Well, it’s been a while since I’ve had the time to post a weekly recap, but I’m bringing it back today. Given the market conditions over the past few weeks, my job has become incredibly difficult, and the last thing I want to do when I get home is to read about, or talk about finance. But, I had some time at a remote location earlier this week which meant sitting in a hotel room by myself with only a few channels on TV, so I had some time to get caught up on everything and see what everyone is talking about these days.

And since tomorrow is going to be the biggest day for college football in many years, the last thing I’ll be thinking about tomorrow is finance or the economy. I need my Spartans to pull off something special and beat Penn State. Then, in a bittersweet turn of events, to clinch a Rose Bowl spot we need our sworn enemies, the Wolverines to upset Ohio State. I’m a bit torn, because I’d like to see the Buckeyes tear Michigan apart, but considering we haven’t been to the rose bowl since 1987, obviously that would be quite special. Of course, odds aren’t in your favor anyway when you need to beat one of the top teams in the nation, and you need one of the worst teams to upset another great team. But, it makes for an exciting Saturday!

Common Job Interview Questions -With unemployment on the rise, you might find yourself looking for a job in the near future. If it’s been a while since you’ve interviewed for a job, it can take a little time and practice to brush up your interview skills. Here are some common interview questions and how you should approach them.

Matt Furey: 101 Ways To Magnetize Money -Would you like your money to act like a magnet and pull in more money? That’s the first thing I visualized when I read the title of this post and book with the same name. Lazy Man reviews Matt Furey’s book to see whether or not it will help you make more money.

What is ROWE and How Does it Affect the Workplace? -What is ROWE? I had no idea, so I had to read this one. It was interesting to see that this business management strategy is used by Best Buy, and I hate that store more than anything. Maybe it’s because I know more about the products I’m buying than the people that work there and understand I don’t need $500 worth of Monster Cables to go with any audio/video product.

E-Trade Online Savings Account Opening Process -Have you thought about opening a savings account with an online bank, but was unsure about doing something like that online? Well, nickel gives a step-by-step outline of what this process is like with E-Trade, complete with pictures. This should give you a better idea of what to expect when opening your account.

Quick and Easy Ways to Start a Savings Plan Today -When times are tough and money is tight, saving money might seem impossible, but it’s during times like these that you need to have savings, and need to be disciplined. Frugal Dad has some great tips to help you get started with a savings plan today, and it won’t hurt that much.

Last Minute Gift Ideas and Shopping Tips For Holiday Procrastinators -I’m a big advocate of shopping early, mainly because I hate dealing with idiots on the road and at the mall. Unfortunately, I haven’t started any shopping yet! The clock is ticking, and the stores will only continue to get busier in the coming weeks. There are some good ideas on this list I can probably take advantage of to save me a headache or two.

Are You Ready to Lose Your Job? -Most people aren’t really “ready” to lose their job, but being mentally and physically prepared can make a job loss that much easier. If you know how a job loss will affect you, what benefits you’ll lose, what you’ll gain, and what your prospects are, you’ll be in a better position to get back on your feet.

100 Money Saving Tips for the Holiday Gifting Bonanza -Do you want to save money this holiday season? If so, this is probably the only post you’ll need. Jim has 100 great ways to save money, not only during the holidays, but at any time. It is quite a list!

Debt Reduction 101 - Beginner?s Guide To Debt Reduction -Are you trying to get out of debt but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry, we have NCN to the rescue. Here is a great beginner’s worksheet to help you start your quest to becoming debt free.

Transfer A Brokerage Account: How Much Does It Cost? -There are a lot of different brokerage options, and finding the best account with low fees is great, but it can come at a cost. Transferring out of an account often costs money. So, finding out what it will actually cost and help you determine whether or not it’s worth the move.

Five Things You Don?t Want to Hear From Your Financial Planner -This is a guest post by Jeff Rose, a CFP over on Moolanomy’s site. But here are 5 things you probably don’t want to hear your financial advisor tell you. Sadly, I’ve had to tell people all of these things quite a bit in the past few months. Of course, most people already know they need to do these things, but they just never admit it, or take action to fix it.

S&P 500 Down Nearly 50% in 2008 -I had to include at least one really depressing post. The S&P is down almost 50% this year. It sucks, I know. Be thankful you don’t have to work with clients who come to you for answers on a daily basis.

Friday Finance Findings for November 21st

With the whole mortgage meltdown and ensuing credit crisis, there is plenty of blame to go around. Even with shady lenders, complex loans, and loose lending requirements, most of this could have been avoided if people took the time to read, and more importantly, understand what they were signing. Most people simply don’t want to spend the time to sit there and read all of the fine print and those who do actually read it may not fully understand everything.

Don’t Be Embarrassed if You Don’t Understand

When someone explains something technical or difficult to grasp and then asks, “Do you understand?”, the response is typically “yes.” Either it is because you want to get through the process quickly, you don’t think it is very important, or you don’t want to feel embarrassed that you don’t understand a concept. This could end up being a costly mistake. If you don’t understand something or if you see conflicting information, it is in your best interest to stop and ask questions. It’s much easier to take a moment before signing to get clarification than to learn the hard way at some point in the future.

