It’s that time of year. When we consider how to improve our lives. Ever wanted to better understand and manage your personal finances? J.D. Biersdorfer for the New York Times offers these tips: The Easy (and Free) Way to Make a Budget Spreadsheet. She discusses a wide range of spreadsheet software and apps that will give you the “big picture” and may make managing your finances easier. After an initial time investment these programs offer the freedom to use on the go or when you have a moment. The prices make these tools available to all as well, ranging from free to about $70/year.
Tag: investment
Owning a Piece of The Dream?
Grow up, get married, own land…
That’s been the American dream for ages. Owning a home or piece of property has always been viewed as a sign of wealth and as a good investment. What if that is no longer true? Robert J. Shiller for the Economic View section of the New York Times brings this idea to light in his article, Why Land and Homes Actually Tend to Be Disappointing Investments. Shiller points to many causes but one of the most intriguing is the decrease for demand of urban land, specifically home plots; with the development of micro-housing. A current trend that is changing the way many live in “downtown” areas. Where this movement will be in ten or even twenty years still remains to be seen, but if it goes the way Shiller predicts, the need for rural land will be so low that farmland may be converted back into wildlife preserves.
The “Art” of Investment
This article was especially interesting to me since I have an art gallery space in my accounting office. Of course, none of the works that I have exhibited fall into the category they are talking about, but imagine if you could avoid capital gains taxes all together through re-investment of your earnings from prior art sales. It’s the same principle as real estate purchases and has been growing in popularity recently, to the point where some “traders” are seeing art as a commodity. What do you think? Time to invest in some fine art?