Until the credit crisis, money market funds were enjoying returns around 5%, but now are seeing their yields sink below 2%.  On top of the declining return, money market funds have scared savers into believing their money is not completely safe.  Because the funds in a money market fund are invested (kinda), they are not FDIC insured, so it is possible you could lose your money, although the chance has historically and should remain very slim.
 

I have recently moved my money out of a money market fund and into an ING Orange Savings Account.  For me, I enjoy the FDIC insurance on my emergency savings, and at the current time, the return is higher than a money market fund at 2.75%.  However, I would stress that savings/emergency funds are NOT investments.  Try not to chase the highest rate of return all the time and especially do not lock up your savings in an investment promising a slightly higher yield.

Because ING and Sharebuilder have recently teamed up, I enjoy the Orange Account because it is linked to my Sharebuilder account, an option that can be used to increase returns on money waiting to be invested.  If you’re in the market for a finding a safer place to park your emergency fund and are interested in starting an Orange account, you can get a $25 bonus if you enter the following reference code at startup: SM424/VNZZ2RR5.  If this code does not work, open up any money magazine in a supermarket and you will likely find an up to date advertisement with a newer code to use.

Where do you have your savings?  $

The best use of a bonus or any windfall of money is to fill your emergency savings first.  But, if you don’t need the savings, consider putting your bonus into your 401(k).  Why would you do such a thing?  Bonuses are treated differently than normal income, thus, they are taxed at a higher mandatory rate.  Have you ever noticed that you are always disappointed when you get your bonus because taxes ate half of it?  This is exactly why you should consider putting the bonus in a tax-sheltered account.

If your employer allows you to, have them funnel your bonus into your 401(k) and assuming you have a traditional versus a Roth account, you will get the entire bonus—no taxes.  This is great for a couple of reasons.  For one, the additional money that is usually spent on taxes, goes to work right away for you earning interest.  The difference of investing $2,500 (after-tax bonus amount) versus $5,000 (pre-tax bonus amount) for 20 years is approximately $12,000!  Secondly, the added benefit of lowering your income for the year never hurts when it comes time to do taxes.  The last thing you want a bonus to do is to edge you up into a higher tax bracket, which would result in an extreme tax bill.  You’d be better of rejecting a bonus in this situation, that’s strange.

So the next time you get a bonus, consider the tax advantages of putting it into a tax-sheltered account.  If you get a good one this year at Christmas, you will likely profit even more by purchasing equities at the recession discount. (Sadly, as I write this, the song “Free Falling” is on satalite radio.)  One last point, if you really want to purchase something special with your bonus and don’t want it all to go into your 401(k), that’s ok because you deserve it.  Consider borrowing a few bucks from your savings and still put the bonus into your 401(k).  Seriously, you’ll get more out of your bonus and assuming you are constantly setting money aside for your savings, you will be ok. $

Debit card 401(k) withdrawals were actually created thinking people would be more willing to open a retirement account if they knew there was an easier way to access the money.  At least, this is the reason the industry offering such transactions says.  The truth may be a little less consumer friendly considering fees, taxes, interest and lost savings. 

401(k) accounts allow participants to borrow up to 50 percent of their savings with no penalty, only if the loan is paid back within five years.  But, if your money is out of the account, it is not earning a return.  In addition, the money taken out of the tax sheltered account is now taxable and if not paid back within 5 years faces a 10 percent penalty.  After all of this, once you retire and take the money back out of the 401(k) account for retirement, you will once again pay taxes on the amount you borrowed.  So if you don’t pay back your loan in time, you face a 10 percent penalty; taxes within your tax bracket; loss of investment interest; and once again taxes when the money is used for it’s actual purpose – retirement.  It’s estimated that a 401(k) loan can reduce your retirement savings by more than 20 percent.

Borrowing from your 401(k) is something that should be treated as a last resort and that’s it.  We are not the only ones who think this way.  Senator Kohl (D-WI) and Sen. Schumer (D-NY) have introduced legislation that would ban the borrowing from ones 401(k) account with the ease of a debit card.  While I’m happy the Senators recognize the detrimental effects borrowing from your retirement account brings, I’m not so optimistic the legislation will pass, at least not in the short-term. 

