The path your car costs are going to take is determined from the time you make the decision – new or used? While most of the costs of either a new or used car will apply to both new or used, it can be worth evaluating the commitment of each cost, and whether it is truly necessary.
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On July 21st, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a sweeping overhaul of Wall Street (the largest such overhaul since the Great Depression), aimed at preventing future economic collapses like the kind we have experienced in recent years. The Act will also look to add protections for consumers.
From President Obama: “Because of this law, the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street’s mistakes”
Here are the highlights of the Reform and Protection Act:
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We are all human here, right? 
And one thing you can always count on with humans is that we are emotional beings. We experience fear, pride, lust, greed and everything in between.
What the heck am I talking about? I’m talking about investment strategy!
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One of the more interesting and innovative ways to save up for specific goals is to make use of SmartyPig. SmartyPig is a free online savings tool that allows you to save for for specific financial goals. Whether you want to save up $500 for back to school shopping, or $5,000 for a family vacation, it is possible to use SmartyPig to reach that goal. The concept is fairly straightforward, and works simply.
First of all, it is important to note that SmartyPig is not a bank. SmartyPig accounts are held through BBVA Compass (As of Aug 1st, 2010 SmartyPig account will move from West Bank to BBVA Compass, the 15th largest bank in the US). They are FDIC insured for up to $250,000 (drops to $100,000 on January 1, 2014 unless things change). You can set up as many goals as you want for yourself and your family. In order to start at SmartyPig, you need the same items that you would need to open a regular savings account:
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Buying a home is a huge financial decision. Among the myriad decisions you need to make is deciding what type of mortgage loan to take out to finance your new home.
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From now until August 31st, 2010, Upromise has a sweepstakes going where ten lucky people will each get $10,000! This is part of their 3rd annual $100,000 Upromise College Dream Sweepstakes. In order to enter you need to join Upromise and download their TurboSaver, an online savings reminder tool.
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We can officially say we are moved in! Ok, we were moved in a week ago but I didn’t have an internet connection until today (I’m not counting Starbucks) so I couldn’t say it.
Besides closing and becoming home owners, we’ve had to make sure everything here at the new place is all set up. This includes: gas, electricity, cable, phone, water, and more. We also have to register our daughter for school in the Fall. Do you know how many documents you need to register a child?!? Of course what you need is proof of residence but we don’t have any utility bills just yet. We managed to get the utilities to send us letters saying we will be using their services at our address.
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The NY Times has has an interesting article questioning how much of your finances you should automate (How Much of Your Finances Should You Automate?). In it, the author looks at the methods of some popular personal finance writers such as Ramit Sethi of I Will Teat You To Be Rich, Adam Baker of Man Vs Debt, and Jim Wang at Bargaineering.
It’s done. We closed on our home this past Friday. We are now officially home owners!
I can’t believe it’s complete. It was only a few months ago that we started looking for a house. We fully expected to be moving into a new home in the Fall but here we are with the keys to a new place. When we sold our co-op last year the process took so long; perhaps about six months total. I kidded with my wife – “Watch, we’ll end up buying a home lightning quick!” I didn’t think that would actually happen!
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The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit deadline is quickly approaching. Those who signed contracts by April 30, 2010 have until June 30, 2010 to close on the deal in order to qualify for the tax credit. To recap, the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was initially extended in November 2009. At that time, the credit was also expanded for existing home owners as well. For first time home buyers the credit is $8,000 and for existing owners, buying new primary residences, the credit is $6,500.
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