So you’ve started a brand new business and it’s actually turning a profit sooner than you expected. Things are going well, but something comes to mind.. you haven’t paid any tax on your income yet. No worries though, the government will reach into your pocket sooner or later and it’s best that you are prepared.
If [...]
Over the last couple of years I’ve become a big fan of setting up separate savings accounts, or sub-accounts, for saving towards a specific goal. As a visual person, it helps me to see a goal description and a balance next to it to show how close (or how far) I am to reaching that [...]
Post by Frugal Dad
If you’re hoping to get a personal loan, be wary of where you look!
You’ve got limited options when you have bad credit and are in a financial bind. While a lot of people may not have much sympathy for consumers who have fallen into this trap, I can see just how easy it is to [...]
Federal income tax withholding tables were adjusted earlier in 2009 due to the “Making Work Pay” tax credit as part of the economic stimulus package. The reduction of federal income tax withholding was intended to provide a gradual financial benefit to the economy by putting a little more money in your paycheck each month.
Federal Income Tax [...]
As another school year dawns, high school students everywhere are thinking of what will come next: college life and all that it entails. Meanwhile, their parents are thinking of the accompanying bills.
Depending on where a student goes to school, college can entail books, dorm costs, meal plans, parking, and travel to/from home – in addition to tuition. If you have a child now or plan to in the future, it is never too early to think about saving for college.
According to CNNMoney.com, in 2008, the total costs of a 4-year private school topped $34,000. In-state public school cost about $14,000, while out-of-state public school landed in the middle at approximately $25,000. About $7,800 of the public school costs were due to room and board, so you can expect to save that much if your student lives at home.
Although inflation averages 3-4%, college costs can increase by as much as 7% each year. At that rate, college costs roughly double every 10 years.
Deciding how much you will contribute to your child’s education is a deeply personal decision. If you plan to pay for all or part of your child’s education, you should start thinking now about how much you will contribute. Here are some things to consider when deciding on how much to save, and how you will save it:
Come back tomorrow when I discuss various savings vehicles in detail!
Written by Jill
Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan
Get free subscriptions to hundreds of popular magazines!
“It ain’t the heat; it’s the humility.”– Yogi Berra
It’s not about the money. What is your real inner motivation for how you handle money – how do you spend it, and how and why do you save it?
Having talked to thousands of people about their money, we have found that money is very emotional for [...]
The following guest post was submitted by Kevin, web content writer for Resqdebt.com. For more helpful tips on how to save money and stay out of debt, visit Resqdebt’s website at www.resqdebt.com.
People often can be successful in the business world but clueless when it comes to managing their own finances. A business-minded strategy is a great [...]
Post by Frugal Dad
I have shared the asset allocation of our mutual fund investments a few times in the past. However, as you may have noticed, I didn’t include everything in the analysis. The reasons for only looking at the allocation of mutual funds invested in our taxable accounts instead of the entire portfolio, which includes taxable accounts [...]
Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
Special bonus offers
By Curmudgeon
Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?
- Robert Browning
Here am I sitting in my tin can, far above the world. Planet Earth is blue, and there’s nothing I can do.
- David Bowie (Space Oddity)
Next year, the three remaining Space Shuttles will be decommissioned, and for the first [...]
Reaffirming a Vision is an original article from the website brip blap.
Home ownership is part of the American Dream and many personal finance pundits insist you need to become a homeowner in order to be financially successful and create wealth. While it’s true that owning a home can be a significant key to building long-term wealth and financial stability, that isn’t always the case. There are [...]
About the Author: Jeremy is a retirement planning specialist and founder of Generation X Finance and the guide to Financial Planning at About.com. To learn more, follow Jeremy on Twitter.
Owning a Home Isn’t Necessary for Building Wealth – Make Sure You Buy a Home for the Right Reasons
It’s a buyer’s market in real estate. As a follow up to our article on How To Buy A Foreclosure, we discuss how short sale real estate purchases work.
