tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209929942024-03-07T22:45:55.521-06:00The InvestimistA Cynical Look at Taxes, Personal Finance, and InvestingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1146502737619140532006-05-01T11:56:00.000-05:002006-05-01T11:58:57.633-05:00The Investimist is moving!I don't have all the boxes unpacked yet, but The Investimist's new home is ready enough to launch. So, if you're reading this message, update your bookmarks to point to http://www.theinvestimist.com.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1146063553966555262006-04-27T11:59:00.000-05:002006-04-27T12:09:37.336-05:00The "Zero Interest" GameBlueprint for Financial Prosperity is the latest blogger to get in on the "Zero Interest" credit card game. The basics of the game are that you open credit accounts that advertise zero interest on balance transfers for a given period of time (usually 6-12 months). That money is then placed in a high yield account (usually Emigrant Direct or HSBC) to make "free money".But is the money really free?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1146069831496285792006-04-26T11:42:00.000-05:002006-04-26T11:46:01.416-05:00Am I on the Right Track?A lot of people ask themselves that question every day. For retirement plans, it's an extremely confusing question for anyone, much less someone at the beginning of their careers (like me). I decided to test two web calculators to see if they were any more confident than I was in my own predictions (which say my retirement kitty will crap out in 20 years using current projections).I used the "Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1145970077954989302006-04-25T07:56:00.000-05:002006-04-25T08:01:17.966-05:00Look! The Rare Humorous Tax Post!Well, it's not so rare on Roth & Co. Tax Updates, but anyone that has to deal with ยง263A will appreciate this post. For people that aren't tax geeks, I would pass up the link, as you probably won't get the jokes anyway (though you may learn what to claim as business deductions for your illegal income).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1145898660952968652006-04-24T12:04:00.001-05:002006-04-24T12:14:22.503-05:00I don't know whether to be impressed or saddenedLast week, I called lawmakers that hired tax professionals while sitting on the primary tax writing committees a big part of the problem. Well, the TaxProf blog has a story on a 2008 Presidential candidate that has read the entire Tax Code, Tax Regulations, and the BNA Portfolios (a major source of interpretation of the Tax Code) cover to cover.Now, I am certainly not endorsing Mr. Cox, I just Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1145896472713335192006-04-24T11:33:00.000-05:002006-04-24T11:46:13.103-05:00Kids and MoneyOne of the most important ideas a parent should convey to their children is how to handle money. I may disagree later with my generation coming of age and our inability to handle our finances, but I think that many of us were hurt by not being taught to be fiscally responsible. The average college student graduates with $2,500 in credit card debt, which may not seem like a lot but can pile up Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1145668784615159952006-04-21T20:13:00.000-05:002006-04-21T20:39:41.946-05:00An AMT PrimerYes, yes, I know. You just filed your taxes and you don't want to hear another dang word about it. Well, too bad. I do this for a living, so I have to hear about it all the time. There is something that you should pay attention to in the tax/political world. It's the battle over the AMT, and it could hit your pocketbook.Congress is currently negotiating on the latest round of tax cuts. Well, it'sUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1145550965213756452006-04-20T11:36:00.000-05:002006-04-20T11:58:49.943-05:00Apple's Profit Beats EstimatesOne of my initial posts was wondering if the high-flying stock of Apple was a bit too high. At that time, Apple was trading at about 80, or at about a P/E of 54. Since then, Apple came down about 20% to trade below 60 (per charts at Yahoo! Finance). Last night, Apple reported profits that beat analyst estimates, sending the stock up nearly 3.5% (as of 12:30 EDT). Apple now trades at a more Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1145394455564096482006-04-19T12:07:00.000-05:002006-04-19T12:15:05.340-05:00Can those of modest means afford a financial advisor?This week's article on the CS Monitor Work/Money section says that "even those of modest means can afford a financial planner". However, the article spends the vast majority of its real estate describing why people of modest means can't get an advisor.Financial planners help people build wealth and guide them toward financial milestones such as retirement, vacation homes, or funding children's Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1145379711382251212006-04-18T11:58:00.001-05:002006-04-18T12:01:51.383-05:00Two More Resources for Small Businesses Now AvailableThe IRS has released two more resources for small businesses that are free for the taking.New Publication 1066C, A Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop DVD (with English, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese subtitles) and Publication 1518, 2006 Tax Calendar for Small Businesses and Self-Employed, are now available.The DVD is an innovative educational product designed to help small business owners and theUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1144252682054676562006-04-18T11:58:00.000-05:002006-04-18T11:55:44.116-05:00How cash-strapped investors can break into the stock marketThe CS Monitor had an article in it's Work/Money section on how cash-strapped investors can break into the stock market. The basics of the article is that unless you have $2,500 to slap into a mutual fund, you're basically locked out of the market.The savior listed in the article is Sharebuilder. I've used Sharebuilder in the past and it's far from the savior it pretends itself to be. First, the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1145279395895651122006-04-17T12:09:00.000-05:002006-04-17T11:46:34.500-05:00Tax Law Writers Turn to Pros Come AprilThere are a lot of things that I could say on this tax day. Many others are opining on the state of the system, or just hurrying to get last minute filings in. But I think this AP article (via Forbes) says everything I could say. Let's hear how easy the tax system is from those that are responsible for writing the tax law. "It's onerous and everybody knows it," said Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1145035916461620362006-04-14T12:29:00.000-05:002006-04-14T12:31:56.476-05:00Free Personal