The IRS will give you an extension to file if you submit form 4868. You’ll have to check with your state for details on your state taxes.
Realize that the extension is an extension to file, not to pay. If you haven’t paid everything you’re likely to owe get that in as soon as possible. The longer you wait the higher your potential liability for interest and fines.
]]>If you or one of your family members is in the military look into there product, both insurance and finance, and see if they can save you money.
I personally have found their insurance, car loan and credit card terms and services great.
I don’t use there brokerage, banking or custom funds.
]]>Today I got my credit score again and it popped up more than 15 points. Why? Time. All those accounts that were opened over a 5 month period have aged another month and the scoring model has decided that I’m now a few percentage points less risky as a borrower.
Remember to give yourself a big discount on your car or home loan by paying down credit balances and not opening accounts several months before you plan on getting a loan.
The time factor is huge. About a month. Over fifteen points.
According to MSN California is ranked 15th among the 50 states for state and local taxes. Not something to get all giddy about. I was truly shocked that the situation is actually worse for 14 other states. Property Taxes here are brutal. So are income taxes. Come to think of it our sales tax is outrageous. Wait, I almost forgot our gas tax is insanely high. Oh well.
Congratulations Maine and New York. I hope you are happy with how the government spends your money.
Take a look at where your state ranks. You might just consider giving yourself a tax break by heading north. If you move to New Hampshire, Delaware or Alaska you just might get a double bonus. If global warming would just really kick in the climate should be much better in all three states!
]]>You will not hear it in most other places so listen up. The US ran a surplus of forty billion dollars in January. According to this MarketWatch article this doubles last year's January income.
As the article notes the pain is not over. January’s are big months due to the income tax schedule.
Cutting the deficit is big news. Some other key points you need to know:
- Katrina spending had a huge impact.
- Government spending continues to grow.
- Tax receipts continue to grow without tax increases.
Forty billion. Wow.
]]>I also buy dish soap, dishwasher soap and hand soap in bulk along with printer paper, sponges and frozen foods.
You’ll notice there is not a lot of food on this list. I don’t cook enough to justify buying most foods in bulk. I have a hard enough time using up all my super market consumables like bread before they go bad.
Be careful with foods. Take into consideration how long they will last and how quickly you might get tired of an old favorite.
I once bought a 5 gallon jar of maraschino cherries. It is hard to remember if they went sour on the shelf or in my mind but I only ate about two pounds of the tasty treats before tossing the massive jar.
Go forth and buy in bulk (when it makes sense).
]]>Prosper.com raised their loan servicing fee from 0.5% to 1% on loans with credit grades B or lower.
This change by itself has not caused me to reconsider using Prosper.com but doubling the servicing fee has to figure into my ROI calculations for these higher risk borrowers and will certainly tip a lot of borderline loans into my “do not fund” category.
You can see Prosper’s full fee list here.
]]>Bankrate.com has an article that goes over many different markets and the best time to be a buyer. You can summarize most of the suggestions as: “buy in the off season”.
Buying in the off season has many advantages beyond price breaks. I have very much enjoyed visits to Boston, Washington D.C., France and Germany during the winter. There was less crowding and better deals all around. Of course you have to deal with the cold and sometimes bad weather.
Even if you find it desirable you may not be able to take advantage of seasonality. If your air conditioning breaks in the summer you might have to deal with it then. If your roof leaks you can’t wait for the summer to fix it.
Read the article and take the time to think ahead to your big purchases over the next 12 months. Taking advantage of seasonality can save you a bundle.
]]>A common suggestion offered to people for getting their debt under control is to put together a budget. This helps identify costly holes that your money uses to escape.
Unfortunately the concept of a starting a budget frightens, intimidates and bores many folks. If you fall into this camp it is okay. There is a smaller step you can take to help you get your situation under control.
Spending Log
1- For one week sit down every evening and write down everything that you spent cash on that day. You only need to track cash because everything else should have other records.
2- At the end of the week sit down with your cash list, checkbook, credit card and bank transactions and add them up. If you have online access to your bank and credit cards this will be easy. If you don’t have online access to your accounts just wait a few weeks until you have all your statements.
3- Multiply your cash items by 4. We only tracked these expenses for a week to limit the amount of work you have to do.
4- Add in your big monthly bills like your mortgage, car and utilities.
Now you know approximately what you spend. Look through it. Is there anything that stands out that you are really not happy about? Is there a restaurant you grab lunch at because it is near work that isn’t very good but is quite expensive? Did you buy a bunch of music that you really don’t listen too that much?
Use these items to identify a few simple areas that you can save some money and get started.
Smile when you write a bigger check to the credit card company. You are building your financial health and that should make you happy.
]]>This doesn’t motivate me to move my money from my Emigrant Direct account. Why? The three months boost isn’t worth the administrative hassle.
It is important to keep your eye out for ways to boost your return and this might be such an opportunity for you.
]]>I am going to be talking to a financial planner soon. In this post I’ll share the kinds of issues that I’ll be discussing with them. In future posts I’ll share some of my criteria for choosing an advisor and what the interaction was like.
I’d like to get guidance on is the tax consequences of my activities. I have a CPA that does my taxes but he is not very good at working with me on what-if analysis of my different options.
I’m looking at buying rental property outside the state and I’m looking for someone that can help flesh out a spreadsheet I’m working on to analyze deals. I’ll also need advice on the multi-state tax issues.
I want an experienced professional with clients similar to me to take a look at my investments and give me some ideas for other things that I can be doing that will make my money work harder, and perhaps areas were I’m not doing my best.
I am not looking for someone to manage my money or pick investments for me. I enjoy this and am happy to continue doing this myself.
If any of you can recommend a financial planner/advisor in the San Diego area let me know.
]]>Not very polite is it? Why should you give me two dollars?
You give it to some guy that owns an ATM just for letting you get at your own money, so I figured you might want to give me some money too.
No?
Okay. But let me suggest you don’t give the guy that owns the ATM machine two dollars either okay?
Go to your bank. It is okay to take out a little more than you need right now to avoid the fee. If you must use whatever is closest go find a bank or credit union that will credit you for using another companies ATM machine. ETrade and USAA are two of the banks that will refund your ATM fees.
Or you could send me two dollars (Just checking)
It will be interesting to see how this further impacts my credit score.
I expected all this activity to hit my credit score. I did not expect it to go unchanged for such a long time and then take dramatic drops with every subsequent action.
]]>A recent experience on Prosper reminded me of this principle. A loan for a borrower with C credit came up and I thought the borrowers profile indicated an improving credit situation and the rate was quite attractive. The rate kept going lower and lower. It finally crossed the point at which some of the solid B loans I participated in were closing. It was clear there was some chasing going on in this loan. I know this feeling. When I first came across the loan it was a great deal with a lot o promise. I have a feeling a lot of people saw that and kept chasing the opportunity long after it stopped being a good opportunity.
The same thing happens in the stock market. We discover a great stock. We invest and feel great, but then something goes wrong. It could be anything: A change in the market, bad management, a butterfly in Japan flapping its wings. The story is different. Our original thinking is no longer valid. Unfortunately the stock is from $70 to $50 and it is such a great deal. Don’t do it. If the story has changed for the worse move on.
You want to put your money in good stories, not continue to invest more and more money I bad stories. Don’t chase.
]]>This is definitely an encouraging sign. So far I’ve run into about a half dozen late payments and to date every single one has been cured. This pattern is pleasant; we will see how long it lasts.
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