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Get Rich Slowly is taking a long weekend to work on yardwork.
While I’m engaged in manual labor, I won’t have time to meditate on personal finance. This is a perfect chance to ask what you’d like to see covered in the coming weeks. What burning personal finance questions do you have? What books would you like to see reviewed? Are there aspects of money that mystify you? Any types of material you’d like to see more often? (Or less often?) This is your chance to make a request! Also, if you have an idea for a guest entry, let me know.
Have a great weekend. I’ll see you on Monday.
This article is about Administration Friday, 4th May 2007 (by J.D. Roth)
May 4th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
I’d love to see you address the topic: “Saving for a car”. Not “Buying A Car”, but the ideal way to save for a new vehicle (i.e. invest?, savings account?, etc). What are the best options?
May 4th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
How to pick an index fund, or how to pick a mutual fund.
May 4th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
I’m interested in the relative merits of different orders for paying off loans vs. saving while in college. For example, I will be making several thousand dollars from working during this summer in between freshman and sophomore year; is it a good idea to pay down some school loans that are already accruing interest? Should I instead just save beyond an emergency fund for whatever may pop up?
May 4th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
you know - maybe this is lame - but I wouldn’t mind if you explored the ins and outs of a mortgage
May 4th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
you know - maybe this is lame
Nothing is too lame to suggest! Seriously. I make certain assumptions about what my readers already know, but sometimes I’m wrong. If there are things you’d like to know, tell me. I’ll do my best to answer your questions.
May 4th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
My burning question - Whats the best approach if one is planning to scrounge for a house downpayment?
30 yr old single income family. Can save about $300 a month and planning to go for a house in 3 yrs.
This is excluding the amount being put aside for an emergency fund (will be done with about 6 months expenses by year end) which should free another 300 starting next year.
Currently looking at money market fund like Vanguard Treasury MMF (since I am in the 15% Fec tax and around slightly above 6% state tax bracket).
I apologize for the rather long post.
May 4th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
I second Karen. I’d really like to hear the ends and outs of the famous “index funds”.
Additionally, tell us some info/books about TAXES. At least for me, I didn’t learn a whole lot about the US tax system in school — How can I get started?
May 4th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Maybe a feature on “how long have you gone without spending any money (other than fixed expenses such as mortgage, utilities, etc.).”
I always enjoy features on how to get bargains–getting coupons, good airline sites, learning how to use e-bay, shopping for a house, low-cost hobbies, etc.
Features on people who have gotten rich slowly always fascinate me. It seems like every year I read about someone who has died, who has lived a modest (and sometimes deprived) life, yet who bequeathed thousands or millions to various people and groups.
Perhaps features on what it means to be financially “rich” within the United States versus what it means in a more global context. It’s amazing and frightening to me that most of us reading these boards are globally in the top percentiles in terms of wealth. Stuff like this helps keep things in perspective, too.
Along these lines: What does it mean to be rich in China or India? What does it mean to be poor in these places?
I would enjoy a feature on personal debt in the U.S.; perhaps something that pokes beyond the McMansions and fancy cars that are often symbols–though not necessarily indicators–of wealth. Is the middle class really squeezed? Or does it just spend too much on stuff it doesn’t need?
Maybe profiles of the richest and poorest places in North America or elsewhere would be interesting (but hey, I’m a demographics nerd). What is rural poverty versus urban poverty?
Perhaps features on market/”get-rich” manias of the past, such as the tulip mania in the Netherlands in the 17th century? Or even the dot-com boom and bust of a few years ago.
May 4th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
RJ has some great ideas. I second them.
May 5th, 2007 at 5:29 am
RJ wrote “Perhaps features on market/”get-rich” manias of the past, such as the tulip mania in the Netherlands in the 17th century?”
That is an incredible story. The Irish writer Ciaran Carson mentioned this in his book “Fishing for Amber.” A single rare tulip bulb was sold in the 1630s for “two lasts of wheat, four lasts of rye, four fat oxen, eight fat swine, four fat sheep, two hogsheads of wine, four tuns of beer, two tuns of butter, one thousand pounds of cheese, a complete bed, a suit of clothes, and a silver drinking cup.”
He also mentioned that a sailor who informed a wealthy merchant that his shipment had come in; the merchant rewarded the sailor with a herring for lunch, and the sailor went back to the dock to eat it. He picked one of the tulip bulbs out of the shipment, thinking it was an onion, and had it for lunch with his herring! That was some “onion,” worth $500.00, which in those times would have been enough to feed the entire ship royally for a year.
May 5th, 2007 at 6:50 am
A detailed essay on “Why The Simple Dollar Is Better Than Get Rich Slowly” (j/k)
Actually, I think you could write a pretty good series on getting an online savings account. Sign up for HSBC and ING and maybe another one or two and write about the process and what’s good and bad about them. I would have done this myself, but I didn’t take very good notes when first signing up.
May 5th, 2007 at 7:14 am
I would like to have a financial “To do” list for the last year of college and right after college.
