Not too long ago I took a vacation in Costa Rica. I stayed at a Bed & Breakfast. A single mother was running it with her 19-year-old daughter. The mother doesn’t speak much English and I don’t speak Spanish. With hand gestures, we were able to communicate — I suspect she understands English more than […]
Latest Blog Posts
Why a Credit Union Isn’t For Everyone
I joined Alliant Credit Union back in December. So far, I primarily used the savings account. Because all my bill payments are on autopilot, I didn’t want to go through all the trouble of making changes to the checking account. But I’ve come to like Alliant Credit Union more and more. I decided use its […]
Do You Cheat On Your Taxes?
Do you cheat on your taxes? Before you automatically answer no, hold that thought. Does your state have a sales tax? According to Wikipedia, only five states don’t have a sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. There is a sales tax everywhere else. For purchases from an out-of-state store that does not […]
A Checking Account Wants to Be Free
Wall Street Journal ran an article by reporter Robin Sidel End Is Seen to Free Checking a week ago. Over the weekend, it published another article by the same reporter The New Bank Fees: How to Fight Back. Both articles said because new rules from the government will reduce banks’ revenue from overdraft fees and […]
Staples Sets an Example for Good Service
I wrote a while ago we should be ready to pay more for good service. I have an example to share today. I bought a file cabinet from the office products store Staples a few years ago. I only used it for storing random things, not files. As such, I didn’t install the rails for […]
Pay More for Quality Service
If I ask people "Would you pay more for better quality or service or do you go for a lower price?" I’d imagine most people will say they don’t just go for a lower price and they would pay more for something better. However, my observation tells me people aren’t willing to pay more for […]
Tax Cost Calculator
I usually include a spreadsheet when I post something about numbers and calculation. That way you can play with your own assumptions. I didn’t do one in my post last week Dividend Tax Going Up, Moving to Munis. My bad. Reader Random Poster asked: “If you did not hold any value stock funds in your […]
Don’t Get Used to the Good Life
I heard there had been riots in Greece. People in Greece rioted because the Greek government cut public sector employees’ wages. The government cut their wages because it paid the employees too much in previous years. The European Union requires its members to keep the budget deficit to 3% but Greece was running 13% deficit […]
Dividend Tax Going Up, Moving to Munis
When an investor invests in value stock funds and bonds in both a tax deferred account and a taxable account, there are basically two choices: (A) Put taxable bonds in the tax deferred account and put value stock funds in the taxable account; OR (B) Put value stock funds in the tax deferred account and […]
Cap ATM Fees at 50 Cents
Wall Street Journal reported that some Senators proposed to cap the ATM fees at 50 cents in an amendment to the financial reform legislation. The financial reform bill being considered in the Senate is S. 3217 Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010. The amendment that the newspaper referred to is S.Amdt. 3812, sponsored by […]