Information Included in the Fine Print

Most people are concerned with a few key areas of a loan such interest rate and length of the loan, but it is within the fine print of the promissory note or security agreement that contains the information that can really cost you money. The most common information included throughout the text will include:

• The promise you make to pay the lender a certain amount of money plus the agreed to interest rate.
• Whether the interest rate is fixed or variable — if variable, when does the rate change and by how much.
• The payment schedule.
• Charges for late payments.
• Any applicable grace period.
• If the loan can be paid off early and if any penalties are incurred for doing so.
• Whether or not security or collateral is required.
• Whether or not the loan can be extended.
• What happens if you default.
• What happens if you pay with a bad check.
• Can the lender take money from other accounts you may have with them to repay the loan.
• Who pays legal fees and collection costs.

Don’t Sign Anything Until You Completely Understand

While it pays to make sure you get a good interest rate with good terms, it is equally important to make sure you understand everything about the loan even if you don’t think it will ever apply to you. You have nobody to blame but yourself if you make a late payment and find out there is a $40 late fee. It would come as no surprise if you took the time to understand what you agreed to. In the event of a problem with your account, ignorance is not a defense. It may seem like a waste of time to spend an extra ten or fifteen minutes to read multiple pages of small text, but it could end up saving you money or problems somewhere down the line.

And finally, don’t feel pressured by the person sitting across the table who’s urging you to sign. Not everyone is out there trying to trick you into a shady loan, but you shouldn’t feel rushed if they are just trying to quickly get you through the process. They can wait, and you should take as much time as you need. If they brush off certain sections saying it isn’t important, just explain that you want to take a moment to look it over. A couple extra minutes will ensure that you aren’t missing some key terms on the loan and help you completely understand what to expect, and what the consequences will be if something goes wrong.

Read the Fine Print Before Signing Any Loan - You Might be Surprised at What’s in There

In my mind, Ben Stein will always best be remembered as the teacher from the classic 80’s movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”.

But beyond his acting career, Ben Stein is a lawyer, economist and former presidential speech writer. He’s a smart guy and a good writer. I don’t always agree with his conclusions, but I think he nails it in his latest piece.

In his latest writing — an article in the New York Times — he asks, “Where Are the Grown-Ups When You Need Them?”

This is a great article which tells it like it is. Click here to read it.

Share This

Kris and I went grocery shopping this weekend. We stopped at Bob’s Red Mill — a local health-food store — to use some “buy one, get one free” coupons. “You can get anything you want,” Kris told me, “except hot cereal.”

“Why can’t I get hot cereal?” I asked. “I love hot cereal.”

“I know,” Kris said. “But you buy it all the time. You buy it faster than you eat it. Just last week, you bought another box of that blueberry oatmeal from Trader Joe’s. You never remember what we have at home. You need to shop with a list.”

She has a point.

A shopping list is a useful way to remind yourself what you do and do not need to purchase. But most frugality experts emphasize shopping with a list because it prevents impulse purchases. Impulse purchases wreck grocery budgets. In Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, Paco Underhill writes:

Supermarkets are places of high impulse buying for both sexes — fully 60 to 70 percent of purchases there were unplanned, grocery industry studies have shown us.

More than half of all grocery purchases are unplanned! No wonder creating and sticking to a list can bring down grocery costs.

But that’s not the only way to save money at the supermarket. Over the past two years, I’ve published a lot of tips for saving money on your grocery bill. Some of these have been obvious — others less so. All of them can help you save at the supermarket. Here are some of the best:

Make a list — and stick to it.

This is the cardinal rule of shopping. The list represents your grocery needs: the staples you?re out of, and the food you need for upcoming meals. When you stray from the list, you?re buying on impulse, and that?s how shopping trips get out of control. Sure, a magazine only costs $5, but if you spend an extra $5 every time you make a trip to the supermarket, you waste a lot of money.

Compare unit pricing.

The biggest package isn?t always the most cost-effective. Stores know that consumers want to buy in bulk, and so they mix it up: sometimes the bulk item is cheaper, sometimes it?s more expensive. The only way you can be sure is to take a calculator. Our grocery store posts unit pricing for most items, which makes comparisons easy.

Ditch the basket or cart.

If you’re dashing into the supermarket to pick up milk and bread, don’t use a basket. Baskets induce people to buy more. If you’re limited to what you can carry, you’re more likely to avoid impulse purchases. Only use a basket (or shopping cart) if it’s absolutely necessary.

Don’t examine things you don’t need.

The more you interact with something, the more likely you are to buy it, says Paco Underhill in Why We Buy: “Virtually all unplanned purchases…come as a result of the shopper seeing, touching, smelling, or tasting something that promises pleasure, if not total fulfillment.” Do you know why grocery stores place those displays in the aisles? To intentionally block traffic. They want to force you to stop, if only for a moment. It only takes a few seconds of idly staring at the Chips Ahoy! to convince you to buy them. Stay focused.

