We all know that Bernie Madoff managed to embody what is wrong, in a lot of cases, with our system. He also illustrated what happens when consumers rely too much on what their brokers tell them. In the end, it’s best to keep it simple, and take care of your own investing, through low-cost mutual funds, index funds and ETFs. Yes, you can still lose (it happens with any investment), but you have less of a chance of being swindled.
For many, Bernie Madoff became the face of evil. And that is precisely why Halloween costume masks in the likeness of …read more

Do you like index funds?

This week’s Carnival of Personal Finance is up at ABCs of investing. It’s nice that spring has sprung for ABC, but in my neck of the woods we had snow last week. At least it’s mostly melted, although I wouldn’t say we have spring yet. My post on 3 stocks benefiting from the recession made the cut. Here are some of my other favorites from this week’s Carnival:

5 myths about owning a rental property.
Why executive pay is so high.
Should you pay off your kid’s credit card?
Figuring out when to sell a losing mutual fund.
4 months without cable.

Head on over and …read more