Wise Bread

Ask the Readers: Is Valentine's Day Too Commercial? (Chance to win $20!)

Linsey Knerl — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:00:12 +0000

Regardless of whether you're madly in love, or bitter about the past, Valentine's Day has gotten to be a big deal -- especially for the companies that sell little chocolates and heart-shaped jewelry. While most people rejoice in the opportunity to get some special attention on the holiday (especially after married life and kids has started to take toll), others are burnt out by the consumer message of "buy this" and feel like it's just another excuse to buy, buy, buy.

Where do you stand on the V-day debate? Are you just happy to finally get a chance to do something sweet? Do you already spend enough time with your significant other (and therefore don't need a "holiday" to enforce it)? Or are you fed up with the whole thing (broken hearts aside -- it's just a reason to feed the machine)?

We want your honest thoughts on the debate. In return for sharing your heart on the matter, you'll be entered to win one of two $20 Amazon giveaways. (Yes, that's right! We've doubled our prize money!) Dozens of readers have already won. You could be next!

Win a $20 Amazon Gift Certificate

We're doing two giveaways — one for random comments, and another one for a random tweets.

How to Enter:

Post your answer in the comments below, or
Tweet your answer. Include both "@wisebread" and "#WBAsk" in your tweet so we'll see it and count it.

If you're inspired to write a whole blog post, please link to it in the comments or tweet it.

At the end of the drawing, we'll update this post to include (and link to) all of your helpful responses.

Giveaway Rules:

Contest ends Friday, February 12th at 11:59 am CST. Winners will be announced after February 12th on the original post and via Twitter. Winners will also be contacted via email and Twitter Direct Message.
You can enter both drawings — once by leaving a comment and once by tweeting.
Only tweets that contain both "@wisebread" and "#WBAsk" will be entered. (Otherwise, we won't see it.)

Good luck!

Permalink | 42 comments | Linsey Knerl's blog | Channel: Giveaways

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Buy-and-Hold Investing: 4 Ways to Make It More Effective

WC Porter — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:00:07 +0000

By WC Porter

The buy-and-hold investing strategy is kind of like my dad's 1981 Toyota pickup truck: dependable, reliable, old, and a little raggedy looking. It's been around forever and everyone always takes it for granted.

But every time it breaks down, people tell him to dump it already. Enough with the 29-year old car already, they say.

Buy and hold investing just had a break down and everyone is rushing to claim it's no longer a valid investing strategy. If you read the news about investing, you'd think buy-and-hold was outdated, antiquated, and broken.

I do believe it needs a fresh coat of paint and maybe a new bumper, but the engine under the hood is still as sound as ever.

What the Media Says

Go to Google, type in "buy and hold dead" and you'll see what I'm talking about. Last year the stock market sucked and critics decided to run some analysis on how the S&P 500 did in the previous ten years. Here's what that would look like:

Courtesy of Yahoo! Finance

Now, most of these experts consider 10 years a really long time, which is kind of disingenuous. But what this "analysis" did was support the idea that buying a stock and holding it for a long period of time (10 years) no longer worked. Look at the data! It's over! Panic! Buy more papers and read our website!

To that I say: Paprikash!

Buy-and-hold still works, but if you're having trouble believing and want to try something to beef up your buy-and-hold investing, here are four ways to invest when you have a long-term view on a stock.

Moving Average

I read about this one over at MSN Money. The author of this story uses a 12-month moving average to determine whether it's time to buy into the stock or to sell out and put the money into something safe like bonds.

It's a pretty interesting concept since it doesn't involve a lot of buying and selling. Check out the S&P over that same period of time with the 12-month moving average line. The idea is to buy when the black line goes over the red line and sell when it goes under:

According to the chart, you should've sold off your S&P stock right at the end of 2000, and not gotten back in until mid-2003. Look at the swoon you saved yourself from! Then you would've ridden the bull market all the way up to the beginning of 2008. Oh and that crash in late 2008? You would've been safe and sound.

That's ten years and only four moves (including one false alarm in 1999) — not bad at all.

Now, I'll be perfectly frank: I think technical analysis like this is kind of junky. I would never just buy and sell when a chart told me it was time.

But if you have a long-term interest in a stock this gives you an interesting way of skipping over the bad times and being in there for the good times.

Upside: Easy to follow, few transactions to pay fees on.

Downside: Taxes are a pain unless you're in a tax-protected account like a Roth, relying on a chart.

Value Averaging

I first heard about this strategy from Cash Money Life and I had to write about it myself. It's very similar to dollar-cost averaging, which is simply making regular investments over a period of time to smooth out the ups and downs of the market. It's a very safe, very conservative strategy.

What value averaging does is smarten up your traditional dollar-cost strategy. In my own words:

You want to have $5,000 invested at the end of the year so you invest the first $1,000, then wait until your next buying period. If the market goes up, you invest less. If the market goes down, you invest more. At the end of the year, you’ve invested the same $5,000 but you’ve made small changes as to when you put your money into the market. It’s classic buy low, sell high.

For more on this strategy, check out this paper that goes into a lot more detail.

Upside: Easy, simple, conservative.

Downside: Must pay attention to the market and decide when it's "high" or "low."

Take Your Money and Run

This is one I came up with in 2008 when things started to go really bad. I was still enamored with buy and sell, but wanted to find a way to avoid some of the pitfalls.

So I started to think like a trader: take your profits when you can get them and try to minimize the losing of money. One way of doing this is to set an artificial barrier — once you gain that amount you sell off and take some profits.

This may not sound like buy and hold anymore and I don't know how much of a fan I am of this concept anymore, but it's worth a look.

Say you decide 20% is your bar. If you gain 20% in a stock, you sell off some (or all) of it to reap the rewards. Then you have to decide when to get back in, which opens up a whole can of worms.

Upside: You'll never lose money if you don't sell at a loss.

Downside: When do you buy again? Artificial barrier is very unscientific.

Options

Trading options is not as complicated as you think. In fact, in many cases they are less risky than investing in stocks. And one way to use a long-term view on a stock with options is called a covered call.

This strategy is one of the most basic options moves out there, and it works like this: you own a stock and you sell calls on those stocks. What this means is you get some money from selling the calls and you will do better than just owning the stock if it:

Stays flat
Goes down

If the stock goes up beyond the strike price of your call, your stock is still going up but you did worse that just owning the stock. Still, two out of three ain't bad.

Check out Investopedia's Covered Call entry for more details on this strategy.

Upside: Very straightforward, protects you on two out of three outcomes.

Downside: Need to learn options, open an options-trading account.

Buy-and-Hold Is Here to Stay

There are a bunch of ways of making buy and hold more attractive, and these are just four of them. I especially like the idea of using the moving average strategy in a tax-protected account like a Roth IRA and owning dividend-yielding stocks.

This way you're not exposed to the huge drops, you get your dividend payments, and you don't pay any taxes on all the times you buy in and sell off.

