There are numerous, readily apparent benefits to working from home: the ability to design your ideal work environment, avoiding a long commute and the increased freedom, just to name a
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The Problems With Rental Real Estate and How to Overcome Them
There are typically two schools of thought when it comes to the prospect of owning a rental property: It’s either a no-brainer, or inherently a nightmare. It’s not surprising that
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Simplicity Is Often the Key to Financial Success
Although the mastery of something is one of the most difficult, and consequentially one of the most rewarding pursuits, there is good news: mastery is also largely overrated. Adhering to some simple principles and developing discipline prove far more valuable.
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The Pros and Cons of Rapidly Paying Down Your Mortgage
The idea that typical American home owner should pay down mortgage debt rapidly is nothing new. The sentiment certainly makes sense at face value; by eliminating your mortgage payment you free up a huge chunk of cash. You also no longer have to pay the bank interest, which must feel incredibly liberating. However, there are also significant problems with strategies that prioritize rapidly paying down your mortgage, namely “opportunity loss,” which complicate the issue.
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How to Access Your Retirement Money Early, Without Penalty
How to access retirement funds early, without being penalized. Investing for your retirement can actually be pretty easy to get right. However, the rules governing retirement accounts are often anything but straightforward. In my previous role at the investment firm I work for, I assisted hundreds of alternative asset investors working with “self-directed” IRA accounts. These investors are typically savvier than the average 401k holder, even they are often unclear about the rules determining contributions, and perhaps more importantly, how they can access funds early and without being penalized.
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5 Tax-Sheltered Investments That You Didn’t Know About
Most casual investors aren’t aware that they could own real estate in an IRA, HSA and even some 401Ks. Not just the ability to access real estate through REITS, IRAs can actually hold tangible rental real estate. Though typically riskier (and demanding more time and expertise) than a broadly diversified mutual fund portfolio, owning rental properties, private equity, or even a business within your retirement accounts is a secret that wealthy investors have known about for years and that has the potential to significantly increase investment returns, if you know what you’re doing.
The major benefit of holding alternative assets in a etirement account is
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These 10 Money Habits Will Make You More Money in the Long Run
At Valuist we often put broad financial topics under the microscope to provide in-depth analysis and, hopefully, determine their inherent value. But sometimes the most impactful articles are the ones that provide easy-to-digest tips on a range of pertinent topics. So, for this post, I am going to summarize some of the most important money lessons that I have learned and covered for Valuist.
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5 Reasons Why Dividend Investment Strategies Are Overrated.
Dividend investment strategies are too often touted as, ‘easy passive income.’ These strategies have been around forever but have become extremely popular on social media platforms, seemingly among beginner investors.
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The Valuist Financial Independence and Retirement (F.I.R.E) Calculator
There are numerous ways to calculate how much money you’ll need to save to retire comfortably but perhaps the easiest method, is to first determine how much you plan to
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10 DIY Home Maintenance and Repair Jobs That Save a Ton of Money
There are some pushy door-to-door sales people in my neighborhood. Let me start by stating that if I’m not seeking out a service, then I’m not interested. Door-to-door sales guys
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15 Factors to Consider Before Picking Stocks, ETFs and Mutual Funds
Valuist readers are likely aware that I advocate for a broadly diversified portfolio of low-cost ETFs and mutual funds, especially for core retirement investing. Over time, it becomes increasingly difficult
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10 Reasons Why Owning a House Is Better Than Renting, Even When It’s More Expensive
Before I bought a house, I wrote an article for Valuist covering the, “True Cost of Buying a Home.” Though that article is still relevant (and a great read too,
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The Valuist Investment Portfolio: The Only Free Lunch in the Stock Market
When I say, “Valuist” investments, I’m not referring to value investing specifically (though I am a big fan). I’m talking about earning the best risk-adjusted returns from the stock market
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5 (More) Money Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make
One of the most popular early posts by Valuist is, 15 Money Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make. But over the last few years I’ve made (and hopefully, learned to
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5 Times When Big Spending Pays Off (And 5 Times It Doesn’t)
A colleague at the investment firm that I work for sometimes pokes fun at the Valuist philosophy. He probably thinks I am a penny-pincher. However, the truth is that I’ve been spending a lot of money lately.
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