Archive for the 'Personal Finance' Category

For those of you like me wondering when you can expect to receive your refund direct depot or check once you efile the IRS has a handy publication 2043 with this information.

The table below shows when your federal tax refund should be deposited in your bank account or your check mailed if you efiled and your refund was accepted within certain dates.

I decided to take some time to analyze my 401k performance over the last year. I’ve discussed my allocations before in my T. Rowe Price account, but just to recap:

• Equity Index Trust (PREIX) - 60%
• Amer Funds Europacific Growth (AEPGX) - 25%
• Equity Income Fund (PRFDX) - 10%
• Mid-Cap Growth Fund (RPMGX) - 5%

Overall Performance

Below is the chart showing the basic numbers for my 401k from Feb 1 2007 to Feb 1 2008.

Read the rest of this entry »

I thought I would take some time and come up with some financial goals for my family for 2008. The end of 2007 started a financial downturn that I haven’t quite pulled out of yet so I would like to set some highlights I would like to achieve this year that aren’t going to tie to market performance because I don’t know if I see that going back up any time soon.

1.) Better Merge Our Finances
Since getting married last year, my wife and I still haven’t fully merged our finances. Part laziness, complexity and fear has kept us from doing so. I have been working so far this year on fixing this but it is still not done yet. It probably will take a few more months to get everything fully integrated.

2.) Pay Down 20% Of Our Non-Mortgage Debt
This is a pretty ambitious goal but I think we can do it. After the wedding and home purchase though we have quite a few assets our debt has been steadily increasing. I would like to get this completely eliminated within 3 years, and 20% will be a great start. Most of this debt is at 0% or other reasonable rates so that is why I am not overly worried about paying it all off before all else.

3.) Fund at least $4,000 in our ROTH IRA’s
I have to admit, before purchasing our new home I was doing a lot better with the ROTH savings. I slacked in 2007 and even in 2008 $4,000 is less than I would like to commit but seems like realistically possible. That however means savings of about $333/mo which has not happened in January so we are already behind.

4.) Earn $5,000 In Income From Side Businesses
2007 was also a bad year for side income. My friend and I have a business but we were both too busy most of the year to do much with it and our profit suffered immensely. I would like to increase my side business income to $5,000 which includes that business and other side ventures I pursue.

5.) Put 15% Of Our Income Into 401ks
I have been doing this for quite a few years now, however my wife has not. So I would like to get both of us to save this much in our 401k accounts this year.

I will try to make these goals part of my monthly net worth updates from now on in order to track them.

Taxable Accounts:

$7,478.24 - Liquid Savings - 3.25% APY HSBC Savings Account
$15,256.17 - Savings - 4.75% APY Countrywide Savings Accounts
$14,757.64 - Stocks - Misc. Direct Investments
$5,804.49 - Stocks - Ameritrade Izone
$2,645.91 - Stocks - Zecco
$2,658.54 - Bonds - TreasuryDirect

$48,600.99 TOTAL

Retirement Savings:

$16,689.18 - ROTH IRA - Vanguard
$1,046.96 - ROTH IRA - Scottrade
$52,605.87 - 401K - T. Rowe Price

$70,342.01 TOTAL

Debts

$2,968.00 - Student Loan - AES (3.625%)
$4,138.00 - Credit Card BT - Chase(0%)
$17,462.28 - Credit Card BT - BOA NEA (0%)
$7,200.18 - Credit Card BT - Juniper (0%)
$4,778.73 - Credit Card BT - Bank Atlantic (0%)

$20,000.00 - Credit Card BT - Upgromise (0%)

$56,547.19 TOTAL

Housing / Automobiles

$265,010.25 - Mortgage - Countrywide
$339,900.00 - Approximate Home Value
$9,216.00 - Approximate Car Value - Edmunds.com

$84,105.75 - TOTAL (Approximate Equity)

Read the rest of this entry »

It seems Countrywide has lowered the APY on their SavingsLink account from 5.00% down to 4.75% for balances of 10k+ (3% for under). With this there are just a handful of banks offering over 5% now.

