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Personal Finance QuickTake: Rebate Compromise
2008-02-08 00:14:00
It looks like we will get a tax rebate this summer after all! Today the Senate worked out a deal that adds a benefit for disabled Veterans an the elderly.The rebate would still be $600 for individuals and $1200 for couples. The Senate plan would also cut business taxes in hopes of reviving the economy. Individuals making up to $75,000 a year and couples earning up to $150,000 would get rebates.They are going to try to get the Bill to President Bush to sign as soon as possible in order to start mailing checks as soon as May. Thirty-three Republicans joined 46 Democrats and the Senate's two independents to pass the measure. Sixteen Republicans voted against the plan.Here is a link to a calculator for a potential rebate.I habve to say that I am surprised that they worked this out so quickly, but it seems that someone (Pelosi) brought the Senate to their senses that derailing this would be really bad politically.
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100th Post Spectacular
2008-02-07 14:03:00
This is the 100th Post for the site. Kind of a milestone for me since I really didn't have a plan to start. I enjoy writing and I always enjoyed personal finance as well, though you wouldn't know it from mine! At 100 posts averaging 350 words per (and I think I am higher) post, what does that word count equate too. Interested I looked it up on Fiction Factor and here is what is said for 35,000 words: Novella 20,000 - 50,000 words. - Although most print publishers will balk at printing a novel this short, this is almost perfect for the electronic publishing market length. The online audience doesn't always have the time or the patience to sit through a 100,000 word novel. Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short work of non-fiction.Cool huh? ..."this is almost perfect for the electronic publishing market"...Hey that's me!...an acceptable length for a short work of non-fiction...Me too!Given that if this was a TV show they would do some sort of retrospective I thou...
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New Carnivals...of Doom
2008-02-06 22:04:00
OK, carnivals aren't scary, unless you have to put them together. There are some awesome one ones running now that I would encourage you to visit.Everything Finance is running a great, Carnival of Everything...which you would think would really block up the internet, but no...it itsvery well organized! This features my "720 FICO and Beyond" post.A personal favorite person of mine, BankerGirl is running the Carnival of Banking Stories. While that might sound like it might includes game like "Try to remove the Pen from the Chain" it actually features a bajillion great articles including my "Easy Savings to Your Budget using Cash."Last, but certainly not least, Brip Blap (which is my favorite names blog EVER!) is running the Carnival of Financial Goals III if you saw parts one and two, you must finish the trilogy! At the end Sam helps Frodo...Sorry that was the Lord of the Rings Trilogy! I always mix those two up! It features my 2008 Goals for the Year!"On another note, tomorow I will...
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The Power of Financial Perseverance
2008-02-06 14:58:00
Last night was a big night in American politics and growing up in a family that enjoys politics (you call it arguing) I was mesmerized. In watching, my two hobbies started to merge in my mind a bit and I thought about how important perseverance is to life and your finances.Each one of the four remaining Candidates to be President has a "first," something where earlier in our history it would of held them back. McCain, would be the oldest person to take the seat first term at 71 and was a POW in Vietnam for five and a half years; Romney, would be the first member of the LDS Church to be President; Obama, would be the first bi-racial President; Clinton would be the first Woman.They have all overcome tremendous odds to be in the position that they are in whether you like any of the candidates or not, they all have a lesson to teach. But to me nothing illustrates this better than this list of things that Abraham Lincoln overcame to be President:1832 - Lost Job Defeated for State Legisla...
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Personal Finance QuickTake: AOL
2008-02-05 22:08:00
While the Microsoft Battle rages on it seems like thinks are a bit quite on the AOL front. Give no doubt that Microsoft and Google will go tit for tat if needed.My guess is that if it looks like Microsoft will get Yahoo , my gut is that someone makes a play on AOL. AOL has been a drain on TimeWarner's stock since the merger. They keep trying new business plan but don't have the traction.However, they do have traffic. AOL is still the #45 web site in terms of reach according to alexa.com. But more importantly it has two thing Google wants; a great content brand name and a very popular email source. Imaging the Gmail/AOL market share...Nice!If Google does go for it, perhaps NewsCorp will. They have done a wonderful job monetizing mySpace (regardless of what you feel about the looks). AOL would be a great content pick up and Murdoch doesn't want to be left out either.So my guess is if TimeWarner was ever gonna sell this off, now is the time. Microsoft put a very high valuation out th...
