Tag Archives: investing

Weekly Linkage: Politics, Money, and Some Music

2/26/2011 Melissa Avery-Weir

The original posting of this was horribly borked. I may be switching link-posting plugins.

Warm and Fuzzy Budgeting – "You have things that matter to you. Hopes, and goals, and dreams. This is going to sound cheesy, but I think it’s true: Your budget is simply your hopes, and goals, and dreams … on paper."
Maybe those tax incentives for creating new jobs should be for hiring a currently unemployed person | Prometheus 6 – What? How are you only going to hire people who already have jobs? "Members of Congress had urged the commission to explore the issue, after reading press reports of numerous instances in which employers and staffing agencies refused to consider the unemployed for openings."

Can I have this woman as my Rep? (Courtesy of Prometheus 6.)

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Financial Advisor: Not This One

2/25/2011 Melissa Avery-Weir 1 Comment

My first financial advisor discussions have ended with a quiet crash and burn. The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement Planning warned me about commission-based folks. I listened to them and then called him on some junk.

We met yesterday to catch up on some of the things we talked about the first time, such as pre-tax vs. post-tax investments, “real wealth” vs. “paper wealth”, etc.

Showstopper: he was trying to sell me insurance.

Lousy insurance at that.

His ideas of safe, “real wealth”, tax-protected investments were whole life and variable universal life insurance. Which he’d get a commision on for selling me.

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Weekly Linkage: The Personal Finance Edition

2/11/2011 Melissa Avery-Weir

The notables in this week’s internet cruising were mostly in personal finance. Surprise, surprise.

I picked up a couple of books from the library yesterday:

Generation Earn by Kimberly Palmer. I’m neck deep in this one already, and really liking her approach. Less conservative than Dave Ramsey, less passionate as well, but it’s not geared at those struggling and drowning, it’s geared at those of us able to look a little longer term.
The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement Planning (by a ton of folks). I’ve read a fair amount of their stuff on their wiki, but want to get a feel for their approach in a more sequential fashion.
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko, which I’m long past overdue to read.

And then there are the internets:
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Weekend linkage

8/24/2010 Melissa Avery-Weir

Just a few, since I’m so far behind on my reading (down to 425 unread items!) and I just posted a set on Friday. Enjoy.

How to Help Your Kids Build $25,000 Stock Portfolios – This is a tempting idea even with regards to something like weddings. "Help us retire together without having to eat pork-n-beans." …Naw, that doesn't work as well as with kids.
18 Five-Minute Decluttering Tips to Start Conquering Your Mess | zen habits – Since I haven't dedicated a full weekend to clearing out junk in a while, stumbling across this article was quite nice. Baby steps.
Designing Microsites: Factors To Consider – Again, this is nicely relevant to the Character Sheet Manager project.
Minimalism in Web Design: A Guide – I really like the tips here. I haven't started seriously approaching the (unauthenticated) public-facing design of the Character Sheet Manager, but since the site has such a singular focus, I'll be taking a minimalist approach to keep things clean and easy.

The spook who counted her money

7/22/2010 Melissa Avery-Weir

I finished The Spook Who Sat By the Door yesterday morning. Sam Greenlee has one hell of a knack for sharp writing, and regardless of my not being a proponent for militantism, the book struck a chord with me. Greenlee got at the heart of the loneliness of being black in a nation and profession that both expects you to act white “enough” (but only so much) and simultaneously disdains you for doing so (as you disdain yourself). It was and is a fine line to walk.

There are going to be spoilers here, but nothing that actually ruins the novelty of the book, I hope.
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