The Boston Gal put up this Boston Globe article. It suggests stopping investing in your 401k and instead put the money into taxable accounts. This will help with tax diversification. So stop overdoing your 401k. This way as the market tanks you can take advantage of the losses and lower you tax bill.
Overall sounds like [...]
Entries from January 2008
Stop Contributing to 401k?
January 31st, 2008 · 6 Comments
Tags: Retirement
Too Much Stuff?
January 30th, 2008 · 7 Comments
Do you have too much stuff? MP Dunleavy writes a provocative article about the cost of too much stuff. It certainly makes one think. I’ve asked people who are hard-core coupon shoppers, if it’s worth coupon shopping to fill your house, where you have rooms of stuff and enough to fill a store, versus downsizing [...]
Tags: stupid tax
Taking Social Security
January 29th, 2008 · 4 Comments
When should you take social security? An article in US News explains the difference between taking SS early and late. Right now people are allowed to take social security at age 62 (early) or normal (66), or late (70). People can see their eligibility by looking at this SS page. Currently [...]
Tags: Retirement
Nationwide Healthcare?
January 28th, 2008 · 10 Comments
About half of all bankruptcies filed were due to medical illness which caused tremendous financial problems for families. We Americans have knowns this to be true for a long time. That medical insurance in this country is an absolute must.
Personally I’m for a socialized, nationwide system. To temper this, I’m okay with a second tier [...]
Tags: health
Carnival of Personal Finances #137
January 28th, 2008 · No Comments
The 137th Carnival of Personal Finance is up at the Dividend Guy. My post about “Single versus Coupledom” was included.
But check out these two articles “Cash flow diagrams for the poor, middle class, and investor class“, it made me laugh. Very true unfortunately. And “4% withdrawal rate“, which is a simple explanation of how to [...]
Tags: Carnival of Personal Finance
Rogue Trader
January 27th, 2008 · No Comments
Turns out the reason the world markets fell last Monday was due to the selling of stocks by a Rogue Trader called Jerome Kerviel. This man caused panic in the US Federal Reserve, which caused the abrupt rate cut on Tuesday.
What happened? Well this French Trader somehow managed to invest his company’s [...]
Tags: Investing
Single versus Coupledom?
January 26th, 2008 · 18 Comments
Is it better to be single versus coupled? Is it easier or harder? In so many casese it would seem being coupled is easier but then there are many cases where being single is easier. This week a prime example happened about what my DH’s life would be like if he were [...]
Tags: Fun · Spending · marriage
Revised Tax Rebate
January 25th, 2008 · 9 Comments
Congress announced a revised tax package yesterday. People who make at least $3k and pay taxes would get back $600 back and $1200 for couples, and each child would be $300 extra. People who don’t pay taxes but make at least $3k would recieve $300 back. The rebate phases out for individuals [...]
Tags: taxes
Chance to shorten your mortgage?
January 24th, 2008 · 5 Comments
One thing I’ve contemplated doing, and have done before to shorten the length of our mortgage is potentially taken out a Home Equity Line of Credit Second Mortgage. I have one in place now for $60k unused, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot more since the Federal Reserve cut rates by 3/4 point [...]
Tags: Mortgage
Feds Cut Rates…
January 23rd, 2008 · 2 Comments
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates yesterday by 3/4 of a point. That’s a rather large cut. The cuts applied to prime, which impacts how much people pay interest on CC, auto loans, home equity lines of credit, etc. There is speculation about what the Federal Reserve will do at it’s normal meeting at the [...]
Tags: Investing