Although Kohl will most likely be able to pass the bill out of the committee he chairs, the chances of passing the entire Senate is unlikely.  The 60 votes needed to even bring the bill to a vote will be difficult to achieve – especially during an election year when many campaign funds are coming from financial services companies allowing such 401(k) loans.  In addition, the idea that the money is yours and why shouldn’t you be able to access it, will bog down the Democrats attempt to take away this debit card temptation.  I hope I’m proved wrong.  $      

At least twice a year, most of us are task with the job of finding the perfect gift for a nephew, grandson, cousin, or grandchild.  Every Christmas and birthday are a must, but it doesn’t stop there, you have graduations, confirmations, and the list goes on.  What do you get year after year for the child that seems to have everything?  More importantly, how much do you spend, especially considering the child will only remember what they received from you in their later years.  Why not give the gift of stock?

Nearly every discount broker offers a convenient way to buy securities for a minor, usually through a custodial account.  Custodial accounts allow the child to be the owner of the account and its assets, but lets you manage the account until the child reaches a certain age, at which point the account would be handed over.  Some brokers even print out certificates that are similar to the actual stock certificate.  I know the child probably won’t be thrilled, I probably wouldn’t be, but consider spending 80% on the security and another 20% on a toy or more pleasing gift?  If you consider the amount of times throughout a child’s life that is associated with gifts, the total amount spent really begins to add up.

Just as an example, if you purchase $100 worth of securities for a child each year, by the time they reach the age of 18, they would get approximately $4,500 from you.  Perhaps buying them their first car?  Now, they will thank you.  Not only will they appreciate the sum your gifts will grow to, but maybe it will get them engaged in their investments and expose them to compound interest at an age we all wished we would have learned it.  Do any of you buy the gift of stock?  $

[Edit: A comment stated the more popular OneShare.com and we wanted to recognize that.  Thank you, Erik]

SmartMoney Magazine has recently ranked their top sixteen discount brokers by doing “rigorous analysis,” taking into consideration various elements including: commissions; interest rate on cash waiting to be invested; mutual funds and investment products; banking services; trading tools; research; and customer service. Where did my discount broker rank? You guessed it, dead last. Sharebuilder is number 16 on their list of 16. Should I panic and switch alliance to a more noteworthy broker? I don’t thinks so and here is why…

Ignoring mine and my wife’s employee sponsored retirement plans; my investing consists of about one trade once every two months in my Roth IRA. Nearly all of my investments are in large indexes like the S&P 500 via an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) – always being mindful of expense rations. I typically wait to invest until the market starts sliding or investors start panicking and selling off. Occasionally, I will purchase separate stocks, but in relatively low dollar amounts and always keeping my portfolio of single stocks to less than 10% of the whole. I guess you can say I am a conservative and patient investor betting on the long-term gains of the market.

Hello? Buy, buy, buy! No wait….Sell, sell, sell you idiot!

Because of my investing approach, Sharebuilder works perfect for me. With only $4 trade commissions (on Tuesday’s), I manage to keep all of my commissions down to less than one percent of my total investment. Sharebuilder also ranks high on this list of interest on cash waiting to be invested. This is important to me because money waiting to be invested should be earning top dollar. Sharebuilder ranks low on the list for research, trading tools, and banking services – all options I don’t really care about. I’m not researching penny stocks or making quick trades from my cell phone and I do my primary banking with Wachovia. Although I am disappointed in Sharebuilder’s customer service ranking, I hope this article will give them an incentive to invest more of their resources back into their customers.

Who’s your broker? Where do they rank? Do you agree/disagree with the rankings? $

By choosing to have your 2007 tax refund directly deposited into an individual retirement accounts (IRA) or any other tax-favored account, your stimulus payment will follow suit and also be directly deposited into the same tax-favored account.  But don’t worry, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is allowing you to withdrawal your money tax-free and penalty free.  Why, to stimulate the economy of course.

In order to qualify, you must request to have your funds taken out of your tax-favored account by April 15, 2009 or October 15, 2009 for anyone who obtained tax-filing extensions.  Types of accounts that qualify are: Traditional and Roth IRAS, Archer MSAs, Health Savings Accounts, Qualified Tuition Programs (QTPs or Section 529 plans), and Coverdell education savings accounts. 

