by Magical Penny on April 12, 2011
This is a guest post from Jack Anderton. It’s an interesting post to publish on Magical Penny because I strongly disagree with it. But first I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Over the past few years investors have seen the prices of many assets take a nosedive. The stock market had its biggest plunge since the Great Depression of the late 1920’s. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was cut in half as investors dropped stocks and ran in search of safer assets. Stocks were not the only asset classes in for pain. Real estate prices took a nose dive also as prices in most markets were down 30%. Some areas even experienced price drops as great as 50%. Which asset would make the better investment going forward?
Click to keep reading
by Magical Penny on March 16, 2011
The sooner you improve your money habits and start saving and investing, the more time you’ll have for your money to grow.
If you were not reading Magical Penny a year ago, here’s what you missed:
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by Magical Penny on March 15, 2011
Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) is one of the most complained about financial products.
Statistics published by The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) show that there was a 15% spike in the number of complaints being escalated for FOS mediation in the second half of 2010.
While this increase was across the board and for all financial products, PPI headed the list of products receiving most complaints.
What Exactly is Payment Protection Insurance (PPI)?
PPI is also known under other terms such as loan insurance and mortgage protection insurance, and was systematically sold to clients taking a loan, mortgage or using credit cards. The policies were intended to protect the financial consumer in the event that their ability to keep up with loan repayments changed.
The reality is however very different, the security it was designed to extend rarely worked and the scale of mis-selling is huge. Click to Learn How Was PPI mis-sold and How You Can Move Forward
by Magical Penny on March 11, 2011
…and lovin’ it in Austin, Texas.

Back in September I made a 0.3 second decision to attend South by South West Interactive, and I’ve never regretted it:
“In my defence I’ve been thinking quite seriously of attending for months but I had not committed myself to going, until I received an email telling me to buy before the price increase. So I did! (Having the freedom to be able to do these kind of things is one reason I save).
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by Magical Penny on March 8, 2011

The sooner you improve your money habits and start saving and investing, the more time you’ll have for your money to grow.
If you were not reading Magical Penny a year ago, here’s what you missed: [click to continue…]
by Magical Penny on March 7, 2011
Do you have £1000 just sitting in your bank account?
In the grand scheme of things £1000 isn’t that much money, really. But if you’re living from month to month, without much wiggle-room between your income and expenses, then the idea of having £1000 in your account might seem impossible.
Why is it that some people never get to £1000 in their accounts at any one time, and others seem to accumulate money and reach that milestone over and over again?
Read on to learn how you can save £1000
by Magical Penny on February 16, 2011
Today’s post is a guest post from a friend, David at Money Choices.
Everyone has heard about the ups and downs of the housing market in American, the UK and elsewhere. Prices are down, and have been going down for a long time, but is the decline over? Will mortgage rates stay low? Are foreclosed properties a good buy? With a dizzying array of factors to consider, how can you know whether or not now is the best time to buy a house?
Purchasing a home, particularly if it’s your first time, can be a very exciting and emotional experience. Right now, prices are still down and mortgage rates are still good. So now is the perfect time to get on the ladder and buy, or at least you’d think it is. Yet given the continuing market instability, a well-researched and logical approach will help you make the best decision.
Click to learn more…
by Magical Penny on February 14, 2011
What better day than Valantines Day, to give you a Love Drop update to share the progress on a project close to my heart:

Love Drop is a micro-giving network of people who unite as a community to help one person or family a month. It’s a pretty unique project, founded by J and Nate, two people with very big hearts.
Click To Watch the February Love Drop
by Magical Penny on February 11, 2011
There’s no shortage of information online about personal finance.
Ultimately if you follow the ‘spend less than you earn’ mantra you’re heading in the right direction, but the fact that you’re reading this now shows me you’re looking for something more to help you on your way:
Click to keep reading
by Magical Penny on February 9, 2011
It’s fun thinking about all the amazing things we want to do in life. But as much as we avoid the subject, accidents happen every day and can quickly end our plans.
For our cars we must have car insurance to cover bumps and crashes; for our houses buildings insurance helps address the risk that our homes may go up in smoke, or collapse to the ground. But what about our life itself? Is life insurance a good idea?
Click here to learn if it is!