Our financial goals typically revolve around building wealth, and a great deal of this is done through investing. We obviously look to find investments that will increase in value, but it is inevitable that some of our investments will end up being duds. We will curse these investments and blame them for ruining our perfect portfolio, but a bad investment can be a blessing in disguise. The blessing comes directly from our friends at the IRS.

That’s right, the IRS allows you to use investment losses in taxable accounts as a deduction. If you currently only invest in retirement accounts, none of this will pertain to you, but please keep reading as you will eventually have taxable investments at some point. Unfortunately the wonderful folks at the IRS are only marginally helpful. They do limit the amount of losses you can deduct, but of course they have no limits on how much you gain.

You are currently allowed to deduct up to $3,000 in investment losses each year. Amounts in excess of $3,000 can be carried over into future years which can have a significant impact. Another benefit is that you do not necessarily need to have capital gains in order to use the losses to offset them. If you have a net loss it can be used to offset your regular income.

The other benefit is the ability to bank your losses. Unlike many tax deductions, losses don’t have a use it or lose it requirement. If you have losses that exceed $3,000, the additional loss can be carried over to be used in future years! As an example, say this year your taxable brokerage account saw $20,000 in losses and $10,000 in realized gains. This means you have a net loss of $10,000 available to claim, but you can’t use it all this year. You have $3,000 available to you for the current tax year, which can reduce your income and $7,000 to carry forward. Next year the market is great, and after selling some investments you have realized a net gain of $5,000. You can take $3,000 of that $7,000 to apply towards your gains leaving you with a net gain of only $2,000 and you still have $4,000 left in the “bank." You just cut your taxable investment gains in half by banking some of the losses you took last year. What a wonderful thing.

Of course, you need to check with your accountant or tax planner. Investment taxes can be complicated, and there are some tricky rules you need to abide by, so this is one of those situations where it can pay to have professional help.

What makes a good budget? Is it simply being as detailed as possible, or is there more to it than that? Surprisingly, there are many aspects of a budget that will determine whether or not it will work for you. Here is a list of the top 10 things that make up a good budget:

1. Categories that fit your personal situation. Default templates and guidelines are good, but to really have a budget that works, you need to have categories that fit your unique situation.
   
2. Accurate income projections. Not only do you want to have accurate income projections, but you want to have realistic expectations. When push comes to shove, be more conservative with your income projections.
   
3. Having the right amount of expense categories. Detail is important, but having too many categories can do more harm than good. You want to be able to separate where money is going, but you also don't want to become overwhelmed.
   
4. Continue reading for the rest of the top 10 list...

It doesn't matter if you have 30 years until retirement, or if you'll be retiring in just a few short years, but planning is important. During your working years, you have more flexibility in terms of income. You have a job, or maybe even two jobs. You can change jobs to make more money, get a promotion, or even have your spouse work for additional income. For the most part, you have control over how much money you make.

In retirement, this usually changes. When you stop working, you will stop accumulating Social Security benefits, and once you begin drawing on those benefits, they are pretty much set. If you are lucky enough to receive a pension, again, once you begin collecting those benefits, they are typically fixed. And if you have saved money on your own for retirement, when you stop working, you generally stop contributing to these funds and begin drawing from them.

What this means is that everything you do during your working years will determine what you have available when the time to retire comes. That is why careful planning while you're still working can have a significant impact on what your retirement looks like. Lack of planning can force you to rely on just Social Security and possibly having to work longer than you'd like, while careful planning can ensure that you have enough money to live out your dreams. It is up to you, so don't delay in planning for the future.

Still waiting for your 2007 tax refund? If you filed by the April 15th deadline and still haven't received it, you might want to check on its status. This doesn't apply to your rebate, but your actual refund. The IRS has set up a nice website that can help you determine if your rebate has been processed and is on its way, or if there is a problem that needs attention. Either way, you might want to check on it to make sure things are going as planned.

If it is your tax rebate status you're looking for, the IRS has also set up a site that can help you track that down. It provides some useful information about the rebate, and even has an Economic Stimulus Calculator that can track your individual rebate status.

The process of creating a budget is daunting at first, but that is actually the easiest part. Maintaining and staying true to your budget for any period of time is the hard part. While it can be difficult to stick to your budget, there are a few things you can do to improve your chances for success:

• Maintain a positive attitude
• Stay motivated
• Set realistic expectations

Learn more about these 3 traits of maintaining a successful budget.

When you hear discussion about credit cards and debt, the first reaction tells you that debt is bad and should be avoided. Well, credit cards or any type of debt are really just a financial tool, and when used properly, can be very beneficial. For example, how many people could save up hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a home with cash? It can be done, but it might take a few decades to reach that goal. Instead, by borrowing money you can use leverage to make the purchase now instead of waiting.

The problem with any tool is that they can be used improperly, which can do more harm than good. Using credit is no different. When used properly, you can leverage your buying power to make financial decisions that will benefit you in the long run. The basics to credit and debt cover:

1. How to establish credit.
2. The importance of your credit score.
3. How to improve your credit score.
4. Getting out of debt.
5. Borrowing money for college or a business.

Whether you're trying to establish credit for the first time, or you're already up to your eyeballs in debt, this credit and debt basics guide can help you take control of your finances.

