Going to college has its challenges. You are forced to adapt to a new environment, meet new friends, study countless hours and much more. These difficulties are only made worse by financial hardship. If you have already graduated from college, try to think of another time in your life where you have paid tens of thousands of dollars in expenses with little or no income. I bet you can’t think of another time. The truth is that getting through college without any debt is a very difficult task. Trying to keep your student loans to a minimum is made possible by finding ways to reduce spending and cut costs. One of the best ways to reduce your expenses in college is to get rid of your car. In fact, some universities (because of limited parking) do not allow underclassmen to bring cars to college. If you are one of those select few that has a choice whether or not to bring a car, here are some reasons to leave that car at home (or even sell it). [Read more…] about How to Survive College Without a Car
What Should I Look For in Bargain Stocks?
Don’t we all wish that we had bought Apple Computers (NASDAQ:AAPL) in 2003 for $7/share (currently touching $400/share) or my all time favorite, Hansen Natural (NASDAQ:HANS) that could be bought for 50 cents/share just 8 years ago and now currently sells for $80/share!
These stocks were bargains in the hindsight but if you were investing then you would have not known just by looking at them. Of course, no one knows the future and it would not have been possible to predict the launch and success of iPhone and iPads back then. And if, in 2003, someone had told you that a maker of fruit juice drinks is going to be the hottest stock of the decade, you would have just laughed.
There are many such stocks today that are selling at a bargain price. Some of these stocks will go on to deliver spectacular performance for the investors who have done their due diligence today and patiently hold on for a long time. The question is how we find them. Let’s see if we can answer the question “what should I look for in bargain stocks?” [Read more…] about What Should I Look For in Bargain Stocks?
How Being Trusting In a Marriage Can Hurt You in a Divorce
Divorce: it’s a subject nobody feels comfortable talking about. Divorce is the true “D” word in the English language. And yet divorce is something that may affect 50% or more of every American that enters into marriage. Nobody wants to believe they might end up on the wrong side of that equation, but what if you did? This post is not to give legal or financial planning advice, but rather to start a dialogue about how many of the practices of a healthy marriage might actually be detrimental were the marriage to end in a divorce. This post certainly isn’t meant to give love advice either, nor financial advice. Again, this post just wishes to raise some issues, even if the subject is taboo. After all, divorces are one of the biggest causes of bankruptcy filings in the United States.
Here are some potential ways being trusting in a marriage could hurt you in divorce:
[Read more…] about How Being Trusting In a Marriage Can Hurt You in a Divorce
How to use a Stock Screener and Build Your Dividend Stock Analysis Template
As a dividend investor myself, I’m always looking for my next trade. In order to find the right stock to buy, I use a free stock screener and I complete my analysis with my dividend stock analysis template. I wanted to share both tools so you can improve your stock research and build a strong portfolio.
One of the tools I use to identify dividend stocks for further analysis is the Fin Wiz Stock Screener. This is a free stock screener that allows investors to input reams of criteria to come up with a list of stocks to do further analysis on.
Here are the criteria I use to filter stocks:
[Read more…] about How to use a Stock Screener and Build Your Dividend Stock Analysis Template
How I Paid Off $25,000 of Debt in 14 Months
First of all, if you are in college right now, please do everything in your power to keep your student loans to a minimum! I really wish that I didn’t have to experience the story below. Never having that debt would have been much more delightful, for me anyway.
My wife and I had recently gotten married and moved into an amazing rental complex in South Florida. There was a work-out facility, some tennis courts, and a gorgeous pool. It was heavenly, that is, until the bills started coming in the mail.
Somehow it had slipped our minds that once we graduated from college, we had to start paying back our student loans. Between my wife and I, we had $18,000 in student loans plus a vehicle that we owed $7,000 on. Yep, that was a total of $25,000 in debts!
[Read more…] about How I Paid Off $25,000 of Debt in 14 Months
