I think many people confuse tracking their spending with budgeting. While you have to track your spending to know if you are staying within a budget, you don't have to budget in order to track spending. I think many people are turned off by budgeting. I track out spending, but do not set a budget. Besides wanting to know where our money is going and being able to compare expenses from month to month, it allows me to know what our bottom-line balance is, which keeps us from spending more money than we have. Spending less than you make is the most important step in getting your finances under control!
Based on your comment, I can't be completely sure what you're describing, but I do have one notion:
The effective rate for an I-Bond changes every six months, starting when you buy it. If the inflation rate is rising, then new bonds will include a higher inflation component to the rate, but old bonds will still include the lower inflation component until their 6-month anniversary, at which point they step up to the new rate.
Off topic a bit but... was that photo taken at Hawk Mountain? I recognize the staircase we usually take from the top lookout back to the bottom. There are gorgeous gnarly tree stumps at the base of the stairs. (^_^) Lovely photo!
The government should not be in the business of bailing out people, industries or anyone. What about those who lost money in the internet bubble? What about bear stock market cycles. Where does it stop?
I am a Mortgage Planner and I specialize in helping individuals and families own a dream of their own with assistance of the Ameridream program. Losing the Seller DAP is going to deprive thousands of young first-time buyers who have not had the opportunity to save $10,000 required for downpayment from owning a home of their dreams and force them to RENT for a number of years until they could save their down-payment. Paying their landlords mortgage and building their landlords wealth, when they could be building their own wealth.
I hope that the congress will re-think their position and allow Seller DAPs. One way to allow it, is to have the FTHB take a the Amerdream Homeowners Education program or any FTHB certified Homebuyers education program in order to qualify for the assistance.
The loss of the Seller DAP will be seen in lower home sales in the 4th quarter and beyond.
When will we learn? For as long as I can remember, the American economy has been one massive bubble that eventually bursts, showering light on the corruption that started the bubble to begin with, followed by recession - and then the next bubble. We sure seem to love our hills and valleys.
It sounds crazy - to the logically thinking person, however given what has happened in recent years it seems that there are very few clear and/or logically thinking people left. What is another billion or trillion when you are already up in that neighborhood already? I really think that bailing everybody out is stupid and it makes me so angry. We are on the downhill side of our mortgage and how unfair is that when people who KNEW that they couldn't afford the silly huge mortgage can maintain their home and their standard of living when those of us who scrap and save and pay-off on our own get nothing but a bill (hidden in a pile of increases) to pay off theirs as well????!!!!???? Just wait until "president" Obama takes over and stacks up some more bills for us to pay for everyone, including the illegals. Seems we're all going to hell in a handbasket.
re: your second point, IANAL, but that would seem like a fraudulent conveyance designed to undermine the FHA as a creditor. FHA might be able to bring a claim in bankruptcy if the seller is bankrupt, and otherwise might be able to bring a valid state law claim
(breach in contract law and violation of good faith? claim in equity?) if the seller is not in bankruptcy.
Any lawyers out there who can speak to this issue?
It's the blind, deaf & dumb leading the blind, deaf & dumb. Another fantastic example of our Wonderful politicians & bureaucrats managing our lives.
One consequence of allowing homeowners who are presently struggling to have, as the result of taxpayer largess, their mortgages reduced is to encourage other homeowners opt in. Think about it. Your neighbor has his mortgage principle reduced to 87% of what it was originally. This bill will offer that to those who have missed payments.
Now, you happen to be paying off your mortgage responsibly, faithfully... but the value of your house has dropped 15 - 20 - 25% and you see your neighbor get a helping hand from the taxpayers.
Hmmm, what happens next? Not tough to figure this out. Our responsible neighbor becomes irresponsible - misses a couple payments. He calls the bank and inquires about this new government program!
Wow, an unintended consequence that makes the whole mess get worse. Now - you would've thought all those smart politicians and bureaucrats in Washington would have foreseen this, wouldn't you?
Nah!
Hate to say this and cause a ruckus, the free market has been lost. I have come to the realization that the average person isn't ready for capitalism. And now we've entered into a socialist/fascist economic system, where government either own the means of production or heavily regulates it.
Neither Obama or McCain - both democrats, one more liberal than the other - will save us.
Sadly, you are right. The politicians won't look beyond November 4th, but they forget that they have to live here too.
