Category: personal finance

“Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.”

Thomas Jefferson

It doesn’t seem as though things have changed much in the past centuries. Very few of us LOVE the government, but we all have to live with it! Living in a democracy is a messy business. Whether you like the current administration or not, there are benefits that you have paid for; don’t let them go to waste.

MAIN TOPIC

Recently, I got some evidence about how much the government is underappreciated. Look, I know our US government is not perfect, but I wouldn’t want to live under any other government in the world either!

As a volunteer tax preparer, I’ve come into contact with lots of individuals of diverse ethnicities, national origins, ages, work backgrounds, etc. In general, everyone is really appreciative that I’m doing their federal, state and local taxes for FREE! By the way, this program is sponsored by the IRS, a government agency.

As part of the interview process, I ask the clients this question from the 1040 tax form, “Would you like $3.00 to go to the presidential election campaign fund?” I explain when I ask the client that this $3.00 DOES NOT COME OUT OF THEIR REFUND or from their pocket in any way.

How do you think most of the clients respond to this question? The majority of those visiting this FREE TAX PREPARATION SITE, whose services are being paid for by the government, DO NOT WANT TO CONTRIBUTE $3.00 to the presidential campaign fund!  Maybe some of you feel the same way.

Obviously, I don’t ask them why they don’t want to contribute so I have no idea why they don’t want to help pay for the presidential campaigns. Further, I feel that presidential elections have gotten way too expense. What does any of this have to do with personal finance?

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), a government agency offers a wonderful FINANCE EDUCATION PROGRAM for free! In addition to putting out some really helpful tutorials on financial literacy, they have a NEW PROGRAM offering great consumer finance TIPS. For example, one of their articles explains why you DO NOT WANT TO USE the free checks your credit card company sends you.

The pitfalls of using these handy checks include:

The check might bounce if it puts you over your credit limit.

Paying for the privilege of the check with fees and interest charges! See here why this is not a good idea.

Another post with some really helpful information is called, Making Your Home Affordable: New Options for Lowering Payments this post offers all the details about the Obama Administration’s “Making Home Affordable” program. It is a great help for those facing possible foreclosure or having trouble paying their mortgage and offers detailed help REFINANCING.

This article, Shopping for a CD: Be Informed, Be Safe would be better entitled, Everything you Ever Wanted to Know about CD’s (certificate of deposits). It is a fabulous and informative post covering the various types of CD’s, where to buy them, penalties for withdrawing your money early, and much more. It even illustrates the “CD laddering” strategy which offers a steady income stream.

I could go on and on about all of the free personal finance information available at this site. Check it out and see what I mean.

In sum, WE ARE PAYING FOR LOTS OF SERVICES through our taxes. Whether we like the government or not, why not benefit from what they offer us?

ACTION STEP:

Get a notebook and label it: “(your name) Personal Finance” and keep it by the computer. Use it to keep all of your personal finance goals, thoughts, activities, and plans.

Block out 30 minutes to learn some personal finance basics at the FDIC government web site; don’t miss the FINANCIAL EDUCATION tab. Make some notes and step towards financial literacy.