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Tuesday,
December 10, 2002:
Those low interest rates and
the flurry of mortgage re-financing may actually end
up costing you more money!
A record 7.8 million households
refinanced their mortgages in 2002, taking advantage of
the lowest interest rates in decades. But in the process,
many consumers also slashed the amount of interest they'll
end up paying because they've successfully reduced the
size of the mortgage interest tax deduction. You may be at
even higher risk of owing the IRS if you refinanced early
in the year, since you've been benefiting from more months
of lower interest payments. Solution?
There are several options you'll
want to explore:
- Put some extra
cash aside (in an interest-bearing account) or face an
unhappy phone call from your accountant a few months from
now and a mad-scramble too cover your tax-bill balance.
- If you've
refinanced your mortgage more than once, you may be able
to take immediate deductions for points paid in the past.
(Points paid to obtain an original home mortgage are
usually fully deductible in the year paid. But when you
refinance, you typically have to spread out the cost of
the points over the life of the loan.)
- Finally, if you
don't have enough deductions to offset your lower mortgage
interest, try to pull forward expenses (where
possible) to the current year. Bundling and pre-paying
expenses like taxes and insurance can help take some of
the sting out of your '02 tax bill. As always, consult
with a qualified tax consultant. Don't rely on my
counsel...[what are you, nuts???].
The newest trend on the
health care horizon could get you "instant
results," but don't plan on your insurance company
paying for your visit to the doctor: Are
you willing to pay 100% of the fee out of pocket in
exchange for instant access? A recent survey showed that
77% of Internet-savvy adults want to ask their Doc
questions by e-mail...but the men (and women) in white
smocks are reluctant; concerns about time expended,
about potential liability and the biggest question of
all...how do they get paid? One of the pioneers in the
on-line medical consultation business that I investigated
for this story is www.mydoc.com
I was a bit irritated
after perusing their website because determining what
they charge for their services isn't an easy task.
It's always a warning sign anytime fees are not
clearly-or easily-disclosed, regardless of the type of
business. It took a phone call to their toll-free
customer service number to finally figure out that:
- If I want to get a single question
answered, their one-visit deal is a flat $39.95.
- But they really want you to sign-up
and become a regular subscriber to their service, it'll
cost you $15 a month ($180 annually) and you can ask 'em
all the questions you want, 24-hours a day...as long as
you live in Indiana. Other than David
Letterman's Mom, who else lives in
Indiana?
At this time, they're only
authorized to practice medicine in Indiana.
But you can bet that the industry's watching this
business closely. Expect this type of health care to
(after the lawyers have gotten involved, extracted their
fees and papered the deal up) take off in the next 18-24
months. If you want to know more about this fledgling
industry, The
Wall Street Journal had an
article about it in October '01. Check out this other
on-line diagnosing resource and a glimpse of the future
of cyber-medicine: www.medem.com
Will United Airlines'
impending bankruptcy impact your travel plans, even if
you're flying on a different airline?
According to our resident airline industry expert-travel
savant Tom Parsons of BestFares.com,
you can relax! Read
more about it...
Shop on-line, avoid shipping
costs and pick up the items you just ordered immediately!
It's the hottest trend in holiday gift buying and evidence
of a real marriage between the Internet and that
bricks-and-mortar store down on the corner...and it could
save you a ton of dough and heartburn:
Why not make the holiday shopping you still have remaining
as easy as possible? I can't make it any easier for ya, dillweed:
Learn more by clicking
here (and thank
me later).....
Great. Mom's in her
80s and was being "taken care of" by a scumbag son
with a drug problem. Scumbag son goes to jail for DUI and
all of a sudden, Mom starts getting hounded for a bunch of
credit card debts she never knew existed: What
happened? Turns out that the
scumbag-son-from-hell has been opening credit cards in Mom's
name (unbeknownst to her); now the debt collectors are
going after her. What
should she do? What can she do? One of
her other sons called the show and wanted to know if the
best thing for Mom to do was to file for bankruptcy...and of
course, my answer is a calm: Hell
no!!! With the son-from-Hell
already in jail, why not finish throwing him under the bus
and save Mom's butt from the sharks while you're at it? File
fraud affidavits with the credit card companies that are
coming after her and dispute these claims; it's not only the
right thing to do, she's also protected by federal law
against this sort of infraction. (By the way, this type of
fraud-committed by family members-is extremely common.)
Wanna
read more about it?
Looking for ways to compare
homeowner's insurance rates from the comfort of your
computer? There are a zillion
sites out there offering to help you with this challenge,
so always ask the obvious question: Is
your website being subsidized by the insurance companies
that keep coming out at the top of your search results?
Here are two of the top sites to give a shot in your
search for reasonable insurance premiums...check out www.insurecom.com
and www.quotesmith.com
...and always ask a bunch of questions.
Is your insurance company
jacking you around? There's a good chance they've been doing
it to others...and a reasonable chance they've already been
sued for it. So you wanna know how to find an attorney to
slap 'em with a law suit for you? The
easiest way to find the needle in this legal haystack is by
going on line to find out who's sued who...Ben's
favorite resource? Try Lexis-Nexis.