If you are reading this and it pertains to you, congratulations!  By using your tax refund to fund your IRA, you are jump-starting your retirement.  If you think depositing a thousand dollars here and there won’t do much, think again.  If you receive on average a tax refund of about $1,000/year and invest it, instead of blow it, look at what you could acquire over a 30-year period….  

Assuming: 30 Years of $ 83.33/month (1k divided by 12 months)
Interest Rate of 8.000 % Compounded Annually

Final Savings Balance: $ 124,191.65

Participating in your employers 401(k) match program allows for a great way to accelerate your retirement savings, but have you ever considered using your credit card rewards program as a means to save?  Although rewards programs are all over the map in their offerings, certain programs present a great way to add to your future nest egg.  Despite the great opportunity for additional savings, nobody paying interest on their current card should spend with the rewards in mind – no program will out accrue your current cards interest rate.

What I Do
My wife and I use a credit card for nearly 100 percent of our purchase and about 50 percent of our monthly bills.  Because charging as much as we do can lend itself to overspending, it is only recommended for disciplined spenders that stick to a budget and spend only what you can afford.  If cards are used like this, they actually offer you a no interest loan during the grace period in additional to the cash back award.  Hey, it’s free money – if you have the discipline, take it.      

I now have a personal IRA account with Sharebuilder, which offers a Visa card with a 1 percent cash back on all purchases.  This program in my opinion is extremely valuable, because the cash back is automatically deposited into your Roth IRA, instantly earning additional monies in a money market fund.  Also, because Roth IRA’s grow tax-free, the free money you earn is truly all yours. 

One percent may not sound like much, but considering how much you spend in a year, coupled with compound interest, has the  potential to add up to a significant amount.  Like I said above, we use our card for nearly all our purchases and about 50 percent of our bills.  Last year alone, we put about 36k on our card (remember, we are constantly paying it off, with multiple payments throughout the month). As you can tell from the figures below, using your card the right way can really boost your savings.

———————————————————————-
Estimated Earnings Potential -

Average yearly amount spent on card = $36,000
Average yearly cash back amount received = $360
40-year earnings based on an 8 percent return = $ 104,730.23
———————————————————————-

Remember if you decide to use your card as a savings vehicle, keep your debt to credit level around 35 percent as to not negatively affect your credit score, learn more about what I mean here.  Also important to keep in mind is that most rewards programs have limits as to the actual amount of money you can receive in a year while participating in their programs.  Do you currently participate in a rewards program worth sharing? $  

If you enjoyed this post, consider subscribing to our RSS feed, or better yet, get us in your Email, Stumble it, or give it a Digg!
 

For years, the United States Government has encouraged citizens to become homeowners, primarily with tax incentives like deductions from mortgage interest, mortgage points, and property tax.  However, if the U.S. Government was held as a fiduciary by encouraging home-ownership, our tax breaks might subside based off recent numbers highlighted in a recent Washington Post article comparing home-ownership vs. stock investments. 

As you can see from the figures below, $48,700 invested in 1978 would appreciate to $700,266 via the stock market compared to a low $169,200 invested in a home.    While the numbers heavily favor stock investments, home-ownership has its advantages not easily measured in dollars.  Likewise, investing primarily in stocks has major upsides like no upkeep.  Considering these silent advantages, what is the best investment?   

                       1978 Initial Investment

Home Price                                                  Stock Investment
(median)                                                            (S&P 500)
$48,700                                                               $48,700

                         Returns Through 2007

5.3%               Average Annual Returns               9.9%
—————————————————————————–
347.4%                  Total Return                          1437.9%
—————————————————————————–
$169,200       Equity Appreciation         $700,266

Source: National Association of Realtors

Advantages to Real Estate

 Taxes.  Tax bills have been significantly reduced thanks to changes in the tax code allowing homeowners to deduct various expenses associated with purchasing real estate including: mortgage points, property tax, mortgage insurance, mortgage interest, and home equity loan interest.   

  Equity.  When a home appreciates, it allows for a low cost borrowing method coming in the form of a home equity loan, which is also tax deductible.  When stocks appreciate, they appreciate, that’s all.  Arguably, this could be considered a disadvantage because whenever borrowing is involved, interest is going to banks and not into our wallets. 

