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Review: Mortgage-Mart.com

Just a few months back we purchased a new construction home. So now we are in the process of finalizing our mortgage. I want to make sure that I get the best deal. So I started going to various banks and mortgage brokers and get quotes from them. Now this a time-consuming process. If only there was a single location where I can submit my application and it gets sent to all banks and brokers. they can then comeback to me with their offers.

Enter Mortgage-Mart !

For my mortgage loan, this site is exactly what I was looking for.

Here is how you get a home loan quote.
Go to their quote page
Enter your basic mortgage information like type of home, type of mortgage (i.e. 30 year, 15 year etc.) and state of residence.
Based on this information, mortgage-mart will find the best company for you to work with that would give you the best deal.
Then you set to apply for the mortgage.

So basically Mortgage-Mart just acts as bridge between you and hundreds of mortgage sources out there.
This is exactly what I was looking for.

Software Entropy

Software entropy refers to the amount of disorder present in a system.

Entropy usually creeps in by way of logical inconsistencies at the thought-level, even before any tangible work begins to implement said system. As the system and its parts are developed, these logical inconsistencies manifest themselves in various forms of errors of all sizes. The smallest ones considered negligible are typically the clichéd primordial stew of chaos in software systems.

When coupled with what's frequently unfortunate timing of most software development schedules, the hacks we are forced to place into the system here and there by necessity of meeting some established deadline further exacerbate the condition.

Now plagued with such level of anomalies any additional issues encountered are prevented from meeting their resolutions simply because it's no longer feasible.

They say, only two things are certain in life: Death and taxes; well... in software Chaos reigns supreme if unchecked and snipped in the bud. Entropy is contagious.

What's the moral of the story kids?

 

冰冻三尺，非一日之寒
Three-feet of ice didn't result from one day of freezing weather.

 

Do the job right the first time or don't do it at all.
Better yet, get out of the way of anyone who's trying to do the job right the first time.

Review: YourCreditNetwork.com

Recently, I was in the market for a new credit card. Normally I would call my bank where I have my checking and saving accounts thinking that they would give me the lowest interest rate. But my criteria for credit cards was not just low interest rate. I wanted some extras like cash back, reward points or frequent flyer miles. Now I know that I cannot get all of the above in one credit card. But I was sure that there are websites where I can go do an online credit cards comparison.

Enter YourCreditNetwork.com !



Talk about an easy to use website!

Their motto is, Finding a credit card is as easy as 1, 2, 3...

1. Research
2. Compare
3. Apply for a Credit Card

From the homepage you can easily search for various credit card offerings from lowest Interest credit cards to Cash Back credit cards to Prepaid credit cards ! You can compare all types of credit cards so that it is easy to choose the one that would work best for you.
Each credit card has a rating associated with it (out of 5), so that you know how popular that credit card is.

Once you have decided which credit card you want, you can then continue to apply for a credit card. Now this cannot be easier. Most credit cards can instantly approve you.

The one thing that I would like to see at YourCreditNetwork is a way to compare credit cards side-by-side for easy viewing.

I'm most probably going to go with the Discover Motiva Card because cash back rewards is my thing.
Hope you find your dream credit card soon at YourCreditNetwork.com.
Also, don't forget to check out their credit card blog !

ابر بی باران

لاله چمن دیده بر آسمان بلند
از فراز خروارها کوه
ابری آهسته آید به این سو
لب تشنه غنچه در انتظار باران
سایه ابر اوفتاد بر قامتش
حتی قطره ای آب نامد به چشم
ابر امید همچو خیالی گذرا
حلاجی گشت در میان آسمان
چشمه ای جوشید از تخته سنگ
کز گل نداشت هیچ با او سخن

Investing Strategy for building your Nest Egg

As far as building your retirement fund is concerned, the most important strategy is to Reduce Your Loss. The best way to minimize this risk is through the power of diversification. By diversifying your portfolio, you are ensuring that your nest egg is spread across different baskets. Diversification helps to strengthen and protect your portfolio.

Your chances are increased that if one area falls another area that you have invested in will remain strong, and your assets will be protected..

We can define risk as the probability of things going wrong. Once things have gone wrong, they cannot go right. Older investors will remember this feeling they have after their losses, of wanting to turn the clock back. It is the same feeling you get after losing a loved one, when you want to reach out and touch the person after she or he is gone.