May 5th, 2007 at 7:33 am
This may be too controversial, but I think it might be interesting to do a post or maybe a series on how different political “philosophies” view money issues. Like communism, socialism, capitalism, republican, democrat, etc.
For instance, I’m a hardcore republican myself, and one of my good friends is a raging democrat. I will never get over the day she told me she actually wished they would raise all our taxes. Now I’m all for helping out those less fortunate, but my version of helping is to teach them to become productive members of society themselves, not to just throw more money at them. Anyway, it was an interesting discussion.
May 5th, 2007 at 8:42 am
I’m still eagerly anticipating your IRA post!
May 5th, 2007 at 9:08 am
For those who’ve managed to save some money — maybe tier the amount based on various amounts of savings / inheritance ( 10k, then 30k, then 50k, then 100k) — after retirement savings and paying off debt, what should be done with it? It seems like every post that deals with a financial windfall (inheritance, etc) just says to pay off debt and max out retirement and put it in a mutual fund. Can you go into more detail about the next steps? Is this the right time to hire a financial planner / etc?
May 5th, 2007 at 11:02 am
I really enjoy the posts about things an individual person can actually do, day-to-day, that make a difference. I also enjoy the posts along the lines of actual personal experiences. That, to me, is what blogging is about, regardless of the blog’s general topic.
Things like politics do not interest me, nor does finding an online savings account, etc., and while I am sure many folks read and enjoy those posts, I hugely appreciate that you use accurate topic titles so I can skip the ones that do not interest me.
May 5th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
More about funds, mutual & index funds, reviews to picking the right online firm for you. Funds with low minimums, high returns. Reviews on online banks, and their services. (I’d like a review on ING Direct’s mutual funds, and IRA’s)
Basics of IRA’s and how to file your taxes with an IRA.
Reviews on stock & brokerage firms. More budgeting basics and how to make your money grow. I love your ideas on how to save money, like gardens or libraries, I’d like more, more, more!
Also, links to other money blogs and sites are very usefull. Links to FREE software to help manage your money.
So, basically more investing, money management, and savings tips. Ideas on how to MAKE money without breaking the law would be good to.
May 5th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
I have two requests.
1. How to choose your first index fund.
When I go to different investment sites, I always get overwhelmed by how many options there are for even a limited scope like index funds. I know that diversification would be good, but to start, I can only pick one, so it’s tough to figure out which one that should be.
2. How does the selling of an index fund/stock work?
It seems that we talk about selling a stock or fund quite naturally, but whenever there’s a seller, there has to be a buyer. Who’s buying what you want to sell? When you sell, what price does the buyer go by(I’m under the impression from Michael’s video series that there are different ways of evaluating the price of a stock)?
May 5th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
I’m going to vote for investment allocation picks (meaning specifics…bank choices, fund choices, etc). You’ve done alot of financial reading over the past few year(s), so what’s your take on allocations?
Beyond the conventional, “save 6 months salary”, where do you think GRS readers should put their money? If these items are too time-sensitive, where do you look to find up-to-date info, and what forms your choices? Rates/reliability/consistency? What takes top priority?
May 5th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
How much of my children’s education should I cover?
Should I save money for a downpayment for my children?
How much do I really need for retirement, if most of my money now is going toward my mortgage, retirement savings, college savings and balloon payments?
May 5th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
WHAT IS WRL LIFE INSURANCE
May 6th, 2007 at 5:04 am
05/06/07 I have been reading that if the Chinese redirect their huge investment in our US Treasuries that this could portend higher interest rates (especially mortgages) and raise the prices of imported items (both of which ostensibly help the US in terms of balancing trade deficit). I own a house w/ a fixed rate for 30 years so I do not see this as a minus and I think this measn I might be able to expect higher interest on CDs etc. if I buy some -so a potential. What I do not know - does this mean I should buy some foreign currencies (ie. Yen) or invest in International stocks vs. US or what would be a good strategy as I would think this owuld slow the US enconomy tremendously. What is a good strategy under these potentials???
May 6th, 2007 at 9:42 am
I would like to hear about buying a plot of land. Not a house but just shopping and what to look for when your buying.
May 6th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Here’s an idea. What about a series of interviews from other PF bloggers on how they got to where they are? I know I just love reading posts like that. (Or perhaps a series of guest posts from various bloggers?)
CD
May 6th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Ins and outs of a mortgage would be good. Differences in IRA/401k products, how to pick an index fund, options for how to buy an index fund, and less gardening.
May 6th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Hey GRS, I have quite a pertinent request. I am attending college all-paid, so I have no use for the $1,000 I made last summer (I have a campus job that supplies my material needs well enough). That money is just sitting in my bank account right now gathering dust and a couple of bucks in interest, and while I am not that knowledgeable about personal finance I know vaguely about the stories that go “if I had invested $1,000 in such-and-such at the age of 18 I’d be a millionaire now”. I don’t even need it for emergencies because I have a separate campus job bank account with $2,000 in it and growing. What should I do with this extra money to plan for the LONG term?
