DIY Personal & Retirement Financial Planning
Do-It-Yourself financial and investment planning Excel spreadsheet software
The Solution – ONLY follow financial strategies that are scientific, passive, diversified, savings focused, risk controlled, low cost, and tax efficient A previous article, “The Problem – Straight answers about personal financial and investment planning are difficult to find,” summarized important reasons why individuals may experience difficulties, even if they are intent upon doing better […]
Your time is valuable, and it should be included in calculations about your investment returns. Whether you add or subtract value from your assets when you spend time on investment activities should also be evaluated. Some investors spend significant time on the wrong strategies. Instead of adding value, their efforts reduce their investment portfolio performance […]
CLICK HERE TO READ THE SKILLED INVESTOR’s OTHER ARTICLES ABOUT THESE “10 FINANCIAL PLANNING STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION Even with optimal investment strategies, there is still substantial room to improve upon net investment performance through continued and vigilant focus on controlling investment costs and tax realization. Family Financial Planning Software The fees extracted by […]
You are completely responsible for your financial and investment success or failure. Delegating investment decisions to industry advisers largely on naive faith and hope without adequate personal knowledge, attention, and control can be very risky to your personal and family welfare. The only practical solution is for you to increase your personal investment knowledge and […]
Increase your knowledge and accelerate your ability to take leadership in the management of your own personal finances and lifetime investing. This ten-step personal financial planning process will help you optimize the management of your financial planning and investment management affairs over your lifetime, while greatly reducing the unnecessary waste of your money and your […]
The table below in this article presents The Skilled Investor’s Fund Authority Score and other information for the American Funds – AMCAP Fund – Class A Shares. The diversified investment fund strategy of the American Funds – AMCAP Fund – Class A mutual fund shares (AMCPX) Family Financial Planning Software for Consumers According to its […]
“Market efficiency” makes it very difficult for individual investors to “beat the market.” Making their own decisions, individual investors perform so poorly that on average their investment returns lag behind the returns that one would expect from random stock selection. The average professional trader does somewhat better than amateurs do, and professionals probably do so, […]
Part 3 of the The Never-Do List – 22 Good Ways to Avoid Financial Advisor and Investment Counselor Frauds and Scams This article discusses things that you should “never do” with a financial planner or investment advisor, and it covers unsolicited advice, sales pressure, and account decision-making discretion. You should never do certain things with […]
Snapshots in time – How investment securities are valued Every securities market transaction requires a buyer and seller with differing viewpoints. Markets can operate, because there are differences between investors in their assessments of the intrinsic value and risk of securities. Discover Family Financial Planning Software Current investment values vary in the eyes of the […]
< <– Go to Part 3 The Biggest Personal Finance Story of the Past 30 Years – Part 4 Personal Financial Planning Software What does it mean to individual investors that the financial services industry is now about 21% of S&P 500 market capitalization? (For a graph of the relative percentage shares of various sectors […]
When to Take Social Security Retirement Benefits? Concerning when to take Social Security retirement benefits, the Boston College Center for Retirement Research has some research in their publications section that addresses this subject. In particular, see “SHOULD WE RAISE SOCIAL SECURITY’S EARLIEST ELIGIBILITY AGE” by Alicia H. Munnell, Kevin B. Meme, Natalia A. Jivan, and […]
Pre-retirement savings rates for renters – with and without investment cost improvements Improving on Fran and Fred’s lifetime financial plan through lower investment costs Fran and Fred Frugal, both age 30, are a married working couple with $100,000 in combined annual earned income. They want to understand how valuable different personal finance strategies could be […]
Understanding one-time investment fees, such as sales loads Sales load charges and commissions on investment purchases differ from the financial service industry’s numerous other recurring methods of charging fees to their retail consumers. Sales loads are less straightforward to analyze for investment lifetime cost-effectiveness, compared to annually recurring charges. (See: Pay less to get more) […]
The heavy burden of recurring investment fees (Part 2 of 2) < < — Go to Part 1 By charging fees as a percent of your assets, the investment industry can make their recurring fees seem small – like they are “just a few†percent. Find Family Financial Planning Software Furthermore, by charging fees against […]
The heavy burden of recurring investment fees (Part 1 of 2) Recurring investment costs can significantly impact the long-term value of your retained investment portfolio assets. Recurring fees, such as asset management fees, 12b-1 marketing fees, and advisory/asset custody fees are charged periodically, as a percent of your investment assets. The relative cost-efficiency of your […]
Pay lower investment expenses to get higher investment returns While financial services industry sales people tell you that you need to pay more to get more, the correct answer is the opposite. Excessive investment costs are a plague on your personal financial planning. Excessive investment expenses are one of the most significant barriers to lifelong […]
Pay Lower Investment Expenses To Get Higher Investment Returns – Part 1 Excessive investment costs are a plague on your personal financial planning. Excessive investment expenses are one of the most significant barriers to lifelong family financial security. While financial services industry sales people tell you that you need to pay more to get more, […]
No financial planning software and no investment growth calculator can predict the future The future is simply not predictable, even with automated financial planning software. A previous financial article, “The Solution – ONLY follow financial strategies that are scientific, passive, diversified, savings focused, risk controlled, low cost, and tax efficient,†suggested that investors are much […]
Do not ignore insurable risks that could destroy your best laid financial plans A previous financial article, “The Solution – ONLY follow financial strategies that are scientific, passive, diversified, savings focused, risk controlled, low cost, and tax efficient,†suggested that investors are much better off with a well-considered financial plan. A stable set of financial […]
If personal finance is difficult for you, carefully hire a good financial and investment adviser A previous financial article, “The Solution – ONLY follow financial strategies that are scientific, passive, diversified, savings focused, risk controlled, low cost, and tax efficient,†suggested that investors are much better off with a well-considered financial plan. A stable set […]