Where the (property) taxes are low

The American Legion Magazine published a story about property taxes in their April 2008 issue. A graphic on page 14 caught my eye. It published a list of the 5 states with the highest and lowest property taxes.

The highest:

1. New Jersey
2. New Hamshire
3. Connecticut
4. New York
5. Rhode Island

The lowest:

1. Louisiana
2. Alabama
3. West Virginia
4. Mississippi
5. Arkansas
   

NetworthIQ and the Military

I'll be honest, I was shocked when I loaded my financial balances on NetworthIQ and was ranked at the top of the list for all military members. I really expected to be in the middle. Instead I was about $30,000 above the next highest amount.

Of course, I was also the oldest registered military member to load a profile. If you look at the statistics, just 12% of the public profiles belong to members between 40-44, and there are just 85 military profiles.

So, instead of patting myself on the back for being ahead of everyone else, I think all those other members will be way ahead of me when they get to be 42 years old. They have the focus and the tools to become financially independent when I am out looking for another job.

Good luck to all those other 84 families!

Financial planning a part of readiness

A personal finance column in the Sunday, March 2, 2008 edition of the Los Angeles Times quoted a military officer saying that financial planning was an important part of military readiness. As a prior commander, I couldn't agree more. It has also been widely reported, and I saw firsthand, how financial mis-steps could damage someone's career, homelife, and their ability to retain a security clearance.