About My Credit Card Debt If you're a new reader, let me first explain my high levels of credit card debt. I'm actually taking money from 0% APR balance transfer offers and instead of spending it, I am placing it in high-yield savings accounts that … [Read the rest]
Outsourcing Tasks That Cost Less Than Your Hourly Wage
Posted on March 31, 2008 // 36 Comments
A popular theory states that something is not worth doing if it makes you less that your hourly wage. For example, if you make $30 an hour and you can hire someone to mow your lawn for $20 an hour, you should go ahead and pay for the service. As … [Read the rest]
Free Ink Refill at Walgreens, $100 Bonus at KeyBank
Posted on March 30, 2008 // 9 Comments
Walgreens is having a promotion on will refill one of your ink cartridges for free on April 2nd (April 7th in Hawaii). Just look in their 3/20 Sunday ad or print out this online coupon. It usually costs $10 for black & white, $15 for color. Here … [Read the rest]
Links: Minimalism, Ad Vaccines, Roth 401k, and More
Posted on March 30, 2008 // 5 Comments
More articles from other bloggers: Jacob of Early Retirement Extreme explores his minimalist inspirations. I just watched the move Into the Wild this weekend, about a new college grad who abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 … [Read the rest]
Prosper P2P Lending Update #2: Scary Graph and Stats
Posted on March 29, 2008 // 31 Comments
I was trying to run some more recent numbers to update my most recent concerns regarding person-to-person loans at Prosper.com. Essentially I was wondering if the loan performance would continually get worse over time. I was curious because it's one … [Read the rest]
How Many Points Should I Pay On My Mortgage? Do You Like To Gamble?
Posted on March 28, 2008 // 23 Comments
When you look at price quotes on mortgages, you should always note both the rate and the points. A discount point is one percent of your loan. So paying 1 point on a $200,000 mortgage costs $2,000. Usually this is paid upfront as part of your … [Read the rest]
Am I A Boring Investor Or What?!
Posted on March 27, 2008 // 27 Comments
Yesterday I was asked by a foreign news publication some questions about my reactions to the current financial problems in the US markets. As I wrote my responses, I thought to myself "this is so boring that there is no way that it will be … [Read the rest]
Reader Question: When High Pet Costs Threaten Your Finances
Posted on March 26, 2008 // 85 Comments
I received a very sad e-mail today from reader Tina: ...A recent crisis with my cat has deeply taxed my savings. [...] I have spent more than $4500 on my pet in the last three months. She developed lymphoma and the initial hospitalization and … [Read the rest]
Should I Contribute To A Non-Deductible IRA, Part 2: Better Than Regular Taxable Account?
Posted on March 26, 2008 // 3 Comments
Continued from Part 1: Future Roth IRA Rollover. Now we'll consider what happens if we don't convert to a Roth. To recap, an non-deductible IRA everything is the same as a Traditional IRA except that the initial contribution is not … [Read the rest]
Should I Contribute To A Non-Deductible IRA? Part 1: Future Roth IRA Rollover
Posted on March 25, 2008 // 33 Comments
As we've seen, after you reach a certain income, both Roth IRAs and tax-deductible contributions to Traditional IRAs are no longer available. After you max out your 401(k) or 403(b) plan at $15,500 per year, you start running out of tax-advantaged … [Read the rest]
2008 Roth/Traditional IRA Phase-Out Limits For High Income Earners
Posted on March 25, 2008 // 2 Comments
For those people with increasing incomes, you may be wondering when either Roth IRAs and tax-deductible contributions to Traditional IRAs start being taken away from you. Here are the phase-out numbers for the 2008 tax year: Roth IRA Phase-Out … [Read the rest]
Haggling Down Prices At Home Depot?
Posted on March 24, 2008 // 49 Comments
Now that we have our own home and backyard patio, we decided to buy our first propane grill and invite some people over. We had to schedule a convenient time to have my father-in-law come drive down with us since he has a truck, so we had pretty … [Read the rest]
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