The Brass Tacks

Where's My Refund?

You filed your tax return and are expecting a refund. You have just one question and you want the answer now - Where's My Refund?

Whether you opted for direct deposit or asked IRS to mail you a check, you can track your refund through this secure website.

While you are at it, check out  Where's My Stimulus Payment?

Recent Buys

Yesterday I picked up 100 shares of Power Corporation of Canada (POW on TSX). Power Corp owns mostly insurance companies and a few financials like IGM, and it looks like a rock-solid company with a strong history of annual dividend increases.

I also acquired my first share of Berkshire Hathaway Class B (BRK.B). I'm pretty excited about that!

Passive Income Report - April 2008

	March	April
Dividends	$117.09	$200.59
Interest	$59.26	$25.68
Royalties	$0.00	$0.00
Online Music Sales	$270.48	$179.93
Total	$446.94	$406.20
Annualized	$3,179.85	$3,481.50
Change	1.9%	9.5%

I decided that—since some of my passive income is seasonal—the best way to track progress is to look at out how much was earned over prior 12 month periods. Online music sales, for example, typically drop off during certain months of the year and increase before Christmas, so despite the $90 drop between March and April online music sales are actually increasing, because in April 2007 I only made $57.

Although it is heartening to see an increase of 9.5% over the last period, I still have a long way to go to reach my goal of $2,000/month in passive income! But things will pick up soon as I move into more passive investments over the summer.