The fundamental engine under buy and hold's hood seems to be as good as ever, although recent events have changed a lot of people's minds.

Do you still believe in buy-and-hold?

Permalink | 3 comments | WC Porter's blog | Channel: Investment

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Best Deals for Tuesday 02/09/2010

Linsey Knerl — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:17:26 +0000

96 bags of Traditional Medicinals Tea at Amazon.com for $19 + free shipping

IKEA : Up to 50% off select in-store items, kids eat for free

Michael Buble "Special Delivery" MP3 album download only $1

Bruno Magli Footwear 75% off , Styles from $70 + $7 Shipping!

Free $25 Visa GC when you Test Drive a Kia Sorento

I Hate My Job -- Now What?

Amy Lu — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:00:09 +0000

By Amy Lu

You hate your job, but what can you do about it? First, assess your situation to determine what your next step should be. Learn how to survive at a job you hate, how to get out without hurting your career, and what you can do to not hate your next job. Use these links to jump ahead to any section.

Assessing Your Situation
Making Changes at Work
Getting Out of the Job
Finding a Job that Makes You Happy

If you recently lost your job, take a look at Wise Bread's collection of tips and resources for the recently laid off.

Assessing Your Situation

10 Important Signs Your Job Might Be Worth Staying At
Think you hate your job? Before you jump ship, see if your current job has the qualities that makes it worth staying at. Your situation may be better than you thought. By Sarah Winfrey

10 Important Signs That Your Job Sucks
You're miserable at work, but do you hate it enough to leave? Here are 10 ways to tell if your job really sucks -- and how you can fix it. By Troy Hadley

The Three F Rule Can Lead You to Happiness
The Three F Rule is a simple formula that keeps you sane and makes sure your working life doesn't go off the rails. If you don't want to hate your job, make sure you have at least two of these: fun, fame, and fortune. By Paul Michael

Do What You Love: Idealistic Nonsense Or Good Advice?
Get some advice from Gary Vaynerchuk on why everyone needs to do what they love. By WC Porter

Can you afford to follow your dreams? Can you afford NOT to?
When you hate your job, maybe it's time for a change. Maybe it's time to follow your dreams, instead -- but the prospect of such a major change can be intimindating. Sarah Winfrey and commenters discuss the pursuit of dreams and risks it involves. By Sarah Winfrey

Great Job With Average Pay vs. Sucky Job With Fantastic Pay
So, what's better? Would you rather stick with a job you hate for the money or do something you love that barely pays the bills? Paul Michael and readers weigh the pros and cons of each side. By Paul Michael

Making Changes at Work

How to Survive (and Thrive!) in a Job You Hate
Sometimes, leaving a job you hate may not be an option. However, there are ways to survive and thrive in jobs you don't like. Here are 9 secrets to making that hated job easier. By Sarah Winfrey

How to Get What You Want at Work
Even if you hate your job, you can still try to improve your work situation by having a meeting with your boss. Here are some tips on how to turn the meeting to your advantage and get what you want at work. By Sarah Winfrey

14 Behaviors & Attitudes That Can Drive Workplace Success
If you hate your job because you don't seem to be getting anywhere, changing how you behave at work and re-evaluating your attitude towards the job might do the trick. Here are some ways to achieve workplace success. By Julie Rains

Why a Lousy Job Can Lead to a Bright Future
Hating your job doesn't mean you shouldn't try to excel at it. In fact, doing well at a lousy job can help your prospects in future employment opportunities. By Julie Rains

How You Can Change Your Life in Just 45 Minutes a Day
You might hate your job, but there is still that hour in the middle of the day that's all yours (usually). Those 45 minutes every day can be the time you need to make some major changes in your life. By Jonathan Bender

Getting Out of the Job

20 Signs That a Pink Slip is Coming
So you hate your job and you'd rather not have anything to do with it. Still, that's no excuse to let a pink slip catch you by surprise. Answer these questions to see if it's time to start the job search in earnest. By Paul Michael

Walking Away (From a Job That's Going Away) on Your Own Terms
Even if you hate your job, you should still look after your interests before walking away. Here is a plan to exit a bad work situation without burning yourself. By Julie Rains

How to Get Laid Off
Hate your job but don't want to quit on your own? Being laid off is a better option, but it can be difficult if you've been doing everything right. Here are some ways to get out of a job you hate without destroying your career. By Paul Michael

10 Steps to Quitting Your Job
If you prefer a more direct approach to leaving a job you hate, this thread by forum member RickLee can help. Here are 10 steps to walking out the corporate door.

Can You Buy Your Way Out of the Rat Race?
What are the chances that you leave a job you hate, get a new job, then find that you hate your new job, too? Theoretically, you can exit the rat race altogether if you have enough capital saved or invested to live off of. The reality, however, is not so simple; it's actually really hard to buy your way out. So what can you do instead? By Philip Brewer

On Choosing Temporary Freedom
If you had the option to switch back and forth between freedom and a regular job, you might not hate your job quite so much. Here's an introduction on the concept of temporary freedom and how you can work it into your life. By Philip Brewer

Is Honesty Always the Best Policy?
If you're leaving a job you hate for something better, it's definitely time to celebrate. But if you're too enthusiastic, that might turn off your ex-coworkers/-bosses and burn some bridges you'd rather keep intact. Ask yourself these three questions to help you figure out how best to break it to your colleagues. By Sarah Winfrey

Finding a Job that Makes You Happy

Avoiding Grass-is-Always-Greener Syndrome
It's easy to imagine that working anywhere else would be better than at the job you hate now. However, if you really want to be happy at the next job, you need to identify your pet peeves and make sure they're not waiting for you at the new job, too. Here's how. By Philip Brewer

Find Your Passion
You can lower the odds of hating your next job by following your passion, but what if you don't know what your passion is? Here are some ways to find what it is that you would love to do. By Philip Brewer

Find Work Worth Doing
Simply doing work that you feel is worth the energy you put in can go a long way towards being happy, whether at your job or in your daily life. Start by making the distinction between work and a job. By Philip Brewer

For Love or Money: Must It Be One or the Other?
In further examining the intricacies of love and money, here are some concepts that further deepen the debate. By Nora Dunn

The First Step to Finding Your Dream Job
You've left the job that you hate; now, it's time to find one that you'll love. The first step to finding your dream job is to define what it is. Define your dream job by taking these steps. By Xin Lu

Location Independent Career Basics
If you hated your job because of its location, you can eliminate the issue by working at home -- or anywhere you want. A location independent career gives you the freedom to work where you want to. Here's what you need to know about location independent careers. By Nora Dunn

How Bibliophiles and Film Fanatics Can Find Success
If you've hated all the jobs you've had, it may be time to look at non-traditional avenues of income: writing reviews. Here is how book lovers and movie fanatics can make money off their hobbies. By Charissa Arsaoui

Could Online Teaching Be For You?
Not sure what you want to do after you've left the job you hate? Why not teach classes online? See if online teaching should be the next step in your career. By Margaret Garcia-Couoh

Frugal Gluten-Free Living: Gluten-Free Desserts

Sonja Stewart — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:00:03 +0000

By Sonja Stewart

Being gluten-free sometimes feels like you have a rich person disease. Trouble is, I don't know many rich people these days, but I know quite a few gluten intolerant folks. So what are us paupers to do? Rejoice! You don't need to sacrifice your wallet to satisfy your sweet tooth. I've compiled a gluten-free desert list for those watching their spending.

