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The headline to this AP article made me cringe. “Savings Rate at Lowest Level Since 1933″. What was worse were the details in the article.
The Commerce Department said Monday that consumer spending rose by 0.9 percent in December, more than double the 0.4 percent rise in incomes.
Basically, that means for every $1 in additional income [...]

As an accountant, I’m torn on tax complexity. While it keeps me employed, I am of the belief that taxes should not require an accountant, especially personal income taxes. One of my favorite quotes is from Roth, CPA
A tax practitioner who opposes the devil of tax complexity is a bit like the preacher who struggles [...]

From the “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” file, Bankrate has a Q&A on the latest debt elimination scam sweeping the country.
One is that credit card lending is really illegal, so if you stop paying them and they take you to court, you’ll win with the secret, and expensive, legal [...]

Well, I maxed out my first credit card last weekend. I know what you’re thinking “That goes against every single rule you and every other know-it-all preach!” Well, it does in a way. But I’m not paying 25% or 15% or even 5% on that balance.
When we purchased our house, we inherited the washer and [...]

I blogged earlier this week about CNNMoney’s suggestion to aggressively take home office deductions whenever possible. I suggested that might not be the best idea because the percentage of the home that is used to take the deduction is disallowed when calculating the capital gains exclusion for home sales.
I was only partially right. You must [...]

Money Magazine has an article on four steps you can take to improve your credit.
The last section is the most important, how to clean up your credit. The first three sections deal with obtaining a credit report, making sure only “good” credit shows up on your credit report, and protecting your identity.
Everyone that doesn’t understand [...]

CNNMoney has an article on six “can’t-miss” tax breaks for 2005 (they should really be doing 2006 so people will look ahead), most of which are changing consumer behavior type breaks or are so targeted that most people won’t be able to use them.
I’m not a huge fan of changing consumer behavior in order to [...]

One of the stock values that I understand the least is Apple. While I would have loved to have owned a stock that has tripled in each of the last two years, the valuation now simply does not make sense to me.
I’m guessing that the P/E of 54 is due to the growth of the [...]

Ah, the time of year when H&R Block and other accountants pray on those that hire them to prepare their returns. Their predatory technique is the Refund Anticipation Loan.
The Refund Anticipation Loan is sold as a “win” for the consumer. You don’t have to wait the six weeks to get your tax refund. Woohoo! Right? [...]