Archive for February, 2008
Friday, February 29th, 2008
I found this map on the Carpe Diem Blog comparing the economies all US States to the GDP of various world economies. For instance, the economic output of Texas is roughly equivalent to the GDP of Brazil.
It helps to put into perspective how truly rich this country is.
Posted in Economy | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
With Bank of America and Chevron entering the Dow Jones Industrial average today, I thought it would be a good time to discuss exactly what this closely watched stock market indicator is, and how it is configured and calculated. History The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was originally, as its ...
Posted in Stocks | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 12th, 2008
Six of the largest US mortgage companies - representing about 50% of the current mortgae market - announced a plan today to suspend foreclosure proceedings on mortgages that are greater than 90 days past due. This pause would allow time to attempt renegotiation of mortgage terms. The plan ...
Posted in Mortgages, Politics | No Comments »
Monday, February 11th, 2008
Do We Have To Pay Back The Tax Rebate? Short Answer: NO. I have read a lot of misleading stories on the rebate portion of the Stimulus Bill. For instance, Liz Pulliam Weston, writing in MSN Money writes: To produce this cash, Congress created ...
Posted in Politics, Taxes | No Comments »
Friday, February 8th, 2008
The House and Senate passed the final version of the stimulus bill only three weeks after President Bush's initial proposal. The final plan will cost an estimated $168 billion versus the $150 billion cost of the House plan. The Senate plan included rebates for senior citizens and disabled veterans. ...
Posted in Politics, Taxes | No Comments »
Thursday, February 7th, 2008
UPDATE: The House and Senate have passed the final version of the Stimulus Bill. You can read the details in this post: Details on Final Stimulus Bill.
The Senate failed to pass their expanded version of the House stimulus plan last night.
From The Wall Street Journal:
Supporters of the Senate bill ...
Posted in Politics, Taxes | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
This is a little old, but I think it's still relevant this early in the year.
Back in November, CNNMoney.com conducted a poll that asked respondents about their top financial goals for 2008.
Here are the results:
33% - Pay down debt.
23% - Save for retirement.
11% - Build an emergency fund.
11% - Buy ...
Posted in Goals | No Comments »
Monday, February 4th, 2008
Very interesting article in The New York Times today discussing how more and more Americans are taking on a pay as you go lifestyle.
According to the article, they are not doing this because of a newfound realization of the benefits of a frugal lifestyle, instead, it is because they have ...
Posted in Planning, Savings | No Comments »
Monday, February 4th, 2008
I wanted to share this interesting graphic from The Wall Street Journal: It shows all Income and Expenses of the US Government as projected in President Bush's Fiscal 2009 budget, which begins October 1. 2008. As you can see, the projected ...
Posted in Politics | No Comments »
Monday, February 4th, 2008
I hate gift cards. Stores love them because they get income up front without having to immediately produce a good or service, they receive interest income on that income until the card is redeemed, and they know that a sizable portion will never be redeemed. Additionally, after ...
Posted in Gift Cards, hacks | 1 Comment »
