Don’t Quit Your Day Job – Personal Finance, Economics and Investing

Even though I lifted the moniker from this article on CNN Money, the scare quotes are appropriate. I’ve written about the Credit Card Act of 2009 and its unintended consequences. Lucky for you, the law is starting to bear fruit. We’ve seen issuers who offer cards with 79.9% interest rates, at least this article features a few cards with redeeming qualities. Anyway, you can tell the title is a bit tongue in cheek, but let’s tackle the features in the three cards shown.

Since yesterday I compared the health plan taxes in Congress to the Alternative Minimum Tax, I suppose it’s only right if today I discuss that tax itself. The infamous tax was enacted to target upper class taxpayers who paid less than ‘their fair share’ of taxes. It went into effect in 1970.

Consider this my public service announcement: your opportunity to pocket $8,000 if you buy a new home as a ‘first time homebuyer’ is almost over (12/1/2009). The stimulus (which comes on behalf of taxpayers not buying their first homes) has spurred investments in entry level homes. Silicon Valley’s prices haven’t come down enough, (as viewed by the rent vs. buy ratio) so I’ll be sitting this one out.

Sometimes budgeting tricks undertaken by the Federal Government boggle the mind. Take, for example, the Treasury debt ‘held’ by the Social Security Trust Fund. The trust fund operates much like a pyramid scheme… except investors are new generations of workers and they have no way to opt out.

This article is not about Social Security. It’s about the Federal Deposit Insurance Company, better known as the FDIC.

I hope I convinced you in my earlier article you’ll soon be dealing with higher taxes. I’ve got some more slightly depressing news for you… you might be dealing with a reduction in the amount you can contribute to your 401(k) in the near future.

Yes, as Robert Powell says in this MarketWatch article, to go along with retirees not getting an increase in their Social Security payments, you may be losing some of your ability to sock away money in your 401(k). Nice.