Archive for posts by Kent Irwin

An article in The Wall Street Journal 11/15/11 about the Federal Housing Administration or FHA “Loan Backer’s Cash Runs Low” states that an audit being released today that FHA has close to a 50% chance of running out of money and require a tax-payer bailout. This follows the 10/23/11 news that PMI group the third largest mortgage insurer was taken over… Read More »

The article Tax Report: Hidden Tax Deductions for Special Education, in the 11/13/11 Wall Street Journal highlights several tax breaks for students who fall into the “Special Needs Category.”  This article is worth reading if you have special needs children in your family, or you do financial planning or tax preparation for those that do.

Many people, particularly those wanting to drive a really nice car or wanting to appear successful are sometimes tempted to buy used luxury brand cars. If you don’t have a large savings account, or mechanical abilities to fix cars (or a good friend who does), never buy a used BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Land Rover, Audi, Saab, Porsche and Volvo or… Read More »

A good friend of mine suggested that I read or recommend the book “When Spending Takes the Place of Feeling,” by Karen O’Connor, she updated it “A Woman’s Place is in the Mall . . . And Other Lies” from Harvest House Publishers. For various reasons this friend of mine had a lot of emotional issues to… Read More »

An article that was recently sent to me Saving, Spending Wisely are Investments from the Washington Post has some excellent information. However to add to that, many people think “I’m not going to save into a savings account, that earns nothing, I’m going to live my life and when I have a lot of money… Read More »

Should I refinance our mortgage to get a lower interest rate? The old rule of thumb was if you are going to stay in your home for a few years, and interest rates drop more than your current rate by 1%, then it will be worth your while to refinance. Meaning since there are closing… Read More »

At a recent Dave Ramsey class I led, one of the members, Brandy, introduced us to a new web service that she has been using: e-mealz. This is a really cool service that costs only $15 bucks per 3 months. It plans your meals for an entire week and provides a shopping list of items matched… Read More »

Clark Howard’s book of 250+ suggestions of Living Large in Lean times is getting pretty good reviews. Visit back for a complete review.

A great number of families today are no longer traditional; often they are remarriages from divorces or deaths, later in life marriages or remarriages, which often have her/his and our children. Each may bring their own ways of doing things- which may be good or bad, financial problems and money emotional baggage left over from the… Read More »

A structured settlement is money that is owed to you in a monthly stream of income for many years, such as a lottery winning, large law suit or a payment from an annuity that has been annuitized. In exchange for the income, the owner of the structured settlement receives a lump sum amount of money. These… Read More »