Small Start to Student Loan Project

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As one of our goals for 2012, we'd like to pay down the student loan principal by at least $2,000 this year (in addition to our regular monthly payments). I’ll be using any after tax revenue generated from My Financial Reviews to reach this goal.

About a month has passed by and I wanted to share our progress. Being a new site I didn't expect money to just fall from the sky, so I'm happy to announce that an extra $85 is scheduled for payment on the loan. It's a small start for sure, but it's a start.

Couple Money Around the Web

Besides writing here on Couple Money I contribute at other sites as well:

• TurboTax ->How Do I Deduct Points Paid on My Mortgage?: Besides the financial benefits of owning property with some equity, there are some tax advantages, including deducting points on your mortgage.
• TurboTax->How Social Security Income is Taxed: Not everyone has to pay taxes on their Social Security benefits. To see if your Social Security will be taxed, you have to look at your *combined income and your marital status.
• Green Panda Treehouse-> Alternative Investments – Going Online to Get a Better Return: The final post in the series is out and I mention how you can build a solid income stream with buying and selling websites if you're willing to invest the time and effort.

Personal Finance Posts to Catch Up On

If you have some free time this weekend and want some tips and information for your finances, be sure to read some of these wonderful posts.

• How a Lie is Helping Me Save for Retirement via So Over Debt: To me this post was a great example of trying to teach a valuable lesson without losing your cool.
• Most Retirement Advice is Worse than Useless — Part I via Renewable Wealth: The title of course caught my attention, but the numbers and information in this entire series has definitely given me some serious food for thought. Once we get the car situation squared away, I'll be re-examining our retirement contributions and investment plans.
• Using a Credit Card to Buy a Car via Financial Samurai: I never thought of buying a car with a credit card, but the reasoning behind why you can't pique my interest.
• The Generation Gap via Canadian Finance Blog: Sometimes you can try to explain finances to people and it just doesn't get through.
• Quick Cash Solutions: A Dangerous Game via Boomer & Echo: I've seen family and neighbors run into emergencies recently and some have dug themselves into a deeper whole by going with the ‘quick & easy' solution.
• Should You Buy Life Insurance for Your Child?Should You Buy Life Insurance for Your Child? via Parenting Family Money: It may uncomfortable to think about, but Glenn covers some reason why you might want to consider getting a policy for your child(ren).

Please have a wonderful weekend with your family!

Photo Credit: Simon_sees