Financial Fellow

Written by J.P. Wicklein

Uncle Sam is hurting for money. Currently the U.S. is facing a staggering $1.6 trillion budget deficit. Add on to that the incredibly expensive, and increasingly insolvent, Social Security and Medicare programs and the picture is even worse. To close the deficit, and continue to fund future obligations, the federal government will almost certainly raise income taxes.

[Read more →]

Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Every now and again I feel the need to climb on my soap box and tell people how it is. Today is one of those days. I love my country but, our nation and fellow citizens do some things that really upset me. With that in mind, here’s what I hate about America:

[Read more →]

Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Each year my taxes get a little more complicated.  I’ve gone from a 1040EZ to a 1040 with a Schedule A and D. This year I added the complication of a limited liability corporation (LLC). I decided it was time to get professional help; I hired an accountant to do my taxes.

[Read more →]

Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Last Monday President Obama signed the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009 into law. There’s a substantial amount of aid in the bill that will benefit states and various interest groups. That said the bill also contains a lot for the average American.
 

[Read more →]

Written by J.P. Wicklein

     I just moved in with my girlfriend.  A couple days prior I accepted an offer on my condo from a potential buyer (more on that in a future post). As soon as the sale of my condo is finalized I’ll begin splitting the cost of my girlfriend’s mortgage with her. For the most part we plan to divide our living expenses right down the middle.

[Read more →]

Written by J.P. Wicklein

     The American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009 was passed by both houses of Congress on Friday night. The last remaining step is for President Obama to sign the bill into law. After negotiations between the House and Senate, the homebuyer’s tax credit was set at $8,000. Further, availability of the tax credit was reduced. Here are the details:

[Read more →]

Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Last week I wrote an article on the $15,000 homebuyer tax credit passed by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee as part of the economic stimulus package. Since then, details of the Senate’s $15K homebuyer tax credit have emerged. Here’s what we know:

[Read more →]

Written by J.P. Wicklein

     The U.S. Senate just voted to authorize a $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers of new, or existing, residences. (The tax credit is equal to 10% of the home’s value up to $150,000.) I can’t begin to emphasize what a huge deal this is. For many potential recipients of the tax credit it’s like the government saying, “If you buy a house, you don’t have to pay federal income tax this year.”

[Read more →]

Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Recently Amazon announced their best year ever despite other retailers reporting one of their worst holiday seasons in years. How did Amazon accomplish this? Through two distinct advantages they have over traditional, brick-and-mortar retailers: 1) Amazon doesn’t have the overhead associated with a physical store and 2) They don’t charge customers sales tax. As a result, Amazon can often sell items for less than many of their brick-and-mortar competitors.

[Read more →]

   Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Recently, I read an article on Gen X Finance in which the author discussed pension plans.  The article rekindled my distaste for defined benefit pension plans provided to government employees at the expense of the taxpayers. In short, defined benefit pension plans provide retirees with a consistent source of income from retirement to death. How much the retiree receives depends upon their age, salary, and length of service. The problem with defined benefit pension plans is that they are horrendously expensive.

[Read more →]