eFinPLAN Blog

The Great Recession that started in 2007 has thrown millions of families into financial disarray.  I have been looking for a timely book to recommend to people to provide the tools, motivation, learning, change and inspiration people need.  The wait is over. Mary Hunt, one of the top 3 greatest personal finance writers of our… Read More »

In 1989 and 1991 we had our two babies at a cost of $10 each. We made a $10 co-pay at the first pre-natal visit, and all expenses including birth up through the baby’s 3-month checkups were covered by that first co-pay. Few people, perhaps other than Senators, receive health care today at such a… Read More »

These days everyone wants to spend less money. With increasing costs to healthcare and gasoline, grocery costs seem to be of the things to be increasing faster than inflation, and represent a large percentage of people’s budgets. Monthly expenses are either fixed like rent/mortgage, car payments and utilities, while other areas are variable such as groceries and… Read More »

The 1st of 13 Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Classes is Super Saving. This is an excellent class to start with and begin to set the goal to accomplish  Baby Step number one; saving $1,000 in an emergency fund. The emergency fund will provide the safety net, or insurance, when something happens in life like a car… Read More »

The following are great articles this week from other personal finance blogs that I follow: Best Money Tips: How to Throw a Fun and Frugal Super Bowl Party from Wise Bread Will the IRS Disallow Backdoor Roth Contributions? from Five Cent Nickel What is COBRA Insurance and a Critical Warning to Know from Moolanomy.com Total Returns for 2011… Read More »

I previously wrote about the federal lawmakers exemption from insider trading laws, allowing them the ability to buy and sell stocks, bonds and real estate using inside information. The lawmakers have access to privileged information that helped many of them to become multimillionaires, peddle influence, and secretly make the information available to hedge-fund managers that only… Read More »

The media chatter seems to be full of information about Facebook and Groupon’s initial public offering (IPO) of stock. Many people wonder if IPOs make good investments. It is very difficult to determine the value of a stock that has been around a while, let alone a new one with little information to go on…. Read More »

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel set in the 1850’s the Scarlet Letter, Hester Pyrnne struggled to regain dignity following an adulterous affair. In antiquity, lepers were scorned because people believed they were dirty and being punished by God. In 2012 60% of jobs filled are screened for bad credit ratings. Individuals you may know of good… Read More »

A recent column in the Wall Street Journal “No Need for Panic About Global Warming” written by 16 prominent scientists, seems to cast serious doubt in global warming (GW). GW seems to be quite a divisive issue these days, at least that is what it seems as if you pay attention to the national media. As a… Read More »

The following are great articles this week from other personal finance blogs that I follow: 5 Best Gas Reward Cards from Wise Bread High Deductible Health Plans and Major Medical Bills from Five Cent Nickel Best High Interest Checking Account Rates from Moolanomy.com Interesting Breakdown of Warren Buffet’s Secretary’s Tax and Salary from All Financial Matters Best… Read More »