Tools for Investing

I know this site is more about saving than investing, but Ask the Advisor has a nice "toolset" article listing 57 web resources for investing. The sections are:

• Learning Tools - check out Morningstar classroom, with nearly 200 courses.
  
• Investment Blogs
• Fantasy Investment Sites
• Investment News Sites
• Research Tools
• Investment Brokers
• Investment Message Boards
• Free Trading Sites - check out Zecco, which gives you 10 free stock trades per day, and Bank of America, which gives you up to 30 free trades per month.
• Free Advice
• Everything Else - just a round up of some sites that don't fit the above categories.
   

The article doesn't mention many web2.0 applications, but the Advisor archives has a number of other articles worth checking out, including a list of 25 web2.0 apps for money, finance and investment. There are a couple of applications in that list that look great for money management. One of the standouts is Wesabe, which not only let's you managing your finances but you can actually pay bills online by attaching bank accounts.

What'd be really nice to see is similar tools from some of the financial institutions that offer online savings accounts. Obviously, people like convenience. I'd really like to have a single website access point for my bank accounts, mutual funds, online savings accounts, bill payments, and investing. Or maybe that's a security risk?

Turning The Tables On Credit Card Companies

Credit card companies are currently fighting amongst each other to get your debt. That's because personal debt in North America is at an all time high. The result is loads of 0% APR credit card offers applicable to balance transfers. So, if you have debt elsewhere, they want it. That way, when your 0% offer runs out, you'll be paying them interest, not someone else.

But if you have very little or no credit card debt and good credit, you can use it to your advantage with a technique called balance transfer arbitrage. Balance transfer arbitrage is the act of using all those 0% APR credit card offers to earn money. The basic principle is to deposit each balance transfer check issued to you into a relatively high-interest online savings account or other liquid investment, such as a CD (Certificate of Deposit).

For example, say you received a credit card offer for 0% APR, 12 months, $10,000 limit. You have the card activated and receive a balance transfer check for the full amount. You then deposit the check into something like the Emigrant Direct American Dream Savings Account, which is currently at 5.05% APY.

That's roughly $500 in interest earned on $10,000 over 12 months. (Though you don't want to cut things that close. Only deposit for 11 months so that you don't miss the deadline to pay back your credit.) You could also get a CD, which usually earns at a higher rate. You just have to be able to cash out your investment before the credit line comes due.

You can read more about the ten golden rules of balance transfers at Your Credit Advisor.

Five Tips To Better Stock Investing

Just around the turn of the decade, I was questioning my many years of computer progamming and analysis and the growing difficulty of finding contracts and even salaried work. I entertained the notion of writing my broker's exam and even did a great deal of studying, as a supplement to developing some trading models I'd been working on since 1991.

I used the models to predict three of four market turns in 2000 but decided that being a stockbroker wasn't really what I wanted. I did learn a great deal about stock investing in the past decade: mostly that paper trades are often meaningless theory, and only by performing actual trades can you learn anything. And learn I did, from making some big mistakes. But it's best to get your failures out of the way early in your investment "career". Here are a few tips for better stock investing.

Consumers With Mortgages Better At Managing Finances?

According to an American study by Experian Consumer Direct, the average credit score of someone with a mortgage is better than that of someone without. People with second mortgages have an even higher score. [via Payments News]

I don't see this as suprising information. My parents managed multiple mortgages - including second mortgages - over a period of time and it's simply necessity to be disciplined. If you take on so much debt that you need a second mortgage in the first place, then if you're not disciplined with your finances, you're going to lose your property.

What would be interesting to study is how many people who have gone through bankruptcy had second mortgages. I think such information would show that not everyone can handle either a mortgage or a second mortgage. Sad but true. So only the most disciplined people keep their property long enough to be part of a study in the first place.

Finance Tips: Investing A Windfall

Lately, I've been exploring all the great pfbloggers (personal finance bloggers) that are out there on the Internet. When I come across one I like, I add it immediately to my Bloglines subscription list. I have 40 pfblog sites in my list, and it's hard to keep up with all of them on a regular basis.

But since I make the attempt to read them all regularly anyway, I thought I'd spend a few days linking to a variety of articles by other pfbloggers. These should give you some different perspectives on finance, wealth and opportunities. I'll of course be adding in my own comments and advice.

By "pfblogs" I'm also including websites that talk about wealth and business opportunities, not just saving or investing or personal finances in general. They're all kind of loosely tied with the same end goal: increasing your net worth. So without further adieu....

Is A Mutual Fund A Safe Investment? Try Dollar Cost Averaging

Let's not beat around the bush. Mutual funds, with the exception of a money market fund, are similar to stocks. Putting too much money into them can actually be riskier than buying stock, especially if you're not paying attention, because of fund fees, etc. A specific fund also also typically represents an entire sector, so if the sector takes a downturn, your fund goes down.

On the other hand, if you're into mutual funds for longer-term investments, they can be fairly safe, except for the most volatile sectors, and especially if you apply Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) to get the most out of your mutual fund investments.

How To Save For Your Own House - A Few Tips

Buying a house should be considered a project, if not a "family business" investment. It's undoubtedly one of the most important investments you will ever make in your life, and if you don't plan every aspect of your life that surrounds this purchase, it could turn out to be the worst investment of your life. Or it could be your best investment, becoming your sanctum sanctorum.

Your decision will affect every member of the family, whether you realize it now or not. Plan loosely long before buying, or the financial stress afterwards can cause family rifts. I've seen it happen. Take some time beforehand to do some relatively easy planning, and every member of your family could eventually learn something valuable about personal finance. (Once they're old enough to appreciate what you teach them.)