Smart Nest Egg blog

Are you prepared?

Steve Merrell — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:20:17 +0000

Damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta quake.Most of our efforts at Smart Nest Egg focus on helping people get prepared for the big financial events in their lives: retirement, education of children or grandchildren, etc. But other events can have a huge impact on our lives and we need to be ready for them, too. The recent devastation in Haiti and Chile highlight that preparedness isn't just about having money in the bank.

Saturday Night Live: Don't buy stuff

Gary Alt — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:17:04 +0000

This is hilarious...it wasn't that long ago this was considered common sense. Now it's considered comedy on SNL. Let's get back to living providently as a way to strengthen our families and our country.

Want some good financial advice? Dump your broker.

Steve Merrell — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:48:22 +0000

Have you ever wondered how much value brokers add? In my nearly 25 years in this business, I've asked that question many times, so you can imagine how my interest was piqued when an academic study called "Assessing the Costs and Benefits of Brokers in the Mutual Fund Industry" showed up in my inbox.

"I'm already $38,375 in debt and I only own a dollhouse"

Gary Alt — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:21:00 +0000

If a picture is worth a thousand words then this one sent to me from a friend says it all. When we pass along this much debt to our children, how can we expect them to earn a quality education and to prosper?

The best things we can do to leave a prosperous future for the next generation is to 1) manage our personal budget and finances in a responsible way, and 2) hold all public agencies to the same standard.

By the way, the national debt is now estimated to be

The way Wall Street works

Steve Merrell — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:02:16 +0000

The storm over Wall Street pay was back in full force this week as major banks announced multi-million dollar bonuses for their senior managers. This morning's Wall Street Journal trumpets the headline "Goldman Bows on CEO Pay" and goes on to explain that the venerable Goldman Sachs is showing restraint in only paying its CEO and his four top lieutenants bonuses of $9 million each for their efforts in 2009. Yikes! If this is restraint, someone restrain me--PLEASE!