Economic Edge » Personal Finance

10 Best Cities for Technology Jobs & Entrepreneurship

EconEdge — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 15:56:18 +0000

Your geographic location can affect your personal and business finances in a number of ways.

For one, your geographic location plays a role in career options. It can affect the type of jobs that are available to you (if you're an employee), or the type of talent you can hire (if you're an employer). Your geographic location can also affect your maximum salary, the cost of home ownership (can you comfortably afford to buy a home in your area?), and the amount of annual taxes you'll pay. To a smaller extent, your geographic location can affect your professional circle (local mentors, colleagues, competition).

How to Get $250K in Tax-Free Money Every 2 Years

EconEdge — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 18:37:11 +0000

Looking to keep more of your hard-earned money from the tax man? Well, you're going to love this tax exclusion.

How You Can Exclude up to $250,000 Tax-Free on the Sale of Your Primary Residence

How to Invest For High Returns & Avoid Losing Your Original Investment

EconEdge — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 00:43:51 +0000

This post is written in response to a reader's question. The reader asked…

How Can I Get the Highest Return While Minimizing Risk?

This is the $64 million dollar question—the holy grail of investing. Every investor seeks to maximize his return while minimizing risk (mainly the risk of losing his original investment, but also the risk of looking dumb by making unwise and foolish investments). Generally speaking, the higher the return, the higher the risk. "He who bears the risk reaps the reward." This is true in mortgage banking, small business, the financial markets, personal relationships, and many other areas of life.

Industries With the Greatest Number of Self-Made Millionaires & Billionaires

EconEdge — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 02:07:45 +0000

What are the industries with the greatest number of self-made millionaires? Looking at the World’s Richest People list—published by Forbes each year—the top 3 industries immediately appear. In random order, they are:

Risking Money to Make Even More Money

EconEdge — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 22:17:32 +0000

Fantastic quote from Gary North's latest newsletter…

The poor boy thinks that financial success is based on saving money. He does not understand that it is based on a different principle altogether: risking money to make even more money."

What Percent of Annual Income Should I Spend on a Car?

EconEdge — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 18:43:13 +0000

Buying a car is one of your largest expenses, aside from housing and food costs. I believe that you should never finance a car. Cars are depreciating assets that do not hold their value. If you are going to finance something, finance an asset, not a liability.

Fixed Expenses Should Be What Percent of Your Take Home Pay?

EconEdge — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 15:33:13 +0000

Fixed Expenses As a Percentage of Income

When setting a budget, it's important to consider both fixed and variable (changing) expenses. Fixed expenses include costs that do not change over time. Examples of monthly fixed expenses include: insurance premiums, the cable bill, the internet bill, your mortgage payment (if you’ve got a fixed rate), and childcare expenses. These expenses change very little (or quite possibly never) on a month-to-month basis. Insurance premiums generally rise over time. However, the insurance agent should provide you with an annual statement, listing each monthly bill for the next 12 months—-thus, you can plan in advance for all insurance payments.

Automated Banking, Technology, & Security of Bank Tellers

EconEdge — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 21:09:13 +0000

Yesterday I went to a federal credit union to deposit a check for my sister. My sister was on vacation in Myrtle Beach, and she asked me to deposit a check that had arrived in the mail for her. (I agreed to collect her mail while she was at the beach.)

Encouraging financial self-education

EconEdge — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 15:21:25 +0000

More Q & A with Gary North. I thought the subscriber asked a good question, and I liked Gary's response…

Age: 51 (married); location: small town Utah; occupation: owner of 2 small businesses; income: $250,000+ per year; net worth: $2,000,000+; #1 Goal: prepare family for consequences of irresponsible U.S. fiscal and monetary policies.

U.S. Mint Issues 24-Carat Gold Coin

EconEdge — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 00:29:54 +0000

There's a new gold coin for investors and collectors, courtesy of the U.S. Mint.

On Monday, the U.S. Mint began offering 24-carat gold coins at a face value of $50. The coins depict an Indian chief on the front side, and a bison on the back side. According to Becky Bailey, a spokeswoman at the Mint, Buffalos are expected to be sold at gold's spot price plus a markup of about 12%. The New York Times reports that 300,000 of the proof version (a mirror-finish version for collectors) will be minted in 2006 and sold initially at a price of $875.

Against the Flat Tax

EconEdge — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 02:07:09 +0000

Laurence M. Vance (from Mises.org) has written a very good argument against the flat tax, as proposed by Steve Forbes. Learn why Vance is against the flat tax.

