tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52737056095786897012009-11-09T06:14:53.874-05:00Myth-busting personal finance budgets including insurance quotes, home equity loans, mortgages, auto-car buying, school college education loans, credit cards, cheap rentals, debt refinance, interest rates, loan consolidation, cash settlements, annuities, tax relief and refunds, retirement savings, and investment decisions: Share free tips, training, and discussion.J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-5164904206209159792009-06-14T17:09:00.012-04:002009-06-26T22:56:58.435-04:00

Previous: Payoff Mortgage v. Invest Stocks: Housing Myths Part 12Do not simply compare nominal interest rates, even tax-adjusted rates (which many people miscalculate). Where you are in the mortgage repayment amortization schedule is only one of the additional factors that determine your cost-benefit analysis.Tony asked, "I have a current home loan of 50,000 and I have 70,000 in a money market

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-11823799031557938502009-05-06T10:14:00.012-04:002009-06-14T18:16:58.745-04:00

The new IRS property tax deductions make mortgage debt an even worse deal than it already was.2008 and 2009 tax years allow you to take the standard deduction but also deduct $1,000 in property taxes (if married filing jointly, or $500 if single) simply by checking box 39c on Form 1040.IRS Standard Tax Deductions for 2008 Tax Return (ie, no "itemized" Schedule A needed)$ 5,450 (single)$ 5,950

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-6388099313919713132008-10-14T17:21:00.002-04:002008-10-14T17:25:54.019-04:00

Some people muse idly about the coming winter's fuel costs as if it were a storm over which they have no control. However, you do control your heat costs. Moreover, if everyone did these smart actions, lower demand would put downward pressure on fuel prices.Insulate: What would you think if someone left his/her front door wide open all winter and then complained about his/her heating costs? Lax

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-26668568297948286982008-06-24T14:28:00.010-04:002008-06-24T16:29:52.198-04:00

School Subsidizes Teen PregnancyMedia Reports Miss the Main Point on Spike in Teen PregnanciesA large number of high-school girls intentionally got pregnant or were happy to get pregnant at Gloucester High School in Gloucester, Massachusetts.Earlier reports of a formal group "pact" to get pregnant are now disputed to be a post-pregnancy pledge for the teen mothers to somehow support each other,

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-7979823597908257042007-11-30T21:02:00.000-05:002007-11-30T21:08:02.458-05:00

Home Finance Freedom's "Savers Are from Mars. Debtors Are from Venus. Episode 5" was featured by the 128th Carnival of Personal Finance at Stock Trading To Go in an "Investment Truth" edition, along with a number of good articles from fellow PF bloggers. Thank you.

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-82243954647430236912007-11-25T19:36:00.000-05:002007-11-25T19:41:46.268-05:00

Home Finance Freedom's "Payoff Mortgage v. Invest Stocks: Housing Myths Part 12" was featured by the 127th Carnival of Personal Finance at Moolanomy with a "Wonders of the World" theme, along with a number of good articles from fellow PF bloggers. Thank you.

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-35440087549174050072007-11-24T18:32:00.001-05:002007-11-29T23:28:35.666-05:00

Turning Gold into Lead: How To Lose $100k, and Your House, and Your Family"Wendy's home had appreciated in value by about $100,000, only months after she and her husband bought it. So, they took out a second mortgage for almost $80,000 to enhance their new home. It was at 8% interest. When the housing bubble burst, that $100,000 in equity evaporated. But, the interest on that second adjustable

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-81433218937684322922007-11-21T15:35:00.001-05:002008-06-28T18:16:47.724-04:00

Look Who's Coming to 21st-Century DinnerNational Public Radio (NPR) yesterday interviewed a woman who could not afford airfare to visit family. High fuel prices raise the cost of air and road travel. Better than a card or phone call: Use a webcam to virtually visit for almost free. You might already own the computer, internet connection, and webcam needed to virtually visit distant family (and

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-42824738786040684502007-11-18T19:33:00.000-05:002007-11-18T19:46:34.468-05:00

Home Finance Freedom's "Home Decorating Costs: Housing Myths Part 11" was featured by the 126th Carnival of Personal Finance at Million Dollar Journey, along with a number of good articles from fellow PF bloggers. Thank you.

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-14602767498820155772007-11-12T14:49:00.001-05:002008-06-28T18:17:39.113-04:00

"Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, the principal deputy director of national intelligence. Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguard people's private communications and financial information" (Associated Press (AP), Yahoo! News).Privacy (noun) = the government knows everything about you--but keeps it a secret from you. ????????????????????????

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-77769461241748630892007-11-08T05:02:00.000-05:002007-11-08T22:19:26.663-05:00

Congratulations, the United States gross national debt now exceeds $9 trillion. You owe $30k. Your baby owes $30k. Your family of 4 owes $120k. Your government put you in all this debt to make you richer, in case you were wondering why your life has felt so easy and virtually cost-free all these years.Remember that when choosing a presidential candidate.Why stop at $9 trillion? Should the federal

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-37322895403601966402007-11-07T05:53:00.012-05:002008-07-13T06:42:38.535-04:00

Previous: Home Decorating Costs: Housing Myths Part 11Hock Your House? Beware Over-Hyped Benefits of Leveraged Stock-Market InvestmentsFree Money Finance (FMF) responded to a pro-debt, pro-leverage Ben Stein article. Stein and some FMF commenters unfortunately repeated a number of false assumptions about stock market returns and dubious expectations about arbitrage net returns.Sustained real

