Archive for posts by Kent Irwin

Did you know that our Federal lawmakers are exempt from insider trading laws? According to the report on 11/13/11 CBS 60 minutes lawmakers can and do buy stock and real estate based on secret inside information, in some cases information that they are privy to because they serve on special private committees. If anyone else… Read More »

From time to time I am asked if there are investment secrets that only the wealthy know about? When I walk through bookstores, I see titles of books that make me think so. Everyone wants to think there are short cuts, or secret ways to instant success or dramatic investment returns. I think that since we… Read More »

Your employer-provided retirement plan (e.g., 401k) is one of the most important pieces of your financial plan — yet it is often misunderstood and under-utilized. Master your retirement plan to retire early, on time, and achieve financial success. During this time of year, either 4th quarter or the 1st quarter of next year, your company… Read More »

This is a guest post from Stewart Smith In the present financial situation, the money that you earn from your job is just not sufficient to cover everything you want. Now, the most obvious solution would be to get a credit card in order to fulfill all your desires. Well, this is the way how… Read More »

Interesting and funny but unscientific article about the amount of time consumed playing just one game, Angry Birds.  This article cites a recent report that around the world people spend 200 million minutes on Angry Birds every day. This adds up to 866,666,667 hours per year in America, and might compute to 43.3 million working hours, that at $20 per hour… Read More »

Many people ask me about savings accounts, money markets and CDs, and the latest version of CDs, market linked or index CDs: Q. Most financial experts say that we should accumulate 3 – 6 months of income or expenses in a safe savings account, for emergencies, such as job loss, uninsured damage to property or… Read More »

Step 1: Get Your Financial House in Order Before you even think about the purchase of a home, look at your entire financial plan (talk to a financial planner and/or do your own plan using online software like eFinPLAN.com. The purchase of a house affects not only the amount of money you currently have in… Read More »

Shopping for Christmas gifts can surely be a budget buster. If you go shopping and  do not have a list or calculated in advance how much you are going to spend on particular individuals, your emotions may get the best of you, and you will wake up with a massive debt hangover after the holidays…. Read More »

Morningstar Inc. known as a leader in providing mutual fund analysis for the investment community and consumers, recently introduced a new system. The well know star ratings of providing 1- 5 stars based upon mutual fund’s past performance, has been helpful to some people at evaluating mutual fund choices.  Past performance is often no indication of future performance, but merely… Read More »

Some providers of financial products and services, think that they have found or created a unique tax strategy and will submit that strategy for patent protection. Some believe that owning such a strategy provides them with market protection and potential income when others what to license their strategy. President Obama recently signed the America Invents Act (Public… Read More »