Most Vanguard ETF trades will soon be free
The 56 Vanguard ETFs that are currently commission free are getting some new friends in August. Vanguard announced today that they will expand their commission free ETF lineup. This expansion will include ETFs from a variety of competitors. As a result, in August, nearly 1800 ETFs will be commission free on Vanguard. This won’t include certain ETFs that are not seen as long term investing vehicles like leveraged or inverse ETFs. That’s a big boost to the offerings today and another win for investors. Vanguard customers today pay nothing for Vanguard ETFs and mutual funds. Now, they will pay nothing for a variety of other ETFs from competitors. The full…
Rising mortgage rates, mortgage payments and home prices
Rising mortgage rates are on my mind as a potential home buyer. When we first started looking for a home last year, rates were below 4%. Since then, they’ve risen to an average of 4.25% as of last week and have continued to rise this week. This doesn’t mean that rates will continue to rise. Rates have a tendency to move up and down rather quickly as evidenced by the graph below. Recent fed actions have taken the rates higher. The possibility exists that this doesn’t change anytime soon if the solid economic news is any indication. Mortgage rates are loosely tied to the 10 yr treasury rate and that…
New IRS withholding tables mean a bigger paycheck for 2018
There’s nothing better to start a new year than a bigger paycheck. No, I’m not talking about a raise or a bonus. I’m talking about the newly updated IRS withholding tables. Your employer uses these bad boys to make sure you’re paying the right amount in taxes. The recent tax reform legislation enacted major changes to taxes. There were changes to tax brackets and deductions and in general meant lower taxes for most people. These tables are a key component of that reduction as they push those benefits through to tax payers immediately. The idea is that since taxes are now lower then the amount that needs to be deducted…