Mortgage rates are in the news again as the average rate on a 30 year fixed mortgage reached 4.6% this week. It was the highest the rate has reached in the last 7 years – up 0.7 percentage points from where they were at last year. Fifteen year rates are also up – reaching 4.15%. These rates are still incredibly low relative to what they … Continue reading Paying Off Your Mortgage As Rates Rise
(Updated 12/31/17 for final Tax Reform provisions) Tax Reform has been all over the news in the last week and when the Senate passed their bill on Friday night, I was excited at the prospect of seeing a solid windfall based on what the politicians were saying about it. The Republicans promised big savings for everyone across the board – they were even concerned it … Continue reading GOP Tax Reform – Not So Big Savings in MN
MrFireStation doesn’t read a lot of celebrity gossip or People magazine, but I can’t help notice stories in which wealthy celebrities sue their accountant for mismanagement and running them into debt. Alyssa Milano, according to the Daily Mail, has been left in “financial ruin” by her accountant. The article, which cites arguments included in a California lawsuit, claims that she was “totally in the dark” … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – In The Dark Financially?
I read an interesting white paper recently from the American Enterprise Institute that looked at “What Is Happening In Retirement Planning Today?” The paper was well-researched and stands as a bit of a contrast to the tangle of dark personal finance headlines that you often see in the in the paper and online. While the media seems intent on frightening working-age Americans and many analysts … Continue reading Eight Retirement Myths Thoroughly Debunked
It is with true sadness that I read that Dr. Thomas Stanley, co-author of the Millionaire Next Door, was killed recently in an unfortunate car accident. Reuters wrote that “Stanley was killed Saturday afternoon when a car slammed into his vehicle near his home in Marietta, Georgia.” Stanley researched the lives of American “high net worth individuals” – millionaires – and found that they … Continue reading Millionaire Next Door – Thomas Stanley RIP
NBC’s Brian Williams has been my favorite evening news anchor for quite a while. He has a smart way of turning a phrase that brings a wry smile to the day’s events. To see all of the trouble he is in for perhaps fudging the truth on his telling of a helicopter ride more than a dozen years ago is painful to watch. You can’t … Continue reading Financial Fiction? – Suze Orman’s Background
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