The preventive part is all about ‘diversification’, almost the only way to manage risk as defined in financial markets. Both risk measurement and diversification lend themselves to mathematical and statistical analysis, giving classical finance its biases. .

Value investors do the opposite. They add to their positions as a scrip goes down, playing to be the ‘last man standing’, i.e. trying to buy the last falling share as sellers depart the stock. The more of these ‘last’ shares they can pick up, the better their returns, provided of course, they have bought a safe, steady business at a great price, and the business recovers subsequently. .

In this strategy, you should try to trade a correlated pair as part of your diversification strategy. Like buying the market leader and short- selling the market laggard. A caution here is that if you are buying at the bottom of the cycle, then the laggards gain more than the market leaders. In a bull market, buying the market leader and short-selling the laggard may be a good trading strategy. Make sure that you don’t make a mistake in reading the market for example, is this a bull market or a bear?. Across the world, the cost of capital will soon start to drop. That would suggest a very shallow bear market, if we see one at all. Even a normally ‘bearish’ person like me is not willing to take a stand.

Statistically one thing is clear - traditional means of diversification won’t save you. Remember one common mistake: mindlessly diversifying into, say, 100-200 stocks, which then go unmonitored for entry and exit points. Since the investor no longer knows enough about these businesses, he is prone to fall prey to rumors. In effect, the act of ‘diversifying’ will actually increase the probability of losses rather than reduce it.

True diversification includes far more investment choices than just stocks and bonds. It includes other non-correlating asset classes that don’t intrinsically involve either speculation or timing. Aggressive investors like the readers of this article must be having more than 50 per cent of their net worth in equities, especially if they are below 40.

With each investment be sure to invest no more than you can afford to lose, so you can sleep peacefully at night. And use dollar cost averaging - taking a fixed proportion of your personal savings each month to add to your investment holdings, so that volatility becomes an advantage over a long time horizon. Only then will diversification begin to make statistical sense.

Save big on your Mortgage

I read an article today by David Bach @ Yahoo Finance where he explains that the best way to save on a mortgage is to make biweekly payments. But for me and my wife, who are always finding ways to save more money, wherever we can, the last part of the article sounded much better. We don't want to be limited to just paying of 10% every year.

Going Biweekly

When you set up a biweekly mortgage payment plan, instead of making your monthly mortgage payment the way you normally do you split it down the middle and pay half every two weeks.
The result is that you end up making one extra full payment every year. (Twenty-six half payments is the equivalent of 13 full payments.) The best part is that the extra payment is made gradually over the course of the year, so you don't feel the pinch. And since most people are paid every two weeks, a biweekly payment plan turns out to be a phenomenal budgeting tool.
Anyone can do this. You don't need a special mortgage, and you can set it up anytime.

Pay More, Save More

Say your mortgage payment is $2,000 a month. With a biweekly plan, instead of sending a $2,000 check to your mortgage lender each month, you would send them $1,000 every two weeks.

By doing this, the miracle of compound interest reduces your debt. You actually end up paying off your mortgage early -- somewhere between 5 and 10 years early, depending on the duration of your loan and your interest rate.

On average, a U.S. homeowner with a $300,000 mortgage can save upwards of $100,000 over the life of his or her mortgage just by following this simple program. And if that's not enough incentive, think about being debt-free and potentially ready to retire years sooner than you'd planned.

Let's compare the difference between a monthly and a biweekly payment plan for a $300,000, 30-year mortgage with an interest rate of 7 percent. The monthly payoff schedule winds up incurring a total of $418,026.69 with interest charges over the life of the loan.

The biweekly schedule, on the other hand, runs up just $311,876.19 with interest. So switching to the biweekly plan will save you more than $106,000. Your mortgage may be smaller or larger, so run the numbers for your mortgage to see how much you can save.

Automate It

The great thing about switching to a biweekly payment plan is that it allows you to save money over the long run without refinancing or otherwise changing your mortgage. All it takes is one call.

Most mortgage lenders offer programs designed to totally automate your biweekly mortgage plan. At Wells Fargo, for example, it's called the Accelerated Ownership Plan. Citibank calls it the BiWeekly Advantage Plan. To enroll, all you need to do is phone your lender or go online. Many banks even offer this service for free to customers who do their banking with them.

