7 Money Tricks Rich Guys Know

My dad taught me how to rig a mainsail, my college buddies taught me how to hold my Jim Beam, and my teachers taught me how to parse Chaucer. But somehow no one got around to helping me calculate compound interest or build a diversified portfolio. Arcane skills? Perhaps, but learning them is the best way to avoid spending your retirement years nibbling on Alpo. 

Of course, people teach only what they know, and previous generations had less cause to study the finer points of finance, says Charles Farrell, a Denver-based investment advisor. Most men died within a few years of retirement; the rest squeaked by on pensions and Social Security. Today, employer pension plans are largely history and Social Security is endangered, leaving us to rely on our own savings during our waning years. And with life expectancies rising, we'd better be prepared to grow those savings and make them last. "This generation has to figure out how to afford to live off its investments for 20 to 30 years," Farrell says. "It's never been tried before."

Ensuring your financial survival will require learning to be your own CFO. Herewith, seven skills to help begin your education. 

Read more: http://www.menshealth.com/fitinvestor/moneytricks.html

Secrecy deal with Switzerland could let Britons avoid £40bn in taxes

Wealthy Britons could dodge £40bn in tax payments after the UK agreed ahead of negotiations on a tax deal with Switzerland that the country could maintain its traditional banking secrecy.

Thousands of higher rate taxpayers, who pay 50% tax on their income in the UK, will be allowed to keep their secret accounts in Zurich and Geneva and pay a low tax rate after the Treasury failed to secure agreement on sharing bank details.

Read the whole story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/oct/26/tax-avoidance-switzerland-agreement

How ETFs Can Help You Avoid Investing Mistakes

For decades, financial theories were based on the assumption that all market participants were rational decision makers, acting in their own self-interest. This simplifying assumption led to great insights like Harry Markowitz’s Modern Portfolio Theory and practical applications like index funds with their low costs and difficult-to-beat returns. However, recent academic work has focussed on a more realistic view of the market where investors often act irrationally, as many economists felt that the previous economic framework insufficiently described what they observed in reality. It doesn’t take a PhD to realise that humans make mistakes.

Read more:  http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/article.aspx?lang=en-GB&articleid=90508&categoryid=656

30 Free eBooks To Learn Everything You Want to Know About Personal Finance

When you reach into a broad-ranging topic like personal finance, you find everyone and their cousin trying to reach across the Internet to give you advice. There’s so much information there that it can literally be overwhelming; there’s literally too much for the average person to sort through.
Luckily for you, at Mint we’re looking to quash that “intimidation” factor. There’s no reason that personal finance can’t be thoughtful, cohesive, and comprehensive, so we’ve probed through the web to find 30 free e-Books/booklets across the topics you’ll reference most.
We’ve sorted these e-Books into specific categories, along with a brief description we’ve written up on each of them. Everything is in PDF format, so if an e-Book strikes your fancy, consider downloading a copy by right-clicking on the link, then clicking “Save As.”

http://blog.mint.com/blog/finance-core/30-free-ebooks-to-learn-everything-you-want-to-know-about-personal-finance/

Visual Guide to Deflation

Deflation is inflation’s polar opposite. It’s what happens when prices go down and you get more bang for your buck. Sounds good right? But deflation, like inflation is complicated and much less understood than inflation. It can lead to what’s called the deflationary spiral and grind the whole economy to a halt.

Read the whole piece here: http://www.mint.com/blog/finance-core/a-visual-guide-to-deflation/

Tax Highlights for U.S. Citizens and Residents Living Abroad

This article discusses in general terms some provisions of the U.S. federal income tax law that apply to U.S. citizens and resident aliens who live or work abroad and who expect to receive income from foreign sources.

As a U.S. citizen or resident alien, your worldwide income generally is subject to U.S. income tax regardless of where you are living. Also, you are subject to the same income tax return filing requirements that apply to U.S. citizens or residents living in the United States.

However, several income tax benefits might apply if you meet certain requirements while living abroad. You may be able to exclude from your income a limited amount of your foreign earned income.

Read the full article:  http://www.taxmeless.com/IRS593Publication.htm

Lots of Good Articles Here

Thanks to the people at Portfolio Solutions for putting up a long list of quality material.

http://www.portfoliosolutions.com/research.html

How to Create a "Do it Yourself" Investment Management Portfolio

DIY portfolio management reduces investing expense. When an investor moves from a full price broker to an online broker it reduces commission cost. Making your own buy/sell decisions eliminates the need for a manager and gets rid of the management fees, annual fees, quarterly fees, inactivity fees, planning fees and……. Well you get the picture. But it could also be a trap of your own making.

Index Investing - DIY Vs Hiring an Investment Advisor

By George Watkins

On the surface, index investing seems like a perfect fit for do-it-yourself investors. The simplistic buy-hold-rebalance mantra of index fund proponents combined with the abundance of help from investing authors and online forums leads scores of informed investors to take on the task of personal portfolio management each year.

Many DIY investors never look back; they treasure their newfound fiscal autonomy and the challenge of overcoming future financial hurdles. Others, however, discover that they lack the time, interest, knowledge or discipline to successfully negotiate the dangerous DIY terrain, and they ultimately seek help from an investment advisor.

The purpose of this article is to clearly present the rationale for each approach so that index investors can decide which tactic best suits their needs and abilities.

Is Do-It-Yourself Investing Right for You?

 By Mary Rowland

One of the first questions investors ask is this: Should I invest on my own or get the help of a financial planner?

For many investors, the answer is an obvious one. If you receive a large inheritance or divorce or insurance settlement and have no knowledge of the markets, you need help. But what about the rest of us? We know a little bit. We're willing to learn more. We're intrigued by the idea of investing. But will we do a good job?