It has been over three years since I provided an update on the investments that I hold.   Anyone who has attended a Financial Learning Experience has heard me say that it is important to INVEST money and to do so every single time you are paid money.

At the end of our live events, I am regularly asked or emailed the following question:

“What mutual funds do you recommend?”

My answer is always, “I don’t recommend mutual funds.   I can only tell you the investments I own.   In general, they have worked well for me.   The investments you choose are up to you.”

So today, for those inquring minds who want to know …   I am publishing some of the mutual funds/investments that I own.   Click the image to see a larger version.

I have went even further in my analysis this time to indicate my portfolio diversification.   Over the past several months, I have been writing and speaking to the fact that I am diversifying my investment portfolio to include land and real estate.   The portfolio below indicates some of those decisions.

NOTES

• As you may have noticed during the latest recession, a rising tide will lift all ships and a lowering tide lowers all ships.   If you have market funds, you saw this happen.   There were many great companies that retained profitability throughout the market downturn, but their stock value was pummeled due to the overall market conditions.   While I have been greatly diversified in my investment choices, I was diversified WITHIN the stock market.   This is one of the reasons that I have made a focused effort to diversify my holdings beyond the open market.
• I believe it is important to maintain margin.   Cash on hand is essential to the long-term success of any effort – personal, small business, or large business.
• Some of these funds are not open to the general market, which is why they do not have a “Ticker Symbol”, but I am able to invest in them through my previous employer’s 401(k) plan.
• One reason I hold so many mutual funds is because of a variety of 401(k), 403(b), Roth IRA, and 529 holdings   – each plan has different mutual fund selections available.
• I do not “eat, sleep, and breathe” the stock market on a daily basis.   I update my net worth once per month, but rarely jump in and out of funds.   Day trading is definitely not for me.

Investment Junkies:   What are your thoughts on my portfolio?   What are some key funds that you really like that have worked well for you?

Looking for additional Personal Finance Resources?   You can obtain FREE FINANCIAL TOOLS by clicking HERE and purchase books/materials by clicking HERE.

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In THIS POST back in August 2007, I shared several of the mutual funds that I own.  A quick glance will reveal the name "American Funds" six times in my mutual fund portfolio.  Why do I own them?  Because they had great track records and lower ongoing management fees than most of their peer mutual funds.

(logo borrowed from AmericanFunds.com website)

However, American Funds mutual funds are front-end loaded mutual funds.  A load means that there is a sales charge to purchase a share of the mutual fund.  If one is just getting started out, there is a 5.25% sales charge.  This means that if you have a $100 bill to invest, only $94.75 will make it to the mutual fund.  Which is annoying.

BUT, I still invested in American Funds' mutual funds because they simply had great track records.

So, as I was reading CNN's Personal Finance web site, I was very interested to read an article titled "Are American Funds A Good Buy?"

Very interesting.

By the way, I don't sell mutual funds or ANY investment product.  I DO sell copies of my book, I Was Broke. Now I'm Not.  I truly believe that the information in this book will help you take control of your finances and achieve financial freedom.  You can purchase a copy via PAYPAL or AMAZON.

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Jenn and I purchased a thirty-year-old home in February.

This is not like a new home.  This house has neat features like creaks, leaks, painted over wallpaper, rotten decks, aged/dated appliances.  It also lacks the wonderful feature of "maintenance-free lifestyle".

It has been VERY interesting doing the home updates/upgrades/repairs thing.  However, the to-do list is over 5,130 items long.

We have decided to spend some money to upgrade something on the house soon.  I have heard that updating the kitchen and the master bathroom is the smartest thing to do because it is what really helps resale value.

So, Jenn and I are debating which of these two projects to do next.

1) Update the kitchen (complete tear-out, new flooring, cabinets, appliances, and restructure walls)

2) Update the master bathroom (complete tear-out, new flooring, cabinets, tub, toilet, vanities, and restructure walls)

I would love to hear of other's experiences with this!  How much did you spend?  Did it help resale value?  What lessons did you learn?

