An Introduction

Hi. Welcome to BourGroup and my blog. Phil

Phil Bour is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(tm) professional since 2004, a Magna Cum Laude college graduate and an accounting professional for over 35+ years. I love numbers, statistics and economic history.

I am also an Enrolled Agent (EA) to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service and to prepare tax returns.

"Phil"osophy: I believe that you can manage your money on your own (not necessarily through individual stock selection but through mutual funds, ETF's and other solutions) once you receive some one-time, professional guidance. Why pay annual fees when there may be little added value? For additional information, first read the "An Introduction" label at the left. Then move on to others.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Managing debt

Monitor your "debt-to-income" ratio. Your debt, not including your mortgage, shouldn't exceed 15% of your take-home pay. In my opinion (which is what this blog is), it should be zero, but if it is even getting close to 15% then you need to make some big changes in your lifestyle as that is the absolute maximum.