Posted June 20, 2008 - 01:37 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Investment, Taxes
Yesterday Paul Michael wrote an article comparing the income tax policies of McCain and Obama and suggested that he would vote for Obama because Obama's tax policy would benefit everyone but the uber-rich. In the comments on the article there are many great comments about the candidates' tax policies and how it is not so simple to say that Obama's plan is better. One particular comment that stuck out to me is about Obama's stance on doubling capital gains taxes, and I think that is possibly the worst tax policy ever, and here is why.
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Posted June 6, 2008 - 09:51 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Real Estate and Housing, Taxes
Yesterday I read a news item that stated the House and Senate are considering another tax benefit for homebuyers and homebuilders. The idea the House is considering is basically giving a tax credit of $7500 to people who have not owned a home in three years. In the Senate, the version of the bill gives buyers up to $7000 for purchasing a foreclosed home. It sounds like free money, right?
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Posted May 22, 2008 - 23:46 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Investment, Taxes
Yesterday I was talking to a friend and he mentioned that his company just started offering the option of investing in Roth 401ks. He was wondering if he should stick with his regular 401k or switch to the new option and we talked about the pros and cons of each for a little bit. Here are my conclusions.
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Posted May 13, 2008 - 18:47 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Taxes
I received my Social Security statement this week and it was a useless piece of paper to me since I do not qualify for retirement benefits yet. I always hear critics of Social Security say that it is a government sanctioned Ponzi scheme, and today I did a little research into why this comparison is often made.
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Posted May 3, 2008 - 09:09 by Kate Luther
Personal Finance, Investment, Taxes
As America’s love affair with self-investing continues to grow, so does our fascination with tax-free accounts. Don’t believe me? See for yourself. The next time you’re in a conversation, try working the words “tax free” into your conversation and watch the ears perk up. Admit it. We despise taxes. We loathe them. So much so in fact, that Uncle Sam made not paying those taxes a crime. So the idea that we can legally earn a buck without sharing it with our dear old uncle is well, deliciously criminal.
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Posted April 22, 2008 - 16:02 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Investment, Taxes, General Tips
After the recent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve many of my bank and money market interest rates plummeted. Now the best yield I have is on my Series I Savings Bonds issued by the United States Treasury. These bonds are also known as I-Bonds and their yields fluctuate according to inflation. Currently, the yield is 4.28% and that beats all of my other cash investments. Here is some information on the interest rate on I-Bonds and the advantages of owning these bonds.
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Posted April 15, 2008 - 16:46 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Lifestyle, Taxes
My parents always told me that buying a timeshare is a bad idea because of the inflated upfront cost and perpetual maintenance and exchange fees the timeshare companies pile on. It is also quite difficult to sell a timeshare you no longer want because there is usually a giant supply of them on the market. If you do want to get rid of a money sucking timeshare, donating it may be the most economical option.
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Posted April 2, 2008 - 14:10 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Taxes
When I was single, I thought that getting married would reduce my expenses greatly, and after I got married I realized that in some instances married life is actually more expensive . In general, divorces are extremely costly and detrimental events, but ironically there are so many laws pertaining to marriage and finances that could make a divorce financially advantangeous for a committed couple. Here are some of the bizarre examples I have read in the news recently.
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Posted March 25, 2008 - 04:47 by Philip Brewer
Taxes
This is really a non-issue, if you work a regular job: Your employer withholds taxes. It's also not much of an issue if you're self-employed and your income is reasonably steady through the course of the year: You estimate your annual tax bill and send in quarterly estimated tax payments. If your income is unpredictable, though, it is an issue. Happily, the IRS does not demand that you be able to predict the future.
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Posted March 24, 2008 - 06:16 by Philip Brewer
Taxes
I wasn't looking forward to doing my taxes this year. They were going to be more complicated than in years past, because I left my regular job and started working full-time as a writer. I also had some other new complications. TurboTax handled it all without difficulty.
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