Money Blue Book

When I went downstairs to the mailboxes to check my mail today, I discovered a letter in my slot with the ominous letters “IRS” and the trademark federal eagle logo stamped on it. My heart immediately skipped a beat. Was I being audited? But then I thought again – that wouldn’t make any sense – I hadn’t even filed my 2007 federal tax return yet.

I looked at the envelope more closely – the red lettering advertised the contents of the envelope as an important message from the IRS on the economics stimulus act of 2008 and implored me not to throw it away. Looks like I finally received one of those notorious notice letters that the IRS spent $42 million to issue. For $42 million you’d think the federal government would have been able to design a more conspicuously colored envelope rather than sticking with the traditional white junk mail design. If I hadn’t examined the lettering closer I may have chucked it into the trash can like I instinctively do with most spammy mail pieces I receive.

If you want to know what the letter said, I’ve transcribed the entire content message below. It was a typical boiler plate form message. They didn’t even bother to address the letter recipient by name. I’m simply referred to using the standard moniker – “Taxpayer”.

Why the federal government and the IRS chose to spend so much money to send us this information is beyond me. Is this part of the economic stimulus plan – injecting precious taxpayer money to jump start the U.S. postal service? Why else would they waste $42 million worth of stamps and envelopes to send every single taxpayer this pointless notice? None of the information provided was new and most of the facts could easily be gleaned from a simple Google search about the stimulus tax rebate or a visit to the official IRS tax rebate website.

What the federal government and the IRS needs to do is join the modern age and start issuing nation wide email and text messages rather than relying on ancient snail mail postal delivery means. The IRS already accepts free e-filing and most people already submit their tax returns electronically. It’s quick and easy. Official governmental notices being sent nationwide should accordingly adopt this electronic medium as well. Better yet, they should have used the money to help fund the Democratic Primary Re-elections in Michigan and Florida to stop the electorate disenfranchisement. That would have been a better use of governmental funds than to spend it on taxpayer junk mail.

If you didn’t receive your part of the $42 million colossal paper waste, here is what the message said. It’s applicable to everyone:

Economic Stimulus Payment Notice

Dear Taxpayer:

We are pleased to inform you that the Unites States Congress passed and President George W. Bush signed into law the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, which provides for economic stimulus payments to be made to over 130 million American households. Under this new law, you may be entitled to a payment of up to $600 ($1,200 if filing a joint return), plus additional amounts for each qualifying child.

We are sending this notice to let you know that based on this new law the IRS will begin sending the one-time payments starting in May. To receive a payment in 2008, individuals who qualify will not have to do anything more than file a 2007 tax return. The IRS will determine eligibility, figure the amount, and send the payment. This payment should not be confused with any 2007 income tax refund that is owed to you by the federal government. Income tax refunds for 2007 will be made separately from this one-time payment.

For individuals who normally do not have to file a tax return, the new law provides for payments to individuals who have a total of $3,000 or more in earned income, Social Security benefits, and/or certain veterans’ payments. Those individuals should file a tax return for 2007 to receive a payment in 2008.

Individuals who qualify may receive as much as $600 ($1,200 if married filing jointly). Even if you pay no income tax but have a total of $3,000 or more in earned income, Social Security benefits, and/or certain veterans’ payments, you may receive a payment of $300 ($600 if married filing jointly).

In addition, individuals eligible for payments may also receive an additional amount of $300 for each child qualifying for the child tax credit.

For taxpayers with adjusted gross income (AGI) of more than $75,000 (or more than $150,000 if married filing jointly), the payment will be reduced or phased out completely.

To qualify for the payment, an individual, spouse, and any qualifying child must have a valid Social Security number. In addition, individuals cannot receive a payment if they can be claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer or they filed a 2007 Form 1040NR, 1040NR-EZ, 1040-PR, or 1040-SS.

All individuals receiving payments will receive a notice and additional information shortly before the payment is made. In the meantime, for additional information, please visit the IRS website at

www.irs.gov

Updated List Of The Best Supermarket and Grocery Credit Cards To Save Money On Groceries (And Offset Higher Food Prices)

With rising gas energy prices and increased food demand from developing countries comes an unfortunate result – higher food prices. Common grocery staples like milk, eggs, and wheat products have seen a noticeable rise in prices lately. Higher prices at the supermarket is leading to an increase in grocery spending for many. Those with large families and children are finding their food budgets being stretched to the limit. However, there are alternative and supplemental ways to save money on groceries beyond the usual reliance on price comparison shopping and clipping grocery store coupons. There’s nothing wrong with relying on coupons and price comparison, however, the regularity of those money saving deals are often unpredictable. They are not dependent on what you or your family need at the time, but rather on the supply and demand assessments of supermarket chains.

