Month: November 2009

If you've bought an appliance or electronic gadget in the last few years, the sales person has probably tried to sell you an extended warranty or insurance plan. Often they justify it as a relatively small purchase, and isn't the peace of mind worth? Unfortunately, many of us are sucked in and end up…

With rising prices and economic uncertainty, many Americans are still finding it hard to make ends meet and find that they are having to tap one of their most important and final saving vehicles – their company sponsored 401k or 403b (tax advantaged) retirement plans. There are 3 ways that…

Following my recent post on Tips for Selling your Home, I received a reader email asking me to clarify the tax consequences of selling their home and what the potential liability/capital gain implications would be. Based on what the IRS says, here are the key tax facts to keep in…

No doubt everyone who has a company sponsored retirement account (401K, 403b) and/or self managed plans (IRA, Roth IRA) has read about all the right things to do like regular investing, diversification and choosing low-cost funds. Financial Winding Road However, it is just as important to consider what NOT to…

Government incentives and a booming economy have definitely made this a sellers market. But the key for any seller to get the highest price possible is to still make their home stand out to prospective buyers, which involves having a good sales strategy before and while selling the house. Here…

Under the recently enacted $2 trillion Coronavirus stimulus bill (CAREs act), federal funding will be provided to extend existing state administered unemployment insurance (UI) coverage for up to 13 weeks (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance) and will be bolstered by up to $600 per week (FPUC) over current state maximums over the next four…

As Mark Twain once said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." To me, this nicely sums up recent economic figures that suggest America has escaped the clutches of another great depression and is on the way to a sustained recovery. Government reports say that GDP…