Change Counts

I have often wondered how much I would need to retire and I’m sure you have too. It is a difficult question to answer. In my case, I will be getting a pension from the US Government. That is good, but it adds a complexity to the problem.

The main question that has to be answered first is how much money do you need to live on? This is a deeper question still, because so many things go into that answer. Some things to think about.

Will you have a company subsidized health plan that can go into retirement? If not, this could be a much bigger expense than you are paying now.

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In case you didn’t see the link at the top, I am giving away my Used Car Buying E-book. This is totally free. No gimmicks, nothing to sign up for, nothing to do but download this free book.

I wrote a series of articles some time ago on Used Car Buying Tips and then decided to make it into a really cool, easy to read book. I want to give it away as it is my first e-book. I know I could make a few dollars selling it on Ebay, or charging $.50 to download. I know it is a useful book and I enjoyed writing it. There are many links in it to all sorts of great and helpful websites.

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Often, social security benefits are taxable. It really depends on how much money you make.

You can do a quick calculation to see if any of your benefits may taxable as follows.

1. Add up all your income, including tax-exempt interest income, all income besides your Social Security benefits. This includes any taxable pensions, wages, interest, dividends, etc.

2. Add one half of your Social Security benefits to the number you got in “1.” above.

3. Compare this amount to your Base amount. If it exceeds the base amount, it may be taxable. Your base amount is as follows

$25,000 if you are single, head of household, or a qualifying widow(er),

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I did a post a while back on my Live Streaming Camera that I have located outside my house and I thought it was time to update that a bit.  I think I have one of the better PTZ webcams on the net. You may be interested in more of the details about this camera and how I put it all together. You see, I am a hacker.  A good hacker, that is.  I like to take stuff apart, re-use old stuff that others might throw away, etc.  My outside camera is no different.  It is an old video conference camera made by Polycom, model PTZ-2N, that has long since been replaced with “better” ones.  Some other hackers before me figured out how to connect these cameras to a serial connection on the computer to control them.  The camera specs include a 10X optical zoom lens that makes it really nice to use outside.

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This is a question that is coming up frequently these days, due to the new deductions regarding Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). The quick answer is NO, your homeowners insurance is usually not deductible. Be careful not to make that mistake when filling out your taxes this year. Be sure to take the PMI deduction, though, if you are qualified. See my post on that topic - New Tax Deduction For PMI.

There are some cases where your homeowners insurance may be deductible on your income taxes. These cases would be for either a rental property or using part of your home for business. Each of these cases would involve forms related to a Schedule C tax form. If you are a typical homeowner, not operating a business out of your home, then very likely your homeowners insurance premiums are not tax deductible. Sorry.

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Ok. You now realize you shouldn’t have done that car lease. What can you do about it?

Well, there are a number of things. First of all, you need to identify what changed. Why do you want out? Did you come to your senses and realize that a car lease (or Fleece as Dave Ramsey calls it) is probably the worst financial move a person could make? An unevaluated life is not worth living. That is a quote I have heard, not sure who said it, but it is oh so true. When we make mistakes in life, we have to learn from them. Own up to them. Don’t blame everybody else. So you learned your lesson. No more leasing!

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