First Time Homebuyer $7500 Tax Credit (Well Kinda)

Bought your first house between April 9th 2008, and July 1st 2009?

The government is going to bail you out for $7500.. Well not really, you have to read between the lines on this one, and understand what you are getting into before you take the money.

I was excited to see this program, because it applies to me, I meet all the qualifications. Then I learned the real deal, and became slightly less satisfied, but heck I'll still take their money.

So, you can claim up to $7500 as a tax credit on your taxes this year. Since it is a dollar for dollar credit, Uncle Sam will increase your tax refund by $7500, or reduce what you owe to zero, and send you a check for the rest. The keyword here is up to $7500. They only pay 10% of the amount that you paid for your home. In my case, I'll get 10% of my meager 43,000 house, or $4300.

This may upset you a bit, but keep reading, you will be just fine with it. So, this is not a traditional tax credit, like when the government gave us stimulus checks that we were free to do what we chose with them (booze, cigarettes, electronics, hookers, and the like)..

This tax credit must be repaid within 15 years, over that period of time.. You start the repayment 2 years after you take the money, and they recapture the entire amount 17 years after you take the money.

I'm still taking their money, and you should too (if you qualify)... Toss the money in a CD or other safe investment tool, or even a high interest savings account. Right now the best ones pay about 4 percent.

Not calculating the yearly payback (you would pay that yourself), at 4% APY that $4300 would turn into $7744.06 after 15 years.

Plus you would have access to the cash in case of emergency.

Sounds like a decent deal for me, I'll take the money and run.

Here is a link to the dirty details.. Click my adsense links to buy me a beer..

Federal Housing Tax Credit

APY Interest Calculator (figure your earnings)

Bankrate Savings Account APY rates

Just got this in from the FINE folks at Rockauto.com..

The New 5% Off Discount Coupon..

Enjoy, and if my site helped you out at all, please click the adsense banners a few times.
Justin

Thank you for being a www.RockAuto.com customer! To show our appreciation, we have a special discount for you.

Your discount code is:

1127806982885

Using Your Discount Code

Enter the code above in the "How did you hear about us" line of the shopping cart. If you are using our traditional HTML catalog, please click the "Apply" button to the right of the field. Your discount will automatically appear, subtracted from your order total.

Please note: We sometimes get calls from people who put the word "discount" in front of their code and do not get the discount. Please enter ONLY the discount code, no other words or numbers. The discount takes 5% off our already-low prices. There's no limit on order size or the number of orders. Use the code for your next order, and share the code with friends, neighbors, relatives, the guy at the corner garage--anyone you know who works on cars or trucks.

This discount code expires on November 16, 2008; so don't wait!

How I get my daily deals, AKA the early bird catches the deal.

I can't remember the last time that I paid full price for well.. Anything..

As I read this, a box of oil filters was just dropped off from Amazon.com. They are $8.99 each in the store, I found them online for $1.25, and bought a dozen of them.

Yesterday I bought a case of CFL light bulbs for 19 dollars. They go for 3-4 bucks each in any store in America. The deals keep rolling on, but I don't have to look too hard for them..

Add these websites to your favorites, and check them every day. If you have any more really good ones, feel free to post them up in comments.

1.) Slickdeals.net

http://www.slickdeals.net/

Ah, the mothership of deals.. This site posts a bunch of deals every day, and has a great discussion forum. Everything from sneakers, to electronics, to travel deals. I have seen it all on here. If you watch this site every day, you find some great deals (and curse yourself for whipping out your credit card)..

2.) Techbargains.com

http://www.techbargains.com/

I just found out about this site about a year ago, it has become part of my daily routine. If you want a low price on a computer, this is the site. They post all the coupon codes for DELL, and other vendors. It is amazing how cheap some of the computers are on that site.

But it is not only for computers, its everything relating to electronics as well. I have found great deals on a HDTV for myself, and friends with this site.

Thanks for reading,
Justin

The real deal on traveling on the cheap with Priceline..

Hey Everybody..

