As featured in The Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, and more!

2003

Rising to the Top

by Luke Landes

Here’s a quick article about a woman who was determined to succeed. It’s unfortunate that they stressed sales. I don’t enjoy sales.

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The Coming Crash in the Housing Markets

by Luke Landes

“It’s 1929 all over again,” said Talbott, a former Goldman Sachs vice president. “This is big Depression-type stuff.” This article visits a worst-case scenario that some people think the market may realize. Once again, the point is made that while the housing market has never declined as a national average, prices have certainly declined locally. ... Continue reading this article…

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Longer Auto Loans

by Luke Landes

Lenders are giving huge incentives for customers to take on longer auto loans—six or seven years. At the same time, the average age of a car when traded in is less than 5.5 years. This means that people generally trade in their cars while still owing money. Another result of these longer loans is that ... Continue reading this article…

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Home Buyers

by Luke Landes

Buying a house isn’t right for everyone. If it seems like everyone else around you is jumping on the real estate bargain, but you aren’t, don’t sweat it. How can we buy a house? Once again, the possibility of real estate prices not continuing to go up as much as they have been is brought ... Continue reading this article…

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Investing as a Couple

by Luke Landes

If I had a dime for every article on personal financial issues for couples (married or otherwise), I would be rich. This article shows an example of a newlywed couple determining how to invest $20,000 previously not in a diversified portfolio. The article cites MSN’s previous articles on finance for couples. Romance can wait; first, ... Continue reading this article…

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The Millionnaires You Didn’t Know

by Luke Landes

Have you ever found yourself in the position of receiving money from a deceased person who you didn’t know had that much? Neither have I. However, it’s a fairly common occurance according to this article, Surprisingly Rich, from CNN/Money.

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Good Rate for Savings

by Luke Landes

Their ruthless tactics are starting to pay off for savings-minded customers. Capital One is the type of company that offers credit cards to people with poor credit history. People who are happy to qualify for a credit card are willing to pay high interest rates (upwards of 20 percent APY) and yearly fees (upwards of $50) ... Continue reading this article…

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Managing Your Money, Dilbert Style

by Luke Landes

Scott Adams, creator of the comic strip Dilbert and holder of an MBA from Berkeley, wrote a “book” on personal finance, and is summarized today on The Motley Fool. Adams boils personal finance down to nine points, which you will see if you read the article.

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Bartering in a Bad Economy

by Luke Landes

Joan Ferreria of the Bronx, 19 and unemployed, has traded his Web design skills for a computer keyboard, as well as piano, photography and driving lessons. For giving Spanish lessons, he has banked two 30-day unlimited ride MetroCards. [New York Times article, username: flexoweb, password: flexo] In a bad economy, some people turn to bartering ... Continue reading this article…

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People of Million Dollar Homes

by Luke Landes

Who can afford million dollar homes? Coldwell Banker polled their real estate salespeople to find out. It turns out that buyers of million dollar homes most often pay in cash, or if they take financing, many put down a payment of at least 50 percent of the sale price. The two most common professions are corporate ... Continue reading this article…

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A Fattening Career

by Luke Landes

CNN/Money asks, Is your job making you fat? This article stresses the importance of proper eating and exercise specifically for sedentary worker bees. Today for the first time in a long time, I had breakfast (bagel with cream cheese and orange juice) before heading to the office. Not only that, but being overweight takes a ... Continue reading this article…

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Upside-down Cars

by Luke Landes

If you bought a new car recently and didn’t pay cash, chances are pretty good you’re driving a vehicle you can’t afford. Having a car requires more money than the dealers let you believe. Edmunds.com features a True Cost To Own worksheet that calculates some costs you may not be thinking about when you go ... Continue reading this article…

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How Much To Be Rich?

by Luke Landes

How you choose to spend your money has something to do with how wealthy (or poor) you feel. If you’re constantly confusing need with desire (desire to keep up, desire to have the latest and greatest, desire to show off), chances are you’ll never feel rich enough. This article tells the reader what he already ... Continue reading this article…

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Microsoft Money 2004

by Luke Landes

Over the last couple of days, Microsoft has released their new version of their personal finance software, Microsoft Money 2004. PC Magazine has already reviewed this updated version. They seemed to be quite happy. I’ve used both Intuit’s Quicken 2003 and Money 2003 (concurrently) to compare the two pieces of software, and unlike many people ... Continue reading this article…

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Basic Advice For Future Millionaires

by Luke Landes

We’ve compiled a list of some rules of thumb that you might hold up against your budget, debt, savings, life insurance and net worth. This article paraphrases most books on personal finance, and manages to do so in just a few short paragraphs. I can do one step better: I’ll now paraphrase the article into ... Continue reading this article…

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Stay-At-Home Husband

by Luke Landes

When parents decide to have children, one of the issues they must consider is the option of one parent staying home to watch the kids until they are school age or continuing to work and pay for day care. Sometimes the cost of day care can be more than what the second salary brings in. ... Continue reading this article…

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Saving Early And Often For Retirement

by Luke Landes

In real estate investing, the mantra is location, location, location. In retirement planning, it’s save, save, save! People are getting older and older before they die. That seems like an obvious statement if you read it one way, but also, the average human life span keeps increasing. The more you live, the more money you’ll ... Continue reading this article…

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Owning A Home, Owing Money

by Luke Landes

Rising interest rates make houses less affordable, and thus depress their prices. Homeowners who find themselves overextended may be heading for trouble. There are some dangers that come into play when buying a house right now. Many people tell me that there is no housing bubble. They say that since housing values have always gone ... Continue reading this article…

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Rental Deal Hunting

by Luke Landes

12 keys to a good deal on a rental car The last time I traveled, I was able to get a good deal by comparing prices and having one company match—and finally better—another company’s offer. Renting a car infrequently is great for people who aren’t normally required to drive. In my area, there is a ... Continue reading this article…

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Monk-Like Discipline

by Luke Landes

Many aspiring millionaires apply monk-like discipline to their campaign to attain wealth, relentlessly depriving themselves of normal creature comforts. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of money young people are able to scrape together. Of course, it helps greatly to have a job with a dynamite salary. The midwesterners in this article have ... Continue reading this article…

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