Live on the edge.

Health-conscious shoppers know that the perimeter of the store is where the good stuff is. The baked goods, dairy products, fresh meats, and fruits and vegetables are generally placed along the outside edge of the supermarket, while the processed stuff can be found up and down the aisles. But shopping the edges isn’t just healthier — it’s cheaper too. Stock up on the fresh food first, then venture to the middle of the store.

Discard brand loyalties.

Be willing to experiment. You may have a favorite brand of diced tomatoes, for example, but does it really matter? Go with what’s on sale for the lowest unit price. You may find you like the less expensive product just as well. If you try a cheaper brand and are disappointed, it’s okay to return to your regular brand.

Choose generic.

Better yet, try the store brand. Generic and store brand products are cheaper than their name-brand equivalents and are usually of similar quality. But do you know why you’re reluctant to try generics? The power of marketing. Most generics have unappealing packaging. If they cost less and taste the same, who cares?

Use coupons wisely.

Coupons really can save you money. But you have to know how to use them. Clip coupons only the things you need — staple foods and ingredients — not for processed junk food. Learn to use special coupons. Once each month, one local store sends us a “$10 off a $50 purchase coupon”. We know it’s coming, so we plan our trips around it.

Make one large trip instead of several small ones.

Each time you enter the grocery store is another chance to spend. By reducing the frequency of your trips, you’re not only avoiding temptation, but you’re also saving money on overhead (time and fuel).

Buy from the bulk bins.

Some stores offer bulk bins filled with baking ingredients, cereal, and spices. When you buy in bulk, you get just the amount you need, and you pay less. Much less. (One GRS reader recently shared how he saved over $150 by buying spices in bulk.)

Check your receipt.

Make sure your prices are scanned correctly. Make sure your coupons are scanned correctly. Sale items, especially, have a tendency to be in the computer wrong, and yet few people ever challenge the price at the register. You don?t need to hold up the line: simply watch the price of each item as it?s scanned. If you suspect an error, step to the side and check the receipt as the clerk begins the next order. If there?s a problem, politely point it out. It?s your money. Ask for it.

Shop alone.

In Why We Buy, the author notes that people tend to buy more when shopping in groups than when shopping alone. “But men are especially suggestible to the entreaties of children as well as eye-catching displays.” Kris complains that we always spend more on food when we shop together. She’s right. If possible, shop alone.

Use a grocery price book.

A grocery price book is an ongoing list of the items you most commonly purchase and how much you paid for them. This list allows you to detect price cycles, spot bargains, and plan your shopping trips for maximum savings. A price book allows you to practice strike-point shopping.

Shop on a full stomach.

Studies show that folks who shop when they?re hungry buy more. This is certainly true for me: If I go to the store for milk on a Sunday morning without eating breakfast, I?m likely to come home with donuts and orange juice and Lucky Charms, too.

Walk or bike.

In our recent discussion about how to pay yourself first, Ross Williams suggested another way to reduce impulse purchases. By walking or biking to the store, you can automatically limit your spending. “It’s amazing how focused you can be when you are limited to one shopping bag full of groceries,” he writes. “Once you are very conscious of each purchase, it seems to carry over even to the small items where space isn’t really an issue.”

Any of these tips can help a savvy shopper save money at the supermarket. But when combined to create a cohesive shopping philosophy, they have the power to slash your grocery budget significantly. I’m not promising that you’ll be able to feed yourself for $15 a week, but you might be able to save enough money pay down your debt or to jump-start your savings!

Here are some related articles:

• How to save hundreds by playing the drugstore game
• The lazy man’s guide to groceries on a budget
• Grocery store vs. farmers market: Which has the cheapest produce?

Kris requested I offer some final pointers for the gentlemen. “Check with your wife before you go shopping,” she says. “Check with your wife before you put anything into the cart. And remember: Just because you like a food doesn’t mean you need to buy it every time you go shopping.”

Bulk food photo by mattieb.

---
Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly:

• Use a Grocery Price Book to Slash Your Food Spending
• The Grocery Game
• How to Spend Less - Lessons From ‘Why We Buy’
• Daily Links: Money Saving Tips Edition
• Price vs. Ethics: Is the Best Price the Best Choice?

By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.

- Edwin, CashTheChecks.com

Investing for retirement is one of the staples of financial planning. Almost everyone will either choose to, or be forced to stop working at some point, and having money set aside to fund these non-working years is important. In addition to retirement, there is an increasing trend in saving and investing for college expenses. College tuition is increasing rapidly, and many parents are looking to provide some relief so their children aren’t burdened with tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt after graduation. With the creation of Section 529 plans, more people are aggressively saving money for college, and now have the opportunity to not only receive tax breaks for doing so, but they can put this money to work with various investments. But with these options and benefits come some drawbacks and things to watch out for.

