My Money Blog

Why Your CLUE Report Is Important

Posted on December 16, 2006 // 5 Comments

Follow-up: Not being a homeowner, I may not have adequately expressed the importance of knowing what's on your free CLUE report. For a better explanation, see this MSN article titled "Insurers keep a secret history of your home". If they decide … [Read the rest]

Free iPod Shuffle For Trading At HedgeStreet.com

Posted on December 16, 2006 // 29 Comments

(This offer expired at the end of 2006.) Is it just me or are iPods quickly taking over the world? A new trading site, Hedgestreet.com, is offering a free 1 GB iPod Shuffle for opening an account, funding with at least $100, and making one … [Read the rest]

What Do You Want Me To Write About?

Posted on December 15, 2006 // 1 Comment

I'd like to know what topics that you'd like to learn more about, whether it is something personal related to me, or a financial topic in general. Please go ahead and leave an anonymous comment in this post (type in anything for name and e-mail). I … [Read the rest]

Get Your Free Credit and Insurance Reports Before Year’s End

Posted on December 15, 2006 // 16 Comments

Before we get really close to the end of the year and things start getting frantic, I just wanted to remind everyone to get all the free stuff that the government promised you via the FACT Act: Free Credit Reports from all three bureaus at … [Read the rest]

Death and Taxes: A Visual Guide to the Federal Budget

Posted on December 14, 2006 // 5 Comments

Ever wondered where your taxes went? Who has the time to actually read our $2.8 trillion budget? Well, now there's an easier way: the incredibly high-res Visual Guide to the Federal Budget. From the site: Knowledge of how your taxes are spent … [Read the rest]

A Better Way To View Stock Market Risk

Posted on December 13, 2006 // 48 Comments

(alternate title: Don't Put Your Roth IRA into CDs or Cash!) The prospect of losing your hard-earned money is scary. You know that if you invest with $1000 in stocks, in a year you could be left with either a huge gain or a huge loss. People … [Read the rest]

Understanding My Local Real Estate Market – Portland, OR

Posted on December 13, 2006 // 29 Comments

Although I try to keep this blog pretty geographically neutral, many of you know that I currently reside in the Portland, Oregon area. Although we aren't planning to stay here that much longer, it's a great place to live and we almost hate to leave. … [Read the rest]

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Is Tax-Deductible In 2007

Posted on December 12, 2006 // 14 Comments

Traditionally, if you couldn't afford a 20% down payment on a house, you had to pay private mortgage insurance, or PMI. To avoid this, many people now take out "piggyback" or second mortgages, which carry higher (but tax-deductible) interest … [Read the rest]

The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner: Book Review

Posted on December 12, 2006 // 17 Comments

David Bach has sold a lot of books under his "Finish Rich" and "Automatic" titles. Most of his books seem to be heavy on the inspirational talk and light on the specifics, but I think that's actually what has helped them sell so well - they are … [Read the rest]

New Costco ShareBuilder $90 Bonus Promotion

Posted on December 10, 2006 // 32 Comments

Sharebuilder is Costco's "Service of the Month" for December, and they are running a promotion offering $90 Costco Cash for Executive Members ($70 for Gold or Business Members). There's no reason not to go for the $90, since you can't lose with … [Read the rest]

Five Things You May Not Know About Me

Posted on December 10, 2006 // 7 Comments

Okay, this isn't financially related so feel free to tune out. I was tagged by Steve at AdventureMoney to reveal five things you might not know about me. In response, I submit to you these five tidbits: … [Read the rest]

In School And Working? Funnel Your Expenses Through A 529

Posted on December 9, 2006 // 16 Comments

29 states and the District of Columbia offer a tax deduction or credit for residents who contribute to their state's 529 plan. Here is a list of them all. If you're working your way through school, you should definitely try to take advantage and … [Read the rest]