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Learning Finance from the "Smartest Guys in the Room"
2008-02-05 14:34:00
I was looking for a movie to watch tonight. I going through our DVD library I hit this one. Maybe it was the 60 Minutes thing yesterday about Mortgages, but I guess I wanted to see what started a different economic mess."Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room " is a documentary, and before you roll your eyes and start thinking about those horrible ones in school with the hand-cranked filmstrips, or Michael Moore knocking on doors looking for a sandwich (kidding!), this is pretty darn captivating stuff.What separates this one for me is that it really is the people involved discussing in archival footage what went on. The sub-title sums it all up; "It's Only Business."Enron wasn't always a punchline. It was the seventh largest company to ever declare bankruptcy. A company so powerful they created the California rolling power outages!So what can we learn from the movie in regards to personal finance. I think that here are some great lessons:401K investments - Never over invest in your c...
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Book Tag...
2008-02-05 00:30:00
Our Ace Pal Dawn from Iowa Hippie Chick has tagged us with a book meme..This fun game seems fun, so here it goes.The rules are:Pick up the nearest book of at least a 123 pages. Open the book to page 123. Find the 5th sentence. Post the next 3 sentences. Tag 5 more people.Now unfortunately, I am at the office lunching at the desk and have scant books that would have any redeeming value, unless you wanted me to quote ad review rates vs spend, CPM and other such nonsense...So I could pretend not have seen the challenge or use what I do have in my briefcase...The December 2007 issue of Money Magazine!!"Meg chose pediatrics. "I love working with kids. The really sick ones. You can help them and make a difference to their families."Good for you Meg!My tags (and I am trying to avoid the previously tagged) are:The Brightside of DebtGreen Panda TreehouseWe're in DebtDividends 4 LifeSimplicity in KansasThanks Dawn, as I was stumbling for a good topic for the afternoon version!
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Mortgage Crisis vs Integrity
2008-02-04 14:25:00
There was a great story about the Mortgage Crisis on 60 Minutes. While we have all heard the various issues explained about how much inventory is out there, how many people have been pushed out of their homes due to the ARMs resetting. But something struck me hard while watching the videos.I have always felt bad for the people who lose their home. We nearly went through it as a kid and it was a horrible experience. There was real shame in being in a nice middle-class neighborhood and really not being able to afford it anymore. However, in the videos a couple were basically saying..."Whatever!"In the "walking away" video, the couple admits that: they overpaid, they got a ARM knowing it would reset, and that they can pay the new payment after the increase...but they are going to let the house go and be repossessed. When asked by Steve Kroft, "Why?" They basically say that they aren't going to pay that kind of payment for that kind of house. Basically if the investment was working the...
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The Agony of Defeat...
2008-02-03 21:51:00
Do you know who Vinko Bogataj is? He was a moderately successful ski jumper for Slovenia in the 1970's. But what he is known for in American is the start of abc's Wide World of Sports. He IS the picture of "The Agony of Defeat."That is how I am feeling right now...Just got the ultimate Ninja Bill. We are doing so well, but as I have said before that wasn't always the case. When we moved here in December of 2006 we had a bit of a perfect storm. We were moving, had to cash out all of my options at my old employer, and had a huge medical bill hanging over our head. With no credit left or available and trying to move into a new house, we had only one choice...to tap my 401K. It wasn't much cash, but even with the penalties it was enough to get us moved, into the house and get the bill killed and pay off some really high interest debt. Desperate times Desperate measures... (He's At the gate)Well today, two days after I filed my taxes, guess what I got...My 1099-R for the withdrawal....

180 Degrees in Less than 180 Days
2008-02-03 15:54:00
Simplicity in Kansas suggested in a comment yesterday, taking a look at a post about how my family has changed since we began our journey together in October. A reflection on five changes I have noticed as we work our Success Map and through the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps.It hit me immediately as a great idea, since a lot has changed in less than 6 months. In fact, regarding finance, nearly a 180 degree turn-around. It might be easiest to explain by listing some positive advances, and contrasting them to how they were being done before.Change #1 Bill Paying: Then: We haven't had a 30-day late pay in a long time, but it was very close. Basically we paid them as they came in without a plan. This led to silly $20, $30 late charges from the cards. It also lead at times charging a payment to a credit card, or having wave after wave of Ninja Bills.Now: We track every bill in MS Money including yearly ones and know exactly when we are going to pay them to maximize cash flow and eliminate late...
