Homeowners insurance coverage amount is too high

January 31, 2009 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Dieting on a Dime

The number one New Year’s resolution is to lose weight. The first few weeks of January are past and a lot of people are sticking to that resolution. I’m on a double diet. I’m trying to lose weight and control spending. It’s turning into a real challenge. For many, dieting is synonymous with eating healthier and [...]
January 31, 2009 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

$7,500 Credit For First-Time Homebuyers May Not Have To Be Paid Back

Since my post on the $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers has over 225 comments and growing, I thought I should point out that both the current House and Senate versions of the Obama Stimulus bill remove the requirement to pay back the credit over 15 years.

If it becomes law, this will be essentially $7,500 of free money for most first-time home buyers. You’ll have to wait until you file your taxes in 2010 to claim the credit, but you might be able to adjust your tax withholding to improve cashflow until then.

According to this CNN Money article, it will also expand the eligible dates retroactively to January 1st, 2009 until the end of June or August.

To be eligible, buyers cannot have owned a home for the past three years, and the new home has to be used as a primary residence. The credit phases out as income rises above $75,000 for singles and $150,000 for couples, and disappears entirely at $95,000 and $170,000, respectively.

Will this really make a long-term difference?

January 30, 2009 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Baby Steps Count

There are a lot of ways that you can save significant amounts of money by prudently marshalling your resources and spending wisely. Many of our topics suggest ways that savvy consumers can save tremendous amounts of money over time, whether by going without certain products or services, or by cutting back on certain purchases. [...]
January 30, 2009 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Wage garnishment in Ohio - disposable income garnishment only

January 30, 2009 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Seventeen Things to Do When You’re Out of Work

The people around me are struggling with cut hours and layoffs, and cutting back on finances is only part of the effect. My friends are suddenly finding themselves with less to do. More time with the kids is good, but when the kids are in school — watching TV only has so much interest, until [...]
January 29, 2009 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

What’s Inside Your Target Date or LifeCycle Retirement Fund?

I ran across a BusinessWeek article today about retirement plans in 2008 from top 401(k) provider Fidelity Investments. It stated that although the average retirement account balance fell a whopping 27% to $50,200 last year, people actually contributed slightly more in 2008 than in 2007.

This quote also caught my eye:

Are investors making a lot of changes within their retirement accounts?
Some 60% of plans administered by Fidelity in 2008 utilized a lifecycle fund as a default investment option, that’s up from 38% in 2007. What happens in a time of short-term volatility is that investors in these funds are not switching. Only 1% lifecycle fund investors made a change compared to the overall average to 6.1%.

Makes sense overall. Investors in these types of funds want all-in-one simplicity. However, almost every company these days offer a lifecycle retirement fund. And most 401(k) investors can only invest in the one that happens to be in their plan. Check out this Money magazine example of the possible extremes out there for a mutual fund designed for a worker retiring in 2010:

On the aggressive side, the Oppenheimer Transition 2010 Fund (OTTAX) has 65% in stocks for someone on the verge of retirement, resulting in a 46% loss in 2008. On the conservative end, this AP article has an even better example - The DWS Target 2010 Fund (KRFAX) only has 18.1% in stocks and only had a 3.6% loss in 2008. The rest was in cash and bonds. (Of course, it also had a fat front-end load and is closed to new investors.)

That is some pretty stark contrast. Do you know what is inside your target-date fund? Dig up the ticker symbol, plug it into Morningstar, and scroll down to “asset allocation”.

What about the big boys like Vanguard?
Even the most highly-rated mutual fund companies don’t agree on the asset allocation for each time horizon. See how Vanguard, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price differ in their target-date retirement funds.

January 28, 2009 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Journaling for Financial Health

Over the years I have used many techniques to keep my finances in order and work toward my goals. Some methods have worked better than others, but I’m always on the lookout for new ideas and I’m willing to try anything that sounds reasonable. About two years ago, I tried financial journaling for the first [...]
January 28, 2009 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Bought a OBD II Code Reader for Check Engine Light

Several months ago my “check engine” light went on. I went to my local mechanic, who plugged in a code scanner and found my error. Since it didn’t re-appear after resetting, he said he could try to fix it ($$$) or I could just leave it and it might never come back on. He said he normally charges $50 just do do the diagnostic, but this time it’d be free. A week ago, it came back on, and of course I wasn’t eager to go through all this hassle again.

I decided to try and buy my own error code scanner. If you search for “OBDII”, “OBD II”, or “OBD 2″ code readers, these devices will plug into your 1996 or newer model year car and read the diagnostic code from your car computer. In addition, they can erase or reset the code so that you can see if it is an ongoing problem.

Luckily, while searching I ran across a post on Fatwallet that had this CodeKey OBD II code reader on clearance for $23.90. There are nicer scanners out there, but they usually start at $60+. From the CodeKey site:


Simply put, CodeKey™ is an easy to use device designed to unlock the mystery of why your vehicle’s Check Engine Light is on. The Check Engine Light can ignite for something as simple as a loose gas cap, or as serious as a fuel leak. A flashing Check Engine Light can be serious, and continued driving can cause permanent damage to the vehicle. Until now, you would need to rely on a mechanic to determine what problem caused the light to go on

When you know the source of the problem you can:
* Decide if you should go to the garage immediately.
* Determine if the problem is something you can fix yourself.
* Know what to expect when you bring your car to a garage.

Other options
If you go to a dealership and have them read this code, it’ll cost you $100 just for the “diagnostic check”. Some people report that your local Autozone may lend these out for free at the store. I have also read that some Jiffy Lubes let you use theirs if you pay for some service like a oil change. I’d call first.

The old-school method is to simply disconnect your car battery and wait for the computer to reset itself. But for cars newer than 1996, this site reports that wiping out the computer’s memory can affect the operation of the transmission, climate control system and other functions. You can also trigger your alarm system or anti-theft car radio into lock-down mode. However, you won’t know the actual cause of the problem.

In the end, at less than $25 I just bought the tool. Just avoiding the gas to/from the mechanic and having to arrange a carpool for pickup/dropoff would be worth it. And sure enough, after resetting the light it has not come back on again.

It turns out, buying this tool could be the start of a new side business. Check out this Craiglist ad where a guy will come over and reset your light for $25. Learn how to do common repairs, and there you go. I think I’ll pass, but don’t forget to deduct business mileage if you go this route! ;)

January 27, 2009 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Property tax escrow account

January 27, 2009 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

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