I am PUMPED UP to be in Dayton, Ohio this coming SATURDAY to teach the Financial Learning Experience!!!  If you are anywhere near the Dayton area, I would love to meet you there!  You can sign up for the event HERE.

Looking for additional Personal Finance Resources?  You can obtain free tools by clicking HERE and purchase books/materials by clicking HERE.

Anyone who reads this blog with regularity knows that one of the key reasons I want you to become debt-free is so you can invest more!  Investing means that Jenn and I will be able to achieve many of our hopes and dreams!  It means that our current sacrifice will allow us to purchase financial freedom for our future!  (Perhaps the number of "!" indicates my level of excitement about this!!!

Well, one of the most common questions I receive is "What mutual funds do you recommend?"

My answer is always, "I don't recommend mutual funds.  I can only tell you what ones I own.  What you choose is up to you."

So today, for those inquring minds who want to know, I am publishing some of the mutual funds/investments that I own.

As I prepared this list, I realized several things:

• We have too many accounts.  We have a rollover 401(k), rollover 403(b), 529, Roth IRA, 401(k), and a SIMPLE IRA.
• I am OK with some risk, but for some reason or other I have purchased some bond funds.  Maybe that is part of my inner-security needs bleeding out … ?
• I can't tell you exactly why I own all of these funds – that CAN'T be good.  I really hold to the belief that I should not own anything that I can't tell you exactly why I own them.

Do you have any funds that you really like that you think I should be considering?

Looking for additional Personal Finance Resources?  You can obtain free tools by clicking HERE and purchase books/materials by clicking HERE. 

Purchasing a home can be a HUGE task – especially for a first-time homebuyer.

In hundreds of financial counseling sessions, I may not have seen it all, but I have seen a lot.  So here are some tips to make your home purchase a winner.

• Don't buy a house that has a total house payment (principal, interest, insurance, taxes) greater than 25% of take-home pay.  The bank will lend you far more than 25%, but trust me.  If you go purchase a house that has a payment of more than 25%, you will start really feeling a pinch on your overall lifestyle.  Your entire existence will be focused on making the house payment.
• Put down at least 5% of the purchase price.  Even better, make that 20%.  You can purchase a house with 0% down or 3% down, but to obtain a conventional mortgage with the best rates, you will need to put down at least 5%.  However, if you do not put down at least 20%, you will have to pay PMI (private mortgage insurance) and that will cost you $500 to $1,000 or more more year!
• Buy a house that is at the average or lower of the other houses in the neighborhood.  This allows better opportunity for your house to increase in value.  When you are the largest and most expensive house in the neighborhood, you stand a good chance of have a decreased growth rate in your home's value.
• Wait overnight before signing a contract on a house.  You will think more clearly about a house when you have slept on the purchase decision.  It also puts separation between you and the emotion of the house.  This allows you to make sure it is a good financial decision.
• If you are not convinced that you will be in the house for two years or longer, consider NOT purchasing a house.  Renting is so much easier in short-term situations.  Yes, you might have to pay to break a lease, but it is WAY easier than preparing a house to sell, actually selling it, and then closing on it.

OK commentors – What are some tips you want to add?

Looking for additional Personal Finance Resources?  You can obtain free tools by clicking HERE and purchase books/materials by clicking HERE. 

Ever had "gotta-have-a-house" fever?

This is a condition that affects many people.  It causes them to say, "I've got to get a house.  I am throwing money away by renting.  We've got to get a house."

When you get this condition, you are VERY LIKELY to pay full retail price and make a decision you will later regret.

Anyone can catch "gotta-have-a-house" fever, but for some reason it really infects those who can't afford a house!  I'm talking about folks with debt up to the eyeballs, $4.13 in the bank, and behind on half of the bills.

Here are some ways to avoid catching "gotta-have-a-house" fever.