But don't waste your time complaining over having to pay for
searches. What's your
time worth? Don't wanna spend the dough on
computer searches? Then be prepared to spend hours-or even
days-searching courthouse records the old-fashioned way...in
person. [Quit your whining and spend a few bucks on-line...]
If you wait three weeks,
you could save some cash on taxes!
According to a recent article from The
Wall Street Journal by Tom Herman, new tax
law changes coming in 2003 will save you some dough if
you put off paying certain bills until after New Year's
Day. Two big tax law changes taking effect on 1/1/03 are
worth noting, so listen up:
1. Many consultants, free-lance
writers and other self-employed workers will be allowed
to deduct 100% of their health-insurance premiums in
2003. That's up from 70% in '02 and only 60% for '01. So
if you work for yourself and are about to pay a hefty
health-insurance premium, consider writing the check in
January, instead.
2. The automobile luxury tax originally
enacted in 1990 will finally disappear on 1/1/03. This
year, the tax is 3% of the purchase price above $40,000
on new passenger cars and certain other vehicles. For
example, the luxury tax on a $90,000 new car would be
$1,500 this year...but zero next month. So if you're
negotiating with your favorite car dealer for a shiny
new Lexus, Mercedes, Porsche or some other high-priced
set of wheels, keep that in mind.
3. Here's a new number to
add to your Rolodex: (800) 829-1954 is for people
searching for their refunds. The IRS is trying to hand
out about $80 million to nearly 97,000 taxpayers who
still haven't received their 2001 tax refund. (But the
general IRS tax-help line for individuals remains
800-829-1040.)
I know, I know, I
know!!! Less than three weeks away and you've still
got a slew of holiday shopping to do on a limited budget.
Or maybe you just don't have time for the
brain-damage...it doesn't matter. Check
out Ben's 2002 Holiday picks and get
some ideas on cool, easy and even free
gifts that have gotta make your December easier than you
think.
We talked about pawn shops
last week, but it's worth repeating: Spend
some time in your local pawn shops: Lots of great deals on
all sorts of stuff...take back control of your TV set and
keep the kids occupied in their rooms by buying a cheapo
TV and VCR/DVD player for a fraction of what you'd pay
new. Musical instruments for aspiring musicians can be had
for affordable prices...plus all sorts of electronics
(you're gonna need mics and amps for those electric
guitars!), computers, portable DVD players, used CDs,
jewelry, sports equipment...you name it. Pawn shop
inventories change constantly, and they'll usually
warranty the items they sell, or will let you return them
within a set period of time. Just be sure to ask ahead of
time and (always) get it in writing before you leave the
store. [Just because it's in a pawn shop doesn't mean it's
stolen!]
Are you motivated by the
dangling of rebate dollars to buy certain items? You'd
better do your homework first; how to hold retailer's feet
to the fire and get your rebate check before you die:
If you're trying to stretch your gift budget a little
further over the next few weeks, here are some warnings
and tips that'll insure you get paid with a higher-degree
of success than a U.N. arms inspector in Iraq:
1. Read rebate
requirements before you buy the product or as soon as you
buy the product to be sure you meet the eligibility
requirements and you know the mail-in dates.
2. If you're buying a
product and the rebate is online, download and/or print
the rebate immediately. Many online sites will remove
rebates as soon as the sale/promotion is over.
3. Always make good
copies of everything you send in for a rebate.
4. Always complete
all information requested on the rebate form in legible
hand writing. (If you're a doctor, get one of your kids to
fill in the blanks for you.) Consider using "all
caps" to lower the potential for errors on the rebate
fulfillment center side of the transaction.
5. Make sure you
provide all documents requested on the rebate form. If
they specifically request original receipts and UPC bar
codes, then give them what they're asking for...or prepare
to be rejected and lose out on the cash promised. If
the amount of the rebate owed is big enough, consider
mailing your paperwork via Certified Mail/Return Receipt
Requested. You'll have to be the judge of what's worth the
extra hassle and expense since these additional mailing
fees and services can add an additional $5 to your postage
costs.
6. Keep all rebate
documentation and copies in a safe place and follow up on
the dates they are due. Put it on your calendar and be
prepared to call their toll-free number once the number of
days allowed has passed without a check. Consumers do not
have to tolerate rebates that never arrive or arrive far
later than promised. By law, companies are required to
send rebates within the time frame promised, or if no time
is specified, within 30 days.
7. Scrutinize your
mail! Many consumers have mistakenly thrown rebate checks
away...why? Because "in the name of containing
costs and saving money for the retailer" some
rebate checks are in the form of postcard/checks. Oops!
Looks like junk mail...gets thrown away...net cost to
retailer? Less than if you'd cashed their
"check."
Did you hear about the family
that's suing AAA because a tow truck never showed up and as a result, their
daughter was murdered? Who are you gonna trust the next time
your car breaks down? Don't
miss the next edition of The Benjamin Dover Show, Sunday, December 15, 2002:
No matter where you are, the Internet lets you
experience the fastest 2 hours in the history of talk radio.
Synchronize your watches and put it on your calendar: 6-8a
(Hawaiian Time) 8-10a
(Pacific Time)
9-10 am (Mountain) 10
am-12 noon (Central) 11
am-1 pm (Eastern) 4-6
pm (GMT) 9-11
pm (Baghdad time) on KFI-AM/640,
Los Angeles!
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