Benefits Of Using Grocery Store Credit Card Rewards To Save Money On Supermarket Food Prices

If you are a responsible credit user, have you considered the usage of dedicated grocery credit cards to save money at the supermarket? Most major credit card issuers have tagged grocery stores as a major promotional focus of their credit card reward programs. To encourage consumers to use grocery store credit cards, card issuers are offering a wide array of high cash back rewards and rebates for supermarket related purchases. In fact, along with gas stations and drug stores, grocery stores are often included in a select list of categories that offer extra high purchase rebates and rewards. Grocery credit card rewards can easily and regularly net consumers a high 5% cash back on all grocery store purchases.

Debt reduction proponents frequently advise against the use of credit cards for common household expenses such as groceries and gas, but I disagree with their blanket rejection. I think the responsible use of grocery credit card rewards can help a credit responsible family save a significant amount of money on their groceries and supermarket food needs over time. Furthermore, it also helps save time at the grocery checkout counter. Many major supermarket chains like Giant, Safeway, and Kroger now offer and sometimes force the use of self checkout stations. The use of grocery reward credit cards helps speed the consumer along the checkout process rather than having to fumble around and spend time locating dollar bills and loose change.

Grocery shopping using supermarket credit cards also helps the savvy consumer keep better track of their spending habits since all transactions are logged and recorded on their credit card billing statements. The amount of money spent on groceries per month can then be more easily itemized and statistically analyzed. This organization feature goes a long way in helping cardholders better plan and tweak their grocery shopping budgets.

Other than using special grocery store credit cards to save money on food and grocery store purchases through credit rewards, they can also be used to earn high rewards at other retailers as well. All it takes is the purchase of a non-grocery related retail gift card from a qualifying supermarket. This has the added advantage of earning the higher grocery related rewards (frequently as high as 5%) but being able to spend the money on non-grocery-related purchase categories like department stores, electronic discounters, and even restaurants.

After reviewing the variety of grocery credit card reward offers available, here are the card offers that I think offer the best cash back value.

List of the Best Grocery Credit Card Offers:

1. American Express Blue Cash® – Earn up to a tiered 5% cash back on eligible purchases. Earn a tiered 1.5% cash back reward on everything else. For more reward program details, check out my Blue Cash review.
2. Chase Freedom(SM) – Earn 5% cash back offers in popular categories like gas, home improvement and department stores. Get a full 1% Cash Back on everything else – no spending tiers or caps on how much you can earn.
3. Capital One® No Hassle Cash(SM) Rewards -  (Excellent Credit) – Earn up to 3% cash back on gas and groceries, and unlimited 1% cashback on all other purchases. There is no limit to the cash back rewards you can earn and your cash earnings never expire as they are applied to your account automatically. You can also save money with the 0% APR purchase rate offer until February 2011. There is no annual fee.
4. Capital One® No Hassle Cash(SM) Rewards – (Average Credit) – Earn 2% cash back on purchases at grocery stores and gas stations, and unlimited 1% cashback on all other purchases. There is no limit to the cash back rewards you can earn and your cash earnings never expire as they are applied to your account automatically. You can also save money with the 0% APR purchase rate offer until February 2011. There is no annual fee.
5. Capital One® No Hassle Points(SM) Rewards – (Excellent Credit) – Earn unlimited 2% back (2 points per dollar) in point rebates for purchases at grocery stores, supermarkets, gas stations, and drug stores, as well as 1% back for all other purchases. Get a 0% introductory interest rate on purchases until January 2010. There is no annual fee
6. Capital One® No Hassle Points(SM) Rewards – (Average Credit) – Earn unlimited 5% back (5 points per dollar) for all purchases made at grocery stores, gas stations, and drug stores, and get 1% back for every dollar spent on all other purchases. Your rewards have no expiration date for the life of your account. Cardholders also receive an introductory 0% APR offer on purchases until June 2009. There is no annual fee.
7. American Express Business Blue Cash® – Earn up to a tiered 5% cash back on grocery purchases, drugs, and gas. Earn up to a tiered 1.5% cash back on everything else.

When I bought my new 2004 Honda Accord a few years ago, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it came with a free 3 month trial subscription to XM Satellite Radio. Back then, the premium service was considered quite a must-have premium car feature. At the time there was nothing quite like having more than a hundred radio stations at my listening disposal whenever I drove my car. The great benefit and advantage that satellite radio had over conventional radio was that no matter where you were in the country, so long as your receiver-equipped vehicle had an unobstructed view of the sky, you were ensured a guaranteed selection of listening stations at all times. Not only did I have access to the usual radio music choices, but I could also listen to a wide variety of talk radio and television news programs such as CNN and CNBC. One of the best technical features with on board satellite radio was also the ability to know the names of artists and songs currently being played. All of the song information was digitally displayed on the XM radio player dashboard. This function was great because it complimented my hobby of downloading MP3 music from the internet. Every time I heard a song I liked, I could look to see the name of the song and download it later when I got home.

