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Stock Picking or Gambling?
There are so many unknown variables when picking individual stocks (literally trillions), that is why it is impossible to consistently guess which ones are going to go up or when they are going to go down. Stock picking is not only a dangerous activity for you to be involved in as an individual investor, but…
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Seven Questions to Ask Before Investing
Subscribe to our weekly blog We have all heard of the seven deadly sins, things that you should never do or you risk the harshest of punishments. But many people don’t know about the seven deadly questions, involving your investments. There are seven questions that one must answer before beginning to have peace of mind…
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Why Should you be Invested Internationally?
Today I would like to tackle the answer to the question, why should I be invested internationally? This question has been asked by investors more frequently after the horrible year international stocks had in 2014. So lets look at the data and see if there is any reason to keep international stocks in your portfolio.…
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Main Street Money Quotes
I hate to get personal on the investing blog, but things have been crazy around our office. My wife just had our first baby a week ago, and we have a business trip to Scottsdale all week. For the blog, I have decided to keep it short and post some quotes from Mark Matson, Founder…
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2014 Returns: The Market is Up and I am Not
Statements are out and there is a lot of confusion about why account values are flat for the year when it seems the market was up. Matson Money sends out a market update with each quarterly statement and there is some great explanation of this in it. Matson Quarterly Report “In 2014 investors have been…
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Saving for College: 529 Plans vs. Education Savings Accounts
If you are looking into opening up an account for your child to help save some money for their college expenses you have come to the right place. There are 2 main accounts you can use to reach your goal. I will go over both of them at a basic level and explain some pros…
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Millennials and Their Money: 3 Tips for Overcoming Investing Fears
When it comes to Millennials and their money, most Americans ages 18 to 29 would rather sit on a boat load of cash. They have a sinking feeling that investing in the stock market is like boarding the Titanic. According to a recent Bankrate.com study cited by a recent The Street article, younger people prefer…
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Hidden Costs in Investing
There are many different ways in which costs are charged to your investment portfolio. Many of these are hidden and are basically untraceable. Today we are going to discuss a few of the hidden costs, and a few of the transparent costs. Costs you should know about Management Fee/Commission Whoever your investment advisor is is…
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What is Dollar Cost Averaging?
Today we are going to discuss dollar cost averaging (DCA) and how it is most likely helping your retirement portfolio. “Dollar Cost Averaging- The technique of buying a fixed dollar amount of a particular investment on a regular schedule, regardless of the share price. More shares are purchased when prices are low, and fewer shares…
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Is it Safe?
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges that investors face is determining if “right now” is a SAFE time to invest (meaning not just the present, but any time). What makes it difficult for investors is a twofold issue: first, is a lack of historical knowledge and perspective, and second, their own emotions. Actually, if one…