The Government Accountability Office, despite being part of the government, is truly excellent. You can tell it's good because no one listens to them. They did a study in April 2007, called, "The Nation's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook." The subtitle is, "The Bottom Line: Federal Fiscal Policy Remains Unsustainable."
If you click on the PDF link, the graph on page one could have been drawn by Daffy Duck: "Shoot me now, or shoot me later." Both scenarios show our economy dying, and these do NOT take this new $800 Billion increase to our deficit into consideration.
Figures 2 and 3, on pages 3 and 4, show more detailed graphs for these scenarios that show where the money goes. Figure 4 is particularly disturbing. It shows the projection with keeping Bush's tax cuts. By the year 2040, the NET INTEREST ALONE will be almost twice the Social Security payout.
Again, this projection is BEFORE this $800 Billion addition to our national debt. I expect to be dead by 2040, but I really care about America. Whatever your political affiliation, please call or write your Congressman and Senators and ask for fiscal sanity. The names and contact info are at:
Although the fixed rate is 0 it appears that it return a higher
flexable rate than a bond bought year ago. Don't know why this
is done. If you look at the flexable rate of a 2008 i-bond you
will see it is higher than previouis year with it's 0 fixed
rate. ???
What is the best way to keep track of expenses. I don't want anymore accounts. I liked the idea of saving the receipts but my receipt keeping is my better quality. Does anyone use a small note pad? Any other thoughts about tracking?
Just wanted to point out that if you really can't afford to pay anything at all that you can request that the IRS temporarily place you into Currently Not Collectible status also known as "hardship" status. This status also sometimes called "Status 53" is for people who can demonstrate that they cannot afford to pay anything at all. Normally the IRS will place a taxpayer into this status for 12 to 24 months but sometimes longer. It's important to note that interest and penalties continue to accrue so it's not always the best solution to an IRS Problem.
The thing is, FHA loans only require a 3% downpayment (if this bill passes into law it would require 3.5%). For an median priced home priced at $215,000, that's about $6000 to $7000. If a family can't save that much money then it might not be a good idea to jump into a mortgage that costs more than $1000 a month, either. When people put in a bit of a downpayment they are less likely to walk away from a home. It's only seller-funded DPA that are considered scams so many first time buyers will probably still be able to find real help.
Elimination of DPA will be a short term disaster for lower priced housing. A very large proportion (I bet half) of first time homebuyers use down payment assistance. Taking that many buyers out of an already soft market will stop any chance of a recovery and push more sellers into foreclosure.
DPA buyers still have to clear the crediworthiness hurdle and the appraisal hurdle.
A better solution would be to adjust the mortgage insurance premium to a higher level for DPA customers.
I agree it's probably a good move long term, but it's really going to hurt prices short term.
Functionality for adding custom expense groups/types should be available by next week. Please use the feedback form on the site if you have any other suggestions/requests.
I guess I'd hate to suggest that someone who has already been diagnosed with skin cancern get more sun. It may well be that any amount of sun would be dangerous. I'd defer to your doctor, in that case.
Having said that, the wikipedia article on vitamin D suggests that 10 to 15 minutes at least twice a week would do the trick. That's in line with what I've read elsewhere.
Is it ok to try the hairdryer/air duster technique on the tank of my kawasaki? I wouldn't use the lighter technique, but I wondered if it was safe to try the hairdryer and dry ice or compressed air on the gas tank?
The value of old people has declined in post-Marxist Russia. Back in the communist days, they had subsidized housing so old folks had a cramped little apartment. Today, many live on the street and die.
The MW isn't as strong as it used to be. There are exemptions from the law, for young people, for waitrons, and for some jobs where people work only for tips. There are also a lot of informal jobs out there, too.
As the MW has lagged, since the 80s, salaries for highly skilled workers has increased.
Back when the MW was higher, the higher salaries were relatively lower. What this really meant was that someone making MW could afford to purchase the services of someone paid fairly well. Someone making twice the MW could afford to go to a doctor and pay cash for services. Could someone making $US12 an hour today get seen by a doctor, without insurance, and pay cash? It's not that easy anymore.
Today, some of the unskilled end up in criminal markets as the lowest paid workers. Then they end up in prison, where they can work for the prison for 30 cents an hour. They compete with all low-wage workers and some high-wage workers.
The immigrants end up in sub-MW underground jobs, too, but they make out better. But, they still compete with above-ground jobs and cause wages to fall.