Banks that don't offer this service will usually refer you to an outside company that runs the program for them. These companies generally charge a setup fee between $200 and $400. In addition, there's a transfer charge of $2.50 to $6.95 each time your money is moved from your checking account to your mortgage account.

To be sure you're dealing with a reputable firm, I recommend using one that's referred to you by your mortgage company. One of the biggest such firms is a company called Paymap Inc. It currently provides this service through its Equity Accelerator program, which is powered by Western Union. To find out more, visit their web site or call (800) 209-9700.

(By the way, I'm not affiliated with Paymap or Western Union in any way, and I don't make money by recommending them. Whenever I mention a specific service or product in my column, it's simply to offer a resource for readers -- not to get a commission.)

What to Ask Before Signing Up

When dealing with a service company, be sure to ask the following critical questions:

• When exactly do they fund the extra payments toward your mortgage?

The answer should be "immediately." You're making extra payments to pay down your mortgage faster. That won't happen if the service company is holding onto your payments for any reason.

• What happens if you refinance?

Determine whether the service is transferable to a new mortgage company, or if you'll have to go through the setup process again -- including paying another fee.

• How much will it cost to use the program?

Get a clear understanding of how the costs involved compare to the savings you'll realize, so you can make an informed decision (see the next section).

Cost vs. Savings

Let's do the math. If you're paying $2.50 per transfer every two weeks, that comes to roughly $65 a year. Over 22 years, it totals just over $1,430, not including the setup fee. Figure that the transfer fee will probably go up a little over time, and there's no question that a biweekly mortgage system will cost you a few thousand dollars.

So why do it? The answer is that the few thousand dollars you're spending will save you tens of thousands of dollars, if not more.

In the example above, you would've saved more than $106,000 over the life of the mortgage. Assuming that you signed up with the most expensive program out there to handle your biweekly payments, and spent $5,000 over 22 years, you're still ahead over $100,000.

Going It Alone

Are there other, no-cost mortgage prepayment options? Sure. You could pay an additional 10 percent of your mortgage each month and have it applied directly toward the principal. Or you could make one extra payment at the end of the year and again have it go toward your principal.

But note that word "could" -- some things are much easier said than done. Just as most people won't save if they don't make it automatic, most of us won't make extra mortgage payments unless it's automated.

If you decide to do it yourself, my suggestion is that you pay an extra 10 percent a month and send it as a separate payment -- automatically, of course. Make a point of telling your lender to apply any extra payments toward your principal, and then check your monthly statements to make sure they've applied it correctly.

Investing in a Tradtional IRA

Recently, there was a lot of talk going on in my office regarding IRAs and 401K. So I am going to try to unravel the mysteries behind these investment vehicles in a few posts. Today, I'm starting with Traditional IRA.

A traditional IRA is an individual retirement account (IRA). The IRA is held at a custodian such as a bank or brokerage, and may be invested in anything that the custodian allows (for instance, a bank may allow certificates of deposit, and a brokerage may allow stocks and mutual funds).

Income limits

If a taxpayer's household is covered by one or more employer-sponsored retirement plans, then the deductibility of traditional IRA contributions are phased out as specified income levels are reached.

* Married Filing Jointly or Qualified Widow and Modified Adjusted Gross Income is between $75,000 and $85,000 (this is scheduled to rise to $80,000 to $100,000 in 2007)

* Married Filing Separately (and you lived with your spouse at any time during the year) and modified AGI is between $0 and $10,000

* Single, Head of Household or Married Filing Separately (and you did not live with your spouse) and modified AGI is between $50,000 and $60,000

The lower number represents the point at which the taxpayer is still allowed to deduct the entire maximum yearly contribution. The upper number is the point as of which the taxpayer is no longer allowed to deduct at all. The deduction is reduced proportionally for taxpayers in the range. Note that people who are married and lived together, but who file separately, are only allowed to deduct a relatively small amount.

Traditional IRA contributions are limited as follows:


Tax Implications

Contributed money is at first post tax money.
However, contributions are tax deductible which reduce your tax basis for that tax year.
Then, distributions are taxed at the normal income for distributions.