I've gotten seriously good at getting the bottom line price when traveling. People in my family and social circles are now calling me to help them book a trip.

Here are a few steps to get the lowest price on your next trip. Its really simple..

First of all, you aren't going to get anywhere booking on Expedia, or Hotels.com, or sites like that. Those sites are only good if you need to stay at a specific hotel, and want to pay a little bit off book rate.

There is a time and place to use those sites, but honestly if you are like me, then you don't care exactly where you stay, you just want it to be a nice place, and you might enjoy the element of surprise.

Priceline is the only way to stay for a place super cheap. I have walked into many 3.5-4 star hotels, and have been wondering how they even LET ME IN THE DOOR for the 39 bucks per night that I had paid.

Its unreal.

Here is a link to my Tripadvisor page.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/members-reviews/JustinH

Tripadvisor is an excellent tool for reading actual reviews on a property before you stay there, also you can get some excellent tips on the area from fellow travelers, not from the hotel itself. Also you can get real world pictures of the rooms, the property, and more. This tool is amazing. I contribute to that site nearly every time I travel. Heck, they even sent me a ball cap in the mail they like me so much.

I always post the price that I paid for the room on priceline, so that other people can get a similar deal. You should too.

I'll break down this instructional into the different things that you may need to book for your trip.

1.) Airfare-

With the way that airfare in this country is getting (expensive), I have only had look booking in advance with Southwest.com using their Internet Rate. Usually priceline can not beat the price that they give, but you do need to book in advance. Southwest does not fly everywhere, but if you find yourself having to go somewhere that they do not fly, then use the ITA Software search engine.

http://www.itasoftware.com/

You will need to click on search airfares, then login as guest. ITA software is a company that makes the engine that MANY different aggregators on the internet use. Take a look at Priceline search, then use theirs, it is the exact same thing. Many sites use this engine, and they all report the same prices.

The ITA Software will get you the cheapest price on airfare, and you can go directly to the airlines website and book direct from them, with no overhead from an aggregator.

This my friends is how you get the cheapest airfare.

2.) Car rental-

You will probably need to rent a car, but it is tough to compare prices unless you use an aggregator. The big boys like Priceline do not include all the car rental companies, so you are usually stuck with their major overpriced company, unless you make a lowball offer.

Here is where carrentals.com comes in.

http://www.carrentals.com/

This site is awesome for getting the lowest posted price at a specific airport or city. They search all the no name car rental places, and you can use your judgement if you want to use them or not.

I have rented in vegas for 11 bucks a day, and orlando for 18 bucks per day.

Always rent the economy car, about 8 out of 10 times, you will get a free upgrade at the counter to something else.

I usually get the lowest price on CarRentals.com, then try to bid a few bucks cheaper on Priceline to save a few bucks. Usually Carrentals will be cheaper than priceline, they usually don't take your lowball offer.

3.) Hotels-

The way to a cheap hotel is priceline. Nothing else is even close.

http://www.priceline.com/

But the main question is what do you bid? People overbid all the time, and Priceline is ready to take your money. There are a few really good sites on the web, where actual people post what they bid, and if their offer was accepted or not. This is an excellent way to figure out where your bid should be.

These sites also show you what hotels are located in what areas, and it gives you a good idea of what hotel you will be assigned before you bid. You can go on tripadvisor, and see if you are ready to take the plunge before you do so.

The first site is BiddingforTravel.

http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/

The second is Betterbidding

http://www.betterbidding.com/

These websites are a source for an amazing amount of information, to figure out exactly what to bid on your hotel, and exactly what you may be assigned.

In conclusion, Priceline hotels are amazingly cheap. They are non refundable travel. You do not know exactly what hotel you will be assigned, until after they charge you for it. Honestly I don't have a problem with this. I have never been assigned anything but a nice room with Priceline, and have used them for years. Most times, I am overly impressed with the accommodations received for the price paid.

GOOD LUCK,
Justin

Rockauto Rockauto.com Auto Parts 5% Discount Coupon (Expires 9/16/2008)

Hey Guys,

I don't usually post ads for companies, but here is a company that I really like to deal with.