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Carnivals and The Wall Street Journal
2008-02-02 20:25:00
There are some really great Carnivals going on out there today, It is making me forget it is Cold outside today!KCLau.com is running a fantastic Money Tips Carnival. It also features our Top Personal Finance Necessities post. Check it our tons of great articles to help you save money and increase wealth!Mabel and Harry are running a super Carnival of Leadership Development and were kind enough to include our Performance Review Time post in the mix. I truly believe that working towards growing your career is one of the most important drivers of wealth. Just a 1% difference per year can mean an additional $40K per year during a 30 year career...and that is only that year!A really exciting thing happened last night...Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money's post about Microsoft Buying Yahoo was listed in the Wall Street Journal Blog! It was just a line listing in the "Blog Post about this Topic" section...But Hey! it still counts in my book!

January Month In Review
2008-02-02 15:08:00
January is over and it is time to fess up and do a little review. It was actually a good month with some challenges, a crop of Ninja Bills and staying on track with all of my goals, I even got some great news last night!High Points:Net Worth Increased $1,217 - This is from the debt reduction, got below my minimum that I keep in checking, but this was really artificially low as I was paid Friday and checking is back to normal levelsDebt Decreased $1,310 - Car come down a chunk and this is the next Snowball debt after my State Farm CC. I am looking forward to no more car payment!Did my taxes Friday Night - My rebate is way better then I thought it would be. Between State and Federal I will get back $8037.15! This is good and bad news. The money will go to fully fund Property Taxes for 2008 (due in October) and Christmas 2008. The remainder will go towards Snowball #6 effectively cutting it in half! The bad part is I gave the government a non-interest loan of $8037.15! It was our first...
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Personal Finance QuickTake: Microsoft to Buy Yahoo
2008-02-01 22:21:00
Microsoft made an unsolicited $44.6 Billion bid for Yahoo today. Yahoo's stock has been weak lately as they continue to lose market share to Google and have failed to take advantage of internet advertising.Microsoft's surprise offer of $31 per share is a 61% premium on where Yahoo's stock ended the day before.For a while now it has felt like to me that Yahoo lost it's way. A few years ago they had the chance to buy Google for $2 Billion and passed it up, deciding to be a media company that had search as opposed to a search company that was expanding.Google really had out maneuvered Yahoo, snapping up YouTube, creating and mastering AdSense, buying Blogger and Feedburner. Microsoft, with MSN has never been a serious competitor, but they do have deep pockets and are good at identifying niches that they want to grab market share with. This would be the largest acquisition in Microsoft history!I think this is a great marriage if it happens, and the stockholders are going to demand i...
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January's Top Traffic Drivers and Commenters!
2008-02-01 14:05:00
January is said and Done! One month down, only 324 shopping days until Christmas '08! Just Kidding. I will be updating the financial portion of the blog as well as finishing my taxes this weekend. But to kick off February I wanted to thank some people.A young blog like this subsists on older blogs helping out to deliver some of their well earned and won traffic. The new blog needs to earn it, by hopefully putting out good content and winning repeat customers.Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money began really as a lark. I read personal finance blogs and really liked that there was a neat support system out there as well as great ideas to share. So I started this one with little hope anyone would visit, but a determination to get off the sidelines and share. It certainly has followed an old lesson I learned: The more you know, the more you know you don't know! I know more than when I started the blog. I know I will know a ton more later on. Thank you for your patience.I wanted to r...
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Personal Finance QuickTake: Tax Rebate - Senate Version
2008-01-31 22:14:00
The Senate version of the stimulus package is too complex and apt to have even more added to it over the coming days. This according to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson.The Senate lowers the rebate to $500/$1000 from the House $600/$1200. It does increase the recipient count though buy adding 20 million seniors that were not going to get anything under the House Version. It also raises the maximum income level to $150,000 for individuals and $300,000 for couples.The interesting thing was that it showed that higher income families were less likely to spend the rebate and to put it into savings...this is opposite of a trickle down theory...It would be interesting to see the data.Any-who, this still has to go to the floor and be pork-ified as well. Frankly, I believe the only hope to get these by May-July is gone unless they get it done fast. This is because the next step is to get it into committee to hammer out the compromise. The more difference in the bills the longer it will take.C...
