Archives for February 2006

Blueprint Is My Daddy (Super Bowl Bet)

Posted on February 5, 2006 //
Filed Under: General //

Bid Sniping on eBay Auctions

Posted on February 4, 2006 // 35 Comments

My cell phone is on the fritz and I’ve been trying to snag a cheap one on eBay, but I keep getting outbid. I finally remembered bid sniping software, which I used to use all the time. I logged into my old AuctionSniper.com account, and to my delight I still had some free snipes left! They give you 3 free snipes when you sign up, and another 3 every time you refer someone to the service.

What is bid sniping?
Bid sniping is simply waiting until the last minute of an auction to place a bid. The idea is to get the your bid in, without giving other bidders the chance to re-bid and raise the auction price. The easiest way to do this is with automatic bidding software like AuctionSniper.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: eBay //

My Money Mistakes: IRAs and Student Loans

Posted on February 4, 2006 // 20 Comments

Before I started this blog in late 2004, I didn’t know squat about managing my money besides not to spend it all. Although I’m sure I could have done much worse, let’s see where I was 5 years ago:

1) I didn’t max my IRAs out. Even though I was pretty broke and living on less than $20k a year, I should have tried to max them out. I think I only put $500 in my Traditional IRA for the first year, and $1000 the next.

2) Instead, I paid off my student loans. Even though I was still in grad school and therefore was paying no loan interest at all, I put all my excess money towards student loans even at the expense of not maxing out my IRAs. Think of all the tax-free gains I could have earned!
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Retirement //

Avoid An Audit: Don’t File Electronically

Posted on February 3, 2006 // 19 Comments

I was doing some business tax research today and ran across this interesting tip for avoiding an audit – don’t E-file. Here’s why. The way the IRS determines if you are to be audited is through a computer algorithm that churns through your numbers for certain red flags, like too many deductions or a difference between what you typed in and what they have on their W-2s and 1099s. Now, 100% of all E-filers are analyzed since it’s all ready to go. But for physical mailed-in returns, the IRS has to hire tons of data-entry people to manually type in each one. This is expensive, so reportedly less than half are actually transcribed. No computer = no audit.

Now, I don’t know if this is true, but it makes a certain amount of sense to me. Of course, this may delay your tax refund. But I’d trade that for a smaller chance at an audit anytime.

Filed Under: Taxes //

Business Checking Account and Mailbox Opened

Posted on February 3, 2006 // 13 Comments

Recently I opened a business checking account, and also a private mailbox at a UPS Store. Bank of America even offered a $50 bonus in the branch. The box costs $15 a month. This will just about finish my 2006 Q1 goal of separating business and personal finances. Another reason why I am doing this is for my future endeavors – proper treatment will avoid the IRS treating them as hobbies and not businesses.

The mailbox will serve a couple of purposes. It will allow us to receive mail and UPS/Fedex packages even if we are not home, and prevent them from just leaving it on our doorstep or having to drive to their warehouses. Also, we can give out a business address that is not our home address. Finally, both the rental fees and the mileage to and from the mailbox will be a deductible business expense.

Filed Under: Entrepreneurial //

Beware! Some Banks Lie About No Minimum Balances

Posted on February 2, 2006 // 15 Comments

A great thing about online savings accounts with no minimum balances is that theoretically you can just move all your money to the one currently paying the highest interest! (If it’s worth it.) But, from e-mails I have gotten and other reports on the web, you might want to leave some more spare change in those accounts. Specifically, Capital One 360 and Emigrant Direct have closed people’s accounts without warning for having balances of less than $1. On top of that, Emigrant doesn’t pay interest if your account is closed before the end of the month!

But they have no minimum balance you say. Yes, but in their fine prints they can also close your accounts at any time, for any reason. So I’d advise keeping $5+ in your accounts to avoid account closure and lost interest. This way, if the rate leaders change, your options stay open.

Filed Under: Banking //

You Need A Budget (YNAB) System Review

Posted on February 2, 2006 // 17 Comments

I’ve decided there are three types of people out there:

1) One who needs a budget, otherwise they’ll spend whatever they can get their hands on, and then some,
2) One who does a pretty good job by themselves, stays out of debt, but could defintely benefit from a proper budget, or
3) One who is so anal about their money, that they don’t need a budget. They already scrutinize every purchase before they make it.

Let’s face it. Most of us are #1 or #2. So that’s why I agreed to review the YouNeedABudget (YNAB) Budgeting Spreadsheets.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Budgeting //

Short Takes

Posted on February 1, 2006 // 3 Comments

HSBC Direct finally updated their front page, confirming that their 4.80% APY rate hike is indeed only until 4/30. Capital One 360 must be thrilled. The HSBC rate is higher than their 0.75% APY, applies to all deposits instead of just new ones, and lasts 15 days longer.

The Wall Street Journal also reports on these recent rate hikes in their (temporarily free) article ‘Banks Dangle High Teaser Rates’. Via FW.

JLP of AllThingsFinancial has begun his 24 Days to Better Finances series. Nice and organized, just the way I like it.

Filed Under: General //
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