Rockauto.com

They stock a ton of parts that the other big auto parts stores do not have, and they are sometimes 50% cheaper than the auto parts stores.

If you need a part right away, then read my blog about parts store doing a price match to rockauto, but if you want to order online, they ship right away.

Enjoy!
Justin

Discount on RockAuto Parts!

Thank you for being a www.RockAuto.com customer! To show our appreciation, we have a special discount for you. Your discount code is: 1127806982885 Using Your Discount Code Enter the code above in the "How did you hear about us" line of the shopping cart. If you are using our traditional HTML catalog, please click the "Apply" button to the right of the field. Your discount will automatically appear, subtracted from your order total. Please note: We sometimes get calls from people who put the word "discount" in front of their code and do not get the discount. Please enter ONLY the discount code, no other words or numbers. The discount takes 5% off our already-low prices. There's no limit on order size or the number of orders. Use the code for your next order, and share the code with friends, neighbors, relatives, the guy at the corner garage--anyone you know who works on cars or trucks. This discount code expires on September 16, 2008; so don't wait!

A quick $50 for opening a Bank of America Free Checking.

Hey Readers,

Well, it used to be $100 for signing up with Bank of America, but since the economy is in the dumper, they are only giving $50 for new personal checking accounts.

I've had BoA checking for about two years now, and honestly I haven't had a problem with them...yet.

Its nice to go on vacation and have a branch available and a free atm. Thats why I went with them.

Check it out.

Click Here for the link

http://www.bankofamerica.com/promos/jump/uspsmovers/

(Don't forget to click my adsense links a few times, it usually goes to beer money :) )

Avoid the Free Credit Report Scams, it really is free.

Many of you have probably seen those so called "Free" credit reports all over television, the radio, and the Internet.

I can't believe how people fall for this scam. The 3 major credit bureaus offer a look at your credit report for free once per year.

Here is some great links--

First of all, our friends at the FTC have us covered. This page outlines what is a scam, and what isn't.

The only site that is free is annualcreditreport.com

The only hook is that you are only allowed to check your credit on the 3 major bureaus once every 12 months. What I do is check one bureau every 4 months using the annualcreditreport.com website.

When you get into the reports, here is what to expect. You will see a snapshot of all the credit that you have out. Every loan, every revolving credit account, every credit card, etc. You will also see a bunch of old accounts that you had closed, paid off, etc.

You will not see your actual credit score. They want a little under ten dollars to get your score. If you take a deep look at your credit snapshot, you won't need to pay the money, unless you really would like to.

I recommend that everyone has a good look at their credit, and figures out how they can improve their score.

I recently applied for a home mortgage, and wanted to make sure that my credit was in order before applying. Everything on the 3 major bureaus looked excellent. When I applied for the mortgage, the broker ran my credit. He came back with a score of 761. I'm pretty pleased with this score, but there is room for improvement.

The credit snapshot offers codes, or ways to improve your score. Mine was to "reduce debt on accounts." So basically I had to pay off my student loans..

Wish me luck!

I bought a house, you can too.

I've been pretty busy this past month, hence the lack of posts.

Anyways, this is a major money saver that I wanted to share with all my viewers.

I bought a house!

If you are able to look past all the gloom and doom on the nightly news, then you will see that there are many deals to be had in the real estate market. That combined with cheap interest rates is a good buying market, and an EXCELLENT buying market for first time buyers.

I'm going to talk a little bit about the loan procedure, and what to expect, as well as the loan program that is PAYING ME to use their loan product.

First thing is first. Get a competent mortgage broker. I made this mistake at first, but thanks to my realtor and brother (I'll introduce him later), I was able to correct it in a BIG way.

It is so important to look around and get a good mortgage broker. It is the difference between someone looking after YOU and someone looking after their commission checks.

I had decided that I wanted to go with a SONYMA home loan. This loan applies to residents of New York state, but check around with your local broker, and see if they have a similar program.