 Low-Cost Living.  A major advantage to purchasing a home is eventually, you will own it.  Once a home is paid for, usually 30 years after the purchase, a significant part of a budget is freed, thus allowing the extra money to be invested in other ways.  However, this advantage is wiped away when people continually sell their house in an attempt to “trade-up,” to a bigger more expensive home.       

Advantages to Stocks

 Smooth and Simple Transactions.  Buying and selling a stock can cost as little as $4.  In contrast, selling a home can cost thousands – especially in down markets where the seller bears the bulk of the closing costs.  Assuming to purchase a $300,000 home, a buyer pays an estimated 2 % of the home’s value in closing costs and also pays an additional 5% when selling the home in real estate commissions.  Adding up the total amount paid to buy and sell a home with these percentages, is around $21,000.  If this $21,000 was instead invested into the stock market over a 20 year period, could potentially grow to $103,000, assuming an 8% return.  I feel that these closing and selling costs are often grossly overlooked because the cost is either hidden in a mortgage payment or in equity – money is money especially when the compound interest is working in our favor.

 Diversification.  With the purchase of a simple index fund, an investor has the advantage of being heavily diversified over hundreds of companies involving multiple sectors of business.  Whereas with the investment in a house, a homeowner has all of the investment in one basket.  A fire, flood, or multiple foreclosures in the area could wipe away your home’s equity or significantly reduce it.  This is why stocks offer great for hedging against losses with easy diversification.

 Liquidity.  Stocks have a great upside and that is they give us confidence in knowing the price they reflect, is accurate to the price we will receive when selling.  Unlike homes, where you can list your house at a certain price, but actual profits are determined by the buyers and the market. 

 Hassle Free.  Stocks don’t require new roofs, heat pumps, and paint.  The ease associated with owning stocks is as easy as your emotions allow.  These additional costs involved in home upkeep have the potential to raise the overall value of the home, but like with closing and buying costs, would be worth more if put into the stock market instead.$   

If you enjoyed this post, consider subscribing to our RSS feed, or better yet, get us in your Email, Stumble it, or give it a Digg!

A volatile market, such as we are currently experiencing, can make timing the market seem impossible. When should you pull the trigger and buy into this unstable market? In my opinion, the best time for many is now. I am not saying this because of the current financial crisis, the announcements of possible mergers, or even because Warren Buffet is eying to buy, but because those investing with a long-term approach may be losing money by being too patient.

Patience is normally a good thing. Patient people tend to get along better with others, stay true to professional teams that never win Super Bowls (Vikings), and ultimately may end up living happier stress-free lives. However, when it comes to investing, being patient can drive a person crazy. Waiting for the market to reach a record-breaking bottom or investing in a company right before a major acquisition (which in some cases is illegal) is impossible and in the process of waiting, your money could have been nesting in a fund that at the very least would be earning you dividends.

I’m not advocating that today is better than yesterday to invest or that tomorrow you should pump your net worth into the market – I’m saying that gradual investments, made consistently, will return a peace of mind in addition to the delicious green stuff. For the reasons set forth, employee-sponsored retirement plans, which offer matches, are a great way for many to invest. This constant purchasing of shares in good times and in bad will eventually return yearly average you will like. Obviously, this somewhat conservative approach is not ideal for everyone, but for those of us who work full time and not within financial services industry, may be better off trusting a funds historical returns or as they say on the late night infomercial – set it and forget it. $

If you enjoyed this post, consider subscribing to our RSS feed, or better yet, get us in your Email, Stumble it, or give it a Digg!

Opinion -

Congress, regulators, and the financial services industry are pointing fingers at each other in an attempt to pass the blame regarding who is at fault for our current credit crisis. In reality, everyone probably shares a piece of the blame; however, to leave a lack of sound financial literacy out of the equation would be arrogant, to say the least. The fuel that started the billion-dollar write-downs our major financial institutions are currently acknowledging is simply consumers in mortgages they cannot afford. Sure, there were a certain number of borrowers who did not have the adequate terms of their loan disclosed to them at closing, but ignoring this relatively small number of these predatory lending situations, we are left with an overwhelming number of borrowers who agreed to terms of a mortgage that they knew and the banks knew, were unaffordable.

