Best of Million Dollar Journey: August 2008

Time to do a wrap up to summarize the most popular columns on Million Dollar Journey for the month of August. In addition, I would like to give thanks to our readers, contributors, referrers and sponsors.

Top 5 Most Popular Posts for August 2008:

1. The Pitfalls of Index Investing

This post generated a good debate about the merits and pitfalls of index investing. As I am a fan of index investing myself, this is mostly a devils advocate post, but it does indicate some of the reasons why I’m not 100% indexed.

2. The Difference between Good Debt and Bad Debt

As mentioned in the post, debt is a big part of life. The analogy that I like to use is that debt is like fire. It can be a very useful tool (to grow wealth), but if you’re not careful, it can burn you. The article indicates what I think are good and bad debts.

3. Cash Back Mortgages are a BAD idea

This is an analysis of the cash back mortgages that banks are offering in the hopes that it will replace 0% down mortgages. Before you jump onto this pseudo 0% down payment train, you’ll want to read this article as it indicates how much it will cost you over the mortgage term. You can probably tell by the title, my feelings on cash back mortgages are not positive. :)

4. Frugal Tip: Write it Down

This is one of my favorite frugal tips, simply write it down! If you’re looking at your bank account at the end of the month and wondering where all the money went, this simple tip will help you save money.

5. How to Get Out of Debt – Our Story

This is the story of how we graduated with mega debt ($50k+) but managed to pay it all off in around 3 years. The article details what I think are the keys to getting out of debt.