My Favorite Articles of the Week

So the Fed decided to print a bunch of money and buy $750 million of mortgage-backed securities and $300 billion dollars in Treasury debt. The immediate effect was a drop in the national average for a 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 4.94. Some experts are speculating that mortgage rates could drop further. I’ve already locked in a mortgage rate for my refinance, but I’m going to contact my lender to see if I can re-lock and if there’s a cost associated with doing so. Stay tuned. Now for the links.

Links

Kevin at No Debt Plan tries to argue that office pools for March Madness are a good idea. I absolutely agree! Wagering on March Madness makes each game that much more exciting. It doesn’t even have to be a monetary wager or left strictly to office pools. I have a wager with my girlfriend that if I win she has to play rock band with me (she hates the game) and if she wins I have to go down town and visit a museum (ugh).

Managing your cash flow is discussed over at Passive Family Income. The article describes different ways to use your cash flow to increase your passive income. I’m all about investing any extra cash passively, but I also believe in frugal splurging from time to time.

Patrick at Cash Money Life is celebrating his 2 year anniversary with some book giveaways. Congrats Pat. Make sure you stop by and check out his giveaway.

Jim at Bargaineering offers some great advice: file your taxes now or pay more later. Jim says that at the end of March tax preparing companies will increase the prices on their software to take advantage of the slackers. Even if you’re waiting to file your taxes because you owe the government money, you should file them and wait to send the payment in. If you will be receiving money back from the government, you have no excuses. Don’t let the government have your money any longer.

SVB at the Digerati Life offers up some tips for getting the best home loan rates. It’s always a good idea to improve your credit score, but you should also try to peak your credit score at the right time. For example if you’re looking to qualify for a home loan in the near future, pay down your debt to increase your debt to credit ratio. Of course there are steps you should be taking at all times, but never making a late payment on your debt.

Carnivals and Guest Posts

This section is a big fat zero for this week. Between catching up on sleep and fantasy baseball drafts, I had zero time to submit to carnivals and write guest posts. I have some more free time this week, so I should be able to get back on the wagon.

Random Thoughts

I’m doing very well in my bracket so far. I haven’t lost any of my sweet sixteen teams yet, which is all I aim for in the first round. After that, you have to cheer super hard for your final four teams. In case you’re wondering my upset specials are: Purdue and Gonzaga in the Great Eight, Michigan over Clemson, Arizona over Utah and Maryland over California. My final four are Louisville, Pitt, Memphis and Syracuse with Louisville as my overall winner.

Anybody else fill out a bracket? What are your upsets and final four?