I’ve shared my view of coupons (and run a poll) here on FCN in the past. While I’m well aware that you can save a decent amount of money on groceries with coupons, we’re just not the coupon clipping sort. And we’re definitely not into extreme couponing, where the focus tends to be more on […]
In honor of the BCS National Championship Game, which I’m watching as I write this, here’s a rundown of the most valuable programs in college football: Texas Michigan Florida Notre Dame Ohio State Auburn Georgia Alabama LSU Oklahoma These ranking are based on the hypothetical sales price of each program based on revenue, expenses, and […]
Over the past couple of years, you’ve been spoiled. You’ve had an extra 2% in your paychecks thanks to the payroll tax holiday. Normally, you pay 6.2% in Social Security taxes. But during the past two years, you’ve paid just 4.2%. This was never intended to be a permanent tax break — in fact, it […]
It’s that time of year again… Time to sign up for the latest batch of reward categories associated with your Discover credit card (assuming that you have one). Recall that Discover, like many other reward credit card issuers, has adopted rotating reward categories that require quarterly re-enrollment. Thus, assuming that you enroll, you’ll get 5% […]
Last year I asked for 2012 stock market predictions. At the time, the market (as measure by the S&P 500) had been almost perfectly flat during during the preceding year. In fact, it opened 2011 at 1257.64 and, despite many gyrations, closing at 1257.60 on the last day of the year. Based on the poll […]
Well, Congress finally got around to addressing the fiscal cliff, with the Senate passing legislation shortly after midnight and the House expected to vote today or tomorrow. Thus, while technically went over the cliff, it should be fixed before it really matters. So what did they agree on? Here’s a quick rundown: Instead of letting […]
This is just a quick note to wish you a Happy New Year. We’ve had a low-key and relaxing break, and plan on continuing that today and tomorrow before a return to school and work. What about you? Have you had a nice holiday break? More generally, what are you looking forward in the New […]
As we ring in the New Year, people are often inspired to clean up their finances. One popular move is to roll your old 401(k) plan into an IRA. In many cases this is a good decision — but not always. In a recent article on MarketWatch, Mike Piper of Oblivious Investor fame shared with […]
Does your employer offer a retirement plan such as a 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b)? If so, then you might be interested in knowing that the contribution limits for these account types has increased for 2013. This means that individuals under age 50 can contribute up to $17, 500 to their 401(k) account this coming year, […]
This is just a quick note to wish you a Merry Christmas. If you’re not celebrating Christmas, then have a great couple of days off. Also keep in mind that there’s only a week left in 2012, so be sure to make those charitable contributions and wrap up any other last minute tax issues before […]