Now, here is what the SONYMA program was able to do for me. I decided to go with the Achieving the Dream SONYMA program. The link will explain the loan program, and it worked great for me. My terms were a 30 year foxed loan, for 5.5% interest, with only 1 percent down. Plus SONYMA is giving me a $5000 grant to pay my closing costs.

Linking from the SONYMA website was a few banks. I took a look at the top of the page, and there was Bank of America. I thought great, I have a checking account with them, I'll do the loan with them.

Boy was I ever wrong. The woman I was dealing with kept pushing me to do a conventional loan with Bank of America, and wouldn't even consider doing another loan for me. It was either the fact that she didn't know how to do the SONYMA loan properly, or she was acting in her own interests, not mine. She was very rude on the telephone, and very pushy.

I then asked my brother, who was acting as my real estate agent, to help me out. His name is Joel HusVar, and he works for Farley Real Estate Enterprises.

He put me in touch with M&T Bank.

That was a great turning point for me. I worked with a true professional, and learned that M&T specializes in doing this type of loan, they had a whole floor of people who just did that loan. I spent two hours with my mortgage broker, talking face to face. He acted in my interests the entire time, and did a great job with the loan. His advise and service was absolutely excellent. Send me a message through the comments, and I'll get you in touch with him.

So, I had a loan secured, and it was time to go house shopping. I worked with Joel HusVar in his office, and he was able to do an interview with me, asking what I wanted in a house, and what I didn't want.

We narrowed it down to about 150 properties, then down to 50, then 25. We ended up viewing about 10 properties before I found the one I wanted to make an offer on.

We ended up making an offer on the house, and after a few counteroffers, we did get the house under contract!

Time to get the property inspected..

I again turned to Joel for advice. He recommended an excellent service, that had reasonable rates. This guy was fully licensed, and totally professional. He spent about 3 hours with me showing me everything in my house, and what to look out for. I left with a large binder of information and his report.

We are going to be closing on the property in Late April.

Wish me luck in the new world of home ownership..

I'm using Google Calendar to pay my bills on time.

Here's a quick and dirty tip for those of us who are known to "forget" about bills. I used to be one of these people myself. I literally had a stack of bills piled on my computer desk, and absolutely no organizational system to get them paid on time.

Here is my new system, and since I started it, I have not had one late bill, and I am right on top of what is due, and when it is due. This is one of the most popular "Web 2.0" apps on the planet.

Google Calendar is an absolutely free application, all it requires is an account with Google, which is very simple to setup. If you have a Gmail account, you already have calandar, now put it to work!

Here's what I do..

When bills come in the mail, I open them up, then fire up Google calendar. I setup an event for each bill that is due. If the bill is paid on the same day every month, then I setup a repeat monthly event, and that will save a little time.

I list the event as the companies name, followed by the amount due. For example Geico, $100.

I then set a reminder to email me a week before the bill is due. Google makes it really simple to set this up. You can do whatever a reminder that you require. You can even have Google send you a SMS text message on your mobile phone saying "time to pay your bill".

I then pay the bill, and update calendar's title with the word paid.

It's simple, now you try!

calendar.google.com

So could you get rid of your Cable or Satellite Dish?

Think about what your cable bill costs you on a monthly basis.

It is pretty easy to rack up a bill over $100 per month.

Think about how many crap channels are out there that you are paying for, but never watching.

Personally, I could go mostly without television, but not fully.

I tried this experiment when I first moved into my apartment. I didn't subscribe to cable, but instead just put up an antenna out the window, and was receiving mind blowing HDTV quality.

I could watch all the network television that I wanted, all the PBS, and that was fine and dandy.

After a while, this grew a bit tiresome, and I turned my gaze to my cable modem.

Could you get by with Internet television, in combination with your free over the air signal?

I'm going to try it.

Here are some links to some great free television available on the Internet.

1.) Fancast.com

This could be one of the greatest new sites to hit the web for Internet television. First of all, its ran by Comcast, and its not all screwed up. I'm shocked. The premise is that is asks you what you want to watch, then it shows you where you can watch it. It will also show you listings for your local cable of satellite provider. There are a ton of full episodes of your favorite shows. I just finished watching an episode of NBC's Las Vegas. It came right up over my slow 3 megabit dsl connection, and played great.

