For those of you like me wondering when you can expect to receive your refund direct depot or check once you efile the IRS has a handy publication 2043 with this information. The table below shows when your federal tax refund should be deposited in your bank account or your check mailed if [...] ... (more)

I decided to take some time to analyze my 401k performance over the last year. I’ve discussed my allocations before in my T. Rowe Price account, but just to recap: Equity Index Trust (PREIX) - 60% Amer Funds Europacific Growth (AEPGX) - 25% [...] ... (more)

I thought I would take some time and come up with some financial goals for my family for 2008. The end of 2007 started a financial downturn that I haven’t quite pulled out of yet so I would like to set some highlights I would like to achieve this year that aren’t going to [...] ... (more)

Here are some posts from other personal finance sites I found interesting this week: Ron over at Wisdom Journal explores ... (more)

It seems Countrywide has lowered the APY on their SavingsLink account from 5.00% down to 4.75% for balances of 10k+ (3% for under). With this there are just a handful of banks offering over 5% now. While disappointing it is to be expected. They still have a very competitive rate compared to the other [...] ... (more)

Taxable Accounts: $7,478.24 - Liquid Savings - 3.25% APY HSBC Savings Account $15,256.17 - Savings - 4.75% APY Countrywide Savings Accounts $14,757.64 - Stocks - Misc. Direct Investments $5,804.49 - Stocks - Ameritrade Izone $2,645.91 - Stocks - Zecco $2,658.54 - Bonds - TreasuryDirect $48,600.99 TOTAL Retirement Savings: $16,689.18 - ROTH IRA - Vanguard $1,046.96 - ROTH IRA - Scottrade $52,605.87 - 401K - T. Rowe [...] ... (more)

Well, after signing up it seems the recent rate decreases have finally hit the Charles Schwab Investor Checking account. This week they dropped their interest rate from 4.0% to 3.21% like just about every other bank out there. I still think its a pretty good deal for a checking account. ING Direct is only [...] ... (more)

I have been watching the recent downward trend of mortgage rates recently in hopes of refinancing my home at a lower rate. This week after the federal reserve cut interest rates and the stock market plummeted rates hit lows not seen in years. However as of yesterday most of the rates have risen [...] ... (more)

I recently decided to switch our checking accounts from HSBC to Charles Schwabs new Investor Checking account. I have not been happy with the steady decrease in my linked HSBC savings account and decided it was time for a change. It has a lot of attractive features that drew me to it: [...] ... (more)

Eating out can be hard on your budget while on vacation. I recently traveled to Las Vegas and stopped at a few cheap restaurants along the way on the strip. With the takeover of the corporate supercasino the days of $3.99 buffets seem to be gone, however you can still find quite a [...] ... (more)

Taxable Accounts: $2,035.63 - Liquid Savings - 4.50% APY HSBC Savings Account $25,205.67 - Savings - 5.30% APY Countrywide Savings Accounts $15,731.53 - Stocks - Misc. Direct Investments $6,021.93 - Stocks - Ameritrade Izone $2,825.68 - Stocks - Zecco $2,657.44 - Bonds - TreasuryDirect $54,477.88 TOTAL Retirement Savings: $17,556.69 - ROTH IRA - Vanguard $1,022.50 - ROTH IRA - Scottrade $55,859.95 - 401K - T. Rowe [...] ... (more)

My previous favorite online bank has dropped its rate again. HSBC Direct lowered their savings rate again this morning to 4.25% APY (from 4.50%). It seems like while other banks are able to maintain rates with the Fed drops HSBC keeps slipping. Emigrant Direct also dropped their rate to 4.65% APY this [...] ... (more)

Lifehacker has announced their 2007 guide to free software and webapps with a ton of FREE applications for your everyday needs. They broke it down into 20 categories and here are some of my personal favorites: Backup Utilities Mozy (Windows/Mac, online backup, up to 2GB free) - Provides automated backups of your important files online. Desktop Search Google Desktop (Windows/Mac OS X/Linux, free) - Search through all your files, emails, web history and more. Virus Killers and Malware Cleaners AVG Free Edition (Windows, free with paid upgrade) - Free virus protection for your computer. I have never actually tried any of their apps in the Personal ... (more)

Microsfot is currently running a campaign where you can get yourself a free copy of the $400 Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, Office 2007, or Microsoft Money Plus. The catch? You have to join their feedback program where you have to answer a few surveys and install a program on your computer where they can monitor [...] ... (more)

Perfect for that holiday gift giving - now through December 16th, 2007 you can get 12% off a single item during your instore purchase at Best Buy. All you need is a free rewards zone membership to get the full 12%, otherwise if you do not have / want a membership you get 10% [...] ... (more)