Advantages

* The main advantage of a Traditional IRA is that contributions are often tax-deductible. If a taxpayer contributes $4,000 to a traditional IRA and is in the twenty-five percent marginal tax bracket, then a $1,000 benefit ($1,000 reduced tax liability) will be realized for the year. Because qualified distributions are taxed as ordinary income (the taxpayer's highest rate), the long-term benefits of the traditional IRA are only comparable to those of a Roth IRA (whose qualified distributions are tax free) if the current year tax benefit ($1,000 above) is reinvested.

* Also, if a taxpayer expects to be in a lower tax bracket in retirement than during the working years, then a traditional IRA offers an increased incentive over the Roth IRA.

* Another advantage of a Traditional IRA is that the taxpayer gets the tax benefit immediately.

Other important Facts

• Any Individual can set up a Traditonal IRA
• No matching contributions available
• Distributions can begin at age 59 1/2 or owner becomes disabled
• 10% penalty plus taxes for distributions before age 59 1/2 with exceptions
• Can withdraw up to $10k for a first time home purchase down payment with stipulations
• Can withdraw for qualified education expenses of owner, children, and grandchildren
• Can withdraw for qualified unreimbursed medical expenses that are more than 7.5% of AGI; medical insurance during period of unemployment; during disability
• Capital gains, dividends, and interest within account incur no tax liability

For the Frugal Mind: Cheapest days to shop

Never knew this but there are days when you can buy stuff when they are at their lowest price. Here are some items that fall in this category.

Airplane Tickets
When to Buy: Wednesday morning.
Why: "Most airfare sales are thrown out there on the weekend," says travel expert Peter Greenberg, a.k.a. The Travel Detective. Other airlines then jump into the game, discounting their own fares and prompting further changes by the first airline. The fares reach their lowest prices late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Books
When to Buy: Thursday.
Why: Price compare between major chains Borders and Barnes & Noble. The former releases its weekly sales and coupons on every Thursday; the latter, every Tuesday.

Cars
When to Buy: Monday.
Why: "Car dealers live for the weekend, which is when they make most of their sales," says Phil Reed, consumer advice editor for Edmunds.com. "On Mondays, the low foot traffic makes it seem like the weekend will never come." That dealer desperation, paired with fewer consumers on the lot, give you more negotiating power.

Clothing
When to Buy: Thursday evening.
Why: That's the day when stores stock their shelves for the weekend, and when many retailers — including Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and Express — start their weekend promotions, says Kathryn Finney, author of "How to Be a Budget Fashionista." You'll find great prices and the best selection. "It's an effort to get people to shop in the middle of the week," she says.

Department-Store Wares
When to Buy: Saturday evening.
Why: Department stores have a lot to mark down for their Sunday circulars, so they frequently start the process on Saturday evenings before store closing, says Finney. "They're preparing for the big rush," she says. Bonus: Even if the markdowns haven't been made, many employees will honor the sale price if you ask. Print out the circular preview from the store's web site, and bring it with you when you head to the mall.

Dinner Out
When to Buy: Tuesday.
Why: Most restaurants do not receive food deliveries over the weekend. "Sunday is the garbage-can day of the week," says Kate Krader, senior editor at Food & Wine magazine. "No doubt, they're cleaning out their fridges. Tuesdays, they're starting fresh." Dining out on that day offers the best odds you'll get a meal worth paying for, no matter your price point, she says.

Entertainment
When to Buy: Wednesday.
Why: Plenty of movie theaters, amusement parks and museums offer extra discounts to consumers who visit midweek. Six Flags theme parks offer a $12 discount to AAA members — three times its usual discount of $4. AMC Theatres offers members in its free AMC Movie Watcher reward program a free small popcorn on Wednesdays. (This summer, it's also the day select theaters offer free Summer Movie Camp screenings.)

Gas
When to Buy: Thursday, before 10 a.m.
Why: The price of oil isn't the only factor influencing costs at your local pump. Consumer usage plays a role, too — and weekend demand is high, says Jason Toews, co-founder of GasBuddy.com, a price-monitoring site. Prices usually swing upward on Thursdays as travelers fuel up to head out the following day. By hitting the pump before 10 a.m. (when many station owners change their prices), you'll beat the rush and the price jump.