Chex Muddy Buddies

(These were my first venture out into the world of gluten-free desserts. My goodness. They are incredible. Highly addicting, so baker beware!)

9 cups Chex cereal
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups powdered sugar

1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.

2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Peanut Butter Cookies

(These are simple and delicious. Also, I've found they're better with the traditional Skippy peanut Butter rather than the organic, stir type. I guess all those hydrogenated oils add flavor.)

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

1. Mix all the ingredients in your mixer.

2. Get the dough and form into 1 tablespoon sized balls.

3. Place balls on cookies sheet.

4. Press fork into each ball to make familiar cookie shape.

5. Bake at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes, keeping your eye on the time. Let them cool to solidify further.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

I borrowed this flourless chocolate cake recipe from allrecipes.com.

(And you thought going gluten-free was going to kill you. Not unless it's death by chocolate! Introducing the mother of all gluten-free desserts. Bon appetit!)

1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
18 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
6 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch round cake pan and set aside.

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.

3. Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.

4. Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

6. Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.

Gluten-free Nestle Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

(These cookies are a bit more crummy than I like, but they pass the taste test with flying colors.)

This recipe is adapted from the Nestle Tollhouse website.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour, (scroll down for it)
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chocolate chips.

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt in small bowl.

3. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels.

6. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

7. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool before taking off the pan.

After testing out these recipes, you'll be well on your way to getting familiar with your gluten-free ingredients. Enjoy a healthier, tastier, and budget friendly life.

Permalink | 2 comments | Sonja Stewart's blog | Channel: Food and Drink, Health and Beauty

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Best of Personal Finance Roundup: 14 Great Ways to Be Miserable

Linsey Knerl — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:34:07 +0000

By Linsey Knerl

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best of Personal Finance roundup. Today, we share the 14 ways to ensure you'll stay miserable, 3 cool tricks to finding online deals with Google, and whether sea salt is really better than table salt!

Best Deals for Monday 02/08/2010

Linsey Knerl — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:08:27 +0000

Free Grand Slam Breakfast on 02/09

50% to 75% off Puma shoes and apparel at 6pm.com: Deals from $8 + $7 s&h

Shaun White Snowboarding for Xbox 360 for $12 + free shipping

Garmin nuvi 285WT 4.3" Bluetooth GPS Navigator w/ traffic for $100 + free shipping

Free Burt’s Bees Natural Toothpaste Sample

Fantastic Phone Services for People on the Go

Sasha A. Rae — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:00:02 +0000

By Sasha A. Rae

You’re ready to hit the road, but you’re not sure how to stay connected while you’re out there. Or you just rolled back into town after a stint abroad and haven’t hooked up your cell service yet. You don’t have to. There are so many options for staying hooked up phone-wise whether you’re at home or on the road, especially if you tend to bounce between places that have different cell phone coverage areas. Or none at all.

Before you invest in a pricey cell phone plan, check out some of these phone services. They can save you a pretty penny and keep you connected anywhere you go.

RingCentral

One good one is RingCentral, which gives you a phone, fax, calling card, and local or toll-free number all in one. Once you sign up for a service, you can program your 800 number to ring up to four separate phones looking for you. So it can ring a home number, a work line, a cell phone, or any number that you’re at while on the road. This is especially useful when you travel out of cell phone range, but need to receive some calls. Another cool feature is internet faxing and email voice message notifications. Downside? The 800 numbers and calling card function only work in the U.S.

eVoice

Another stellar option if you’re mobile, but need to get your calls, is eVoice. With some of the same features that RingCentral offers, eVoice also lets you receive email or text notifications of voicemail messages. You can also get a local or toll-free number and have it track you down. No faxing available, though.

Phone.com

Phone.com is a great one too. With different greeting options for before and after business hours, voicemail, unlimited minutes, and call routing, Phone.com can help you present a big business image even if you’re a one-person operation. Plus, it’s easy to grab or receive voicemail messages no matter where you are, and you can do three-way conference calls too. Not a bad option for a small business or an entrepreneur who travels a lot.

Google Voice

The newest technology out in this area is Google Voice, which offers free phone services on your current number. You can have voicemail messages transcribed and sent to you via email or SMS. It also gives you custom greeting options and a lower price on international calls. Google Voice integrates so well with your Gmail account and makes it simple to keep connected from anywhere. Downside? It’s offered by invitation only, so you’ll need to sign up and wait to be contacted before you can use it.

Vonage

If you’re sticking around town and need a super cheap, but wonderfully functional, phone service, check out Vonage voice over IP services. While the other plans mentioned are strictly U.S.-based and focus on domestic calling, Vonage is a good bet if you chat a lot with people overseas because it gives you unlimited minutes for calls to landlines in over 60 countries. You do have to have DSL and a regular phone to use it.

Skype

And then there’s Skype, which gives you free unlimited chat time from your computer to theirs. And you can use web cams or have conference calls. Downsides? Skype gets mighty expensive when you use it to dial someone directly and you have to schedule the calls you make over the computer.

Prepaid Cell Phone

If all else fails, there’s always the prepaid cell phone. The main drawback is that you lose the number if you cancel the service instead of rolling it over to another plan. With the others, you can pay less and keep the same number for years. And there’s rarely a hefty cancellation fee. Plus, even a minimal plan from RingCentral or Vonage will cost you less than a typical cell phone plan.

So sign up and get talking. Your peeps need you.

Permalink | 5 comments | Sasha A. Rae's blog | Channel: Entrepreneurship, Technology

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Frugal Gluten-Free Living: Homemade Gluten-Free Noodles

Sonja Stewart — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:00:02 +0000

By Sonja Stewart

I live in a place without a Trader Joe's. I know. Torture. Especially when they are the most cost effective carrier of all things gluten-free. So, if you live somewhere isolated, as I do, or just feel like saving money and having fun making your own delicious gluten-free noodles, this will help you on your way.

These gluten-free noodles are easy to prepare and they can store inside your refrigerator for up to a week and a half. The greatest part is, once they're done, it only takes a few minutes to cook since they're fresh. And trust me, your gluten grubbing friends won't be able to tell the difference. They aren't sticky and lack that annoying texture that most rice noodles have.

I took a gluten-free noodle recipe from Gluten Free Sox Fan and adapted it to make my own version.

