor of an exchange.

Others think of someone in a home, sitting in front of a computer screen, desperately trying to time the exact best time to buy — and then to sell.

These images, and the idea that you have to be on top of all the market movements and news, discourage many from investing.

Not all investing is a short-term attempt to profit, though.

Indeed, many investors are passive investors, doing very little to actively manage their portfolios.  Think investing in a tax-advantaged retirement account like a 401(k) or an IRA.

A passive investment doesn’t have to be all about your retirement account, though.  Anyone can be a passive investor and come out just fine in the end.

Definition of Passive Investing

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Should I Buy Travel Insurance for My Next Trip – Pros and Cons to Consider

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Travel insurance is one of those upsell services you see tacked on to your flight and hotel reservations when you book through most online travel sites.

You stop and think about it for a minute, but it can be frustrating.

Is insuring your trip worth the price asked?  What are the odds you need to use travel insurance?  Do you really need this type of insurance or is the travel company just looking to pad their pockets with your hard earned cash?

As is the case with most insurance questions, the answer to whether or not you need trip insurance is maybe.

Here are some pros and cons to consider.

Pros of Buying Travel Insurance

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Think of Marriage as a Business Arrangement?

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Many people enter marriage blindly, underestimating how minor annoyances they experience while dating can grow exponentially during marriage. 

While couples may argue about a variety of issues ranging from in-laws to child rearing to household chores, research shows money fights can be the most toxic to a marriage.

Jeffrey Dew at Utah State University analyzed data collected from 2,800 couples and determined that those who fought about money weekly were “30% more likely to get divorced than couples who reported disagreeing about finances a few times a month.”  (The New York Times)

Many of us believe in the romantic ideal that love is enough to grow and sustain a loving marriage, but that is certainly not the case. 

While physical attraction is important, what is more important is your spouse’s ideals and convictions, and how closely they are in line with your own.  If you are a saver and you willingly enter marriage with a spender, be prepared for routine conflict, and perhaps divorce.

Jan Dahlin Geiger, a financial planner in Atlanta states, “‘Overspending is no different than being an alcoholic or drug addict’ in its effect on a relationship.  ‘What one person is doing could have a huge negative impact on the couple’s finances’” (USA Today).  Likewise, spenders may hide their purchases from you and incur debt you do not know about.

Of course, overspending is not the only financial problem couples might face. 
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Five Ways to Use Credit Cards Without Getting Buried in Debt

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Everyone appreciates the importance of using credit cards responsibly; the issue comes down to tactics.

How do you use your credit cards to your advantage without also over using them to the point where they become a problem?

Let’s face it, credit cards are extremely user friendly!

Everything about them tempts you to use them even more.  From generous (and often rising) credit limits, to zero-interest introductory rates, to cash rebates and rewards, to the completely self-directed nature of the credit arrangement pull us into what is probably the most cozy relationship with any kind of debt we’ll ever have.

But credit cards are loans—as in debts that are required to be paid back.  If we ever lose sight of that we’re at risk of becoming credit card junkies or bankruptcy candidates.

How do we stay on the safe side of credit cards?

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Facebook Sued Over IPO and Insider Info and Links

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Last week we told you Facebook went public and it went… okay.

At the time, the shares had just stayed about even.  This week did not go so well for Facebook.  Shares dropped to as low as $31.77 in trading — a 16% drop from the IPO price.

If that weren’t bad enough, now Facebook is being sued because it disclosed some information to some of the investment banks warning them that advertising revenues were off significantly.  That kind of information would change an investor’s valuation of the firm, but since it wasn’t publicly available information the banks stood to make a killing by shorting the stock or waiting until the share price dropped.

Whatever happens with the lawsuit, Zuckerburg and his investors came out okay, finally able to trade millions or billions worth of shares that they’ve held for quite some time.

We won’t all get billion dollar payouts, but you can save your way to a healthy retirement. These articles will help you get there:

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Good High Yield Dividend Stocks Are Better Alternatives to Bonds Today

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The markets continue to be volatile.

With the European countries still struggling to figure their way out of the debt mess, and even the well regarded bank like JP Morgan taking large losses on their hedging activities, it is understandable that some investors may decide move their assets to the relative safety of the bonds.

However, this safety is illusory.

The Inverse Relationship Between Bonds and Interest Rates

This is one of the fundamental principle of bond investing.  It is well understood but still bears repeating.

The value of a bond goes up when the interest rates are low and it goes down when the interest rates are high.
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Which Airlines Have Seats Open for Your Rewards?

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Membership has its privileges but cashing in on those privileges is another story.

If you’re a traveler but you don’t fly enough to get in to the extra special diamond, platinum, or other private group of the most elite airlines, you know that amassing frequent flyer miles or points is easy but using them to get a better seat or a free flight might be exceedingly difficult.

The problem is simple: airlines save money by offering fewer flights which means less seats available.

Even worse, when an airline merges with another airline, the amount of people in the frequent flyer problem doubles but often, the amount of flights taking off and landing doesn’t.  More people but less seats doesn’t make you happy.

Finally, if that isn’t enough frustration, in order to make money, airlines sell points and miles to credit card and other companies to offer to their loyal customers.  Some of those people sitting in the first class seats that should rightfully be yours may hardly ever fly.  Go ahead and get a little frustrated!

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Reflections on a Frugal Japanese Life

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It is no secret that Americans are not good at saving.  

In fact, before the economic downturn, Americans were only saving 1% of their income according to The Atlantic.

Compare that to the Japanese, who save 25% of their income, down from a high of 30 to 35% according to Maki, the Japanese woman behind the blog Just Hungry.

My husband was born in Japan and lived there the first 25 years of his life, so I asked him about his experience growing up.  He was at first hesitant to share because he is nearly 40, so he doesn’t feel his family is representative of the way things may now be in Japan.  Still, this is his family’s experience, which I find to be in stark contrast to many American households, even 30 years ago.

His Parents’ Backgrounds

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