Groceries
When to Buy: Sunday — or Tuesday.
Why: Maximize savings by combining store sales, which run from Wednesday to Tuesday, with the latest round of coupons from your Sunday paper, says Mary Hunt, publisher of Debt-Proof Living, a money-saving newsletter. "It's a smart idea to wait until you have those in hand to match up with the week's sale items," she says.

To snag savings on items you don't need just yet, shop on Tuesday, advises Hunt. Chances are, the store will have run out of the sale items. "That means you can pick up rain checks, which allow you to buy those items later when you need them, and at the sale price," she says.

Hotel Rooms
When to Buy: Sunday.
Why: There are two kinds of hotel managers, and the kind that won't give you a discount on your room rate has Sundays off, says Greenberg. Call the hotel directly, and ask to speak with the manager on duty or the director of sales. These employees are open to negotiation, he says. They'd rather have a booked room at a discounted rate than an empty room. (The rest of the week, your call would get you a so-called revenue manager, who monitors profits — and is rarely willing to lower rates.)

Source: Smartmoney.com

Get the most out of Dollars when travelling abroad

With today's weak dollar, you need all the help you can get when traveling abroad. Here are a few tips on how to squeeze that last euro out of your greenback.

Put it on plastic
Your best best is to use a credit or debit card. A typical cost of €1 after fees is $1.35 to $1.39 You generally get the wholesale exchange rate, which is the best conversion available. (Recently one euro went for $1.35.)
Star players are Capital One and Discover. Both are free of exchange fees.

Hit the ATM
Your next best bet is to get cash from the ATM. A typical cost of €1 after fees is $1.40. Again, you get the wholesale rate, with minimal fees - 1 percent to 3 percent, often in addition to a flat charge of $1 to $5 per withdrawal.

Check ahead to see whether your bank has affiliates at your destination; you'll pay less on those machines. Star players are Citibank because it charges no fees at its ATMs abroad; Bank of America charges no fees at some affiliated ATMs.

Do leave home without them
Warning: Leave your traveler's checks and prepaid cards at home A typical cost of €1 after fees is $1.45 and up. The exchange rate on traveler's checks is 6 percent to 10 percent over wholesale; up-front fees can hit 1.5 percent. Most merchants no longer take them, so you may pay even more charges to cash them at a currency exchange.

Prepaid cards cost $5 to $15, and the exchange rate is wholesale plus 2 percent to 7 percent. They aren't always accepted, and you'll pay to use them at the ATM.

Source: CNNMoney

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How much should your Monthly Mortgage Payment be ?

An article on Yahoo has this interesting piece of information about how much should you spend monthly on your mortgage.

Mortgage lenders have tightened standards recently. But consumers still have the potential to get approved for a bigger home loan than they can afford.

A general rule of thumb is that no more than 28% of gross monthly income should go toward house-related debt (including taxes and insurance). Besides first mortgages, this includes home-equity loans, which allow people to take out a lump-sum loan against the house, and home-equity lines of credit, which allow people to borrow against the house over time, taking out money when needed.

A person who makes $5,000 a month before taxes, for example, wouldn't want the monthly bill for house debt to exceed $1,400.

Note that the 28% guideline has a caveat: Monthly debt payments for everything -- house, credit cards, car loans, student loans, etc. -- shouldn't be above 36% of gross monthly income. So if you spend 28% of your monthly pay on house debt, you have only 8% left for the remainder of your debt payments. In the example of someone who earns $5,000 a month, 8% would come to $400. Many car payments are more than that.

And those percentages -- frequently called debt-to-income ratios -- are maximums, not recommendations for healthy living. People who spend 36% of their pay on debt are "teetering on the edge of being financially unstable," says June Walbert, a financial planner with San Antonio-based USAA, a financial-services company that largely focuses on military families.

She counsels clients to limit total debt payments to 20% of pretax income, so they have a buffer for surprise expenses.

One way to keep from getting in too deep is to run a worst-case scenario before taking out any money. Home-equity lines of credit, for instance, often come with variable interest rates, but banks are required to disclose a rate cap in the loan documents. Calculate what the payment would be if you borrowed up to the limit at the highest interest rate.