Just to remind you, the gluten-free all purpose flour mix is:

3 Parts Cornstarch
3 Parts Brown Rice Flour
2 Parts Soy Flour
1 Part Masa Flour

Mix up a bunch of this stuff and have it handy for recipes like this and others I'll be throwing at you. I try to buy in bulk and mix it all in a big 25 gallon airtight container. Just be sure to mix the flours pretty thoroughly.

Gluten-Free Noodles

1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour mix
2 Teaspoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Eggs (lightly beaten)

Throw it all in your mixer for a few minutes. I don't use the dough hook because I find it doesn't get it all mixed as well as I like. I use the paddle looking thing with holes. Then I take the dough and knead it around in my hands a bit. If this is your first time working with gluten-free dough, you'll notice the texture is considerably more sticky than you'd like. That's okay. With practice you'll get used to working with it. Use a little of the gluten-free all purpose mix to dust the dough. You'll want to take your dough ball and divide it into four smaller balls for the pasta machine.

**If You Don't Have a Pasta Machine

Don't be discouraged. Just roll out the dough until it gets as thin as you possibly can make it. Then take a pizza cutter and cut nice long noodles. They won't be perfect, but hey, you'll still be able to have your noodle and eat it, too. Remember to use a spatula to scrape away the dough, and be generous with your flour sprinklings.

Then take your pasta machine. Set it up so it's nice and firmly attached to your clean surfaced area. Press the small dough ball through the machine on the lowest (thickest) setting. It will come out in clumpy blobs and you'll want to throw it all away and give up. But trust me. This will work and you're not a failure...not yet.

Put the lacerated-looking dough on a plate and do your best to make a flat area, and don't worry about the gaping holes. Use a good spatula to scrap it off the plate if it sticks. Remember a good spatula is your greatest asset in gluten-free cooking.

Put it through the pasta machine again. This time it will seem less like a horror film. There will still be holes, but fold it over and run it through again. You'll notice with each run through the machine, your dough will look more consistent. Just refold before each run-through.

Turn up the knob (for a thinner noodle), until you reach the desired consistency. (By the way, young kids are perfect helpers when it comes to cranking the knob.) Then run the dough through the noodle slicer. I chose the fettuccine style for this batch.

Throw the noodles in boiling water for about three minutes, depending on how thin you made them. Don't overcook them. I drain them in a colander and spray cold water over to prevent them from cooking any more.

Remember how much you loved noodles? Seriously, these are divine. I usually double or triple the recipe and throw the extras (before cooking) in the refrigerator in a container with a lid. Then we've got noodles all week for when the kids are begging for “Nearly Mac N Cheese.” I'll leave you with the recipe. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Nearly Mac N Cheese

One batch of Gluten-Free Noodles
One cup of milk
One cup of shredded cheddar cheese
One tablespoon gluten-free all purpose flour.

Mix the milk, cheese and flour in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until barely bubbling and until it reaches the desired consistency. Add noodles. Enjoy. Get ready for kids to ask for seconds.

Yummy "Nearly Mac N Cheese"!

Permalink | 1 comment | Sonja Stewart's blog | Channel: Food and Drink, Health and Beauty, Shopping

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Only Celebrate A Few Select Birthdays

Paul Michael — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:00:02 +0000

By Paul Michael

What if we suddenly stopped celebrating every single birthday in our lives, and instead concentrated on just the important ones? Would you care? Would you support it? I’ll tell you one thing…we’d all save a bunch of money.

The idea comes from one of my favorite comedians, Patton Oswalt. If you don’t know the name, you’ll certainly know the voice; he played Remy in Ratatouille. He was also Spence Olchrin in The King Of Queens, and he’s an exceptional comedian.

On his CD Werewolves And Lollipops he outlines a plan to stop the celebration of most birthdays, saying that there’s nothing special about most of them. And, he’s right. What’s so special about hitting 36 (my next birthday)? Or 42? Or even 14? They’re not landmark dates in your existence. They’re just another year.

The full list is printed below, and you can also listen to Patton (be warned, Patton uses language that is NSFW).

Birthdays you can and cannot celebrate.

1 thru 9 — YES. You’re a little kid, and kids should get to celebrate birthdays.

10 — YES. You’ve entered the double digits. Something different has happened, you get a birthday.

11-12 — NO. Nothing special about those years.

13 — YES. Now you’re a teenager, and that’s worth celebrating.

14-15 — NO. Again, nothing special here.

16 — YES. The laws have changed. Now you can drive, that’s worth celebrating.

17 — NO. What’s special about being 17? Exactly.

18 — YES. Awesome birthday. You can vote and own a gun. This is all worth celebrating (and if you’re in other countries including England, you can drink alcohol). Now that is worth a party.

19 — YES. It’s your last year as a teenager.

20 — YES. You’ve entered your twenties.

21 — YES. Awesome birthday, you’re as adult as you can get. Hit the bars.

And then…only one birthday every 10 years (30, 40, 50, 60 and so on) until you hit 90. After 90, you get a birthday every year because one law no longer applies to you!

Now, as 90 is a rare age for most of us to reach, I’d say most of us are in for 22-23 birthday celebrations in our lifetime. That’s a lot less than 70-80. And think of all the money that we wouldn’t have to spend. At Hallmark, they’d see their profits go down the toilet, but personally I wouldn’t shed a tear. Charging an average of $5 for a piece of card you read once and throw away is something of an extravagance anyway. And think of all the trees and resources we’d save!

Not only that, but once you reach the adult years, you usually don’t want for that much anyway. As a kid, you have no income. Your birthdays are what you rely on for toys, clothes, games, and candy. But as a 36 year old, I’ll be getting stuff for my birthday that I could afford anyway. I usually have to search my brain for days to come with ideas for people. And they’re the same. My dad’s birthday is in a few weeks. He had no idea what he wanted, so I bought him some DVDs. He’s probably seen them, he may even have them, and who knows if he even wants them.

Now I’m not saying we should treat the day like any other. By all means, go have a few drinks after work or take a trip to the movies. Have a good meal. But do we really need to continue spending all of this money on each other, buying junk we don’t need for people who don’t want anything, just because we’ve reached the grand old age of 27 or 43? Many people in this world would be thankful for a healthy meal and sanitary water every day, and the money we throw at each other on gifts, cards, and endless wrapping could more than pay for that.

This idea may have started as a joke, but I think it’s far from just a bit of comic relief. Think it over.

Permalink | 25 comments | Paul Michael's blog | Channel: Lifestyle

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Save Money and Still Show Love on Valentine's Day

Tisha Tolar — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:00:07 +0000

By Tisha Tolar

There are the cynics that say Valentine’s Day is a retail racket meant to guilt people into spending too much to prove their eternal love to others, but there are also many consumers who will still go out of their budget to buy some pretty impractical things. The Valentine’s Day celebration often includes expensive jewelry, cards, candy, and flowers but as times change, more people are constricted by tight budgets and obsessing about not being able to do more this year.