May 6th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
I think what I’m remembering is something out of this book:
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/05/23/how-compound-interest-favors-the-young/
May 6th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
I’m interested in personal finance management software reviews.
May 6th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Mortgages for sure, although that’s a huge and complex field — maybe a Mortgage 101? (For those interested, I can highly recommend Dan Melson’s articles at Searchlight Crusade: lots and lots of good, frank, well-explained information.)
Maybe also Financial Math 101. How does compounding work? What is an APY and an APR? Why do investment fees matter so much? (As another aside: I found this book fantastically interesting when I borrowed it from the library.)
Mutual funds, and when an index fund isn’t really an index fund. For example, ING’s misleading Index Plus funds, which invest in the index but “attempt to exclude the weakest performers”. Plenty of examples of this in the EFT marketplace too — EFTs which track constructed pseudo-indexes.
Life insurance: what is it, when you need it, how much you need, how to buy.
Wills: when you need them, how to make a will, what is and isn’t covered by a will — for example, IRAs etc with designated beneficiaries.
Also: why Kiyosaki is a dangerous idiot. The linked article is possibly the worst, most misguided, most dangerous piece of anti-investment propaganda I’ve ever read. Sorry, Rich Dad fans, but really: it’s astonishingly wrong-headed.
May 7th, 2007 at 5:50 am
I like Ben’s idea. What do you do when you have no debt except a mortgage and some money has just come in? Do you pay down the mortgage, or do you invest in retirement?
May 7th, 2007 at 8:19 am
I’d love to hear more about the mutual funds and how to choose them–and WHY this way is better than others. I hear lots of conflicting advice, but the advisors never explain why their way is better than other common ways of choosing funds. If you only buy index funds, tell me WHY that managed-fund advisor is full of hogwash! What is the typical advice he gives, what is the benefit of it, and why is he wrong?
Index vs. Managed
General vs. Sector
Large-Cap vs. Small-Cap
Domestic vs. International
Growth vs. Value
May 7th, 2007 at 8:25 am
Buying foreclosed homes — how…is this is a good option, especially for someone (like me!) who is currently in a financial crisis…what to watch out for…etc.
May 7th, 2007 at 9:14 am
I would love to see you address a topic similar to “I just graduated from college and I’m broke: how do I start getting rich slowly?”
May 7th, 2007 at 9:15 am
Personal finance management software reviews:
http://personal-finance-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
May 7th, 2007 at 9:44 am
College Kids unite!
Seriously, I know at least a couple other comments were made about financial planning for college kids, and I’d like to see something directed that way. Most people talk about planning while you’ve got a steady cash flow–what about those of us who are too loaded with course work (i.e.: Carnegie Mellon) to hold down a job after the summer? Also, is it wise to lock away my money in investments as a student, or would I be better served to simply keep it in an accessible savings account in case of emergency/whatever? Finally, I’d like something to explain, in really simple terms, some of the concepts like IRAs and mutual funds and all those terms that I (and probably most undergrads) don’t understand.
May 7th, 2007 at 9:45 am
I’d like to see info about how to choose a good mortgage lender and what to look for when comparing mortgage options. It’s still a couple years off for me, but I’m trying to start understanding how mortgage loans work and am finding it very confusing.
I’d also like to see an article (or series of articles) tracking the life of a fictional person who starts off making, say, $20k/year in their early 20s, and works their way up to making $100k/year at the peak of their career, and then retires. So, the article would say, “When you’re making $20k, do A, B, and C. When you’re making $30k, do D, E, and F. When you’re making $50k, do G, H, and I.” This could demonstrate how to change investments and asset allocation based on your income, how much one should be saving at any given point in one’s career, etc. Everyone would fit into the timeline somewhere, so it would be applicable for all your readers.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:58 am
How to save for mid-term expenses. This may have been mentioned but I think it’s very important.
MMA or high yield savings is good for an emergency/slush fund and index/mutual funds +401k or IRA are probably the best for retirement. What about planned expenses in 5 years? How about 10 years? What would that savings look like?
If I told a good financial planner that I wanted to buy a house in “at least 10 years”, what would s/he tell me? I could pay one to do that, but the collective advice here is more varied, less self-serving (it seems), and, well, cheaper!
May 8th, 2007 at 7:52 am
Being that I am soon to be married, it would be interesting to learn about the financial impacts of this life event.
I’d like to learn more than just combining (or not) finances. What do I need to know about life insurance, will, adding my wife to the mortgage/car insurance/beneficiaries, etc.
Seems like there are a ton of little events that I’m not aware of or I’m forgetting.
It could fit nicely as part of a “Financial Stages of Life” as suggested by Ella.
November 12th, 2007 at 7:53 am
Which is more economical: Doing dishes by hand, or loading up a dishwasher? I only run a FULL load, but my Bocsh dishwasher takes 110 minutes to complete a regular cycle. It is a high efficiancy model. I’m sure that I could wash the contents, rather well, in a fraction of the time. Is it worth it?