MONEY SMART
Spend smart, invest sucessfully and live the life you want.

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Scam Savvy: The Netflix Email

From time to time an email scam or other hoax comes across my desk that I think is worth sharing. I recently got an email that offers a very good example of how to spot and handle these things so I thought I'd pass it along. The email (reproduced below) appeared to be from Netflix. I love Netflix and this email said that my account had been cancelled. On the surface the email looked just like the emails that Netflix sends but the classic warning flags were there.

Top 10 Money Smart Blogs of 2011

I strive to share information and advice to help people make smart choices with their money when it comes to spending, saving, investing and planning for the future. Over the past year some blogs have received more attention and gotten more feedback than others. Here is a list of the top 10 blogs of 2011 that were reader favorites or are blogs I think are worth revisiting.

Holiday Spending Doesn’t Have to be a New Year’s Problem

Don’t let a moment of Christmas buying bring you a New Year filled with buyer’s remorse. The brief "feel good” benefit of spending more than you plan to will be totally wiped out by the additional stress and problems you’ll have to deal with when the bill comes. Get back to the basics. Stick with your spending plan, spend time with your family and friends, and celebrate what really matters most in life during this holiday season.

Learn From Greece and the European Debt Crisis

It looks to be another roller coaster week in the stock market amid ongoing fears that Greece will soon default on its debt and that the situation in Italy is worsening, with no easy out in sight. Of course there are other factors that create volatility in the market now, but the European debt crisis magnifies the ongoing issue we have with debt in this country and in our own personal finances. What can we learn from this expanding global problem?

Money Saving Opportunity of the Year

There are so many things you could do with an extra $1,000 a year. You could create an emergency fund for unexpected expense, such as a health emergency or car repair. You could put a big dent in your credit card debt. You could make some extra car payments and shorten the length of your loan. Or you could put it into your child's college fund to grow over time.

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Should I Invest in Gold?

I've been asked that question a lot, especially in the last month or so. Over the past year I have consistently advised against investing in gold and that advice has been pretty good as the price really hasn't changed much. I do believe there will come a time when owing some gold will be a very good idea, but I don't believe we've reached that point as yet for a variety of reasons.

We See Through the Lies!

Earlier this week, a New York Times article came out that really caught my attention. It was disappointing to see the typical economic spin that encourages people to invest with the financial services industry NO MATTER WHAT taken to such great lengths, but was also encouraging to see that the article was in response to a terrific new trend by their customers. People are really starting to catch on that it’s not a good idea to invest in the stock market, especially not at this time, and have been pulling their money out. Now, that’s great news.