Finance

Sadly, my favorite credit card, the Schwab 2% Cash Back (and no foreign transaction fees) is being discontinued.  I loved being able to get a straight 2% back on everything without being concerned about which card I was using… so time to re-consider our credit card strategy. We already have the Costco Amex and Amazon … Read more

Time for our half-year asset review: Compared to June 2010 the KBB value on the 2003 Honda-CRV rose from $11,200 to $11,555.  The 2007 Mazda 3 value went up from $13,520 to $13,990 with a total value increase of $825.  This hardly offsets what our house did to our net worth but that’s another story. … Read more

As of April 13, 2011 United States debt: $14,279,000,000,000.00United States Population: 310,383,000Debt per U.S. Resident: $46,000.00 California Debt: $368,502,000,000.00California Population: 37,555,000Debt per C.A. Resident: $9812.00 So, our family of three owes: $167,000.00 We don’t make that kind of money so the government will have to wait until Eli makes enough money to pay it off. … Read more

Here’s how to be happy when gas prices go up by hedging your fuel expense: Set a reasonably high gas budget, perhaps 25% higher than your average monthly expense. Whatever is left in your gas budget at the end of the month, move to your brokerage account.   When you have enough money (say $1000) … Read more

Update June 22 — The Schwab card is no longer available. Chase vs. Schwab  or  Chase Freedom Plus vs. Schwab Invest First For the last year my wife and I have been using the Chase Freedom Plus. It gives you 3% cash back in the top 6 categories for each billing cycle and 1% everywhere … Read more

2007 Mazda3 Costs Update: July 11, 2010. Added Honda-CRV and added data for year 2009/2010. 2007 Mazda3 36 month costs (May 23, 2007 to May 30, 2010)1 (bought new) Year 07/08 08/09 09/10 Mean Total Fuel2 $1,973 1,087 815 1,292 3,875 Insurance3 1,670 847 644 1,054 3,161 Depreciation4 275 970 1,625 957 2,870 Service 379 1,347 … Read more

2007 Mazda3 12 month costs (May 23, 2007 to May 22, 2008) Fuel $1,973 29% Insurance 1,670 24% New car tax 1,274 19% Interest Expense 727 11% Service 370 5% DMV Registration 362 5% Depreciation 275 4% Accessories 121 2% Documentation Fee 55 1% Jury Duty parking ticket 14 0% CA Tire Fee 9 0% Total … Read more

Problem solved! Support told me Turbotax online could not re-import the TurboTax file and I would have to re-enter everything by hand. I asked for a refund since I didn’t have time to spend a day doing that and would have to go out and buy TurboTax Desktop edition which is a waste of gas … Read more

My church is going through one of Dave Ramsey’s finance programs to help people get out of debt and better manage their finances. Naturally attendees must pay a fee to get in. So here’s some free advice from me: Make more than you spend. Have a budget, or a reverse budget. Make sure your saving, … Read more