Comments on: 9 Year-End Money Moves

By: Trevor Shipp "Financial Nut"

Trevor Shipp "Financial Nut" — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:42:07 +0000

Thanks for the 9 steps! Reviewing what you pay for your car insurances, health insurances, etc… is absolutely KEY! My wife and I are in the process of changing who we do car insurance through, and we will literally be saving over $60 per month by switching to Geiko (they gave us a “FREE RATE QUOTE” * you have to say it in an Australian accent for it to be fun!).

We’re hoping to save some real money this year just by reviewing our monthly expenses.

Thanks for the insight!

By: Pinyo

Pinyo — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:30:06 +0000

@Paulette – Thank you for sharing. That’s a very good example.

@Alisa – If you are planning to buy the exact same stock back, you have to wait at least 31 days before buying it back, otherwise, you’ll be subject to wash sale rule and cannot use the loss for deduction. If you are talking about EFTs and mutual funds, you could also be subject to the wash sale rule if the IRS consider them substantially identical security — but this is beyond my expertise and you should consult your investment and/or tax advisor on what is considered “substantially identical”.

On a different note, you could sell your losing stocks and buy and index funds and/or ETF to stay in the market.

By: Alisa

Alisa — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:21:33 +0000

Hey.. question about number 2. What about investments in which you have had losses (and sometimes its not because of the operation of the business but other factors like the economy) but you want to buy the stock at the lower price. Can you sell to lock in losses but then buy back at the cheaper price to take advantage of future gains and a greater margin of safety? Is there a window of time that has to go buy before you can buy the stock again after you sell it? Any other thoughts on this? Be well?

By: Paulette @ SpendTracker USA

Paulette @ SpendTracker USA — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:20:59 +0000

I think you’re right on the money with the credit card tip. I just transferred my final credit card balance from one of my cards to another of my cards that offered a 0% APR for a year deal. I didn’t open a new card because that could ding my credit. I just had a higher-limit credit card sitting with no balance and a great transfer offer, so I took it. Paying off that last bit of credit card debt is my foremost goal in 2009, and I’ll be minding my P’s and Q’s so the offer isn’t rescinded because of a late payment or anything. Most card companies will work with existing cardholders – particularly if they’ve been good customers or if they play one company against another. Never hurts to ask.

By: Pinyo

Pinyo — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:06:02 +0000

@Donny – Thank you.

@Aya – Good point about organizing everything. Sometimes it’s hard to just sit down and focus with so many distractions. I also like your whiteboard technique…very cool.

@PT – If you have the cash, I think it’s worth it.

@Make Friends – I agree, and in general I find myself doing better if I set goals for myself. Like this blog, I haven’t set subscriber growth goal and it haven’t grown at all…

@Steve – Thank you. It’s a good series, please be sure to share it.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:41:22 +0000

I think that some people think why should I set goals in my own personal finances, i do enough of that at work. However setting SMART objectives is very important for future financial planning and will enable individuals to build a financial safety net in the future from a good portfolio of savings, stocks and shares or property. You are exactly right to make objective setting an important part of personal financial planning

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:28:11 +0000

Thanks for the great! information. I am planning to follow the 12 days of Christmas, which will, I hope, grow my money tree!!

By: PT

PT — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:36:12 +0000

Great tip about the property taxes. I think I will pay them in 2008 and deduct, since 2009 we’ll have a lower income and more deductions (new baby).

By: Aya

Aya — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:10:44 +0000

I think the mastermind point behind it all, especially #1, 3 and 8 is to sit down, get organized and reorganize. I’m a big fan of writing things down and reconsidering my spending behavior; I think its even more effective when you write things somewhere you’ll see everyday. I recently bought a small white board and every time I want to buy something, I write down what it is and it’s price. After a few days of constantly seeing those numbers, I’d decide against things that start to lose appeal because of its price. Maybe not everything is as simple, but visualizing things and having information in one place really helps to analyze your finances.

By: Donny Gamble

Donny Gamble — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:46:14 +0000

These are some very positives moves that everyone should take heed of if they are planning to have a good year in 2009.