Dollar Cost Averaging
Sunday, January 9th, 2011
The technique of using dollar cost averaging for investing means that consumers make regular investments (most often monthly) into an investment portfolio. It works as an alternative to investing large lump sums. This allows the cost of investments to be lower, in theory. A lower investment cost means that a consumer will see more potential profit from the investment.
The dollar cost averaging strategy can be used to begin investing small amounts over a set period of time. It also works to break up lump sums into smaller increments, reducing the amount of fear about a fluctuating market.
There are pros...
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Tags: dollar cost averaging, investing advice, regular investing
Posted in Basics | No Comments »
How Changes to the Tax Rate on Stock Dividends May Affect You
Thursday, September 30th, 2010
There are several potentially major changes to how much tax you will have to pay on stock dividends. Here is some advice that you need to consider about your investment portfolio.
Under current U.S. tax law, dividends paid to holders of U.S. corporate or publicly-traded stock are currently taxed at the same rate as long-term capital gains. This rate is generally much lower than the rate that a taxpayer will pay on his or her ordinary income.
Taxpayers in the highest tax bracket, for example, are subject to the highest ordinary income tax rate of 35%, but income from “qualified...
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Tags: dividends, investing advice, stock dividends, tax rate
Posted in Stocks | 1 Comment »
Establish An Investing Discipline When You Are In College
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Going to college and establishing what you want to pursue in the future is a great time in your life. The academic and social experiences during the college years are often unlike any others. But even though it seems like the last thing on a student's mind, making the right financial and savings decisions while in college now can impact on their adult life in a very positive way.
The investing discipline I'm describing here (although using traditional bank accounts) is what you need to start doing with stocks, mutual funds and other investments once you begin your working career....
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Tags: investing advice, saving advice
Posted in Basics | 1 Comment »
Improve Your Investment Skills
Monday, June 14th, 2010
You work hard every day, so you want your money to work for you. Maybe you are accomplishing this with investments. But, everyone can get a little better. If you are looking for ways to increase your portfolio, improving your skills may be in order. Here is some advice on how to improve your investment skills.
Investing is an art that anyone can learn if they want to. Many follow the word of analysts and a financial adviser, but they can only take you so far. They can recommend, but the best fit for you will come from making your...
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Tags: investing advice, investment skills
Posted in Basics | No Comments »
Minimizing The Risks Of Online Trading
Monday, May 24th, 2010
Are you interested in investing in stocks and other commodities? Trading online has become increasingly popular to help increase the size of your portfolio. But, there are risks with day trading. Here is some advice to help minimize the risks of online trading.
The form of online trading most people are interested in is day trading. Day trading can be rewarding if you know what you are doing. You are looking at the market from the standpoint of how stocks, bonds and commodities will change from the opening to the closing of the market on any given day.
Those who want...
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Tags: day trading, investing advice, online trading
Posted in Basics | No Comments »
How Risky Is Your Investment Portfolio?
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
In investment circles you may hear words like “risk” and “diversification.” It relates to how well your investments can do or not do. If you have an investment portfolio or are getting into investing, how you build your portfolio is very important.
Everyone can benefit from investing. It is a proven way to make your money work for you in the long-term. You have earned it; why let it sit and basically gather dust? It could be working just as hard as you did to get it. That is where investing comes in.
A portfolio refers to the investment vehicles that...
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Tags: diversification, investing advice, investment advice, portfolio risk
Posted in Asset Allocation | 2 Comments »
Common Investing Mistakes
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
No one is planning on working forever. Some sort of investment, whether it is a retirement fund, real estate or other vehicle, needs to be looked at to finance your life after you retire from the world of work. But, be careful. When investing, many novices fall into traps and lose their money. Here is some advice on how to avoid making investment mistakes.
Investing is not the hardest thing in the world, but it does take time and research. Unless you understand what you are investing in, you may want to hold off until you are better informed.
The first...Read More »
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Tags: investing advice, investing mistakes, investment mistakes
Posted in Featured Article | No Comments »
Online Investing Pros and Cons
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
The Internet has made a lot of things much easier than they once were. Instead of loading up and going to the mall, we can shop online. Telecommuting, which was once virtually unheard of, is now pretty common. And while investing in stocks once required a trip to a brokerage, or at least a phone call, it's now possible to do it from the comfort of your own home. Here is some advice on the pros and cons of online investing.
The ability to trade online has attracted many investors who otherwise might not have gotten started. But there is...
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Tags: investing advice, online investing, stock trading
Posted in Stocks | No Comments »
Monitoring Your Investment Portfolio
Saturday, March 13th, 2010
So you have gotten with a professional investment counselor. They have given you advice on how to go about putting together your investment portfolio to best suit your needs. Now that you have laid out the money, how do you know what your stocks, bonds and other products are doing?
Investing is not a passive, one-time thing. After you go through the process of choosing where and how much to invest, that is only the beginning. Now the process of helping to manage that portfolio begins.
Remember when you were talking to your investment counselor? They probably asked you questions about...
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Tags: Asset Allocation, investing advice, portfolio monitoring
Posted in Basics | 4 Comments »
What are TIPS?
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
You've probably heard about Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). They are treasury bonds that adjust their interest and principal payments with inflation. TIPS will likely become much more popular with the perceived inflation risk that may loom in the future.
Like other Treasury securities, TIPS pay interest every six months and repay the total principal amount when they mature. The difference is that TIPS' principal value increases automatically based on the inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). So therefore when the CPI rises, the principal value of the TIPS also increases. Interest payments also rise because the...
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Tags: inflation hedge, investing advice, TIPS
Posted in Bonds | 1 Comment »
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