Cost and Lack Of Use Are The Reasons Why I Don’ t Think Paid Satellite Radio Service Is Worth It

Back when I had the complimentary trial period, XM radio’s monthly subscription fee was only $9.95. However over the years the price has steadily increased to its present $12.95. When my free trial period ended, I continued paying the monthly fee. But after a while, I realized it was just a money drain. I was a student at the time, used the car infrequently, and drove for only short stints in mostly local areas when I did. The service was much too underused to justify the monthly subscription. It’s not that I was overly frugal about paying for monthly services – in fact I had a whole slew of monthly subscription services like cable and internet. However, one simply cannot compare the necessity of home cable or satellite television service to a radio feature that is only used when driving. While over the years, XM has adapted and ported its service into portable hand head Ipod-like players, I still fail to see the necessity for the paid service when viable free alternatives are available.

Satellite Radio Doesn’t Currently Offer Enough Locally Based Radio Programming Selections

When I drive, I have a narrow selection of music that I like to listen to, which is why I usually prefer to burn my own music mix CD’s. If XM radio offered the premium ability to create my own customizable radio station comprised of specific music artists I like without the fillers, the service might be worth it. However, after listening to hours of premium satellite radio, I realized that much of the premium music selections were the same played to death re-runs churned out by free local radio stations, fillers and all. Despite having so many channels and stations, the majority of the programming choices were ones I had no interest in such as country, rock, and weird selections that played bluegrass and elevator music.

Another major disadvantage of satellite radio is that it doesn’t offer the same comparable local commentary and local presence provided by traditional regional radio stations. I think I’ve grown too accustomed to the localized nature of traditional free radio. When there is some significant local breaking news, winter weather report, or major traffic accident, regular radio stations will interrupt the music programming to issue an up to date report. However, satellite radio stations, due to their national presence, tend to stick to national rather than local news. Even though XM Radio is based in Washington D.C., it is no exception. They do offer a wide channel selection of regional traffic and weather news categorized by locale, but you have to actually remain tuned to the appropriate city’s satellite station to receive continuous local traffic and weather news updates, which is an inconvenience.

I think both Sirius and XM Radio are paid options better suited for truck drivers or those who frequently travel across state lines for business or leisure. If you primarily intend to use the service in-state and within the same local area, there is really no need or benefit gained with having the service. Of course, if you simply have a lot of money on your hands, then by all means go right on ahead and pay for the premium service as it’s an occasionally nifty option to have.

The Novelty Of Satellite Radio Will Wear Off And Will Ultimately Be Replaced By Improved Free Radio Options

The concept of paid radio will continue to lose popularity with the adoption of car radio technology such as HD radio, as well as Wi-Fi and WiMax streaming audio. HD radio currently offers high quality radio feeds that can provide many of the text display functionalities offered by existing satellite radio but with the added local touch. It has the bigger potential to open up a huge range of new radio features and stations for consumers. HD radio is free but its adoption will take time since it requires the purchase and installation of new HD radio players. In time I predict most new cars will come pre-equipped with HD radio receivers.

Wi-Fi and WiMax radio are similar in that they both entail the function of listening to streaming radio through the internet, except you are doing it in your car. As Wi-Fi hotspots become more broadly available and WiMax technology is improved, the day will come when most major highways and cities will be equipped with wireless signal repeaters that can enable persons with a wireless internet receiver in their car to access millions of customizable online radio stations.

However in the meantime, other than regular radio, XM and Sirius Radio is all we have currently in the way of alternative options. The U.S. Department of Justice finally cleared the antitrust hurdles and approved the long awaited merger of XM Radio and Sirius. I think the deal is very bad for competition but due to the prevalence of a wide number of competing technologies, the merger was likely necessary for the survival of the satellite radio medium. Personally, I think the appeal and convenience of paid radio will fade with the popularity of cost-free technologies. Until premium radio options become free though, I plan to save my money and be content with the 10 or so complimentary stations that XM seems to have left running on my otherwise deactivated XM radio account. I think XM left those few stations running as a complimentary sampler, however interestingly, many of the sampler stations are ones I would have wanted anyway had I remained a paid XM subscriber.

This is not really a blog about my religious beliefs but what is Easter Sunday without writing a post about money and God?

Many Christians may have spent the morning waking up early to attend Easter Sunday service. Although I did not attend this year, my church chose to celebrate the early morning occasion by holding special holiday services in the great outdoors at a lakeside location in Columbia, Maryland where the whole congregation could worship together with the tranquility of nature.

