Marrying for solely financial reasons has always been frowned upon in our moralistic culture. As much as we may idolize wealth (as seen through our love affair with spoiled reality television stars), we still frown upon the blending of money and marriage when it’s for pure financial gain. However,...
My husband and I are moving and we’ve been scouring Craigslist ads to buy our furniture. We currently live in a shack and are upgrading to a two-bedroom townhome, so we need items to fill up the space, but we’re still two newlyweds on a budget that don’t have a lot of money to splurge on high-end...
The recent recession, and the current concern over what’s next for the economy have many people wondering how they can make their finances a little more secure. One way to do this is to improve income diversity with the help of a home business. Before you start a home business, though, it’s...
When you go to buy a car, you want to get the best deal. While getting a good deal does rely on your negotiating skills to a certain extent, getting the most bang for your buck also includes getting a good interest rate on your auto loan. However, unless you have a good credit score, you won’t...
One of the biggest debates in the world of personal finance is whether it is preferable to use a credit card or a debit card. Of course, there is no standard answer. As with all issues in personal finance, whether you should use a debit card or a credit card comes down to your own preferences and your...
One of the financial questions you have to answer when you are part of a couple is this: Should we open a joint bank account? The answer, of course, has largely to do with personal preference. My husband and I find that there are benefits to having a joint account. Even if you retain separate accounts...
Photo by DonkeyHotey Last week, many of us paid taxes, or filed a tax return for taxes overpaid throughout the year. This time of year often prompts many to wonder why we need taxes, and figure out what they are used for. What are Taxes? Simply put, taxes represent a contribution — of money —...
Carrying a mortgage is customary for most homeowners. It’s rare indeed when someone can actually pay cash for a house. It’s generally hard enough to come up with the money for a down payment. In fact, it’s not all that rare for people to buy a home with very little cash up front –...
Photo by photosteve101 Mistake # 1. Buy and hold mutual funds This strategy lost money over the last 10 years. ETFs, Modern Portfolio Theory and semi-annual rebalancing worked beautifully. You were able to capture gains of NASDAQ 2000, real estate 2005, clean energy 2007, DOW 2007 and more! Mistake #...
Source: http://www.granthammond.com 1) Income Taxes Whenever some one things of taxes they usually think of federal income taxes first. That is because between Federal and State taxes some Americans loose as much as 35% of their paychecks to income taxes. 2) Business Taxes Also known as corporate taxes,...
Source: http://homebizmadeez4u.com A few days ago, I finally followed through on what I have been meaning to do for a very long time….form an LLC to expand my business of websites/blogs. I have called it ATA Consulting LLC. The reason I have given this name is because ‘Consulting’ is...
After reading the book How Come That Idiot’s Rich and I’m Not? I’m totally committed to setting up my own business. One of the requirements for that is to have a business account with someone like Paypal, because its very easy to handle all your online invoicing and payments. Paypal...
Source: activerain.com First, let me answer the 2 basic questions about Mortgage Escrow. What is an escrow? An escrow is when you include your taxes and insurance with your monthly mortgage payment. How does Escrow work? 1. Buyer, seller and the Escrow Agent sign the escrow agreement. 2. Buyer deposits...
Source: newsoxy.com I’ll be closing on my home next month and, I think, I have everything under control. But I’m still getting anxious about the whole deal. So, what am I anxious about? * Buying a house. The biggest investment I have ever made. * 20% down payment. A very large chunk of my...
Source: http://www.educationnews.org My daughter will be turning 2 in January. So for my wife and I, its time for us to start planning for her college. Should we go for a College 529 plan, an Education IRA or a Regular Investment account ? What should we do? So I started researching the various college...
According to Bankrate, the 10 things listed below that “DECREASE” the value to your home. Based on my recent purchase of a new construction single-family home, I have added my comments for each of these items. 1. A Pool Personally, I’m not too fond of having a pool in my backyard,...
