Social Security Retirement, to Be or Not to Be?
Social Security Retirement Benefit, or shortened to SSRB for this article, is a major cornerstone for most Americans. Many people wonder: how it works, whether it will be there for them when they are eligible, will it change, and should their plans include the assumption that it will be there for them. This article addresses… Read More »
What can Washington DC do to for the economy?
Politicians don’t seem to have many great ideas to help with the economy. They either want to increase or decrease: individual or corporate taxes, spending, and entitlements. These things may have a positive or negative impact on the economy but none of them will turn things around. These are important issues that do indeed need to be… Read More »
HSA, MSA, HRA and FSA Medical Accounts
HSA, MSA, HRA and FSA Medical Accounts Health Savings Accounts, Medical Savings Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangement, and Flexible Savings Accounts are all special accounts that may be offered or provided to you by your employer. They offer the ability for you and your employer to pay for some benefits with ‘tax-advantaged’ dollars. This means that your… Read More »
Is a car lease a fleece?
Dave Ramsey says that no one should ever lease a car, he calls car leases fleeces, is it true, is this fair, should no one really ever lease a car, and is it always a rip off? Basically a lease is the purchase of the car’s value that you will be using. Dave’s overall recommendations are to minimize… Read More »
Tips for Lowering Computer Costs
It has been fun to watch the personal computer evolution from my first purchase in 1987 of what was called an IBM AT. This system included a monitor (green and black), keyboard (no mouse) and computer with a whopping 40-MB hard disk drive, and a printer. That system cost $3,000, including software upgrades. In 24 years… Read More »
Mortgage Settlement Possibly Forthcoming
Housing and Urban Development and some state officials are negotiating a settlement in the ballpark of $25 billion, with the 5 largest mortgage providers: J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Ally Financial, and Wells Fargo that could benefit some homeowners with troubled mortgages, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Some homeowners could benefit by… Read More »
Stranger Owned Life Insurance
The Wall Street Journal reported today, that a Federal judge has ruled for Prudential Financial Inc. allowing them to void a $10,000,000 Stranger Owned Life Insurance policy. Surprisingly Prudential is also allowed to keep over $600,000 in premiums. This is huge blow to investors, because many sellers of these products believed that if cases like this were lost, at… Read More »
Blackest of Fridays?
Interesting essay at TheMinimalists.com “The Blackest of Fridays,” commenting about the biggest shopping day of the year following Thanksgiving “On this day, people consume gluttonously without regard for the harm they’re inflicting on themselves. On this day, greed becomes ravenous. On this day, people live without real meaning, buying gifts to fill a void that can’t possibly… Read More »
Variable Annuity Guaranteed Income Benefit Risks
Interesting Article in the Wall Street Journal today about Variable Annuity’s Guaranteed Benefits. Variable annuities provide nice tax deferred growth, their rates of return aren’t bad if they have great sub-accounts, which are accounts similar to mutual funds. Variable annuities don’t guarantee rates of return, nor do they guarantee the principle unless the annuity holder chooses… Read More »
Compulsive Shopping a Behavior or Disorder?
Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal on Compulsive Shopping.
