[Editors Note: One of my weaknesses as the writer of much of the content of Beating Broke is that I am fairly unversed in most investing topics.  As such, I try to fill in those gaps where I can with knowledgeable guest posts.  What follows is one such guest post.] For students of investing, one [...]

The 2010 year end is almost here, and hopefully most of us are looking at our finances and asking ourselves a question: “Are we ready for 2011? Is there something we need to do before 2010 ends?” Most of us probably have already done everything from buying Christmas gifts and donating to charities to scheduling [...]

We were recently told that our defined benefits plan was being taken away.  For those that are confused, a defined benefits plan is what is normally called a pension.  For me, I haven’t been around long enough for it to really affect me.  Some, who have been around for a very long time and are [...]

Experts are fond of telling us all about the historic returns of the stock market. But, does our belief in that make us overconfident in the stock market? You’ll have a hard time finding someone who won’t tell you that the market performs quite admirably over time.  It may have it’s ups and downs, but [...]

The very basic essence of stocks is that you buy a “share” of a company in order to own a portion of the company and “share” in it’s successes.  If the company decides to not reinvest it’s profit into itself and instead pay a portion, or all, of that profit to the owners, you get [...]

When you’ve got bills and debt to pay off, you are constantly feeling like you’re running a personal finance marathon.  Each month is a sprint to the finish to see how much debt you can pay off.  We do it to get to that finish line.  To send that last check (or bill pay payment) [...]

Invariably, every few months, we get a wave of posts talking about “what would you do if you won $x,xxx,xxx?”  Or, what you would do with a smaller windfall.  And invariably, a majority of the people talk about how they would save the money.  And in some cases they are right.  But, most of the [...]

Gold! Through the eons, it’s been a much sought after commodity. After all, it’s shiny and stuff. Even in the investment world, it’s the wonder investment. It’s touted as being the “can’t fail” investment for these uncertain times. Unlike stocks, gold is a physical thing. You can buy gold by the bar or by the [...]

Why are we so clueless about the stock market By: Mariusz Skonieczny Mariusz could have just as aptly named this book something like “The Beginners guide to the stock market” because that is what the book is; essentially.  He takes a very low level approach to the stock market in an attempt (I believe) to [...]

Enjoy Your Money!: How to Make it, Save it, Invest it, and Give it By J. Steve Miller Occasionally, authors approach me to read and review their books.  I usually do so, happily.  I enjoy reading, and anytime I can get a book to read for free, it makes my wife happier.  It’s hard for [...]