Understanding Time Frame

One of the greatest factors that determine how you should be invested has to do with time frame, or time horizon. Knowing how long your money has to grow will largely dictate what type of investments you choose. But when it comes to investing for retirement versus college, while it appears simple, there is more to consider than looking at how many years you have left.

With retirement, most people have a lot more flexibility. For one, retirement age comes at different times for different people. Some retire in their 50s, while others work into their 70s. So, just because you’re 30 years old and expect to retire at 65, that means you have roughly 35 years, but it also means there is flexibility. Who knows what will happen over this time, you may retire early, you may be forced to work longer, or you may change careers. Whatever the case, you have the flexibility to take on some risk with your investments.

Looking at college savings, there is much less flexibility and the time frame is more rigid. If you have a child, you know that from birth, you have roughly 18 years until college. On top of that, you know that once they enter college, they probably have around 4 years in which they need to withdraw funds from the account. Sure, some children might get scholarships and not need the money, others might wait a year or two before attending college, or some might go on to earn a graduate degree. But for the most part, there is a fairly specific time frame at work which can limit the amount of risk you’re willing to take.

Why This Affects Investment Decisions

With 18 years of growth, and about four years of withdrawals, most people would see no problem with investing fairly aggressively, especially in the early years. This is to be expected, because stocks generally do produce high returns, and with that much time for the money to grow, you can weather the ups and downs. Even so, when you go back to the flexibility of extending your time horizon or putting off withdrawals, you really don’t have that as a luxury when it comes to college savings. What happens when your child is ready to head off to college and your account is down, are you going to tell them they have to wait a few years before they can start college so your investments can recover? Of course not. And if you wait too long, your window for using that money without taxes and penalties may be gone. You’ll likely have to settle for selling at a loss and maybe even foot more of the tuition bill yourself.

As you can see, even though there is more certainty in regards to how much money you’ll need, what tuition will cost, and knowing exactly how long you have to invest, it doesn’t remove any of the risk. While retirement may yield many unknowns, you at least have options in which you can plan for, and structure your retirement to make everything work.

You also have to consider the withdrawal phase. Like I mentioned above, for most people, withdrawing funds from a college savings plan will take place over a relatively short amount of time. But when you look at retirement, the withdrawal phase can span 20 or 30 years. This allows you to remain invested, at least in part, in stocks even while in retirement because you have another few decades in which you are slowly withdrawing the funds. With college, again, you need to depend on that money over just four or five years on average, so the need to safeguard those funds leading up to, and once the child is in college is very important.

How to Invest Your College Savings

When it comes to investing for college, many of the same rules apply as investing for retirement. But what really changes is the amount of time you spend in each investment phase, and ramping up to a more conservative portfolio earlier. To see why, just take a look at what the past 10 years has shown us. Over the past 10 years, the S&P has a negative annualized return. 10 years may account for half, or even more of your entire time to save for college. That could have a significant impact on how much money you are able to accumulate. So, here are some guidelines:

Birth to Age 5: Just like someone that’s just starting to save for retirement, it’s a good time to be investing in stocks. At this point, a diversified portfolio in stocks would be fine. You’d probably focus on primarily holding domestic large-cap stocks while rounding it out with some international and small or mid-cap offerings.

Age 5 to 10: At this point, you’ll already want to start getting a little more conservative. You’d probably want to think about a 70% mix of stocks and and 30% in bonds. You’ll want to stay diversified across the spectrum of stocks, and probably focus on something like intermediate term bonds.

Age 10 to 15: By now, you’ve crossed the halfway point if you’ve been investing since birth, so it’s time to ratchet things down a bit further. A 50/50 mix of stocks and bonds is going to be the name of the game for the next few years. You’d want to still keep a broad diversification of stocks, but you’ll also want to add some higher quality bond holdings. Of the bond portion, you’ll probably want to keep half of it in low-risk areas like a money market or fixed account.

Age 15 to 18: As you approach the home stretch, you want to make sure that any sudden market declines won’t completely drain your account since your child will be starting college in just a couple years. Three years isn’t enough time to rely too heavily on market conditions, so you will probably want to rely on a 75% allocation of bonds, and 25% in stocks. Now, you should begin to focus a little more on safer, income producing stocks, and shift towards more high-quality bonds. Remember, since you need the money in just a few years, you’d rather have a meager 5% gain than a 5% loss each year heading into college.

Age 18+: Your child is probably ready to start college, and that means the first tuition bills are due. Now is not a time for surprises, so you should be focused on generating predictable income from your investments. At this point, your investments are more or less a savings account that will regularly be tapped into. So, most, if not all of your investments will be in very safe things like money markets or fixed accounts. It’s still fine to keep a little money in the stock market to try and keep up with or beat inflation, but you probably don’t want more than 10% at risk.

