by Nolan on July 28, 2010
by Nolan
A friend of mine got married yesterday. I wasn’t able to make it, but wanted to publicly acknowledge this happy occasion and offer my best wishes.
And to say this: dude, this is the biggest investment of your life. Don’t muck it up.
Too many people squander it by making bad decisions after the blush is off the rose. Bad financially, bad emotionally… and just plain dumb.
Because you are the antithesis of dumb, I don’t worry about you on that account. But there is something to be said for a perspective that categorizes your marriage and your financial health on the same page.
Once you’ve been poor, you have a new sense of value and a new set of values when fate once again smiles on you. That goes for money and for love.
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by Nolan on July 23, 2010
Inquiring retirees want to know.
And now for the oxymoron of all time: there’s good news for retirees who are also taxpayers.
Or used to be taxpayers. And perhaps, who no longer wish to be.
It’s actually not exactly news, which implies something has changed. No, this one is simply a realization that many newly retired folks sometimes don’t hear about right away.
Understanding this translates to a worry-free cash flow that allows you to balance your social security benefits, any earned income you may generate and the rate at which you withdraw funds from your I.R.A.
All with a view toward avoiding or minimizing a tax bill.
What I’m talking about here is how any withdrawals from your I.R.A. account may affect the potential taxability – or liability – of your social security benefits.
And how any money you may actually earn may — or may not – have the same impact.
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by Nolan on July 21, 2010
As if there’s not enough to worry about once you toss your tattered hat into the short sale arena, there’s a seductive and easily-missed little trap that awaits.
It’s tucked neatly into the paperwork, all of which qualifies as fine print, and all of which you need to read.
It begins like this: someone makes you an offer.
The number is good. For them, at least… it’s something the bank just might accept. The only thing you’re getting out of this arrangement is your freedom, and something short of a clean-slate, credit-wise.
And, it’s a clean offer, they aren’t asking you to replace the doorknobs or sharpen the blades on your garbage disposal, things they might ask for in a normal sale.
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by debt kid on July 20, 2010
The last few days I’ve been riding around in a nice Lexus SUV…
No, it’s not mine. I’m borrowing it while my fiancee took our car for a few days.
And it’s weird…even though I could now easily afford a Lexus, heck, any Lexus really, I just feel funny driving it. Maybe the feeling will change after a few days, but I don’t think so.
You see, I still “think poor”. Even though I’ve got a healthy emergency fund, and my car is paid off, and my income is great…I still “think poor” a lot. When I’m at the grocery store, I still get a little anxious buying the nicer fruit or an extra treat.
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by Jessica W on July 19, 2010
You likely saw in my earlier post that we’ve begun planning for the kids’ college with Mint.com’s planning tool. Planning, but not actively saving until we finish our debt payments.
Realizing that our oldest is seven years from college is a little terrifying. She’s a kid for heaven’s sake!
Thankfully, she “gets it” when it comes to the money needed for college, and knows “money math”… you know, the part that says “early money is the best money.” Figuring in tuition appreciation, we’re expecting to need $80,000 to get her through four years of a state school, and $126,000 for our youngest. We hope they will attend a junior college for two years like my husband and I did, but we want the money to be there so that they can get through college without the debt I had to take on.
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by Nolan on July 16, 2010
by Nolan
Color me cynical. But I no longer love my bank. And they no longer love me.
In fact, I’ve come to realize that they never loved me, they were only in it for the money.
I used to think that one’s relationship with one’s banker was a key element of a happy adult life (the key to a happy childhood being one’s relationship with one’s blankey), but now I liken it more to a marriage in which the partner is of the what-have-you-done-for-me lately school of interpersonal expectation.
That only-in-it-for-the-money context applies in both cases, by the way.
And while I’ve changed both banks and domestic partners more than once, I’ve also learned how to recognize when the relationship is going south — it coincides with my credit score — and when to cut and run.
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by Nolan on July 14, 2010
by Nolan
The great irony of the current Short Sale phenomenon in real estate is the fact that many of those forced into this prone position find themselves under this bus because of the stock market.
We got blind-sided. The bottom fell out. We lost our jobs. Duplicity ensued to the extent that we can no longer lay blame at the feet of anyone specifically, but almost everyone wearing a suit, collectively.
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Credit: NASA
Nobody who isn’t lunching regularly with someone in Washington D.C. is throwing any real money at the stock market these days.
And if they are – if you are – then you need to be aware that the game has changed. All because of the recession.
And because of the aforementioned fact. Most of us are in debt, or we wouldn’t be here.
In case you’re not, and in case you’ve forgotten, the stock market runs on two things: the relationship between supply and demand, and the future probability of corporate profits.
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by Jessica W on July 7, 2010
from www.freedigitalphotos.net
And we’re on again. The progress is happening, and we have an anticipated debt free date of the end of the year.
The total outstanding debt is $6721.01 and the Lending Club loan of $4961. The minimum planned debt repayment this month will be $1300, but more than likely closer to $2300, it just depends on if all of my clients pay on time this month or not. (Some are paying slow.)
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by Jessica W on July 6, 2010
For the past two years or so, I’ve been using Mint.com to keep an eye on my money. It’s a free financial aggregator where I can see all of my financial accounts (debt, investment, etc).
A while back Mint implemented the budgeting tool that allows me to see progress towards our monthly budget amounts and sends alert when we go over budget or get too close.
But now, they’re also helping me to plan for the future. Getting out of debt, going on vacation, retiring, and sending the kids to college.
My kids are both having birthdays this summer. They will be five and twelve. In my world, this makes me think I have plenty of time to figure out their college plan. I decided to take a look and see what it takes to get my oldest through school, since we’ve just got six or seven years left to plan for her.
Take a look at what I’ve learned and give the goals feature a try for yourself when you have a chance!
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