If you’re fortunate enough to be going to this weekend’s Super Bowl in Dallas, then… well, you’re probably rich. Super Bowl tickets weren’t always expensive — in the 1970s, you could get one for just $ 20. (We show you more ticket prices through the year here.) But try to get a family of four to the stadium now, and you’ll have to forfeit a fortune. We recently checked prices on StubHub.com and realized that securing a ticket for less than a four-figure amount is near impossible: depending on where you want to sit, you could easily spend $…
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Bowl, Cost, Much, Super
Batten down the hatches — this week’s requisite blizzard is under way.
If you believe the hype, many of us are in for a strange sort of storm — complete with ice, snow, and tornadoes, oh my! — that some meteorologists are suggesting could be one for the records. (Isn’t that always the case lately? Ugh.)
First the bad news: It’s too late to panic and make a mad dash for your nearest supermarket. All the essentials are gone, the lines are nine deep, and you don’t have four-wheel drive. So don’t even try it. (See also: 20 Things…
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One of the scariest things in finances is the tax audit. We all like tax refunds, but no one wants to be audited. However, consumer tax guide publisher J.K. Lasser points out that more than 1 million taxpayers are audited each year. When you consider the tens of millions pay taxes, you realize that chances are good you won’t be audited. However, it is still possible that you will be chosen for a tax audit. In some cases, it is only a matter of sending in some bit of documentation that is missing. Other cases, though, require a little…
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Audit, Chosen
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Lowe’s has an upcoming promotion called their Tax Refund Card. Starting 2/8, if you buy a card with value of $ 500 to $ 4,000 – supposedly with your tax refund but they can’t tell and don’t care – then on 3/18 you’ll get an additional 10% of the initial purchase price on the card. Ends 3/14. Not bad if you’re already planning on shopping there. I’ll probably wait until March to see if I really need it, just hope they don’t pull the promotion.
Here is the link for the Tax Refund Card and a YouTube video explaining…
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Doing your own taxes seems to get harder every year. It seems like there’s little reason to try to struggle through the process when inexpensive tax preparation services pop up like mushrooms this time of year and there’s even free software available online.
The Tax Code is Tough, Not Impossible
I’ve done my own taxes on occasion. These days, though, I don’t dare to try to go through the whole process without an accountant handling the tough parts. I simply don’t have enough time to spend on learning the details of every bit of tax preparation — although my…
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The January 2010 issue of SmartMoney magazine had a nice little article Target-Date Funds Retool — Again about how those all-in-one Target Retirement funds that nearly all 401k plans have now are almost all increasing the percentage of stocks that are international. They all say this not performance-chasing, but at the very least it’s sentiment-chasing. People just aren’t all that confident in an predominantly-US portfolio anymore. I like the quote “Were you wrong before, or are you wrong now?”.
In any case, the online version left out my favorite part of the handy graphic, so I scanned it in…
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Now all this discussion of greed and the inherent corruption of the monetary system gave rise to the notion that all banks are evil. The only difference is the extent of how they practice their evil. And there appears to be a small set of banks who are not so fiendish. CNN Money identifies the top 8.
Ally Bank
No maintenance fee to keep minimum balance
Free use at any ATM
1.05% APY for balance of at least $ 15,000
ING Direct
Free checking account
Free use at any ATM
Online checks for free
USAA
No minimum balance for checking…
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Banks, evil, least
