MoneyCafe.com

The Wall Street Journal has a good article about the opportunities for first time home buyers.  Good homes in good areas are affordable again for regular working people.  That is definitely a silver lining in the crash of home prices.  There is also a new tax credit to help first time home buyers which is further explained in a CNN article.   CNN explains the current program, the proposed program in the Stimulus Bill and some of the limitations. 

See:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123431356988570855.html
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/29/real_estate/tax_credit_near/

A few weeks ago we added our Stock and Mutual Fund Screener to help our community find the right investments in these trying times.    We now have an Editable Watchlist that allows you to customize your list and track your stocks, index funds, mutual funds and market indexes in one convenient location.

See:
http://www.moneycafe.com/markets/index.htm?qm_target_page=Watchlist
http://www.moneycafe.com/markets/stockscreening.htm

We’ve got a pretty good Savings Calculator at http://www.moneycafe.com/content/articles/23/1/Savings-Calculator/Page1.html.  If you are thinking of starting a savings plan, or just have money in a savings account, this calculator is a useful planning tool to help you see how much your savings will grow over time.  It’s simple, but quite versatile and allows a selection of different monthly investments and various interest rate scenarios.

There are some numbers already plugged-in, but you can make the appropriate changes to fit your situation.  Our default interest rate shows 5.00%, which just a few months ago was a reasonable number.  We may have to change that.

The IRS began accepting e-filing today.   Early filers can get started by filing for a tax refund.   

Although if you live in California, you may have to wait for your state tax refund.  See  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/16/california-forced-impose-day-delay-tax-refunds/  (Update for Californians.  If you can file now it may be the only way to get a prompt refund.   See http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28712615/)

Here are some links to software and solutions for do it yourselfers.  See our previous look at these solutions here.  http://moneycafe.com/blog/2008/12/time-to-look-at-tax-software/

Online Tax Preparation

Which TurboTax Is Right For You? Click Here. 

Compare TaxCut Online products

TaxACT
Compare TaxAct Online Solutions.

See the CompleteTax offering.

Desktop Tax Software

TurboTax CD/Download Products

TaxCut Software Complete Features List

TaxACT
Compare Software Downloads

PNC Bank has an interesting online service called Virtual Wallet.  See http://www.pncvirtualwallet.com/  It essentially ties 3 accounts together – a spending/checking account, a short-term savings/overdraft account and a long term savings accounts.  It’s free and has no minimum balance requirements, but charges a fee if you write more than three checks per month.  It seems more geared to those who use debit cards and other electronic payments for spending. 

Tying the accounts together is very innovative and seems to encourage better money management and good savings habits.   The free online accounts are just the start of what’s offered.  PNC also provides their customers financial planning calendars, online bill payment, financial danger alerts, interactive charts, a pig to punch and much more.  That’s right they have a virtual pig you can punch – but in a good way.  The Punch the Pig feature is a creative way to encourage you to save by moving money from your spending account to your savings account.

I haven’t used the service or the bank myself.  But it looks like it provides a great system to organize your money and stay disciplined.  That’s a great thing for anybody and looks especially suited for Generation Y customers.

Mint.com has a new iPhone App which allows the user to check account balances from anywhere.  Mint.com and the iPhone App are completely free services.  This is yet another great services that frees us from the desktop.  Using your iPhone, you can monitor your checking, savings and credit card accounts; review your budget; and monitor investment performance.

It has been reported that Quicken.com will also release an iPhone App later this quarter.