Archive for 2009
« Previous EntriesDoing the ‘Right’ Thing – A Topic That Will Not Die
Monday, November 16th, 2009Just watched this video clip on Larry Winget’s facebook page:
Regardless of what the guy does, he’s in deep doo doo. He paid $340,000 (financing $272,000) for a house that is now worth between $120,000 and $140,000. He can afford the payment but is still thinking about walking away since the purchase is no [...]
Addressing a Dave Ramsey Fan’s Comment
Monday, November 16th, 2009My old Dave Ramsey posts regarding comparisons between the 15-year and 30-year mortgage still receive comments from time to time. This afternoon I noticed the following comment (on this post) that I want to address:
In the comparison above the amount in savings is only listed for the 30 year mortgage. Where does this number [...]
Advice for a Reader with a Really Bad Car Loan
Thursday, November 12th, 2009I received this email yesterday:
Hello,
I am recently divorced and I recently filed bankruptcy and discharged. I needed transportation so I had to take what I could get under my circumstances. This is what I got which is not too good, but I needed something.
Loan $23,108.93
APR 19.50%
72 months
Payment $546.84 which will make my total of payments [...]
Taxation of Dividends
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009BG left the following comment on one of my previous posts:
“JLP won’t like me saying it, but even the ultra-rich play this game where their “income” (dividends & investments make up the majority of their income) is only taxed at 15%, whereas I’m in the 25% bracket. That is their gain, my loss.”
The reasoning for [...]
Some Pleasant News: The Social Security Wage Base Is Not Increasing for 2010
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009I was doing some work on the family budget for 2010 and looked up income subject to Social Security taxes in 2010 on the SSA website. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the income subject to social security taxes is not increasing in 2010. That means the amount subject to social security [...]
What About Those 12b-1 Fees on the Schwab Exchange-Traded Funds?
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009Last week, I mentioned that Schwab was introducing several new exchange-traded funds and that what was going to set these apart from the other ETFs was that they were going to trade commission-free to Schwab clients. Lucas, a reader and fairly frequent commenter on this blog read the prospectus and found this interesting tidbit [...]
Wow! The S&P 500 is Up 5.55% in November
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009The S&P 500 Total Return Index sits at 1795.12. It’s up 5.55% for the month of November and 23.55% for the year.
The S&P Midcap 400 is up 5.61% for November (31.58% YTD) and the S&P Smallcap 600 is 49.93% for the month and 18.21% YTD.
Just a little FYI for you.
What Good Will Giving Each Baby $500 Accomplish?
Monday, November 9th, 2009As if we don’t have enough government programs as it is…
MSN Money posted an article over the weekend titled, Junior’s 1st Paycheck: $500 at Birth.
I wrote about this program, called ASPIRE, in the past. The goal of ASPIRE is to give EVERY newborn baby a $500 savings account to be used for college, buying [...]
Turning Home ‘Buyers’ Into Renters
Friday, November 6th, 2009Fannie Mae is becoming a landlord…
Fannie Mae will allow homeowners facing foreclosure to stay in their homes and rent them for as long as a year, as part of the government’s latest effort to help troubled borrowers, while keeping more foreclosed properties from hitting the housing market.
The “Deed for Lease” Program lets borrowers who don’t [...]
A Little Friday Fun For You…
Friday, November 6th, 2009Back in August, my wife and I went to see Chris Isaak in concert. It was awesome! If you get the chance to see Chris in concert, GO! Anyway, below is a live video of my favorite song from his newest CD, “Mr. Lucky.” Enjoy…
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