Keep in mind that these are just guidelines, and by no means absolute terms. Economic conditions, interest rates, and the number of children you have and what their goals are will largely dictate exactly how you invest. But, this is a good starting point. If you’re able to begin saving and investing right from birth, that’s great. But keep in mind that if you don’t start until your child is older, it can be like playing with fire if you try to accelerate your returns by being more aggressive. Remember, just one or two bad years of returns could wipe out a year’s worth of tuition, and you have a limited amount of time to recover.

I’ve been meeting with a lot of people lately who started saving for their child’s college in just the past few years, and they have 15 year olds while they are invested entirely in stocks. It’s certainly not very fun to see your college fund cut in half in just a year when your child has just a few years to go until needing the money. So, it pays to be a little more conservative, especially in the remaining five or so years leading up to college so there aren’t any surprises.

Investing for College Requires a Slightly Different Approach Compared to Investing for Retirement

Cost Segregation

One of the great advantages of commercial property investing is the tax benefits. The IRS has a program that allows the owners of apartment buildings or any other commercial property to increase the level of accelerated depreciation allowed in a tax year.

The tax savings may go back to property acquired after 1986, and they apply to new or future construction. They also extend to existing buildings under renovation, expansion and leasehold improvements, as well as to property about to be acquired. It can also be used for financial accounting, insurance and property tax purposes. The primary goal of a cost segregation study is to identify all construction-related costs that qualify for accelerated income tax depreciation. Cost segregation is not a tax shelter and it is not tax evasion.

Ask Yourself These Questions To Determine if You and Your Property Qualify:

Do you own a commercial property valued at $500,000 or more?

Do you pay federal income taxes?

Do you operate a corporation or entity that is for-profit?

Are you planning to the hold the property for more than one year?

To Obtain the Benefits of Cost Segregation You Must Get a Study

Your cost segregation study will analyze the taxes and costs incurred to buy, construct or renovate any kind of commercial real estate. You will need to procure the services of an expert or CPA to conduct the study. The CPA will dissect the costs to determine the accelerated income tax schedules. In order to meet the minimum qualifications of a cost segregation study, property owners must be taxpayers or intend to pay taxes. The cost of a study can range between $10,000 and $100.000.00 depending on the size and complexity of the project.

Advantages of Cost Segregation

• Considerable return on investments property that do not need to be insured.
• Increased tax deductions for depreciation and reduces taxable income.
• Opportunity to correct misclassified assets and claim “catch-up” tax deductions.
• Ability to achieve faster building and acquisition cost write offs.
• Reduction in insurance costs by identifying the components of the property that do not need to be insured.
• Determine personal property versus real property for write off versus capitalization prior to construction. This allows you to write off these items opposed to capitalizing the assets. This can provide you with huge tax benefits.
• Defers taxes on capital gain amounts until the property is sold.
• Reduces real estate property taxes.
• Reduces federal income tax and increases depreciation.

Advertisement: Real Estate Investing Forums Discuss real estate, network, or learn about investing on our forums!

This Post is from the BiggerPockets Real Estate Blog. Copyright © 2008 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Apartment Building Cost Segregation Analysis

The other day I picked up a copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s newest book, Outliers: The Story of Success. I’m only a third of the way through the book, but here’s my take on what I have read so far.

Gladwell believes that success is more than just “pulling oneself up by their bootstraps.” He tells the story of Bill Gates and that the real reason for his success was that his private school (Gates came from a well-off family) purchased a computer before computers were widely-used and that Gates was naturally drawn to it. In other words, had Gates gone to a different school, I might not be typing this blog post because computer software might not exist as it does today. In other words, circumstances matter.

The problem I have with the book is that Gladwell seems to take the approach that success is simply too hard for the poor to achieve. Yes, I’ll admit that it would be harder for a poor person to achieve success in life but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I think half the battle in achieving anything is mindset. If a person or class of people is constantly told they CAN’T do something, they end up believing it.

How would I level the playing field? My solution:

1. Allow parents vouchers so that they can send their kids to any school they desire. Not all parents would take advantage but some would.

2. Reinforce education and the importance of reading. Enlist the help of ‘famous’ athletes and musicians to get the message out to kids and PARENTS that EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT! Promote libraries and reading clubs. Offer reading classes to parents.

3. Don’t pass kids if they don’t make the grade.

4. Stop glorifying trash and stop filling our kids’ heads with hatred. Show kids how to respect themselves and those around them.

5. Require kids to watch The Big Idea.

Like I said, I’m not through reading Gladwell’s book yet. I don’t agree with some of his thoughts but I do like his style. There aren’t a lot of non-fiction books out there that are enjoyable to read.

GIVEAWAY

If you’d like a chance to win a copy of the book from me, leave a comment below explaining your thoughts on success. I’m going to make this my FIRST EVER subjective giveaway in that I am going to pick my favorite comment (and the comment doesn’t have to agree with me!) and the winner will receive a copy of the book. The deadline for entry is Friday, December 12, 9am CST. Just remember my rule:

1. you must be a resident of the U.S. or Canada (I won’t mail internationally).

