Tuesday, the Federal Reserve in it’s latest strategy for creating liquidity in the financial markets lead to a rally on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining more than 416 points - its largest one-day point gain in almost six years.
Fed Accepts Mortgage-Backed Securities as Loan Collateral
The Fed announced that it will loan financial institutions up to $200-billion for up to 28 days, accepting lenders’ troubled mortgage-backed securities as collateral.  In turn, banks will be able to lend money to others, and the credit markets can flow once again. 

If you’re considering buying a second property or vacation home, then here’s a tidbit that might peak your interest.  Which vacation destination can boast the best beach in the country?  The word from Trip Advisor’s travelers and staffers alike is…(drum roll please…) Fort DeSoto Park’s North Beach, southwest of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Does your home need more natural light? Do you have a small interior space that always seems dark and gloomy - a place where a view to the outside is unnecessary or impractical? Maybe a hallway, laundry room, or walk-in closet?  Would you prefer the warmth of natural sunlight to the harsh light from recessed can fixtures?  Would you like to improve your home lighting and reduce your energy bills?  Who wouldn’t? 

Here’s a bright idea to to bring natural light into dim places that were once impossible to reach…check out the tubular skylight or skylite solar tube!  Home buyers want light, bright interiors, so add this green lighting project to your home improvement list.

Within a couple of weeks, we’ll start to see them arriving in our mailboxes…W-2s, mortgage interest and real estate tax statements, 1099s and other assorted tax-related documents.  Yes, it’s that time again.  Don’t let April 15th creep up on you.  Resolve to spend a few minutes within the next week to get yourself ready for income tax time.  Here are some simple tasks you can do now to help you avoid many of the typical tax-filing headaches.
Organize Now for Tax Time
1. Designate a place to store your tax records.

Don’t let these important documents get mixed in with the mass of bills and other junk mail.  Keep an eye out for any tax documents, then as soon as one comes in, file it in the place you’ve designated as your collection point. You can create a new folder in your file drawer, slide them into an over-sized envelope or buy an accordion file…whatever works for you.  Just be sure to nab them as they come in so when you’re ready to start your tax return (or gather them for your tax preparer of choice), they’re all together in one accessible spot.

2.  Decide who will do your taxes and how.

Take the time to decide this now, and then move in that direction.  Will you consult a pro?  If you don’t already have a tax professional in mind, find one as soon as possible.  Schedule an appointment in late February or early March.  The earlier you can get in the better.  After all, who do you want preparing …

Did you spend more than you should have on holiday gifts and all the trimmings this past holiday season?  If so, opening your January credit card bill may have left you with an extreme credit card hangover.  Don’t lament over past financial indiscretions.  What’s done is done.  It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get down to the business of paying off your credit card debt.
How to Pay Off Your Credit Card Balances
Working yourself out of debt will take determination and some sacrifices on your part, but you can do it if you follow these tips and strategies to pay off your credit card balances.

Back away from the cards! Put your credit cards in a drawer and forget about them. Face it…if you don’t break your dependence on using credit cards, you’ll never get the Debt Monkey off your back.

Pay on time.  If the creditor adds a late fee, your minimum payment goes up for the next month and a larger finance charge gets added onto that if you don’t pay the full payment that month.  Don’t help the credit card companies dig your hole deeper!

Pay more than the minimum payment each month.  The minimum payment, generally about 2 - 3% of the outstanding balance, is the merely the interest amount due on the principal.  If you only pay the minimum payment each month, you’re fighting a losing battle; you will never be able to pay off the balance.  

Cut back on the discretionary funds.  This is where making sacrifices comes in…take another look at your monthly expenses.  You’ll …

Christmas shopping for that last minute present for Uncle Bob in Omaha?  If you consider online shopping, you’ll still have time to order and ship a gift from an online retailer - if you’re willing to pay for express shipping.  Just don’t lose your sensibilities in the last minute Christmas shopping rush, or your last gift purchase could come back to bite you after the holidays.

Take a minute to review these tips to ensure you have a safe, secure and happy online shopping experience.  
Tips for Last Minute Online Holiday Shopping

Know Thy Seller
Stick with merchants you are familiar with, especially now, when you’re rushed for time.  Before you deal with any new online merchants, it’s best to check out their reputation through sites that provide customer ratings on both their products and customer service, like Yahoo Shopping.

Safeguard Your Password
When you’re setting up an account with an online store, resist the urge to choose the names of family members, birthdates, addresses or common words.  Use combinations of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols (fmty*010!).  Or pick the lyric to a favorite song and take the first letter from each word (”ibfotrwci” is ‘if birds fly over the rainbow why can’t I’?)  Change up the passwords for each online retailer account; write down the passwords and keep them out of the line of sight, on an index card or in a notebook.