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You Need to Develop a Success Map
2008-01-31 14:55:00
How many of you have paid off all of your debt before, only to say "Never Again" and then few years later do the same thing? I have. Not to the level I am working towards now, but multiple times I have worked for a bit until I paid it off and then went back to how I charged before!What's worse is that each time its a bit deeper, isn't it. Well the Credit Card Companies raise your credit line since you paid it off! This becomes a vicious cycle. If this has happened to you before, or it you don't want it to, I suggest you put together a Success Map.If I look back to all of those times I paid it off just to recharge again, there is one thing that happened each time. I thought I had reached my goal...heck I did, but I didn't reach my end-goal just a stage-goal. This is why I say often that Budgeting is a lifestyle, not a prison sentence to be hopefully paroled from!This is were I really like Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps, or other guides that help you plan out what comes next. First, yo...
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Personal Finance Carnivals and Good Karma Blogs
2008-01-31 06:14:00
Quick Post to let you know Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money is featured in some great Carnival 's currently running. The great thing is that you don't need any ticket, just the included links!Carnival of Living Cheaply is running at 2Paupers with a ton of great stopries that can start saving you money today!Cavalcade of Risk (Think a Carnival with Knives...kidding) is running at The Digerati Life. SVB has done the ordinarily totlaly amazing job pulling this together.I can't thank them enough for including my posts in the mix and if there is anything I can do for any of you post-wise let me know!Also I have been expanding my reading sphere lately and as I am sure you know that there is some great content out there and I encourage you to check them out!
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Personal Finance QuickTake: Fed Cuts Rate 1/2%
2008-01-30 22:25:00
At their regular scheduled meeting today the Federal Reserve made another 1/2 point cut. The market reacted by jumping 200 points only to fall back down.The Fed also made it clear that they will continue to make cuts in order to stimulate the economy. This cut follows the surprise 3/4% cut that just happened.Dual edged sword here, the cuts will mean that anyone with a rate pegged to the Prime Rate will see lowered interest payments (nearly all credit cards). Mortgages and refinancing should go lower, although they are balanced out a bit by demand as well as how fast the Treasury Ten-Year drops.The downside is that 4 is the new 5...Until rates go up we won't see a lot of 5% Savings deals, unless it is a lockup or new customer offer. Also CD offers will continue to go down.Basically the government wants us all to spend our way out of the upcoming (or here) recession! For our personal financial needs we are going to do what we can to get our FICO score to 720 and refinance...How about...
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Moving Day! Savings Day!
2008-01-30 14:41:00
Today (actually it started Friday) was moving day into my new office. They rearranged the common area next to my group and basically tossed us out of our homes. But this is already working better. It seems like I should be able to save time and save money.The new area has the cubes arranged better so there is a common shared table area for everyone to use. We are also a bit more tucked into a corner so it is a bit quieter.However my I do need to clean up and organize the new office. I just didn't realize I was such a pack rat! Here are some of the things I found:About 20 semi-used legal pads - Why do I always use 2/3 of one, lose it and then do the same thing again and again2 packs of pens - Which is great because these are the Bic gel Grip pens and the company won't order them any more...probably cause I lost so many!$5 - Stuffed into the back of my old desk - Yeah!20 -2" binders- This was on the bottom shelf of my suitcase, my group doesn't use these as we need the type with th...
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Personal Finance QuickTake: Secret Billionaires
2008-01-29 22:33:00
When I think of secret Billionaires I think of Bruce Wayne, Not Susanne Klatten, Birgit Rausing or John Sall. But there are a ever growing grow of billionaires whio you will rarely, if ever hear about.They don't show up on E! or Perez Hilton they go about their daily lives. Sort of an uber-version of the millionaire next door. They are not leading quiet lives of desperation either. They run companies, sit on Fortune 500 boards and work very hard.The real point of the story is that you can have the fortune and none of the fame, you just need to choose to! So how about you? Are you wanting to amass a fortune? Are you content with where you are now?For me, I like the things that money affords...not the cars,homes, jewelry...ok maybe the cars, but it affords you options; instead of having to work where you don't like, worry about bills, or see all this amazing world has to offer.You don't have to be Batman if you amass a billion dollars, but it would be fun!
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Performance Review Time
2008-01-29 14:23:00
It is actually pass the time when my annual review is due. With a new outside management parent company things have been crazy. Since I am planning to NOT spend any raise and just apply it to our debt snowball, it really isn't like I "Have" to have a review now...I just want to get it over with.I am one of the lucky few that gets and gives reviews...middle management my boy, middle-management :) However I thought that I would give some tips for being on both sides of the review desk. I have had tips on your career before, but this post is aimed at helping you during that once a year love-fest.Tips for the reviewee:Document any and all victories - Throughout the year keep a $2 journal of all the things that you accomplished...do not be shy or humble. The ones that can document and show their value get the raises intended for the humble!Before your Boss writes your review - Make sure you get the information to him/her. If you format is the way reviews are done, by strength type, all ...