ShareThis

I made 12 phone calls today. 2.5 hours of talk time. Here’s what I learned:

1. All mortgage companies cost the same-ish.  If their rates were lower, their closing costs were higher.  If their rates were higher, the closing costs were lower.
2. Some mortgage companies sell your loans.  3 of the mortgage companies I called today gave me an unsolicited aside:  “We buy loans.  We don’t sell them.”  Does that mean that you should always go with a direct lender?  Nope.  It just means that the mortgage company might not be able to view or change things if the mortgage is owned by someone else.
3. You don’t need to give out all your information (address, social security) to get rates and closing costs.  You can get ballpark numbers as long as you provide the purchase price, the down payment amount, and the type of mortgage.
4. If you call a company and they won’t give you any estimated numbers without giving all your information, hang up.  Call again.  A different mortgage specialist will be glad to help you without giving all your information.
5. Closing cost fees are where you can differentiate a mortgage company from another.  Ask the mortgage people to break down their closing fees.  Fees can include:
   • Property appraisal
   • Credit report
   • Lender’s inpsection
   • Mortgage insurance application
   • Assumption
   • Mortgage broker fee
   • Tax related service fee
   • Application
   • Commitment
   • Rate lock
   • Processing
   • Underwriting
   • Wire transfer
   • Abstract or title search
   • Title examination
   • Document preparation
   • Notary
   • Attorney
   • Title insurance
   • Recording
   • City/county tax stamps
   • Transfer tax
   • Survey
   • Pest inspection
   • Condominium application
   • Prepaids for interest
   • Prepaids for hazard insurance
   • Prepaids for property taxes
   • Prepaids for mortgage insurance
   • Prepaids for flood insurance
6. The rates and payments assume you have great credit and good stability.  They want to quote you the best rate and closing costs possible so they pretty much assume you’re a model citizen.
7. Lenders don’t like it too much if you’re quitting your job and you don’t have a job secured yet.  Hopefully you have a wife or wife-to-be who looks more stable to lenders.
8. They ask you if the down payment is gift money or if you saved it on your own.  No one gave me a clear answer on why they ask that question.
9. Do your research even if your wife-to-be’s sister’s soon-to-be husband is a mortgage specialist.  You never know…
10. Every mortgage person you talk to will give you a piece of advice.  The advice that resurfaces the most is probably important.

Did I apply for a mortgage yet?  Nope.  This whole day just narrowed down my choice to 2 or 3 mortgage lenders.  Time to talk to Miss Soon-To-Be-Wife…

Sponsor: Brohans Video Blog - It’s Like Binary Dollar. Except you don’t learn anything.

ShareThis

FNBO Direct Provides Great Rates and Great Service

With interest rates continuing to be slashed across the board, finding attractive yields on savings accounts is becoming even more difficult. At the very least, you’d like to have your savings try to keep up with inflation, but even that can be a tall order these days. Of course, interest rates aren’t everything, and you also want a bank that is secure, provides great service, and has a useful online interface. Luckily, FNBO Direct is a great opportunity to receive a competitive interest rate, remain FDIC insured, and have access to a pretty nice online interface.

FNBO Account Features

• No account minimum
• 3.25% APY as of this writing
• FDIC insured

Just like opening an account with most online, or even traditional banks, you will need to provide some information in order to sign up, verify your identity, and link to other existing accounts. To open an account with FNBO Direct, you’ll need:

• Your Social Security or Tax ID Number.
• Your Driver?s License or ID card issued by a state DMV.
• Employer information.
• Information about any loans or mortgages that you may have to help us confirm your identity.
• For instant funding, you will need your current bank account and routing numbers.
• If a joint account, the other applicant’s information.

Sign Up Today

There are obviously a lot of choices when it comes to savings accounts, but with rates continuing to decline, making sure your money is working its hardest is increasingly important. While I’m not a big fan of rate chasing, I think FNBO Direct is a good place to stick it out. In the past, they have been one of the last banks to drop rates when it was time for a rate cut, and the rates are consistently at the higher end of the spectrum. So, sign up today for your own FNBO Direct account.

FNBO Direct Savings Account Review - High-Yield Savings at 3.25%

Want to skip out on traffic and crowds, and save some time and money when you shop? Here’s how the bargain hunter goes online shopping — through these top retail coupon sites!

Image is from the coupon site, RetailMeNot!

I live in a pretty remote area that is seriously deficient when it comes to decent shopping. The retail event of the century was when the new Super Wal-Mart opened, so “dining out” around here means making a trip to the local Ponderosa. There’s certainly nothing wrong with any of this, but I sometimes miss the enormous malls full of pretty, shiny things (many of which I couldn’t and still can’t afford) that I left behind.

Because I can no longer visit the stores where I used to shop at when I lived in the city, I do a lot of shopping online. Just because I live in a rural area with few shopping opportunities and locales, I shouldn’t have to give up the brands that I love. I also shouldn’t have to pay more for those brands just because I end up buying them through the internet. Even with shipping costs, I’ve found that it’s often easy to meet or beat store prices by shopping online. All it takes is a little detective work and a good coupon site.

