It’s time to buy I Bonds! I waited until now because I wanted to earn a little more interest on the money in my checking account at Alliant Credit Union. I Bonds will still pay interest for the full month if you buy on any day during the month. Therefore if your own bank account […]
Latest Blog Posts
Saver’s Credit Plays Hard to Get
Are you a saver? I bet you are. Did you know there’s a tax credit called Saver’s Credit that reduces your federal income tax if you save for retirement in an employer sponsored retirement plan (401k, 403b, etc.) or in an IRA? If you knew, did you ever receive it? I bet you didn’t. I […]
Experiment: Buying On A Dip
I said in a previous post in December that I would do a small experiment on my IRA contribution for 2012. See Lump Sum, Dollar Cost Average, Or Wait for Dip? Instead of contributing $5,000 at the first opportunity (January 3 this year because January 2 was a holiday), I would wait for a small […]
Who Use Prepaid Debit Cards
Suze Orman got into some hot water for her exchanges with bloggers on Twitter. Suze Orman launched a prepaid debit card. Bloggers correctly pointed out it’s not good. Suze defended herself by calling a blogger idiot. She later had to apologize. I think bloggers are too worried about the success of Suze Orman’s The Approved […]
Why Others Seem to Have More Money Than You Do
Have you ever wondered why so many others seem to have more money than you do? Over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays I took some time off for a vacation in Arizona. We went to Sedona, AZ, which is famous for red rocks canyons. We saw ads for helicopter rides in tourist brochures. “That […]
The Best Way to Refinance a Small Mortgage
A reader asked me about refinancing a mortgage. I gave him my usual spiel about getting a no cost refinance, stepping down the ladder, etc. I also gave him the short list of lenders I shop from: First IB, NMA, and AmeriSave. He came back to me saying he couldn’t get a no cost refi […]
Who Should Default On Their Mortgage
My first issue of The Atlantic magazine hasn’t come yet. I also subscribed to The Atlantic Business RSS feed. The online articles are free to everyone, not just print magazine subscribers. I read Why Shouldn’t People Just Default? and So When Should You Default on Your Mortgage? by Megan McArdle. Ms. McArdle is against strategically […]
What Would Happen When Interest Rates Go Up
By now you probably heard that bonds, and in particular long-term US Treasury bonds, did the best in 2011 among all major asset classes. Here are the performances of select Vanguard mutual funds in 2011: Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Fund (VUSTX) +29.28% Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index Fund (VBLTX) +22.06% Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund (VWESX) +17.18% Vanguard […]
Magazines At 50-70% Off: The Atlantic, The Economist, Bloomberg Businessweek, Wall Street Journal
Some great bargains on select news and business magazines and newspapers: The Atlantic, The Economist, Bloomberg Businessweek, Wall Street Journal
Medicare Doc Fix: An Interview with Austin Frakt
The Medicare "doc fix" is in the news again. I keep hearing if Congress doesn’t act, doctor’s fees for treating Medicare patients will be cut by 27% starting on January 1. This is a complete mystery to me. What’s this evil force that’s trying to cut doctor’s fees? Why can’t Congress make it stop since […]