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Personal Finance QuickTake: Buyouts
2008-01-28 21:50:00
Chrysler announced today that they will offer buyouts of up to $100,000 to its hourly employees. Chrysler had just last year renegotiated their contract with the UAW to allow them to hire some new workers at a lower pay scale.From a personal finance angle, would you take 2-3 years salary or keep your job?For e it would be tempting as it would push me to start my own business, or buy one that I have been considering. With that sort of cushion behind me I could afford to take a bit of a risk...But it is still a risk.There is a reason they are doing this. It isn't out of the goodness of their heart, just ask the 33% of white collar workers that were offed. They got basic severance. However the blue collar workers have a contract and the company can ill-afford a strike, nor the payout from violating the contract.The US based manufacturers are getting leaner everyday, which will hopefully mean healthier, although a credit crisis won't/isn't helping.If you did take the money what would...
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I am Late Blogging about Procrastination
2008-01-28 15:47:00
I hate to admit it but I am a procrastinator. It isn't that I am lazy or don't work hard, but without time clock pressure building up, I have a hard time focusing on a single issue. This has affected my money management, time management and overall well-being. I am not alone in this, Stephen Hawking, the preeminent Physicist of our time said that finding out that he had ALS was the one of the best things that ever happened to him, as it forced him to focus on a certain topic, in his case Physics. He said otherwise he probably would have dabbled away at 1000's of different subjects instead of focusing on one.For me, there is something about the time pressure, or it needed to be done now that focuses me. Perhaps it is that I just see to many possibilities and having no time forces a decision. "A or B, youngish Lad..."That being said I do not miss deadlines or delay others with my issue. It is there on time, even if I work 24-36 hours straight. It isn't fair or proper to make other...
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RFID will Revolutionize Everything
2008-01-27 22:31:00
RFID Chips are becoming ubiquitous. Already most major retailers insist that all pallets arriving into their distribution centers are tagged with the chip. This is all poised to potentially save you money and protect you from counterfeitingSo what is the deal here? What are they, and how will it affect your daily life?RFID , or Radio Frequency IDentification, is really like a very small radio station, that only plays one song over and over. In this case the song is the unique Identifier for the product. This allows the radio listener, or scanner, to pick up the location of the device. Think of it as a UPC on steroids.UPCs revolutionized your grocery shopping experience. Remember when every single item had to hand entered by price? Those cashiers were really amazing, but there were big issue, as stores got bigger with more selection, it became impossible to remember every price in the store so they relied on the price sticker (when is the last time you saw every can of Corn having a ...

Weekly Top 5 Personal Finance Articles
2008-01-27 15:56:00
Sunday already! Busy week for me as I had to catch up from recent business travel. Lots of great things were floating in the Blogsphere about personal finance, budgeting and money management.Here are my Top 5 Articles of the Week:Dividends4Life - A great SET of articles about pre-screening dividend stock that show some of the tools he uses to run true comparisons. MUST reads for anyone looking at individual StocksThe Skilled Investor - They not only ran the most recent Carnival of Financial Planning but also just ran a great piece about choosing, hiring and paying for a financial adviser and what you should expect in return.Green Panda Treehouse - Another double-dipper. They ran a great Carnival of Personal Finance and also had a great article talking about how they pay their bills and work their budget process. I love that sort of insight as I always learn something new!Catherine Lawson's Business Advice Blog - I love all of her posts (and comments!) but 107 Great Resources to Unl...
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Small Town Movie Theaters
2008-01-27 00:13:00
A quick break from money management for a second. One thing I miss about being in a bigger city like Salt Lake, is the dirth of places to see a movie. I am not talking about "Die Hard 74" I mean the off-the beaten path movies.For my B-Day the Ms. and I were going to see "There Will be Blood." Just us no kids, nearly 3 hours of quite time! And as of yesterday it isn't playing anymore...to make room for "Meet the Spartans"...The movie that is up for best picture got bumped by next years "Razzie" winner.We have been so good about not spending money, that we have curtailed our movie going, which is a favorite thing for me to do. Before we would go to most new releases even before most of our friends.In a way this does tie into personal finance a bit. By being responsible with money sometimes we can be/feel a bit more isolated from others who do spend. Whether that is them talking about their fabulous vacation, new clothes, car etc. I truly am not a jealous sort of person, and I don't ...
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