Gyroscopic Investing

I recently dropped my cell phone plan by using an ipod-touch combined with the magicjack phone app. The cost is 10 dollars per year. If you have constant access to wifi and don't mind not being out of contact when you are out and about this could save you 500 dollars or so a year.

I have wifi at home, work, gym, and most coffee shops, restaurants in the city etc.. If I'm moving around I dont get calls but that doesn't bother me.

moda,

What is PMI?

And what do you mean with ROI and LTV comments?

I'm assuming this has to do w/one's mortgage???

sorry i can't decifer the "hack"  

thanks.

PMI = Private Mortgage Insurance

ROI = Return on Investment

LTV = Loan to Value (on your home... it's a ratio... like if you owe $100k on a $200k home it's 50% LTV)

PMI will likely be charged on you until you reach 80% LTV.  It's usually .5% of the value of the mortgage, but goes away once you reach that level if you coordinate with the bank.  So if you're at 96% or 90% LTV, and you're paying .6% in Mortgage insurance, that amount is really a rate over whatever you need to pay to get to 80% LTV.

For instance, $180k mortgage on a $200k home is 90% LTV, and it'll take another $20k in cash to get to 80% LTV.  Well if you're paying .6% in PMI, you're paying $1,080 per year.  But since it would only take $20,000 to get rid of it, that $1,080/$20,000 is 5.4% of ROI on that amount of money.  Add that to the interest savings (assuming 4% mortgage, today), and you're at 9.4%.

So basically it pays to put enough down on your home to not have to pay mortgage insurance.  In other words... put 20% down.

But the interest savings are tax-deductible, as is (up to an income limit) the PMI itself.  So it's not always so clear-cut.

True.

But even 75% of 8.5% is 6.375%... so you're getting a guaranteed 6.375% on your investment during that time.

PMI is likely to soon be non-deducible, as well.... or so I hear.

If you've been against using CFL light bulbs due to their slow warm-up times and off-color, now is a great time to purchase LED light bulbs. The prices have come down over the past year, and typically these bulbs go on sale on Earth Day (coming up in a few days) at Lowe's and other retailers. Prices vary depending on where you live and what kind of local subsidies are priced in.

I found the following article to be helpful in deciding which bulbs to try...

http://nyti.ms/qnvFHR

...and we ended up replacing the recessed flood lights with these awesome Cree lamps from Home Depot:

http://nyti.ms/HVGdXU

Already seeing noticeable savings in my electric bill!

Thanks, Moda.

OK,we have the same thing in Canada, CMHC (CDN Mortgage and Housing Insurance).
We were always advised by our banker to wait until we had the 20% down...that's alot of waiting if you buy in the Greater Vancouver region!!!
But oh, such beautiful place to live!!!

Unlike Americans, we are unable to write off our mortgage interest or CMHC Insurance for tax purposes.
But, we do not have to declare any capital gains when one sells their primary residence.
So maybe it's a wash??
Just depends on the market...no crystal ball here...
sure wish we had those 30 yr term mortgage rates you folks have down there... 

LEDs are great.  One thing I would say is that the technology is changing dramatically fast, and improvements are made every few weeks.  So, if you hold out until your existing incandescents or CFLs fail, you will probably get dramatically more efficient, longer lasting LEDs, with a better color temperature, for a cheaper price.

CREE is a great brand and almost all of the really good lights are based on a 3, 6, or 10 watt CREE LED.  In fact, I've seen some very awesome 10 watt CREEs that replace outdoor floodlights that took a couple hundred watts.

TennPaGa wrote: Reviving this old thread because I ran across this today:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/3003491

Receive up to 10% on top of your Federal Tax Refund when you file with TurboTax and use some (or all) of your Federal Refund to purchase an Amazon.com Gift Card from TurboTax.

It is far better, in my opinion, to exchange the federal tax refund for I-bonds in excess of the 10K limit per person currently in force. The last steps in the TurboTax menu gives this option when completing our tax forms.

That gift card can't be resold for cash, so you're stuck paying Amazon's prices (and sales tax).  Good deal if you buy A LOT of crap from Amazon.

freedompop phone to eliminate cell phone bill when lightly used or used over wifi network...works great...also use google voice on that freedom pp phone for unlimited voice and texts