Ilyce Glink Show Notes – November 22, 2009.

Hard to believe it’s Thanksgiving Week. I’ll be filling in for Clark Howard Wednesday, Friday and next Monday. We’ll do our annual prep for Black Friday, followed by our annual Deals of the Day (Friday) and then a look ahead at the last month of 2009 and what you can expect.

Today on the show, I talked about the amazing refinance deal Sam and I are pursuing. If you want to know about this stuff on an almost-real-time basis, you’ll need to follow me on Twitter (@Glink) or watch my MoneyWatch.com blog or check back in with the ThinkGlink.com blog so you know what’s happening.

If you’re not signed up for my free weekly newsletter, you should be. That’s where we introduce new events, new ebooks for sale and deals for both.

Now, on to the show notes:

Ilyce Glink’s Turkey Recipe

Yes, folks, it’s that time of year again. I’ve just put in my order for a 23-25 pound turkey with a 5-pound turkey breast I plan to roast alongside the big bird. Follow the link if you’re interested in my turkey recipe. The key
thing with turkey is to not overcook it. You don’t want a raw bird, but you also don’t want to roast it so much that you wind up with something that resembles cardboard.

Enjoy and let me know how your Thanksgiving Turkey turns out.

Clark Howard Fill-Ins Wednesday, Black Friday and Monday

I’ll be filling in for Clark as usual on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the Friday after Thanksgiving (also known as Black Friday – the day we do our “Deals of the Day” show) and the following Monday. Don’t forget to tune in on Sunday for my regular show.

Show note: On December 6, 2009, we’ll fall back to our regular time of 11a to 1p ET for the show. Hope you can join us.

ExpertRealEstateTips.Net

We had a call today from someone who wants to buy a foreclosure, but is concerned about buying a property in “as is” condition. While only a professional home inspector or a good contractor can tell you exactly what is wrong with a property, you can train yourself to look for red flags along the way.

On my ExpertRealEstateTips.Net website, you can find ALL of my videos by category. Just look on the left navigation bar to find Inspections, and then click through to see all of my home inspection videos. You’ll watch a professional home inspection walk you through various parts of the house.

On ThinkGlink.com, we also have our Home Inspection topic page, where you can start your search for some great advice on home inspection and inspecting your future home purchase.

New ThinkGlink Ebooks About Investing in Real Estate Are Now Available

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  2. LLCs, Corporations, And Other Ways Of Holding Title To Real Estate. The time to start thinking about you’re going to hold title is BEFORE you buy an investment property. This ebook walks you through the different ownership options and what you need to know.
  3. How to Profit From Foreclosures: 9 Top Tips From Investors. Avoid the most common and most devastating mistakes real estate investors make by reading this ebook.
  4. Finding Great Tenants And Profitably Managing Real Estate Investments. If you don’t have good tenants, you’ll wind up with losing money with your real estate investment – or perhaps destroying your credit. This ebook tells you how to find great tenants, how to price your unit to rent, and how to manage your property effectively and efficiently.
  5. The Successful Real Estate Investors Guide: Top Tax Tips. Investing successfully means you’ve got to keep your expenses low. That means, watch what you pay in taxes. This book walks you through the major tax areas you’ll encounter with real estate investing.

We also have FREE BOOKS and other ebooks in the ThinkGlink.com store.

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Conventional 401(k) vs. Roth 401(k)

John called and wondered whether he should invest in a 401(k) or an employer-sponsored Roth 401(k). His employer offers a match for either (which is nothing short of amazing in this kind of economic climate).

This question is really about whether it’s better to invest money on a pre-tax or post-tax basis. With pre-tax investing, you let all of the money compound and bet that your taxes in the future will be less than today. With post tax, you pay the tax now, when the tax rate is lower and then get to grow a smaller pot of money tax free.

I like to have a little pre-tax and post-tax cash to invest because I think when you’re older, you have more financial flexibility – more options.

READ MORE ABOUT INVESTING PRE-TAX VS. POST-TAX

MoneyWatch.com and Loan Modifications from Hell

I talked about my MoneyWatch.com blog, and specifically the post called Are You In Loan Modification Hell?. I suggested on the air that if you are in loan modification hell, you should write up your story and add it to that blog post. There are already 56 comments, but I’d like 156 comments!

The blog is being read by folks at the highest levels of major mortgage companies and the Treasury Dept. How do I know? They’re emailing me for more information.

So feel free to post your Loan Modification from Hell story there and tell all your friends and family. We have to shed more light on this to get it fixed for everyone.