A rise in the MW will cause investments in technology, but investment in technology is good. It creates not only the jobs for engineers, but many more jobs for technicians to repair the technology, and it also helps increase productivity overall, which is good for the economy.
Raising the MW does contribute to higher costs and inflation. It increases prices for things made with minimum-wage labor, like hamburgers and janitorial service. It doesn't really raise prices for more expensive things that are less affected by the MW. For example, a 50 cent raise in wages is $4 a day, or $800 a year. That is enough to purchase a computer -- and the computer prices aren't going to rise by $800 because of a rise in the MW. That computer purchase would create jobs for people who make a little more than MW and sell computers online.
Of course, the rise in MW will affect the cost of food - so food will rise - but food is not 100% of one's budget. It's more like 20% to 30% if you're poor (and closer to 10% if you're middle class). So you're still keeping the bulk of your raise, and are still able to afford a capital good that can help you improve your skills.
The rise in prices doesn't affect everyone equally. In fact, it does hurt the poor more. But that pain is coupled with a raise that more than mitigates the effect.
The pain the wealthy feel at the checkout line is miniscule - they don't care if the hamburger is $2 or $2.25. The wealthy people feeling the pain are those who employ MW labor - if they employ 20 people at once, and they each get a $4 daily raise, that's $80 less the owner gets to take home each day. That's more than $1,600 a year. The way they see it, a rise in the minimum wage is less money in their pocket to support their lifestyle.
Personally, I'm a big fan of union militant computer geeks, and I'll help them any way I can. Look up Michael Hauben, a union militant computer geek. As a young man, he fought for the right for Ford factory workers to fund their own computer skills training center, so they could prepare themselves for the technology revolution that PCs were ushering in. That union program got shut down by Ford. Now, where are those Ford workers? They're fearing for their pensions as their old industry declines.
I think many people confuse tracking their spending with budgeting. While you have to track your spending to know if you are staying within a budget, you don't have to budget in order to track spending. I think many people are turned off by budgeting. I track out spending, but do not set a budget. Besides wanting to know where our money is going and being able to compare expenses from month to month, it allows me to know what our bottom-line balance is, which keeps us from spending more money than we have. Spending less than you make is the most important step in getting your finances under control!
Based on your comment, I can't be completely sure what you're describing, but I do have one notion:
The effective rate for an I-Bond changes every six months, starting when you buy it. If the inflation rate is rising, then new bonds will include a higher inflation component to the rate, but old bonds will still include the lower inflation component until their 6-month anniversary, at which point they step up to the new rate.
You can see the details on the Treasury's page about I-bond interest rates.
Off topic a bit but... was that photo taken at Hawk Mountain? I recognize the staircase we usually take from the top lookout back to the bottom. There are gorgeous gnarly tree stumps at the base of the stairs. (^_^) Lovely photo!
The government should not be in the business of bailing out people, industries or anyone. What about those who lost money in the internet bubble? What about bear stock market cycles. Where does it stop?
I am a Mortgage Planner and I specialize in helping individuals and families own a dream of their own with assistance of the Ameridream program. Losing the Seller DAP is going to deprive thousands of young first-time buyers who have not had the opportunity to save $10,000 required for downpayment from owning a home of their dreams and force them to RENT for a number of years until they could save their down-payment. Paying their landlords mortgage and building their landlords wealth, when they could be building their own wealth.
I hope that the congress will re-think their position and allow Seller DAPs. One way to allow it, is to have the FTHB take a the Amerdream Homeowners Education program or any FTHB certified Homebuyers education program in order to qualify for the assistance.
The loss of the Seller DAP will be seen in lower home sales in the 4th quarter and beyond.
When will we learn? For as long as I can remember, the American economy has been one massive bubble that eventually bursts, showering light on the corruption that started the bubble to begin with, followed by recession - and then the next bubble. We sure seem to love our hills and valleys.
It sounds crazy - to the logically thinking person, however given what has happened in recent years it seems that there are very few clear and/or logically thinking people left. What is another billion or trillion when you are already up in that neighborhood already? I really think that bailing everybody out is stupid and it makes me so angry. We are on the downhill side of our mortgage and how unfair is that when people who KNEW that they couldn't afford the silly huge mortgage can maintain their home and their standard of living when those of us who scrap and save and pay-off on our own get nothing but a bill (hidden in a pile of increases) to pay off theirs as well????!!!!???? Just wait until "president" Obama takes over and stacks up some more bills for us to pay for everyone, including the illegals. Seems we're all going to hell in a handbasket.
re: your second point, IANAL, but that would seem like a fraudulent conveyance designed to undermine the FHA as a creditor. FHA might be able to bring a claim in bankruptcy if the seller is bankrupt, and otherwise might be able to bring a valid state law claim
(breach in contract law and violation of good faith? claim in equity?) if the seller is not in bankruptcy.