Top Retail Coupon Sites for the Stay At Home Bargain Hunter

There are dozens of websites dedicated specifically to retail coupon codes for online shopping. They contain tons of coupons that can be used at your favorite e-tailers, so you’ve got less of an excuse to pay full price at an online store. Here are some of the more popular options:

1. Ebates

While Ebates is technically more of a fantastic cash back rewards program, they actually offer a great listing of coupons for hundreds of online merchants. Just click on the merchant and a little pop up window appears to advise you of all the great deals and coupons that are available in addition to the cash back that you’ll receive.

2. Retail Me Not

Retail Me Not is a very easy to use coupon site. Simply type in the name of your target merchant on the site’s front page, and the site will provide you with a list of coupons for that merchant. Some notable features of the site: users may submit and share coupons through a submission page; there’s also a forum area where you can make money (through revenue sharing) by posting and participating in the RetailMeNot community. The site also allows you to vote and comment upon how well a coupon has worked for you and shows the coupon’s success rate (the percentage of times a particular coupon has worked for users who have tried it).

3. Coupon Mountain

Coupon Mountain is also very easy to search. I?ve had less luck finding usable coupons through Coupon Mountain recently, but it may be because my merchant preferences have changed. YMMV.

4. Coupon Cabin

Coupon Cabin is a site that has received many positive media reviews. The most popular coupons on Coupon Cabin are tested daily to ensure their validity, which saves the user a lot of time. Additionally, you can read user reviews written about various merchants, and/or view exactly where on the merchant site the coupon code should be entered.

5. Coupon Code

Coupon Code is not a site that I’ve used before, but I think I’ll be trying it out in the future. The site appears to be very well designed and user friendly, with a drop down list on the top of the page listing dozens of merchants. Selecting a merchant takes you to another page that lists all of the coupon options for that particular merchant.

Quick Tips on Using Online Retail Coupons

Which retail coupon site should you use? It depends, really, on what you need or want. Not all sites have all online stores listed. Also, you may find that some coupon sites have better codes than others, or more working codes. E-coupons expire just like paper coupons do, though sometimes you will get lucky and the code will work for a day or so past its expiration date.

You might need to spend a little time finding the best coupon code for any given transaction. Most online stores will accept only one coupon or promotional code, but multiple codes may be available for different types of discounts. Weigh free shipping offers against dollars off or percent off coupons to determine which will give you the most benefit. There are a few merchants who will allow use of more than one offer. Victoria’s Secret, for instance, allows the use of up to three promo codes per transaction — no wonder it’s a popular pick at these coupon sites! On my last Victoria Secret order, I scored $15 off, a free lip gloss set, AND free shipping!

With all of the coupon sites available, there’s little reason why I should pay more than my city-dwelling friends for the things that I love but can’t buy locally. Now how about sharing your favorite retail coupon sites with us?

 
Contributing Writer: Emiley Thacker

This is a post from The Digerati Life.

Bookmark It

After debating with myself on whether to use the BS word in the title or not, I finally decided not to censor myself on my own blog and went ahead with it. Censoring the BS word on a BS topic is actually some BS in itself; and using BS instead of bullshit is also bullshit … so what gives.

Anyways, the point of discussion is that, recently, it has come to my attention that one of our “highly decorated” acquaintances might have misled a number of scholarship organisers with her “powerful” essays and personal statements. We (me and my wife) happened to figure this out over a dinner meeting when we heard of some extraordinary high-flying crap (unreasonably lofty ideals, fake “personal life experiences”, etc.) from this person. A few things just jumped out at us as pretty obvious discrepancies (when you have been through a similar experience, you can very easily tell when the other person is exaggerating/lying - sort of) and a few other odd things we figured out after pondering over the entire story all over again.

I was thinking over it for a while and then realized that she is just playing the scholarship system to her advantage. Almost every scholarship/award that I have seen in seven years of graduate school asked for an essay or a personal experience statement, or some document of that sort. Many of the scholarships/organizers specifically state (verbally or otherwise) that, generally, very similar academic profiles of graduate students, scholarship decisions will ultimately boil down to a contest between personal statements. “Powerful” personal statements will have a better chance of getting the scholarship.

Now, I haven’t really understood this obsession with “powerful” personal statements and essays .. and with preferences for people with “powerful life experiences”. Sounds very “Miss America” like. This obsession for larger-than-life idiocy encourages words over deeds, lofty ideas over achievable targets, and bullshit over plain old simple truth.

Why should something dramatic happen in your life to make you eligible for a scholarship? Why is it necessary to relate your success to obscure words that your mom/dad (or a dead relative) said 20 years ago? Why is it necessary to “boast” about your far-fetched “noble” intentions in future (which are not really “noble” the moment you start boasting about them)?

Interestingly enough, almost none of the scholarships will actually take the pains to verify any of your “personal” events. So whatever you throw at them will be accepted - and even glorified. So where is the motivation to be honest and straightforward about who you are, why you want the scholarship, and what you want to do with the money you will get from the award?

