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JLP’s Roundup (July 4, 2008)
By JLP | July 4, 2008
It’s been a while since I last did a roundup. Here’s some of what’s been going on around the personal finance blogosphere:
Nickel talks about the hidden costs of renting a car.
Consumerism Commentary talks about the problems of investors trying to follow the wisdom of the crowd. – I think the “crowd” has proven time and again how foolish they really are.
FMF asks: Can you afford your mortgage?
JD has 15 Great Grocery Shopping Tips. – “More than half of all grocery purchases are unplanned!” Based on my own experience, I know this to be true.
MBH: Inflation and rising prices aren’t the same thing. – Although I know this to be true, they both feel the same!
NCN’s thinking about buying a house.
Wise Bread writer, Xin Lu, asks: Why would anyone pay mortgages with a credit card? – Good question! Rewards maybe?
BluntMoney questions Dave Ramsey’s logic. – Remember, Dave’s not an investing expert. He won’t go beyond the generic “invest in a good growth mutual fund.”
The Digerati Life has 7 ways to deal with unexpected expenses. – Unexpected expenses are a fact of life. That’s why it’s important for everyone to have some sort of emergency fund.
The Dividend Guy has 6 warning signs that a company may cut its dividend. – This is particularly important now that lots of financial stocks look like they have really high dividend yields!
The Finance Buff reviews Daniel Solon’s The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read.
Generation X Finance has a reminder to keep your beneficiary information up-to-date.
That should be enough to keep you busy on this 4th of July!
Topics: Miscellaneous, Weekly Roundup | 6 Comments »
July 4th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Thanks for the mention JLP!
July 4th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
The Dividend Guy,
Your welcome!
July 4th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Nice roundup – great collection of articles!
July 4th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
As far as the affording the mortgage post, here is what I posted over at that blog:
Wow – I’ve never seen such harsh ‘rules’ for not buying homes that aren’t more than twice your annualized income. If that was the case, I couldn’t live in my state. Our mortgage came out to be 3.8x (or 38.8%) of our annualized income – but we live a lifestyle such that we are able to live debt free (outside the mortgage) and we are able to make 2 extra payments a year on a 30 yr conventional fixed rate loan.
What it comes down to is this: If you can’t afford it, you can’t. If you’re able, you can. It is up to the responsible party to decide.
I share the sentiment of an earlier poster that said they have no sympathy for those who claim they didn’t know about the ARM. At the same time, some folks who had no intent to stay for more than 3 to 5 years are now stuck. But that was something I took into consideration when I purchased my home…so why couldn’t others see it? Perhaps they did, and they decided it was worth the risk. Now many folks do not want to accept the risk. And it blows my mind that we start to bail them out. I do feel bad and pray for them, but it is time to pay the piper.
It boggles my mind that I, the responsible person who can still pay the mortgage, am the one who is literally at the shortest end of the stick. Do I get the option to refinance for little to no fees for lower rates? That is what boils my blood.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the folks with the boat, the H2, the F350 Extended cab long bed, the RV, and the 3500 sq ft home who got the ARM or Ballon that are realized and see that it is just inappropriate. Make them pay their dues, or if necessary, face the consequences.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Thanks for including my post
July 6th, 2008 at 1:35 am
Yay for the return of the roundup!
Hope your long weekend was fun! Mortgages paid through a credit card? Wow that could work. I may think about doing that…