Our entire credit crisis, which has reverberated to nearly all sectors of our economy has originated from a source so easy to identify, so easy to avoid, and so easy to understand – a home mortgage. Congress has so graciously designated April as Financial Literacy Month again this year, and just this week, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the issue. For a couple of hours, Representatives from around the country patted each other on the back for creating a month devoted to financial literacy, which they call a “timely” event considering the state of our economy. I am glad Congress is at least starting to look at the matter of financial literacy, but considering their actions “timely,” would only be appropriate if they enacted legislation to put financial literacy in our school system years ago.

Our current administration still advocates for and pleas for, the survival of the famous No Child Left Behind Act. This legislation was created with good intentions, but in the process of testing children in various subjects, without enough focus on financial literacy, we have left an entire nation behind. The concept of an Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) is not complex, and likely, a subject, if explained to children, could be understood at a young age. However, we find our nation struggling financially due largely in part to adults who simply could not understand that with an ARM mortgage their loan rates would reset, which in turn would raise their monthly payments – embarrassing, considering its effects on economies worldwide.

Our nations saving rate is still staggering close to 0%, which means as a whole, our nation spends more money than they make. What is most troubling about this is our employers are quickly moving away from the traditional pension retirement system that many of our grandparents enjoyed. Employees now have to take their retirement into their own hands by actively enrolling in their companies 401(k) or other tax-sheltered plan. Participants are now asked to pick their own investments based off what the employer plans offer. In essence, we are asking the same people, who struggle to understand the terms of their mortgage, to choose complex investments in order to secure a financially healthy retirement – this is unrealistic.

Although these ARM mortgages are the primary reason for our debatable recession, there is no question the severity of our credit crisis advanced due in large part to an increase supply of lending products. Eventually, we were probably going to be burned anyways – credit cards, student loans, car loans, payday loans, home equity loans, store credits, and tax refund loans have fueled a consumption lifestyle our society has become accustomed to, regardless of its affordability.

Credit is far too easy to obtain, and consumers without adequate financial literacy are like kids in a candy store. It is not their fault either, kids learn what we teach them and unfortunately, this does not include an in-depth looks at compound interest, mortgages, mutual funds, and adequate savings. Why is it that we fail to teach our nation’s youth something that is essential not only to the well-being of the student, but also to our economy as a whole? It is our hope that a major financial literacy push will someday be achieved, but in the meantime, we will continue to see more write-downs, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and ruined lives – it is clear, the United State’s newest epidemic is insufficient financial literacy. $

One of the main reasons we decided to start putting together a blog for people was because of the idea that you could make your money work harder for you, hence milking it. One of the best ways to do that obviously, is to put your money into a high interest bearing account so that the snowball effect of compound interest will, eventually, accumulate more than what you spend.

The easiest place to start something like this is online. NOTE: Any rates we discuss are active at or near the time of writing, please be mindful of the dates. Lets take a quick look at some of the major players:

ING Direct
They have a wonderful marketing campaign and very secure clean online banking interface. Their rates have dropped since the Fed has dropped rates across the board but what can you do to prevent that? Here are the rates for the different tiers they offer for an online checking account:

Balance………………………………………. APY*..

$0 – $49,999.99…………………………… 2.25%

$49,999.99 – $50,000.00 ………..3.75%

$100,000.00 + …………………………….4.00%
APY*

Now I am sure you are thinking, I will never have $100,000 in my checking account to get access to that percentage rate. Well you never know and you can still use it as a bench mark for other online banks. ING does not have a minimum to start an account, has a debit Card, free ATM access (32,000 select locations), free electric checks, automatic protection from overdraft, and is of course FDIC insured. ING has also recently merged with Sharebuilder but the accounts are not connected (yet?). There is also no real convenient way to deposit checks. Read more here.

Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking

Schwab has had some changes as of late. I found their online banking to have a huge interest rate and I was very tempted to try them out, but was left with a bad taste in my mouth as they required a $3,000 minimum to deposit. Now I see as I write this article, the minimum has gone away and the interest rate has dropped from a little over 5% to the now 3.01% for all sums in any account. The other features that are inherent with ING, are also shown here, for example, no ATM fees, free online checks/bill pay, etc. There is no way to deposit (like with ING) with them however unless you mail in a check or if you have direct deposit. So your paycheck is ok but if you get a check from someone else you’ll be mailing it in. Read more here.

