automate

So, How Are You Doing So Far This Year?

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Believe it or not, we’re nearly 25% done with 2010 — a quarter of the year has come and just about gone. It’s crazy how time flies. It’s also about that time when you realize that, if you’re going to succeed in your financial goals this year, you need to keep yourself on the right […]

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Ask the Readers: Is Automatic Retirement Enrollment Necessary?

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Over the Labor Day weekend, President Obama unveiled a new set of initiatives to make saving for retirement easier, including automatically enrolling workers in 401(k) and Simple-IRA plans, reports the Washington Post. “The fact is, even before this recession hit, the savings rate was essentially zero, while borrowing had risen and credit card debt had […]

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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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How to Be Lazy (And Succeed in Money Management)

Let’s be honest: most of us would love to spend less time worrying about our money. Maybe you’re not a procrastinator at heart, but when it comes to managing your money, you can succeed by being lazy and doing less. I’ve talked at length about why investing is a lazy man’s game: buy index funds, […]

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The Once-in-a-While Fund: How it Works

If you’re like me, you’re always surprised at how expensive that car insurance bill is or how much you really owe in taxes. The expenses that you don’t pay on a monthly basis can often sneak up on you before you have the money to pay them. These bills could include: Insurance (auto, homeowner’s, renter’s) […]

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Why an Emergency Fund is Crucial to Your Health

As much as you may know that having some money set aside in an online savings account for emergencies is important, research shows that it’s actually crucial for your sanity, too. The “Emergency Savings Survey Analysis” from the Consumer Federation of America has found that people with fewer than $500 in an emergency fund worry […]

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