2.) Beelinetv.com

Here is another one for those who would like to watch a bit of international television. The quality is much lower than Fancast, but watching something in your home language would be interesting. Not my cup of tea, but worth stumbling upon.

3.) Joost.com

This service is one of my favorites. It does require registration, and the download of a player, but I'm very satisfied with the service. The video quality is excellent, and there is a ton of shows on there. I watched a few PBS documentaries on Joost, and will keep using the service.

4.) Quicksilverscreen.com

This is another service that scours the net looking for divx movies, then it streams directly to your PC. There is a huge selection of movies, videos, and tv shows.

Now I'll have to rig a computer to watch all this content on my bigscreen, and I'll be all set.

Later..

The Spitzer Money Grab.

Here is another money grab from the Albany machine.

Governor Elliott Spitzer is proposing a bill that would result in NYS sales tax being collected on items purchased via the Internet from stores that do not have a presence inside the state.

The key Internet store being singled out is Amazon.com, which is based in the state of Washington. Spitzer claims that the state is losing out in millions in tax dollars from Amazon.com alone.

Surely, the next move would be assigning a tax to every item shipped into the state of New York.

The state currently relies on the honor system, and residents are expected to log what they purchased on the Internet, or brought into the state, and pay taxes on that at the end of the year.

When does it end?

Here are some links to articles discussing the story.

Story from Syracuse.com
Another story from Syracuse.com
Story from DailyGazette.com


And of course, they deserve a raise for all their good work!

Link to NYtimes.

File your taxes with Turbotax online for free ***

Here's one for those of you who want to file taxes online, but don't want to pay a dime for software, or filing fees.

Asterisk, Asterisk, Asterisk..

Of course there was a catch.

You have to either earn under $30k per year, or qualify for the Earned Income Credit, or be Active Duty Military for the year 2007, and earning under $54k per year.

Believe it or not, a lot of folks fall into these categories, including myself.

The website is called Tax Freedom, it has been run by Intuit, the makers of Turbotax.

Here is the website (www.taxfreedom.com)

You can also file your State return for free, if you live in the following states of the "Free Tax Alliance" as they call it.

AL, AR, AZ, GA, ID, IA, KY, MA, MI, MN, MO, MS, NY, ND, NC, OK,
OR, RI, SC, VT, WV

I'm shocked to see that my home state of New York is on there. We finally get a freebie.

Anyways, the software is very good. I was able to run through my girlfriends somewhat basic tax return, and get it filed in about an hour of time. The software prompts you what to file by asking basic questions.

I recommend that you have your bank account routing and account numbers handy. You can direct deposit your return, and have the funds in as soon as 8 business days.

If you don't qualify for the Tax Freedom Software..

There is no need to despair. Even the IRS is getting into the free file act. Here is a link to the IRS's free file page. Please note I have not used the IRS software, maybe someone could let me know how well it works.

So the bottom line is, don't go to the big box store and spend $40-$60 dollars on a boxed tax program, when it is all available online for free.

If this article or my blog has helped you save a couple bucks, do me a favor and click some of the ads to the right, and check them out.

Thanks,
Justin

20% Off Your Biglots Purchase, Printable Coupon

Hey Folks.

Here is a link to a printable coupon for Big Lots stores.

It is good for 20% off your entire purchase.

It is good from 1/27/2008 - 2/03/2008 so hurry up.

Link to Printable Coupon Here!

Disregard the "Buzz Club" mentioned on the coupon. Its just an email club. When you take the coupon to the store they will not verify that you are a member of their email sales club.

But if you do want to join their email spam club, then here is the link.

Link to join Big Lots Buzz Club Here!

If this or any of my links are useful to you, please click the adsense links to your right to support my cause..

Until Next Time..

Dell Deal of the Day. Vostro 1400 Laptop. $549.

