Archive for January, 2008

"No Cost" Mortgage Refinance: Stepping Down the Ladder

I posted last week that I’m refinancing my mortgage. Now I can add more details. I lowered the interest rate on my 15-year fixed rate mortgage by 0.25% from 5.125% to 4.875% using a “no cost” refi. All closing cost will be covered by the lender. In exchange, my rate is higher than what it [...]

Financial Terms From the UK

I started listening to a podcast from Financial Times in the UK, The FT Money Show, because I’m interested in how people in other countries deal with their finances. I’ve heard the expression that “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” It is true. Just from listening to two recent shows, [...]

Goodbye TaxCut, Hello TurboTax

I figure you all have read enough about the stock market yo yo these days. It’s time for something else.
I wrote a mini-series on tax preparation software last year:

Tax Software: Online or Desktop?
Tax Software: TurboTax, TaxCut, or TaxAct?
Tax Software: E-File or Mail?

While my opinion on online vs. desktop or e-file vs. mail didn’t change, [...]

I’m Refinancing My Mortgage

Among the stock market chaos, the bond market had a rally, which brought down the mortgage rates. I’m refinancing my mortgage. I already locked my rate but I don’t have time to write it up as a detailed blog post yet. If you think you might also benefit from a mortgage refi, you can read [...]