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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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
132
0.8%
312.50*

District of Columbia
82
0.0%
1,950.0%*

Florida
29,238
-3.2%
212.3%

Georgia
8,968
-21.0%
27.1%

Hawaii
113
-13.7%
52.7%

Idaho
667
11.2%
187.50*

Illinois
8,238
-14.8%
35.7%

Indiana
5,634
6.6%
50.8%

Iowa
748
11.1%
50.5%

Kansas
352
-29.9%
-15.2%

Kentucky
758
-6.7%
42.0%

Louisiana
651
-9.6%
37.9%

Maine
118
-19.7%
2,850.0%*

Maryland
3,129
-11.3%
638.0%

Mass.
3,357
15.6%
59.9%

Michigan
11,464
-14.5%
59.9%

Minnesota
1,210
-26.7%
109.3%

Mississippi
192
-12.3%
69.9%

Missouri
3,339
-6.9%
107.5%

Montana
118
-19.2%
32.6%

Nebraska
484
43.2%
-8.7%

Nevada
6,694
1.2%
167.1%

New Hampshire
420
-26.8%
3,130.7%*

New Jersey
4,232
-12.6%
-17.2%

New Mexico
259
-46.0%
4.0%

New York
5,794
-11.1%
18.7%

North Carolina
3,971
-1.3%
142.9%

North Dakota
32
28.0%
146.2%

Ohio
16,308
-5.6%
98.9%

Oklahoma
1,188
-8.7%
29.1%

Oregon
1,222
11.6%
55.3%

Pennsylvania
2,577
-18.7%
-19.5%

Rhode Island
296
-18.2%
91.0%

South Carolina
526
-6.1%
0.8%

South Dakota
22
15.8%
-29.0%

Tennessee
3,862
-15.1%
7.5%

Texas
11,599
-5.6%
-15.1%

Utah
981
-6.6%
7.2%

Vermont
6
-33.3%
500.0%

Virginia
2,578
2.4%
765.1%

Washington
2,473
12.8%
71.7%

West Virginia
49
2.1%
2.1%

Wisconsin
2,385
-4.8%
170.7%

Wyoming
62
24.0%
72.2%

United States
201,950
-10.0%
67.8%

*Actual increase may not be as high due to improved or expanded data coverage in this state.

Source: USA Today & [...]

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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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