In 1863, Abraham Lincoln gave his Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday, occurring on the last Thursday of November.
Can you believe it's time to start bringing out all the holiday decorations?
As I was driving to meet clients over the weekend I was listening to the radio and the DJ was asking "how many of you hate taking out all the holiday lights and untangling them only to find out they don't work (that's me!!) or better yet you can't figure out which light went out so you could replace that one versus the entire string." That's me!! Last year I bought all new lights and I wrapped the whole tree only to discover one string of lights was not working. My sister is still laughing at my misfortune. If this is the year you thought I'm getting new lights or your old ones are no longer working you need to follow me over to Home Depot.
If you take in your old incandescent light strings for recycling into any Home Depot store you will receive a $3 off coupon for the purchase of energy efficient LED lights. There is a limit of 5 coupons per customer. Some of the benefits Home Depot lists for using LED lights versus incandescent:
* LED lights use 80% less energy than the traditional incandescent lights
* They can last up to 10 times longer than traditional lights
* Cool to the touch (that's a plus especially if you have little ones)
* One 7-watt incandescent bulb could power 140 LEDs! That's enough to light two 24 foot strings - WOW!
The trade-in ends November 15th so start pulling out all those old lights!
To learn more about this program and how holiday lights are recycled go to: www.HomeDepot.com.
On Wednesday the Senate voted 98-0 and yesterday the House voted 403-12 on legislation that includes the extension and expansion of the first time homebuyer tax credit. It is reported that the President signed the bill today.
First-time Homebuyers
The first-time homebuyer tax credit will be extended until April 30, 2010. In addition, those who have signed a contract before May 1, 2010 will have 60 days to close on the home.
Increases the income limits to $125,000 on a single return and $225,000 on a joint return.
Those who purchase in 2010 will be able to claim credit on 2009 tax return.
Definition of first-time buyer: those who have not owned a home in the last three years.
The credit will remain at $8,000.
Move-up Buyers
Those who have owned the same home for 5 consecutive of the last 8 years will be eligible for a $6,500 tax credit.
The $6,500 tax credit will be eligible for purchases between December 1, 2009 and May 1, 2010. The same opportunity to close within 60 days applies.
The income limits are also $125,000 on a single return and $225,000 on a joint return.
Those who purchase in 2010 will be able to claim the credit on 2009 tax return.
Other provisions regarding the homebuyer tax credit:
No homes over $800,000 will be eligible for the tax credit.
It will extend the tax credit for the military and other Foreign Service Officers serving abroad through April 30, 2011. It also waves the recapture fee for all military personnel should the individual move and sells the home within 3 years.
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