LivingAlmostLarge

a twenty-something DINK searching for financial freedom

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Entries from January 2008

Stop Contributing to 401k?

January 31st, 2008 · 6 Comments

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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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Tags: Investing