The Extension Cord Idea You've Been Waiting For

The traditional, 6-socket surge protector is a ubiquitous product in American homes.

It also happens to be rife with design flaws, the most glaring of which is the socket layout.

Traditional surge protectors are built for skinny-plugged devices only. Few of today's electronics are "skinny plug".

The Socket Sense Expandable Surge Protector corrects the flaw.

The Socket Sense matches form and function. It features 6 angled, expandable sockets that make room for even the biggest and boxiest plugs. Its casing stretches from 13 to 18 inches, as needed, and has a slim, fit-anywhere design.

By providing for 6 input devices, the Socket Surge does the job of two traditional surge protectors. You can buy Socket Surge at most hardware stores and on Amazon.com, too.

The device retails for about $25.

The Case-Shiller Shows Home Prices Are Still On Their Way Up

For the second month in a row, 18 of the 20 Case-Shiller real estate markets posted higher home values. It's the 6th consecutive strong showing for the benchmark private-sector housing index.

Combined with falling home supplies and rising sales figures, this month's Case-Shiller Index suggests that housing may have bottomed sometime earlier this year.

It's cause for optimism.

Even Case-Shiller respresentatives seem excited. In its press release, the publishers singled out the index's winning streak, commenting on the recent "stabilization in national real estate values".

But, in that statement, we see the Case-Shiller Index's biggest flaw. The index ipurports itself to be a national real estate metric but, in reality, there is no such thing as a national real estate market.

All real estate is local.

The Case-Shiller Index reports home values for 20 U.S. cities. Each of those cities, however, is comprised of smaller neighborhoods, each with its own character, desirability, and price points. Case-Shiller attempts to lump it all together -- an impossibility.

As an example, New York City posted a nearly 1 percent increase in July but that figure is just a city summary. The actual market in three distinct neighborhoods -- Upper East Side, Chelsea, and Flatbush -- vary tremendously. Not to mention Long Island, too.

Flaws aside, though, Case-Shiller is still important. It helps to identify broader trends in housing and housing may hold the key to our economic future.

With July's Case-Shiller Index, we see that the housing market's recovery is being sustained

Use A Retractable Hose Reel To Simplify Yard Work

Sometimes, it's not the yard work that's so tough. It's fighting the garden hose.

Tangles, kinks and hassle can turn watering the yard into a chore unto itself.

Especially if you have store your hose in the garage. Coiling water-logged, dirty tubing can be a real pain.

Enter the 100-foot retractable hose from Frontgate. Wall-mounted and commercial-grade, it's a durable garden hose that simplifies yard work.

The half-inch diameter tubing extends from the casing which is on a 180-degree swivel. Reaching all the corners of your lawn is a breeze. And the hose retracts with little effort and no snags.

Plus, the plastic casing can protect your hose from the summer sun.

The Retractable 100-ft Hose Reel is available from Frontgate for $99. It comes with the 100-foot hose included.

Simple Real Estate Definitions : Escrow Account

An escrow account is a designated savings account into which funds get deposited for a specific purpose.

With respect to real estate and home loans, escrow accounts are used to pay real estate tax bills and homeowners insurance payments.

Escrow accounts are managed and disbursed by lenders.

When a homeowner "escrows" his mortgage, along with his scheduled monthly mortgage payment, he must also send an additional payment to the lender equal to 1/12 of the home's annual real estate tax bill plus 1/12 of the annual homeowners insurance bill.

By sending a pro rata portion of the tax and insurance bill each month, the homeowner's escrow account will always, in theory, have enough funds to make payments in full as tax bills and insurance premiums come due.

Using 401(k) Funds For A Downpayment? First, Consider The Tax Implications.

As downpayment requirements increase, anecdotally, home buyers are tapping 401(k) plans for extra cash.

Classified as a "hardship withdrawal", loans against your retirement funds can be cheap and simple.

There's no credit check or approval process
There's only a small set of paperwork
Money can be available in as little as a day
But just because you can get access to your retirement money doesn't mean that you should. 401(k) withdrawals should only be made after careful consideration.

There are some serious negatives, specifically with respect to taxation.

If you open a 401(k) loan and don't repay according to the loan terms, the withdrawal ends up getting taxed as income, plus a 10 percent penalty for people under 59 1/2.

That's a stiff penalty.

But, even if you do repay the loan on time, you're still getting leaving yourself subject to double-taxation.

Taxation #1 occurs when the loan is repaid using post-tax dollars
Taxation #2 occurs upon final withdrawal at retirement
Furthermore, when you borrow against a 401(k), you assume the opportunity costs of having that money out of the market. Since March, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 44 percent. If your 401(k) was empty, you'd have missed those gains forever.

Taking a loan against a 401(k) isn't necessarily a bad idea, there just may be better choices. If you're planning to withdraw from your 401(k) to make a downpayment on a home, talk with a qualified financial professional first.

You can never have too much good information.