Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Personal Finance

Personal Finance is a catch-all for anything that falls under the umbrella of taking care of your money. A lot of people think of their personal finances as some "other" thing they don't always have to pay attention to. I think it's integral to your life and health.

Take a look at the articles below and get your personal finances in shape.

Grow Your Dough Throwdown Update – February End – It’s Growing!

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It’s awesome when you see your investments going up!

It’s the kind of feeling that makes you feel powerful; invincible even.

And when your investments go down you feel a pit of despair in your stomach.  “Please go back up some so I can sell and I’ll never invest like that again,” you plead to the investment deities.

Of course this is all good reason you should carefully invest.  It’s not hard to do but if you don’t have the stomach to see your investments fall in value then you’re better off investing in broad sectors (like the S&P 500 or all stocks).  Honestly, most people aren’t that great at picking stocks so your best long-term plan is to stick to sector funds and ETFs.  And even then you might not want to look at your picks too often.

About a month and a half ago I jumped into the Grow Your Dough investment challenge.

This challenge pits a growing number of personal finance writers against each other for a year to invest $1,000 and see whose investments would come out on top.

I chose to pick individual stocks.

If you take a look at the other people in the competition you’ll see a number of different investing strategies.  It’s pretty cool to see how everyone interpreted the challenge.
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Quicken 2014 Deluxe for Windows Giveaway

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Not long ago we told you about the awesomeness that is Quicken Deluxe.

It’s a great bit of software that helps you track your money and create budgets (among other things).  If you’re looking to better understand your money then Quicken is one of the programs you need to check out.

Why am I telling you this?

I was given a promo code for a free copy of Quicken Deluxe 2014 to give to one of my excellent readers!  That could be you! [Read more…] about Quicken 2014 Deluxe for Windows Giveaway

Not Every Baby Is Born Into Royalty But Yours Can Still Prosper

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Prince George, or Georgie, as he will be called, was born in July to much fanfare and anticipation. 

What does it mean to be born into the House of Windsor?   Even though he likely won’t exert his political power when he becomes king, he will still be influential.

And he will be worth a pretty penny. 

According to International Business Times, he will inherit 700 million pounds.  There’s no doubt little Prince George is already one of the wealthiest babies in the world.

Of course, not every baby is born into royalty, with the proverbial silver spoon.  Chances are, you probably wouldn’t want that life for your child anyway.

While you may be from modest means, you CAN help your child get a financial advantage over many of his peers by taking important steps when he or she is young.

7 Ways to Set Your Child Up Like Royalty

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How an Emergency Fund Will Save Your A$$

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You need an emergency fund.

This represents one of the basic pieces of personal finance advice.  Even so, many people don’t believe that an emergency savings are necessary.

If you want to improve your chances of achieving financial freedom, though, you need to change your mindset and acknowledge that an emergency fund is essential.

Here’s Why an Emergency Fund is Essential. Read These Now!

An emergency fund is essential.

To Deal with Unexpected Expenses

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DOMA Goes Down: What Does it Mean for Same-Sex Finances?

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Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denies federal recognition to same-sex couples is unconstitutional.

Due to the ruling, there are a few things that same-sex couples need to consider as they plan their finances in a post-DOMA world.

First: What the Ruling Doesn’t Do

It’s important to note that the ruling doesn’t force all states to recognize same-sex marriages.  In fact, some rather thorny issues are being raised by the ruling, which essentially says the federal government has to recognize as marriage what a state sees as marriage.  So far, only 13 states plus the District of Columbia recognize same-sex unions.  Here’s a list of the states that currently allow same-sex marriage.

If you live in a state where same-sex marriage is recognized, and you are legally married there, there is no problem.

Things get a little dicey if you are married in a state that recognizes same-sex unions and you live in a state that doesn’t recognize such marriages.  If you are married in New York, where same-sex marriage is legal, but move to Utah, where your marriage isn’t recognized, what happens?

That’s something that hasn’t been worked out yet.
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