I stumbled upon this Dell deal today guys.

Click here for the link to dell.

Seems to be an excellent deal for $549.

I didn't pull the trigger on it myself only because I'm forcing myself to sell my HEAVY Dell Inspiron 8600 laptop before I buy a new one.

Here are the specs.

• Intel Core 2 Duo T5270 (1.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
• Genuine Windows XP Home Edition, SP2
• 14.1 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display
• 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
• 120GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
• 8X CD/DVD+RW Read and Burn CD and DVD
• 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
• Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Wi-Fi Mini Card
• Integrated High Definition Audio
• 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
• 1 Year Limited Hardware Warranty with Mail-in Service
• 10GB for 1 Year Online Data Backup by Dell DataSafe
• 1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup
• Dell Network Assistant

I would recommend the upgrade to Vista, its inevitable that that OS will be the future of Microsoft. I know alot of folks are clutching on to XP, but with all this horsepower it will run Vista just fine.

I also would upgrade to the webcam integrated into the top of the LCD screen. Great deal, especially if your a creepy webcam user :)

Later,
Justin

Advance Auto Parts will match Rockauto.com and other Internet Vendors.

Just a quick note for those of you who repair your own cars, buy parts at Autozone or Advance Auto parts.

Here is my recent experience with buying auto parts from Advance.

We had to put a front wheel bearing in my brothers explorer last night.

Advance had the bearing in stock for $219.00.

Rockauto.com had it for $150, plus like $20 to ship.

I walked into my local Advance Auto store and started talking to the friendly parts jockey working there.

I asked if they match prices from other vendors, and he said yes sure.

I showed him a printout of the RockAuto website, and he asked "ok how much is shipping."

My brother jumps in a bit dishonestly and says "Five Bucks."

A split second passed and we all looked at each other when we awaited the parts jockey's answer.

The guy says ok fine and rings up the part for $155 plus tax.

Saved like 50 bucks just by asking.

I'll continue to shop there.

I'm sure that some guys will give you a tough time about it, but the guys at my local store were more than happy to take care of me.

I still love the service and prices from RockAuto, and will continue to purchase from them, but when I need a part direly I'll price match it at Advance Auto.

Oh, finally. If you guys want to save 5% off your Rock Auto order (or your Advance Auto Pricematch), then the current coupon code is..

857610758706
Good until December 18th, 2007 (Remember to put ONLY the code # in the "how did you hear about us" line)

The brains behind low airfare.

If you are like me then you probably spend hours researching every possible strategy before even considering purchasing airfare.

There are a million sites, many come up with the exact same results.

I came across the following site, a software development company, that SELLS their software to many travel websites to aggregate ticket prices.

Their software is very easy to use and very powerful, without all the mumbo jumbo of signing up for an account somewhere.

This company is called ITA Software.

ITA's first product was an airfare search and pricing system called "QPX". This system is now used by Orbitz, CheapTickets, travel agents and many of the U.S. and international airlines.

Check it out, you can search by specific dates, or my favorite, you can search a full month at a time, and learn when the cheapest day to fly is.

You can't book directly from the site, but this one will give you a great idea what day to book your flight.

Happy Travels!

Justin

Are you overpaying for auto insurance?

This is one that a lot of people simply oversee. They are paying way too much for auto insurance. We have all seen the Geico commercials, and are probably sick of them by now, but switching to them saved me $543.20 per year.

Better in my pocket than that of some insurance agent with gold chains and a pinky ring.

Ever since I got my license at age 16, I was buying insurance through Allstate. My parents bought all their insurance there, and introduced me to their agent. I would notice that the agent drove shiney Cadillacs, and was dressed nicely every time I went to drop off my hard earned payment.

So, after seeing a Geico commercial for the millionth time, I finally decided to get a quote online.

I could not beleive my eyes. The same coverage for $543.20 less per year.

Give it a shot.. I have been telling some of my friends. Some of them with younger drivers actually found Geico to be a few more dollars than their current policy.

But for me, i'm 25, single, with a great drivers record, its dirt cheap.