Apr
30
Economic Stimulus Payment - Child Support Questions
April 30, 2008 | 246 Comments
Many questions about the Economic Stimulus Payment keep coming up. Some of the most common involve child support. The questions fall into two categories: owing and receiving child support.
If You or Your Spouse Owes Child Support
The IRS will withhold your payment up to the full amount, if you owe back child support. If you file a joint return and one spouse owes child support the IRS can withhold …
Comment by marsha: I posted awhile back on this forum…and I did get the …
Oct
23
Magical Thinking
October 23, 2008 | 1 Comment
Do you blame your problems on somebody else? The sub-prime mess is either Clinton's, Bush's or Congress's fault depending on who you believe. Most of our problems are caused by magical thinking. Magical thinking is 1 + 1 = 3. Magical thinking says giving poor people houses is a good idea. You need to remove magical thinking from you thought process to succeed in this world.
The universe doesn't grant us a free pass. I've …
Sep
24
Bailout Sounds Like Bad Spam Email
September 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment
… from an "official" in Africa. This official has millions waiting for you, you just need to send them your bank account info. Well what if the scammer in Africa was suddenly the most powerful man in the world. Well Secretary of the Treasury Paulson is the most powerful man in the world and he is ready to scam every American taxpayer including your great grandchildren.
Here's an excerpt:
Dear American:
I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a …
Sep
12
Evidence that the Stock Market is Efficient
September 12, 2008 | 1 Comment
An old news story provides further evidence that the Efficient Market Hypothesis is valid. The Efficient Market theory states that all public information is reflected in the price of security. Put another way, news effects the prices of stocks almost as soon as it is known.
Recently an old news story from the Sun Sentinel provided more evidence in support of efficient market pricing. Google News picked up an old …
Jul
28
I believe that you should pay of your mortgage early. I did it and I still consider it one of the best things I've done. However, there are a number of people claiming that paying off your mortgage is foolish. Let's debunk some more of these myths.
The blog 7million7Years has an article about why paying off your mortgage is the dumbest move you can make. The author lists 4 reasons why …
Comment by Jeff: … explanation of why the historical average is flawed? No …
Jun
17
What Is Flood Insurance?
June 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Every year people and property are devastated by floods. Floods can strike anywhere. The government established National Flood Insurance Program ( NFIP ) to help deal with the financial cost of flooding. Find out how the flood insurance works.
Even with modern management techniques, floods happen every year. Look at the recent Katrina disaster or the flooding in the Midwest as examples.
Before 1968, the government tried to control flooding with dams and …
Jun
16
IRS Withholds $842 Million in Stimulus Payments
June 16, 2008 | 15 Comments
If you're missing your stimulus check, you're not alone. The IRS is withholding $842 Million from stimulus payments. How do you know if you're stimulus payment will be withheld?
According to this CNN/Money article, stimulus payments have been withheld from 1.5 million people. Over 50% of the money has gone for back child support .
About 54% of the cash intercepted will be funneled to states for child support, according to Dean …
Comment by Chris: … have to contact the IRS for that information. See …
Jun
7
Nassim Nicholas Taleb got rich on a day when many many people went broke. He predicted the sub-prime fiasco and the crash of 1997. He didn't really predict these events, he just predicted some kind of event, a black swan, could happen.
The Times Online has a new interview piece with Taleb.
An interesting article. Worth your time if you're interested in economics, investing or banking. I'm going to get around to …
May
29
Where Is My Stimulus Payment?
May 29, 2008 | 107 Comments
… for your Economic Stimulus Payment ? You're not alone. Thousands of comments on this site and others indicate many people are waiting for their stimulus payment. So where are the checks?
Double Check Your Facts
You may be confused by the stimulus payment schedule. Who can blame you, it is confusing. However, you need to make sure you have your facts straight before contacting the IRS.
I've made a list of the most common problems/issues with stimulus payments. Items are …
Comment by billy: i should have gooton my check may 16 and …
May
23
The IRS Stimulus Payment program is a real mess. Many people haven't received their payments. Some haven't received the amount they were supposed to get according to the IRS web site. Some people have questions relating to child support or other debts owed to the government. Many people are searching the internet because they don't know how to contact the IRS by phone.
The IRS stimulus …
Comment by Chris: … to help you but the IRS is the best source. If you …