While disappointing it is to be expected. They still have a very competitive rate compared to the other savings accounts out there so I will be sticking with them for the time being.

Countrywide SavingsLink

Well, after signing up it seems the recent rate decreases have finally hit the Charles Schwab Investor Checking account. This week they dropped their interest rate from 4.0% to 3.21% like just about every other bank out there.

I still think its a pretty good deal for a checking account. ING Direct is only over this rate if you have a $50k+ balance, otherwise it is 2.50%. Presidental pays 3.50% on balances up to $25k, but requires a $1000 minimum to avoid fees.

No ATM fees anywhere, free checks, and no minimums also add quite a bit of value.

I have been watching the recent downward trend of mortgage rates recently in hopes of refinancing my home at a lower rate. This week after the federal reserve cut interest rates and the stock market plummeted rates hit lows not seen in years. However as of yesterday most of the rates have risen quite dramatically:

Penfed
30 year fixed jumped from 5.5% to 5.875%
15 year fixed jumped from 4.625% to 5.125%

MadRate
30 year fixed jumped from 5.125% to 5.625%

MTG Capital
30 year fixed jumped from 5.125% to 5.75%

With the recent tax rebate announcement and the stock market seemingly stabilizing I’m not sure we are going to see rates hit that low again for a while. Unfortunately it seems I may have missed rock bottom to refinance, at least for now.

I recently decided to switch our checking accounts from HSBC to Charles Schwabs new Investor Checking account. I have not been happy with the steady decrease in my linked HSBC savings account and decided it was time for a change. It has a lot of attractive features that drew me to it:

• No account minimums
• No monthly service charges
• Free checks
• Free bill pay
• No ATM fees
• 4.0% APY

Read the rest of this entry »

Taxable Accounts:

$2,035.63 - Liquid Savings - 4.50% APY HSBC Savings Account
$25,205.67 - Savings - 5.30% APY Countrywide Savings Accounts
$15,731.53 - Stocks - Misc. Direct Investments
$6,021.93 - Stocks - Ameritrade Izone
$2,825.68 - Stocks - Zecco
$2,657.44 - Bonds - TreasuryDirect

$54,477.88 TOTAL

Retirement Savings:

$17,556.69 - ROTH IRA - Vanguard
$1,022.50 - ROTH IRA - Scottrade
$55,859.95 - 401K - T. Rowe Price

$74,439.14 TOTAL

Debts

$3,010.32 - Student Loan - AES (3.625%)
$4,222.00 - Credit Card BT - Chase(0%)
$17,638.28 - Credit Card BT - BOA NEA (0%)
$7,273.18 - Credit Card BT - Juniper (0%)
$19,497.00 - Credit Card BT - Upgromise (0%)

$51,640.78 TOTAL

Housing / Automobiles

$265,478.35 - Mortgage - Countrywide
$339,900.00 - Approximate Home Value
$9,464.00 - Approximate Car Value - Edmunds.com

$83,885.65 - TOTAL (Approximate Equity)

Read the rest of this entry »

My previous favorite online bank has dropped its rate again. HSBC Direct lowered their savings rate again this morning to 4.25% APY (from 4.50%). It seems like while other banks are able to maintain rates with the Fed drops HSBC keeps slipping. Emigrant Direct also dropped their rate to 4.65% APY this week.

Fortunately as previously discussed I moved all my long term savings money over to Countrywide SavingsLink who is still holding steady at 5.30%. Here is a roundup of some of the popular online savings accounts rates (APY):

• Countrywide SavingsLink - 5.30%
• FNBO Direct - 5.05%
• E*Trade Complete Savings - 5.05%
• WAMU Online Savings - 4.75%
• Emigrant Direct - 4.65%
• HSBC Direct - 4.25%
• ING Direct - 4.10%

Lifehacker has announced their 2007 guide to free software and webapps with a ton of FREE applications for your everyday needs. They broke it down into 20 categories and here are some of my personal favorites:

Backup Utilities
Mozy (Windows/Mac, online backup, up to 2GB free) - Provides automated backups of your important files online.

Desktop Search
Google Desktop (Windows/Mac OS X/Linux, free) - Search through all your files, emails, web history and more.