Fear not! There is hope for all. Here are some tips to keep your love spirits high, your loved ones happy, and your budget intact for Valentine’s Day.

Order Now

If you are shopping for flowers or shipping candy, you should place your order ASAP to avoid paying rush charges or extra shipping and handling. The beginning of February will signal the start of premium pricing so get your order in now. Flowers in particular may be affected in pricing this year due to the cold weather. Flower suppliers are reporting instances of slowed production, especially for roses which means florists will be paying higher prices and passing along to their customers even higher ones.

A Rose is a Rose — Buy Something Else

Chances are good your gal likes some other kind of flower than just a rose. Long-stemmed roses are the most popular, and red long-stemmed roses are the most expensive. Ask about other kinds of bouquet arrangements that can be made using another favorite flower or color. To save even more, choose something that is in season. If you must get roses, buy just one to present in person or mix other flowers in with a rose arrangement to bring down the cost.

Bring on the Coupons

Many online retailers will be happy to accept a discount coupon with a purchase. There are a ton of sites that offer coupons for popular online vendors including FTD. However, the trick of the coupon game is to get the order in early as many coupons expire at the beginning of February. There is no shame in getting a good deal.

Be Non-Traditional with a Delivery

If you plan to send your sweetums flowers or candy, don’t mark the 14th as a delivery date. This year Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday so you can be assured delivery charges will be higher than normal. Ask for delivery on Thursday or Friday. Not only will you be saving money, you might also earn bonus points for sending gifts to the office early as a surprise.

Agree to Be Frugal

If financial constraints are not a secret amongst loved ones, agree to skip the retail craziness of Love Day and do something free. Visit a museum, have a carpet picnic, stay in bed — whatever it is you decide to do choose it together and enjoy the quality time, which is far more priceless than any gift could ever be.

Permalink | 11 comments | Tisha Tolar's blog | Channel: Shopping

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It's Hip to Be Square: Processing Credit Cards On Your Phone

Tahera — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:00:12 +0000

By Tahera

It’s safe to say, of late, you can do just about everything but brush your teeth with an iPhone. You’re always wondering what else the creatives at Apple are going to think of next. Well, the next marvel is credit card processing using any credit card with your phone!

In December 2009, Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, launched a new application that allows iPhone users to process credit cards using their phones. Under a new venture, called Square, Dorsey hopes to take credit card processing to a new mobile high.

To use the credit card processor, the user needs to attach a specialized dongle to the headphone jack of the iPhone, (it even works with an iPod touch, as it uses the wireless function to process the transaction). Then, using a specialized application, the user can swipe a credit card through the dongle and process the charge. (Food for thought — if it uses the headphone jack to attach to...will it soon be available for any mobile phone that uses wireless?)

As Dorsey plans to give the actual dongles away — You have to ask “how is he going to make money through this?” Well it will be through the application required to process the credit card transaction. App downloads are a big business in the Apple world, and Dorsey has been quoted to say he might charge $1 per application download in order to make money on his Square idea.

The guys that will benefit the most with this type of application are small businesses that are often forced to go on a cash basis for sales, as they cannot afford to pay the transactional costs associated with having a card machine. Think street vendors, seasonal businesses, or businesses that do not have a traditional brick and mortar location. The attic clearout in the next street garden may be Square run!

As with anything, each comes with its fair share of disadvantages or drawbacks.
Credit card processing is only available if the network is available. Go out of network and one is out of luck. While a business owner might look at each sale as “make or break,” it may not constitute an emergency call. Who verifies those emergency calls when the cell phone advertises “emergency calls only”?
What about the criminal element? As the device does not require much verification for the transaction to take place, are we increasing credit card fraud? What about con artists starting sham businesses with the purpose of running up unauthorized charges for the day?
Could a third party steal the credit card processing information as it is being processed? Could blue-tooth technology or other method allow the theft of mobile credit card processing data? Just like the fear at ATM machines, this iPhone or iPod taking payment actually belongs to a person that may have tampered with the device in order to collect your personal information.
The dongle is attached at the bottom of the cell phone. It might get damaged, fall out, or be stolen. While the inconvenience to a headphone user would be minimal, the impact to a small business owner about to lose their day’s credit card sales could be phenomenal.

How much of an impact will Square actually make in the mobile phone world? It is hard to say, since the focus is mostly on the small business owner right now. Competition is usually a good thing, driving companies to improve their products, lower prices, or do something else to maintain or grow their market share.

In January 2010, another company called Mophie, was scheduled to launch a new cell phone that has a credit card reader included at the bottom of their IPhone. Using third party software, this reader will also allow the cell phone owner to process credit cards over their phone. As the reader is an integrated part of the cell phone, it appears that damage to the reading device is minimized.

What will the future of credit card processing hold for you?

Best of Personal Finance Roundup: 50+ Cheap and Healthy Party Foods for the Super Bowl

Linsey Knerl — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:38:29 +0000

By Linsey Knerl

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best of Personal Finance roundup. Today, we share over 50 cheap and healthy party foods you can serve during the "Big Game", why bonds may not be the safe investment you thought they were, and how you can use a bowl of rice and some rubbing alcohol to (possibly) save that waterlogged cell phone.

Best Deals for Friday 02/05/2010

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Free Granola Bar at Starbucks

Why I Didn't Pay My Mortgage Off In Full

Joel Ohman — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:00:02 +0000

By Joel Ohman

Getting out of credit card debt, paying off all student loans, and paying off their mortgage in full ASAP is the #1 goal of almost every personal finance blogger on the Wise Bread Top Personal Finance Blogs List, but what if they have it all wrong?

OK, as the owner of Credit Card Chaser, I will be the first one to admit that going into credit card debt = bad. Why? As you can tell from the true cost of credit cards calculator, if you buy something with your credit card and don’t pay off the balance in full the first month, then that $50 tank of gas can start to balloon to close to $60 (and you’ll make payments on your 20% interest credit card for a year and a half). If you fill up your tank every week, before you know it, you are essentially tacking on an “I like to carry a balance” surcharge onto every tank of gas you buy.

If carrying credit card debt is so bad, then why did I pass on the opportunity to pay off the $270,000 that was (and still is) remaining on my home mortgage last year? Isn’t the Holy Grail of all personal finance bloggers to get to the place where they can say that they are “100% debt free” and then put up all kinds of fancy progress bars and charts and graphs on the sidebar of their blog boasting about their “freedom from debt” and their ever increasing net worth?

For many people, it’s a noble and wise goal to pay down their mortgage as quickly as possible. For many others, however, paying off their mortgage in full earlier than they have to could be a huge mistake.

“LOAN” — The 4 letter word that shouldn’t be a 4 letter word

When you read the word “loan” on many personal finance blogs, the word is treated as either a necessary evil at best (i.e. “I was approved for my home loan, but I am going to make extra payments so I can pay it off as quickly as possibly”) or the spawn of “you-know-who” from “you-know-where.”

