Ben Edwards's Blog: Money Smart Life, page 23

5 Mistakes to Avoid as a Real Estate Investor

There is a learning curve with everything we learn in life. Mistakes are what usually separate those who succeed and those who move on to other ideas. Sometimes it is luck or a mentor that saves an individual from those ever-present land mines. Sometimes it is reading an article that connects with them. Hopefully reading this will help you keep some of those mistakes to a minimum.

This is Not a Hobby

Real estate investing is a serious business filled with experienced people, both professional a...

Short Term Disability Insurance Pros and Cons

As Americans, we are proud of our ability to work. We like knowing that can provide for our families. However, what happens when an illness or injury prevents you from going to work? What happens to your income in those cases?

While your health insurance policy might cover the costs associated with treating the injury, or with hospitalization, this type of insurance can’t replace the income you lose when you can’t go into work. For that sort of help with your financial situation, you need shor...

5 Ways to Avoid a Financial Collapse

It can be difficult to be faced with financial collapse. When you find yourself considering bankruptcy, you might wonder how you got to this point. It’s not always completely your fault, either. From medical bills to unexpected events, there is a chance that personal financial collapse is around the corner.

In order to reduce the chances that you will find yourself facing a personal financial collapse, here are five actions to take:

1. Pay attention to your financial situation.

The first thing y...

How to Find Charities that Spend Donations Wisely

Giving is an important part of cultivating well-rounded finances. Donating to charity can be a good use of your money, and it can help you feel good about what you’re doing to make the world a better place.

Unfortunately, just giving your money isn’t always enough. There are few things in this world more disappointing than being generous to a cause that you think is worthy, only to find out that the charity isn’t using its money wisely.

Costs Associated with Running a Charity

The reality is that...

How to Save Money on Road Trips

One of my favorite things in the world is the road trip. I like that you can see a lot fun landmarks and discover new activities while on the road. Plus, a road trip offers a certain amount of flexibility that you won’t find when you are required to meet a certain schedule to catch your plane.

Unfortunately, with the cost of gas and lodging, a road trip can get expensive. (Although, the bigger your family, the most cost-efficient a road trip is.) If you are going on a road trip, here are a few...

Investing in Real Estate in Your IRA

At one time, investors set up their IRAs and purchased stocks, bonds, mutual funds and ETFs. Historically, this is how investing in IRAs has been. Investing in these products is still a very important piece of the puzzle and can create very positive long-term returns. However, using the philosophy of diversification, an increasingly popular idea is investing in actual real estate.

Can it really be done?

According to IRS Code Section 401 IRC 408(a)(3), life insurance contracts are prohibited fro...

How Much House Can You Afford?

When you’re buying a home it seems there’s always a price difference between theproperty you want and how much house you can afford.

As we’ve looked at houses we’ve seen examples of people who took out a home loan they obviously couldn’t afford and are now struggling to pay the mortgage on the house. Some of those houses are now up for short sale or even in foreclosure.

Buying More Than You Can Afford

In some cases it was a first-time home buyer who wasn’t exactly sure how to buy a house that wo...

What Assets Can You Keep in a Bankruptcy?

Many people who are carrying enormous amounts of debt are reluctant to file for bankruptcy out of fear that they will “lose everything.” That conjures up visions of being penniless and walking the streets with little more than the clothes on your back. Obviously, no one would choose that outcome if they could possibly avoid it – even if it means bearing the pain of carrying unsustainable debt loads a little bit longer.

Fortunately, filing for bankruptcy does not involve losing everything you h...

Priceline vs. Orbitz vs. Expedia vs. Kayak: Which Travel Site Wins?

It’s that time of the year where everybody is staring out their office window dreaming of the beach or some other destination to get away from it all. With the vast amount of travel sites out there, how do you decide which one to use? The commercials may be cute, but that isn’t the reason to make them your choice.

Let’s put some travel sites to the test. If we put Priceline, Orbitz, Expedia and Kayak against each other, which one would give us the best deal? Let’s say we want to go to Miami, t...

Timeshares: An Idea Lost in the Past

Timeshares have historically been a great way for travelers to see different parts of the world at a fraction of the cost compared to retail sales. Started in Europe in the 1960’s, the idea was to buy “time” at a specific resort each year. That time could be exchanged with other timeshare owners to go to different vacation destinations.

For the better part of three decades, this concept had thrived, and the owners of these investments enjoyed time off in beautiful locations around the world. L...