For those of you that haven’t been paying attention, mortgage rates are once again in very attractive territory. On top of that, the Federal Reserve just cut rates, and the Treasury Department is talking about driving 30 year fixed rates down into the 4.5% range in an attempt to stimulate the real estate market. With [...]

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With just over a week until Christmas, preparations around here are moving into high gear. As we’ve gotten older and our extended family has grown, we’ve really scaled back when it comes to gift giving with our extended family. Not only are we giving fewer gifts, but the ones that we do give tend to [...]

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In case you missed the news, the Federal Reserve has cut rates to what it calls a “target range” of 0-0.25% and further indicated that they won’t be increasing anytime soon. This is the ninth rate cut in the past 14 months, and leaves the Fed with virtually no room for additional cuts. In other [...]

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Late last week, I wrote about the House voting to suspend the required minimum distribution (RMD) for 2009 (the Senate has since voted in support of this measure). Today I thought I’d spend a bit of time explaining exactly what the RMD is for those that aren’t familiar with the term.
What is a Required Minimum [...]

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We’ve all heard it a million times before… The key to getting ahead is to live below your means. It’s so simple. In fact, even our eight year old knows how to become a millionaire. So why is it so to spend less than you earn? I think that a big part of the problem [...]

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Lost in all the hubbub about the $700B bailout bill was a series of income tax breaks for individuals. While a number of these won’t have any impact on the majority of Americans, they’re still worth knowing about just in case…

An AMT fix. The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is the bane of the upper middle [...]

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This evening, I was reminded that last year’s Festivus celebration hasn’t technically concluded in our household. As the head of the house, I still haven’t been pinned, so the Feats of Strength are still ongoing. Given that our oldest son is just eleven, it may be awhile before this wraps up. That being said, I [...]

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A Hill staffer wrote in his morning to let me know that the House passed legislation that will suspend the required minimum distribution (RMD) from retirement accounts in 2009. The Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act (H.R. 7327) suspends the IRS requirement that individuals withdraw a minimum amount of money from their retirement accounts every [...]

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Tough economic times are a sort of double whammy for many charities — the need for services spikes, but donations shrink. Not a good combination. While we’re in the fortunate position to be able to maintain (if not increase) our donations over years past, that’s not the case for everyone. With that in mind, I [...]

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Update: The higher FDIC limits have been extended through 2013.
Earlier this fall, FDIC insurance limits increased from $100k to $250k. But guess what? That increased FDIC coverage is set to expire on 12/31/2009. Thus, assuming that these changes aren’t extended or made permanent, the coverage limits will fall back to their original values in just [...]

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