Friday Night Links, DIY Investing Edition

Finally decided to take the plunge and go self-directed on my retirement plan starting next week.

For the past 15 years, I've simply done a monthly contribution to my bank and purchased one of their funds – and withdrawn money a few times. Oops! But, lately, I'm getting tired of paying the management fees, especially when the performance isn't there. Why pay 1% or 2%, if a fund continually underperforms the market?

I also read a great book a few years ago called THE NAKED INVESTOR and it really opened my eyes to the investment industry. I was especially disturbed to read about trailer fees or commissions that are paid to an advisor as long as you hold a fund. To me that seems like a conflict of interest waiting to happen – I'm sure the majority of investment advisors are hardworking and honest, but still …

The book is full of heart-wrenching stories of people who probably didn't get the best financial advice because of the conflicts inherent with a system of commissions on product sales. The book also goes into detail how you can do much of the work yourself and save a ton on fees and commissions.

Here's is my plan:

• Convert my account to self directed
• Sell the dog I currently own.
• Take the proceeds and invest in a stock or ETF – I'm thinking something in the financial services industry …

Stay tuned … I'll be doing a post in the coming weeks …

COLLECTION OF AWESOME POSTS

Here are some posts I like from this past week:

Bargaineering is Brewing Coffee Pods – those pod coffee machines actually make a decent cup and it's cheaper than stopping at Starbucks.

MyMoneyBlog is Renegotiating Rent With the Landlord

BluntMoney is Buying Single Stocks now – no more mutual funds for me either … well, there are lots of good funds out there, so I don't want to generalize.

BripBlap is Posting on Internet Job Boards

FreeFromBroke says No Job is Below You

FreeMoneyFinance talks about the Myth of Financial Expertise – an excerpt from the book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich

Frugal Dad warns about The Financial Impact of Having Kids Early

GetRichSlowly reminds us that Oversaving Does Not Lead to Happiness

KCLAU offers 5 Ways to Take Charge of Our Finances

Million Dollar Journey is Pondering the Purpose of Money

MoneyGrubbingLawyer is Using Big Words

Mrs. Micah talks about Renting Luxury Items Rather than Buying Them – Bag, borrow or steal!

Four Pillars discusses the issues involved in buying a new or used car.

The Simple Dollar has 10 Tips for Time Management

ToughMoneyLove asks How Much Can You Afford

Don't forget to check out the following Carnivals, which feature one of my posts:

• MoneyHacks Carnival at MoneyLtd.com
• Carnival of Personal Finance at Quest for Four Pillars

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