With college costs increasing faster than inflation, it comes as no surprise that many college students today and those who graduated over the past few years are often bogged down with student loan debt. While financial aid may be needed to get through college, you can plan ahead to make sure you don't get caught taking on more debt than you need to.

Whatever the expenditures are for, if you overspend, you'll over borrow. Unless you're managing all of your money wisely, you may indirectly be mismanaging your student loans, which will impact your lifestyle for years while you work to pay them off.

Three Simple Rules for Managing Your Student Loans

1. Borrow only what you need, only when you need it - Remember that the amount you borrow is less than what you'll have to repay. By the time you finish paying off your student loans, you'll probably end up paying around 30% more than the amount you borrowed (depending on how many years you take to pay the loans off and at what interest rate). If you don't plan for this, your student loan payments may be much larger than you expected and take a bigger chunk out of your paycheck than you're prepared to pay.
   
   
2. When calculating how much student loan money you'll need, ask yourself these questions - Can I reduce my expenses (the answer is almost always yes)? Can I work more during the school year without jeopardizing my grades? Can I work more during the summer or find a higher-paying job?
   
   
3. Use your student loan money to finance your education, not your lifestyle - Many college students honestly believe they are managing their student loans well. They keep the money separate from their other funds and use it only for tuition, books, and fees. In reality, many students who do exactly that are actually not using their student loans wisely. Why? Because when you're in college, unless someone else is footing your entire bill, every dollar you spend unnecessarily will be a dollar you'll have to borrow later, which means another dollar plus interest you'll have to repay. If you can use some of your own money for tuition and books, you won't have to borrow as much.

The 2008 tax rebate checks are just now beginning to arrive in bank accounts, so this means many people are receiving an extra $600 to $1,200 or more. The purpose of this rebate is to stimulate the economy, but the fact is that most people are simply going to use the money to pay off some debt, or save it. While this might not be what the government wants to hear, it is a good idea for many people.

If you have high interest credit card debt, then without a doubt, this rebate could be put to use by reducing or eliminating the debt. For example, if you're carrying a $1,000 balance on a credit card with an 18% annual interest rate and you use your rebate to pay it off in full, you're essentially earning close to 18% on your money compared to just making the minimum payment each month. If you could put your money in the bank or into the stock market and guarantee an 18% return, wouldn't you jump at the chance?

If debt isn't much of a problem, you may want to consider funding an IRA. You can put up to $5,000 in either a traditional IRA or roth IRA for 2008. Contributing to a traditional IRA will give you a tax break up-front, while a roth contribution will benefit you in the future since qualified withdrawals are tax-free. Either way, you'll get far more from your rebate than instant gratification from buying a new gadget that you'll end up throwing away in a year or two.

No, there isn't a quick fix to your credit problems, but by understanding how your credit score is determined can help you take steps in improving it. You won't be able to turn a 500 FICO score into a 700 overnight, but once you begin to practice smart credit habits, your score will begin to improve.

But before you can begin to make any improvements, you really need to know how your score is determined. Your FICO score takes into account many factors, but some are far more important than others.

What Makes Up Your Credit Score:

• Payment History – 35%
• Total Amounts Owed – 30%
• Length of Credit History – 15%
• New Credit – 10%
• Type of Credit in Use – 10%

As you can see, simply making payments on time and keeping the total amount of debt down accounts for over 60% of your score. That doesn't mean that the length of credit history or the type of credit in use aren't important, but you should probably focus your efforts on the top two. Her is some more information and ways to improve your credit.

As the real estate market, the subprime lending crisis and credit crunch continue to drag on the economy, lenders have really started to tighten lending standards. That means you may have easily qualified for a mortgage just a year ago, but even with the same financial situation, you may not be able to obtain a home loan today. This can be a catch 22 for new buyers. It is a buyer's market with plenty of good deals, yet it is hard to qualify for a loan.

How Your Car Loan May Hurt You

While your credit score is one of the most important factors in determining whether or not you will be approved for a loan, when it comes to housing, it is also all about ratios. One of the most common is the debt-to-income ratio. This is simply the ratio of total debt payments you have relative to your income. Lenders like to see at the most, a debt-to-income ratio of 36%. Some lenders today will want to see even less debt.

As an example, let's say you have a gross monthly income of $3,500. To see the how much debt you should stay below in order to qualify for mortgage, multiply $3,500 by 36%. You end up with $1,260. This is the maximum monthly debt payments the lender would like to see. As you know with the price of many new and even used cars today, it only takes one auto loan payment to put a big dent in this amount. If you have a $400/month auto loan, you're left with only $860 each month for a mortgage payment. So, if you carry credit card debt, student loan debt, or any other monthly debt payments, you reduce the available money left for a mortgage even further.

Prioritize

If you're in the market for either a new vehicle or a home, you need to think very carefully about either purchase. If you need a new car now, but don't think you'll be in the market for a house for another year or two, don't get in over your head. That auto loan could come into play when the time comes to qualify for a home loan. If you already have a relatively large car payment and find it difficult to qualify for a mortgage, trading down may be one way unload enough debt to help you qualify. Since lenders are not handing out money as freely as just a year or two ago, it is more important than ever to seriously plan and take your other payments into consideration.