July 31, 2007
Last week I asked for opinions on the best 529 plans. In short, we’re looking for a plan, and we’re not enamored with our in-state option. As it turns out, I was mistaken when I said that we exceed the income limits for deducting contributions from our state taxes. Upon further investigation, it seems that they’ve changed the law, and they do allow for a deduction regardless of income, but you can only deduct $2000 in contributions per year on a single tax return.
In short, this means that my wife and I would be limited to a combined annual deduction of $2000 even if we set up separate plans for all four boys. On top of thiswe’re not crazy about the investment options, and we’re also planning on saving a lot more than $2k/year. Sure, we could do $2k in state to get the deduction and then focus our efforts elsewhere, but I’m not sure that it’s worth the trouble of keeping track of yet another account. Thus, we’re looking for an out-of-state plan to hold most, if not all, of our contributions. [more]
July 30, 2007
Guess what? Social networking sites increase your risk of identity theft, or so says Neil Munroe of Equifax. According to Munroe:
“The problem is that people don’t realize the significance of the kind of information they are putting out on the Web and who may be accessing it. More and more consumers are signing up to these sites every day and chances are they’ll put on their date of birth, location, e-mail, job and marital status.”
He went on to say that:
“Nearly all of us can search for a name of an old friend and find all their personal details online without them even knowing. Unfortunately, the fact is that not everybody is searching for a friend.”
Equifax is thus advising consumers to limit the amount of information they make available online, especially when it comes to things commonly used for identity verification, such as birth date, mother’s maiden name (who would ever put this online?), names of kids and pets, etc. They are also advising people to make their profiles private, such that only close friends can view the information.
I guess anonymity has it’s privileges, doesn’t it?
[Source: Reuters UK]
July 29, 2007
July 28, 2007
July 27, 2007
This weekend we’re heading back to our old stomping grounds to visit the friends and former neighbors that we left behind when we moved last year. It’ll be strange to spend a weekend in our old neighborhood, and even more strange to see other people living in our old house. While we’re doing that, you should be reading these fine pieces of personal finance penmanship… [more]
Just a quick note to let you know that we received our $5 promo code for pre-ordering Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Details on how to use the code can be found here.
Here’s the message:
Dear Amazon.com Customer
Because you pre-ordered an eligible edition of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” here is your $5 promotional certificate from Amazon.com. The certificate is good during the month of August toward the purchase of $20 or more of merchandise sold by Amazon.com. See complete details, including how to apply your promotional code during checkout.
Here is your promotional code:
XXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXX
Thanks again for helping us make “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” the biggest pre-order event in the history of Amazon.com!
If you’re expecting a promo code and haven’t received it yet, you might want to check your spam folder.
July 26, 2007
Check this out… J.K. Rowling owns 8 of the top 14 spots in this week’s best-seller list with her seven Harry Potter titles, including Deathly Hallows and the $65 Deathly Hallows “deluxe” edition in slots #1 and #3, respectivey. Here’s how it breaks down:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Deluxe Edition
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
9. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
13. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
14. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Guesstimating an average price of $20 per copy (list price was $34.99, but it was available from many merchants for substantially less) the 8.3 million copies of Deathly Hallows that sold in the first 24 hours translates into $166 million in sales. In one day. Amazing.
So… Did you buy yourself a copy? We did. We pre-ordered from Amazon and had it delivered to our door on release day. In the days since, my wife and I have spent the evening curled up on the couch with kids taking turns reading chapters aloud.
July 25, 2007
General Motors recently announced that they expect a 40% mileage boost for city driving for the hybrid versions of their big SUVs. Sounds great, but guess what? This would bring their city mpg estimates of the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon up to just 19 or 20 miles per gallon (these same vehicles will get a projected 20-21 mpg in highway driving).
While other brands are boasting 50-80% gains for their largest SUVs, GM doesn’t want to sacrifice towing capacity or off-road performance. Thus, they’re using a conventional four wheel drive system with low-range gears that will give soccer moms across the country the ability to tow up to 6200 pounds as well as the freedom to drive in mud or sand.
The downside for GM is that they’re projecting a lost on the sale of each hybrid, with the hybrid hardware adding $10,000 to the cost of each vehicle produced. While they’ll almost certainly add some of that back to the sticker price, they won’t be able to tack it all on and still sell vehicles. If these new hybrids catch on, however, GM will be able to push down the component costs and (hopefully) turn a profit.
My take: While I’m a huge fan of energy conservation, I hardly think that hybrid mega-SUVs are the way to do it. It’s better than nothing, but simply buying a smaller car would do way more to reduce your fuel consumption. Yes, I realize that there are circumstances in which such vehicles are necessary, but the vast majority of people don’t really need a monstrous vehicle. Okay, I’ll get of my soapbox now.
[Source: USA Today]
July 24, 2007
We’re in the market for the “best” 529 plan available. I’ll preface this by saying that I’m partial to Vanguard, and primarily looking at fees and investment options — I prefer making my own investment decisions on something like this as opposed to going with an age-based option. I’m also interested in identifying plans with high maximum contribution limits. I should also note that our state does have a plan with state tax benefits, but we exceed the income limits for deducting even a small portion of our contributions. Beyond that, the plan isn’t all that good, so I’m looking elsewhere. [more]
A week ago, I dug into our Quicken archives and charted the growth of our net worth over the past ten years. It was a pretty enightening exercise, and it was made possible by that fact that I’ve meticulously tracked our finances in Quicken since the beginning of 1997. Doing this got me to wondering about how others track their finances, which brings me to a question…
Do you keep track your finances in detail? If so, how do you do it? A dedicated software package such as Quicken, MS Money, or MoneyDance? An online service of some sort? Maybe a spreadsheet? Or perhaps you use (gasp!) paper and pencil?
