Cash for Kitchen Clunkers | Cash for Old Appliances

The idea of Cash for Clunkers is going to the kitchen.  Although the Cars program has ended (with taxing surprise!), it seems that the government is taking advantage of the success to launch a cash for kitchen clunkers program (also called by many cash for old appliances). Will it work?

The idea is to reward people who want to drop their old kitchen appliances and buy new energy-saving ones (the ones that have the Energy Star rating). As an example, in Florida, there is a budget of $17.5 million for this program, but the State hasn’t decided how to use this money.

The Cash for Kitchen Clunkers program is still blurry, and many specialists don’t know to this day how it will be working specifically. One thing is certain, people are buying more Energy Star rating appliances!

Cash for Clunkers TAX!

Many people who have participated in the Cash for Clunkers or CARS program, are now surprised that they need to pay a tax on the rebate they received! It seems now this incentive they received will be less than what they expected, because they will need to pay taxes.

Some reports are saying that some people will need to pay double taxes for the rebate they received! Sales taxes on the price of the car and state income tax for the amount of the rebate (cash for clunkers taxable income).

Why is so many people confused right now? It seems the government did a good job promoting the program and helping the car industry, but when it comes to the people they simply didn’t take time to inform them about how taxes would be handled.

Many people are surprised and angry - with a reason.  Where you aware of the Cash for Clunkers tax?

Cash for Refrigerators? Cash for Appliances Program!

There’s a new stimulus plan coming our way! It is called Cash for Refrigerators, the “sequel” to Cash for Clunkers and is set to start during fall this year.

The plan will have its variations according to each state, but it seems you will be able to trade your old appliance for $50 to $200!  It could be almost like trading  it for a new one right away. The Energy Department has said each state’s deadline for filing applications will end on October 15^th.

Steven Chu has said payments will be in rebates:

“These rebates will help families make the transition to more efficient appliances, making purchases that will directly stimulate the economy.”

Well, are you in?

Colonial Bank at Verge of Failure

Colonial Bank is on the news today after it has been reported that the bank is at the verge of failure! Today a judge ordered a freeze of its assets and its dposits and branches could be bought by rival bank BB&T.

Money.cnn.com reports:

With about $25 billion in assets, Colonial is 100 times larger than the typical bank to have failed this year.

Financial wire service Dow Jones reported that BB&T will buy Colonial’s deposits and branches, but not the loans and other financial assets it holds. Terms were not known.

Colonial spokeswoman Mary Tolbert had no comment on the report, nor did BB&T spokeswoman Cynthia Williams or FDIC spokesman David Barr.

Good news is that clients should not be affected by the troubling times Colonial Bank is facing, as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guarantee account balances of up to $250,000.

Cash for Clunkers Voucher

The CARS program, also called “Cash for Clunkers” has been quite popular, and it seems that the “Cash for Clunkers Voucher” will be introduced.

The idea of a voucher was promoted by Fred Upton and Candice Miller, and it seems the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood found it pretty interesting!

This voucher system is surely good news for people who are interested in the program, it gives them more choices at the time of trade-in.  the basic idea is that people can use vouchers to buy from manufacturers when the desired car is not in a dealerships’ stock.

What do you think about the Cash for Clunker voucher?

AP Economic Stress Index

The AP Economic Stress Index is an economic analysis made every month by the Associated Press. The results include more than 3,100 counties across the USA.

The results of this analysis are much expected; today’s high searches on the term might be an anticipation of a new analysis. The latest AP Economic Stress Index results showed the US is living the worst crisis since the big depression back in the 1930s.

The score rose to 10 in May after many foreclosures, bankruptcies and unemployment.

How Does Cash for Clunkers Work?

Many people are wondering how does cash for clunkers work? This is a great program by the government to stimulate the flow of money in the automotive market. Basically, you give your car and in turn you get credit to buy a new car.

“Qualified consumers will receive a credit of $3,500 or $4,500 for an eligible trade-in toward the purchase of lease of an approved vehicle under CARS Program.”

There is and eligibility criteria, so for example you can’t trade your car if it has more than 25 years of use. Also vehicles must get 18 MPG or less.

Here is the Cash for Clunkers Official page, where you can read all about eligibility and rules.

Cash for Clunkers SUSPENDED!

Cash for Clunkers SUSPENDED! - It seems that Cash for clunkers is going to be suspended. The Cash for clunker program will be suspended because it is running out of funds; it seems the suspension will begin midnight tonight.

The program is less than a week old, having started in July 24!

Right now the responsible in making official statements are unreachable, but according to the Wall Street journal, some dealers are being wary, not taking cars for trade-in until further confirmation.

The National Automobile Dealers Association said:

“We do not have confirmation yet of DOT suspending the clunkers program, but if the program is indeed suspended, NADA will continue to work with the Department of Transportation to emphasize the importance that every dealer is reimbursed for a valid deal. We will also work with the Obama Administration and members of Congress to meet the demonstrated consumer interest in the cash-for-clunkers program.”

cars.gov/dealersupport

Following our Cash for Clunkers news, you can visit cars.gov/dealersupport to learn more about the qualification limitations of the program. This is the official page of the government explaining Cash for Clunkers.

Among the questions answered are:

May I receive or use more than one credit under the CARS program?

What is the amount of the credit?

What is the value of the credit for the purchase or lease of a new passenger car
?

What is the value of the credit for the purchase or lease of a new van, pickup truck or SUV?

Learn more at cars.gov/dealersupport

Cash for Clunkers STIMULUS!

Today marks the start of the Cash for Clunkers stimulus program, or also called (officially) the Car Allowance Rebate System. The goal of this stimulus is to make people trade their old cars for new and better cars, with a credit of up to $4500 to purchase the new car.

There are several categories in the Cash for clunkers program. The projected end date is November 1, 2009.

If your car is worth more than the $4500, you shouldn’t waste time with this new stimulus program.

This was the Cash for Clunkers stimulus. Learn all about the program at http://www.cars.gov/.

Cisco Layoff | Cisco Layoff Rumors

Cisco Layoff - It has been announced that Cisco will lay off 600 to 700 employees from the Silicon Valley headquarters. According to a Cisco statement:

“this limited restructuring is part of our ongoing, targeted realignment of resources and was previously discussed on our fiscal second- and third-quarter 2009 earnings calls.”

In February there were Cisco Layoff rumors, where people talked about 1000 to 2000 employees.  At that time, Chief Executive John Chambers, said that there were no plans for major cuts in personnel, now it seems things have changed. As it turned out the Cisco layoff rumors were true.

This is what he said at that time:

“Being very transparent, the definition of a company-wide layoff to me is at least 10% of your workforce, in very direct terms, we are not going to consider a layoff at this point in time.”

“While there are no guarantees, we think the odds are reasonable that if we execute effectively as outlined in this call, that we may be able to avoid large downsizing events.”

Those were the news on the Cisco Layoff.

Money Magazine Best Places to Live 2009

Money Magazine Best Places to Live 2009 appear on the current edition of the popular magazine, and we have 100 beautiful places we can choose as our home - if you can.

Money magazine has discovered places where the economy is strong and offer the best quality of life with low crime levels and affordable homes.  You see, not everything in the World is affected by an economic doom!

Here are the top 5 picks on the best places to live 2009:

1. Louisville, Colorado
2. Chanhassen, Minnesota
3. Papillion, Nebraska
4. Middleton, Wisconsin
5. Milton, Massachusetts

If you want to see the complete list of Money Magazine Best Places to Live 2009, click here!