For non Christians and those unfamiliar with the religious concept of Easter, allow me to explain why the holiday is so important to Christians. Well for starters, it doesn’t revolve around the Easter bunny and her basket of Easter eggs. I have no idea how a cuddly rabbit and her loot became the commercialized focus of the Easter holiday, in the same way I am unclear as to how Santa Claus became the figurehead of Christmas, the other major Christian holiday. But the reason why Easter is important to Christian church goers is because it commemorates and observes the third day that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and became resurrected after His crucifixion by the masses. While the day is not filled with presents and celebrated with as much shopping related hype as Christmas, Easter is actually the most important Christian holiday because it remembers the day in history that Christ fulfilled His destiny to become the living sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.

Many ordinary folks tend to overlook the significance of this holiday. I don’t blame them. It’s not a particularly exciting holiday in the secular world. But it’s an incredibly important day because it goes to the very heart of the Christian belief. Easter is the day that we pray to God to thank Him for the goodness He has bestowed on our lives, and to thank him for the continual love that inspired Him originally to send His only son to suffer and die on the cross for us. To non-Christians it may not make much sense, but for myself as a Christian and a believer, it is a very personal day. Through Christ I feel relieved and forgiven for much of the ethical and moral dilemmas of day to day life.

The Eternal Struggle Between Mankind’s Love of Material Wealth and The Love Of God

One of the biggest struggles of all believers has always been the inevitable tension between the love for wealth and the love for God. It might sound strange and funny to be in love with money, but the fact of the matter is that many of us worship wealth. We love to make it, grow it, dream about it, invest it, save it, protect it, and find ways to spend it. Part time finance bloggers such as myself might know more about this than anyone else. We make it our part time duty to write and blog regularly about the topic of money. It’s almost natural for us to become obsessed with the subject of growing our financial wealth. But for those of us who are also Christian, sometimes this fascination can eclipse our humble obligation and duty to put God before everything else.

In fact, this very tension was addressed in the Bible’s New Testament Book of Matthew, Chapter 19, when Jesus Christ was approached by a wealthy man looking for guidance on what he could do to secure his entrance to heaven after his passing. Christ immediately instructed the young man to sell all of his possessions and give them to the poor before attempting to pursue God. Christ knew very well that as feeble minded, obsessed, and greedy individuals, it was in our fallible and sinful nature to pursue material wealth and possessions above all else. In fact, upon hearing that he would need to give up all of his wealth to follow Christ, the wealthy young man walked away sad, because he knew giving up his riches would not be easy – his vast wealth meant he had more to lose.

Thus it rings true – it is much easier to seek God when we are poor and downtrodden because we have less to sacrifice. But as our financial wealth grows, it’s the natural tendency to become misguided and blinded with the comforts that material possessions bring. Christ knew this was the case when He later preached to His disciple students:

“I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:23 NIV.

The statement wouldn’t be so sad if it weren’t so true. I have met very few Christians in my life who I believed could truly give up all of their material possessions, fancy home electronics, and wealthy lifestyle for the promise of ephemeral treasures in the afterlife. In this ultra consumerism culture, we have grown so materially self indulgent with our trinkets and treasures that many of us don’t seem to heed the promises that God has laid before us anymore. We are all too easily corrupted by the pursuit of financial riches and worldly things that we have become blind and deaf to God’s words and admonishments. The more our personal wealth grows, the more we seem to to rely on our own abilities and our own financial means to carry us through life’s difficulties, and we stop seeking God’s guidance and blessings.

My Confession – The More Success I Have, The More I Seem To Stray From Church

I am by no means rich or even close to it, but I do believe it would be very difficult for a wealthy individual to genuinely and faithfully follow Christ’s teachings.

A few years ago, I was just out of school and struggled financially so during that time I attended church more regularly. I was active in the church, participated in bible studies, attended church fellowship events, and even joined the church praise worship band as the drummer. Now that I am beginning to thrive again financially and professionally, I find myself drifting away and attending church less and less. I am starting to spend more time tending to my job, my side businesses and my money making ventures, rather than attending Sunday church services or even praying. Even blogging has taken away much of the time I used to have for church fellowship events and I find myself more and more cut off from the church body of Christ. I truly am more fallible than I had imagined.

My pursuit for the meaning of wealth has seemed to blind me to what God has provided for me. I know God has a purpose and a plan for me, but my human ways seem to have blinded me yet again. Deep down inside I know that my money filled world will ultimately be empty without Him, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped me from wandering away from Him like a rebellious sheep. I do hope and pray that I will find my way back. This Easter Day, I hope I can refocus back on God and manage to put Him in first place in my life again. I know that God will never stop dishing out the blessings, but I do hope He’ll help me find a way to re-prioritize my life for the better.