Any lawyers out there who can speak to this issue?
It's the blind, deaf & dumb leading the blind, deaf & dumb. Another fantastic example of our Wonderful politicians & bureaucrats managing our lives.
One consequence of allowing homeowners who are presently struggling to have, as the result of taxpayer largess, their mortgages reduced is to encourage other homeowners opt in. Think about it. Your neighbor has his mortgage principle reduced to 87% of what it was originally. This bill will offer that to those who have missed payments.
Now, you happen to be paying off your mortgage responsibly, faithfully... but the value of your house has dropped 15 - 20 - 25% and you see your neighbor get a helping hand from the taxpayers.
Hmmm, what happens next? Not tough to figure this out. Our responsible neighbor becomes irresponsible - misses a couple payments. He calls the bank and inquires about this new government program!
Wow, an unintended consequence that makes the whole mess get worse. Now - you would've thought all those smart politicians and bureaucrats in Washington would have foreseen this, wouldn't you?
Nah!
Hate to say this and cause a ruckus, the free market has been lost. I have come to the realization that the average person isn't ready for capitalism. And now we've entered into a socialist/fascist economic system, where government either own the means of production or heavily regulates it.
Neither Obama or McCain - both democrats, one more liberal than the other - will save us.
Sadly, you are right. The politicians won't look beyond November 4th, but they forget that they have to live here too.
The Government Accountability Office, despite being part of the government, is truly excellent. You can tell it's good because no one listens to them. They did a study in April 2007, called, "The Nation's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook." The subtitle is, "The Bottom Line: Federal Fiscal Policy Remains Unsustainable."
http://www.gao.gov/docdblite/details.php?rptno=GAO-07-983R
If you click on the PDF link, the graph on page one could have been drawn by Daffy Duck: "Shoot me now, or shoot me later." Both scenarios show our economy dying, and these do NOT take this new $800 Billion increase to our deficit into consideration.
Figures 2 and 3, on pages 3 and 4, show more detailed graphs for these scenarios that show where the money goes. Figure 4 is particularly disturbing. It shows the projection with keeping Bush's tax cuts. By the year 2040, the NET INTEREST ALONE will be almost twice the Social Security payout.
Again, this projection is BEFORE this $800 Billion addition to our national debt. I expect to be dead by 2040, but I really care about America. Whatever your political affiliation, please call or write your Congressman and Senators and ask for fiscal sanity. The names and contact info are at:
http://www.house.gov/
http://www.senate.gov/
And please vote in November. The only wrong vote is the one that you don't cast.
Although the fixed rate is 0 it appears that it return a higher
flexable rate than a bond bought year ago. Don't know why this
is done. If you look at the flexable rate of a 2008 i-bond you
will see it is higher than previouis year with it's 0 fixed
rate. ???
how do you make your xbox games look new again email me......deshanaya3363@hotmail.com ........... when posted 4. 24. 08.
I realize that Pinecone is an exclusive panel. The link over here does not work anymore and i need an invitation for this.
I hope someone of can help me out with this.
Regards,
Wasif
Sounds horrible! What happened to our free market system and letting failures like these work themselves out?
The increased debt load is beyond ridiculous.
It's amazing how much more gas per gallon you can achieve just by changing a simple "but often" neglected Airfilter.
Hypermiling your Car
Just one addition, If you are going for a sales job, and they ask what motivates you, the correct answer IS money, and lots of it.
What is the best way to keep track of expenses. I don't want anymore accounts. I liked the idea of saving the receipts but my receipt keeping is my better quality. Does anyone use a small note pad? Any other thoughts about tracking?
Just wanted to point out that if you really can't afford to pay anything at all that you can request that the IRS temporarily place you into Currently Not Collectible status also known as "hardship" status. This status also sometimes called "Status 53" is for people who can demonstrate that they cannot afford to pay anything at all. Normally the IRS will place a taxpayer into this status for 12 to 24 months but sometimes longer. It's important to note that interest and penalties continue to accrue so it's not always the best solution to an IRS Problem.
