Barbara Friedberg's Blog: Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance, page 36

Best Way to Play the Lottery (You’re Not Going to Like it)

Playing the Lottery and Investing

The best way to play the lottery is using another approach. After all, aren’t you playing the lottery to get rich? Here’s a way to get rich with a greater probability of success than playing the lottery.

If you are a lottery player, I want to help you.

If you put $50 per month in the lottery over 10 years, you will have spent $6,000.

According to Tara Siegel Bernard in a recent NY Times article, “Win a Lottery? Not Much Chance Of Thatyour chances of hitting...

How to Get a Good Return on Your Cash – Without Too Much Risk

4 Strategies to Get aGood Return on Your Cash-In Spite of Low Interest Rates

Are you frustrated trying to get a good return on your cash?

Are you sick of meagerinterest payments on your savings?

Does it bother you to earn a 10 cent interest credit on your account?

I remember the old days when you could get a good return on your cash. During the 1980’s savings rates were8 to 10percent. But along with those juicy returns was higher inflation. So even if we got an 8% return on our bank money mar...

My Investments S*ck-What Should I Do?

2016 Investment Markets Don’t Look Good

“The blue chips fell 276.09 points, or 1.6%, to 17148.94. The decline marked the worst first day of trading since 2008, and follows the first yearly fall for the Dow since 2008.”WSJ.com

Okay, it’s 2 business days into 2016 and so far, the markets don’t look great. You’re thinking, “my investments s*ck”. On January 4th, the DOW dropped 1.6%, the S&P fell 1.5%, and the NASDAQ went down 2.1%. The next day, Tuesday, January 5th, 2016 the markets calmed dow...

2016 Investing Fuel-15 Best Money and Investing Articles

2015 Investment Wrap Up The DOW lost -2.2% The S+P 500 lost -0.70% The Nasdaq fell -1.15% The U.S. Treasury 10-Year Bond slipped -0.877%

The Fed Funds Rate rose in Decemberfor the first time since 2007. Although there are manypredictions for 2016, no one can promise a clear view of the future. There is one certainty, 2016 is unlikely to be the same as 2015. That said, let’s look at some of the best money and investing articles of 2015.

2015 has been a tumultuous year for world citizens and in...

9 Cheap New Years Eve at Home Ideas

Cheap New Years Eve at Home

With drunk drivers on the loose, and the crazies out and about, here are some Cheap New Years Eve at Home ideas for a great New Years Eve.Try these with the family, a few friends, or a big group.

FOOD for a Cheap New Years Eve at Home

Pot luck is the way to go. If your guests bring some grub, they are automatically invested in the event! Set a theme for even more fun. Try hors’doerves, sandwiches, dips, international, or any theme you can come up with. Finger food...

5 Essential Money Moves for 2016-Read Now!

A quick google search of ‘essential money moves for 2016’ turned up 7,760,000 responses. I’ve done the hard work for you and culled the top money moves into 5 actionable money tips for 2016. Schedulean hour or two and get your finances in order with these 5 essential money moves. (Number 5 may surprise you!)

1. Examine your 401k, 403b or Other Workplace Retirement Account

My spouse has a TIAA CREF account in his workplace 403b. For months I procrastinated the task of evaluating the investment...

Best Asset Allocation Based On Age & Risk Tolerance

How To Figure Out the Best Asset Allocation For You

Graham from Moneystepper asks;

What metric (rule of thumb) would you recommend for asset allocation based on age and risk appetite?

Graham’s question is not as simple as it might seem. Let’s attack it from several investment angles and throw in a bit of research as well.

Quick Primer: What Is Asset Allocation?

The asset allocation decision divides total investable funds by percent into specific investment categories.An asset allocation re...

Do Billionaires Need An Emergency Fund?

How Billionaires and the Uber-Wealthy Went Under

If you think billionaires don’t go broke, think again. Lottery winners, professional athletes, actors, and others with tremendous wealth have lost it all.

The interesting thing about money, not matter how much you have, if you spend more than you make or swindle others, at some point you’ll wind up broke.

Bernie Madoff – From $17.179 Billion to Zero

How wealthy do you think the Madoff family is today?

According to a Time.com article bySam Friz...

Invest and Beat the Pros

# 1 Kindle Best Seller-Invest and Beat the Pros

Perfect Wealth Building Guide with Investing

Are you worried about your financial future?

Would you like a method to set up your finances for success now, and financial security in the future?

Do you fell like you lack time and knowledge to manage your money?

Here’s how you’ll benefit and what you’ll learn from this investing blueprint (from back cover):

1. The index fund investing approach that helps you reach your financial goals.

2. Enough...

Tax Benefits of 401k Plans: Key Takeaways to Maximize your 401k Benefits

Guest contributor, Rick Pendykoski

Act Now to Enjoy theTax Benefits of 401k Plans

Does you employer offer a 401k plan?

Have you been lazy in signing up?

Or maybe you signed up, but you’re still not sure about the tax benefits of your 401k plan. With the demise of employer sponsored pensions, the 401k plan is your retirement safety net.

In 1986 congress created the 401k plan to give employees a tax-advantaged way to save for retirement. There are two versions of the 401k, the tax-deferred 401k...