First, Five Cent Nickel posted More Thoughts on Paying Off Your Mortgage Early in which he offered five pros and five cons to early payoff. I think this issue is a very personal one and early payoff should be treated for most people as “Are you willing to invest, long term in a fixed, taxable, instrument that yields (your mortgage rate?)” Clearly, one should pay off 6% loans when they still owe 18% credit card debt. Nor should they drain their emergency funds to do so. Last, matched 401(k) money should still be deposited. After that, it’s your choice.
Kevin at No Debt Plan asks Prioritize Your Retirement Savings: 401k or IRA? I asked the same question a while back in my post titled 401(k) vs IRA deathmatch. My conclusion was the expenses within the 401(k) become a potential deciding factor, and low or high expenses can make it a no-brainer one way or the other.
Just discovered My Retirement Blog’s post “No COLA Adjustment for Social Security in 2010.” I think this forecast is pretty accurate and will hurt those who won’t see their Social Security payments go up even a bit. Societies are judged by how they treat their weakest members, in this case the elderly. Tough times ahead.
Free Money Finance offers a peek at Amish Financial Principles, which brings frugal to a whole new level. But I guess we can learn from such examples, by picking what to emulate and what to reject.
On two personal notes, Pants In a Can author is now a proud father, (congratulations), and Baker of Man vs Debt has moved with his family to the land down under (where beer does flow and men chunder.) Pre-move, the Bakers offer us a look at the stuff they packed, which gave me the urge to start cleaning up, and get rid of a lot of my own stuff. His post How Much Crap Do We Really Need?: A List Of Our Possessions can make you stop and think.
Have you read any really interesting blog posts you’d like to pass along? Drop me a note.
Joe
Update – I am this week’s host for The Carnival of Top Personal Financial Posts, if you are a PF blogger and wish to join, please submit before 7PM tonight. Good luck to all.
Thanks Joe! I’m finding that this parenting thing isn’t as tough as so many have made it out to be… though, people keep telling me that I’ll eat my words… ;0)