The date when the average taxpayer will have earned enough to cover taxes for the year is calculated and reported annually by The Tax Foundation. Their date is the one most often reported in the media. Many people consider that date a holiday of sorts, when they have finally broken free from the grip of taxes. In theory, any money earned after that day truly belongs to the worker. Your actual date may vary from the average, but the reported date gives a general indication of when you will reach it.

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When Forever Stamps were first introduced, lots of people seemed to think of them as a great investment. A Forever Stamp is sold at the current 1st class postage rate (41 cents when introduced) and is valid 1st class postage forever, regardless of the cost of 1st class stamps in the future.The investment angle works like this: Buy a lot of Forever Stamps at the current rate and then sell them for a price between what you paid and the new rate once stamp prices go up.

Here’s the problem…

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Below are the books I’m either currently reading or have recently completed.

Buying generic products can almost certainly save you money. You have to remember though, that there is more to a purchase than just the money you spend. There is also enjoyment that you derive from using a product.

If we based our purchasing decisions purely on cost, then many of us would never buy anything but generic. There are also times when we don’t have a strong emotional attachment for a name brand product. As with most things I try to balance practical with pleasurable.

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Although your 401(k) is better than not saving for retirement, your investment options there are limited to the offering of your particular plan. You likely have a dozen or less funds to choose from. The likelihood of those offerings being the ones you would have chosen given choice over all investment options is basically zero.

So my retirement investment allocation goes along these lines: Make getting the company match on your 401(k) retirement investment priority number one. Even with poor choices in your 401(k), the company match is free money. If your company match gives you fifty cents on the dollar, that’s a 50% gain on your investment regardless of the performance. Better matching means even better gains. So contributing enough to get the full company match is a no-brainer.

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How does your income compare to the rest of the world?

If you make at least $25,400 a year, you are in the top 10%
If you make at least $33,700 a year, you are in the top 5%
If you make at least $47,500 a year, you are in the top 1%

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Published rates for popular Direct Banking sites, updated weekly

Rates as of March 13, 2008:

ING Direct: 3.10%
HSBC Direct: 3.55%
Emigrant Direct: 3.30%

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All of the many benefits of debt consolidation may leave little doubt that it’s the way to go. One reader asked if there were any down sides to debt consolidation and here’s what I came up with.

The main down side comes in the form of an opportunity cost. If you take out a loan and use it to consolidate your debt, you’re passing up the opportunity to use the loan proceeds for another purpose. If you could invest that money in a way that was more profitable than the rate of your high interest rate debt, then you might be better off not consolidating. The problem with this idea is that credit card interest tends to be so high that it would be difficult to find a better alternative. Taxes on alternative investments make consolidating even more attractive.

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