I guess I will always find it ironic that nonsense spreads through the forums like wildfire (i.e. The Dems want to take away your 401ks!). & yet a lot of real and true tax law passes rather quietly. Maybe it's ingenious on the part of politicians - "Look over there!" so you don't see what they are really doing?
I am just surprised I have seen no mention of this, anywhere online where I frequent financial conversations.
Home Buyer Credit Extension
Could be interesting to those thinking of down-sizing? The credit is now available to those who already own homes. Though I haven't read all the details, I didn't see anything about requiring a bigger home for the credit, though apparently the thinking is to spur move-up buyers. Wonder if it will spur move-down buyers even more.
I was just looking up details at a client's request, though I heard this passed on Monday?
There you have it. With so much downsizing talk, I thought many would find this interesting.
As for me? I ain't moving anywhere. A $6500 credit hardly accounts for the cost of selling or moving in our real estate market. Our downsize timeline is for when the kids are grown, anyway. We "upsized" as much as we ever plan to, in our 20s.
----------------------------------------
Dh asked Amazon for a $10 price match on a recent purchase. No biggie, right?
BUT, he called them (usually an e-mail will suffice - their customer service is really good) to ask for $5 off on a new purchase. Though the deal was going around, most retailers charge more for the item.
Amazon said sure, and gave him a flat $16 credit instead of $10. He even said, "Well, $15 would be fine!" They said, "I'll give you $16."
Um, how awesome is that? $16 was enough to cover the item, and then some. In this case, no purchase was necessary though.
---------------------------------------
Reminds me, I am pretty sure we met our Ebay challenge for the year. I wanted to net $100/month in Ebay/Craigslist sales.
Dh tracks all that and I don't know the details, but he has been giving me approximately $75/month.
This does not account for things he has bought with his sales income (like game systems and games galore - even gave one to a friend recently). HE also sells a pile of stuff for credit at a Used Music/Game store.
As our finances improve, I will consider earmarking those deposits for college or retirement savings. HEck, once kids are in school, there is much more profit potential, with more time to chase deals.
It's hit and miss. Some months there were no sales to be made. Other months brought in hundreds of dollars. It hasn't been a steady monthly income. Obviously, December is usually our best month. Still time to make $1200 cold hard cash for 2009.
----------------------------------------
Saw another interesting article on 529s:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870440240457452...
I haven't particularly seen the benefits of a 529 in our low tax bracket. But it's rare that I ever seen a negative thought about a 529 plan! (I still think they are probably the best bet for anyone saving a LOT for college or anyone more upper-middle to wealthy. That's just not our demographic at the moment). The article does point out the inflexibility and issues of 529 plans.
November 12th, 2009 at 05:49 pm 1258048181
November 13th, 2009 at 02:21 am 1258078871
I have seen the extension mentioned in one place, but not very much discussion about it. Considering that I'm not in the market for a house for a long, long time, I haven't paid too much attention to it.
November 17th, 2009 at 06:20 am 1258438820
I think most people would do better with I-bonds (tax free if used for higher ed tuition and books, tax deferred and only accrue federal taxes anyway). They might not go shooting up, but a constant 3-5% adds a bit of ballast.