President Obama’s tax plan is set to increase the tax bill for the wealthy, but it could end up hurting many middle class citizens living in richer areas of the United States. Many people living in the $200,000 to $400,000 per year income range live in high-cost areas of New York or California and are stretched to afford their homes when real estate prices were higher. These people certainly are not rich, but they are worried that the president’s plan could push them over the edge.

The reality is that many of these people are already subject to higher taxes because they are paying the alternative minimum tax. Even with the new tax hikes, the amount of taxes these people owe may not change that much because what they owe under the regular income tax may not push them out of the alternative minimum tax territory. But higher income people in states with lower income or property taxes are more likely to pay bigger sums.

The other big concern for investors is the capital gains tax rate, which would change depending on income. People in the top two tax brackets would see their capital gains tax rise to 20 percent from 15 percent while middle income families would still pay the same amount. This may deter many people from investing in the stock market as the price has gotten much higher…

Food is one of the biggest portions of our daily budget and consumers have traditionally turned to newspapers to get the coupons they need to save. However, there are also many web sites with coupons that can be printed and used on your weekly shopping trips. Here are our top three sources for grocery store coupons online:

1. CouponMom.com
2. GroceryCoupons.com
3. Coupons.com
   

Checking these web sites before your next grocery trip can help put more money in your pocket during these tough economics times.

Consumers have been cutting back on many things during the recession, but there are some things that shouldn’t be cut at all. Here’s our list of the top three things consumers should spend money on:

1. Expert Advice – Experts can help you save more money than they cost. Tax experts can help you find great deductions; lawyers can help you save on legal judgments; and financial advisors can help you save money in key areas like retirement planning and college saving.
2. Debt Repayment – It is very important to keep on top of your bills as much as possible to save on future interest charges. Also, a lower credit rating can make future borrowing extremely expensive, particularly when purchasing a house or car at a higher interest rate!
3. Little Things – Spending a small amount on personal indulgencies may seem counterintuitive, but satisfying your cravings can help avoid a binge later on. After all, you can only live so long on nothing before you raid the refrigerator and binge spend.
   

Home equity lines were a reliable source for borrowing over the past decade, but things are quickly changing as the housing market turns south. Here’s how you can evaluate your home equity line of credit and determine just how much you can expect…

1. Find the Value. The true value of your home will tell you how much equity is available to borrow against. So, the first step to evaluating your home equity line is finding out exactly how much your home is worth and subtract out the amount of debt left on the house.
2. Pay Down Debt. Banks look at your debt-to-income ratio to determine your credit-worthiness. Paying down debt or increasing income are the only two ways to improve these ratios, and given the economy, the latter may be the easiest to do for now.
3. Get Approved Now. If you have a home equity line of credit expiring over the next few months, don’t wait until the last minute to get it extended. Start at least two or three months in advance in order to deal with the paperwork and being proactive can get you pre-approved.

While the rest of America was struggling to make a buck, executives at Merrill Lynch made over $3 billion while it was hemorrhaging money. However, Bank of America has refused to turn over the bonus information to the NY AG after receiving a subpoena.

New York officials told ABC News that the session to get information from CEO Ken Lewis was ugly and combative. They accused him and the bank of stonewalling, saying they refused to provide a list of which executives got what of the billions in bonuses.

Meanwhile, the CEO arrived in style, traveling from the bank’s headquarters on a $50 million G-5 corporate jet, and then a premium SUV to the Manhattan office. This further angered regulators who gave the bank $45 billion in federal bailout money for the “troubled” bank.

As for Lewis, he says the immediate issue is whether or not he has told the “whole story” about the huge bonuses paid shortly before Merrill Lynch merged with Bank of America. He also told Congress that he had “no authority” over the bonuses paid during that time.

Those with children know that it can be expensive to leave the house without the children. Baby sitters these days no longer accept $1 an hour – many are looking for more than minimum wage! So, one way to save money may be to share a sitter with friends and neighbors that also have kids. Assuming you go out at least once a week for a few hours and cut your bill in half, you could save $300 a week or more!

A related way to save on baby sitter costs is to take turns babysitting each other’s children. This is a free alternative to hiring a baby sitter and can help save a substantial amount of money every month. After all, a recession can be a lot easier if everyone works together…

Many stores like Best Buy offer extended warranties to help consumers alleviate fears that their new electronics are going to break. These warranties are a huge source of profit for the retailers and often times a big waste of money for consumers. According to Consumer Reports:

When you take out an extended warranty, you're essentially making a sucker's bet. You're gambling on a series of events happening at precisely the right time under precisely the right circumstances. These include:

• That a product will break exactly after the manufacturer's warranty has expired and precisely when the extended warranty is in effect. Sure, it's possible, but unlikely.
• That the cost of the repair will exceed the cost of the warranty. Surveys of Consumer Reports subscribers reveal that the costs are fairly close most of the time.
• That the product is likely to break in the first place. According to our data, most products are quite reliable and have not broken during the first three or four years of ownership.
• That you're going to want to have the product fixed. Perhaps surprisingly, many readers surveyed said they didn't bother seeking repairs because they desired a replacement product that had either new features, more power, greater flexibility, more advanced technology, or improved energy efficiency.

There are many ways to get a free extended warranty:

• Most products come with their own warranties, so it doesn’t make sense to purchase more protection. With the exception of big ticket items like laptops, plasma TV’s or video game protections, which may break beyond the common warranty time period. However, it still rarely makes sense to pay another 20% of the purchase price for a warranty!
• Credit cards can give you the extra warranty protection for free for those products that may need the support. Some major credit cards automatically tack on an additional year to the product’s existing warranty period, which effective doubles the extended warranty at no additional cost. These companies including Amex, Visa Signature and MasterCard Platinum.

Overall, consumers may be best off avoiding extended warranties provided by retailers and instead opt for those free ones offered by credit card companies!

The economic decline has forced many consumers to cut their budgets, but the cuts are not even across the board by any means. Consumers were quick to cut certain expenses, like cellphone upgrades, high-end cosmetics and GPS subscriptions. However, other expenses like cable subscriptions, dining out and haircuts continue to see dollars coming in at a healthy rate.

One way to save money on luxuries without cutting them may be to negotiate with your service providers. Most cable and internet providers are willing to match competitor pricing to keep you from going elsewhere, especially if you threaten to move over the whole package. Cell phone services are the same way and may be willing to tack on additional benefits to save you.

Consumers may also want to check out online services like Hulu.com to replace their cable subscriptions. These web sites allow visitors to view many of their favorite television programs online for free anytime. Another way to lower cable costs is to bundle services – consumers that add on cable and phone to their internet can save as much as $10 per month by bundling the services.

Those maintaining their clothing spending may want to check out online coupon sites to find deals, like RetailMeNot.com.