Taxable Accounts: $2,331.07 - Liquid Savings - 4.50% APY HSBC Savings Account $25,128.31 - Savings - 5.30% APY Countrywide Savings Accounts $15,731.53 - Stocks - Misc. Direct Investments $5,861.64 - Stocks - Ameritrade Izone $2,657.18 - Stocks - Zecco $2,647.58 - Bonds - TreasuryDirect $54,357.31 TOTAL Retirement Savings: $17,555.93 - ROTH IRA - Vanguard $1,115.42 - ROTH IRA - Scottrade $55,011.88 - 401K - T. Rowe [...] ... (more)

I have been trying somewhat unsuccessfully to earn a bit of extra cash through side projects. I have a pretty decent computer background so freelancing seems like my best bet. I have done some work for local businesses but have not received any new work in quite a while. I’ve been tying sites like rentacoder.com and guru.com, but it seems like I am getting bid against by South American programming outfits whose prices make it not worth my time. On Friday I saw a part time position on Monster doing something I specialize in - telecommuting and a very nice ... (more)

Sears is having their 10% off just about anything in the store VIP sale this weekend - on Sunday November 11th from 6pm-9pm. To sweeten this deal even more, Sears also currently is running 20% off any Kenmore appliance which is stackable with the 10% off, making an effective 28% off! Could be a good time to buy if you are in need of a new appliance. They are also going to be offering some of the Black Friday deals during this time (unfortunately not the early bird doorbuster sales though). Sears VIP Sale Share This ... (more)

The 99th edition of the Festival of Frugailty is up over at Learning to be Frugal. There are some great posts over there including my cheapo eyeglasses experience so if you have the time you should check it out. Share This ... (more)

Well after just switching from HSBC Direct to Countrywide, Countrywide has lowered their APY from 5.50% to 5.35% on the heels of the latest federal reserve interest rate announcement. Its slightly disheartening but compared to most of the other online banks its still a good rate. ING Direct is 4.2%, HSBC is 4.50% (for now), GMAC is 4.50%. I will be sticking with Countrywide for now but as always will keep my eye out for something better. Share This ... (more)

I came across a most excellent tutorial today How To Actually Search Craigslist via Lifehacker. I am a huge fan of Craigslist for those who didn’t know, and I often find it difficult to manage searches on their poor engine. Craigslist does offer RSS feeds (which I am also a huge fan of via Google Reader) however you can only have 1 search term per feed. So if you are looking for 20 different items you have to have 20 feeds in your RSS reader which can become quite messy. The tutorial shows you how to use Yahoo ... (more)

Taxable Accounts: $3,806.66 - Liquid Savings - 5.05% APY HSBC Savings Account $25,021.28 - Savings - 5.50% APY Countrywide Savings Accounts $16,393.20 - Stocks - Misc. Direct Investments $6,105.13 - Stocks - Ameritrade Izone $3,089.63 - Stocks - Zecco $2,647.58 - Bonds - TreasuryDirect $57,063.48 TOTAL Retirement Savings: $18,111.93 - ROTH IRA - Vanguard $1,306.73 - ROTH IRA - Scottrade $56,051.88 - 401K - T. Rowe Price $75,470.54 TOTAL Debts $3,094.84 - Student Loan - AES (3.625%) $4,395.00 - Credit Card BT - Chase(0%) $17,995.28 - Credit Card BT - BOA NEA (0%) $7,420.18 - Credit Card BT - Juniper (0%) $20,094.00 - Credit Card BT - Upgromise (0%) $52,999.30 TOTAL Housing / Automobiles $266,406.71 - Mortgage - ... (more)

Here in the US, the day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday. Its when retailers gear up for the holiday season to move from the red to black (financial wise) and have huge sales to attract customers. Its a great time to do some holiday shopping there are many door buster specials where you will see products at their lowest prices ever. Rather than wait till Thanksgiving day to get your newspaper with the sales ads, you can usually find the flyers online as much as a month in advance. This year is no exception. My ... (more)

After doing quite a bit of squinting lately I decided it might be time to update my eyeglass prescription. My insurance only provides for an eye exam and either eyeglasses or contacts every 2 years so I went to the local Empire Vision and had an eye exam and ordered some contacts which I use for sports since those are more expensive than the glasses I had in mind. I asked them for a copy of my prescription and was on my way. Ordering I had been following this Slickdeals thread for a while on cheap prescription glasses and finally ... (more)

Lowes is currently offering a $10 off $25 coupon through their fan website to kick off you fall project. I signed up and used this coupon today at my local Lowes so can verify it scans and works! Thats up to 40% off your next purchase so if you need something this coupon would certainly sweeten the deal. Sign Up For $10 off $25 At Lowes Advertisement: UK Payday Loan fast payday loan online Share This & ... (more)