Bank of America Online Banking

BofA is known to be the largest bank in the US and it just might be. They have more locations that I know of and seem to doing very well for themselves, regardless of the financial crunch out there. I make this statement about BofA and not the first two because they are more of and esatablished brick and mortar, lending type of bank. Not to mention the huge bailout that they are attempting with Countrywide. That is another story however, we have quite a bit to say about that in a later post.

Over all, the online banking experience was a bit of a disappointment, with respect to interest rates in the other checking accounts. They have virtually none for checking accounts and for savings, if you maintain $300 or $25 deposit every month, theres no charge with an APY of 0.20%. Wow. That is compounded daily and paid monthly. They nickel and dime you for not maintaining minimums. They do comply with Check 21 (as do all financial institutions, effective October 28, 2004) where you can, supposedly, scan both sides of your check and send it in to be processed/deposited. BofA’s website was lackluster in toting that as a feature however. Not sure if they are running into problems with that. Either way, they are just a regular bank and have virutally no interest rates on their checking platforms. Read more here.

That’s about all for now, check back soon for another slew of online bank reviews. $

The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have finally passed H.R. 5140, an economic stimulus measure that will put money into taxpayer’s hands. President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming days. The IRS thinks they should get the checks in the mail sometime in May, which leaves us plenty of time time start thinking about how we should spend this unexpected income.

How Big Will My Refund Be
Most families should expect to receive a $600 rebate for each individuals in the family that filed taxes last year that made at least $3,000 and less than $75,000 a person. An additional $300 will be included for each child in the family. Low-income people, including retirees on Social Security and disabled veterans who pay no income taxes, would also receive checks of $300. For those making over $75,000 a year, your rebate will be phased out as appropriate. In other words, we are not sure how much you will get; let us know when you get it.

It’s Patriotic to Splurge
When the checks are mailed in May, I’m sure it will be considered patriotic to splurge in order to burst our struggling economy. As fun and tempting as this may sound, it’s probably not the best idea for most of us. So how should your family spend your extra $1,500? The answer for many depends.

Credit Card Debt
Are you one, like many, that has accumulated credit card debt that you can’t shake? Perhaps this refund will be a good place to plop your money. If you haven’t already done so, you should call your credit card company and request a smaller interest rate. I just recently did this and saw my rate drop from 21%to 9%, for just simply asking! Place your refund on the card with the highest interest rate, even if this amount does not pay off the balance, it will save you hundreds if not thousands in long-term interest payments. To become wealthy you have to stop paying interest and start making it, this is a great place to start.No Savings?
Having a savings of at least two months of living expenses is recommended for everyone. It’s ideal to have this money in something you can access very easily like a money market fund and not in assests such as individual stocks or a mutual funds. Even if you have built up debt to pay off, it may be best for you to put your rebate in savings. It’s better to have a back up in case something unfortunate happens, although less debt is nice, you will not be able to make payments on anything if you lose your source main of income and have not built up a solid savings. Pay More on Student Loans or Mortgage?
Although it sounds like a good idea to post an extra $1,000 on your mortgage payment or on your student loans, in reality this will not do much for you. Most mortgages and student loans have interest rates are around 5-9% (the lowest APR loans you can really get), although a lump sum extra payment on these accounts will be beneficial, the benefit is very minimal. If you are going to pay more on these loans, do it monthly with a goal of paying off the loans in x amount of years sooner than your current loan requires.

Max Out an IRA
We realize your rebates will not be in your hands before April 15, 2008 (the last day you can contribute to your 2007 IRA), but consider putting some of your rebate in your IRA for 2008. Sound boring, well it is, but consider this, $2,000 invested today growing at 8% annually would give you $21,871.46 in 30 years. Ah yes, the power of compound interest.Treat Yourself
Making smart financial decisions everyday should be a top priority for you, but every once in awhile we deserve a treat! We would suggest taking about 20% of your rebate if this is reasonable for you, and buy something you have wanted for a while, perhaps a small flat screen for your bedroom or piece of art. I recently put a small LCD TV in our bedroom and I consider it the best art hanging in our place!Like any unexpected windfall of money, what to do with it depends on our current situation. You’ll have to take a step back and look at where the money can work best for you. Have some good ideas we didn’t mention? Let us know about them! $