We’re back! Our imaginary vacation was great. It was fun to take some time off from writing and enjoy the holidays. I hope you had a great holiday season! Now that it’s January, it’s time to buckle down and get going on retirement plans, taxes, and more! Check out the 2009 Roth 401k and Roth IRA Limits [1] if you want to increase your plan contributions.
Announcements
Quicken is offering $20 off [2] until January 25, 2009. The discount applies to the following products: Quicken Deluxe, Quicken Premier, Quicken Home & Business, and Quicken Rental Property Manager.
TurboTax [3] is answering free tax questions through January 31, 2009. Anyone can talk to an expert who will answer one personal, federal tax-related question at Free Tax Question [4].
Jumpstart Your Retirement Plan Days is back. On January 13, 2009 and January 30, 2009 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, NAPFA members across the country will be standing by to answer your financial questions for free. Call 1-888-919-2345 or visit Jumpstart [5] to ask your questions.
Multiple banks have updated their rates. I updated the rates in Rate Chasing with High Yield Savings Accounts [6].
Stock Market Graphs
My favorite article this week is Why Your 4th Quarter 2008 Investment Statements Look So Bad – Blame the First 8 Days in October [7]. I great series of graphs showing which days most of the 4th quarter losses came from. Although it’s the reverse that really drives the point home: missing the best 8 days of a quarter will extremely limit your gains.
Here’s another fun chart with some stock market history: Historical Distribution of Annual US Market Returns From 1825-Present: How Bad Was 2008? [8]
Here are all the articles I enjoyed this week. Lots to read, so we’ll get right to it!
Obama’s Economic Stimulus Plan
- Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan: Economic Recovery Plan Details [9]
- Obama’s Economic Stimulus – How Should it Be Spent? [10]
- Obama’s Road to Recovery – More Jobs, More Money in Your Pocket [11]
The New Year
- How To Be Successful in the New Year (20 Tips Inside) [12]
- New Years Resolution One: Downsizing Our Home [13]
- DON’T Set Any Resolutions [14]
- A Plan to Be Debt Free in 2009 [15]
- This Could Be The Day [16]
- 7 Tips To Stick To Your New Year’s Resolutions [17]
- Don’t Let Your Goals Be Dumb [18]
Frugality
- How We Feed Our Family of Four on $100 a Week [19]
- Money Saving Ideas From The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map To Riches [20]
- How to Live on $44k Per Year (Almost) Debt Free [21]
- 3 Major Ways to Scrimp and Save in an Economic Recession [22]
Taxes
- What are the FICA-HI and FICA-OASDI Taxes? [23]
- Tax Breaks That Homeowners Should Not Miss This Year [24]
- Fun tax season ahead for free filers [25]