Virus Killers and Malware Cleaners
AVG Free Edition (Windows, free with paid upgrade) - Free virus protection for your computer.

I have never actually tried any of their apps in the Personal Finance/Money Managers category. I personally am a huge fan of Yodlee Moneycenter which they seem to have overlooked so haven’t explored too much. I may give them a try in the near future.

Check below for the full list:

Lifehacker 2007 Guide to Free Software and Webapps

Perfect for that holiday gift giving - now through December 16th, 2007 you can get 12% off a single item during your instore purchase at Best Buy. All you need is a free rewards zone membership to get the full 12%, otherwise if you do not have / want a membership you get 10% off.

Best Buy Coupon

Here is the fine print:

10% or 12% off any single item1 from the following categories:

TVs & More: TVs $399 and up • DVD players and recorders • TiVo® and DIRECTV® hardware • receivers, shelf systems,
speakers and home theater systems. Also valid at Magnolia Home Theater®.

Computer Accessories: DVD-RW drives • flash and external hard drives • notebook accessories • printers $149 & up •
scanners $99 & up • computer networking • computer speakers, mice and keyboards • PC cameras • PC gaming controllers •
digital recorders $99 & up • surge protectors • computer flash memory • computer cables • graphic and sound cards •
computer software • blank digital media and blank video media • ink cartridges • printer docks • paper

Cameras & Accessories: digital cameras $279 & up • digital camcorders $279 & up • digital camera accessories •
blank mini-DVD media • blank video media • camcorder accessories • camcorder batteries • blank camcorder media •
premium photo services

Music Players & Accessories: MP3 players and accessories • car audio • satellite radio hardware • musical instruments •
CD/DVD storage

Phones & Accessories: phone cards • cordless phones • answering machines • landline phone accessories • 2-way radios •
cellular phone accessories • pay-as-you-go phones

Appliances & More: major and small appliances • shavers • vacuums • microwaves • batteries • toys • mobile electronics •
navigation hardware

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Excludes Zune® devices; Bose®; JBL and Shure MP3 player accessories;
DIRECTV® service; Blu-ray and HD DVD players; digital SLR cameras; Apple® products; the Dyson DC18; video game
hardware and accessories; satellite radio service; Cinema Systems; HP ink; high-definition camcorders; pay-as-yougo-
phone cards; cellular phones; Roland, Boss and Edirol musical instruments; digital music services and download
cards; special order, clearance, demo and open-box items; Gift Cards; taxes; Magnolia Home Theater products: Bose®,
SpeakerCraft®, Sonos, Vienna Acoustics, Tivoli Audio, MartinLogan, BDI furniture, installation services, Magnolia
Guaranteed Performance Agreement and special order merchandise

Best Buy Coupon

I have been trying somewhat unsuccessfully to earn a bit of extra cash through side projects. I have a pretty decent computer background so freelancing seems like my best bet.

I have done some work for local businesses but have not received any new work in quite a while. I’ve been tying sites like rentacoder.com and guru.com, but it seems like I am getting bid against by South American programming outfits whose prices make it not worth my time.

On Friday I saw a part time position on Monster doing something I specialize in - telecommuting and a very nice hourly rate. I would venture to guess only maybe 50 people in the world have as much experience with this as myself and can’t imagine them at least not calling me about it. I am anxiously awaiting this company contacting me, but trying not to get too optimistic.

I’m not really desperate for money but hey everyone could use more right? Plus its nice to keep up on skill sets I don’t get use use as my regular job.

Sears is having their 10% off just about anything in the store VIP sale this weekend - on Sunday November 11th from 6pm-9pm.

To sweeten this deal even more, Sears also currently is running 20% off any Kenmore appliance which is stackable with the 10% off, making an effective 28% off! Could be a good time to buy if you are in need of a new appliance. They are also going to be offering some of the Black Friday deals during this time (unfortunately not the early bird doorbuster sales though).

Sears VIP Sale

The 99th edition of the Festival of Frugailty is up over at Learning to be Frugal. There are some great posts over there including my cheapo eyeglasses experience so if you have the time you should check it out.