As educational expenses rise, we will probably see more such bullshit floating around in future.

I wonder what else we will do for money.

Is it too much to ask for a very little tiny bit of personal honor? Or is that some kind of bullshit too?

When it comes to getting the best car loan deals then a lot of it will depend on your credit history. If you have a good credit past then this will go in your favour when it comes to getting the best rate of interest. However, all is not lost if you have had problems with credit in the past, although you still can get credit when it comes to getting a loan for a car you wont get the best interest rates, but by shopping around you can get a good car loan deal.

If you have an excellent credit rating then it might be in your best interest to go for a personal loan, by going for a personal loan you are able to shop around online and secure the cheapest loan and rate of interest. It also works another way in your best interests because as you already have the cash in your pocket by going for a personal loan you can go along to the dealer and offer cash.

The majority of time if you pay cash for your car then you can get extras; the dealer could knock something off the price you pay if you pay cash there and then or offer you bonuses such as money off your insurance. Another benefit is that you will drive away from the showroom knowing that the dealer isn't in a position to repossess the car should you miss a repayment.

One possibility when it comes to financing your car is to take the finance through the dealer where you choose to buy your car from. However the majority of times the rate of interest will be a lot higher than if you had shopped around for a personal loan, one of the biggest benefits of taking this type of finance is that it is easier to get but you of course will pay for this privilege.

If you do have bad credit history and have been turned down time and time again for credit, then it still might be possible for you to get a loan to buy a car. If you look online then there many places which now offer loans to those with bad credit ratings, however by doing so you can expect of course to have to pay a high rate of interest on the loan.

Whichever way you decide to go for your car loan deal the best place to start is to go online, the internet holds a vast amount of information about the different types of car loan deals that are available and also the best rates of interest or best offers at car dealerships.

About the Author

Louis Rix is a Director of NetCars, one of the UK's leading motoring websites. First established in January 2000, its mission is to become the number one site for used car searches and motoring information. NetCars also provide Used Cars, loans and insurance.

Do you ever sit down and think about how your life is progressing and where you’re headed?  Laying out a roadmap for yourself can be a valuable experience.

As the post title alludes to, if you haven’t defined your goals, how will you measure your progress towards them?  Having a plan not only makes your efforts more measurable it can give the things you do more meaning and help filter out time wasters.

You may have noticed I was silent on this site over the weekend, I was using the time for some strategic planning in my own life.  My planning process is iterative in nature.  I come up with some goals and plans to meet those goals.  Then I sleep on it and re-evaluate those the next day.  Looking at it with a fresh perspective, I may change around the milestones and tasks a bit.  Needless to say, my planning isn’t complete but it was nice to get a start on it.

Typically I would have provided a list of articles I enjoyed for the week but due to my planning I didn’t publish those.  Instead, I’ll point out a few articles everyday this week, here’s the first few.

– The Digerati Life lists 8 simple ways you can save a lot of money, try $1000.

– The Mighty Bargain Hunter and All Financial Matters take a look at whether it’s worth your time to wait for free stuff.

– Summer is here and My Dollar Plan offers some tips for saving money on weddings.

– Million Dollar Journey gives us a strategy for asking for discounts.

– Brip Blap loves working so much that he’s started the carnival of careers.

– CNN covers how people aren’t canceling their vacation plans this summer, just changing them to be cheaper, reminds me of my series on saving money on vacations.

– eHow article on how to earn extra money seems appropriate for tough economic times:

• Get a part-time job
• Turn a hobby into money
• Get paid for focus groups
• Sell your stuff on eBay

I also took a look at ways to make extra money during a recession.

Thanks to Money & Values and Canadian Dream for hosting the last two personal finance carnivals and including the articles Best Credit Cards for New College Graduates and Three Ways Your Boss Can Save You Money on Gas.

We’re nearly midway through December already. That means 2009 is just around the corner. In the spirit of the new year, I’d like to ask:

What are your 2009 Financial Goals?

Here are mine in order of importance:

1. MAX OUT my wife’s 401(k). We haven’t maxed out her 401(k) in years. The market’s down so it’s the PERFECT time to get back into the habit. The IRS raised the employee contribution limit to $16,500 for 2009. My wife gets paid twice a month so that means she will be contributing $687.50 per paycheck. Wowza!

On top of that, she’ll also get a generous employer-match of 75% of the first 6%, or 4.50%. The employer-match should easily put her over the $20,000 contribution mark for the year (and maybe even closer to $25,000 if we get profit-sharing).

2. Recommit to our budget. I know, I know,…we should already be doing this. However, I got kind of lazy and complacent and haven’t stuck to our budget. We make decent money so it’s really silly of us not to using our income wisely. We do save money each month but we could do a lot better with some discipline.

3. Continue building up our emergency fund. Our efund is nowhere near where I’d like it to be. So, the third goal for 2009 is to get it to $10,000.

Those are my financial goals. What are yours?

ShareThis