Be Secure in the Transaction
To shop safely online, you need to ensure your …

Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Bank announced a new approach to help increase liquidity in the U.S. financial system.  Through a temporary “term auction facility” (TAF), banks can borrow from the Federal Reserve for a one-month term at a below-discount rate, set by market auction. 
How Does the TAF Work?
Starting this week, through the TAF, the Fed will make $20 billion available for banks to borrow at auction, and banks will essentially bid against one another to borrow the funds.  Banks submit a bid with the amount they want to borrow and what interest rate they will pay; the bid at the highest interest rate will win.   A minimum bid will be established at the projected fed funds rate over the month term period, which is lower than the discount rate.  To borrow, banks must provide collateral equal to the loan value.  The Fed plans to hold two of these unprecedented auctions in December and two more in January.
What is the Fed’s Goal in Offering the TAF?
Concerned about the potential of exposing themselves to bad, subprime mortgage debt, banks are reluctant to lend to one another.  The Fed has dropped its discount rate (the rate it charges banks to borrow funds) and extended terms from overnight to 30 days.  Yet some banks are still averse to borrowing through the discount window, worried that doing so will send out negative signals about their liquidity and financial stability.  With the TAF, the Fed is hoping banks will not feel the same stigma, since the interest rate is set by the market when banks bid against one another …

Every time we venture out the door with our wallet or purse, full of credit and debit cards, check books and personal identification, we run the risk of falling victim to theft.  But during the holidays, we up the ante when we shift into shopping crunch mode, increasing our exposure to such unfortunate circumstances. 

Some of us approach holiday shopping like a commando mission.  We fight traffic and navigate crowded stores, list in hand, determined to find a meaningful gift at the right price for everyone on our holiday gift list.  Often, it’s when we feel stressed, pressed for time and distracted by the crowds and hustle-bustle that we lose our focus or let our guard down. Thieves, scam artists and fraudsters know this, and they’re out there waiting to take advantage of unassuming shoppers.  Don’t gift them with any opportunities!
Holiday Shopping Safety Tips
If you still have shopping left to do, keep these tips in mind to protect yourself and your purchases during the holiday shopping season:

Make a list of credit and debit card account numbers along with the phone number to call if they are lost or stolen.  If this does happen, you’ll have everything you need to act immediately and limit any liabilities.

Leave extra cards and ID at home.  Remove any debit cards, store account cards or extra credit cards from your purse or wallet that you will not need while shopping.  Never carry your social security card or other forms of personal identification that could compromise your identity …

In the great North West, Washington real estate is abundant. From real estate in Tacoma Washington to homes for sale in Seattle, if you love the great out doors, there is no better place to buy your new home then in Washington. 

George Washington never visited the state that bears his name. Our first President died in 1799, about six years before Lewis & Clark briefly explored what is now the Columbia River along the southern boundary of Washington and only 24 years before the first Europeans set foot in what is now the Evergreen State.

Washington Real Estate Vast and Diverse
Washington covers more than 71,000 square miles of real estate in the extreme northwest corner of the continental U.S. From the Pacific Ocean on its western shore to its eastern boundary with Idaho, Washington stretches 360 miles. From Washington’s northern border with Canada south to the state line with Oregon is 240 miles.

Washington’s population is growing at a significant rate of 8.5 percent per year since 2006 and it is estimated that more than 6.4 million people are now residents of Washington state. The state population has nearly quadrupled since 1940, when 1.7 million people could call themselves Washingtonians (with the third syllable pronounced TONE).
Major Cities
Seattle: About half of Washington’s residents live in the Seattle metropolitan area, the largest city in the Great Northwest which lies along Puget Sound, a large bay along the Pacific coast that is popular for boaters. The Seattle metro area includes the large cities of Tacoma, Bellevue …

I can’t see why anyone would not want to buy a home in Eugene Oregon. By buying your next house in Eugene Oregon, you will become a part of the Worlds Greatest City of the Arts & Outdoors.

To call Eugene, Oregon a city of the Arts and Outdoors is inaccurate. That’s because Eugene considers itself the “World’s Greatest City of the Arts & Outdoors.” Indeed, the once-mucky patch of real estate formerly known as “Skinner’s Mudhole” is today a vibrant place where the counterculture lives on, the cultural options are rich and an enticing outdoor landscape can convert even the most dedicated couch potato into pursuing recreation.
Eugene, Oregon New Home of Well-Balanced Life
Arts and outdoor leisure rank high among the reasons Americans often give for choosing a place to live, right up there with career and family. Eugene, Oregon has developed a dedication to arts and leisure and the city takes pride in that initiative, subconsciously luring those so inclined to live in Eugene.

Known for its natural beauty at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers about 60 miles east of Oregon’s Pacific coast, Eugene, Oregon harbors an eclectic crowd with strong political leanings and often alternative lifestyles. Eugene is a haven for aging hippies, a place that publicly and proudly embraces a laid-back, alternative approach to life.

The wide diversity and open-mindedness of Eugene’s people extend to the city’s educational offerings. Eugene has an abundance of private and alternative schools, including several elementary schools that immerse students in …