The thought of someone breaking into our house and stealing our prized possessions is a real fear that many people deal with. But most people don’t worry about their personal information getting stolen and having their credit ruined. The reality is, identity theft is growing and it needs to be taken seriously.As more and more people turn to the internet to do their banking, investing and shopping, and as more and more companies turn to electronic means to transfer and store customer data, … [Continue Reading...]
Start Investing
How Trend Following Strategies Can Reduce Risk In Your Passive Portfolio
Investing is all about risk versus reward. And for passive index investors, this often comes down to asset allocation. By tweaking your exposure between equity, fixed income and alternative asset classes, you can trade in some potential upside for reduced volatility. But risk management doesn't have to end there!So in this article, I want to take a closer look at so-called passive index investing. And as you'll see, these strategies aren't … [Continue Reading...]
The Eye-Opening Secrets I Learned Managing $500 Million Dollars
Do you ever wonder what life is like for the rich and not-so famous? Do you wonder how they invest their money? Do you wonder about how they made their millions or what secrets they might have for you to benefit from?Well today is your lucky day as I am going to share the insider details.For a few years, I worked for a high net worth investment planning firm. To be considered a client, you needed to have at least $2 million in investable … [Continue Reading...]
Ignoring Your Risk Tolerance: How To Avoid This Huge Mistake And Profit
There is risk with anything in life. When we get into our car to drive to work, there is a risk of an accident. When we play sports, we risk getting hurt. And when we invest, we risk losing money. Because there is risk involved, we have to understand what our risk tolerance is before we decide to do anything.Talking specifically about investing, it is critical that you understand how you handle risk if you want to be a successful investor. If … [Continue Reading...]
Stockpile: Making Investing Affordable For Everyone
One of the biggest challenges to being a stock investor is having the money to invest. If you invest with most brokers, you can only buy whole shares of stock. So in order to buy one share of Amazon, you need $950 plus the trading fee.That puts stock investing out of reach for many people. Who has $950 lying around on a regular basis just to own one share of stock? Luckily Wall Street realized this and introduced mutual funds. With a mutual … [Continue Reading...]
Build Wealth
12 Critical Steps To Prevent Identity Theft (And How To Recover As A Victim)
The thought of someone breaking into our house and stealing our prized possessions is a real fear that many people deal with. But most people don’t worry about their personal information getting stolen and having their credit ruined. The reality is, identity theft is growing and it needs to be taken seriously.As more and more people turn to the internet to do their banking, investing and shopping, and as more and more companies turn to … [Continue Reading...]
My Personal Capital Review | How To Reach Your Financial Dreams
If you are like many other readers of this blog, you are looking for ways to get a handle on your money so that you can save more money and live the life you want. While this might seem like a fantasy, it can be done thanks to Personal Capital.Before I explain how Personal Capital can help you reach your goals, I want tell you how it has made a positive impact on my financial life. Searching For Answers I’ll admit it, I’m a finance nerd. … [Continue Reading...]
7 Painless Tricks To Avoid Debt Forever
If you want to experience financial independence or live the life of your dreams, you are going to have to avoid going into debt. Put simply, when you are in debt, you are working for someone else. Every dollar you earn is done so to pay someone else to satisfy your debt.As a result, you can never reach your goal of financial independence when you are saddled with debt. The key then is to avoid debt altogether.But this can be tough. … [Continue Reading...]
Your Essential Guide For How Long To Keep Financial Statements
The last time you looked at the enormous pile of receipts and financial statements you have, did you ever think to yourself, “how long should I keep these financial statements” or “do I need to keep this for any reason”?Because of the confusing nature of what to keep, what to toss, and how long to keep financial statements, I’ve decided to write a post on how long to keep financial statements.By the end of this post, you will have a … [Continue Reading...]
Retire Well
The Ultimate Guide To Easily Roll Over Your Retirement Plan Into An IRA
There are many different types of retirement plans out there. When you work for a company, you typically invest for retirement through a 401k, assuming you are working in the public sector. If you leave that job, the question becomes, should I roll over my [INSERT RETIREMENT PLAN NAME HERE] into an IRA”?Today is your lucky day.This post will walk you through just about every possible scenario you can think of and all of the things you … [Continue Reading...]
The Definitive Guide For Millennials To Save For Retirement
This is a guest post from Pauline of InvestmentZenI know what you’re thinking. Millenials are young, some of them have barely just entered the workforce, shouldn’t they have other financial priorities than planning for retirement? Well, not really. First, there is no guarantee 30 years from now that you will still be able to count on a check from Social Security. And with said check amounting to around $1,250 on average, there isn’t room for … [Continue Reading...]
The 3 Money Moves That Skyrocketed My Wealth And Allowed Me To Retire Early
The following post is by ESI from ESI Money, a blog about achieving financial independence through earning, saving, and investing (ESI). It’s written by an early 50’s retiree who achieved financial independence, shares what’s worked for him, and details how others can implement those successes in their lives. You can learn more about ESI Money here and get his free ebook Three Steps to Financial Independence here.After 28 years at work I was … [Continue Reading...]
Follow 3 Simple Steps For Retirement Savings Success
We suck at saving for retirement. The average 50 year old has $43,797 saved for retirement. I hate to break it to you, but that is just not going to cut it. The fact is that most of us have a hard time saving for retirement. Because of this, we need to figure out a plan for retirement savings success.If we can figure out a way to save for retirement, then we can actually retire. We will also be happy because we will have enough money so that … [Continue Reading...]
Thanks again for visiting Money Smart Guides. My goal for Money Smart Guides is simple: to help you become a master of your financial future. You do this by learning to overcome your debt, making smarter spending choices and start investing for your future. When you succeed, I succeed. By teaching you about personal finance, you can take the steps needed to secure your financial future. As always, if you have any questions or want help with any personal finance issue, please 
