Lee Distad

The Market May Be Irrational, But You Shouldn’t Be

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I woke up to a shock as I went online to check my banking. On the screen, one of the equities in my account was showing a value of $47,025,120.00. Yes, $47 million. As delightful a fantasy as that is, I had no real temptation to print off the screen and go take out a […]

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Why You Need An Emergency Fund

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It’s often said that trouble comes in threes. This past weekend, I narrowly avoided not one, but three expensive bills. On Friday, the washing machine broke down; it wouldn’t drain, leaving the drum and the laundry full of water. Fortunately, I was able to open it up and disconnect the pump from the hoses. Inside, […]

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The Upside to Celebrity Financial Advice

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Maybe you can learn something about personal finance from celebrities. In preparation for his upcoming film Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, Shia LaBeouf is claiming that he put $20,000 into a Schwab online trading account and traded his way to $489,000. (I?m not going to say that he didn?t do it, but if he […]

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Why Reverse Stock Splits Hurt Shareholders

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Once primarily a tool of shady penny stocks, the reverse stock split has become a favorite of exchange-listed financial companies during the chaos of the past year. A reverse split reduces the total float of common shares while maintaining the same total market cap, mashing the stock price of multiple shares into the price of […]

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If You’re Going to Trade Stocks, Read This First

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Regular readers of Automatic Finances will know well that we advocate long term, buy-and-hold investing. Overall, for both small and large investors, it remains the most stable and consistent approach to both wealth creation and preservation. Short-term trading, in comparison, carries considerable risks to an investor’s capital. That’s why it’s important to make that distinction […]

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Change Your Attitudes to Change Your Finances

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As someone who works hard at self-improvement on many levels, I’m always mindful of useful aphorisms to help foster growth. One good one is that “actions dictate outcomes, but thoughts dictate actions.” In personal finance as in the rest of life, how you think determines how you act, and consequently, the results you get. Quite […]

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Should You Keep Multiple Investment Accounts?

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In the past, when we’ve talked about diversifying your investments to manage risk and preserve wealth, it’s been in relation to multiple asset classes or industry sectors for equities. But what about the equally obvious strategy of spreading your investments around, and maintaining separate accounts at different institutions? Amongst high net worth individuals, it’s commonplace […]

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Using Coupons and Calendars for Big Savings

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Years ago, a friend far more driven by money than I am shared with me this saying: “Pennies become nickels, and dimes become dollars.” His point, of course, is that putting together a lot of small savings or a lot of small profits adds up to something big. In order to cultivate a frugal mindset, […]

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Diversify Your Investments. No, Really, We Mean It

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Diversifying your portfolio is one of the most fundamental pieces of an investment strategy. It’s essentially the old aphorism that says you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. The underlying motive for diversification is to reduce risk: by having your investments spread between different funds, equities, or financial instruments, your portfolio is less […]

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There Is No Level Playing Field

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In recent weeks, the business media has been host to a rising tide of faux-outrage at perceived injustices in the financial marketplace. A lot of column-inches have been devoted to High Frequency Trading and, more recently, a tempest in a teapot has been brewing over bond-flipping by originators and institutional investors. Arguments like these are […]

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Leasing a Car? Know the Downsides

For many people, car ownership is the second biggest ticket purchase that they’re likely to make (after real estate). No matter how you slice it, a car is a substantial purchase. My late grandfather was fond of pointing out that every vehicle he purchased in his lifetime cost as much as all the previous ones […]

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When Investing, Stick to What You Know

Warren Buffett can always be counted on for great sound bytes that offer sensible advice for every investor. While not as pithy as some of his other statements, his advice that you shouldn’t invest in any business that you don’t understand is so obvious that it’s easy to lose sight of its wisdom. Buffett is […]

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Are Your Actively Managed Funds Beating the Index?

We’re constantly discussing ETFs/index funds and actively managed mutual funds even though the comparison is so unflattering to actively managed funds. But don’t take it just from me. You need to do your own research on the performance comparisons. By and large, what you’re going to find is that very, very few active funds consistently […]

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