Andy | Saving to Invest

Forget buying a Laptop or Notebook – I am getting a Netbook

Part of setting up my new small business home office, meant getting a new PC that I could use to write for this blog no matter where I was at home or on the road. Initially I started my search looking at standard laptops/notebooks from the usual makers Dell, HP…

FHA vs Conventional Home Loan – Comparing the Difference and Which is Better

One of the biggest hurdles in buying a home is getting the right financing at the price. This is especially the case in the current market where banks are placing strict criteria, and requiring large down payments to get a conventional home loan. Due to the deep recession, stock market…

Record Home Price Drops May Signal Housing Market Bottom

Despite median home prices across the nation falling by 14 percent to $169,000, there are emerging signs that the housing market may be stabilizing and reaching a bottom. For new or would-be homeowners, mortgage rates below 5% and all the stimulus tax incentives have made buying a house much more…

Leveraged Inverse ETFs – The Quickest Way to Double or Triple your Exposure from Financials (UYG) to Resources (DIG)

What are the hottest investments currently on Wall Street? You'd be surprised, but the answer is leveraged exchange traded funds (ETF's). In March alone, over 3.5 billion of new funds poured into these type of investments according to the WSJ. Leveraged ETFs offer double or even triple the daily return…

How to Succeed in Business Over The Long Term

The value added column in the Washington Post highlighted the small business success story of Steve Fleishman, founder and president of Bethesda Bagel. He built the business from scratch to a franchise and manufacturing enterprise that delivers 15,000 bagels daily to 200 wholesale clients, that enabled him and his partners…

2013 Home Energy Tax Credits Extended

[2013 Update] As part of the deal to avert the fiscal cliff, legislated under the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) of 2012, certain energy tax credits were extended into 2013. You can read this article for an overview of these credits and other 2013 income tax related changes. The$500 tax credit for installing…

Setting up My Small Business Home Office

I recently incorporated my first company. It has one employee - me - and its only asset is this website. But it was a great feeling to officially become a small business owner, thereby joining 15 million other Americans. The reason for incorporation was primarily driven by the taxation benefits…

Blogging Becoming a Serious Money Business

Apparently it takes 100,000 visitors a month on average to make $75,000 a year from blogging ($6,250 p/month)! Not so sure how realistic this is based on a piece I wrote about how much bloggers make, but I would put the number more at $20,000 or less per year for…

Cash for Clunkers Used for New Tax Free CARs Subsidy – Qualification and Eligibility Criteria

Cash for Clunkers program Update: Dealers must submit any pending Clunker deals, including any necessary paperwork, by 8 p.m on Monday to get refunded for the CARS subsidy. To date, the program has recorded more than 457,000 dealer transactions worth $1.9 billion in rebates. "With a date certain, NADA is…

The Many Paths to Riches and Wealth – Which One Are You On?

We have all thought about being wealthy and rich, and what we would do if we had enough money to fund all our desires and take care of loved ones. In reality however there are only a few ways to truly get rich. Discussed below are the main paths on…

Can’t Afford to Pay My Taxes! What Happens if I File Late and Can I Get an Extension From The IRS

Sometimes its just plain hard for people meet ones tax obligations. This could be because they have a tax liability and due to a drastic change in their financial or personal circumstances over the year, they cannot afford to file their taxes. You can get a good idea of your…

Frugality, Thrift and Saving – The New Norm

I got stuck in a major traffic jam again last week, a trend that seems to be getting worse. However this was no traffic jam on the freeway, highway or any kind of road. It was a lunch time traffic jam to the one microwave in our office as more…

China Taking over the Internet as Usage Surpasses America

The internet and it's evolution is synonymous with the leadership in American technology. However, like every thing else, the world is catching up and over taking the US. One clear example of this is internet usage, which is now the highest in China as shown in the graphic from a…

COBRA Health Care Premium Subsidy in Biden ARP Economic Stimulus Package

Under the Biden administration’s nearly $2 trillion stimulus package, also known as the American Rescue Plan (ARP), provisions have been added to provide relief for many Americans to save on private health Insurance if they are out of a job, and on COBRA benefit from their employer or getting insurance via…