I would submit that getting a loan can be a great tool for building wealth, if and only if, the loan is used in the right way and for the right things.

What is the right way and what are the right things? I am glad you asked.

Arbitrage, ROI, NPV, WACC, & other fun stuff to bore a date with

Just in case you have never bothered to read the Wall Street Journal, perused Yahoo Finance, or spent a quiet relaxing night at home curled up on the couch reading the latest SEC filings (or if you have never taken a basic business class, for that matter) then you will not know that almost every company whether public or private, large or small, usually uses some sort of debt in order to increase its profit and build long term wealth.

For everyone else that has done any of the above things, you will admit that debt can be a powerful tool for many companies to use in accelerating their profit potential. For anyone that has taken a finance course, then you have likely heard more than you care to know about calculating the ROI, NPV, WACC, and other measures commonly used to help make business decisions that often include debt financing.

If many financial experts, analysts, and personal finance bloggers alike are quick to applaud the numerous ultra profitable and ultra successful companies that use debt as a means to build wealth, then why on the micro level is debt viewed in an entirely different way?

The Business of “YOU”

I own 4 different businesses that generate a very healthy ROI, so when one of my businesses was fortunate enough to sell a business asset in the high 6 figure range this past year, I was confronted with the fun situation of deciding how I should best put that large (for me) amount of cash to work.

I could take the advice of most personal finance bloggers and pay off the approximately $270,000 that was left on my mortgage and costing me somewhere in the neighborhood of 5% or a little less (after factoring in the tax savings of the home mortgage interest deduction) with one fell swoop and still have almost 2/3 of the lump sum of cash to use for other purposes. OR I could invest that money back into my business that was currently generating an ROI of much higher than the 5% my home mortgage was costing me and make that home loan accelerate the creation of wealth.

As you can already guess from the title of this article, I chose not to pay off my mortgage. I used the majority of the money to re-invest back into my business, because yes, I could essentially “make” 5% by paying off my mortgage in full early but if the ROI of my business was 20% (not the exact number, but just chosen for illustration’s sake) then even after factoring in the cost of the debt, I would still roughly net 15%.

Yes, there are many different things to consider before making a decision like this because risk tolerance, the certainty of future cash flows, the confidence that one has in their ability or their businesses’ ability to maintain a certain level of performance, and even the availability of investment/business opportunities yielding a comparatively high ROI are all a factor — among many others.

The Challenge

My challenge to you is two-fold.

First, understand that personal finance is, in fact, very personal. Just because 9 out of 10 of your favorite personal finance bloggers or “experts” tell you to do something because generally it is the best advice for most people, that does not mean that that is the best thing for you to do.

Second, calculate how much your money is worth to you. What is the opportunity cost of “doing the safe thing” and paying off your mortgage early? What is the ROI of investing into your business or investing into yourself (via education, training, etc.)? Are there arbitrage opportunities or even simply good uses of debt where you can earn a positive ROI by using debt to your advantage?

What do YOU think?

BONUS: If you are one of those people that are just looking for an excuse to think that it’s OK to go into debt so that you can buy a big screen TV or a Jet Ski then stop, do not pass go, do not collect $200, and immediately re-read this entire article and then write on the chalk board 100 times: “I will only use debt to buy appreciating and/or income producing assets. I will only use debt to buy appr-”

Well, you get the picture.

Used Toyotas Are Being Discounted. Would You Buy One?

Xin Lu — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:00:10 +0000

By Xin Lu

Recently Toyota Motor Corp. has been plagued with bad news as it recalled millions of cars and stopped selling several of its products affected with braking issues. These problems have prompted Kelley Blue Book, the pricing guide for used car transactions, to lower suggested rates on the affected Toyota vehicles by 1 to 3 percent, and a company spokesperson said "there may be further devaluation ahead." Would you buy one of these vehicles despite of these issues?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's February 1st advisory lists the recalled Toyota vehicles as the following:

Pedal Entrapment recall:

2007-2010 Camry
2005-2010 Avalon
2004-2009 Prius
2005-2010 Tacoma
2007-2010 Tundra
2007-2010 ES 350
2006-2010 IS 250 and IS350
2008-2010 Highlander
2009-2010 Corolla
2009-2010 Venza
2009-2010 Matrix
2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe

Sticky Pedal Recall:

2007-2008 Tundra
2008-2010 Sequoia
2005-2010 Avalon
2007-2010 Camry
2009-2010 Corolla
2009-2010 Matrix
2009-2010 RAV4
2010 Highlander
2009-2010 Vibe

Additionally, the 2010 Prius is currently under investigation for a software bug in its anti-lock brake system that causes a less than one second lag when the system is engaged.

If you are in the market for a used Toyota, Lexus, or Pontiac you have a lot of possibly discounted models to choose from. Right now I think that Toyota's reputation as the maker of a safe and reliable car is severely tarnished even as it is trying to make repairs on millions of cars. It is possible that many Toyota owners will be looking to get rid of the affected vehicles and further devalue these models on the used cars market.

If you trust that Toyota repaired the issue, there may be a good deal out there for a used Toyota that is less than 10 years old. I guess the old cliche "they don't make them like they used to" is really true in this case.

Permalink | 25 comments | Xin Lu's blog | Channel: Cars and Transportation, Consumer Affairs

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10 Budget-Friendly Ways to Get it Right This Valentine's Day and Beyond

Jennifer Jolly — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:33:13 +0000

By Jennifer Jolly

If you’re about to make a mad dash to order some flowers, grab a box of heart-shaped chocolate, pick through the last of the greeting cards at the local supermarket, or buy the one you love a (gasp) sweater, let me just stop you right now. Chances are, you’re doing this whole “show your love” thing all wrong.

According to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation, the average person will spend $103 for Valentines this year. That’s a lot of money, especially if you have yet to make a dent paying off the bills you ran up over the holidays. The survey also shows that more people than ever plan to give someone “a practical gift like a sweater.” Since all the December shopping surveys showed that most people hate getting sweaters, we need to re-think “practical” gift giving as well.

Here’s what we all seem to agree that we do like: something personal that shows you actually thought about us. So how do we show our love without forking over fistfuls of cash for flowers that last about as long as our first grade-school crush? I’ve put together a list of unique, inexpensive gifts, that don’t scream, “I am a total procrastinating cheapskate.”

1. Name your own price for flowers

Pricefalls uses a ‘Dutch Auction’ or descending pricing model, where prices drop as the auction continues. That means you can set a price for what you’re willing to pay and “win” fresh flowers delivered to your sweetheart for an average of 10-20% less than everyone else is paying. The site also shows you how much the shipping will cost right on the main page. Procrastinators take note: you can make last minute orders right up till February 13th — even for jewelry and perfume.

Cost: A dozen roses are starting at about $40 on the site right now, but a friend of mine just bid $23 and won it!

