Jason Unger

Ask the Readers: Is the Economy Back on Track?

We don’t normally get too focused on the economy here — actually, ignoring the economy is often a good idea for your finances — but it’s nearly impossible to treat the current recession as a blip on the radar. And, thanks to the media, “in this economy” has become an oft-repeated phrase to describe our […]

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Can Your House Be an Investment and a Home?

When we bought our house back in May, we had a number of reasons pushing us toward the purchase. The biggest reason? Our daughter, born in February, was ready to move out of our bedroom and into her own. But in our two-bedroom apartment, the second bedroom was my office — which I used full-time […]

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Festival of Frugality #192

Welcome to the Festival of Frugality #192 — the best roundup of frugal news, stories and blog posts from across the Internet. Frugality is one of the key tenants of Automatic Finances. Without the ability to keep your spending in check, even a completely automated money management system will leave you in the red. If […]

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The Argument For Actively Managed Funds

Look, it’s not going to surprise anyone that I heavily advocate investing in low-cost, passively managed index funds. They offer the best return on your money for most investors, and not only do they help you better understand your investments, they ensure that some salesperson isn’t hoodwinking you with their investment suggestions. But I can […]

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Weekend Linkage: Investing Again, Student Loans and Lazy Portfolios

Have you been investing throughout the downturn in the economy? Hopefully the answer is yes, because otherwise you’ve missed out on an amazing 45% increase since the bottom in March. But if you’re waiting to get back in to the market, or are about ready to make the plunge, check out Business Insider‘s 12 Things […]

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Is Watching TV Economical Entertainment?

I’ve never hidden the fact that I watch a lot of TV. I can keep up a conversation on most of the popular shows these days, and definitely have some favorites (Entourage, 24, The Office, to name a few). Am I proud to admit that I watch a lot of TV? Well, not really — […]

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Personal Finance on YouTube: What to Watch

We haven’t delved too much into the world of personal finance video (besides a gem called “In This Economy“), but there are a good number worth watching online. While some personal finance podcasts are video, YouTube is host to multiple channels dedicated to improving your bottom line. Here are a few personal finance channels to […]

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Ask the Readers: Do You Manage Your Own Investments?

As the role of money managers and investment advisers change following the stock market crash, many “normal” investors are re-evaluating the value in hiring someone to make financial decisions for them. You know that we’re big proponents of understanding what you’re investing in and, if you feel comfortable, managing those investments yourself. But it may […]

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How Credit Card Users Are Getting Screwed

View full size. (via the excellent folks at Visual Economics)

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Can Monkeys Pick Stocks Better than Experts?

We’ve spent plenty of time explaining why investing in passive, low-cost index funds will out-earn actively managed funds in the long-run, and that most fund managers can’t even outperform the indexes they’re trying to beat over time. The underlying theme of these posts is that stock market “experts” aren’t really experts at all. They may […]

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Weekend Linkage: Goldman Sachs, Passive Investing, and Txting $

Looking for some good summer reading? There’s not much time left before schools start up again, the beaches start to clear out, and football gets into full swing. This week, Rolling Stone has a massive story on Goldman Sachs, where it claims that the investment bank “has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great […]

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Ask the Readers: Do You Split Your Direct Deposit?

While doing some research into direct deposit statistics, I came across an interesting release (PDF) as part of America Saves Week (which happened in February). The Consumer Federation of America (CFA), which managed the campaign, is encouraging people to split the direct deposit of their paychecks — meaning, have some of it go directly into […]

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5 Mistakes that Led Me to Financial Automation

Nobody’s perfect, right? I’m not, you’re not — and we’d be kidding ourselves to think if we were. And when it comes to money, we tend to make decisions emotionally instead of rationally, often becoming our own worst financial enemy. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You know that, and I know that. […]

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Jason Unger

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