Exchange Traded Notes Provide Another Option for Commodity Investors

EconEdge — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 23:11:40 +0000

You've heard of exchange traded funds (ETF's). But now, there's a new option…exchange traded notes. Investors can now purchase exchange traded notes, which function similarly to ETF's except they are debt securities backed only by the credit of the issuer. For commodity investors, the iPath Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Total Return ETN may be worth considering.

Best Career With a Law Degree

EconEdge — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 01:58:18 +0000

More Q & A with Gary North. Careers in law and real estate….what to do with a law degree…

INVESTING

Age, 20; occupation: college student; residence: small town, East Georgia.

$10,000 to invest. Goal: law school. I am thinking about real estate law. I have zero
knowledge of finance.

How to Spot Real Estate Trends & Get Market Analysis Data

EconEdge — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 19:35:44 +0000

While reading through Gary North's "question and answer series," I discovered a great little book that calculates emerging real estate markets (and real estate trends) based on population and business data. The book is called Your County–Boom or Bust? Predicting Growth or Decline of 3017 Counties by Jack Lessinger. Click on the "Books" link on Lessinger's website. Lessinger's book can help you analyze different real estate markets and spot emerging trends in different geographical areas.

Personal Finance Tip: How to Buy a Used Car

EconEdge — Mon, 29 May 2006 22:46:05 +0000

Good personal finance article from Gary North on how (and why) to buy a used car…

"It's that time of the year again. It's new car season. You are going to be pressured to part with a lot of money. You may be tempted to do this by the siren call of the new car ads. I write this report as a way to help you get through this month of temptation with your finances still intact.

Chinese government inflating money supply at 18% a year

EconEdge — Wed, 24 May 2006 23:45:41 +0000

More Q & A with Gary North. Interestingly, North believes that there will be a recession in China shortly after the 2008 Olympic Games, due to the fact that the government is inflating the money supply at about 18% per year.

The Mindset of the Self-Made Rich

EconEdge — Tue, 23 May 2006 19:58:31 +0000

Good personal finance advice (from Gary North) about how to purchase cars wisely, handle expenses and make financial decisions.

THE MINDSET OF THE SELF-MADE RICH

What you read here, you can confirm by reading the book, "The Millionaire Mind."

Free long distance phone calls from Skype

EconEdge — Mon, 15 May 2006 20:32:04 +0000

I just received an email from Skype, informing me that all calls from Skype to any phone number (computer-based, mobile, or landline) within the U.S. or Canada will be free for the remainder of 2006. That's incredible.

Best Small Towns in America

EconEdge — Mon, 08 May 2006 19:00:59 +0000

Great small towns in states with no state income tax…

Sequim, W.A.
Pullman, W.A.
College Station/Bryan, T.X.

More from Gary North: "If you are looking for Paradise, USA, consider Sequim, Washington. Research this amazing little town. [My comments: There is no state income tax in Washington, and Sequim is sunny compared to Seattle and other Washington cities.]

Why You Should Never Finance a Car

EconEdge — Sun, 07 May 2006 17:03:53 +0000

The advice below is quite possibly the one of the best personal finance tips ever. Courtesy of Gary North…

"Whenever I see an ad for a new car, I think, 'Suckers!' There is no more economically stupid purchase than a new car.

Allocated versus Unallocated Gold

EconEdge — Tue, 02 May 2006 21:55:00 +0000

A good (and very sarcastic) article from The Mogambo Guru (Richard Daughty) that explains the difference between allocated and unallocated gold. Originally published on December 13, 2005.

The entire article appears here: How and Why to Take Physical Possession of Gold

How to Teach Your Children about Money, Investing & Real Estate

EconEdge — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 23:17:16 +0000

Good advice from Gary North on how to teach your children about money management, investing and real estate.

Q & A With Gary North

Age: 70/76; occupation: retired GM; location: AZ & MI; assets: two homes worth $1M, $250K mortgages. $70K/yr current income (GM pension & Social Security). $100K savings.

Should we sell both properties, buy less extravagant, or keep lifestyle with only one house until end? Children want nothing.

Inflation is NOT beneficial

EconEdge — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 04:09:45 +0000

From Puru Saxena, who produces Money Matters, a monthly economic publication that highlights investment opportunities.

Some argue that inflation is a good thing, a necessity in the modern economy as it facilitates trade. Personally, I don't buy into this concept because throughout the 19th century, we witnessed mild deflation, yet our world made huge progress over that period.