Buying A House In A Short Sale: Our Story
Last fall, my spouse and I, with the help of our real estate agent, stumbled across a little [...]
It’s been a long time since I calculated my net worth – July 2008 to be specific. Why did I stop calculating it then? There were two main reasons:
The big stock market drop – Things had dropped so much that it was depressing. The fall of housing prices also played heavily into [...]
Related posts:
Are you moving and need new appliances, or have you had one break recently and need to replace it? Appliances can make or break your budget in two ways. First of all, they can use up so much energy that they become a drain on your month-to-month electricity charges. Secondly, they can cost a small fortune just to purchase. Here are some ideas to save you money on these large purchases.
The easiest way to save money on appliances is to choose an apartment that comes with appliances (most do), or to negotiate them into your home contract. If the sellers have older appliances that are still functioning, ask if they will leave them in the home for you.
Most of the time sellers will want to purchase new appliances for their new home anyway, and if the appliances are older, you may be saving them some headache in storage and moving fees. If you are left with several appliances, then you can focus on purchasing newer appliances one at a time versus having to purchase them all at once.
It would be nice if we all had unlimited budgets to shop for the newest, best appliances. Because this is not the case for most of us, it is important to balance out saving money in upfront costs, and buying appliances with an Energy Star rating which will cost more up front but will yield greater savings over its lifetime.
How should you prioritize your budget? Some appliances run 24 hours a day—a refrigerator or freezer—while others run on a need basis, such as a washer and dryer. It makes a lot of sense to spend the extra money up front on an energy efficient refrigerator; however, purchasing energy efficient washers and dryers may not be necessary. To make the washer and dryer more energy efficient, perhaps you could purchase an indoor/outdoor clothesline and run less loads of wash.
Patience can get you far in purchasing appliances. However, it should be noted that some appliances you cannot do without for long. Part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is the Energy Star Rebate program. States are being awarded out of a pot of $300 million allotted by this Act to be used for consumer rebates who purchase energy efficient appliances.
States began receiving this money in August 2009, and will receive the remainder of it by November 30, 2009. If you wait a few more months, chances are that you can get a rebate for purchasing more energy efficient products, which will save you both in upfront costs as well as in long-term electricity costs.
If you do not have time to wait, check with your electric company and see if they offer any rebates or discounts on energy star appliances. Many of them do. Also, search the Energy Star website to see if any rebates are currently active in your area for specific models.
Here’s a secret to saving big bucks on appliances: scratch and dent stores. Once an appliance is shipped and taken out of its box, it is legally considered used. Sears, Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc. cannot take the product back and resell it as brand new.
This not only includes products that have been scratched or dented during shipment, but also products that are sent back because someone did not measure their space correctly, or decided that they do not want it after all. This is great news for the rest of us because these appliances end up at scratch and dent or outlet stores where you can find savings on brand new appliances between 40-70%!
As an example, my fiancée and I just went to a Sears Scratch and Dent outlet and found a brand new, stainless steel, Frigidaire refrigerator with an Energy Star rating for 50% off (original price was $1500; we got it for $755). It had one dent on the front door near the bottom. For an extra $60, we are having it delivered tomorrow.
If you see an appliance that you fall in love with, but the cost is just too high, check out the floor model. Typically stores will sell their floor models at a discount. Make sure you inspect the appliance from all angles and see if there are any dents/scratches/missing pieces, etc.
Then, decide what sort of discount you would like. Speak with a manager and use your negotiation skills. A lot of times managers are happy to be able to sell their floor models and recoup some of their costs.
Another great way to find appliances is through Craigslist. There are always people who are moving cross country, who are looking to downsize, upgrade, or who just need money and they are selling their appliances at a percentage of what they paid in retail.
Depending on how you look at it, appliances can be very expensive burdens, or energy-saving investments. With the tips above and some planning on your part, you can save significant amounts of money both now and for years to come.
I would love to hear some of your own ideas and experiences in appliance shopping!
Written by Amanda
Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan
Get free subscriptions to hundreds of popular magazines!
