http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Chris+Cooper Finances Chris Cooper Wed, 12 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=45969&ca=Finances Most experts on the subject believe that the Social Security system will be bankrupt in about 15 years. However, some new studies have offered a ray of hope. They seem to indicate that the assumption that the boomer generation will retire at 65 or 67 and sit back to collect their social security che... Real Estate Chris Cooper Wed, 12 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=45971&ca=Real+Estate We should all diversify our investments over different asset classes. Real estate is an excellent vehicle for diversification. Real estate rental properties used to be a perfect investment for high wage earners. They were able to deduct all the losses generated by the property - and when you added u... Finances Chris Cooper Sun, 09 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=45462&ca=Finances Unfortunately there is a growing trend in the US to blame someone else for our own mistakes or bad decisions. If you build your house on the beach and it gets blown over by a hurricane, FEMA will take care of rebuilding it. If you eat too much, some nice trial lawyer will be happy to sue McDonalds... Finances Chris Cooper Sat, 08 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=45078&ca=Finances It seems that some people do not recognize that dispite some unpleasant aftereffects, bankruptcy is truly a “fresh start.” Instead of being satisfied with the benefits they receive some people remain unhappy. Here is a letter I received: “Why does it take attorney's six or more weeks to discharge a... Finances Chris Cooper Thu, 06 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=44766&ca=Finances Sadly, too many people believe that the successful in our society got that way through luck. So their financial plan is based not on earning and investing money, but waiting for their fairy godmother to show up. Some “miracle” roads to riches: The Lottery What better way to get rich, but to play the... Finances Chris Cooper Sun, 02 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=41547&ca=Finances I always believed in the maxim, “diversify your investments”. So during our working careers my wife and I used to buy real estate, especially south of the border. When it came time to retire, we chose to live at least half the year on the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico. Lake Chapala is at almost the... Finances Chris Cooper Sat, 01 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=42637&ca=Finances How that is some people can retire at 50? Or not lose their shirt when there’s a stock market “crash”? Why are some people able to earn high incomes or even have “multiple streams of income? How come some people retire to a life of luxury and world travel, while others barely have enough to feed and... Finances Chris Cooper Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=42103&ca=Finances I am often asked the question; What does bad credit cost me?” It is a hard question to answer because of the individual’s circumstances and the fact that lenders are competing fiercely for customers. But I will give it my best shot. Mortgages If you know your credit score you will be in a position t... Finances Chris Cooper Mon, 27 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=41814&ca=Finances The typical scenario is that you get your paycheck. After you recover from the shock at how little is left after taxes, you proceed to divvy it up among all your outstanding bills, intending to put whatever is left over into your savings. But there never seems to be anything left over and your savin... Finances Chris Cooper Thu, 23 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=41606&ca=Finances About a year or so ago, a major consumer protection magazine reviewed books about personal finance written by the well-known gurus on the subject. The magazine found that the subject of insurance was hardly covered at all. If you think about it, this is a strange failure on the authors’ parts. Witho...