• Wait overnight before making a purchase decision
• Seek wisdom from someone who really knows about real estate
• Pray
• Save up 20% for a down payment – when you are really spending YOUR money, it changes the way you think about a purchase!
• Buy a house that makes you work on it day and night for five years because it was a ramshackle, low-down, termite-ridden, leaking, rodent-infested, soggy, sloppy, messy, butt-ugly trash hole.  This will certainly help make you immune to that type of purchase in the future.

Looking for additional Personal Finance Resources?  You can obtain free tools by clicking HERE and purchase books/materials by clicking HERE.

I constantly receive questions about where one should invest their money.

Many folks hear about investing in the stock market, and it all starts sounding like a bunch of gobly-gunk.  This is because of the huge quantity of options that are out there.

DISCLAIMER:  I am no investing specialist.  I don't sell mutual funds.  I am not an investing guru.  So go see your investing professional before you invest.

I thought today I would explain how I have invested in the stock market.

• I start with the company's plan.  The fees are cheaper and this is where the company match goes.
• Since I have a long time until I need the money, I split my investment choices into mutual funds that are highly focused on small, upcoming companies that have a lot of potential for growth.
• My current retirement investment split is about 90% stock/10% bonds.
• My retirement investment choices currently are about 30% International Stock Mutual Funds, 20% Aggressive Growth Stock Mutual Funds, 20% Growth Stock Mutual Funds, 20% Growth & Income Stock Mutual Funds, and 10% individual company stocks.

Now, the market has been on a run lately.  I am not able to predict market performance, but I have a long time until I need my retirement money.  SO, what is Joe and Jenn doing with their money?  Continuing to invest.  Every single month.  If the market goes down, we will continue to invest.  Every single month.

If you have been paying attention at all to the finance world, you know that it is important to have a diversified portfolio.

You do not want to have all of your eggs in one basket – such as having a majority of your money invested into a single stock.

Well, I believe that I have a well-diversified portfolio through a variety of mutual funds.  The issue is that all of these investments are impacted by global/world/regional events that may or may not have anything to do with the mutual funds I own.

This is why I own a house.  It is an investment that helps my financial portfolio become more diversified.

I have owned quite a few homes, but the home I now own is the first older home I have purchased.  This house was in some dire need of structural improvements AND decorative updates.

However, I bought this house at a discount because of all of the issues with it.  It was NOT move-in ready.

Here is a list of problems that it has/had:

• Dog pee all over the carpets
• Dog damage from climbing on window sills, digging up the yard
• Rotten floor
• Leaking roof – several spots
• Sagging roof
• Old appliances
• Wood paneling with horrible wallpaper all over it
• Leak damage on the walls/ceilings

Now, I am the son of a home builder.  I know a little bit about working on houses.  I will tell you that this is my first attempt at updating a house myself. As a result of this project, I have developed a short tip list for you should you consider doing this.

Tips

• If you have no clue about updating houses – do NOT do it unless you have a pile of green portraits of Ben Franklin that you want to donate to others.
• Have a contigency fund for the problems you will discover as you fix other known problems
• Get help when you get in over your head
• Don't move in to the house until you have fixed the structural issues.  It is so much easier to complete a major project when you are not living there!
• Develop a budget for the projects and HOLD TO IT!  Be realistic on estimated costs!
• Cry when you need to.  It lets some of the frustration and anger out.

In the end, you will have a nice house for a good price and have some good ole sweat equity built up!

1.  I want to start a college

2.  I want to visit New Zealand and Australia

3.  Canadian Fishing Trips need to become an annual event

4.  I want to visit China when I am 90

5.  I want to own a 200 acre farm complete with horses, chickens, pigs, cows, and lots of gardens

6.  I want to give $1,000,000 away at one time to a cause I care deeply about

7.  My dad gave me a book when I was twelve called "The Wealthy Barber" by David Chilton.  The facts are so obvious – those who invest: win; those who do not: whine

8.  I am on a crusade to help others with their finances, and it will require substantial cash to take it to the world!

9.  To pay for my children's education – all of it – even through doctoral school

10.  To be free of the bondage of debt and to pursue exactly what God has put me on earth to do – 100% of the time!