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-39895611945287208552007-11-06T07:29:00.001-05:002009-07-10T09:23:59.516-04:00

Amusing Theme Yields Impressive Funds for Presidential Candidate Ron PaulAir Force veteran, Congressman, and obstetrician Dr. Ron Paul is one of the most interesting presidential candidates for the 2008 election. Ron Paul inspires energetic loyalty and outperforms other alleged "frontrunners" in some respects. Paul's supporters ("Paulites") spontaneously organized an earnest if humorously named

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-83876586017674453502007-11-04T16:52:00.000-05:002007-11-20T12:05:59.344-05:00

Previous: Homeownership Cost Cliches: Housing Myths Part 10The Million-Dollar Paint JobPeculiar Priorities To Justify Spending a Million DollarsThose who concede that homebuying is not always financially better than renting often switch the argument from financial bottom lines to unquantifiable personal preferences that cannot be tested by Excel spreadsheets.One of the favorite intangibles that

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-24531927969491479372007-11-02T20:47:00.000-04:002007-11-02T20:58:59.036-04:00

Gangrene on the Greenback: The Falling US Dollar If South Park did Ben Bernanke and Federal Reserve monetary policy:

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-72266261409600316802007-11-02T05:49:00.000-04:002007-11-02T05:54:48.959-04:00

Home Finance Freedom's "Did this Couple Do Everything Wrong or Everything Right?" was featured by the 124th Carnival of Personal Finance at Millionaire Mommy Next Door with a reader participation poll, along with a number of good articles from fellow PF bloggers. Thank you.

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-64214424853586591102007-10-26T11:40:00.000-04:002007-11-07T04:27:07.412-05:00

Two Wise Acres wrote about an older couple who succeeded in the real estate investment rental business by doing "everything wrong" by violating these "rules":1. "Leverage Your Investments to Maximize Growth" (instead, they paid off a property before they bought another). 2. "Always Make Sure You Have Well-Drafted Leases with Tenants" (instead, they rented month to month with no lease). 3. "

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-75624370743545008202007-10-26T10:22:00.000-04:002007-10-26T10:29:11.082-04:00

Home Finance Freedom's "Homeownership Cost Cliches: Housing Myths Part 10" was featured by the 123rd Carnival of Personal Finance at The Dough Roller in a Halloween theme, along with a number of good articles from fellow PF bloggers. Thank you.

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-76582747713459699862007-10-22T17:03:00.000-04:002007-10-22T23:54:56.482-04:00

Single Ma's Fabulous Financials posted these helpful links:text link calculator link worth rank Someone added my blog to Blog Shares: The Fantasy Blog Stock Market. Apparently, I have 2 investors.Have you valued your blog?

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-31531493006148015222007-10-19T22:31:00.000-04:002007-11-04T17:27:26.032-05:00

Previous: House Depreciation-Maintenance: Housing Myths Part 9Housing Clichés Can Cost You DearlyThe last article mentioned that counting just 2 factors (inflation and maintenance/repairs) can cancel any supposed real-estate “investment” appreciation but there are many more costs that can turn home ownership into a loss: mortgage interest, taxes/insurance/fees, and opportunity costs of missed

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-78547210475595362782007-10-18T20:51:00.000-04:002007-10-18T20:58:03.628-04:00

Home Finance Freedom's "House Depreciation-Maintenance: Housing Myths Part 9" was featured by the 122nd Carnival of Personal Finance at Mighty Bargain Hunter in a fanciful Dr. Seuss theme, along with a number of good articles from fellow PF bloggers. Thank you.

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-70160464078411934802007-10-16T16:52:00.000-04:002007-10-23T00:06:01.318-04:00

Birthdays without Pressure claims,"If you think children’s birthday parties are getting out of control, you’ve come to the right place." What do you think?See also: Is Your Baby Cost-Free?-

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-6594652625811258492007-10-14T17:53:00.000-04:002007-10-23T00:04:06.929-04:00

Previous: The "Debt-Free" Deception: Housing Myths Part 8 The Accidental Money Pit:Do you have a few hundred thousand dollars lying around to sink into a 0% investment?Real Estate marketing hype is that you sit back and smoke a cigar while your home value goes up, up, up--but the reality often is that you drag yourself home from work to find that you have to bail water out of your basement before

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-64125897159528162272007-10-12T19:41:00.000-04:002007-10-12T19:48:47.637-04:00

Home Finance Freedom's "The "Debt-Free" Deception: Housing Myths Part 8" was featured by the 121st Carnival of Personal Finance at Mr. Credit Card in a fanciful presidential debate theme, along with a number of good articles from fellow PF bloggers. Thank you.

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273705609578689701.post-80066084365650255812007-10-07T14:06:00.000-04:002007-10-23T00:09:16.551-04:00

Previous: Home Mortgage Tax Deduction Snake Oil: Housing Myths Part 7The entire rent/own/mortgage debate is thoroughly confused, misguided, and backwards. You are NOT debt-free if you have a mortgage. Mortgage is debt. The love of mortgage debt is so bizarre that some people try to deny that mortgage is debt--and then accuse debt-free people of being in debt.Have you ever had anyone tell you that

J at IHB and HFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454951293182876692noreply@blogger.com4