On March 15th the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to raise the federal funds rate by 25 basis points (0.25%) to a range of 0.75% to 1.00%, marking its 3rd rate increase since the great recession and its 2nd rate increase in the last 3 months. Most economists expect the…
One of my top financial resolutions every year is to reduce (or better yet eliminate) an expense. Reducing expenses is a great way to increase savings and/or accelerate the pay down of debt and everyone is capable of doing it. Making small changes like bringing lunch to work, brewing your…
I have a love/hate relationship with Comcast XFINITY. I love their X1 technology platform, broad offering of high definition channels, Stream TV app, and Wi-Fi hotspots. I hate being forced to pay for channels that I never watch, having to rent cable boxes, getting my internet speed throttled, and going…
Just in this past week Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Schwab, and E*Trade have all slashed their online stock trading fees in what appeared to be a well-coordinated effort. Fidelity reduced its fees from $7.95 to $4.95, TD Ameritrade reduced its fees from $9.99 to $6.95, Schwab reduced its fees from $6.95…
Many people including myself have their investment accounts spread out among multiple financial institutions. That can make it very difficult to get a holistic view of an entire portfolio’s asset allocation. The problem with this is that an investor could unknowingly be taking on more risk than they are aware of…
