A post over on Consumerist kicked off a firestorm of rebate debates. I fill out a lot of rebates (over the last couple months I’ve received 3 free computer cases and 2 free computer power supplies) and overall have had very little trouble with rebates. I tend to take my time filling out the forms and make sure that I have copies of everything I send in (using an all-in-one copier/printer I bought with a rebate :)) just in case they forget.
krunk4ever was a major contributor to the Consumerist thread and summarized his stance on rebates nicely:
- Read all of the fine print
- Include all of the necessary fields
- Document and make photocopies of everything (I like to file this away and check that I’ve received them every once in a while.)
- Know which rebate companies are good (he comments on some in the article)
- Follow-up when necessary
Time is running out if you are planning to contribute to your Roth IRA for 2006. Contributions for the 2006 tax year need to be made by April 17th, 2007. Make sure that you leave some extra time if you’re establishing the account or even if you’re just contributing. You don’t want to be a few days late and miss out on this opportunity. So if you haven’t made your contribution for this year, stop reading this post and go do it– it’s one of the best retirement investment vehicles available.
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
A new tool, FAFSA4caster will soon be available (starting April 1st, 2007) to help you sort out how much financial aid you can expect to receive when attending college. From the site, this tool lets you do a couple things:
- Instantly calculates a student’s eligibility for federation student aid, including grants
- Reduces the time it will take to complete the FAFSA
- Simplifies the financial aid process for students and their families
This tool is definitely a step in the right direction. When I applied for financial aid (seems like ages ago), there was no way to predict how much aid you would receive. With this tool, you can be better prepared and more realistic in your financial planning for college. If you try it out, let me know whether you think it was helpful.
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
iwillteachyoutoberich.com posted Part 2 of Personalized tax answers. There are some great detailed questions there. Also, check out Part 1 if you missed it.
Wednesday, March 21st, 2007
Now is a great time of year to head over to the IRS Withholding Calculator and make sure that you’re withholding the right amount of tax in 2007.
Your 2006 return will have told you if you were too high or too low. Optimally you set your deductions so that when tax time comes around next year you owe $0. Also, don’t forget that you might need to pay estimated taxes during 2007 (especially if you have have income that does not automatically take out taxes).