2. Create your own chocolate

With chocri, you can create your own chocolate bar by choosing a base chocolate (dark, milk, or white) — and your favorites from more than 100 toppings — which allows for more than 10 billion possibilities. In addition, you can give your creation a personalized name, like “Jennifer’s Sweet Kiss” for your Valentine. This German-based company hand-makes each bar with fair trade, organic chocolate, and 1% of each purchase is donated to charity.

Cost: Price starts at $8.

3. Create a personalized romance novel

Yournovel is a service that creates personalized romance novels that can be turned into eBooks or custom printed and professionally bound books. (You can even put your own photograph on the cover.) You fill in a 26 question survey, choose from one of their 30 titles, and then decide on a "wild" or "mild" overall theme.

Cost: $20 for an eBook that is sent within a few hours. Deadline for printed books is 2/5.

4. Personalized love journals

What I Love About You (Broadway Books) and The Book Of Us (Hyperion Press) are fill-in journals created by the Marshalls who have been married since 1984 (!) to offer a fresh way for couples to say "I love you." This fill-in-the-blank book prompts you to say what is in your heart, but may not always be at the tip of your tongue. My favorite prompt: “If we'd first met in a comic strip, the thought bubble over my head would have said...” Both journals are available wherever books are sold (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.).

Cost: $15 (per book)

5. Romantic treasure hunt

My mom used to hide our Valentine treat and have us go on a treasure hunt to find it. I absolutely loved finding my little box of heart chocolates hidden under the stack of towels in the linen closet after an hour-long search. But, if you don’t want to do it yourself, a company called Masters of the Hunt has it all ready to go for you. All you do is go to their website, buy the kit, and download it right then and there. It gives you a series of customizable clues to lead you to your final “treasure” which can be a naked game of Twister or even a marriage proposal (or both).

Cost: $17

6. Valentine goody box

Baking for Good is an online bakery that gives 15% of every purchase back to a charity of your choice. From decadent brownies and divine blondies, to crispy marshmallow squares dressed in brown butter and toffee, giving back has never tasted so good. Every purchase is baked fresh to order, wrapped in eco-friendly packaging, and promptly shipped right to you.

Cost: Large Valentine Box $45

7. Sweet nothings that mean more than anything

Charles J. Orlando, the author of The Problem with Women...is Men says the best gift he ever gave was a jar of little love notes to his wife. “One Valentine’s Day, I went to a crafts store and bought an unusual jar — a bit squatty, with a unique lid — and I hand-painted it. I then wrote my thoughts — by hand, on little slips of paper: 1,000 reasons why I love her. That jar sits on our mantle, and she regards it as the best gift she has ever received.” My own daughter did this for me (with the help of a friend) when she was four and I agree — this is the best present I’ve ever gotten.

Cost: $10 for the jar

8. Clean the bathroom

As Neil Ellington at CESI Debt Solutions says, “Sometimes the best gifts don’t come in a box.” I would LOVE it if my partner did one of those dreaded tasks that are constantly hanging over my head, like detailing my car or organizing the basement clutter. Is there something you can do for your spouse of loved one to show you care?

Cost: A little bit of elbow grease and a whole lot of love

9. Personalized music video

If you haven’t discovered Animoto by now, it’s high time you did. Just upload your photos and videos, add text, pick a song and in less than a minute, this online service creates a video with the visual energy of a music video and the emotional impact of a movie trailer.You can email the video to your loved one and/or post it to a blog, YouTube, Twitter, social networks or mobile devices.

Cost: 30-second videos are free, full-length videos are $3

10. Re-create your first date

This is a great one for men and women alike. Plot out a re-do of your first date or something close to it. It doesn’t matter if your first date was last month or 30 years ago. Wear the same clothes (or close to it), do your hair the same way. Go back to the same restaurant or park (whatever you did that first time). If you live somewhere totally different now, recreate the scene at home. Do it as authentically as possible. Make it a surprise.

Cost: Depends on that first date!

The 10-Step Staircase to a Comfortable Retirement

Steve Klingaman — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:00:13 +0000

By Steve Klingaman

The secret to saving enough for retirement is simple. Start early and increase the amount you save over time. For many people the hardest step on the journey is that first one. Think of saving for retirement as climbing a staircase. Step One is to save enough money each year to receive the full employer match available to you under your company 401k plan. Often, this is around six percent of salary.

Why is this step so important? One, it gets you in the game. Two, the employer match is free money. Depending on the generosity of your company plan, the employer match could equal anywhere from a 25 percent return on investment to a 100 percent return. Nowhere else in the investment universe do you find returns like this so easy to attain.

In order to get started, you may need to construct a budget and cut some expenses. Two of the usual suspect categories are a) “walking around money,” the kind you withdraw from an ATM or put on your debit card, and b) take-out food. Master these two categories and you will save enough to get started.

One Step a Year

Once you are saving something, plan to increase the amount you save by one percent a year. Make a pact with yourself that you will do this like clockwork every year for ten years, until you are saving 16 percent of your salary. Think of it as climbing a staircase one step at a time, one step per year. If you start saving six percent a year at the age of 30, you will reach your goal by the age of 40. By that time, in comparison with the average saver, you will be at the top of the class.

This regimen may not make you rich in retirement, but it should easily put you easily in the top 10 percent of American savers. According to the 2008 Employee Benefit Research Institute survey, Americans in their 40s with a job tenure of between 10 and 20 years have an average of $65,512 in their 401k plans.

If You Start Early, Time is on your Side

Remember: the earlier you start, the easier it gets. Dollars put away while you are in your twenties have up to 10 times the earning power of dollars saved later.

If you started saving six percent of your salary per year at the age of 25, based on a salary of $30,000, an employer match of 50% and an annual return of 8%, and you just left that arrangement on autopilot. Even without a raise throughout your life, you would amass $750,000. This is far more than the average 401k contains today. But our method combined with your growing salary may net you, believe it or not, something in the range of $2 million dollars. But if you wait until you are 40 to start saving, even if you save a much higher percentage of your income, odds are great you will never crack a million.

If you want to run a few numbers yourself, Bloomberg and CNNMoney offer online retirement calculators. Neither of these, unfortunately, allows you to model the stair-step method featured here.

Adjust Your Allocations as You Age

Consider sensible, yet aggressive, market allocations for the long haul. You do not need to restrict yourself to “investing your age” in stocks. This is an old rule that says whatever your age is, subtract it from 100, and that should be the percentage you have in stocks. That is too conservative if you are only 30 or 40 years old. According to US News, retirement savers in their 30s, invest roughly two-thirds of their portfolio in stocks. That’s too conservative. Many experts say you can put as much as 80 or 85% of your money in stocks at the age of 30. Find your comfort zone and then, as you get older, consider transferring some percentage of your holdings to your bond fund every year that stocks rise.