Finance Excel TemplatesI found this resource through work. It's a boatload of free templates for Excel. It includes tax forms, personal finance templates, calendars, etc. Even though I've developed my own version of many of these, it looks like the ones I looked through would work really well for someone to determine if their retirement plans are on track, for example. Or to get started on a budget. So, go check them Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1145024305571213822006-04-14T09:18:00.000-05:002006-04-14T11:52:09.406-05:00Tax Protestors Day to ShineThe Christian Science Monitor hasa profile of various tax protestors who are refusing to file their taxes. Most of the ones profiled refuse to file their taxes due to their non-support of the US Military. Some don't file at all, some withhold what they believe is the military's share of the national budget. All of the protestors in this article claim that they donate what they would pay in tax toUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1144862783640571372006-04-12T12:24:00.000-05:002006-04-12T12:26:23.660-05:00The Investimist in The Carnival of Investing This WeekI am participating in the Carnival of Investing hosted by A Financial Revolution. Go check out all of the posts (there's 50 some to choose from).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1144848892615588992006-04-12T08:34:00.001-05:002006-04-12T11:58:54.786-05:00It's about timeI can fully support this.Starlets at the Academy Awards receive lavish gift bags worth north of $100,000, just for being special. It's about time tax preparers got some of that.Maybe that time is coming. The Tickmarks blog reports that Bank of America is distributing iPod shuffles and stress balls to friendly tax preparers. Good, good. Of course, we wouldn't want other banks to feel slighted, so Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1144695549049903352006-04-10T13:56:00.000-05:002006-04-10T16:24:50.456-05:00Free Small Business Workshops in MassachusettsIf you live in Massachusetts and run a small business, the Department of Revenue will host a series of tax workshops over the summer. It's a chance for free tax advice from the Department (and if you live in Massachusetts, you may need it).Once again, DOR will be offering free Small Business Workshops from May to August. These workshops are designed for the tax novice, and are intended for new Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1144688780950945102006-04-10T12:03:00.000-05:002006-04-10T12:06:20.950-05:00The Investimist in The Carnival of Personal Finance This WeekI am participating in the Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by MyMoneyBlog.com. Go check out all of the posts (there's 50 some to choose from).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1144609232849955122006-04-10T11:58:00.000-05:002006-04-10T11:54:30.460-05:00Pennies per Dollar of Federal BudgetThe Tax Foundation used the Office of Management and Budget's FY 2007 Budget of the US Government to calculate the percentage of the Federal budget that goes to each of several broad categories.FunctionAmount Social security$ 0.21 National defense$ 0.19 Income security$ 0.14 Medicare$ 0.13 Health$ 0.10 Net interest on Debt$ 0.08 Education, training, employment, and social services$ 0.04 Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1144606415356083322006-04-09T13:06:00.000-05:002006-04-09T13:25:45.523-05:00Tax Foundation on American's Tax FeelingsThe Tax Foundation released the results of their annual survey of US citizens regarding Federal taxes (PDF Link). The results are not all that surprising, I just wish that Congress would take a look at the results sometime. 52% of respondents said that they would be willing to give up some deductions to make the tax system simpler. However, 80% said the Federal tax system was overly complex and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1144447081814486232006-04-07T16:53:00.000-05:002006-04-07T16:58:01.833-05:00Hybrid Credit Amounts IssuedThe IRS has certified several cars for the new Federal Hybrid Credit. In previous years, a deduction was allowed up to $2,000 for purchasing a hybrid car. The credit is much better as it is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of tax. For instance, a $2,000 deduction is worth $500 if you are in the 25% tax bracket. On the other hand, a $2,000 credit is worth $2,000 no matter which bracket you are in. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1144168533901966282006-04-07T11:33:00.000-05:002006-04-07T11:43:58.086-05:00More on SEP-IRAsEarlier this week, I blogged on one blogger's SEP-IRA in order to shield self-employment income generated by his blog. The IRS webpage has several resources on setting up and maintaining a SEP-IRA. The big pluses of SEP-IRAs are the high contribution limits (25% of compensation or $42,000) and lack of broad regulation (similar to 401(k) plans). The downsides are that contributions are limited to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1144167693224310742006-04-06T11:40:00.000-05:002006-04-07T12:00:45.996-05:00Small Business Tax Guide Released by IRSThe IRS has released an updated version of their free Small Business Resource Guide co-developed with the SBA. The CD-ROM contains:The Small Business Resource Guide, CD-ROM provides critical tax information to small businesses including forms, instructions, and publications. The CD also provides valuable business information from a variety of government agencies, non-profit organizations, and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1144168252951879732006-04-05T11:47:00.000-05:002006-04-05T11:50:39.820-05:00Rebalancing my portfolio (Part II)(Due to the length of this post, I've broken it down into two pieces. Read part one here.)My current allocations as of 3/31 were:0.49% Cash48.02% Domestic Value13.09% Emerging Markets15.20% International12.86% Real Estate10.34% Domestic GrowthI am primarily a value investor and seek out value stocks that pay dividends. One of my largest holdings is a Fidelity fund that specializes in underpriced Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992994.post-1144167974375570562006-04-04T11:24:00.000-05:002006-04-05T11:49:52.850-05:00Rebalancing my portfolio (Part I)(Due to the length of this post, I've broken it down into two pieces. Here is part one.)Professionals and personal finance bloggers often tout the benefit of rebalancing your portfolio every so often in order to maximize gains. The problem is that they never explain how to go about doing this. I try to rebalance my IRA every quarter when I receive the dividends on my investments. To me, this is Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5