The Circus is in town this weekend! We’re going to do our best to take the kids to one of the shows. Apparently they can ride the elephants between acts… sounds like fun!
I’m giving the new lineup at My Dollar Plan a try today. Going forward you’ll see roundups on Friday as I work on balancing my new life mix pie.
In Financial News
The economic stimulus package passed. To figure out how much money you will get, use the economic stimulus tax rebate calculator. The price of a stamp is going up in May by a penny. Have you considered forever stamps? I don’t have any yet, but I buy my stamps at a discount so I’ll have to do the math to figure out which way is cheaper.
Investing
Plonkee is a fan of settling for average returns using index funds. I use a similar strategy involving index funds and total market allocation. When making your selections, you might want to take a new approach to risk. Instead of worrying about your account going up and down, focus on the risk of being unable to reach your goals and dreams. Don’t forget to compare a 401k versus an IRA to determine which one is right for you.
Hobbies & Budgets
I’ve been discussing with my husband how much time and money to allocate to our hobbies. My husband is pouring plenty of money into his hobby, so advice to make sure that your hobby doesn’t break the budget is timely. I’m still working out the best way to cut our budget; others are working on cutting their budget too.
Taxes
If you were following the ask the IRS agent series we finally found out how Lynnae’s annuity was taxed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what she had hoped.
By The Numbers
- Eight Steps to Lowering Your Property Tax Bill @ My Two Dollars
- Six Degrees of Wealth @ My Open Wallet
- Eight Habits of Millionaires @ Millionaire Money Habits
Other articles I enjoyed this week
- Insurance Poor and Self-Insuring @ Quest for Four Pillars
- Extreme Savers: A Closer Look @ Gather Little By Little (by Prime Time Money)
- EBay’s new feedback policy @ Five Cent Nickel
- Training Wheels: Why I’m Spending Less and Less Time Managing my Personal Finances @ The Simple Dollar
- How Much Does a Reverse Mortgage Cost? @ All Financial Matters
Carnivals
- The Carnival of Personal Finance was here.
- Festival of Frugality featured Tax Act 2007: Free Efiling Software.
- Carnival of Money Stories featured Stay Home or Go Back to Work: The Results.
Related Articles
Thanks for the link!
FlexoFebruary 15th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
It’s a mini-carnival! I like the way you did this round-up, and I may need to do something similar. It it much more readable.
Thanks for the mention!
PatrickFebruary 15th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
My saltwater aquarium hobby is definitely killing our budget. That’s on the main reasons I started my saltwater blog was to help fund the hobby.
Thanks for the link!
glblguyFebruary 15th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Thanks a lot for the link!
Mike
Four PillarsFebruary 18th, 2008 at 6:45 pm