On the other hand, 100% in stocks is never appropriate. Studies show that a 90-10 stock-bond allocation is appreciably safer than keeping it all in stocks, while the investment return is just a fraction of a point less than an all-stock portfolio. And an 80-20 split doesn’t earn a lot less than a 90-10 split. Moreover, of course, it is less risky still.

Use Index Funds

John Bogle, the pioneering founder of Vanguard Investments, observed years ago that most people give up a good bit of their potential investment returns by chasing returns of previous winners and spending too much on investment costs.

Instead of trying to pick winners (which no one can do reliably over time), Bogle suggested the investor buy the entire market through an index fund and trade only to rebalance allocations for annual investment earnings and long-term risk adjustment. Thus, the birth of the couch potato portfolio—the amazing breakthrough designed to prevent the investors from becoming their own worst enemies.

Unfortunately, many companies do not offer index funds in their 401k plans. If this is the case, ask your company to introduce one or more. Mention Vanguard as an example. Their premier index fund is called the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. Other companies offer similar products. You will need a bond index fund, too.

Wise investors invest in international markets as well as U.S. stock funds. Often, you will see 20 to 25% of the amount invested in stocks allocated to offshore funds. There are other wrinkles as well, but you can get started with just three funds: a domestic stock index fund, an international fund, and a long-term bond index fund.

One important tip is to rebalance your portfolio at least once a year. If stocks have a good year and increase by 10 percent, your 75-25 stock-bond allocation will be knocked out of whack. It may look like a 77-23 portfolio by the end of the year. Transfer some of those earnings back to your bond fund to regain the 75-25 target allocation. This forces you to do what only the most brilliant investors do: buy low and sell high. (Other than rebalancing, resist the urge to tweak your allocations.)

Discipline helps in tough times. Even if your employer suspends the match, as many have done during the economic meltdown, maintain your Step One investment. Oh, and never borrow from your plan. Repeat: do not touch this money during your working years. You are better off taking a temporary or second job rather that raiding your nest egg. If you do, chances are very great you will never make it up. So make imminent starvation the bar for raiding the piggy bank.

Defined contribution retirement plans, or 401ks, are pretty much the only game in town when it comes to saving for retirement these days. Learning to invest wisely and sufficiently in a 401k will put you in the top echelon of individual savers. It will make you feel better about your money life. Saving for retirement is one of the Big Three economic commitments in life: retirement, house, education. So give it your best shot — one step at a time, one percentage point a year.

Best Deals for Thursday 02/04/2010

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60% to 80% off Oakley sunglasses, apparel: Deals from $6 + $7 s&h

Guitar Hero World Tour Band Kit for Xbox 360 for $79 + free shipping

Free Download of Assemble for iPhone / iPod touch

Online Tax Payment and Filing for Small Businesses

Thursday Bram — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:00:02 +0000

By Thursday Bram

The IRS wants businesses to pay their taxes online, as well as file their taxes online. It's faster, eliminates the need for the IRS to have people open envelopes and process paperwork and has been running for more than a decade.

The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System

The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (or EFTPS) offers taxpayers the technology to make payments online. You can submit all federal taxes through the system, either online or by phone. That includes quarterly estimated taxes — even if you wish to make payments weekly, monthly or quarterly. The payment is deducted from your bank account and sent to the Department of Treasury. You can even schedule payments ahead of time if need be.

EFTPS has been in place since 1996. In that time, more than 901 million electronic payments have been made through it. You will need to enroll online to use it; the site uses the highest level of security available and requires you to use a secure browser with 128-bit encryption in order to access it. Since not only will you be submitting your EIN or Social Security number through the site, but also information about your bank account, that level of security is reassuring.

It is free to submit payments through EFTPS. Some payroll processors will handle payroll tax payments through EFTPS, although you'll need to check with any processor that you work with to see what fees and special instructions it will need to make payments on your behalf.

Signing up for EFTPS is a relatively simple process. You will need your taxpayer identification number (depending on the type of business you operate, that may be your EIN or your Social Security Number), the routing transit number for your bank and the account number from which you will be making your tax payments. You can complete the enrollment process online. You can also complete your enrollment on paper with IRS Form 9779. Once you've finished the enrollment process, you will receive a personal identification number in the mail. You can use that number to complete payments by phone; in order to make payments online, you'll need to to also create an internet password.

Once you have your EFTPS account set up, you can make payments to the IRS through EFTPS. You will schedule payments, which will then be transferred from your bank account to the Department of Treasury's account. When the transaction is complete, the IRS' records will be updated with your payment. If necessary, you can cancel a payment or check up to 16 months of your payment history online.

The eFile System for Business and Self-Employed Taxpayers

The IRS actually maintains what amounts to two separate eFile systems, built to process individual and business tax returns separately. In most cases, as a business owner, you won't use eFile directly. Instead, your tax preparer has the option of submitting your returns through the eFile system. The eFile system offers faster refunds, as well as a reduction in the paperwork necessary to complete a tax return. If your taxes are completed early, but you aren't ready to pay the balance of your 2009 tax bill, the IRS offers a "file now and pay later" option to any taxpayer using the eFile system. You can file your taxes now and get that off your plate, but wait to make a payment until the calendar day before April 15 (assuming you're also using EFTPS).

The IRS maintains a list of eFile providers for business taxpayers online. Different providers handle different forms and it is worth noting that for corporations, partnerships and non-profits, a provider who can handle Modernized eFile (MeF) internet filings, is necessary. Just because a provider is listed on the IRS site, however, does not mean that it is endorsed by the IRS. It's still important to double check any tax service provider yourself.a

The eFile system is available for services beyond submitting your tax return. If you work with a payroll service provider to handle payroll for your employees, that company is likely able to file the related tax forms through eFile.

The Benefits of Handling Your Taxes Online

If you've ever realized that you were about to miss making a quarterly estimated payment, EFTPS is a particularly useful tool. As long as you submit your payment one calendar day prior to the due date, it's considered in on time. You can submit your payment at any time and from anywhere with an internet connection. Whether you're on vacation or you just can't get into the post office because it's a Sunday, EFTPS always offers an alternative. It is possible to make a same-day wire payment through EFTPS, if necessary, although it can come down to the capabilities of your bank as to whether the payment will actually arrive the same day.

Online submissions of both your business tax return and your tax payment speeds up processing time significantly. While the cost of a stamp and an envelope isn't particularly high, EFTPS eliminates the need to spend time on either. Many states now also offer systems similar to EFTPS, making it possible to handle the majority of your taxes online.

You may find that eFile also cuts your expenses, and it has been shown that tax returns filed through eFile typically contain fewer errors. That is due to the fact that many tax preparers offering eFile use software that allows them to directly input your company's tax information — there's no copying information between different forms. The IRS has also built in additional checks within the eFile system, which makes it easier to catch and resolve a problem with a tax form without the IRS needing to send taxpayers error letters. You will also receive confirmation within 48 hours that the IRS has received your business' tax return through eFile.

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