Happy Holidays everyone! Here is something that should bring a smile to your face.
If you didn’t catch this when it went around last year, you owe it yourself to enjoy this. This display was the work of Carson Williams, a Mason, Ohio, electrical engineer. His 2005 display included over 25,000 lights that he spent nearly [...]

PMI is now deductible if you itemize and have income less than $110K.

With an expense ratio of .6% the Boston-based State Street Corp listed the StreetTracks Dow Jones Wilshire International Real Estate ETF (RWX) on the American Stock Exchange.

Newsweek has a short piece on questions couples should ask before marrying.

Having kids?  Who will take care of them?
Shared financial goals along with compatible spending and savings habits?
Who does what housework?
Shared health histories?
Level of affection expected?
Open communication about sexual needs?
Will there be television in the bedroom?
Can listen and respect each others opinions?
Understand each others spiritual needs [...]

I have been using the free version of Mozy for the last year now. I had some hiccups while there were still in beta in the spring but since the summer they have been rock solid. They have just released a service with unlimited backup storage for $4.95/mo. If you have a lot of storage, [...]

For investment vehicles that require accredited investors (e.g., hedge funds, various partnerships, etc), the SEC is proposing raising the net worth requirement from $1 million to $2.5 million and that number can’t include the residence.
Here is an excerpt.
Amendments to Private Offering Rules under the Securities Act of 1933. The proposals would define a new category [...]

While there have been many articles writtin about when to take Social Security, they all seem to focus on which choice will get you the most money. I believe people should be more focused on the longevity insurance benefit of Social Security. Below is a quick overview of how I [...]

Paul Farrell makes an impassioned plea for people to keep their eye on the right ball — bringing meaning to their lives.
As a side note it has been interesting to watch Paul’s evolution over the years. He started as one of the journalists who would keep up the drumbeat for sane investing habits. [...]

The additional liability incurred by adding prescription drugs to Medicare dwarfs the total liabilities for Social Security. This makes it clear that Social Security reform is not where the big action is going to be over the next 40 years. Medicare is going to be the major battleground. Much like the baby [...]

Congress has passed a bunch of tax extension legislation. As usual, CCH has one of the better overviews. You can find CCH’s summary at
http://tax.cchgroup.com/legislation/2006-tax-relief-health-care.pdf