This past week, Jane and I saw Roger Waters perform The Wall. I missed it when Pink Floyd first released and tour this album 30 years ago, and was glad to get the chance to see it live. More than anything, the crowd, ranging from people in their 60s to young kids that needed their parent to take them, showed me one thing. This music was timeless, as I knew even 30 years back that my parents’ criticism would fade as I finished school and moved out, but the music from my teens would still be around decades later. The Who playing halftime at the Superbowl was another example of the staying power of that genre of music. I’m not critical of today’s new music, and I won’t try to predict what bands from today will be still playing decades hence, only time will tell. Now on to the roundup.
First, this week, my fellow Money Maven Network Member Tom Drake has launched a personal finance blog aggregator called Money Index where he lets you choose a general category of interest, Taxes (The one I am in!), Frugality, Extra Income, Canada, and many others. The index also shows the titles of the last five posts from each blogger. So if you need a fix, but are pressed for time, a quick glance will find you some great reading. Good luck with the new site, Tom.
Next, Roshawn Watson asks Will Mortgage Rates Really Drop to 0%? I don’t think so, but Shawn’s post goes into an in depth discussion of mortgages and is an interesting read. Either way, the question is intriguing one, if only to think about the unintended consequences after rates one again began to rise.
A blog I hadn’t read before, Faithful With a Few discussed You Just Won $1 Million…Now What? No comment, me included, remarked that Uncle Sam would have his many hands out for nearly 40% of that between state and federal. So the real question is “what would you do with $600K?” In general, I think that people in debt, living on a tight budget will react to this quite differently from those who are in a “live beneath your means” lifestyle. $600K or $1M would find its way to our retirement savings, no crazy trip, no new car. I don’t know that I’d even feel compelled to go out to dinner that night. I’d be too busy reviewing asset allocation and the new number for “years to retirement.”
Speaking of retirement, Wealth Pilgrim offers some great advice – Post Retirement Average Income Crisis – How To Avoid It. In this post, Neal explains how many people ask what the retirement average income is for others. Neal helps to turn their attention away from the average (after all, do any of you aspire to just be average?) and to understanding their actual forecast need. Good job, my friend.
Don’t Mess With Taxes posted Tax the rich, whoever they are. She hits on an interesting point, that ‘rich’ is tough to define. Is it $200K for singles, $250k for couples as Obama suggests, or is it more complex that just that? $100K doesn’t go as far in New York City as it might in Austin Texas. Congress has yet to decide on this, and the Bush cuts are now fewer than 90 days from expiring.
Another good week of reading behind us. Have a great week ahead.
Joe
Hey Joe,
Thanks for including me in your round up! U am glad you enjoyed the post/question. Best Regards,
Shawn
I don’t know who you are quoting, if anyone, but at some level I agree with you, accessible healthcare is important.
“Health care is supposed to be accessible to everyone, but somewhere along the way, it became profit-driven at the expense of employers and American citizens.”