BOOSTED MY TAX REFUND BY 25%

Like most people around this time of year, I’ve been working
on my taxes.  I took advantage of the fact that I hadn’t
maximized my IRA contributions for 2013 to increase my tax
refund.  I made an additional lump sum contribution which
boosted my refund by 25%.  Then I invested the extra
contribution in CRF which will boost my dividend income for
2014 by 33% over last year!  Think about the kind of gains you
could make in your investment portfolio if you could do that
every year.

Took advantage of a great offer from Capital One to open a
new savings account.  While interest rates are terrible for
savers, their current rate is about 3 times what my regular
passbook savings account is paying.  Not only that, but they’re
giving me a $50 bonus for opening the account!  I’m thinking
I’ll be making good use of my new savings account to park idle
cash.  I don’t like to have any money that is not working to
earn more.

If I made no further cash contributions to my investment
accounts for the rest of the year, I estimate dividend income
would be more than double 2013 with dividends reinvested.
However, I plan to add to my taxable account and my IRA
throughout the year, so the actual increase in monthly cash
flow is hard to predict.  One thing is certain, the plan is
working, so I’ll be working the plan.