Wear it, Wash it, Throw it Away : Work it, Earn it, Give it to the Government

I pretty much think it's common sense that when you buy a $10 shirt or dress pretty much anything from either Forever 21 or H&M it's not going to last as long as a piece of clothing that was made with higher quality material and therefore is more expensive. While these clothes are fabulous and every Spring you can catch me at Forever 21 stocking up on their comfy inexpensive sundresses, I don't expect these items to last more than one season. The stores don't actually come out and say that their clothing is of less quality than say a Ralph Lauren shirt or dress, but from the cost and material the clothes are made of, sometimes we have to draw conclusions from the facts at hand.

A couple months ago, I posted about how taxes are going to be raised a lot come 2011. Considering the White House has taken the stand that nearly everyone is wealthy now, these taxes are going to hit any individual making over 200k/year and joint income of 250k/year. While this is the first time the White House has come out and said that taxes are going to be raised, like the H&M shirts, this is the type of thing we need to have a little foresight with. That being said, if you are in that range, I'd start buying tax free bonds as soon as possible because they are going to be worth a lot more to you when your tax bracket is in the 40%-50% range. Just to give you an idea, in the highest federal bracket now is 35% the taxable equivalent on a 4.5% municipal bond is 6.92%, once your bracket is raised to maybe 45% that same 4.50% will be equivalent to a 8.18%. AND the bond (if you buy quality) will definitely last you longer than any bargain dress you get!