New Roth 401K's offer Tax Free Withdrawals

EconEdge — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 04:18:35 +0000

Since Roth IRA's arrived on the scene in 1997, those saving for retirement have had the option of a regular IRA, with tax-deductible contributions, or a Roth IRA with no tax deduction but tax free withdrawals.

Baltimore Real Estate Overvalued According to BankRate.com

EconEdge — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 16:00:51 +0000

Bankrate.com recently ranked Baltimore as one of the top ten cities in the United States whose real estate bubble is going to burst. According to the report, homes in Baltimore are overvalued by as much as 17 percent (and in some areas, it's probably a lot higher than that).

Microcaps & Exchange Traded Funds

EconEdge — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:01:29 +0000

According to a recent article in Entrepreneur magazine, micro-cap stocks (stocks with a market cap between $50 million and $500 million) increased 72.3 percent over the past five years.

In the past, if you wanted to track micro-cap stock performance, you had to buy micro-caps individually or buy an index fund that tracked the Russell 2000 (small-cap index). Now, however, there's a new Russell index…in addition to the Russell 3000, 2000, and 1000 indexes, there's The Russell Micro-cap Index.

Understanding Taxes & the Implications of Tax Cuts

EconEdge — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 18:51:22 +0000

The article below provides a helpful analogy to better understand tax cuts. It discusses the implications of tax cuts and how they affect various social classes (the poor, middle-class, and wealthy). I was cleaning out some files on my hard drive, and I came across the article, which was (supposedly) written by David Kamerschen, an economics professor at The University of Georgia.

Google Creates "Google Finance" to Compete with Yahoo

EconEdge — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 15:58:13 +0000

In an effort to compete with Yahoo Finance, Google has released its own version of a stock research tool called Google Finance.

Google Finance is currently in beta and provides news, stock charts, financial statements, ratios (P/E, P/S, beta, EPS), company summaries, and real-time stock quotes. Stock quotes from Yahoo Finance are delayed by about 15-20 minutes. Google Finance says "Real Time ECN," beneath its stock ticker, but I wonder if the quotes are really "real-time." I'll find out on Tuesday (markets are closed on Monday for Easter).

Myth: Commodity Investing is Riskier than Stocks

EconEdge — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 15:17:12 +0000

According to a recent study conducted by professors from Yale and Wharton, commodities, as an asset-class, outperformed both stocks and bonds since 1959–and with lower volatility
when compared to stocks.

Less volatility and higher returns? Wow.

Entrepreneurship, Career Choices, & Legal Tax Avoidance

EconEdge — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 16:34:09 +0000

Gary North recently began answering financial questions posed by his newsletter readers. He publishes a "Questions & Answers" section every Friday. The questions and answers below deal with career choices, entrepreneurship, budgeting (both time and money), and legal tax avoidance.

Set up an Agreement with Your Investment or Business Partner

EconEdge — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 18:46:03 +0000

I've been a subscriber to Dyches Boddiford's email newsletter for about three and a half years. Dyches writes to real estate investors about investment/business strategies and asset protection.

In his most recent newsletter, he writes about the importance of a written agreement if you're investing with a partner, or starting a business with a partner. This is especially important if you're working with someone that you don't know very well.

Mortgage Loans For Illegal Aliens?

EconEdge — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 20:00:58 +0000

Are lenders becoming desperate for new homebuyers? Interesting excerpt from Gary North’s Reality Check…

There are not many new buyers or first-time buyers who qualify for loans. So, the mortgage rules are getting changed. Here is a choice example from "The Wall Street Journal" (July 8, 2005).

States With No Income Tax

EconEdge — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 01:47:45 +0000

Seven states have no state income tax:

Alaska
Florida
Nevada
South Dakota
Texas
Washington
Wyoming

New Hampshire and Tennessee tax only capital gains (dividend and interest income). If you're not geographically tied to your job, I'd suggest moving to a state that does not tax income. Run the numbers; you'll probably be surprised how much you'd save.

Read more on States With No Income Tax…

Marketocracy Defies Conventional Wisdom

EconEdge — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 23:14:26 +0000

Conventional wisdom says you need a finance/economics degree from a "top school" and extensive money management experience before you can run a mutual fund. But, Marketocracy.com doesn't believe in conventional wisdom. (Good for them!)

Savings Rates Hit 72 Year Low

EconEdge — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:10:35 +0000

According to the Daily Reckoning (March. 6th), savings rates for Americans are at a 72-year low.