One financial term often used, but not always understood, is “Marginal Tax Rate” or Marginal Rate for short. It’s used so often that financial writers take its meaning for granted. Today, let’s look at this term, understand what it means, what it’s not, and how we can use this information to our advantage. Let’s take […]
First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit May Be Extended To All Homebuyers And Increased to $15,000 Through New Bill
The last few months have seen an increase in home sales to first time homebuyers, as well as a slight improvement in the real estate market as a whole. A lot of people feel that this is largely due to the first time homebuyer tax credit that the Obama administration passed earlier this year. The […]
Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments For Self Employment Income Are Coming Due!
Since I’ve started blogging and collecting a small amount of income for doing it, I’ve had to start paying quarterly estimated taxes for the money that I’ve been making. It can be a complete pain to do this because not only are you cutting the government a nice sized check, but you have to do […]
5 Roadblocks To Help Prevent Impulsive Spending Decisions
Do you have your own tips for preventing impulse purchases? Have you saved money by setting up your own roadblocks? How can you save more?
Ally Bank Review: High Yield Savings Account
A week or so ago I talked about how I had opened a new online high yield savings account with one of the personal finance blogosphere’s favorite banks, CapitalOne360. CapitalOne360 is great because of a variety of factors, but for me the ability to set up sub-accounts, and to budget using their automatic withdrawals to […]
Going To The Minnesota State Fair Is Expensive! How To Avoid Spending Too Much.
My wife and I, along with a group of our friends, went to the Minnesota State Fair this past weekend. For those who don’t know the Minnesota State Fair is the largest state fair in the United States in terms of average daily attendance. Daily attendance can average anywhere from 100,000 people all the way […]
Lending Club Celebrates 25,000 Investors By Giving Away $2500 Cash And $25 For New Investors
About a month ago I posted about how I joined Lending Club as an investor, and I talked about how I thought it was becoming a pretty good way to make a decent return on your money. As with any type of investing it does carry it’s risks, but I believe that it is beginning […]
ING Direct Review: Why I Am Signing Up For The Orange Savings Account, And Why You Should Too
As I mentioned in a previous posting on high yield savings accounts, lately I’ve been looking for a new online bank where we can put our money. Our current savings account is with the same company as our mortgage (Bank of America), and I decided that I wanted our savings to be at a different […]
How To Get A Deal And Save Money When You’re Buying Electronics Or Other High Ticket Items
My wife and I have always enjoyed watching movies and TV shows at home. You could say we’re movie buffs. We’ve got a nice finished basement in our home with a big sectional couch facing our home theater where we can lie in front of the TV and watch to our heart’s content. It’s one […]
Tax Rules And Consequences Of The Cash For Clunkers Program
I’ve written quite a bit about the cash for clunkers program here on Bible Money Matters in relation to how the program worked, who qualified for the rebate, and how you could go about redeeming your voucher. The program has now run its course, and now that the excitement has died down people are beginning […]
Time Is Running Out To Get The $8000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
A few months ago we wrote for the first time about the $8000 first time homebuyer tax credit that the Obama administration passed as a part of the 2009 stimulus bill. The measure was aimed at helping to improve the real estate market that has taken such a huge hit over the past year. They […]
Finding The Best High Yield Savings Account: Rates, Features And Ease Of Use
For quite some time I’ve been meaning to get another high yield savings account for our family. We’ve had one online account through Countrywide Bank (now Bank of America) for a couple of years after we signed up when they had a high promotional interest rate. Their rate really isn’t that great anymore (less than […]
My Experience With The Making Home Affordable Refinance Program: Part 2
A month or two ago I heard about the Obama Administration’s “Making Home Affordable” refinance program. At the time we had already tried to refinance our mortgage once in January or February, and had decided not to proceed because it would have meant that we would have to start paying PMI on our mortgage. With […]
Cash For Clunkers Program Is Dead Again. Gas Guzzler Trade-In Program Ends Monday.
We’ve been talking a lot recently about the Cash For Clunkers program, and how the program has been successful by some standards, and troubled in other ways. The program ran out of money one week after it launched, and was only re-launched after congress passed another 2 billion dollars for the program. Now the program […]