The thing is, FHA loans only require a 3% downpayment (if this bill passes into law it would require 3.5%). For an median priced home priced at $215,000, that's about $6000 to $7000. If a family can't save that much money then it might not be a good idea to jump into a mortgage that costs more than $1000 a month, either. When people put in a bit of a downpayment they are less likely to walk away from a home. It's only seller-funded DPA that are considered scams so many first time buyers will probably still be able to find real help.
Elimination of DPA will be a short term disaster for lower priced housing. A very large proportion (I bet half) of first time homebuyers use down payment assistance. Taking that many buyers out of an already soft market will stop any chance of a recovery and push more sellers into foreclosure.
DPA buyers still have to clear the crediworthiness hurdle and the appraisal hurdle.
A better solution would be to adjust the mortgage insurance premium to a higher level for DPA customers.
I agree it's probably a good move long term, but it's really going to hurt prices short term.
Hi Nebula,
Functionality for adding custom expense groups/types should be available by next week. Please use the feedback form on the site if you have any other suggestions/requests.
Thanks,
Eugene
@Jenny:
I guess I'd hate to suggest that someone who has already been diagnosed with skin cancern get more sun. It may well be that any amount of sun would be dangerous. I'd defer to your doctor, in that case.
Having said that, the wikipedia article on vitamin D suggests that 10 to 15 minutes at least twice a week would do the trick. That's in line with what I've read elsewhere.
Is it ok to try the hairdryer/air duster technique on the tank of my kawasaki? I wouldn't use the lighter technique, but I wondered if it was safe to try the hairdryer and dry ice or compressed air on the gas tank?
@Eric
The value of old people has declined in post-Marxist Russia. Back in the communist days, they had subsidized housing so old folks had a cramped little apartment. Today, many live on the street and die.
@PJ & others
The MW isn't as strong as it used to be. There are exemptions from the law, for young people, for waitrons, and for some jobs where people work only for tips. There are also a lot of informal jobs out there, too.
As the MW has lagged, since the 80s, salaries for highly skilled workers has increased.
Back when the MW was higher, the higher salaries were relatively lower. What this really meant was that someone making MW could afford to purchase the services of someone paid fairly well. Someone making twice the MW could afford to go to a doctor and pay cash for services. Could someone making $US12 an hour today get seen by a doctor, without insurance, and pay cash? It's not that easy anymore.
Today, some of the unskilled end up in criminal markets as the lowest paid workers. Then they end up in prison, where they can work for the prison for 30 cents an hour. They compete with all low-wage workers and some high-wage workers.
The immigrants end up in sub-MW underground jobs, too, but they make out better. But, they still compete with above-ground jobs and cause wages to fall.
A rise in the MW will cause investments in technology, but investment in technology is good. It creates not only the jobs for engineers, but many more jobs for technicians to repair the technology, and it also helps increase productivity overall, which is good for the economy.
Raising the MW does contribute to higher costs and inflation. It increases prices for things made with minimum-wage labor, like hamburgers and janitorial service. It doesn't really raise prices for more expensive things that are less affected by the MW. For example, a 50 cent raise in wages is $4 a day, or $800 a year. That is enough to purchase a computer -- and the computer prices aren't going to rise by $800 because of a rise in the MW. That computer purchase would create jobs for people who make a little more than MW and sell computers online.
Of course, the rise in MW will affect the cost of food - so food will rise - but food is not 100% of one's budget. It's more like 20% to 30% if you're poor (and closer to 10% if you're middle class). So you're still keeping the bulk of your raise, and are still able to afford a capital good that can help you improve your skills.
The rise in prices doesn't affect everyone equally. In fact, it does hurt the poor more. But that pain is coupled with a raise that more than mitigates the effect.
The pain the wealthy feel at the checkout line is miniscule - they don't care if the hamburger is $2 or $2.25. The wealthy people feeling the pain are those who employ MW labor - if they employ 20 people at once, and they each get a $4 daily raise, that's $80 less the owner gets to take home each day. That's more than $1,600 a year. The way they see it, a rise in the minimum wage is less money in their pocket to support their lifestyle.
Personally, I'm a big fan of union militant computer geeks, and I'll help them any way I can. Look up Michael Hauben, a union militant computer geek. As a young man, he fought for the right for Ford factory workers to fund their own computer skills training center, so they could prepare themselves for the technology revolution that PCs were ushering in. That union program got shut down by Ford. Now, where are those Ford workers? They're fearing for their pensions as their old industry declines.