As our toddler is approaching the 2nd year of life (terrible twos?), we have been contemplating various school systems and activities. We have thought about educational day cares, Montessori schools, ballet, Karate, piano, French immersion, swimming, soccer and the list goes on.
Stepping back and looking at the big picture, I have to think about [...]
Today I’m beginning the slow process of returning to a normal schedule. I do have plenty to say, it’s sitting down at the keyboard that’s the hard part. Thanks to all the condolences passed along from readers and fellow bloggers – really meant a lot to our family.
Those who have lost a loved one know [...]
Post by Frugal Dad
I’ve written before about the dangers of online bill pay, one of the dangers I mention is assuming all your bills are paid automatically. The advice I gave is to check your statements regularly, even if the payments are automated.
Well, I didn’t take my own advice and I got a call from my mortgage company today [...]
As some of you know, I put a call out on Monday to spread the word of MonaVie’s lawyers bullying tactics. I should have also mentioned about their employee calling me an annoying douche. Well I gave them a fun response that basically amounted to “stuff it on your legal threat” and “teach [...]
Related posts:
No, this article has nothing to do with the Registan – I just felt like putting it there.
I tried out Dropbox.com based on this article from My Two Dollars: 2GB Free Online Storage From Dropbox.com. So far it’s interesting (sign up here to get some bonus memory). I could see it being helpful since Bubelah [...]
linklings, dropbox and evernote edition is an original article from the website brip blap.
Is there such a thing as a “frugal spender”? My rambling reflections on frugality, saving and our spending habits.
How Do You “Buy Stuff”?
The story of Sam Walton has always fascinated me. Here was a guy who was worth a huge load of money yet who was reputed to live a simple life. Then [...]
With a higher FICO score, you can prepare yourself for better interest rates and favorable loans. myFICO.com is a one stop shop for receiving your FICO credit score and report. You can actually get an immediate discount by checking out the table below.
myFICO Product
Discount / Promotional Code
Price
FICO Standard: Equifax
Use 25% off discount [...]
Flu season is almost here and we have to worry about the swine flu again. It seems like the flu starts to take off once kids go back to school with all their coughing, sneezing, and not washing their hands.
One of my co-workers already had two of his kids catch the swine flu at school. When they [...]
Mom, I’m glad you followed the link I sent you in your Yahoo e-mail. When I choked on pizza a few weeks ago, I realized life is too short and I should share with you this part of mine. I had been hesitant to tell you about this blog for so long, because [...]
Related posts:
The College Advantage Ohio 529 plan really wants to give away Free Money!
In addition to the Ohio 529 College Advantage $25 sign up bonus, they’re giving $25 more to sign up for electronic funds transfer.
For new and existing accounts. The bonus is available to new and existing accounts. If you don’t have an account yet, get your $25 sign up bonus first, then enroll in EFT to get this bonus.
Payroll deduction option. Payroll deduction also qualifies for the bonus; you qualify once your employer has sent at least one check or bank transfer for a minimum of $25 and it has been applied to the account.
Stacking bonuses. You can get an additional $25 for another EFT funded from another contributor. For example, Scott and I could each start a separate EFT for one account; the account will get $50. (Multiply that by the 13 accounts we have, and you can see where this will add up!)
For more information on the bonus offer, see College Advantage Account Services.
Written by Madison
Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan
Get free subscriptions to hundreds of popular magazines!
Canadian Money Forum has a great thread questioning if this is the greatest sucker rally in history.
A fellow blogger, Lazy Man, is facing some legal issues when he wrote about Monavie being a scam. Apparently, the meta keywords he used in the post are trade marked, but I really don’t see any grounds for a [...]
This post is from Craig Ford at Money Help For Christians. Relying on over ten years of ministry experience and his background in Biblical Studies Craig writes daily personal finance articles from a Christian perspective. You can visit his site at www.moneyhelpforchristians.com or you can sign up to receive free daily email updates.
Many future parents [...]
Post by Frugal Dad
