From the monthly archives:

December 2007

Double Check Your Federal Withholding

December 30, 2007

Do you receive a big tax refund every year? If you do, you need to adjust your federal tax withholdings. When you pay in more than you are required, you are in effect, giving the government an interest free loan. Many people intentionally have more tax withheld than is required in order to get that [...]

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Mortgage Demand Lowest of 2007

December 27, 2007

Interesting Reuters report featured in USA Today’s money section: The Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted mortgage application index fell 7.6% in the week ended Dec. 21 to 603.8 — its lowest reading since falling to 575.6 in the Dec. 29, 2006 week. Source: USA Today

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Avoiding Impulse Spending By Naming Your Money

December 21, 2007

I don’t agree with everything Dave Ramsey espouses, but one thing we definitely agree on is that you have to give your money a name. First off, I think it is extremely important to have a fully funded emergency fund of three to six months of expenses set aside in a savings or money market [...]

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Foreclosure Filings by State for November 2007

December 20, 2007

While these numbers are huge, they are down on a national level by 10% since October. Total filings Change from October Change from a year ago Alabama 660 -20.4% -4.4% Alaska 156 -38.1% 45.8% Arizona 5,767 -9.0% 89.6% Arkansas 1,140 -23.8% 40.1% California 39,992 -20.7% 107.8% Colorado 6,425 19.5% 27.2% Connecticut 1,282 -19.6% 8.0% Delaware [...]

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The Rule of 72 and Compound Interest

December 20, 2007

“The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest”. Albert Einstein The rule of 72 allows one to quickly determine how long it will take, at a given interest rate, to double your money on and investment. For instance, if you have $1000 that is earning interest at the rate of 10% per year, [...]

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