My car is for sale! The 100+ inches of snow finally melted and we listed my car today. I’ll be sad when it actually sells, but I know that we’ll be much happier with a car that our family actually fits comfortably in. And now, the best of the personal finance articles this week: Taxes […]
Articles by Madison
Cash Rewards Credit Cards
Posted byHere is a comprehensive list of cash rewards credit cards. This list is updated regularly with offers for cash rewards credit cards. Why not earn cash rewards on your credit card purchases? Here’s a few of the cashback credit cards that we use. In addition, I’ve added some others that looked promising so you can […]
March 2008 Net Worth Update: 0.0%
Posted byAfter two months of portfolio declines, we finished March at no change! Yes, you read that right. Our portfolio value finished the month with less than $100 difference from February. I think that is the first time ever! Our year to date total remains at -7.0%. Our total percent increase since the beginning of our […]
I’ve joined the staff at Mint!
Posted byI recently joined the writing staff at Mint, a free online money management tool. I will be helping to build the library of articles in the financial core section of Mint.edu. Today my first article was published: Smart Tax Strategies For The Big Events In Your Life. In the article, I highlight tax tips for […]
I’ve been running the numbers like crazy and I’ve determined that it will be worth it to jump through hoops to rearrange our finances to refinance. If you are considering a refinance, see when it makes sense to refinance. I’ve calculated a minimum gain of $12,000 over the next 5 years less any opportunity costs […]
April Fools’ Day is one of my favorite “holidays”. Growing up our whole family was always trying to outdo one another or be the first to play a joke. Instead of playing a joke on you, I want to share one of our best jokes. It even has a great financial twist. The best joke, […]
Have you found yourself in a situation where you need to complete an IRA recharacterization? Here is everything you need to know to understand how to get it done on time and report it on your taxes correctly. What is a Recharacterization? After you make a contribution to an IRA, you can later change the […]
We got as far as we could yesterday on our taxes. Now I’m going to have to work on a strategy to recharacterize to finish it up. Since the taxes are at a standstill for a few days, I’ve been hard at work crunching the numbers on a possible refinance. Stay tuned as I’ll document […]
Tax Weekend and The Money Writers
Posted byThis weekend I’m busy crunching numbers. I’m trying to finish up our taxes and despite my organization, we ran into some problems. Our income disqualified us from some expected credits. Luckily I have some room to work with it, but I’m trying to calculate the optimal long-term solution with a few different choices. Stay tuned […]
Analyzing Our Energy Use
Posted byWe’ve been focusing on reducing our energy bill lately. For example, my husband has been looking into switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs. In addition, our energy company is very proactive in sending us monthly mailers with tips and tricks to reducing energy consumption. See previous articles Ten Easy Energy Savings Tips and Energy Savings […]