After a long wait, I finally received my $1,200 economic stimulus payment check in the mail last week. Although some retailers offer various tax rebate bonuses, discounts, and special deals, I decided to just spend $200 on special purchases - lawn and garden at Lowe’s.
Combining with the latest special “Life Takes Visa” offer (see below), [...]
As a recognized expert and leader on investment issues, John Mauldin has more than 1 million readers for his weekly e-letter, “Thoughts From the Frontline“. He was voted 2nd only behind Warren Buffett as the ”Investor of the Year” by The Motley Fool’s readers in 2007.
The following chart from John Mauldin’s mid-2006 e-letters divides the economic cycle into four major stages:
Where are [...]
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Cash Savings
Currently, we have more cash than I’d like ($47K). We have $10K worth of I-Bonds bought at the end of April with a guaranteed interest rate of 4.28% until September. The majority of my cash is now sitting at high-yield savings accounts such as HSBC Direct (3.50% APY) and E*Trade Bank (3.15% APY). I’ve been planning to buy some stocks in my taxable [...]
We’ve examined the possible financial impacts of the Presidential candidates in a previous post.
Today, Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan policy group made up of nationally recognized experts in tax, budget, and social policy, released a report that illustrated how the average tax bill of different income groups could change in 2009 if either John McCain’s or Barack Obama’s [...]
Many wealth seekers say $1 million is no longer enough to be considered wealthy. Is $5 million really the new $1 million?
Everyone has own definition of “rich.” Let’s think about this, “rich” is a relative term, it means having more money than a defined group of people - our neighbors, co-workers, friends, etc. Ultimately, it really depends on who [...]
As Obama claimed the Democratic presidential nomination, it’s time to look ahead to the general election race in November. According to realclearpolitics.com, Obama has the support of 46.6 percent of voters, compared with McCain’s 45.2 percent. This latest head-to-head poll shows that the two presidential nominees are currently neck and neck. With a range of [...]
Read full article...Anticipating rate hikes, one of my online savings accounts, HSBC Direct, has just increased its interest rate from 3.05% to 3.50% APY thru August 15, 2008 September 15, 2008 (Update: July 25, 2008) . More banks should follow suit soon.
Besides HSBC Direct, the majority of my cash is earning 3.15% APY at E*TRADE Bank.
