I had an interesting discussion this week about why gas prices are so high. It was actually more of an argument than a discussion. As prices continue going up, the debates get more emotional. There is absolutely nothing you or I can do about the price the oil. As in any situation, I look for the opportunity. You should know where I stand - I have mentioned it several times:
Gasoline Prices Continue to Set Records
Gasoline at $4 Coming to a Pump Near You, Unfazed by Rising Tab
Here is a great article that explains the increasing gas price environment really well.
Continue reading ‘Why Are Gas Prices So High, And What Can You Do About It?’
Published April 26th, 2007
in Personal Finance 101 and Women and Money.
Articles written specifically for women on money issues most often include lessons for men as well. I found the following table quite interesting and alarming.
This quote follows the table:
“You’ll notice there aren’t any contribution suggestions for you 45-year-olds if you don’t have at least 3 times your income saved. That’s because T. Rowe doesn’t think you have much of a chance of making your goal.”
If you find yourself light on savings and short on time start preparing yourself to work past 65, but most importantly - if you have kids take this table and plaster it on their foreheads!
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Published April 18th, 2007
in Personal Finance 101.
April 18 - it’s time to relax. Unless you are like me and have filed for an extension your taxes are in, but can you really relax. What if the IRS has a couple of questions for you? The following article discusses the probability of being audited as well as the process. According to this article, if you are making less than $1 million per year- the probability of an audit is fairly remote.
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Published April 13th, 2007
in Personal Finance 101.
A reader sent me the link to a site on Tax Earmarking. It sounds like an interesting concept. However, I question some of the benefits. For example, this concept would encourage people to file taxes earlier. Since I typically owe the Government money, I am not paying until the last possible moment. Another benefit is that it would improve tax payers attitudes. The only thing that would change my attitude about taxes is if they would lower them!
What is Personal Tax Earmarking?
This plan would allow your tax payments to be specifically allocated for items like:
- Alternative energy research
- Building a new Nuclear Submarine
- Retrofitting a Stealth Bomber
- Repairing the Hubble Telescope
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One of my least favorite subjects in the financial freedom arena is debt reduction. People use all kinds of reasons to justify their debt and it becomes a very emotional struggle to eliminate it. I am pleased that I have adopted the “Not So Easy” approach to financial freedom. That way I don’t have to come up with any psychological approaches to achieving financial independence. Why pretend that something is easy - when it’s not….
Continue reading ‘Debt and Financial Freedom Don’t Mix’
Published March 9th, 2007
in Personal Finance 101.
It is a sad state of affairs. Credit card debt is so out of control that they are making movies about it.
Source: Herald Net
Some of the stories, for instance, are clearly examples of addictive personalities, people who simply can’t stop spending money, or who have no idea that buying something with a credit card means you actually do need to pay for it someday.
However, Scurlock does a good job of showing how the credit card companies seduce and exploit such people. And everybody else. As virtually everybody involved acknowledges, reverse logic is dominant here: The credit card companies don’t care about people with good credit. They want people who won’t make their payments.
The Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren calmly outlines a system designed to keep consumers from ever being able to pay off their debts, once they’ve gotten into a cycle of late fees and other penalties.
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Published February 2nd, 2007
in Personal Finance 101.
Source: Market Watch
It’s perhaps the easiest $30 to $60 you’ll ever collect from the IRS, but more than one-third of early-bird tax filers failed to claim the telephone excise tax refund, available this year to just about any taxpayer who paid for long-distance telephone service in recent years, the IRS said Wednesday.
“A little more than one-in-three returns are omitting the telephone tax refund,” said Eric Smith, an IRS spokesman. Some of those taxpayers are correct in not claiming the refund if they didn’t pay for long-distance telephone service. But plenty of taxpayers who aren’t claiming the refund are “omitting it in error,” Smith said.
The refund is available this year only, and came about after court decisions found the excise tax, first levied in 1898 to fund the Spanish-American War, should no longer apply to telephone service as it’s billed today. Taxpayers can claim a refund based on the 3% excise tax they paid on long-distance calls from March 2003 through July 2006.
You can add up all that federal excise tax you paid based on your old phone records, or you can take the easy route by taking a standard refund amount, based on the number of personal exemptions you claim. If you claim one exemption, you can claim a $30 refund; two exemptions, $40; three exemptions, $50; and four exemptions, $60. On Form 1040, you claim the refund on Line 71.
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Published December 20th, 2006
in Personal Finance 101.
If you don’t have direct responsibility for profit and loss or aren’t a salesperson, it can be a challenge to demonstrate to your boss that you deserve a raise. That’s one of the reasons I loved my last job in sales. It was pretty clear at the end of the year whether your performance was exceptional or simply average. Attainment versus quota isn’t always a clear-cut measure - there are often extenuating circumstances that can effect your performance. However, I will take measurement versus quota over a subjective performance appraisal any day.
What if your job doesn’t lend itself quotas or profit/loss analysis. How can increase your chance of getting a raise?
Continue reading ‘3 Smart Ways to Get a Raise’
Published December 12th, 2006
in Personal Finance 101.
I remember when I graduated from college, nearly 20 years ago, I wanted to buy a car before I started my new job. I had had enough. I refused to be seen any longer riding around in a 1980 Ford Pinto. Some may recall that the Pinto had a slight design defect. Its fuel tank was in the rear where all gas tanks belong, however it was exposed. Let’s just say, Pintos’ didn’t handle rear-end collisions very well. Come to think of it, that’s probably why I got such a good deal when I bought it.
I really don’t know what I was thinking. I wasn’t going to start working for a couple of months. If I did buy the car how was I going to pay for it? That wasn’t important. I just wanted a new car. So, I went down to the dealer - test drove a brand new Nissan and told the salesman I wanted it. Continue reading ‘Free Credit Report’
Published November 30th, 2006
in Real Estate and Personal Finance 101.
Here is some solid advice from Jeff Brown of Philly . com on the pros and cons of saving for college by buying and renting a condo versus investing a decent mutual fund.
Before making the comparison, he offers some solid Real Estate investing advice:
- I know people who have invested successfully in real estate. They tend to be folks who enjoy managing properties and are glad to put in many hours every week.
- One of them recently told me the best piece of advice he’d ever received: In real estate, you make your profit when you buy. In other words, picking the right property and getting it at a good price is the key. You need a solid rental income and good appreciation.
- Much is made of the tax benefits that come with investment property. Mortgage interest payments, maintenance, and other expenses are generally deductible on federal income tax returns, for instance. Don’t get seduced. If you pay a plumber $200 and get $40 back from Uncle Sam, you’re still out $160.
The comparison:
- Any profit you make when the property is sold, assuming you’ve had it more than 12 months, would be taxed as a long-term capital gain, at a rate no higher than 15 percent. That sounds good. But it’s not as good as one easy alternative: investing in a state-sponsored Section 529 college-savings plan. With these, all investment gains are tax-free if used to pay for education.
- With a 529 plan, you know the money will be available when you need it, while money tied up in a rental property might be hard to get at.
- And with a 529 plan, there won’t be any late-night calls from unhappy tenants. You’ll be able to spend your Saturdays and Sundays at the soccer field or ballet studio - not with your face under a dripping drain.
From his perspective a 529 college savings plan is a hands-down winner.
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