Money Magazine has posted 50 Smartest Things to do with Your Money, spanning real estate, money management, saving, taxes, investing, consumer topics, and bettering yourself. Some good advice here. From the Real Estate section

Renovate Average cost to fix a dated or cramped kitchen: $42,660. Average fraction of that you’ll add to your home’s value: 80 percent. Pleasure derived by creating a gathering spot that fosters more family time: off the charts.

From the consumer section

Don’t carry a credit card balance If you have cash wallowing in a money fund or bank account at 1 percent and a credit-card balance at, say, today’s average rate of 13 percent, write a check for the balance immediately. That’s a 13 percent return — with no risk.

Posted by bill as Banking, Finance, Investments, Manage Your $ at 11:49 PM

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BusinessWeek has a short article by Amey Stone entitled The Get-Rich-Slow Scheme. From the article

The truth is it’s a lot easier to get rich — and stay rich — today by going it slow rather than latching onto a get-rich-quick scheme. Best-seller lists are clogged with books that explain in great detail how to Start Late, Finish Rich, or become The Millionaire Next Door. But much of the advice boils down to some pretty simple rules to live by. Here are five steps to slowly gaining the kind of financial security most people only dream of…

It’s all common sense, but the article offers a short distillation of a good plan. One obvious but often-overlooked tip is to “Pay Yourself First” by socking away a set amount each month, automatically. That’s part of step 1, Living Below Your Means, which is followed by taking risks, diversification, playing it clean, and remembering happiness is the goal– not money.

Posted by bill as Investments, Manage Your $ at 11:34 PM

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